Thoth stood with his hands balled in his pockets and his shoulders hunched, scrutinising the bedroom he’d just walked into. It was utterly bland, decorated in neutral shades which ranged from rich mahogany to dull beige. The distinct lack of personal possessions indicated that this was a guest room – and probably a lower status one. Thoth chose to stand stiffly in the entranceway to the room rather than venture further in to study the bookshelves or bedside tables, unwilling to admit to himself that this wasn’t what he’d been looking for. Unwilling to admit that he was even looking for something other than the primary purpose of the visit.

Cypress’s shriek relaxed his stance, ironically. His shoulders dropped and he spun around to face the hallway, feeling a touch of relief when she announced she was fine a moment later. He hesitated only briefly, glancing back at the beige bedroom over his shoulder, before determining that there was nothing worthy of attention in there and sloped back out into the hallway. He crossed the hall and turned right into Cypress’s room, which was only slightly less drab than the one he’d been in. Thoth wrinkled his nose at the bottle green bedsheets and wood-panelled walls.

“I bet these are court rooms.” He grunted, moving over to the desk next to Cypress and peering over her shoulder. “Courtiers probably cleared out in a hurry, but I bet they took their valuables with them. We should keep moving.”

He noticed the black greyhound statue standing atop the desk and picked it up curiously, studying the craftsmanship. It was very fine. He passed it to Cypress, vaguely considering how much she liked dogs, before making for the door again. The next three rooms he didn’t even bother entering fully; just poked his head in and then retreated again immediately.

The fourth room’s exceptionality was apparent the moment he pushed the door open. It was significantly larger than the other five he’d been in, with a sizeable fireplace and a door on the far side which looked like it led to an en suite. A four-poster with pale blue bedsheets sat atop a white rug which obscured most of the wooden floor. Drawings and paintings framed on the light wallpapered walls gave the room a more personal touch than any of the others. Thoth pushed the door open fully and stepped inside, cautiously studying the décor. A few steps in, he twisted around to study the wood-framed black-and-white photographs resting atop the chest of drawers next to the door. He reached out to pluck one up, his mouth running dry.

“This is Mallos.” He pointed out factually, not even looking up to see if Cypress had followed him in. Given the photograph’s date, it wasn’t actually Mallos, but rather Gwythr’s uncanny imitation of him, which made it ten times creepier. He was sat on a low wall, slouching back and grinning at someone sat next to him. “So this must be…”

It didn’t look anything like her, but it had to be Aura. The hundred year-old photograph showed her as taller, darker-skinned, with black hair twisted up into a bun. Two flyaway tendrils tumbled down, framing her oval-shaped face. The few books on fairy deities Thoth had managed to scrounge on Shaman all clearly stated that, prior to her creating and migrating to that planet, Aura’s appearance had shifted around a lot. In the photograph, she was perched up on the wall next to ‘Mallos’, engaging in energetic conversation judging by the way she was holding her hands.

Thoth replaced the picture, setting it down a little heavier than he’d originally intended. He sloped past the four-poster, ignoring the floor-to-ceiling wardrobe opposite, and went for the writing desk below the window instead. The delicate drawers produced the first promising artefacts.

“Bingo.” He muttered, rifling through the papers. “This is my mum’s handwriting. A collector would pay through their nose for any of this.”


MASTER OF THE ORBIS . MASTER OF THE WATER ELEMENT . SON OF AURA