Chapter 295: The Master’s Sanctum Part 1

The capstone of this mausoleum has been found! It's time for the truth of matters to be revealed. Well, more of the Truth, since they've found some of it already.

The stairway yawned an empty chasm before them.

Ann took the first step, then the next. No spikes. No traps shooting out of the ceiling. Just stairs. Still, she took every step as if it’d bite her.

Kat was at her back, hand firmly holding onto a strap. Ann had to pull against her every time she moved forward. That hand was there to yank her backwards if anything happened.

She heard Bren and Lucia muttering to each other behind her, further back, but was too focused to really hear the words.

The stairs went up… and up… and up… far further than they should have gone. The moment Ann considered they might be in an infinite stair loop, she saw the landing.

She prepared for the worst of the fear aura, but the second her paw touched the floor, the oppression disappeared. Ann heaved in a surprised breath of relief and toppled forward.

Kat yanked her back into the hell that was the floor below.

“No! The fear bullshit is gone up there! I’m fine!” Ann yelped as the weight curled back around her heart.

“Oh, sorry,” Kat said, releasing her.

Ann scrambled up to the landing and fell to the carpet. It was long, soft, and a beautiful grey that invited her to nap on it. After the stress of the last few floors, she almost did.

Rosalyn was next. Kat set her down by her horns next to Ann, and she similarly fell to her knees, gasping as her mind was freed of the suffocating dread. “Oh thank the Gods!” she gasped, gripping the carpet tightly.

The others had less pronounced reactions to the change in atmosphere, but Ann could see their postures relax. Well, not Kat’s. Hers seemed to be even more on edge at the sudden lack of tension.

“Don’t like it,” the princess growled. Her eye was squinting in the darkness. Nothing was visible past ten paces.

Ann stood, squinting into the inky depths as well.

Suddenly she was blind.

Light exploded from crystals to their left, right and above their heads. Sconces, chandeliers, and more standard lamps burst into brilliant, eye-searing life.

Ann hissed and covered her eyes.

“Sorry.” Lucia stood by a button on the wall, finger firmly pressing down on it. She let go, and the lights stayed on. “Was dark.”

Ann grumbled to herself. It was dark, but she could have warned all of them. How had she known that wasn’t a trap?

“Oi, check fer traps!” Kat barked, voicing Ann’s thoughts.

“Did. See? Worn. Pressed often. Not trap. Trap hidden better. Look new. Also bad spot. Off to side. Trap middle of path, not side. Logic say walk centre. Trap there.” To demonstrate her point, Lucia grabbed a lamp off a table and tossed it on the carpeted row. Dozens of darts whistled left and right across the space the moment the stone lamp touched down.

“See?”

“Right,” Ann groaned, rubbing spots from her vision. “Thanks.”

The space they were in was not as huge as her brief glimpse before being flash-banged had led her to think. It was about half the length, the full width of the previous floors and seemed to be a place for relaxation. Leather couches and chairs were scattered around, all well lit and orderly. What wasn’t orderly was the mess of instruments strewn over nearly every flat surface, excluding the floor.

None of the group dared step forward while Lucia checked for traps, so Ann got a good look at the clutter. It was honestly a lot of trash. She recognised the rough shape of astrolabes and telescopes, some protractors, a few compasses, and other instruments that she couldn’t figure out. Some of them were bent, corroded, burnt, pitted with acid, crushed, and on and on.

There were books, too. Dozens of them with real paper. Ann could see Bren physically holding himself back from darting for the collection of knowledge long preserved.

That was the other thing. As Ann looked around, she saw damage from something happening here, but none that appeared related to time and decay. Even a burn scar in the carpet looked like it’d gone out days ago.

A quiet chime from behind startled her. Turning, they all saw a crystal turn from a standard white to a brilliant green.

“Think that means the door is shut?” Kat asked.

Ann shrugged. “Could be. No clue.”

“Floor trap, wall trigger there,” Lucia pointed to a bookshelf. “Another trap on floor by burn. Two more ceiling. Stay off carpet. Blue tiles bad. Avoid. Yellow books triggers.”

“How do you know all of that?” Ann asked. She knew the woman’s skills, and none of them had anything to do with trap detection. Magical ones made even less sense.

“Experience,” Lucia said flatly. She pulled up the side of her armour and the shirt underneath. Her green skin was marred by dotted scars up her side. “Old ruin. Mother took. Learned hard way. Hurt.”

“And she didn’t heal you?” Ann asked. She started to pick her way forward. It took some balance at times to avoid the spots Lucia had pointed out. For once, her feet just being the much smaller paws came in handy.

Lucia shook her head. Her feathers glittered in the light as she did. “No. Lesson body. Kat understands.”

“Eh, kinda? I’d get rid o’ me scar if I could,” Kat said, touching the puckered flesh. “Other scars are a reminder o’ me feckin’ up, aye. Still, would prefer tae ‘ave ‘em healed. Some o’ ‘em stretch when I’m strainin’ an’ it gets uncomfortable.”

