《The Awakened World》Vol. 2, Ch. 53 : Searching through a madman's belongings
Advertisement
After Thomas dealt with the woman, whose name was apparently Care Nottworth, we continued towards the rundown alley in which Madman operates. A sign that reads, 'Closed until further notice,' hangs on the door.
I share a glance with Thomas whom nods, and we both kick in the door. We find that the once dimly-lit room now has no light to illuminate the space, with the exception of the doorway.
My Presence Detection is telling me somebody is in here, but I can't find their exact location. It's like a bad radar; it just tells me the general location, and it doesn't help that the skill is detecting everyone else here too. "Where's my money, Madman? I know you're in here!" Thomas decides to be brazen and kicks a nearby cabinet.
The others walk inside and begin picking and prodding whatever they find. Midas, for some reason, is sniffing the air. "Heh. I smell something…"
Rose pokes a skull. "Is it the drugs?"
"No. Well, I do smell that; it is quite pungent, but something else." He presses against the wall, tapping at various spots, and scouring something. "Thomas, can you break this spot?" He marks a point on the wall in pen.
Thomas nods and punches through the drywall. Midas reaches through the hole and picks out a wallet. He rifles through it. "Hmm, any money and bank cars, if any, have already been looted, but there's still a City ID." He shows everyone an ID that belongs to one Amos Graves.
The photo is really unflattering. He's kinda unlucky to have sneezed during his photo. However, we should probably focus on the fact that he has a City ID, and, more importantly, I can now track him.
Midas hands me the wallet. Hmm, I smell Midas, the drugs of Madman, and something like…rotten. I think that last one is Graves. Either that or there's something dead in these walls, though I wouldn't be surprised.
Advertisement
"…Why am I the sniffer dog if you could easily find his wallet?"
Midas turns up his nose. "I can only smell things of value. As Thomas has stated, Doctor Graves has accrued debt, and as such, I will have trouble locating him by the scent of money; he's not even worth investment, apparently."
"…*cough*" Silence fills the room, except for a lone cough. Wait a minute. Nobody here coughed, so where did that come from?
Sophia grabs a nearby chair, and begins prodding the roof with it. Eventually, she finds a trapdoor that leads upstairs. A ladder falls down with a crash.
"This feels familiar," Rose mutters.
"Probably the fact that we're inspecting a suspicious sound from an attack in a Nazi-infested city. I'm just speculating here," Midas replies in a mutter.
Thomas climbs up the rickety ladder with a creak on each step. When he arrives at the top, his left eye lights up like a flashlight and illuminates the attic. I follow after him, but before Sophia climbs up here, the floor gives a little under our weight.
"Right," Thomas says. "I think—and this is just my thoughts—this floor isn't up to code, and it will collapse under any more weight or sudden movements." Sophia quickly jumps off of the ladder.
Skulking around, we find various…things. Like old things. Does Madman collect antiques? I think I saw a Van Gogh around here somewhere.
I open a chest to find a single item inside: a golden thing. I'm pretty sure it's an old oil lamp. It…calls to me. Beckons me. I…want it.
Out of nowhere, Thomas grips my wrist and stops the momentum of my hand, breaking my concentration. "Wha- What?" I blink a couple times. Dang, what was I doing? Oh wait, searching.
Advertisement
Thomas closes the chest carefully. He points at the keyhole and the mercury-like Nanobots flow down his arm and they morph into a key, locking the chest. "Be careful. Madman practices some questionable magics. There's no doubt that anything up here can be cursed, or, at the very least, harmful."
I continue my search with vigilance. There's a cloth covering a statue of some kind. It's a stone statue of an angel, but it's not like most welcoming angel statues you would find. No, it's crying. Weeping one could say.
"Doesn't seem cursed," I mutter.
"You can't say for sure unless you got some skill in Dark Magic," Thomas calls out from the opposite side. "Huh, weird mask." He holds up a heart-shaped mask with yellow, beady eyes. Golden spikes protrude from the lavender base. There are etchings too, but they're kinda faded.
I turn away from the statue and continue digging. I find a cabinet large enough to stand in, but it's kinda imposing. Thomas walks up next to me and eyes the cabinet.
"I can detect Spatial Magic on this thing, but…it's broken. Like a drain with no end, this Spatial Magic leads nowhere. Probably has a twin somewhere out there, but the state of this thing means it's probably destroyed."
