The Winds of the Past [Rune Factory 4]

Chapter 74

As before, we appeared a short distance from the house, the nullification spell preventing us from teleporting directly into it. Asking me to wait a minute, Avani went to speak with the guard, and a moment later, he shouted into the house. A second guard appeared after a few minutes, and after another consultation, both men left and Avani called out for me to come on in.

Once inside, she barred the door, saying, “I want to be certain we’re not interrupted. This… this isn’t going to be easy. Just being in the house at all makes me feel like running fast and far away, even though he’s dead.” I looked at her in surprise, and she blushed and looked away. “I know…. But I wasn’t always as strong as I am now. And being in this place… it brings out my weakness.”

“It’s all right, My Lady,” I replied gently. “I’m here with you.”

She nodded, and took a deep breath as she looked around the entry. “I need to see what is in the house and decide what I want to leave with the house, what I want to give away… and there will be some things that I simply want destroyed, of that I’m certain.” With that, she began to work her way through the house, examining contents of cupboards and closets, making piles of things she wanted to take away.

The house was of a medium size—neither grand nor humble. The entry contained a few pieces of art on the walls, a bench, and a wide, shallow cabinet that held an assortment of boots and shoes. She pulled the footwear out of the cabinet and moved on to the next room, a large sitting room.

This room was furnished with heavy, old furniture, darkened with age, and upholstered with red and gold fabric. Thick red rugs covered the tiled floor, and red and gold cushions were heaped on the benches and sofas as well as strewn about a low table in the center of the room. The walls and shelves were adorned with paintings and decorative weaponry, and a few hideous statues glowered from dark corners. There appeared to be a common theme, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was, exactly. When I inquired, Avani grimaced and said that many of them were depictions of Adon, the Destroyer, and his draconic will, Fiersome. That struck me as peculiar, since the tribe purported to serve Ventu, his adversary, but I had to admit—it suited Bhima’s personality. 

All these depictions of Adon and Fiersome she pulled down and threw into a heap, but she otherwise left the room as it was. She did the same with the dining room, then moved on to the kitchen. She gathered all the perishable goods together, tossing out anything that was no longer wholesome, and heaped the food into baskets to take to the needier members of the tribe. Everything else she left, with the exception of some childishly embroidered linens she pulled from the back of a deep drawer. She sighed in relief as she uncovered them, then looked at me sheepishly. “I’m so glad these are still here. I was afraid Bhima or his mother would have worn them out or gotten rid of them.”

“What are they?” I asked, holding my hand out for them to take a closer look. She handed me a set of four tea towels, made from linen and crudely embroidered with stylized fruits and vegetables and flowers.

“That was Chanda’s wedding gift to me. She made them herself, even though she barely knew how to sew, let alone embroider. I know—they’re not much to look at. But of all the gifts given to me, this probably had the most love put into it, and so I treasured them for that reason alone.” She took them from me and folded them carefully, setting them on the counter and smoothing them with a smile before moving to the next room.

Bhima’s study was the next room she tackled, and she sighed and frowned as she looked around. “I suppose many of these books and scrolls would be useful to others. But I still need to inspect the drawers and cabinets. The ledgers, for example, probably would be of no use or interest to anyone else. I’ll need to go over them, to be sure that he owes nothing to anyone.” And with that she dragged the large leather chair away and pulled one of the wooden benches over.