A Mystery Deep Below Part 7
I helped Lar the rest of the day with preparations. We mixed ingredients in a large, deep pan carved from fallen spines. She had me write down everything she did so I could learn as well. Lar also ordered me to stay with her until we caught this horrid killer. I wasn’t about to complain. The last thing I wanted was to be a target.
“Limmeg! Pay attention!” Lar snapped her fingers at my face.
“Sorry, Lar-Naneth.” I lowered my head and kept writing. I had no idea where she found all of these ingredients. They are not from within our domain.
As if she was reading my mind, yet again, Lars stopped what she was doing. “I send up a net as the fishers do. Sometimes, I get lucky, and sometimes I do not. And sometimes, I regret what comes in.” She smiled playfully.
“I would love to hear some of those stories.” Giggling, I went over to the pot. It smelled horrible but that usually meant whatever she was making would work. “So what does this do?”
Lar retrieved some smaller containers made of the same material. These had grooves so you could tighten two pieces together and keep things inside them. She when about filling many. “These will help us track the killer. We shall start where the attack happened. I have a way to turn this into a mist. That will show us a vague impression of whoever did this and which way they went.”
“Oh, that is clever.” She motioned for me to move them all to the table, so I did.
“Of course, it is clever. I thought it up.” Lar strolled back to her sleeping area and came back with an armful of items. There were spines, seaweed rope, and many other things I could not identify.
“What are we doing now, Lar?”
“You ask too many questions. If you would simply be quiet and observe, you will learn. Let us go into the entrance room. It is larger.” Even though she sounded cross with me, her lips quirked upward and a playful gleam shown in her eyes.
I helped her move the smaller table aside, and we sat on the floor. Lucky for us, Torchal had a firm yet comfortable skin. Lar set out all the items. She used the rope to connect poles to each other, forming a tall box shape. The rope was also used for affixing a large seaweed net to each wall.
“Oh! A cage for him when we find him.”
“Clearly.” Now we have to figure out how to subdue the killer once we track him down.” Lar scratched her pointed chin as she thought.
I took that time to tighten any knots that seemed loose and tested the prison’s strength. I swear Lar could create anything out of nothing. She was a genius. I really hope I can fill those shoes.
“I’ve got it!” Lar stood up and went back to her kitchen. She cleaned out the pot that was used for the tracking spell and set it back upon the fire. Lar used her magic to have even more items fly to her waiting hands. That was also something I needed work on. Torchal granted many gifts to the Naneth. Magic was just one.
I sat at the table as she called countless items to her. It was difficult, but I scratched down all of it as fast as I could. I had no idea what she was creating this time, but by the look on her face, it was going to be a doozy.
