Den of the Wolfman

Chapter 5: The Seer

Bandas walked for about an hour to get to the Voler quarter. There, he approached a set of great double doors resting on heavy hinges. A sign hung above:

MADAM MURIEM - SEER OF THE UNSEEN

He stood and thought for a moment, hung his head, and sighed. He then knocked on the door. A peephole opened in the door, and Bandas could dimly see a set of eyes looking back at him.

"Hello and welcome," said a low feminine voice.

"Madam Muriem?" asked Bandas.

"Yes, my child," came the reply. "You do not have an appointment today."

"Yes. Sorry. You and I met when I was doing an investigation for Tamar Fisher."

"I remember you, child," she said.

"Anyway, I had a few questions for you on a new case, and..."

She shut the peephole, unlatched the door, and opened it.

"Do come in!" she said, beckoning him with a wave of the hand. "I likely do not have any valuable information for you, but the spirits may have some."

"Ah, yes," said Bandas. "The spirits." He stepped into the hallway, and she closed the door behind them.

Before long, they were sitting at a table in her parlor. The contrast between these two figures was stark: he wore a regal albeit worn suit, while she wore a gaudy assortment of colors and ornaments, with pieces of reflective metal and dangling jewels that turned the light from the room's single lamp into a dancing light show across the walls.

"What shall I ask the spirits for, child?"

"Actually, I came to ask about someone I think you know."

"Hmm...who would that be?"

"Elaya Trencher."

"The name does seem familiar. However, my own memory is quite fuzzy these days. I may have to consult the spirits to get a clear sense of things."

Bandas laid a silver mark on the table. Muriem sat up straight, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and ran her hands down the front of her body.

"Ah, yes," she said. "Elaya. Pleasant girl. She comes to me sometimes to seek guidance in her life decisions."

"She is dead," said Bandas.

Muriem's eyes flashed open. "Dead, you say?"

"Have you heard of the Wolfman?"

"Ah, yes. A terrifying story! The spirits of his victims have been really stirring up the city's aura recently. Poor souls. Are you saying she was killed by the Wolfman?"

"That appears to be the case."

"Oh, my. Well, she specifically has not yet come to visit me since her departure. I hope that is because she is at peace."

Muriem was slouching in her chair now. This news seemed to have affected her.

"What can you tell me about her connections? Did she ever tell you anything about her regular clients?"

"Not by name," said Muriem. "She would refer to them by occupation. The dentist. The trader. The shop owner. The priest."

"Priest?"

She snorted. "Yes. Scandalous, no?"

"Were any of these men violent or unstable?"

"She never complained of that, no," said Muriem. "Elaya was actually very selective. She was able to be, because she was one of the prettier faces around. She didn't perform for abusive men."

"Was there anyone whom she cut off recently for being abusive?"

"No," said Muriem. "As far as I know, her clientele has been quite steady for about a year, which is when she first contacted me."

Bandas's own sense of Elaya's memories seemed to be consistent with that, though the images were beginning to fade as happens when one forgets a dream.

"Were any of these clients in danger of great loss if their relationship with her were to be found out?"

"Oh, for sure," said Muriem. "The priest, of course. Several of the others are married. Some of them have wives who are quite...liberal about such things. Others...not so much."

"Is there any sign that any of them may have been...deranged? Mentally unstable?"

"Hmm...no, not really. At least, she never told me anything like that. Again, she was always very selective."

Bandas took out a pad and pencil and had Muriem walk him through the list of Elaya's regular clients. He wrote down their occupations and key bits of information that Muriem remembered about them. The whole exercise was disheartening for Bandas, though, as none of these men seemed to fit the profile of the beast he had encountered in his vision of Elaya's murder. He nodded and rubbed his eyes.

"Is there anything else you think you can tell me that might be of help?"

"Let me consult the spirits," she said. He tilted his head and tried not to look too incredulous as she proceeded with her little performance. She took a sheet of paper, folded it into the shape of a human, and used the flame of the lamp to light it on fire. She then placed the little flaming person in a metal dish that sat at the center of the table.

"Spirits!" she cried, holding her hands out. "Spirits! What can you tell me of this horrific act? Who is the Wolfman? Where is he hiding? You who have been killed by him, help us to find him!"

Bandas shifted in his seat and folded his hands together.

"I see a house!" shouted Muriem.

"A house? What kind of house?" asked Bandas. He wasn't particularly invested in this, but he figured that he would play along.

"No, not a house at all...a warehouse. A small one. Close to the dockyards."

"Any more specific information?"

"Yes!" she hissed. "Someone there is alive still! A victim, not dead! Several have been taken there. One is still alive."

Bandas squinted at her.

"The building...is red brick!" Her eyes went wide. "It lies at the north end of Charity Street!"

Bandas wrote that down.

"How do you know this?" asked Bandas.

Muriem slouched back in her seat again.

"The spirits are receding," she said, seemingly exhausted. "I...can say no more."

"How do you know this?" Bandas repeated.

"The spirits have spoken," said Muriem. "They have nothing else to say on the matter."

"The spirits," repeated Bandas.

"Yes."

"The spirits told you that there are several Wolfman victims that have been taken to a red-brick warehouse at the north end of Charity Street, and that one victim is still alive?"

"I do not know that it is the Wolfman," said Muriem. "But I know that several have been killed there. Brutally killed! And one is still alive, though not for long. You must hurry!"

There was sincere alarm in her voice. Bandas nodded, reached forward, took her hand, and kissed it.

"Thank you, Madam Muriem."

"Quickly!" she said. "He needs help! Save him!"