Rustling around again, he moved his position on the couch as he tried to get comfortable once more. Looking back at the page as he flicked forward, he saw how many pages he had remaining in the next chapter. Annoyed that he couldn’t get into position anymore, Norbert clapped the book shut, the music still continuing.
“Have we killed enough time already?” Norbert asked Vivienne, standing up as he walked over to his sack. He placed the book inside and slung it over his shoulder with the items as he walked to the door. About to place his door on the handle, Norbert saw the snake's eyes glint in the light.
Stopping his motion, Norbert lowered his hand and backed away from the door, sighing in annoyance. “You have me locked in here with you. Are we doing a game of who can stay here the longest without speaking?” Norbert asked her.
Vivienne stood up as she walked over to the maps, noting that the figures had moved position from the last time she had looked at the table. She nodded in approval as she headed to the door that Norbert tried before; opening it, Norbert saw the butler standing on the side. Already mid-bow as he came up, turning his eyes between Norbert and Vivienne.
“Please show Norbert to his room,” Vivienne told the butler as she walked past him. She went upstairs as the butler turned to Norbert, standing still as the two heard Vivienne walk up the stairs and around on the second story before a door opened and closed, her footsteps now muffled. Hearing the slight sound of the footsteps continuing to walk around the room they were currently in.
The butler indicated with his hand that Norbert should follow as he walked away, heading up the stairs. Norbert followed him for a moment, looking back at the handle and confirming that it hadn’t moved when he had walked past it.
Quickly following the butler up the stairs, a maid waited for him at the top. Norbert nodded to her as they quickly went past. They were not wrapped up like they would have been above ground, but something was still rattling him about them, something not quite right.
With the stairs cleared of guests, the maid bounded down, a rag in hand as she cleaned the handrail he had just used. Seeing a wide corridor in front of him, dark ebony floorboards underneath his feet, and off to the side, Norbert saw a set of drawers with a mirror on top halfway down the hallway. Combs, brushes and other items needed to clean oneself before departing were neatly arranged around the mirror.
Walking past it, Norbert looked to the side of the mirror, making sure that his hair wasn't too messed up. His reflection turned deathly pale, a slit going up his jaw, part of the metal mask he always wore ripped and torn, rusty after years and years of use as the material was caked in blood. The faint glow of red was embedded within his skin and jawbone. A volcanic mountain range waiting to explode.
Sparks of purple flickered all over his head, healing him, causing some pus to come out of the welts around his face, as it dribbled down, a cavern was shown, the cycle repeating itself. His reflection's hand lifted as it flicked the puss towards Norbert.
Taking a step back in surprise, not wanting to get in contact with the thing that tried to reach out from the mirror. Norbert covered his arm with his face. Feeling something patter against his face and arm, Norbert looked towards the reflection again, seeing only himself as normal, cowering behind the reflection. On his arm, dribbles of liquid clung to it, dissipating into the air with a light smoke, the smell coming out of him reminding him when he needed to rotate the compost barrel.
Stepping past, he walked towards the butler again, wanting to catch up with him and no longer be distracted by whatever was being shown. Turning back around, he saw only the reflection of the house going further behind him, whatever dark dystopian place it showed him thankfully no longer there.
The butler opened the door and held it open to Norbert, seeing it was once more one of those snake handles over the mansion. Looking at the room was similar to the last one he had been in. He found himself with two windows, a bed, and a chest in front of it at the corner of the property.
Turning to the other wall, standing there proudly in the centre, was a wardrobe. The butler headed towards it, opening up the double doors. Seeing clothes and two fine-pressed suits, one royal blue and the other a classic black and white tuxedo.
The butler took the tuxedo out and placed it on the bed for Norbert; bending down to the floor of the wardrobe, he took out a pair of black leather shoes and placed them down there.
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The butler stood back up, flattening his clothes with the back of his hand to remove any wrinkles before they could form. “You will be having dinner with the lady in a cycle.” The butler walked towards the door to the room, closing it behind him. He bowed to Norbert once, righting himself again, “Please do your best in front of the guests,” the butler added, almost as an afterthought.
When the door closed, Norbert opened his mouth to ask what the butler meant. The sound echoing around the room Norbert now found himself in alone. One of the times he had been alone in quite some time, Norbert took the coin out of his pouch and placed his sack in the chest, closing it as he heard it lock shut.
