The following is an excerpt from the poorly crafted journal of "V". These salvaged-poster pages boast of a peculiar smell, and are marked in places with colored ink. At the bottom of the entry is a five-pointed star in charred stick.I can't say I liked her plan, and I especially didn't like seeking out Mr Frog. Even so, the next morning at sunrise I left my little alleyway, walked to her door... and waited. After a while, I grew tired of standing and sat down against the wall... and then I waited some more. I was there for well over an hour, actually, and was beginning to get a little annoyed before a sleepy-eyed Talvi finally stumbled out... on her way to breakfast, I'm guessing. Her gaze fell on me briefly, and she looked at me blankly for a moment before saying, "Oh, hi there," and continuing on her way.
I was beyond words with incredulity that she'd forgotten our plans, but thankfully, only moments later, she remembered. She did an about face and came back to me. "V!" she said. "You came!"
As much as I tried not to, I couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, I did! I said I would. I'm just glad you remembered."
"Well, now..." she said, scratching the back of her head clumsily, "I almost di'n't remember, you, sweetheart... don't know why, tho'... Anyhow, let's get our stuff an' get over t' his place - how's that sound?"
We got the bundle of items, which I carried, and left her room. Right outside the door, though, was someone I hadn't seen before - a battle-hardened soldier with an overwhelmed expression. Talvi stopped to talk to him, and I crouched close to the wall, hoping I wouldn't look suspicious holding an axe and other atypical items. Fortunately, he only glanced at me once, noting the condition of my clothing before averting his eyes uncomfortably. I blushed at his glance. He was terribly handsome, with that storybook chiseled jaw and everything... He was well-mannered, too, which is rare for a soldier, saying "have a nice day" when they were finished talking. He's the kind of dwarf any girl would dream of... I'd write his name here if I only knew it, but I'm sad to say I've never seen him since... Maybe I'll draw a picture of him someday when I have better parchment and paint...
Anyway, Talvi appeared quite taken with him.
I didn't catch what was said, but eventually she sent him on his way, up towards where Splint and Mitchewawa were. Mitchewawa is our current overseer.
Talvi led me down the hallways, keeping to the shadows and pausing when necessary like any expert skulker. Not a soul noticed us on our way. She was taught by the best, or so I'm told: an odd dwarf I could never find. He was dressed and mannered as well as any ordinary citizen, she said, while all but invisible to others. I can't recall his name, though I think it started with a T... But it doesn't matter. I'll remember it later.
After a time, we reached Mr Frog's door and slipped inside.
I'd never been in his room before, and I was a little awed by all I saw: sketches papered to the walls, jugs of liquid boiling without sitting on a fire, metal rods shooting tiny bits of lightning, and ominous-looking machinery. There were several socks hung up on rods, filled with some kind of a liquid, as well as a strange hoop held up in one place that made the air on the other side look shimmery. After being in there twice, I'm almost sure that the room was bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. It was practically a wonderland to a curious mind, but I doubt I would ever know what all of it did even if I spent my life studying everything. It was sad, in a way - I suspected her plan was to destroy everything Mr Frog had.
To my surprise, Talvi ignored it and went sniffing around on the floor. I asked in a whisper, "Are you looking for the vent shaft entrance?"
She shook her head. "We'd never find it, iffn we did try. He's too good with smells, he is. I'm hopin' we might mebbe do somethin' else, maybe get Joseph back."
"Are we going to destroy everything?"
She looked at me like I was insane, and I didn't fail to catch the irony. "You crazy?" she asked. "If we makes Mr Frog mad, he'll try t' kill you! Y'know that, I hope."
"Preferably, if at all possible, I would rather remain alive, if it's all the same to you. I have an odd attachment to... not dying," I said, kind of flailing about verbally.
She nodded distractedly, and I wasn't sure she'd heard a word I'd said. Suddenly she stopped and stood, pointing at a large smoked glass on a low tabletop, filled with a murky, slimy liquid. "There," she said, as if that explained everything.
It was hidden behind a number of other pieces of oddly-shaped glass, and was so dusty I could only imagine that Mr Frog had forgotten about it. I approached it and cautiously peeked over the rim. Sitting at the bottom was a small tooth. I looked back at my friend quizzically. "What is that...?"
"It's a cavy tooth!" she said. "We needa get it back so I kin take it home."
"How?"
