(Continued from The Case of the Three Torches- Part 2)
The “Great Fruit Cart Fire” attracted a large gathering to the market square; most whispered among themselves as they tried to reason out what had caused the fire, some stared in disbelief, and one woman was describing what had happened, a bit too enthusiastically, to one of the guards that was there to question the crowd. The other merchants were still working to console a distraught Marron when Second-Watcher Heathstraw arrived at the charred stall; he ordered everyone to go about their business and then led the greengrocer away to make an official report. Thus, the market began to return to normal again despite the fruit cart that was still smoking in the corner of the square.
“I suppose that we should leave as well,” Addie stated. “If those other women noticed Leon, they might make the connection and report back to their superiors.” Her crystal blue eyes scanned over the dispersing crowd for the two women that Leon had pointed out earlier, but they were gone.
“What other women?” Ryn questioned.
“Not only was that merchant affiliated with the Unsealed, Ryn,” Addie answered, “but before the cart went up in flames, there were two other women in the market square that were acolytes as well.”
“There were more than that…”
Addie quickly interrupted Leon before he could start pointing at people again. “Aye, it is most concerning, Mister Leon.”
Leon shrugged as he held out the apple that Addie had entrusted to him- it was now scorched just like the rest at Marron’s cart. "I will keep an eye on our merchant friend; perhaps under stress we may learn something.”
Ryn blinked a few times when she saw the blackened apple, finally making the connection between the old man and the magical fire. “M-Maybe I shouldn’t have left the house after all,” she grumbled to herself.
Addie sighed as she reached into her satchel to bring out another cloth to cover the apple. “Discretion, Mister Leon…” Her gaze then landed on his robes. “Speaking of… Now that we know the Unsealed are present, we should perhaps purchase you some clothes to help you blend in better.”
Leon glanced down. "If you think it appropriate...you have far more experience with the greenswathers than I, Addiela.”
“I could help with that,” Elsa volunteered. “I don’t mind clothes shopping and I even have a pair of pants that might fit him.”
Addie nodded. “Very well; Miss Elsa will shop for an outfit, Mister Leon will keep an eye on the merchant, and… Where do you plan on going, Ryn? Would you like for me to accompany you back to the house?”
The red-headed woman shook her head. “I-I was actually thinking about paying another visit to the Archives. You can join me if you want.”
Addie raised her brow in question, but decided that it would be best to save any questions that she had for the walk to the Archives. “Very well, I shall accompany you there.” She then bobbed her head toward the other two. “Have a pleasant day, Miss Elsa… Mister Leon.”
As they all turned to go their separate ways, Addie reached her hand out to catch Elsa by the sleeve; her eyes pointedly glanced toward Phineon’s office building and she whispered, “We shall meet there at midnight to continue our task.” Elsa nodded once and then the two turned from each other to leave.
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Later that night, Elsa stealthily made her way to the market square. The area was much different during this time of day; it was quiet and mostly deserted now. She could see the soft glow of candlelight in a few of the office building windows and the torch of a watchman going about his rounds, but everything else appeared to be still. Once the guard had passed, she quickly darted from one shadow to the next as she made her way across the square and to Phineon’s building.
Addie was already there, waiting for her to arrive. The blonde woman was wearing dark clothing and a hood to cover her shimmering tresses; and she had concealed her slight frame by keeping her body flush against the brick wall of the building and in the shadows of the roof. Addie didn’t speak for fear of being heard by those inside; instead, she motioned her head toward the front door to see if Elsa was ready.
Elsa nodded and the two of them quietly slipped into the building. The layout was simple; there were three floors total and each one housed a dimly lit central foyer with three doors that led to individual office spaces- one on the east, one on the north, and one on the south. Both women had already observed from the outside that there were a few late workers in the building, and since there were no numbers on the doors, the task of finding Phineon’s office was going to be a difficult one.
Still not wanting to speak, Addie brought two fingers up to her eyes to signal for Elsa to keep watch. After nodding, Elsa positioned herself near one of the windows so that she could keep her eyes peeled for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Occasionally she glanced around the room, but her main focus was on the street for now.
While Elsa stood guard, Addie used the key that Lyra had given them to try the doors. She had no luck with the locks on the first or second floors, nor did the key work with the first two doors she tried on the third floor. "Of course it would be the last one..." she muttered to herself as she walked toward the final door, but when she went to insert the key, she noticed that someone had already jimmied the lock and had taken great care to make sure that the door appeared to be undisturbed.
Concerned that someone might still be inside, Addie gently placed her ear against the door; the sound that came from within didn’t quite seem human, but it definitely sounded like snoring. Her eyes widened and she held her breath as she slowly stepped back from the door. She knew that she couldn’t go in there alone and so, she quietly retreated back down the stairs.
