The room above was filled with more of the same coding. This
time however more of the equation was encrypted, with highlighted segments on chalkboards
around the room. There was also a map of the steadfast, with twine linked pins
on varying locations. The notes beside, detailed the last movements of a
nomadic family, Morianna. Self exiled, their contact was described as brief
with society, if at all. The tracking denoted that although they had left the
steadfast a few times, they were mainly seen in their own holdings, The Stylidium Expanse. There were no details
as to why they had left their home. Every family member had departed the seat
of their House's power at the same time, leaving a non blood relative in
charge. The tracking marks had notes from as far back as
thirty years or more. Besides this was a
book written by Mitra Morianna, a small selection of essays written on the
translation of the code Xera had seen everywhere. Somehow the creature, the
poison and this family were all tied together but again this was not the information
he needed. There had to be something to help them. This was the top floor,
nothing but roof beams and slate above. With two tables, a chalkboard and a
seven foot high vase and flowers.
Valma squealed. The men from downstairs were most likely
coming up. Eryn again couldn't risk using his fire in here so he had to use his
last resort. He told Valma that their secret he was telling her involved the Nycthemeron
and they were going to find where it was hiding. He told it, that this was
their secret and a new game for them to play. If anyone mentioned what he had
told it, they lost the game. Valma enquired as to if they were to permanently
loose, to which he bowed his head and agreed. Xera shook his hands violently in
frustration, realising nothing could be said here on about their situation. Chloe
pointed downwards to the floors below to Valma. As it descended the staircase,
the men below complemented the cook on the bread he had been baking, forgetting
they did not have one employed. A few moments passed before the screaming
began. Chloe quickly followed when it had stopped and grabbed their money. When
Valma reached the top she shrieked triumphantly that they had lost and Eryn
told it that the game was over, to which Valma in confusion and disappointment,
shut down. He quickly attached it to his belt before casting a suspicious eye
over every little detail in the room.
The one item in the room that was questionable in the end
was the vase. Although there was nothing discernible about why it was out of
place, the height of it intimidated Eryn. He was taller than nearly everyone he
had ever met and yet this was taller than him. He reached above the top and grabbed
onto the stem of a similar proportioned flower stem. It took two hands to pull
it down but with it tipped the vase. It smashed onto the floor, the force of it
vibrated the building. Xera collapsed to his knees, holding his head in frustration.
That was the final nail in their
collective coffin, they were never going to get out in his eyes. The base of
the vase had cracked open, revealing a cage around a shining orb around which
the roots of the flowers had become entangled. Eryn discretely pulled the fire
from his halo to try to melt the cage. The metal was surprisingly yielding
under the heat. The soil below filled the room with sizzled peat and dead
leaves as the molten metal dripped onto it.
With the cage removed the group all received a message via
the wooden box. The request to connect was on all three. The plant however had no recognisable flower
to the connection. In fact the notes detailed this was more of plant that was a
stem made up of flowers. The details left something to be desired as more of
the information about the flower was encrypted in the same coded language used
for the equations. Valma, disliking the silence the searching had produced,
perked up again and was ready to yell when it stopped suddenly. Out shot two
twine lengths and ceramic needles from its panel, that lodged themselves into a
stem further down than the group had initially thought possible. The creature
berated the group for not being quicker, if they were going to play another
game. Eryn was now slowly weighing up the consequences of what he was telling
Valma while all three of them connected. The room faded into shapes, into grey
and then into nothing.
The room they were transported to was in a bloodied disarray.
Research notes were splattered with red ink, the floor decorated with crimson
jewels. It was far larger than the tower they were previously in, and from
their voices; Eryn could make out that the space was large enough for an echo.
Inlaid into the cobbled floor were four cages, one with a gnawed skeleton. Xera
peered into one of the four locked corner rooms, the one directly to his right on
the opposite side. His pick broke once or twice but the door opened eventually.
There were body parts in jars, with the recognisable metallic bone and webbing
in the flesh. There were also puncture marks on the skin and charts with illegibly
scrawled information. The room closest to the flower they had arrived from was next on his list. Eryn all the while was
trying to convince Valma to stay as quiet as possible to much rebuke, while
Chloe ventured down into the room below.
There was a stench coming through the keyhole of this door which
put Xera off slightly. Perhaps, he thought to himself, that whatever was being
used as specimens had either broken free from its confinement or its container
had smashed. The room was pitch black and so Eryn passed him a hastily crafted
torch. Xera wafted the light in the dark, trying to gauge the size of it and
any obstructions. The fire was reflected in some of the jars along with the
glint of metal but there was also the hint of eyes looking back at him. He
moved his torch over to where the smell was coming from. Laying slumped in a
heap was Lily. She was paler than she had ever been. Her blood had all been
drained from a slit in her throat and had soaked into her clothes. As Xera's
eyes met Lily' lifeless ones s a terrifying scream from Chloe echoed around the stone chamber from
below.
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