Agatha H and the Voice of the Castle

“No,” Diamant admitted. “The area in blue is the Main Library.”

Agatha frowned. “I don’t…I don’t see any way to actually get there.”

“It was never easy. The Castle itself will have to guide you there.”

“Terrific.” She sat down and pulled on the stout leather boots, and carefully did up the side buttons. “So, who’s the Baron’s agent in there? I’m sure he’s got one. I would. I’d want to know as soon as possible if they found anything really dangerous or useful.”

“Of course. That would be Professor Hristo Tiktoffen. He’s a prisoner himself, but he’s also the ‘Man in Charge’ once you get inside. He maintains the records and helps keep the others in line.” The wagon juddered to a halt. “We’re here,” Diamant announced.

Agatha gathered up the rest of her supplies. “Have you found out anything else about that false Heterodyne girl that’s inside?”

Diamant sighed. “No. But remember, your very existence is a threat to her, so assume that she’ll try to kill you. I’d recommend avoiding her at all costs.” He lowered his voice. “Don’t forget to put your manacles on, my lady.”

Agatha found the steel cuffs and, with only a touch of hesitation, snapped them around her wrists. They were connected by about ten centimeters of chain. Agatha took a deep breath. “All right, I’m ready.”

Diamant made a show of throwing open the door and calling out loudly. “We’re here. Move lively! Unload those supplies!” He indicated a pile of boxes and sacks that contained foodstuffs.

As Agatha loaded them onto a small hand truck, a Wulfenbach guard hurried up.

“Herr Diamant! You can’t send someone in today! That damned Heterodyne girl is in there—”

The old man sniffed. “Just another imposter. She won’t last and the others still have to eat.” He hooked a thumb back at Agatha. “Besides, we want this one off the streets.” Agatha glared at the guard.

Diamant pulled a thick ledger off the wagon seat. “But if you don’t like it, do feel free to go over my head. The Baron himself is here in the hospital, I’m told. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you went and asked him about it.”

“Aw, go kiss a construct,” the guard grumbled. “Fine. Send her in then.”

Diamant shrugged and offered the man a pen. “Very wise, I’m sure. Sign here, please.”

The guard laboriously made his mark and Diamant snapped the book shut and retrieved his pen. Then he turned to Agatha and all the warmth left his voice. “Here you are. Take this load to Professor Tiktoffen. He’ll unlock you when he’s checked you in and explained the routine.”

Agatha just glared. Diamant sighed. “You’re being given a chance. A final chance, and more than you deserve, no doubt, but the Baron sees something in you, so a chance you’ll have. Watch your back, work with your fellow prisoners, and good luck to you.”

“Try to escape,” the guard said with relish, “and I’ll shoot you like a dog.”

Agatha picked up the handles of the hand truck and tried to look tough. “Fine. Can I get going now?”

The guard waved her towards the gates. Agatha was interested to note that the “Front Gate” was actually a row of gates of varying sizes, from a small postern gate all the way up to gates the old Heterodynes could have passed siege engines through. To Agatha’s shock, the towering, intricately carved central doors were faced with solid gold. It spoke volumes that the gold was untouched.

The door that she was herded to was smaller than any of the main gates. It was constructed of ironbound wood reinforced with rows of iron studs.

“Hoy! Castle!” the Guard called out. “Open up! The Baron has sent a new prisoner for Repair Detail.”

There was a pause, then—with a groan—the gates swung open. They were thicker than Agatha had first supposed them to be, and instead of mere wood, she saw that they were full of dense mechanisms. When they touched the wall to either side with a dull boom, a sibilant voice—similar to the one that Agatha had heard in the crypt—echoed forth. “Enter.”

Unhesitatingly, Agatha steered her cart through the doors into the darkness beyond. As soon as she cleared the lintel, the doors slowly swung closed and locked behind her with a deliberate series of clunks.

Outside, the two men watching turned away. The guard wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and leaned on his rifle. “It still gives me the spooks when it does that,” he confessed.

Herr Diamant glanced back at the door and sighed. “Young man, you have no idea.”

_______________

¹⁹ This was probably not what the Heterodynes and their servants-in-residence had called it, but in the fourteen or so years that the Empire had been disposing of its more dangerous prisoners, a rich body of lore, myth, and nomenclature had grown up around the castle’s inner workings. When new areas of the castle were mapped, the amateur cartographers were encouraged to name things as vividly and memorably as possible.