After pantomiming to Elsa what she had discovered, Addie led her up the stairs to Phineon’s office. Elsa’s hand rested on the hilt of her sword as she stepped up to the door and turned her head to press her right ear against it. She, too, heard a low, rhythmic breathing coming from inside the room. Elsa looked to Addie, put a hand on her chest and took in deep breaths to indicate that she also heard the sound.
Addie nodded, but she wasn’t equipped for a fight; she shrugged her shoulders and gave Elsa a questioning look to see what she wished to do about this situation. Elsa patted her sword to reassure Addie and then slowly turned the knob to try to open the door just a crack so that she could see inside. The already damaged door dragged on the floor and made a horrible scraping sound that caused both of them to instantly freeze.
Whatever was on the other side now stirred; there was a sudden burst of motion, the sound of an object moving, and a whimper. Addie’s brow furrowed as she recognized the source of the whimper. “A dog… a scared dog,” she whispered to Elsa- something that was soon confirmed as the scent of dog urine wafted out through the crack of the door.
Elsa peeked inside and nodded. “I can see a dog, and it looks to be injured… The place has also been-” Before Elsa could finish her words, concern for the dog motivated Addie to open the door rush in. Elsa sighed, placed her hand on the hilt of her sword again, and followed behind. The room had been ransacked- the desk was overturned, chairs were tossed about, papers and books were strewn everywhere, there was blood on the floor- and curled up in a corner was the whimpering hound. Elsa stood back and scanned the room while Addie checked on the dog.
“It’s ok, girl, you’re safe now.” Addie softly whispered. Sensing a calming aura coming from this human, the terrified hound’s tail softly thumped against the floor. After some coaxing, it slowly approached Addie and placed its head in her lap. The woman frowned as her keen eyes looked the dog over to assess the extent of its injuries. It appeared to have been struck by something or someone; one side of its head was covered in dried blood from a shallow gash and the area around the the open wound was swollen in the shape of a circle.
“Something is odd about this swelling, Miss Elsa…”
Elsa stayed close to Addie, ready to draw her sword in a moment’s notice. “'It is clear that we’re not the first to search here, Addie. Whoever got here before us was either very frustrated, or very unprofessional.”
“And a monster…” Addie added on as she carefully parted the dog’s hair to closer inspect the swelling. “Who would strike such an innocent creature?” Her eyes widened as she saw the imprint in the reddened flesh; inside the swollen circle was a design of a circle with three lines inside, likely a mark made by a signet ring. “The Unsealed, Miss Elsa… Someone from the Unsealed was here.”
Elsa leaned in to look. “How can you tell that from a wound?”
“Do you see this mark; the circle with the three lines? That is their symbol. You were correct about the person being unprofessional… Whoever hit this dog left their calling card.”
Elsa frowned. “Hopefully they did not find what they were looking for.”
Satisfied that the hound would be well, Addie finally focused on the room and shook her head. “My guess is that they did not, Miss Elsa; Mister Phineon likely had some kind of secret vault. I would question the Doves judgement in their assets if he were the type to simply keep those kinds of documents in a desk drawer or strongbox.” She gently stroked the dog one more time. “You stay here for now and I'll tend to your wounds once we have finished our business." The dog seemed to understand Addie’s words and curled up to rest.
Elsa nodded and began to move around the room. "It’s going to make looking for things slower in this mess." She occasionally tapped different parts of the floor boards, looking for a board that sounded hollower than the others.
While Elsa tried the floor, Addie looked toward the paintings on the wall to see if they had been disturbed. There were four total, all on the same wall, and each had a silver plate beneath the frame with the title of the piece. The first was a green and pleasant landscape called Eriador Morning. The second was a painting of the hills around Bree entitled Breeland Home. Next to it was a monochromatic painting of a castle on an island surrounded by a stormy sea named Númenor. And the final painting was an au naturel portrait of an elf queen entitled Lady of Light- Addie quickly turned her eyes away from that one.
She tried to move the paintings- even the fourth one, which she did with eyes closed- but none of them would budge. “Odd… These paintings do not look to have much value; I wonder why he would secure them to the wall in such a way.”
Hearing Addie’s musings, Elsa looked over and admired the portrait for a moment. “I don’t know, Addie… I wouldn’t mind having that one in my home.”
Addie shook her head and continued the search. “We should probably check the bookshelves, Miss Elsa; I have seen a whole room hidden behind one before.” Elsa raised an eyebrow, but didn’t question it.
The four bookcases lined the wall adjacent to the paintings and some of them had been partially emptied, their books scattered about on the floor. Nothing appeared to be unusual about them at first and there were no scratch marks on the floor to indicate frequent moving. Most of the books that were still on the shelves appeared to be old recordkeeping tomes; they were worn and their covers were either a muted brown or green.
