\u201cEnzo,\u201d Maravek chided.\u00a0 \u201cWould you be so kind as to skip the grotesque parts?\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head, though a smile was upon his face.\u00a0 As his young friend went on about his fever dreams, Maravek perused the baubles that Wylas had collected.\u00a0 Carved scrimshaw in the shapes of various fish and birds were among the deceased\u2019s more precious items.\u00a0 Spools of fishing line were hidden here and there too, but he couldn\u2019t find a rod or reel anywhere.\u00a0 By the time Enzo first mentioned meeting the dreamwalker, Maravek had moved beneath the surface, scrutinizing the insides of the dresser.<\/p>\n
When he tugged on the bottom drawer, he found some resistance.\u00a0 A few taps on the side liberated it though, and his eyes sparkled at the sights inside.\u00a0 He sorted through the various items\u2014a playing card that had a single red diamond upon it, as well as the name of an establishment within the city; a gently folded piece of parchment that Maravek read and replaced; and a carved pipe that had a powerful, acrid aroma.\u00a0 The only thing the dreamwalker took was the playing card.\u00a0 He pushed the drawer shut and stood, making his way around the rest of the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father didn\u2019t smoke tobacco, did he?\u201d he interrupted the quiet conversation.<\/p>\n
\u201cYears ago when he was on the fishing boats.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly there?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never brought it home.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t want the house smelling like that for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maravek displayed a polite grin.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s more considerable than what can be said for very many people.\u00a0 Hmm\u2026 Miss Sarah, it seems he and you were very close.\u00a0 You mentioned that you never knew your mother, but did your father have anyone else that he cared for?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah sniffed and swept a stray hair from her face.\u00a0 \u201cThere was a woman years before I was born, but she died well before I would have met her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd his friends?\u00a0 Were they all the folks he would sail with?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJust about.\u00a0 They were all old like him, and many of them had passed on before him.\u201d\u00a0 She sighed then.\u00a0 \u201cI guess he didn\u2019t really have much of a life outside of here.\u00a0 He either carved his little statuettes, or he would read on the settee in the other room.\u00a0 I\u2026 I wish I could be more help.\u00a0 I feel like I didn\u2019t know him as well as I thought.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the contrary.\u00a0 You\u2019ve been instrumental in helping me understand the most important parts about him.\u00a0 He loved you, and that\u2019s what mattered most.\u201d\u00a0 He tapped his friend on the shoulder then, and urged him to rise.\u00a0 \u201cCome Enzo.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to take you up on another drink.\u00a0 There\u2019s much to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n
The younger lad made eye contact with the grieving woman for the first time, and she offered a meager smile.\u00a0 He hesitated for a moment before turning back to her.\u00a0 \u201cIf you ever need to talk, I own the Rusty Key.\u00a0 It\u2019s\u2026 it\u2019s not a place that\u2019s really worthy of you, but if you come by during off hours, it wouldn\u2019t be so bad.\u00a0 My father recently passed away as well.\u00a0 I could be a good shoulder to cry on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maravek watched as Sarah nodded and his friend lingered.\u00a0 \u201cEnzo,\u201d he repeated.\u00a0 At once the lad spun about, quick to follow the dreamwalker.\u00a0 \u201cMiss Sarah, if you learn anything more, you know where to find my associate,\u201d he teased.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll be sure to bring any newfound knowledge to you as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not tarry long, drawing from the room and saying nothing to the stern-faced woman in the sitting room.\u00a0 Enzo averted his gaze as well, and it was not until they emerged outside that he took in a deep breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019d think she was a dragon with the way you just tried to sneak past her in there,\u201d Maravek joked once the door was shut.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven more frightening,\u201d Enzo said.\u00a0 \u201cSo, back to the bar for another whisky?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfraid not, my friend.\u00a0 I have a lead already.\u00a0 But Sarah doesn\u2019t need to know about that.\u00a0 If it doesn\u2019t pan out, it would only cause disappointment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you get a lead?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maravek flashed the ace of diamonds at his companion.\u00a0 \u201cWylas had a tricky drawer in his dresser.\u00a0 Have you heard of this place?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure.\u00a0 That\u2019s the Red Room.\u00a0 It\u2019s just a short walk from here, right up against the north wall of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wouldn\u2019t happen to be an opiate den, would it?\u201d<\/p>\n
Enzo arched an eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cHow would you know that from the card?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t, but with that card, I found a pipe.\u00a0 Wylas wouldn\u2019t hide them both unless they correlated.\u00a0 And I can\u2019t imagine him hiding tobacco from his daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we go to the Red Room then?\u201d<\/p>\n
Maravek shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll head there on my own.\u00a0 I can assure you, after going there, I\u2019ll need dreams of my own.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a smirk on his face, Enzo nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll have a room ready for you upon your return.\u00a0 Do you need help finding the place?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what to look for,\u201d the dreamwalker assured.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll see you soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Enzo nodded and shook his friend\u2019s hand, watching for a moment as the fellow faded between the alleyways.\u00a0 He couldn\u2019t shake that smile.\u00a0 If anyone could deduce the mystery that unfolded in Versali-Virai, it was Maravek.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cEnzo,\u201d Maravek chided.\u00a0 \u201cWould you be so kind as to skip the grotesque parts?\u201d\u00a0 He shook his head, though a smile was upon his face.\u00a0 As his young friend went on about his fever dreams, Maravek perused the baubles that Wylas had collected.\u00a0 Carved scrimshaw in the shapes of various fish and birds were among […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1UVey-151","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4155"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4155"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4156,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4155\/revisions\/4156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}