Chapter IV.XLIX (4.49) - The House

  “You’re sure this is the right way?” Kizu asked Evie as they wandered through the wet streets of Port Kallis. “I’m pretty sure we’ve already passed this bakery before. And the stairs over there look familiar as well.”

  “I think so…” Evie trailed off, sounding uncertain. She stared down at the paper map in her hands, now moist from the drizzle of rain overhead. The porcupine girl had a hood over her head, but little quills still pierced the fabric.

  “Mort, mind scouting the area for us?” Kizu asked his familiar.

  Mort needed no further prompting. The monkey leaped from Kizu’s shoulder and scampered up one of the buildings.

  “While he looks around, how about we review the assignment one more time,” Kizu suggested.

  They stepped off to the side and sat down on an alleyway’s stairs. This area of Port Kallis was sparsely occupied, at least at this time of day. A few well dressed pedestrians glanced in their direction, but nobody stopped to question them. Kizu’s blue academy uniform might not be as expensive as their own clothing, but it did at least signal that the two of them weren’t hooligans.

  “I never came to this part of town before,” Evie said quietly.

  “You lived in Port Kallis?” Kizu asked.

  “Yes. Before the academy.”

  “What did you do for fun in town?”

  “Mostly read books in the library. It’s open to the public.”

  Kizu wanted to ask how Evie afforded the academy’s tuition, but decided against it. If he had to guess, he’d assume that maybe Roba helped her in the same way that the headmaster helped Basil. The old lady clearly saw a lot of potential in Evie’s natural gifts.

  “How does it compare to the academy library?” Kizu asked.

  “More storybooks and information about Tross history. But the academy has a wider selection on every other topic. Also more…magical books.”

  “How accessible is learning magic to the average person in Tross?” Kizu asked.

  “Um. A bit. Some are self taught.”

  “Are there self taught shamans?”

  “No.” Evie fidgeted. “They usually die.”

  “From their magic?”

  “Sometimes…”

  Kizu filled in the rest mentally. He’d seen how her tribe acted back in the tundra. They wanted to hoard Evie’s unique abilities for themselves. It didn’t take too much of a leap in logic to see them sending assassins or deploying other means in which to silence those who threatened to bring their secret magic to the public. It was a startling revelation.

  An image pierced its way into Kizu’s mind. Mort perched on a nearby rooftop, looking down at a building with boarded up windows. It matched the description of the quest notice.

  “Come on,” Kizu said, getting to his feet. “Mort’s found the place.”

  Evie silently followed him. While they walked, Kizu took stock of his current equipment.

  He wore his academy uniform, enchanted to help keep him comfortable despite the weather. He wore a ring on each hand. One that stored his potions and one that activated his ice sword. His potion ring was decently well stocked with healing, utility, and offensive potions. He even brought some soul damaging potions just in case the building turned out to be haunted. And, finally, Sojan hung from his belt, tucked into a sheath Ione had gifted him.

  They’d reviewed one another’s abilities in previous Combat F classes and Kizu felt confident they could handle any surprises ahead of them. Evie had failed her initial combat test and never ranked up using the competitions on the weekends. So her current combat rank remained low, but Kizu was fairly certain that she could change that if she wanted to. After sparring with her, he knew she could keep up in a hand to hand fight and she knew how to summon a few different creatures. It turned out that the muscle memory combined with her ancestors' memories could assist her in summoning monsters she’d personally never studied or even seen before. Evie wasn’t a natural summoning genius like Ione, but she could still create a few unique creatures.

  “It looks abandoned,” Evie said, staring up at their destination. Unlike the other lavish homes lining the street, this derelict building sagged, the structural integrity dubious at best.

  “Well, technically it is abandoned,” Kizu pointed out. Mort hopped down from a tree onto Kizu’s head while they approached the front door. “And I suppose it makes sense now why the person who put up the quest notice didn’t require any time restraints if it already looks like this. Do you still have the key Arclight gave us?”

  Evie pulled it out of a pocket, her gloved hand shaking as she slid it into the keyhole.

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  Kizu held his breath as the door slowly swung inward, revealing a dark hallway.

  They looked at one another, nodded, and stepped inside.

  The door slammed closed behind Kizu.

  “Okay. I’m sure that was just a convenience enchantment,” Kizu said. “According to the request details, the workshop is down in the basement. We should just head down below, uncover what’s causing the noises, and head out.”

  “Yes,” Evie said, barely verbal.

  “I suppose we should go down this hallway and open the doors to find stairs down.”

  “Yes,” she replied, somehow even quieter this time.

  Kizu took a few steps forward, the wooden floor squeaking under his weight. He tried the doorknob.

  “It’s locked. Maybe one of the keys—”

  “Ahhhh!”

  At the sound of the scream, Kizu pivoted, his monster leg spinning him around at a superhuman speed. Behind him, Evie had attempted to open a different door. I figure now grappled her, having leapt from within.

