Standing up from his chair, he yawned as he heard the cathedral bell chime once again. The first mass of the day had just ended, while Veyn miners continuously flocked out into the street, heading towards the train station.
Felix packed up his toolbox as he stretched his arms lazily. Fixing his desk while whistling a nostalgic tune, he formulated a follow-up plan based on the clues he had gathered last night. Unfortunately Nothing too substantial.
The museum does not operate on Saturday or Sunday, so he would not need to report to his newfound 'job'; unfortunately, Eleanor also does not train during the weekends. He decided to make up some random excuse to go out so as not to alert Eleanor.
Felix formulated a list of priorities for his outing. The top priority would definitely be a new journal to summarise everything. important events, clues, and memories, should he recover anything. After all, he couldn't completely rely on what I know for sure in the future
While picking up the repaired sundial and brooch from the table, he paced around the room, thinking of a reasonable excuse to head out. Forget it, I'll get ready first
Felix quickly changed into a slightly dull white cotton shirt; the collar was slightly creased from wear, and his braces hung taut over his shoulders, holding up a pair of dark wool trousers worn thin at the knees. He paired it with his waistcoat, which had lain discarded over the back of his chair. He picked up his faded frock coat and bowler hat from where they were hung on the door and headed out of his room.
Turning back sharply, he suddenly remembered the linen shirt from last night. He picked it up from the headboard and stuffed 5 shillings into his left pocket for emergencies, as he contentedly headed out.
Eleanor was pacing around the kitchen while placing breakfast on the counter, where the siblings usually had their meals. She dropped a bowl of steaming porridge and 2 pieces of bread with a bit of butter in front of him.
He looked up, slightly surprised at his sister, who was currently wearing her best dress, a freshly washed green cotton button-up dress with beige ribbons that she had re-altered earlier to look newer, coupled with a pair of beige cotton gloves and a yellow lace bonnet decorated with little embroidered flowers.
"You're up", she beamed without looking up while adjusting the straps of her bonnet.
"Mrs Dubley invited me the other day to attend Madam Gertrude's garden party as her plus one," she continued excitedly as she applied her homemade herbal fragrance to her wrists and handkerchief. "It is certainly a good opportunity for me to familiarise myself with the upper circle for when I am done with my training"
"Can you believe it? …. she didn't ask Olivia or snobby Portia, but me to join her…" She paused, then squealed excitedly
"…Surely that must mean something special, am I … slowly becoming her favourite?"
Hearing no reply, she peeked her head out of the kitchen to look at Felix staring back at her, silently chuckling at the flush on his sister's cheeks after realising he had been standing quietly listening to her ramble on about her event.
"You are definitely everyone's favourite El", he replied jokingly as he took a bite of the bread. It was slightly sour and very tough to swallow, but he pushed it down with the tasteless porridge.
"Oh, you are heading out as well", she continued, a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks as she tried to subtly change the subject. How embarrassing, rambling is not ladylike at all. Her eyes twinkled slightly, almost nodding in agreement as she focused on Felix's compliment.
Felix nodded his head at her question, then forcibly swallowed the gruel in his mouth. We definitely need to earn more so we can have a better breakfast at least.
"We need some stuff for the house" This was the excuse that he came up with after pacing around in his room. And judging by the staleness of the bread, he had made the right decision. he placed the antique sundial on the brightly lit windowsill as he passed the blue music box brooch to her
She frowned while pinning the brooch to her chest absent-mindedly "Why don't we wait a little till you receive your first payout? We still have some food left-over"
Felix knew his sister had probably been managing the food supplies sparingly to avoid spending any extra money. The years they spent without their father or reliable familial financial support left a faint shadow of unease in her heart.
"Don't worry too much, El, I would definitely be paid very soon, after all, a month had already passed" Felix was bluffing; after all, he wasn't even aware of the details of his employment contract, not to mention when and if he was going to get paid. But he needed a good answer. If he left his sister to her devices, she would rather starve to death than bother him about money. he breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed the acknowledging nod on her face.
