Acropolis

Trapped Home

Good thing Andelko is watching the horses but has he been attacked?

Acacia clobbered the door latch but it stuck. They were locked in. Kazimir remembered to bring his scimitar just in case someone snuck in but he figured it also could be used as a way out. He jabbed and stabbed at the hollow door to the room that led to the mysterious smell. If they were locked in, going farther into the maze of rooms was their only puzzle to figure out.

After Kazimir carved a hole in the door, Acacia clamored in and followed the wire which led to a lever--which was attached to a siphon--which pumped a liquid whenever a door swung open. The sulfur smell didn't aerate. The siphon pumped the clear liquid onto a conductor-type matchbox with a fuse. The lever lifted for one last time, revealing a lit fuse. The flame grew and grew from the wick on the matchbox.

The house could burn down! Any evidence could be destroyed! Any gift from Daphne, destroyed!

"Why would the Drought's burn down their own legacy with any device?" Acacia demanded.

"Do we really know if this device could burn down the entire house or sections within the hidden deed? Could he really have the sense to make this puzzle that easy, I should say?" he stroked his beardless chin trying to sound casual.

"I don't know about his sense but I don't doubt it; I really wish Chiron or Circinus could fit inside this house though. They could stamp this flame out!"

With Acacia's wish, Kazimir had an idea. He crawled out of the nearly vacant room containing a fireplace and cellophane-covered furniture hoping to find a bucket or tamper and wandered into the kitchen where he rummaged noisily. With every slight and accidental movement of the fishing wire, the clear liquid continued to drip. The lever teetered and creaked. Kazimir found a cooking pot, carefully fit through the new hole he had made in the door (to avoid tripping another alarm or trap) and covered the elongated flame. Over the matchbox, wood splinters and timbers started cracking from the ceiling and landed on the matchbox but Kazimir covered the flame in time. This further gave him the idea to look above the ceiling and find the output and input for the conductor and switch it off. He too decisively slashed the wire with his scimitar but this sent off a whole domino effect of triggers and clamors throughout the entire house. Kazimir's pupils dilated and Acacia's heart hammered.

The splinters that had been cracking from above caved in the ceiling completely. The blows flung Acacia sideways and into the furniture, but she landed by hitting her head.

"Kazimir, why did you do that? Andelko is going to leave his post! How will we follow the traps once they're destroyed! They're our only clues!"

"Are you sure the battle wasn't your last test as new ruler! If we can get to the second floor we could still follow the wire!" Acacia was edgy but didn't like the tone of Kazimir's voice. It was the decision of chance so Acacia had no choice but to follow Kazimir's impromptu instructions. They climbed outside Kazimir's hole, hoping the room didn't leave any smoke that would signal Andelko to leave his post. The stairs were, however, another slip to watch out for. The wire's destruction trailed up the stairs. Perhaps there was no end to the wire and it tangled in circles like the cobwebs in the house.

They started following it toward designated chambers with designated areas: bureaus, cases, files, cabinets, drawers, and bookshelves. Kazimir thought he must have flung and filed through every book in the house—still, no hints. They had reached the caved-in room on the second floor and found more books, some with research, others pulp fiction. Acacia recognized one book, stopping Kazimir from flinging everything that consisted of paper on the floor—Stigmas and Honors of Our Nature: War and Unicorn Lore. At first, Kazimir thought it was a book he had to read for philosophy but Acacia remembered reading it all the way through. The edition looked much different—much older, but she remembered more than the cover. The book contained a map.