“You know, it’s a wonder I don’t have any scars yet,” Ann said absently as she turned over a half-disintegrated piece of silverware. It twisted into a strangely still smoky curl, despite how long it’d been.

“Yeah. Didn’t you get all mauled by the Twinwolves when you first got into a fight with them? Then there’s the dozen other times I’ve seen you get burned, cut, stabbed, bitten, and other things. How do you not have any scars?” Rosalyn asked. She was standing, making her way through slowly, letting Lucia guide her steps.

“Goddess bullshit?” Ann replied distractedly. She’d gotten to a book and was flipping through it. It was a ledger, but not an interesting one. Apparently, the hotel worked on a barter system set up by Anthony. People would come with goods or wares and offer them for lodging. “Maybe it’s just that Bren’s that good at healing.”

“Would if I could take credit for such a feat,” the man chuckled to himself. “You achieve some truly gruesome injuries. Even Katlyn has learned to avoid most of their like. You are… were inexperienced. I still would implore that you attempt to avoid getting impaled.”

Ann flexed her hand that no longer had a hole in it. “Yeah, fair enough. Want this ledger? It’s boring as fuck.”

“A ledger?” Bren nearly jumped out of his skin. “Please! Records of business are invaluable to determining how a society functioned! Even one as malicious as this. Toss it here!”

Ann shrugged and hucked the tome at Bren. It sailed through the air. His arms reached to catch it and missed entirely. They watched in terror as the book tumbled through the air towards the floor.

Directly towards a blue tile.

Click.

The book landed.

A rumble filled the room.

Bren’s hands were up, already ready to cast.

The blue tile split! Teeth and tendrils of flesh shot out, grabbed the book, and yanked it down into the maw. It didn’t fit, but that didn’t stop the tile monster from chewing it until it did.

Ann stared, wide-eyed, at the now completely normal tile.

“It’s so CUTE!”

Ann stared at Rosalyn in utter disbelief.

“What? It’s like an automatic little cleaning monster! I know I know, it’s probably not natural and has a horrible backstory to it, but can you imagine if there’s some kinda thing like that out there in the world? I want one!”

“Rosalyn! We are not adopting the fucking floor mimic!” Ann yelled at her.

“Come oooooon,” Rosalyn whined. “We have the furnace portal for your stuff. What about this for getting rid of my stuff?”

“We use the portal!” Ann shot back. “Why this?”

“Cause it’s neat! Gods, I wonder if there’s more under the tile face or if it’s just got some really weird body under there!” Rosalyn already had her staff out, the butt of the twisted branch reaching to prod at the face.

Kat caught her before she did. “Lamb, not right now. Maybe on our way back, aye? This is soundin’ like a Xirali plan, an’ I don’t like it.”

Ann watched tensely as Rosalyn’s emotions warred in her face. Eventually she relented, dismissing the staff. “Fine. You’re right. Sorry. I just wanna know.”

Kat gently caressed one of the woman’s horns. “I know. We’ll find out. Just when it’s safer.”

Mollified, Rosalyn went back to digging through other parts of the room.

“Journal!” Lucia cried after a few minutes of searching.

That got everyone’s attention.

She brought the book over to a safe table and opened it under the reading lamp. Everyone waited for Ann to read.

“Feel like since I’m some sort of wizard, I should be using fancy words and stuff, but I don’t really know them, so I’m mostly pretending around the guests.”

“That makes things far clearer,” Bren chuckled.

Ann went on. “So, got the hotel all set up. Watched Saw and a few horror movies with chicks to get them all freaked out. Heh, got laid a couple times doing that. Guess I’m my own Jigsaw now. Gotta figure out how these powers work, and you know who we’ve got a lot of? People. So, I went into town and advertised the whole thing as a safe place to stay for anyone who was passing by. Sure, it’s out in buttfuck nowhere, but you’d be amazed how many people are just wandering around now.”

“Sounds lovely,” Kat said dryly.

“A real peach,” Ann agreed. She kept reading.

“Didn’t get too many people at first, which kinda sucked. Thought a big fancy hotel would attract a ton of people. Nah. It’s been a week, and I’ve had like a dozen people show up.”

Ann turned the page. This section seemed to start fresh. Maybe another day or entry.

“Is this thing becoming my journal? Guess so. Liked having those for some stupid reason. Big brother used to kick the shit out of me, making fun of my diary. If only I could find him now I’d show him who’s stronger.

“Real hot chick decided she wanted to be a long term resident here the other week. It’s been a mess making sure she’s got all the shit she needs, but it’ll be worth it in the long run. Something I always heard was that you’ve gotta attract flies with honey and not vinegar. So now I’ve got a hell of a honey, and she’s not gonna be touched by my other projects. Need people to feel normal here.