"Don't use too much after all, we still need to save for you to get married in the future"
Felix forced himself to swallow the last bit of porridge he almost spat out after her comment. She was currently humming a faint tune while admiring herself in a small mirror, not caring one bit about the effect her sentence had on him. She held back a chuckle from noticing the look on his face. That's for teasing me earlier
"Do you need money for a hired steam carriage?" he asked, changing the subject smoothly as he fished out 15 pence from his coat pocket
" Well, thank you, brother, but Mrs Dubley already offered a private carriage ride"
He nodded while still stuffing the bronze coins in her hands, as he added self-assuredly, finally putting on his bowler hat,
"Have fun and stay safe,"
As he waved goodbye while heading out of the apartment, he didn't manage to catch the complicated look in Eleanor's eyes as her eyes darted between his retreating figure and the sundial, before finally settling on the sundial resting on the windowsill
He closed the door to their unit as he quietly headed downstairs, carefully avoiding walking into any of their neighbours. The moment he stepped out of the apartment, the fresh morning air hit him sharply as he gulped, savouring a long draw of it. It was a strange mix of coal smoke, iron, whatever lingering oils the factories had left behind, and the faint copper sting of Veyn in the air.
Despite the city's Veyn purifiers tucked into every street corner, he had long grown accustomed to the subtle tang of copper. Hallow was very close to the biggest Veyn mines in Vaelor after all.
While drawing in a slow, deliberate breath, Felix savoured the small pleasure of the busy streets. From Shopkeepers wrestling open their shutters, while the street cleaners sweep dust into the gutter, to the delivery cart rattling past, the driver blowing out a breath from the early morning chill. Overhead, most of the factory workers and the miners had already caught the early work carts heading to the distant train station. The smell of fresh bread wafted into his nose as he walked past the bakery. I should definitely pick some up for tomorrow's breakfast on my way home. He ignored all the noise and distractions from the street as he thoroughly searched the street corner while heading to the next busy street.
Looking towards the crowd, he noticed a scrawny boy in an oversized waistcoat and scuffed boots, who was currently sitting on a street corner near the carriage stops and offering the paper to anyone who passed by. The paperboy. That was the first task he set for himself for his outing today.
He fished out a penny from his left frock pocket while gesturing for the paper boy to come over
"A moment, sir !" the paper boy yelled as he ran across the street, holding a thick stack of papers under his arm very tightly and smiling widely, clearly delighted to be called over by a customer. He tipped his flat cap while quipping, "One penny per paper, sir"
Felix usually had a habit of buying the paper every day on his way out. The paper boy figured out his routine and would usually wait for him by the street corner. Today, he had moved from his usual corner to a different spot, causing Felix to have to search diligently for him.
Felix nodded in acknowledgement while passing the penny coin to the boy, who collected the money, bowing in gratitude as he turned to leave. He stopped the boy in his tracks by fishing out 3 pence from his left pocket and asking suddenly
"Throughout last month, how many times have I bought the paper from you ?"
The boy almost wobbled at the sight of the 3 pence coins, it would be more than enough to cover the cost price of 6 papers. With a profit margin of only half a penny per paper, he was struggling to get enough to cover his meals for the day. This extra money, along with the money he got from the ones he had sold, would help him gain a slight profit advantage.
He stood still as he stroked his jaw, thinking carefully to avoid annoying this God-like customer, while wondering how to answer Felix's strange question.
"Far less than normal, sir", he added, "You suddenly stopped buying a few weeks ago, you paid no heed when I tried to promote …"
"…That's why I had to move to the other corner, sir", he added shyly, a tinge of red in his ears while still eyeing the bronze coins in Felix's fingers.
Felix nodded thankfully as he handed the money to the boy, who gleefully took it and thanked him continuously as he retreated to his street corner to attract other customers. Strange. It is completely unlike me to forget to buy a paper. It was a habit he had picked up from his father and had followed him all the way to his university days.
This interaction allowed him to confirm one thing: it was not just a simple case of memory loss after a traumatic head injury. If he had simply continued his regular habits, the incident could have been classified as an unfortunate matter. But the evidence from the journal entry and the paper boy, he was definitely not himself; He had gotten involved with something or someone that had led to the murder scene he witnessed last night.
He rolled the newspaper and put it into his left coat pocket while crossing the street and heading towards the high road, where the stationary shop sat between the post office and a shuttered tailor shop. The soft chime of the bell above the door gave a soft, tired chime as he stepped into the cramped shop.
The thick stifling scent of paper and ink in the air engulfed him; he stood quietly in the shop, overwhelmed at the sight of the display shelves, which were fitted with random shelves, overly crowded with stacks of cream and grey paper tied in bundles, Boxes of envelopes of all kinds, traditional feather pens, mechanical pens and Jars of ink to fill them. In simple terms, the shop was a complete mess. Knowing it would take a while to navigate the shop, he patiently waited for the shop owner to arrive.
