Jackalopes

The hall of records

The very first person Jane took notes on was strange. It was a young woman with yellow, almost white hair and dark lines all over her face. She wore dirty grey overalls and had a staring, faraway look. However, she did not seem to be frightened or scared nor did she seem confused about her surroundings. Instead she seemed impatient and looked at the door leading out of the pylon instead of Jane, which she found pretty rude.

"I don't need to tell you who I am, there is nobody waiting for me in this or any other world" the woman told her. "I have a mission that I must finish. Nobody else can do it. Now, will you finally let me go away from this place?"

"Is there no way we could help you?" Jane said as nicely as she could, feeling that she had to get at least something out of this strange person. "Perhaps a short rest would..."

" Can you explain to me why my face flares up now and then, it bothers me when I must concentrate..." the white woman said, staring down on the floor. "No...?" Jane began. "But if..."

"Then you are worthless to me and my duty" the strange woman turned her head up and looked Jane straight in the eyes and stood up. "I'm leaving!" Asking Martha about it later, Jane got told that many shades considered themselves to have sacred missions and that it was best to leave them be if they didn't threaten anyone. That said, she could have at least gotten a name or description of her appearance.

"And as for the sensation she felt, most souls do still vividly remember the way they died, and nothing makes that pain go away completely..." Martha carefully told Jane as she showed her the way to the hall of records after taking about five notes, which she deemed enough for a newbie. So the souls of the dead felt sensations of how they had died?

Jane remembered that sometimes her neck felt long and wobbly, like it was flailing to and fro and she could look around corners. What the heck could that mean!? Jane could not figure out the hot sensation in the face either. How could you die from having your face warm!? Maybe the strange woman burned to death or something but then her whole body should feel warm, right? Well, that would have to be a question for another time, as it was time to go to the hall of records to catalog her findings there before heading down for dinner! The hall of records was a lot bigger than Jane had expected. But after all, this was where all dead souls in the world passed through, right? She shouldn't be surprised...

Jane stood there, at the main desk, waiting for someone to appear. Nothing happened. Jane spied two figures moving in the darkness. One was a giant, holding the other one in its hand. The giant was lifting the smaller figure up into a hidden alcove filled with ancient tomes. Jane wondered what they were doing here and felt even smaller than usual. The giant could be no other than Dani (or Danielle in modern languages) the chiefteness, the leader of one of the first hare societies, and almost as famous as Scrivens. In life she had been one of the first to organize and make laws to help her people survive and thrive. But although Scivens name and source of power was well known, the chiefteiness herself was a complete mystery. When Jane came here the first time on her original journey through the underworld she had seen the chieftainess as if from far away but never spoken to her.

Wait...the other statue that had been destroyed in the recent Silver City earthquake! Could it be DidIprai she was holding? Yes, the smaller figure indeed wore the rounded tall dunce-like cap that was so out of fashion nowadays, the mark of a wise rabbit. What were they seeking in the hall of records? Jane did not speak up but rather tried to make herself small and unnoticeable. She doubted that she would be able to help them anyway. About two minutes later Jane was quite startled to hear a voice.