The Iron Dragon

Chapter 20. Maliphant

As the most striking thing in the whole room was the big desk, we assumed that we could find some information there as well and that was the case. On the desk there was another letter which was apparently again meant for the leader of the free men, Maliphant.

"Another letter to this Maliphant this time seems to be about the fact that they want to structure their common work better and that they make a good profit. "However, I do not know who wrote this letter.

"Is the name of the sender not included? ". I just shook my head and showed her the letter.

"The sender just signed with C. No name or other information that might help us. So we only know that there is apparently someone else who is in league with the rebel leader and that doesn't make the whole situation any better. I admitted to myself that it would seem strange if we didn't find out that several bad people were in cahoots with each other and did whatever they were doing. Nothing good, anyway.

"It is always reassuring to hear that more and more crazy psychopaths are joining forces to make this world a better place from their point of view". The dwarf's sarcastic undertone is a lot to each of us, but inwardly we could only agree with him. There was more and more evil in this world and unfortunately most of us use the hole in heaven to do more horrible things. It was terrible to see how polluted this world really was.

"Then we'll just have to find and exterminate every single one of these lunatics like we always do". Her words were so simple, but everyone here, including her, knew that it was almost impossible to find and destroy every evil, but this did not mean that Freya could not try.

"Whoever wrote this letter is working together with the Free Fighters and on a grand scale. According to their written words, they seem to share workers as well as some information. We should try to find out who this mysterious C. is and maybe kill him - we seem to be quite good at that". The inquisitor nodded and we continued on our way.

"Is it just me or does a new door appear every time you look away for a short time". I could hear from the dwarf's voice that he was already losing his orientation. I just shook my head and raised an eyebrow in the air.

"Is this property too big for you, Mr. Dwarf? ". I could hear it rumbling beneath my question.

"This cursed estate would be too big for any man who could find his way around. There are doors everywhere and every room looks like another." I was sure that with a certain amount of sense of direction one could find one's way around this place very well but telling him that would probably not help him very much.

"If you stick with us, you will not be lost". Varric looked up at me and shook his head only grinning.

"I think it would be more than difficult to lose sight of you and if it should happen, then you can just spark some fire again. I did not know how one could compare my flames with sparks, but I had to say that I liked the way he talked to me. This dwarf made you feel like you could just talk openly with his presence and that was a pleasant quality. But in one thing I clearly agreed with him. For some people this property could be quite confusing. Many doors, which indeed all looked quite the same. Even in the room where we were at the moment there were two more doors, apart from the one we had come through. I also noticed that there was a crack in the wall to the right of the desk, which was not insignificant. The wall itself seemed quite thin and so I concluded that there might be something behind it.

 But before I looked into this possibility, I searched the other drawers of the table and some shelves that were behind it. I noticed a small dark book that looked different than the others. I took it out and skimmed the first pages, whereupon my eyebrows went up. In my hands I held a diary, not just any diary, but the one that was clearly marked with the name Maliphant. I wondered who by all the gods was idiot enough to leave his diary in an abandoned villa. But since I already had my answer in my hands I did not deal with this question any further. However, the first sentences I read caused my forehead to wrinkle.