The owner, Mr Nibbs, a short, spectacled old man wearing a black apron, smiled hurriedly, wobbling out of the counter after hearing the chime from the doorbell.
"Are you back for more reactive ink ?" the old man said knowingly after noticing Felix's figure, while dragging a box from the back. "You would have to wait quite a bit for a new batch"
Felix suddenly froze; he said more. I have never bought reactive ink from this shop; either he had mistaken me for someone else, OR it was bought during the last month.
The journal! reactive ink. Off course. That's why the journal entry is missing.
But what was the reactive agent I used? Reactive ink, before use, is dissolved and mixed with the agent. Only that exact agent can reveal the content made with ink. He was even more worried now; he must have really gotten himself into a lot of trouble.
"Not today, just some paper would do, preferably a journal, please", he explained to the shopkeeper, a comforting smile on his face. Seeing the mystery that kept him up almost all night, getting solved so easily, almost gave him the urge to wail. He wiped the grimace from his face, showing no conflicting emotions as he tucked the corner of his mouth while staring around the shop.
"Alright.." The old man adjusted his glasses while wiping his hands on his black apron and immediately got to work, tearing open the huge box he had been dragging earlier, as he sorted through the different journals and paper types.
" I have a journal made of Noetherian leather, " with a slight pride on his face as he added, "High-grade paper and quality metal clasps as well " The shopkeeper explained while excitedly stroking the journal, "High-quality smiths make it from the Seyth Empire. I had it imported to the shops, it …"
"I have no interest in spending more than a shilling on the journal", Felix hurriedly cut the excited shopkeeper, paying no heed to his marketing antics. He knew Mr Nibbs was fairly notorious for always trying to hike up the prices of his products. Unfortunately, his goods were always of remarkable quality, so Felix had no choice but to continue buying from the greedy shopkeeper
Mr Nibbs frowned while muttering loudly, "So stingy.. You were certainly not this stingy last time." As he produced another journal from the box. It was a plain, simple black journal with basic bindings; it looked very similar to the other journal he had back at home.
" I would sell this one for 7 pence", the shopkeeper added, his arms crossed with a resolute look on his face.
"Those are the most basic bindings, the most I would pay is 5 pence, after all its just basic paper" Felix frowned at the greedy shopkeeper while adding resolutely, "If you can't sell at this price, I would go check another stationery shop"
Another bluff. While the journal itself was plain, the paper was very high quality; it would be hard to find another of the same quality for this price, and Felix had no interest in searching for another reliable stationery shop.
After haggling and bantering for a while, Felix finally handed 6 pence to the short shopkeeper, who quickly took it off his hands, his eyes behind the spectacles darting around the coins as he ignored Felix's presence. He took out a handheld magnifier from his apron while carefully inspecting the money.
Felix put the journal in his right pocket as he asked the shopkeeper
"Did I buy anything other than reactive ink last month?" he was running out of investigatory clues. The last clue is the journal and the reactive ink; his spending could help uncover the reactive agent he used to hide the content in the journal.
The short man stuffed the money he was inspecting in his pocket as he raised his eyes that were underneath his glasses, while looking craftily at Felix
"The memory of an old man like me is so bad, if a youngster like you can forget what about me ", he replied pitifully, while scratching the sparse hair on his head, looking very deep in thought.
Felix sighed as he saw through the shopkeeper's antics. This crook. The old man has never been forgetful. The shopkeeper has an astonishing memory and would hold a grudge if a customer haggled with him even once. He was purposefully making this difficult because Felix had haggled with him over the price earlier. Felix rolled his eyes as he dug his hand into his left coat pocket again, resolutely dropping 4 pence coins on the counter.
The short shopkeeper heartily grabbed the money and stuffed it into his apron.
"Aha! Yes," he exclaimed while adjusting his glasses, " I suddenly remember now, how could I have forgotten?" he smiled while contradicting himself
"You also bought a stack of papers"
paper… How disappointing
Felix felt a migraine coming on at the back of his head, another dead end.
Depressingly enough, the stacks of papers were definitely not the reactive agent. What the hell did he need that much paper anyway?
Speaking even more nicely now, with a wide exaggerated smile on his face, while looking at Felix like he was some kind of deity, the shopkeeper added with his palm wide open.
"Benevolent Customer, do you have any other questions to ask me?" his full, slightly unnatural smile came into view as he added, "This old man would definitely try his best to answer"