TSC - Chapter 6: Reactions (5) - Misused Assets

Lily could see the floor move upwards, she could feel it pass through her, or she through it. The feeling was similar to that of falling through the rubbish and the rock under the city. The room below Neaves had been buried in rubbish, the glass half fractured in the windows against the pressure of the things left behind. There was a flicker of a candle, a man's heavy groan before she was hit with something large and flat. She was knocked out instantly.

When her consciousness was regained  she found herself in sumptuous surroundings. The walls were panelled with a dark and lustrous wood, red velvet was draped to the sides of the windows. A desk seemingly carved from one piece of wood with matching animal hide chair were in front of her. She was on a similar chair and finding herself alone, decided to investigate. Her head was still pounding so she didn't want to venture far. She steadied herself on the desk, noting anything of value. The ink pot next to the quill had something swimming in it, multiple things, she could hear their tiny screeches as she put her eat to the stopper. As she tapped the vial the ink became darker, as though those creatures expelled it. There was a burning candle in orange wax and books piled neatly to one side. She tried jangling the drawers, trying to force them open without making too much sound. The bottom two and deeper than the first refused to budge, while the first opened as if its mechanism had recently been oiled.

The small blue bag inside tumbled around with clinks. It contained metallic plates, made of precious metals with rare gemstones adorning the centre. There was filigree across the stones in the design that similarly matched what she had been given. In the shadows of the bag, she swore she could see the bugs move slightly, like the wings did on hers. They hadn't changed into rings when she investigated them and owing to the fact she had one herself, dismissed the contents. She now had a good idea what kind of person she had been abducted by and this caused her a little confusion. She moved over to the bookcase, trying to discern whether the reading material would give her any insight into who was her captor. The books were complex with words she could not understand, in fact most of them were unreadable to her, although she found appreciation in the illustrations and the quality of the craftsmanship of the leather bindings. One described the world of insects as a kingdom, with a highrachy to suit. A weighty set footsteps pounded the floor boards outside the door, along-side heavy breathing with a hint of wheezing. She looked around the room for any spot to hide, or to gain an advantage but there wasn't any, so she decided to keep reading as a guise.

The door swing open and banged against the panelling. A heavy set gentleman in his mid-forties, his hair thinning and had missing teeth, causing whistling accompaniments as he gained his breath. He was dressed in all the finery of a merchant lord, however he seemed squeezed into it and rather uncomfortable. She could see that the skin of his hands were coarse, and there were flecks of straw in the hemline of his trouser's turn-ups. He had no sword, no staff, and to Lily, no physique to be threatening. He had found himself out of breath before he had even entered the room and this made Lily a little more confident than she should have been.

There was a simplistic tone to the man's voice, almost rudimentary. To Lily, this man had about the same amount of eloquence as she had proficiency in reading. His voice was deep and stern however and commanded Lily to sit, now referring to her as 'girl'. He asked her if she knew what she had done, to which she said she did not. He replied that she had gone against his wishes, she looked back perplexed. His tone changed from stern to almost as if he was trying to explain a simple fact to a child that refused to believe. He asked of her what she had told Areanna to do; she replied she had employed someone to spy on Eryn. He asked if that was part of her assignment and she shook her head. He asked who ultimately employed that spy, she bowed her head and replied You. He asked her who she worked for, to which she replied the same. He asked her to explain what she had done and now a drip fed apology. To his satisfaction she apologised for using his resources without his permission and for delaying the assignment.

He waddled over to her chair and with surprising strength, turned Lily and the chair around to face the window. He told her to observe. Outside, there were figures falling, women in fact, all falling to their doom. There wasn't a stampede, nor were many people paying attention. Out of the crowds of shoppers, or those that sought entertainment or shelter, there were women hurling themselves down to the depths of the city. One or two were being activly being chucked down by men, who seemed to unblock the path they were on.  The man turned to Lily and told her this event was expected and that the plan called 'The Harvest' was to be initiated. He gave no further explanation before asking if she could 'handle' the task. She nodded and the man slapped her on her back jovially, his belly wobbling with his laughter. She had taken the full brunt and fel to her knees. Smiling, he told her to wait a few moments as he disappeared behind a dividing screen that kept a locked cabinet away from view. He brought out a tulip, the colours of its petals reacting to the touch of the man. He stopped admiring the colours it produced and mentioned he believed this was the plant Melvile has on him. He passed her a wooden box and mentioned that he presumed she knew how to work it. To Lily, the man may have had some brute strength,  but he lacked her finesse and her intelligence and graciously accepted the box, in hopes to escape as quickly as possible. The man turned to the windows, making sure they were shut, mentioning how he couldn't wait to get out of the attire he had on before passing into the hallway and locking and bolting the door from the outside.

Lily could feel the back of the box was smooth, and possibly parchment. She unattached it from the back and read it to herself after making sure the man had gone. It was nice to meet in person finally, Love from Uncle Silas. She was a little bemused, was the man she met Silas? Why did he put 'love'? His attitude and behaviour  in Lily's opinion was nothing to be feared and most likely just a messenger for him. The other side of the note, which backed against the box simply stated. Betray me and you will never make it out of the city alive.