Taking his weapons off, Norbert leaned the sword up against the door, placed the knives on the chest, and took a throwing dagger out, placing it underneath the pillow. Lying down on the bed, careful not to go on top of the tuxedo, he confirmed the dagger wouldn’t interrupt any sleep when he decided to take it.
He did not know when he would need to, having rested enough from his encounters and not always having to look over his shoulder. At least, he hoped, as long as he stayed within the mansion.
Walking towards the window, Norbert moved the curtain to the side, looking as far as he could to confirm there weren’t any Reekss. Closing them again, Norbert thumbed the coin in his hand, licking it into the air and watching as it landed again.
Sitting down on the bed, Norbert had nothing better to do as he continued to flip the coin, passing the time as he could.
“You're going to waste your hour like this?” Luck asked him.
Norbert smiled as he turned around. There by the door stood the goddess, fingering his sword and unsheathing it slightly as she looked down at the blade. Norbert saw that there were still no chips on it, though the blade was starting to get blunt.
Sighing, he waved the goddess to hand him the sword. Opening the chest, he rooted around, finding the sharpening stone and strop he kept there. The sword was placed leaning against the bed as he took the daggers, his knife, and the one under his bed.
“Someone's sleeping lighter than before.” Luck said to Norbert.
He spat on the wet stone, knowing it wasn’t the way to do this properly, and he began running it against the throwing daggers, the thin, small blades having already received chips from his fights so far.
Running it against it, creating a rhythmic motion as the blade sang to him at finally being maintained.
“I wouldn’t wake up to use the dagger in time?” Norbert asked the goddess.
Luck’s laughter twinkled in the air once more. Norbert saw small motes of golden light fall off her hair, disappearing when they hit the bed she sat on next to him. Feeling the mattress move around, Luck sat beside him.
“I know how you sleep, Norbert. You have no chance of waking, and that’s even if a blind, deaf person tried without magic,” Luck said, patting him on the back, a sad smile on her face.
“At least I know you're rooting for me. Anyway, why come here?” Norbert asked her, knowing she usually didn’t just pop in for a random chat.
“Just to see how my champion’s doing. Now that there is an entire country out to get him.” She stared at him, giving Norbert a bit of a glare as she did so.
Holding his hands up in defence, Norbert said, “In my defence, I didn’t know the lizard people didn’t like being called lizards. Nobody told me that.” He lowered his hands again as he continued sharpening the blade, looking up at it and confirming that it was sharp enough for the job.
“Yes, but it's luck that you never heard of it. I haven't seen whether it was clucking bad until now when you could have killed the offended Kreevss. But not now that it's been shown everywhere.” Luck said to Norbert.
“Just came down here to rub it in my face?” Norbert asked her.
Luck shook her head as she rubbed her hand against Norbert’s back. “It just seemed like you needed someone to keep you company who doesn’t want something out of you,” Luck said to Norbert.
Half grinning at the words, he turned to look at Luck, “I find it hard to believe you don’t want something from me.” Before conceding his point, Norbert said, “Though you are likely to be the least incentive to do so. As you said, I need to keep going what I’m doing.” Norbert said, finishing the next dagger as he went for the knife and examined it, not having used the blade that was still sharp to the touch.
“Two questions?” Norbert asked Luck
“Shoot” she replied instantly.
“Firstly, is there a shrine to you somewhere in either of the cities?” Norbert asked her.
The goddess nodded her head. “Yes, there is, in the city above. I’m sure you can find it on the outskirts easily enough. But I wouldn’t recommend it.” She said to Norbert.
“Why?” He asked, knowing she would have said so if he didn’t interrupt, but the nagging feeling unable to stop himself.
“The Kreevss are crawling all over the city. It's best to go straight to the arena and back without any distractions,” Luck told him.
Shrugging Norbert, responding, “When have I ever done the best thing?” She asked him.
Seeing Luck tap her chin in thought before concluding, pointing to him, “You’re not wrong there. Now, what was the next question?” Mirth coming out of her voice, Norbert seeing by the gleam in her eyes that this was technically the third question he asked her in this encounter.
“Can you clean me up before I go in the tux?” he asked her, pointing his thumb to the clothing behind them. Norbert watched as Luck’s face morphed, like she finally sLuck’sim her, nose scrunching up as she waved her hand in front of her, motes of light pouring off and covering Norbert.