As he spoke, he twirled something shiny in hishand, playing around with it almost musically.The small clinking of the object attracted my attention as I saw a familiar stone teasinglymove between the old man's fingertips. I let out a gasp.
[Miriam's Grandfather] “Judging by your face, you seem to know what this is, don’t you?Ahaha, okay Sophia, seriously, you can let her go now.”
In the next moment, I felt the hand move from my mouth as I gasped for air. It's not that the hand was particularly restrictive, but I couldn’t say anyone would be a fan of being held like a sack of old rice. It was something I couldn’t imagine anyone being happy about. Before I could yell out loud, the man flicked the gem in his hand towards me. Following it with my gaze, I easily caught it, instantly recognizing it as the gem I had slipped into my clothes from the ant dungeon. With all the stress going around me lately, it had slipped my mind. But how did he recover it so quickly, and when did he even do that? And where was it? My mind raced a little pointlessly as I held the gem up with a stupefied face, unsure of what was even happening.
Before I could speak, I heard a clear voice come from above me. It sounded almost ethereal, but it still felt human.
[Unknown Puppet] “Master, I fail to see the use in keeping this thing around, Miriam. It doesn’t seem to hold any special value and even attacked you. If you’d allow me, I’d gladly dispose of it.”
Shocked, I turned around to see the strange doll’s mask peering down at me, the expressionless face seeming even creepier than normal, with the neutral tone making it hard to take it as anything other than making a serious request. Quickly turning around, I made readyto run again before the old man hurriedlyspoke up, walking closer, waving his hands as if in a rush.
[Unknown Old Man] “Wait, wait, Sophia! I’m in no rush to ‘dispose of anyone,’ much less this one here. In fact, why don’t you apologize to our guest? Ahaha, I'm sure my little dove out there would scold me a lot if she found out we didn’t treat our guests properly.”
Looking at him exasperated, it hardly seemed like such a simple thing to me. Really, this guy wasn’t any better than a common thug. Finally giving up on the tried-and-true posture of a deer in headlights strategy I had adopted until then, I smirked with satisfaction as I dodged out of the way of the doll who tried to grab me. Standing in front of the man, I saw him looking at me with his arms folded, a satisfied smile on his own face as he started to speak.
[Unknown Old Man] “So, have you considered my offer? It should be pretty appealing to you, judging by how my granddaughter seemed so attached to you, like a banana to sticky pudding. It doesn’t seem like your organization treats you well. Plus, with someone so young, I can’t say I look forward to what will happen if you prove to be too loyal…”
Raising my hand, having finally had enough, I managed to gather myself enough to honestly ask something which had been bothering me for a while.
[Iris Sinclair] “What the hell are you going on about? I don’t know what's happening here, but if this has something to do with Miriam’s brother, I don’t want to be involved at all!”
Tilting my head, I was pleasantly surprised that for once, I had managed to speak out with a strong enough voice to be heard. Pumping my fist in praise for my body, which hadn’t been pulling its weight as of late (well, besides all of the other stuff, but I’ll selectively choose to forget that since it’s convenient for me), however, despite me clearly settling everything with my confused answer, the man in front of me seemed only confused. The doll behind me mimicked my head tilt in a rather overly cute manner, and for a few seconds, we sat there staring at each other. He finally spoke, the doll staying still throughout, its mask cracking slightly to reveal an odd smile as the man spoke, his hands resting against his head.
[Miriam's Grandfather] “Okay, sit down a moment, Sophia. Relax a bit. It seems we have a misunderstanding here. Ahaha, I really might get scolded by the little dove this time.”
Walking over to the door, his previous intimidating presence seemed to shrink back into the kindly old man I had seen before as he relaxed. Not following along, he didn’t wait long as he toyed around with the staff in his hand, making me eye the glowing red tip suspiciously. As I spoke, my hollow voice filled the room with quiet indignation.
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[Iris Sinclair] “I’m really not sure why you attacked me or what is happening here, or why Miriam hasn’t stormed in with all the noise we’re making in here, but I’m really not a fan of your assumptions. I’m just a normal person who ended up down on her luck and is taking refuge with your daughter. I fully intend to pay her back, though. But the point is, I can’t tell if you’re trying to kill me or bribe me to leave your daughter alone. Either way, I can’t believe Miriam respects someone like you!”
