The walk to the outskirts was longer than any of them had anticipated. As the well-paved streets of Fareday gave way to dirt paths choked with overgrown weeds, the atmosphere shifted. The cheerful morning sun now felt distant, filtered through the thick, interlocking branches of trees that hadn't been pruned in a decade.
Finally, the path ended at a pair of massive iron gates. They were rusted a deep, bleeding orange, twisted into the shapes of vines and thorns. In the center, a tarnished silver crest of the Gustave family hung precariously by a single bolt.
"Well," Kirian said, coming to a halt. He adjusted his collar, trying to regain his composure. "It certainly looks the part. If I were a tragic noble family with magical spoons, this is exactly where I'd hide."
"It's not hiding if the gate is literally falling off," Gaius noted. He stepped forward and gave the iron bars a light shove. The gate didn't swing open so much as it shrieked, a high-pitched metal scream that echoed through the silent woods.
Emilia didn't wait for the echoes to die down. She marched right through, her eyes scanning the ground. "Keep your eyes peeled! Magic silver doesn't just grow on trees. Look for anything that glows, glitters, or looks like it's worth more than Kirian's entire wardrobe."
Lili followed, her umbrella tucked under her arm. She stopped to look at a stone fountain in the courtyard. The statue in the center—a woman holding a pitcher—was covered in thick, grey moss, but the water in the basin was strangely clear. "The water is shivering," she whispered.
"It's just the wind, Lady Liliana," Diana said, though she had moved to the front of the group, her hand resting near the pouch where she kept her equipment. Her playful demeanor from breakfast had vanished, replaced by the sharp focus of a trained guardian. "Stay close. The ground is uneven, and the stone is slick with rot."
As they approached the main entrance, the mansion loomed over them. It was a skeleton of a building—four stories of grey stone and dark wood, with windows that looked like empty eye sockets. The front doors were tall and arched, carved from a dark timber that seemed to swallow the light.
Kirian reached for the heavy brass knocker, but the moment his fingers brushed the wood, the doors groaned and swung inward on their own.
"Okay," Kirian squeaked, his voice jumping an octave. "That was either very polite of the house or very ominous."
"It's just the draft," Gaius said, though his hand had drifted to the hilt of his wooden sword. "The house is full of holes. Air has to go somewhere."
They stepped into the grand foyer. It was a cavern of dust. Faded tapestries hung like dead skin from the walls, and a massive chandelier of blackened silver dangled from a frayed chain in the ceiling. The air tasted of copper and ancient, trapped cold.
"Look at this place!" Emilia whispered, though her voice still carried. She ran to a side table, wiping a thick layer of dust away to reveal a dull grey tray. "Is this it? Is it silver?"
Diana inspected it for a second. "Common pewter, Miss Emilia. Not worth the weight of carrying it."
Emilia hissed in disappointment, dropping the tray with a loud clang that made Kirian jump nearly a foot in the air.
"Can we focus?" Kirian whispered, clutching his chest. "We're looking for the source of the spoon. The 'shimmering glow' place. Anyone see a light?"
Gaius pointed toward the back of the foyer, where a wide staircase spiraled upward, and a narrow, dark hallway led toward the kitchens. "The spoon came from a set. If it's tableware, the basement or the pantry is the best bet."
Just as they turned toward the dark hallway, a faint, rhythmic sound began to pulse. It wasn't a noise, exactly—it was a vibration in the floorboards. Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Is that… a heartbeat?" Lili asked, her head tilted to the side.
Suddenly, the glowing spoon in Kirian's pocket began to pulse in perfect synchronization with the floor. The light it emitted turned from a soft white to a sharp, urgent violet.
"I think the house is talking to the cutlery," Kirian said, his eyes wide. "And I don't think it's saying 'hello.'"