She pondered for a moment. "We gotta reach inside."
I nodded. It was the logical conclusion, unless you wanted to dump it out on the floor. I waited patiently for Talvi to finish.
A few minutes later, Talvi was still standing there, looking at me. "Aren't you going to get it?" I asked.
"Cain't, it's cavy poison. My hand'd shrivel up like a singing walnut! You ain't a cavy, tho'... 'T'won't hurt you none. Jes' reach on in ther', pull it out! Be careful, tho'."
I didn't believe there was such a thing as "cavy poison", and I really didn't want to stick my hand in whatever liquid was in there, but I didn't feel as if I could back out, now that we were actually in Mr Frog's room. With a sigh, I handed Talvi the axe, rope and shovel. After removing my bracelet, I put my hand into the glass, pulling out the tooth a bit overdramatically and handing it to her. "There you go," I said, taking the bundle back.
She acted as if it was the most precious thing in the world, and a tear of joy ran down her cheek. "Thankee so much, V," she said, wiping the tear away with her sleeve.
I nodded dismissively. "Why are we here?" I asked. I was kind of on edge - I didn't want to be here when Mr Frog got back. Talvi might be able to get away with it. I knew I wouldn't be able to. I'd be the next guinea pig.
But Talvi didn't respond. She was sniffing again.
Ten or so minutes later, she stopped.. right next to Mr Frog's bed. She looked at me, with her eyes wide. "Here," she said. "It's here."
Together we managed to pull the bed away from the wall, and a small flutter of paperwork fell down from where it had been wedged. Talvi hastened to pick it up, and to my horror, she ate one of the pages. I snatched them away from her. "No!" I said. "We can't do that, it'll make him mad!"
She merely chewed the page with the unconcerned, blank stare of a cow, which she resembled, to an extent. I looked the sheets of paper over and realized they were pages of a journal: Mr Frog's journal. "Talvi, this is his journal, you can't eat this!" I scolded.
"I have before."
"Well, I'm here now," I said, putting the little stack on the bed, away from her. "And I'd rather not die, remember?"
"Right..." she said ponderingly. "'Kay, then, lets get this floor up'n moved. Gimme that shovel there, hmm?"
Confused, I handed it to her, watching to see what she would do.
She set it against the rock floor and pressed, sliding it forwards. A hidden panel lifted upwards against the shovel as she slid it, and she pressed down, levering it upwards. "V, we's gotta get this slab up!"
It looked like stone, sounded like metal, but was as light as wood. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. With a bit of effort we moved it to the side, and Talvi gasped.
We'd uncovered some sort of a grave... but inside weren't humanoid skeletons, but skeletons of cavies. There were at least two dozen. Talvi fell to her knees, covering her mouth and choking back a cry. "Oh, my sweet little babies..."
She began to sob. Sitting down, I put my arm around her to let her know I cared.
"Georgie Boy... and Petunia... and oh, sweet Elana..." she cried, rocking back and forth in her distress. "They's all here. This's where they's all gone off to..." I caught my breath at the name of the third, wondering why she would give something an elvish name, but soon forgot. She named off the rest of them, one by one. I'm not sure how she could tell which name belonged to which, as all that was left were bones. It might've been impressive if it hadn't been so morbid.
We sat there for a while, before I gently reminded her we needed to go before Mr Frog got back. "Kin we take 'em home with us, V? Please?" she asked innocently, with hope in her eyes.
I hated to, but I shook my head. "No, Mr Frog would know we've been here."
She nodded and said goodbye to the skeletons, blowing them a kiss. We put everything back the way it had been as best as we could before leaving, and after helping Talvi fix the door and lock it, I walked with her to her room.
She wasn't the same on the way back. She looked, literally, as if she was plotting murder. Maybe she was. She told me that she'd come for me when she needed me again, and that she needed some time alone.
I went back to my little temporary home in the alley next to the hospital and huddled up under my little threadbare patchwork quilt. The alleyway was usually horribly cold, but most other skulkers avoided it, as it was so close to the corrupt doctors. I was alone. It was how I preferred things.
It wasn't until later that night that I realized with horror that my bracelet was missing. I'd left it in Mr Frog's room... and he was sure to see it if I didn't get it back.
☆
Poll
55 (71.4%)
Author
Topic: [34.11] Spearbreakers - It shudders and begins to move (Read 2279997 times)