Soul Searching

Master Cormont

Mary stepped through the dimly lit corridors of Robin Crest. She followed the man they'd met at the entryway, but he didn't say a thing. The hall smelled damp and like mildew. She actually expected to see mushrooms growing up from the cracks in the bricks. There were none, but green and black mold creeped along the cracks in bricks with large tufts of moss scattered here and there.

The guide quickly opened a door leading to another hallway and held it just wide enough for her to squeeze through. The walls were lined with candles, but the light was dim and she had tripped twice already, being unable to see where she was walking.

After a few more steps down this short hall, the man turned towards a wooden plank door. He knocked once, with force. A muffled voice boomed from behind it, "Enter." Her guide opened the door and motioned with a jerk of the arm for her to go in.

Mary moved quickly through the passageway and the door shut behind her with a thud. She was still facing the door when the man in the room spoke, startling her. His accent was English as well, and closer to hers than the oarsmen or her lovely guide into this cavern had been.

She jumped backwards and bumped into something. She immediately turned around, facing the man. Smoke curled around the room, filling it with grey miasma.

The man sat at a large wooden desk, which is what she'd hit her back on a moment ago. This was clearly his office. Parchment littered the desktop and there were several ink quills strewn about, with black ink stains on the light wooden table surface of the desk.

Isaac recalled his old desk at work. He'd never let it get so disorganized and disheveled as this. Did this man have no sense of order?

He looked at Mary, not smiling. She fidgeted with her hands and made brief eye contact. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the desk, setting his smoking pipe down at the same time. "You must be Mary. The sister wrote saying you'd be arriving." He assessed her, just as Isaac was assessing him. Minutes of silence passed. It was one of Isaac's top 3 most awkward moments.

"Pity about your parents." he said dismissively and without a trace of sympathy. Isaac thought he'd have to be on guard around this man. He had a cold look in his eyes and an heir of callousness about him.

"Yes... thank you for taking me in." Mary courtesied slightly, averting her eyes. The man seemed pleased with this show of respect and suddenly stood from his desk. He was a large man, with a round belly and big moustache that took up most of his face.

He took three large steps towards the door, hauled it open and leaned his upper half out. "Jerrell!" He bellowed down the corridor, his voice echoing off the damp bricks. He waited, pausing for response. When a moment of silence passed he yelled again.

"Jerrell by God you better get here in 5 seconds or I'll kick you right in the jewels." Isaac stifled a laugh. He thought it was a ridiculous thing to say but could sense that this man was dead serious and would most assuredly kick Jerrel in the crotch if he was a moment late at responding.

Luckily for Jerrell, he was already on his way. Mary heard footsteps shuffling down the hall followed by heavy breathing. Master Cormont straightened at the door and spoke to Jerrell. "Take her to the infirmary to be inspected before finding her a bed in section B." His voiced dropped and Mary couldn't quite pick up the last few sentences though she heard a few words that could have been "of interest" and "valuables".

Isaac didn't really care. Mary had no money and little else to her name. Besides the amulet of course. But they'd have to pry that from Mary's cold dead hands. He winced internally. Too soon for those kinds of jokes.

Cormont opened the door wide and flashed a foxes grin at Mary. "We're glad to have you, girl. I'm sure you'll feel right at home." His smile was unsettling, it didn't quite reach his eyes. He extended a hand towards the door and she walked carefully towards it.

When it slammed behind her, she followed the fellow who had brought her here earlier, now knowing that his name was Jerrell. He hustled through the dim hall and turned through an open door with yellow light pouring out of it. It was a medical bay. Well, some primitive version of one. It had a filthy bed and several shelves full of herbs, powders and whole spices. Isaac prayed he wouldn't take ill during this "when".

Suddenly the strong aroma of peppermint hit Mary's nose, causing her eyes to water slightly.

Isaac was taken back immediately to those long (but somehow too short) hospital days with Helena. She always had peppermint and ginger around to help with the constant nausea. The chemo hit her hard and she was losing weight. The doctors said if she lost any more weight her body would struggle to fight.

He remembered she used to suck on Lifesavers mints during those last months. Always had a mint in her mouth, day or night. She said it helped her nausea but also distracted her from the taste and smell of chemo. She said it was all around her. And she hated it.

As Isaac remembered those terrible last days, Mary was instructed to sit on the disgusting bed and wait for the doctor. Isaac didn't care much about what came next but felt that this was oddly similar to checking in to prison, based on what movies he had seen anyway.

The doctor came in shortly after. A short, plump man with a thick moustache and oily black hair. He was nice enough, didn't seem interested in conversation. He just got his day job done. He checked her for lice and gave her a brief physical exam. Nothing out of the ordinary. He said he needed to go grab a quill to add her to the registry and excused himself briefly. He actually seemed pretty nice. Probably the kindest person she'd met in Robin Crest so far anyway.

Isaac sat in silence, the smell of peppermint once again taking his memories back in time.

Back to her.