“She does have cats, though. Hate the little monsters. Any time I come by to check in, they get all hissy and one tried to claw my face! Swear if I didn’t need her, I’d… not the place. That’s for other journals. Anyway, her whole setup is pretty sweet. Not near as good as mine, but I’ve got two whole floors. Been spending a lot of time on the traps in my “sanctum”, as I’m calling it. Trying to be fancy. Maybe she likes fancy? Still, got loads of different things I can make, and I’ve been going crazy with it! The floors can eat you! Indiana Jones traps in the walls and ceiling! Need to make a boulder. Note for later!

Ann continued on to the next page. “Dude sounded like a maniac. One who was having fun, but still a maniac.”

“Yup. Kinda creative, but also limited?” Rosalyn hummed, leaning back in a chair after Lucia checked it.

Ann found a number at the top of this page. Maybe he was numbering his weeks or something.

“Cool. Getting more people to stay here! Even had a few get caught in traps! I’m keeping that to the overnighters. I think I should call it short term, since they really don’t last overnight in the rooms. Cleanup is a mess, but I’m working on better ways to take people away. Less bloody ones, at least. Had a guy get caught in one room with a door and he nearly broke out of the fucking thing. Never knew someone could be so strong! I killed him, but making sure no one else noticed or asked questions was a really close thing. Girl from downstairs with the cats, her name’s Nancy, caught me as I was mopping up some blood. Got her to leave it after telling her I’d spilled some juice. Can’t have proper wine. Not been long enough, but damnit I’m trying. Mead should be a thing. Have plenty of bees. Weird thing is, she offered to help me. No way a tenant would offer some douchebag landlord help. Guess that means she likes me, huh?”

Lucia made a retching noise.

“Big news!” Ann continued. “I’m filled up on permanent residents! This is fucking massive! Got myself a little community here to give me some normal to hide behind while I keep working on bodies. Greg is a nosy fucker, but he’s harmless as long as I keep track of him. Laura is this older chick, and loves to read. Keeps to herself, but also has some really powerful ice magic. She helps me keep things cool around here when it needs to be, or when food needs freezing. Speaking of, got a few staff living here, too! Treat the helpers right, mom always said. They get their pick of rooms that weren’t already occupied. Rick’s on front desk, James is the cook, and we’ve got June on cleaning. Helps free me the fuck up, that’s for sure.

“Sanctum is coming along nicely. My workshop is completely done. Nice and easy to clean, little mess, and complete privacy except this light crystal I’ve got enchanted so it turns on when Rick hits a button at the desk. Emergencies only. Figuring out how to make that work was a pain in the ass. I tried setting up a copper wire to just make a light, but that exploded on me! I put, like, barely any current into it! Magic bullshit. Guess that’s why all of the electronics went out. Found this other kind of rock that’s this silvery colour I’ve never seen before. I can barely move the shit with my magic, too! Made a key out of the stuff and now that’s how you get into my place.”

“He…” Bren drew a hand down over his face, pulling his features taut. “He has possibly the first discovery of Bultrite, and he made a key out of it. I am impressed at the lack of imagination.”

“Guess that explains why my claw worked,” Ann mumbled. “He goes on. There’s a bunch about day-to-day life, but nothing really interesting. It’s mostly running the hotel and creeping over Nancy. Actually pretty normal.”

“I believe we will find more morbid accounts in his aformentioned workshop,” Bren sighed.

“Oh, wait!” Ann held up a hand. “There’s one more bit.”

“I’ve decided I’m gonna marry Nancy. We’ve been talking a lot more and I feel like she might be like me! Gonna let her in on the secret of the hotel. Might have to kill her, which would suck, but that’s life. She’d make an interesting construct if I do.”

“He has lines about his plan to ask her, all this stupid shit. Oh, ew, he thought about a body part bouquet, but decided it was too on the nose. A whole bunch of bullshit… oh. Oh, gross, she was fine with it. She married him!”

“Nae!” Kat gasped, pushing Ann to the side to get at the book. “Feck, ye teach me English so I can read this shite. How the feck did that happen?”

“Let’s see…” Ann skimmed through the pages. “She… oh Jesus fuck. Girl had some really twisted fantasies. There was a group of people back in my day that fetishised serial killers, and she was absolutely one.”

Ann caught the question in Bren’s expression before he could voice it.

“People were really safe. Danger was exciting, and thus the serial killer thing. Anyway, she thought she’d found exactly what she was looking for, and when he offered and told her about the hotel, she agreed. Seems like they had a happy ceremony and everything. Then… then he showed her the workshop.”

“Don’t even want tae know,” Kat said grimly.

“Yeah, he goes into detail about their wedding night, and if Orenous has any way of scrubbing THAT from my brain, I’m praying that she does.”

“Let’s keep movin’,” Kat said. “Suddenly lost all me interest in books. We can come back fer it later.”

Ann stretched from the stooped position she’d been reading in. “Yeah. Let’s at least find where this fucker kept the bodies. Have a feeling we’re going to need a lot of fire.”