FHC B3 Chapter 53: Cluttered Room

Alice removed her hand from the wall and her arm dropped to her side. I joined her in taking in the room, the torches providing an eerie shadow that danced against the stone.

It was a spacious room, one covered with various items and trinkets. Every corner hosted its own statue, each adorned with what looked like suits of armor or outfits made of fur and leather.

The lights battled against the hanging trophies bolted to the wall, filling the space with what little warmth it could provide.

But there was something more. It was a faint feeling of recognition, but not one strong enough for me to point it out with confidence.

“Where are we?” I asked.

Alice approached the center slowly. She moved past the piles of fur to her right and stopped as she neared what looked to be a couch–one half covered in books.

She picked up the nearest one and cracked it open. I half expected dust to come tumbling out, but the book was surprisingly clean with bright cream pages.

“This is Eli’s room. His secret base in the Warren for when he was not on a hunt.”

I inhaled, taking in the various smells that permeated the space. It was familiar, the annoying feeling in the back of my head continued to agree that something about the scent stirred a memory in my head.

But it wasn’t clicking.

Maybe I don’t have enough intelligence. I can’t remember what Elias smelled like, just the forest and the blood.

“I’m not sure what I expected–especially since I barely knew him–but I figured he’d be tidier? Neater? This gives the armory a run for its money.”

Alice smiled and set the book down. “He used to be. As kids, he’d always keep the house clean. Spotless.”

“This before the ghouls?”

“Yes,” she admitted. “After that, he tried to hide how it affected him. But he had a tendency to hoard things. I think he was afraid of losing everything again.”

I took in the room with a new perspective. The piles and piles of books were hazardously stacked, but every one was clean with not so much of a spec of dust to be seen on the leather coverings. The mounted trophies were just as spotless and the metal shined even in the dim light.

One of the nearby mounted items was something wrapped in what looked like blue velvet. Its shape was elongated and thick but the neck of a wooden instrument stuck out.

“Do you know the stories for all this stuff?”

“No. Some he wouldn’t tell me. He said the hunts were too dangerous and was afraid I’d find inspiration.”

“And did you?” I teased.

“Of course.”

Alice unwrapped the velvet and revealed a finely crafted fiddle. It was unmarred and polished save for the broken strings curled around the neck.

“This was one of his early hunts. A monster who hid in the guise of a human man. Slaughtered the wildlife and bewitched a town with its music. Devon was on that hunt, he kept mumbling something about the forest getting its revenge.”

“Is it safe to touch?”

As far as I could tell there was no mana emanating from the broken instrument.

“Yes. Once they broke the strings the magic fled and they slayed the creature. I think they tried to spare me the details but Eli wasn’t happy for a long time. Knowing what I know now, he most likely had to cull some of the villagers during the fight.”

“Is every item in here like this? Relics from a hunt? Some of this stuff looks like it belongs in the Archives or the armory.”

I pointed to the stand featuring a full set of heavy metal armor along with an arm-length sword in its sheath.

Again, there was no mana as far as I could tell, but the armor looked pristine with finely carved patterns along its front.

Alice shook her head. “Not everything but most. He wanted to remember their stories, and keep things ready. For what I don’t know.”

For a time, Alice moved around the front half of the room, weaving through the stacks of books and occasionally stopping to inspect an item. I stuck to her shadow, giving her space but remaining nearby.

Eventually she sighed and returned to the couch near the center and pushed a pile of knickknacks to the side. Hesitantly, I sat down and watched her massage her temples.

She stopped and glared into the darkness beyond the torchlight.

“I know its here, but I can’t find it.”

“Is there something for the funeral?”

She nodded. “A memory to burn. There’s hundreds to choose from, but only one I know is right.”

“Want me to summon Freki? Three noses are better than one.”

“Maybe,” she admitted.

“We have a few hours right?”

“Yes.”

I stood up and offered a hand. “Then let’s get looking. We can relax after or spar. Up to you, but let’s get this checked off and worry about something else.”

Alice looked up and I smiled. Her features softened and she took the help and stood up.

“I’ll take the right, you take the left. Need to find a shirt.”

“A shirt?” I scanned the room. “That’s strangely mundane.”

“It has a good story.”

“Tell me after we find it?”

She nodded and stepped away from the couch. As she maneuvered around a stack of books, her cloak got caught on a hidden tusk jutting between a pile of scrolls. She tugged but her foot smashed into a stack and before she could stop its collapse, the pile spilled forth and clattered against the floor.

I winced and watched a book bounce off a metal disc and roll toward a chair.

“Bound to happen,” I offered.

The book came to a stop and slammed against the chair’s leg, the book splitting open to reveal golden ink on black pages.

I chuckled and walked over to pick the book up and admire its contents but as Idid, I noticed a leather boot half-covered by the blanket over the chair.

Looks attached. Please don’t be a creepy mannequin.

Slowly, I reached for the cover. As I grabbed the silk, I stopped.

The boot twitched. I jumped back and slid my axe free.

“Alice? Did Elias have a golem or something?”

“No,” she growled.