As Elsa ran her finger along the edges of the bookcases to look for a hidden switch, Addie noticed that there were seven books on the last bookshelf that looked very different from the others. They all appeared to be rather new and a bit fancy due to their red leather bindings; three of them were together and the other four were scattered around randomly. Her need to organize things in a logical way took over and she started to pull all of them from the shelf so that she could group them together.
The first few easily slid off the shelf, but when she reached for the third, it wouldn’t budge. “Defiance at Dawn; what a fitting name for a book that won’t move…. Miss Elsa, come look at this; it seems to be nailed down.”
Elsa walked over and tried to pull the book, but it wouldn’t move for her either. “I don't see any switches or buttons, Addie… Wait!” Elsa stuck her head all the way into the bookcase and carefully peered at its back wall. “I… think there are holes.”
Addie inspected the other red books to see if they showed any signs of once being nailed down, but they didn’t. However, when she ran her hand along the spine, she noticed something that felt like metal. She gently pushed on the spot and a small silver rod emerged out from the bottom edge of the back cover. She did this with the other books and each contained a rod.
“How will we know which goes where?” Elsa questioned. “Trial and Error?”
Addie flipped the books back over and read their titles aloud. “Faithful Friends… Beyond the Sea… An Ancient Riddle… Gone but Not Forgotten… Elves and Men… Catastrophes in History…” While she read the titles, her mind worked to remember all the lore she had studied. "Eärendil and Aerandir..." she whispered to herself, “they were faithful friends and Eärendil was not only half-elven, which would fit the Elves and Men, but the prophecies about him were mere riddles beforehand…”
Elsa curiously watched as Addie as picked up each book and listened as she reasoned things out.
“You know, Miss Elsa, when I read all of these titles together, Beleriand comes to mind…”
Elsa nodded to show that she was following Addie’s train of thought.
“Oh, I’ve got it!” Addie gasped out in delight. Elsa stepped back and watched as the blonde put three books to the left of the one that was nailed down and three to the right. Addie smiled as she pushed each one into place and even spoke their titles as she did so. “An Ancient Riddle… Beyond the Sea… Catastrophes in History… Defiance at Dawn… Elves and Men… Faithful Friends... and last, but not least Gone but Not Forgotten. Alphabetical order!” The rods locked into place and a soft click was heard from the adjacent wall.
Addie turned and looked at Elsa, "Did you hear that?"
Elsa nodded and looked around, trying to notice if anything looked different from when they first arrived; but nothing appeared to have changed. "I am not sure. I heard the sound, but I don’t see where it came from.”
Addie looked at the paintings and remembered that it was odd for them not to move. "The paintings, we should try those..."
Elsa moved toward the painting of the elf woman and checked along the outside of the frame for anything that seemed out of place or position. "These paintings mean anything to you? Art never was one of my strong suits."
Addie thought back to the titles of the books and looked at the painting of Númenor. "I think...this might be the one we’re looking for, Miss Elsa." She reached out push and pull at the frame before finally touching the nameplate. There was a second click and the painting slid down the wall to reveal a hidden vault. Inside were three leather bound volumes- two of them with a number of loose papers stuffed inside, a velvet bag, and a dagger'
"We found it!" Addie proudly proclaimed as she smiled brightly at Elsa.
Elsa looked on in amazement. “Hopefully we found what we need this time.”
Addie nodded and reached for the leather bound volumes, leaving the other things for Elsa to take. Elsa pulled the dagger from the vault first and studied it closely. It was well made and functional; the scabbard was grey laced with crimson and the cross piece of the blade was in the shape of wings. When she removed the dagger from the scabbard to get a better look at the blade itself, she noticed that, not only was it double-edged and quite sharp, it had a small number etched near the hilt- 675.
While Elsa inspected the dagger, Addie quickly leafed through the books to see if anything immediately caught her eye.
Elsa returned the dagger to the sheath and clipped it to her belt. Once that was secure, she took the pouch and carefully opened the top so that she could peer inside. The pouch was filled with a dozen or so gems and a whole lot of gold coins; it was clearly a bribe fund that Phineon had kept in case he ever needed to run. “Wow!” Elsa exclaimed as she jingled the pouch. “We’ve got enough money here to feed Finch for a week.”
Addie started to laugh at Elsa's jest, but stopped short when she spied one of the names on a page toward the back of the first book; it was a name she now recognized well- Marron. "Oh dear… This does not bode well, Miss Elsa. The merchant from this morning with the apples is mentioned here. And since he is named, it could be that this book holds the information on all the Unsealed in and around Bree. This will require some more study… but for now, we should probably leave.”
Elsa nodded and closed up the pouch tight as she made her way toward the door to peek outside."Sun is going to be up soon, but we still have some time before the streets start to fill up." With a soft whistle, Addie called for the pup to come along and the hound gladly followed behind the two women as they slipped out the front door of the office building and down the street toward the Pony.
(Continued in Part 4)
