A Dreamer's Worlds

The Treasure is For the Birds

 It was dark, but I had my lantern to guide me. I held up as I pushed open the door. It was the servant's door and I found myself in the kitchen. Dust covered the counters and dishware, and it plumed up with a vengeance as I entered. I covered my mouth and nose until the dust settled.

I checked the doors. One led to a pantry and another opened into what would've been a walk-in ice box. Inside, whole pigs rotted on hooks. I felt their gazes on me and moved the lantern closer. In the lantern light, I could see that though their eyes remained, they were most certainly dead. I had nothing to fear from these corpses.

The third door led into a corridor. I quickly let myself in, shutting the door quietly behind me. A sweep of the lantern revealed a few stuffed animals. They were all incredibly lifelike, dead eyes completely untouched by death. I poked at a fox's snout, amazed at the craftsmanship.

I felt my skin crawl. I spun about, swinging the lantern ahead of me. The long dead snarl of a lion greeted me. I shook myself and continued on my way. No time to be spooked by dead animals; I had a treasure to find.

I checked the doors along the corridor, finding useless rooms like dens and bedrooms and other such things I knew from the blueprints I'd studied. The manor as a whole was empty of living creatures. The only sounds I heard were by the howling wind outside and those I made myself. I couldn't see the walls of the corridor, having to walk in a zig-zag pattern simply to reveal the walls to my lantern.

One door led to my destination. The stairs downward beckoned like a great maw, but the lantern light reduced it to some gentle beast allowing me to walk down its throat. The door at the bottom was locked once, but the rest had taken care of that. I nudged open the door, stepping through into what I believed was the Devil's workshop.

I was anything but surprised; Arthur Halloway had been hanged for witchcraft. Finding his lab filled with jars of infant beasts and long rotted organs was not unexpected. My stomach rebelled at the blasphemy, but I remained strong.

I placed my lantern on a table, next to a carved branch housing a stuffed raven, crow, and jackdaw. They peered at me with beady eyes and I peered back with my own. The crow was frozen in a silent caw. The jackdaw looked to be searching for something, staring down at the floor. The raven did nothing, merely perched and watched the door.

My search was fruitless. If there had been a treasure, it had long been looted. All locks had been shattered or picked, the tools laying on the floor. A few gold coins remained, and these I pocketed. I grabbed my lantern and started out the door.

A caw made me pause. I turned, and I could've swore the jackdaw had moved. It was facing away from the floor now, head hidden by its raised wings. I didn't go back to look. Instead, I made my way upstairs.

The front doors were locked. I was looking for a key when I heard a sharp caw. I turned to it, seeing the jackdaw perched on a short table. Behind it, I could see the crow. It held an eye in its beak, an eye that stared at me. Neither moved or breathed, and bringing the lantern near them I could see that they were stuffed. They must have been here the whole time and I just hadn't noticed. I shrugged and returned to my task, thinking of what I would do with the gold.

A soft croak brought my attention back to the table. It had joined its cousins, watching me. I looked again, seeing that in the light, they were mere trophies. I turned away.

The raven flew at me, making me drop my lantern in surprise. The globe shattered. Glass flew and I was plunged into darkness.