Mesu was stunned by the interior. The outside was deceiving. The inside was covered in ornate decorations. It felt double the size of what the exterior would have anyone guessing. A staircase wound up along the near wall and reached higher to another floor. The furniture was not of the world, as the markings were more intricate and unfamiliar patterns. The table, chairs, and bookshelves all carried the same symbol buried within them.
“It appears I have some work ahead of me.” Liam let go of Mesu’s hand and began to wander away. Mesu’s eyes searched the room up and down. There were minor details everywhere that she started picking up on. The overall look matched with a pale green and gold color scheme. She wandered over to a setup in the middle of the room with chairs and a table. The feel of the chairs was familiar. It was wood, sturdier than any she had felt before. The color made it appear to be a foreign metal. The table was green marble. She wondered if anyone had entertained here before.
More of the goblins had entered now and were barring the only exit she knew of. She had resigned to the fact that she was stuck here for the time being. The walls had some of the same designs painted on them that decorated the furniture. Mesu moved around the floor, noticing a set of stairs leading down. The chattering continued as a few of the creatures went down while others followed Liam and Em up. She made her way to a wall and started to outline the design with her finger. Where she traced gave off a small amount of illumination. It went from black to a light yellow and faded as her fingers passed.
Mesu pulled her finger back and looked at it. No residue on it. She placed her fingers back on the wall and traced it again. It did the same thing, leaving a pattern behind. It was hard to pull away from this, as it was intriguing. Mesu sighed and walked along the wall more to the staircase leading to the next floor. She held onto the rail, noting it was not lighting up. There was clattering and crashing from above. Liam’s stern voice boomed for everyone to be careful.
The stairs were spread apart, making Mesu think it would have been a larger person or creature who resided here. The green and gold motif gave way to a hall that was carpeted in red and lined with four doors. All of them had been opened. Mesu peeked into the room to the right before walking in. It was filled with bookshelves that reached the ceiling. She noted how Anna would have loved this room, even if it was just for the view.
It housed books of all colors. The bindings ranged from ornate to plain. Mesu ran her fingers across them and noticed that there was no dust. The thought of cleaning this many books seemed awful to her. To handle each one and not let the dust settle was also something she didn’t believe was possible. Mesu wondered if this was some sort of magic as well.
There was a ladder on the far side of the room that looked like it could be easily positioned in any spot. A lone chair and smaller table sat in the middle of the room. It was as if it had been used recently, like everything else in the house. She picked out one of the books at her level and opened it up. She recognized most of the words. A few had tripped her up that were either names or ones she had never seen before. She continued through part of it and used the context to fill in gaps. It was a recorded history of a world. The story she chose was the shaping of the land by great giants. Each one was a different element and had a hand in creation.
Mesu thought of how this didn’t sound familiar at all. She examined the cover and inside pages, but couldn’t find the year it was written. She placed it back in its spot and wandered the room a little more. It was calming that no one was spending any time here. This was one of the only moments she had alone since setting out on this journey. It made her miss Anna and the rest of the group. She thought back to her family as well and felt like she wanted to cry.
There were more footsteps above her and in the hallway. They didn’t seem rushed. This let her know that the owner of the place was still nowhere to be seen. Mesu had determined that it was likely Enya who had created this place and filled it with everything that was inside. She ventured across the hall and saw a kitchen and dining area. This area was also abandoned. The stores were also empty, but it appeared to be temporary storage. The table and chairs along with the decor were more plain than what Mesu had witnessed up to this point.
She didn’t linger and decided to move up a level. This was another hall that ended in a staircase up. Both sides of the hall housed rooms that were meant for sleeping. They matched, except one had a lift that led down to the kitchen. It came as a shock when Mesu emerged from a door she hadn’t noticed before. She wondered how many more hidden passages were out of eyesight. She moved up to the next room and found a group of the creatures along with Liam and Em.
“Finally, hopefully you can help us with this dilemma.” Mesu watched as the group dispersed in front of her, except for Liam and Em. She glanced around and was in awe. The room was filled with weapons of all sorts. The collection was mostly melee offerings with the occasional ornate bow. The walls in the room were filled with blades that were held with gold, silver, jewels, bone, and so much more.
“It seems we can’t actually take anything. I want to pay Em for his service with his choice, but they won’t come loose. Demonstration, please?” Liam pointed at one of the creatures. It almost sighed before moving to the wall and grabbing the handle of a random short sword. It tried to pull, and the item stayed put. It braced itself against the wall and pulled with all its might. A few seconds of this passed, and the goblin let out an awful sound. The hand it used was a shade of red Mesu had never seen.
“That is actually preferred over the lightning. I know that I said you were done, but can I have you give this a try, please? This one in particular, if you don’t mind.”
Mesu did mind. She also wanted to run, knowing that what she was doing would only aid in the harm or death of others. It was a decision between feeling pain now or aiding in the suffering of others later. It wasn’t her moment to be heroic. Liam sensed these thoughts as well, she thought. His smile now gave away that they agreed. She stepped forward, passing both of the men. Mesu pointed to verify which it was and grabbed the hilt. It was loose in the holder on the wall, and she was able to pull it off.
It was much lighter in her hand than she had imagined it would be. She looked around to see roughly 30 goblins in the room, with one of the most dangerous men she knew also. It pained her to hand it over to Em. He paid no mind to her expressions and tested it in his hand.
“Very nice. I like it. Only a couple more and I will be on my way then.” Mesu aided Em’s shopping trip as he pointed out 3 more items and stashed them away. “Pleasure doing business with you all. Maybe we’ll run into each other in the next life.”
“I could only hope to be so lucky.” Liam shook his hand, and Em was quick to leave. Mesu assumed he was trying to get away before anyone caught up with them. It didn’t matter as long as they were in here. Mesu would be the only one who could see and access it.
“What of these do you want so I can be on my way too?”
“Oh, Mesu, nothing here. Em is short-sighted. He only thinks of things that will benefit himself. I have something so much more in mind. Come, we have to go up a few more levels to get what I need.” Liam reached out like he was going to take her hand and pulled it back. He smiled and led a group of them up the next staircase.