Magic of Etheria

Chapter 22 | Why is a Raven like a Writing-Desk?

Catra and I exchanged a concerned glance. I was glad to see that she was equally apprehensive about the death-trap of a building that stuck out from the rest of the city like a sore thumb. Dig and Dug were already climbing up the porch. I let out a deep breath before stepping forwards and walking up the house. One thing that became clear as I neared the front door is that this building was not built with taller creatures in mind, or at least the front door wasn't. It was only a couple heads taller than Dig, who was only slightly taller than Dug, which meant the top of the door only just reached my midsection.

'Hmm.' Catra appeared at my side, apparently unimpressed with the low doorframe. 'Wonder why all the other doors we've seen are our size, but this one isn't.'

I shrugged, watching as Dig and Dug were peering into the windows, 'Maybe Seer doesn't get many tall visitors?'

Catra rolled her eyes, 'Wow, Adora, you're really kicking the boat out with that one, huh?'

'Hey!' I jabbed an elbow toward her, but she managed to back away before it connected, 'what's that supposed to mean?'

She was about to reply but stopped as her ear twitched. We both turned our heads at the same time, only to see that Dig had opened the door and was stepping into the house with Dug close behind. There weren't any lights on inside, so I lost sight of them almost immediately.

'Is that allowed?' Catra asked, motioning toward them.

'I have no idea, let's follow them!' I moved forward quickly, bobbing down to squeeze through the doorway.

'Adora! Wait!' I heard Catra following behind, but she stopped as I disappeared inside. After a moment I saw her eyes appear under the doorframe, looking at me with a glare I couldn't quite decipher, 'Adora, this is ridiculous.'

'Fine, stay outside then.' I smiled as I heard Catra groan. I was still bobbed down, but as I looked around, I realised the ceiling inside was tall enough for me to stand. I rose to my full height and stepped carefully into the room, holding my arms out in front of me so as to not walk into anything. It was dark inside, and I had lost sight of Dig and Dug. I could vaguely see the outlines of furniture, but I couldn't tell what anything was. Was there a light somewhere?

'Adora?' I turned around to see that Catra had braved the tiny doorway and was standing just inside it, her eyes shining in the gloom.

'Finally decided to come in, did you?' I asked, but my smile dropped when I realised she was looking past me.

'What's that?' She asked, almost a whisper.

I gulped and turned around slowly, dreading whatever had caught Catra's attention. There hadn't been anything else in the room when I entered, or at least I thought there wasn't.

My eyes met with two bright yellow circles, glowing in the darkness, looking down at me. I yelped and jumped backwards but stopped and shut my eyes tight as the room was suddenly filled with light. I heard Catra hiss behind me as I struggled to open my eyes, adjusting to the sudden brightness.

'Greetings! We have been expecting you. Please don't be alarmed, Seer will be with you shortly. I hope.' The voice sounded metallic, grating, artificial. When I could finally make out fuzzy outlines without my eyes hurting, I saw that there was a robot standing tall in front of me. One of its arms was retracting from across the room where it had turned on a light fixed to the ceiling. The rest of the robot's arms and legs soon retracted too, until it stood at waist height, looking up at me.

I blinked a few times, taking it in. The robot was talking. Properly talking. Emotively. Suddenly I remembered the Elder mentioning robots being programmed with personalities, and all the nods I received on the way here had been friendly greetings. 'Uh, thanks?'