  Mort threw himself forward at the figure grappling Evie, grabbing its ears and Kizu channeled through his familiar, lighting Mort ablaze with flames.

  Evie shoved off her opponent and it fell off of her, flopping to the ground with a flaming Mort clinging to its face.

  It remained on the floor, motionless. Its face melted from its structure on either side where Mort gripped it. Only a bulbous nose remained, the material bloating under the heat.

  “Is it…a dummy?” Kizu asked after a few seconds of examination. Mort’s fire winked out at the observation.

  “Oh…” Evie turned bright red. “I-I…well…maybe?”

  Kizu laughed, letting the tension leave him. Just some weird large doll. Not anything truly dangerous. Mort climbed off the dummy. A good bit of its face had morphed around the monkey’s paws. Mort flexed and flicked his fingers in an attempt to free himself from the melted mess.

  “It looks like it’s made of wax?” Kizu said, kneeling down beside it. He looked over at the closet it had fallen out of. “But…why was it in there?”

  Evie stammered something undecipherable, clearly still flustered.

  Kizu lifted the dummy’s arm then let it flop back to the floor. Weird hobby.

  “Well, let’s stay on our guard. Something is in here making noises. And I doubt it will be as harmless as a wax dummy.”

  Evie nodded and they returned to their task of checking each of the doors in the hallway leading up to the sitting room.

  Creeeeeak.

  The sound of a footstep on the floorboards came from behind. Evie was right in front of him. Kizu slowly turned his head to look behind him.

  Nothing.

  He flashed his spellsense, taking a quick look around. As he expected, he spotted spellcraft laced into the house. The noise had likely just been an older enchantment not functioning properly and placing stress on the building. Absolutely nothing to be concerned by.

  “You know, that scream earlier was the loudest I’ve ever heard you.” Kizu chuckled. “I didn’t realize your voice went to that volume.”

  Evie tittered nervously.

  Mort climbed up to reclaim his perch on Kizu’s shoulder once again.

  After checking the doors in the entrance hallway, they entered the house’s sitting room. Light spilled into the room from behind curtains that hid large windows. Someone had covered the majority of the furniture with large white sheets, enchanted to keep the objects beneath clean. Kizu spotted a piano in the room’s corner. For a crazy moment, he considered playing something to help elevate the stressful atmosphere. But he chased away the silly thought. They just needed to find the house’s squatter and give them the boot.

  Still, out of curiosity, Kizu lifted one of the sheets off of the couch to see the furniture beneath.

  Rather than cushions, the couch had a dozen different dolls. An assortment of different styles. Some cloth ragdolls with button eyes and permanent smiles stitched on their faces, some wooden dolls with wooden hinges at the joints, and still others appeared to be created out of a weird clay. All wore clothes. Immaculately well dressed in different fashion styles from across the known world. Kizu could only imagine Basil’s excitement at the sight. As for himself…well, Kizu realized maybe the sheets were in place for more than just keeping the furniture clean. He replaced the cloth over them and shuddered.

  “Do you…want a glass?” Evie asked. She stood off to the room’s side, looking over the bar. She held up a wine glass.

  Kizu laughed, louder than the statement justified. “Thanks, but we’re on the job right now.”

  Crossing the room, Kizu pulled open another door and revealed a stairway leading down. There was a flutter of lights as the door opening triggered an enchantment. In a flash of illumination, a silhouette stood at the bottom of the stairs, but then it disappeared when the light stabilized. Long gashes marred either side of the stairway. Like someone had taken a kitchen knife to the walls.

  “Found it,” Kizu called over to Evie. “Let’s head down.”

  He reached into his ring and pulled out a soul disruption potion. After hours of listening to Aoi ramble about undead, Kizu felt like he had a decent idea of what he faced. This seemed like a poltergeist's work. It should be harmless with only the capacity to throw objects at worst.

  They descended the steps. The light gems overhead spluttered out. A moaning noise echoed up from below. Behind him, Evie froze.

  “I–I don’t like this. I can’t see.”

  Kizu created an orb of light, illuminating them. “It’s fi—”

  His word cut off as something had returned to the bottom of the stairs. It was humanoid, but with a body twisted in unnatural angles. The figure swelled and deflated, like exaggerated breathing. Then with a crack of its limbs it fell off to the side, out of sight.

  Kizu reached to his belt and unsheathed Sojan. The knife cold in his grip. The soul potion in the other. One weapon for the incorporeal threats, one for the physical.

  “We aren’t defenseless,” he reminded Evie.

  He strode forward, and passed over the threshold into the basement.

  As he entered the room he realized he couldn’t hear Evie’s footprints following him. He turned around to reassure her everything was safe.

  Only shadows remained where Evie once stood. The door at the top of the stairs had silently closed behind them. His illusionary light flickered. Another moan echoed all around him, louder.

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