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└➤the red room。✑ ───┐
THEY WALKED THROUGH THE HALL OF COMBE CAREY IN SILENCE. George stood on Ziggy's right while Lucy stood on her left. She tried to pay attention to what Fairfax had to say but it was hard to focus on him when the place, while a bit dusty, was marvelous.
"I can't figure this place out. Nothing's where it should be," George commented, a map of the hall in his hands as he inspected the room they were in.
"This is the gallery," Fairfax called back to them, making George look at him. "The original priory was destroyed after the monks decided to commit mass suicide. You had to make your own fun in those days. The modern house was built on the ruins. So it's a bit of a Frankenstein."
Ziggy sighed as she walked over to one of the tables, letting her fingertips graze it. She got nothing so far, which she couldn't tell was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Mr. Lockwood broke the deal," Ellie's voice rang through the room, causing her to look to her right, seeing Ellie walk in with a bomb flare in her hands. Ziggy looked at the bomb flare, her eyebrows knitting in confusion. Out of all the bomb flares to bring, why that one? It was a horrible one and they had much better ones. It didn't make sense. "He brought a bomb flare."
"Oh dear. I asked Ellie to go through your bags," Fairfax told them.
"You did what?" George asked.
"Well, then you've broken the rules of the deal too, by searching our bags," Lockwood retorted, placing his hands on his hips.
"As far as I recall, there's nothing in our agreement that prevents me making sure you won't burn my house down," Fairfax informed them, causing Ziggy to sigh. She really didn't like Fairfax. "You do have form, after all, so let's call it quits."
Fairfax started walking over to Ellie. "Well, time is ticking. The sun's nearly down."
George went over to Lockwood, Ziggy following behind him. "What the hell did you bring that for?" he whispered to Lockwood. "Apart from anything else, we've got way better flares."
"We'll leave you to work," Fairfax spoke up, grabbing the four's attention. "It's a little late for us to be in this house safely." He lifted an arm and pointed to the side. "Through there, you'll find the Screaming Staircase." He dropped the arm before looking up towards the ceiling. "It'll take you round to the Red Room, which is the most likely site of the primary source. We'll be back in the morning. I trust you have everything you need from here?
"I'm sure we'll be fine," Lockwood told him.
"Good luck," Fairfax said before he walked out, Ellie following behind him.
Ziggy huffed softly, shaking her head. "He's such a pompous ass," she muttered, receiving a snicker from Lucy.
"Such a wonderful way to describe him," Lucy said.
