Malefic Society

12. A Secret Room

"How can there be a room here?" wondered Chris. 

In front of them, the doorway led to a small chamber that was only as big as a closet. However, it was still not something that should have been there, since directly behind the wall should be the alleyway.

"And more curious yet... how was it not discovered by other people yet?" Crane rubbed his chin and paused. He was still catching his breath, since forcing open the door took almost all of his spirituality.

His siblings also wondered the same. The warehouse looked abandoned, from all the dust piling up on the objects there. However, in a city that big, the chances of something like that remaining undiscovered were slim.

"Maybe someone found this room and placed the door back again?" Catherine theorized.

"That... is plausible. Maybe I just jumped to a conclusion," Crane nodded in thought, "Let's check it out then, but first..."

He picked up a wrench from the box on the closest shelf and threw it into the secret chamber.

Clank!

The wrench hit the floor and made a noise. However, nothing else happened.

"Alright, it seems safe," he concluded.

The siblings entered the chamber carefully one by one since the space was not large enough. There was nothing on the right, but in the far corner on the left, there was a metal chest that occupied half of the whole space. 

Approaching the chest, they found out that it was locked with a built-in combination lock, and there was no sign of damage on it. The combination dial was a black bar under the chest's mouth.

"It looks old, but there is no sign of brute force on it. That means it's not been opened yet, or someone who opened it before knew the combination," Crane concluded, "If it's the former, it's highly likely that we're the first ones to discover this place,"

"Thousands of people in this city, and we're the first ones to find this place. That seems unlikely, doesn't it?" Catherine doubted.

When they were walking in the city earlier, there were indeed a lot of people, so there should be at least a person or group stumbling upon this place. The owners or workers of the warehouse, especially, would have a higher chance of finding that space.

"Maybe people in this city do not have spirituality as we do. Maybe the Gods do not exist in this world," Chris paused, "Or maybe this was left recently so people didn't have the chance to discover it yet."

"The chest looks old, so I don't think it's recent. Your first theory makes more sense, but the fact that we were transported here means that at least, supernatural powers exist in this world... maybe just hidden well..." Crane rubbed his chin and his tone grew heavier "or someone left this specifically for us."

Chris and Catherine could see where Crane came from.

"First, it was Cath's spiritual sense that located this place, and my Puppet Control ability that allowed us to open the door. Chris's acrobatic Blessing was what allowed us to enter in the first place, so everything feels like it was designed for us to find. Add to that the fact that we were transported into this world just near here."

If that's true, it's scary to think what the person behind this can do, Crane thought.

The siblings' hearts grew wary, and they became anxious.

"Maybe it's Dad who left this for us," Catherine said finally. "After all, we were transported here just as we fulfilled the condition he wrote in his journal."

"Or maybe we should stop overthinking stuff," Chris interjected, "Let's just check out that thing."

He picked up the wrench that Crane threw before and tossed it onto the chest to check for traps.

Clank!

Metal hit metal, but aside from the noise, nothing else happened.

"I thought it was a chest, but it's actually safe!" he grinned cheekily.

Crane and Catherine ignored their brother.

"It appears to be a 6-digit combination, and the lock looks really sturdy. I don't suppose this wrench can open it. What do you think the passcode could be?" Crane crouched near the chest.

"If it's really left by Dad, maybe a date that is meaningful to him. Try our birthday," Catherine suggested.

"Let me..." 

Crane entered the numbers carefully into the lock, and by the time he got to the last digit, his expectation began to grow. If the code is correct, their theory would be proven, and they would have solid proof of something left by their father.

120657. It was the code he entered, which was their birthday. However, there was no sound of clicking or any movement from the chest. To his disappointment, the code was wrong.

"It's not right..." he said.

"Try Dad's birthday," Chris suggested.

"Do you guys know when that is?" he looked at his siblings with a puzzled look.

The two of them shrugged at the same time.

Their father was indeed mysterious. He had never told them anything from his past, so all they knew about him was only during the moments they were together until the day he vanished all of sudden.

"Maybe the date Dad met Mom would work," Catherine said.

Crane entered the numbers, but again, it was wrong.

"So it's not left by Dad after all..." he said, his tone heavy. 

Opening the chest itself was a different matter. Confirming their belief that the chest was left by their father was also a beacon of hope for them, but now it appeared that their hope was unbased.

Chris shrugged, "I guess you can use your ability instead. The chest is not too big, isn't it?"

Crane nodded.

Placing his palm on the metal object in front of him, he began injecting his spirituality into it. It was a feeling akin to being a hose and letting out streams of invisible water into the target.

Even though the chest was not big, it still drained quite a lot of Crane's spirituality, especially since he just used some for opening the door. It was not as much as what was needed to control the Brown-Scaled Lizard, but it was still tiring to him.

"Alright, it's done," he finally said, his face all sweaty.

Feeling the connection between him and the chest, he began moving it with his mind. It was as easy as moving his own limbs, but it was still impossible to cause the object he was controlling to move beyond its capability. Crane focused on the lock mechanism and started wiggling the inner hook around before forcing it open.

Click!

"It's open!" he exclaimed.

"So why didn't you just do it to this warehouse door?" Chris protested. He folded his arms and put on a judging face.

"That door was too big and thick. I would have depleted my spirituality..." Crane defended.

