Inexorable

14: Of Lace and Glass

Of the other times he has visited the Starveling, none have gone as horrible as this one. It was the sound of ice – no, of shattering glass – that he followed. Crack, crack. One foot after the other, he feels drawn to the nightmarish sound, his mind aimlessly wandering as he trekked across the desert. It is as if his mind is coated in sickeningly sweet yet bitter substance, the thick and viscous matter drowning out all else.

When his vision clears, Caius finds himself standing in front of an isolated Victorian mansion, one that looks as if it were freshly pulled from a historical murder mystery. Imposing walls of crumbling gray stone and marble tower over him, each side laced in rusty gold trimming.

The mansion stands by itself atop a dying hill, its beauty unhinged and faded by the countless years of rot and decay. Caius can see what it once could have been, a grand Victorian home of sleek marble and bright gold, a palace fit for the rich. Now it bore no signs of life, all left of it a gaunt and creaky relic of a once golden history. Heavy iron gates stand at the front of the mansion, keeping intruders out, although Caius can not figure out who would desire to break in. 

There is a strange aura that encapsulates the mansion, Caius notes, as the impeccable feeling of uneasiness crawls through him. An uneven cobblestone path weaves itself to the front door of the house, and he finds himself mindlessly following it, seamlessly leaping over the gates.

Now that he is closer, Caius takes in the strange carvings that the mansion bears, ones that would have gone unnoticed if only glanced at. Detailed carvings of unreadable symbols adorn around the roof, the window panes, and around the doorframe. 

From this distance, he can make out the repeated hand carved images of feathers, foxes, and ravens encircling the marble. Inscribed faintly on the marble door is a ward written in Latin that reads:

"DISPERDAM TRUCIDABO

OMNIUM QUERENTIUM

UNUM AD VOLUNTATEM LEGI CAESORUM

QUORUM ANIMAE INTERASCO

SANGUINEM OCULI EORUM

UNIUS NON INVENIAT HOMO OPUS

DEUS IGITUR MALEDICTUS GALLI CANTUM"

❧

"DESTROY AND KILL

ALL THOSE WHO SEEK

THE FALLEN ONE AT WILL

MAY THEIR SOULS WITHER

MAY THEIR EYES BLEED

FOR ONE SHALL NEVER KNOW

THE GOD OF THE CURSED CROW"

Everything tells Caius to flee. To leave before he condemns himself to a meaningless death. To run before his soul is reaped from his body.

Instead, he strides into the mansion.

His footsteps tearing through the eerie silence. Each step earns a loud shriek from the rotting wooden floors beneath Caius. Way to go, Caius, you've not only marched to your own death, you've also attempted to wake every spirit to watch you go down, he mutters, making a note to wear the worn leather boots assigned to him.