NaNoWriMo-vel Chapter 3

Chapter Three – Penny For Your Thoughts

Blank stared hard at the small, seemingly harmless envelope that he held with trembling hands. He hadn’t been frightened of it until Schyll mentioned the possibility of it being cursed. Damn it, he cursed mentally, why was he so frightened? He fit the description didn’t he? He should have nothing to worry about, curse or no curse. Drawing a deep breath, Blank tugged at the wax seal bearing the initials R.E. The flap lifted up by itself as the contents of the envelope forced its way out onto Blank’s hands.

It was a blank piece of parchment.

Or rather it started as a blank piece of parchment. As the young scribe started to trace his fingers over the slip of paper, words started to fade in. He almost yelped in surprise. Almost. Blank had heard of such things, of tomes and canvases that began as nothing more than the empty medium they were only to be later filled in with words or images by unseen hands.

“Well? What does it say?” Marlene’s voice cut into Blank’s thoughts.

Glancing up from the parchment briefly, as if to make sure she was addressing him (for he had grown far too accustomed to people forgetting he was in their presence), he returned his gaze to the forming sentences.

“To whom it may concern,” he began. “I wish to extend my sincerest apologies for this task you are about to undertake. As you may have noticed, the younger generation of the Edelbertons are not as sociable, agreeable or even nice as they should be unless you have wealth or a distinct title attached to your name. I blame their parents, but then again as I have no children of my own I’m not one to talk. Am I right Schyll?” At this he paused, the words seemed to have stopped coming.

Expectantly, Blank showed the letter to the lawyer who blinked but shook his head in amusement, “Of course not, Raoul, you would have made a fine father.”

“I’ve already passed on whatever I wanted to give you, there’s no need for flattery but I thank you for your support nevertheless.” The contents laughed.

“This is ridiculous.” Kairhn muttered under his breath.

“Not as ridiculous as your assumptions at becoming the new master of the Edelberton fortune and name.” Blank read.

“You left those to me in your will, dear Uncle,” Came the sneering response.

“Yes, I did, but you assumed that there was nothing you had to do other than listen to the will being read. Of course you’ll have to deal with others contesting this, but that’s nothing compared to the hoops I’ve prepared for you to jump through. They’ll be more than just flaming, dear boy, oh that will be a riot to read about.”

Kairhn clenched his fist as he blanched in anger. It was evident there was no love lost between nephew and uncle once the latter had died.

“We should be getting back to business, unless the others have something they wish to ask of me?”

Marlene opened her mouth to speak but then thought the better of it and shook her head. Surge only pulled the brim of his hat down to his eyes as if to show he had nothing to say either. It was Sharel who dared ask “I’m interested why you require these certain issues you have yet to reveal be burned in the flame of judgment. Are you saying your soul is in need of salvation or proof of your generosity, magnanimity, or any other virtue before you are allowed to pass on?”

Her bespectacled gaze stared intently at Blank. Unaccustomed to such attention, he averted his eyes and looked to the paper. “I knew you’d ask about the flame of judgment. I’ve quite passed on with no bribery required whatsoever, but there are just some things I’ve always wanted to know about. I also knew that if I were to ask you directly or use devious means such as spying to get the answers, I’d never get them. You children are always so tight lipped and distrusting of your elders. Particularly me, though I never understood why since I have been nothing but a dear, loving guardian to one of you and a doting, generous uncle to the rest.

“And don’t think I can’t tell you’re all rolling your eyes, especially you Surge. Hiding behind your hat won’t do you any good. I can see all!”

“If that was the case, why do we even need this person?” Surge snapped, narrowing his eyes at Blank.

“Because I don’t quite trust any of you with this envelope. This is the only thing that I could find that would allow me to communicate and observe without paying too high a price. If I gave it to any of you or the other people involved, I couldn’t be certain you’d try to tamper with the answers. And to be honest, I would rather not take the chance.”

“What makes him more trustworthy than, say, myself?” Schyll huffed, feeling somewhat slighted.

“Because like me, Schyll, we come across as far too familiar to be trusted by the youngsters and we are far too unfamiliar to be trusted by the others. I would have given this task to you, old friend, but I am also aware that you have much work to do when handling the legal affairs of the family. Not that you can’t handle it, but you are not as young as you used to be. And I’d be far more comfortable with the notion that you are handling things you are bloody brilliant at, messy will claims, ugly territory battles and all.”

That answer mollified Schyll enough to allow Blank to continue. “I wished for a scribe to be hired because their motto and reputation requires them to keep silent on all matters they write about. The copies of all the tales they’ve written down are kept by those who commission their talents and I have yet to hear a scribe going about and revealing information and secrets.

“No, most scribes are trustworthy, and I am particularly pleased that you managed to hire this young one.” Blank felt himself puff up his chest in pride, the only thing he was known for was his professional abilities and no matter how mundane his job may be, it was enough for him. “After all, I almost didn’t realize he was the one reading my instructions in the first place!”

Blank twitched as the room erupted in laughter. “Oh but enough of that, my apologies dear boy but that quality of yours is something that just might save you from ending up as Feste’s plaything. This is all I am willing to let those present in the room know. The rest of this parchment is to be read by your eyes only.”

At that the words dissolved into dust, scuttling to the very edges of the paper to disappear. The parchment slipped from his hands and tucked itself neatly back into the envelope. The awkward silence that fell upon those gathered made Blank completely forget to ask about the fork in the road.