He would actually have been barely able to control the entrance door, but he would be left spiritually drained, and Crane always wanted to preserve some energy for emergency situations.

"Let's see what's inside," Catherine moved forward.

Waiting for Crane to open the mouth of the chest, the siblings were high in expectation. They were wondering what might be hidden inside such a contraption.

Creek... the metal hinges made a noise as the chest opened.

"Hey, that's..." Catherine's eyes sparkled.

She crouched down and picked up two black stones the size of her hands. Those stones looked normal, but they definitely caught her interest.

"Are those rune stones?" asked Crane.

"Yes! This one is the verb 'to stop," she raised the stone in her right hand, "and this one is a noun 'person'" she looked at the stone in her left hand.

"So what ability does it give you?" Crane started thinking of the possibilities.

"Chris, can you jump?" asked Catherine.

"Nope," he pouted and refused.

Catherine frowned. She then gave Crane a meaningful look and her brother nodded.

The Doll Maker stood up and quickly pushed his brother without warning. Chris, who had great reflexes, would have easily been able to avoid that, but the room was too small, so couldn't move efficiently.

As Chris stumbled, Catherine quickly pressed the two rune stones together.

"Stop Person!"

Suddenly, Chris was suspended midair!

Three seconds later, he started falling again, but Crane could catch him thanks to the window that Catherine's ability created.

"The fuck was that for!" he protested. He wasn't angry, but more surprised, "You could just use your ability while I'm standing still, couldn't you?"

"There would be nothing to show then," Catherine shrugged.

"So your ability can stop a person completely. Does it work on multiple targets?" Crane asked.

"No, it's just a person, as the noun describes. I would need the plural noun people to have multiple targets," Catherine explained.

"And the duration, it's just three seconds. Does it increase as you get stronger? What about the target's resistance? Will that affect your ability?"

"I believe so. I could feel like there was something siphoning my spirituality out, and at the moment, 3 seconds would be the limit I can keep hold of someone. And yes, I think someone's spiritual resistance will affect the ability's effectiveness,"

"Are you guys leaving me out again in your advanced theory class?" Chris interjected.

"Not really, no." Crane looked at his brother, "Chris, can you copy Cath's ability?"

"I believe I can, but I surely cannot copy the rune stones," he shrugged.

"Well, doens't matter. So we have got our hands on some powerful rune stones this time," Crane turned his attention towards the chest again, "Let's check out the rest of the content.

Besides the two rune stones, there was a wooden box that occupied the bottom of the metal chest, a thick brown envelope, and a metal container the size of an adult's hand.

Taking out the container, Crane opened it and revealed its content.

"Hey, that's a hunting knife!" Chris exclaimed this time. His eyes sparkled. 

Crane handed the weapon over to his brother, who immediately began appraising the object.

"It's small enough, so it's easy to carry, and it looks to be very well-made," he said, admiring the object in front of him.

The knife was the size of his hand, and the handle was made of hardwood. The blade was about 30 cm long and there was no sign of rust on the metal piece. It looked as if the hunting knife was just made, especially for him.

While Chris was admiring the knife, Crane took picked up the envelope and opened it. 

"This is money, isn't it? Is it this world's money?" he said, happily surprised, "It seems to be a lot!"

The stack of cash in his hand was quite thick. However, he didn't know how much money he was actually holding. Back in their town, they used coins, and the value was determined by the material, so gold coins were valued the most.

Catherine approached her brother and took a look at the cash.

"That's a stack of 1 guilder bills. I wonder how much it is here," she commented.

All of the bills were of the same value: 1 guilder. Each bill was orange in color and displayed an image of a man that they knew nothing about. It was a handsome man with a thin mustache and beard. He was wearing a regal outfit that made him look like a member of a royal family.

Crane's eyes were still glimmering at the sight of money, but he put it aside for now.

The last thing inside the chest was the wooden box, and carefully, Crane took it out by rolling the chest on its side. Slipping his hands in the gap, he dragged the box out and opened it.

"Now it's a puppet!" Chris blurt out.

Crane was as surprised as his brother; not because of the content itself, but because of how coincidentally needed the objects inside were.

"Rune stones, a knife, money, and a puppet. These are exactly the things we needed," he picked up the puppet and placed it next to him, "This cannot be a coincidence. Who or whatever transported us to this world must have left these for us."

"I am with you on this one. Do you think it could have been Dad's doing?" Catherine added.

"I believe so too. That means, Dad is... or was in this world too!" Crane said excitedly.

"No wonder the combinations were all wrong. It was designed for you to open!" Catherine had a sudden realization.

"Go check the puppet. Maybe it's special," Chris suggested. 

Crane examined the workmanship of the puppet beside him. It was the size of a small child, and light enough that he could carry it in his arms or on his shoulder. The puppet's skin was made of silicone, so it felt like real skin when Crane pinched it. However, it appeared that the frame was made of something else sturdier but light enough.

The puppet's appearance was really human-like, if not for its expressionless face. It could easily be mistaken for a small boy if someone was not paying enough attention to its unnatural joints. However, with the help of proper clothing, Crane would be able to easily cover them up.

"This is perfect for you, isn't it?" Catherine said. Even she was amazed by the workmanship of the puppet.

"Yes. I wonder if I will be able to make something this exquisite. I still have a lot to learn," he rubbed his chin.

"Well, now that we all have what we need, why don't we check for sure how much money we have?" Chris said.