Don't Forget Me: The Curse Of The Crith Omdat

The Library

Crisp air stings my skin under the soft hue of the moonlit night. Sighing, I wander the empty streets waiting for the sun to begin its ascent to where the moon sits in the sky. The silence is deafening, offering no comfort to the churning within my unsettled stomach.

I wrap my arms around myself tightly as I shiver, a fickle breeze swamping through the fibres of my clothing. A distant caw of a crow echoes in the desolate street. I clench my jaw and walk quickly through the narrow streets, rubbing my arms as I glance around each corner. 'It's never this quiet', I think to myself, suspicion creeping into my chest. It's not uncommon for me to be wandering the empty streets at night, but tonight felt different. Perhaps it was just my nerves from the meeting with Enoch that had me on edge? Sitting on a bench I tap my foot against the cobbled stones and look up at the star-spotted sky and search the constellations. 'Orion, Aquila...Boötes...' I name the patterned stars above me over and over as I wait for the sun.

My eyes meet the playful peering of the orange sun over the thatch roofs. Normally, I would greet the sun with a cheerful smile. However, this morning its presence doesn't indicate my departure for home. Groaning, I stand pushing my hands into my thighs. 'Time to go', I encourage myself to leave the comfort of the solitary bench for the library, running my hand through knotted dark hair with a heavy sigh. I look to my left down the once-empty street seeing the first signs of merchants preparing for the opening of their stores. "Sil!" I turn my gaze to meet the soft eyes of my trusted blacksmith. He leans from a soot-covered windowsill, waving his rough calloused hand. Forcing a smile, I begrudgingly stride to meet him.

"Fabron! How's the family?", I lean against the wall next to his mucky window. Peering at me through dull golden wisps he shakes his head solemnly. "It's been a tough few weeks. Nova... Well, you know her. Always smiling, even when the little one cries all day and night." Fabron sighs and turns his gaze to the ground, sucking air through his teeth. "You wouldn't happen to be bringing any trade my way would ya, old friend?" He looks at me with desperate eyes. I press my lips together thinking of the possible supplies I will be gathering in the coming days. "I'll be paying you a visit. It'll be a hefty order." A small smile curls at the corners of his lips to my promise. "Fantastic! I look forward to ya visit then, Sil." With an acknowledging nod, turning steadily on my heels and I continue down the busy street to the library.

I halt in front of the white stone slab staircase that leads to the heavy oak doors. Enoch wouldn't be as obvious to simply meet me inside, so I glance around the entrance for any signs of him. 'If he would just give me a little more information for these meetings I wouldn't have to loiter like an oaf' I scold the man to myself. Shoving my hands in my pockets, I stalk around the entrance of the building. Checking between the endless narrow pillars and nooks of the marble architecture before I press my forehead against the cold stone.

"Silas, you fuckin' fool", I hear Enoch's rusty voice hiss from the alley between the library and the archives facility. Flustered by my idiocy I saunter to join him in the umbrageous gap. I will blame my lack of observation on my fatigue...

"Sorry, I appear to be a bit out of it..." I smile sheepishly, hoping his confidence in me hasn't faltered. Enoch brushes off my excuse with his hand and a grim expression.
"Let's just hurry this along. You're late", he scolds, digging out a thick wad of paper bound in tanned leather from his dusty bag.
"This is everything I have on the Crith Omdat...", Enoch presents the folder to my open hands. I untangle the twine that binds it together and begin to sift through the endless pages.
"Enoch, most of this is about the guards, the house... maybe some of the protections the witch has placed on it..." I muster out in a flurry, flicking through the pages with haste.
"But what do you have on the Crith itself?", I raise my brow to the man who chuckles back at me. Enoch reaches over and separates the final two pages from the stack, indicating his knowledge.
"You gotta be kidding me" I sigh, "two pages, that's all you've given me to work with?".
"It's all I got" Enoch shrugs, his eyes wandering the dark alley with disinterest. "The Crith is a mystery lad, you're lucky I got as much as I did."