He looks closer. "Actually, this instability could probably send you anywhere in the city, at least. Don't know where you'd end up though. One could have their head show up in a toilet."
He steps back. "…And the magic has been activated recently too. Whoever was up here, possibly Madman, used this cabinet to vanish. Oh well. Let's just use that wallet and chase after Graves. Yeah?" He doesn't wait for an answer and jumps down the ladder.
I take a few steps down the ladder, but something seems off…
Did that statue move? It was crying earlier, right? Now it seems kinda scary with its pointed teeth.
Eh, probably just my imagination.
Advertisement
- In Serial17 Chapters
Crimson Crow: Thief of Fortune
Breaking News: The multiverse's supply of luck has been stolen! A crack team of detectives are attempting to track down the culprit. But this is not their story. This is the story of the Crimson Crow, who, after committing the audacious heist, fled to begin a new life on a distant world, Llyr. Beyond the reach of her pursuers, or so she hopes. Far from the comforts of civilization, she must rely on her quick wits and magic to survive and prosper. But she soon discovers that Llyr’s past is as dark and storied as her own. And that the past is inescapable. Currently Updates Semi-Monthly ~Every 14 days. Diamond Vector by Vecteezy This fiction is LGBT+ friendly.
8 167 - In Serial9 Chapters
Tale of Careless Goddess
After getting fried to death, the woman appointed as a goddess in the newborn world. Using her new power will she create her own cult? built an unstoppable empire ? or just sleep thought the entire time? The cover picture MTGA fan art found taken from google.
8 98 - In Serial21 Chapters
The Binding of Lupo
Set in the year 2245 on the distant planet of Arcathia. Ayden O'Hara is a troubled 24 year old with the unique power of telekinesis. Plagued by a recurring nightmare of Red August, a terrorist attack that took his mother as a child and left him disfigured. He wants nothing more to see those reponsible behind bars and allows himself to be drafted into a special government task force to hunt the terrorist group. This story is LGBT friendly. Follow me on Twitter @felixwritez for more content including artwork and character bios!
8 183 - In Serial19 Chapters
Tryphant Agent's Historical Logs
[Disclaimer: This novel is no longer in continuation since I've found more joy in writing short stories. I'll continue writing about this universe and the world in it, building upon the documents of the Tryphant Agents but in another novel] What is the origin of life? What is the meaning to life? Are we the only intelligent being in this universe? Why haven't we been struct by a catastrophe??? How has the world been so peaceful for such a long time?!!! Is there a hidden force that controls our world from being destroyed?!!! How have we not noticed them!?!!! Am I just delusional??!!!! I'm definetly delusional. These are the questions that mortals often ask and frequently ignore in their life, yet answering these questions will lead a person to the Tryphant Agents. An organization who protects various civiliaztions from destruction time and time again without a single person noticing them. They are an organization that is like time, powerful yet unnoticed. This is the historical logs of the Tryphant Agents. Disclaimer: I'm writing this to fill my world with details and I'm only hoping for this to be a good story. The main core focus is to write characters with life into them, a world where it feels real, and story that is consistent. Don't expect a top tier story because this will be my experimental logs as well where I will try various writing styles. Rather I wish that you hope for a great story instead.
8 199 - In Serial11 Chapters
Beyond the Mists (Shuli Go Vol. 1)
Zhao Lian is a sheriff without a county. A member of an old magical order called the Shuli Go, she was raised to uphold the law and protect her fellow citizens. But after her order was disassembled, she was left with no choice but to wander in search of work for someone with her very particular set of skills. That wandering leads her to the town of Three Paths and an old associate who soon draws Lian into the biggest contract of her life. A foreign king, political rivalries, and the fate of a nation hang in the balance as she weighs the value of the law against that of her own life. The first in a series of short stories set in the Central Empire and its surrounding kingdoms: a magical early-modern world based on the history of China, Japan, and other East Asian countries.
8 80 - In Serial38 Chapters
You're A Doll (COMPLETE)
Jessie Cross is a typical bad boy with the title. He loves cars and racing and is basically an adrenaline addict. He loves tattoos, music, the women. His friends and him hung out at this one bar often but this particular brunette who appeared uncomfortable caught his eye. Sailor Kate was the pretty girl who drowned herself in books- romance addict- and she was too lonely to leave her awful friends.One night they dragged her to a car race and she sat alone by her car, bored out of her mind. When a man came up to her she became uncomfortable but didn't know how to wave him off until a boy did it for her. How do they proceed after?
8 225