My voice rising at the end, I nearly gasped in surprise as I had said what I wanted to say, though maybe a little aggressively, considering there was a doll standing right behind me who seemed to have more than enough strength to restrain me. And I had used my warp earlier, pointlessly showing off. But what was he going to do, kill me? Well, maybe, but at this point, I found that unlikely. The old man blushed a little, shaking his head as he seemed a little sad at my last comment. Served him right; he did try to kill me after all. As he began to laugh, waving his arms a little as the doll behind me began to make some unsettling sounds, in agreement.
[Miriam’s Grandfather] “Ahaha, okay, okay. I deserve a bit of a scolding, but I really have to say I never had any intention of using this little toy here. I just wanted to test your reaction a bit. As for why it’s here… Toying with the staff in his hand a little, he seemed to ponder before his grin turned a little sinister, before he suddenly began to ask in a coaxing tone much gentler before, as if looking at me fondly, the rapid shift making my skin crawl.
“You mentioned Miriam’s brother. Didn’t you? Tell me more about that.”
[Iris Sinclair] “A gang came here looking for her brother, that’s all I know. They left that here after they got swallowed by the rift.”
Speaking in an unsteady tone, I could tell he didn’t believe me, but it didn’t seem to matter as he hazily muttered a name while shaking his head. His eyes lit up with a strange glow as he walked closer to me.
[Miriam’s Grandfather] “These thighs, you fought them well. Done, well done indeed. Protecting my lovely granddaughter is something I can’t overlook, now is it? Well then, I won’t pry too much into who you are exactly, though I have my fair share of guesses. I’ll give you a chance to answer and spare you a moment of doubt. And as an apology, I’ll settle the matter with this toy of mine, though judging by your look, you don’t seem to understand what it means to have it. Ahaha, someone like you definitely couldn’t be a part of those bastards in the commerce guild. You're right.”
Seeming much happier, he started to walk to the side of the wall, the doll having somehow cleaned up the room without me noticing, started to dust off her dress before she made to follow him. Right before he spoke one more word:
[Miriam’s Grandfather] “Oh, actually, I’ll take that thing in your hand as payment. Oh, and this weapon of mine too, though that’ll be needed. Oh, and take care of my granddaughter. I would love to stay, but it seems I’ll be busy for a while.”
After speaking in a knowing tone before I could even register fully what he had said, I could feel a wave of air rush by me as I felt a smooth sensation in my palm like a piece of string passing through my hands. I saw the maid standing next to the old man, somehow having moved across the room. With my hand feeling empty, I saw her cheekily holding the stone in her hand, her head tilting once more as the stone melted away into a light that seemed to cling around its threads. The two of them moved towards the café door. I stood in stunned silence as the small ring of the door chime sounded when they walked into the rain, the doll fading into a shimmer of light as it disappeared behind the man as the two faded into the rain. The odd distortion of sound in the room returned to normal as they left. Sitting down into the same chair I had been sleeping on when this whole mess started, I checked my system as if to confirm I wasn’t under any illusion effects. Sitting in complete silence. I wonder if this is what a hostage negotiator feels like after success, or maybe I’m just the hostage, huh? I was in the midst of contemplating my life choices when suddenly the door to the kitchen was kicked open and Mairam walked out, a pair of headphones hanging on her neck under the wide grin peeking around her lips. Holding a plate of baked goods, she nearly jumped as she shouted happily.
[Mariam] “Grandpa, I made your favorite, chocolate cakes and black tea…”
Her eyes scanned around the room in shock before they came to focus on me. Glancing back, my eyes slanted in resignation.
[Mairam] “Hey, Iris, you didn’t happen to see an old guy, um, about yay tall disappear, did you, sorry it took me so long, I knocked over the flour and had to clean it up, did I miss something?”
She held the palm of her hand out below her head before mimicking my expression and tilting her head.
Bursting out in laughter I sunk into the chair, she only stared at me strangely as I continued to laugh, her eyes seeming confused as to what was happening as she set down the refreshments a smile forming on her face
........................................................................................................................................
Rain fell, and wind whipped terribly on the sullen street. Yet the raspy voice of an old man cut through it all like a knife.
“Sophia, I think we better pay that grandson of mine a visit…” The doll nodded as if it was paying attention as his voice continued to echo. “But first, I believe I still have a meeting to attend with the Wild-flame office. Ha ha ha, this sure is shaping up to be an interesting adventure, isn’t it?”