* * * * *

Schyll ushered Blank to a private room to rest in. The four cousins, as Schyll would later reveal, had insisted Blank stay in their humble home for the night. Once the lawyer had left him alone, Blank took stock of his surroundings. It was by no means humble to the young man. Three apartments from the building Blank stayed in could fit in the room. A carpet woven from a rare, angoran yeti covered the bedroom floor, leading to a canopy bed that stood invitingly at one end of the room. On both sides of the bed were side tables, their legs carved to resemble the merwolves of the Firenal rivers. There was a writing table to the bed’s left, where quills and inks were kept in a tidy row and several sheets of parchment lay hidden in drawers.

Blank felt uneasy in such luxuries, he liked being comfortable but this all seemed too decadent for his liking. Especially the crystalline chandelier hanging from the ceiling, its soft light bouncing against the gold leaves embossed onto the walls.

“I suppose if you can afford it, why not?” he shrugs before flopping down onto the bed. He felt the mattress give way just enough to mould around his form, and for the briefest of instants Blank felt like he was being swallowed. Unnerved, he sat up, hands feeling the mattress for any signs of teeth, tongue or saliva. When he was satisfied that the bed was just too comfortable for him, he calmed down and gingerly pulled out the envelope Schyll had given him from his pants pocket.

Scanning the room for any suspicious observational device, Blank held the small packet to his chest before tugging at the seal. Again the piece of parchment within flew out, this time hovering at eye-level out of Blank’s hands.

I’m pleased to see you are alone. Good, good, you can never be too careful around my nieces and nephews. Most of them can’t stand the notion of not knowing everything that goes on in this house, even if it was as small as moving a lantern just a smidge to the left. What more if it’s something as important as the stipulations to my will?

Blank started to speak when the parchment smacked against his nose.

Do not respond boy, just read! it scolded, I don’t have to tell you how to do your job, but I do have to tell you what it is you will be writing down. You may have noticed how my nieces and nephews treat each other, but that’s not what I want to know about. For all I care they’re really trying to kill each other to become the sole owner of the Edelberton estate. That would be foolish if you ask me, they need each other though perhaps Surge will be the only one to admit this.

The issues I am interested in finding out is specific for each person. You may have heard other names in my will. Names of people who are not present at the moment. You shall meet them in due time and fret not, I shall provide all the necessary materials and if I haven’t, ask Schyll. He’s a trustworthy fellow, you can always tell in death whether a person can or can not be trusted. And even alive I would rather leave my fate in Schyll’s hands rather than my siblings.

But never mind that. First and foremost, never, I repeat, never under any circumstance lose this envelope. You have no idea what it cost me to get this. I haven’t entirely passed on, yes, I did say I did not have to bribe anyone. I didn’t! Upon my word! I did, however, bargain with someone for a guaranteed shot at increasing my chances of passing on to Yrast’s endless horizon. Though I wouldn’t mind if I end up in Lorace’s alcove or Malj’s fortress.

Blank continued to read as the spirit of Raoul wrote on and on and on about the afterlife and of each Silar god’s promised world in the afterlife. Eventually, Raoul noticed he had gotten off track and the paper wrinkled, as if coughing in embarrassment.

Where was I? Oh yes, never lose this envelope. This is extremely crucial to me but never let anyone else know. Not even Schyll. Yes, I trust the man with my life, but frankly, the others are already too keen on ridding themselves of him. So any excuse such as trying to uncover vital information through means leading to death will be snapped up like a wide-eyed, uncultured country bumpkin at a slave market.

Blank twitched, if that was the case what was his protection?

As if reading his thoughts, though his expression was enough to give away whatever it was he was thinking about, They can’t touch you, this envelope will see to that. Once this falls out of your hands, well, you’re a veritable free-for-all as far as my nieces and nephews are concerned.

In any case, I’ve droned on without telling you what it is I want transcribed. I want my nieces and nephews’ secrets. I’m very particular about which secret so I have made a list. I will reveal the others as necessary but for now, you are to go and speak to Kairhn, Marlene, Sharel and Surge. In any order you wish. Inside the envelope you will find a small tome, its pages are empty and you are to write down their responses in that.

There should also be a quill in there, somewhere, along with a pot of ink. Don’t worry, the bottle was crafted to never spill unless you want it to. It’s always fun to throw ink at other people when you’re down right frustrated. The parchment trembled in laughter. Blank had to agree with that last statement, the times his aim was true it felt good to hear the audible splat and the dripping sounds as the black liquid dribbled down hair, clothing and skin. The best part was he often got away with it since hardly anyone ever noticed him unless he was caught red (or rather black) handed.

I would advise you to speak with them on a one-on-one basis. Tell them that it is imperative that you both be safe from prying eyes and kibitzing ears because the issues I wish to be made known are best kept between the two of you and the tome.

“What are these issues you keep mentioning?” Blank asked.

The page took a moment of silence, or blankness, before it answered, I’ll inform you when you are conducting the interview but I’ll tell you this much, these are things they don’t want anyone else to know and they will be most protective about it. Now then, go on and ask any of my nieces or nephews. I do suggest you ask Surge or Marlene first, they’ll be less likely to cause you bodily harm.

The parchment slipped itself back into its envelope, leaving Blank to mull over who he was to approach first.