Chapter 117 “Museum”
Getting out of the car and stepping onto the stone square in front of the museum, Heidi, the psychiatrist, couldn’t help but sigh deeply. It was her day off today, and the salty sea breeze blowing against her skin had washed away the fatigue accumulated through long hours of work in recent weeks.
Like many of those in her profession, being affected by their patients was a common theme, especially when your patients are mad-shit crazy in the occults. It’s the main reason her spirit had been so low in the past few days. She’s likely suffering from insomnia from listening to so many cultists.
Fortunately, today she finally did not have to think about those crazy believers and their deformed hearts.
Another sea breeze blew across from the end of the street then, ruffling the hem of Heidi’s skirt as she grappled with the risk of flashing her panties and losing that wide-brimmed hat she wore. Looking after the struggle, her eyes beheld the grand white building with the streamlined dome and beautiful wings.
This maritime museum in the Crossroad neighborhood was by far one of the largest museums in the city-state of Pland – and one of the most legendary.
Huffing a puff at the naughty wind, Heidi strolled towards the museum entrance, where a tour guide was introducing a crowd of visitors to its colorful history outside.
“…… This large building, built in 1802, was originally the property of the Parr Brothers Ocean Trading Company. At its height, it had amassed a staggering fortune to become the largest storage center in Pland. It was seen as a symbol of the commercial prosperity of the city-state. However, a drastic tragedy in 1822 completely changed the fate of the building…”
Someone duly asked, “What happened?”
“It is said – only rumors though – at that time, an ocean-going cargo ship under the name of the Parr Brothers encountered a strange thick fog on its way back. In the white thicket, the poor hapless cargo vessel encountered a burning ghost ship and passed by it…
“But fret not, the cargo ship eventually escaped the fog and even returned safely to port. But sadly, the shadow of madness remained in the hearts of the crew member. From then on, the bad omens quickly spread throughout the entire fleet of the Parr Brothers. In the following months, all the ships under the name of the Parr Brothers began to suffer terrible disasters. There were constant mutiny among the crew members, disappearances, and even bloody sacrifices to please unknown gods…”
“…… Ships on distant voyages encountered storms on supposedly calm seas, hit icebergs in warm waters, mutinous sailors detonated explosives on board, destroyed boilers, and even hunted their colleagues… Such strange disasters were repeated again and again, finally burying the business of the Parr Brothers for good. Their marine trading company filed for bankruptcy restructuring at the end of the same year…”
“After that, the Parr Brothers divided the remnants of their company’s property and donated part of it to the city-state authorities, including the building in front of us… It underwent several transformations and changes in function until 1855 when it was finally transformed into a maritime museum, which continues to this day.”
“It is said that even now, the shadows of those from a century ago still linger in this maritime museum… And if you are lucky enough…. You might even find the shadow of the Parr Brothers occasionally wandering the museum to visit their former offices. But don’t worry my dear guests, most likely, the shadows you find are no more than the employees that once roamed these halls. In their century-old uniforms from the Marine Trading Company, they may just come over to the confused you asking where the offices are….”
“Of course, of course! These are just rumors! The museum has taken plenty of precautions to inspect the museum. We even have a team of guardians from the church on standby.
So, dear visitors, please be at ease knowing you are safe. However, suppose you do want to experience the bizzare legends and have a thrilling trip. In that case, I suggest heading over to the ‘adventure room’ on the side wing of the museum. Remember, you will need to receive a temporary baptism from the local chapel to test your will before entering. The cost is a measly two solas by a cleric….”
The voices of the tour guide and tourists eventually faded away as Heidi strolled past the group, but then her feet suddenly felt heavy, and she didn’t want to budge.
The warehouses of maritime trade from a century ago, the thick fog of the far-off seas that brought disaster, the cursed fleet, the shadows that lingered in museums…
Heidi, who dealt with cultists every day and heard a lot of “blowing wind” through various official channels, suddenly felt that the idea of visiting a museum as a sightseeing project for vacation wasn’t such a good idea… She could’ve wandered the lower city where cheap goods are snagged or visited the antique shop her father mentioned.
But after less than two seconds of inner struggle, the young psychiatrist made up her mind and continued.
Telling the right thriller stories when introducing attractions was a common means of tour guides to get business. Actually, more than half of the world’s horror stories are inseparable from sea fogs, ghost ships, and renegade sailors. If there are ghost stories in museums, then why wouldn’t there be more scary things in an antique shop? She’s a psychiatrist who deals with neuropathy all day. Why should she be afraid of this?
No one can stop me from enjoying this hard-awaited holiday! The evil gods of subspace can stuff it!
Determined, Miss Psychiatrist headed straight for the ticket booth and entered the museum like a warrior.
There were fewer visitors to the museum than expected. Perhaps it was due to not being a public holiday, but the lobby on the venue’s first floor seemed a little deserted.
Currently, several venue guides were busy leading some of the tourists through the main exhibition area, where the walls were decorated with a huge whale skeleton and various beautiful sea ships. There’s even a costumed captain introducing the story to the kids in the hall.
However, the most eye-catching to Heidi wasn’t the kids or tourists, but a pair of girls who looked to be about sixteen to seventeen. They’re probably still in school and were laughing and having a good time.
Heidi sighed, slightly relieved that the museum wouldn’t be a bore with these two around. So, she decides to walk behind the two ladies to brighten up the atmosphere during the visit.
Then, she smelled something weird.
That smell… it’s as if something was burning…
……
Near the Crossroad, Duncan emerged from a steam bus and bought a pastime paper at a nearby newsagent to waste his time.
After Shirley and Dog left, he wandered around the sixth block some more and asked the locals about something, but it was clear that ordinary citizens could not spy the truth behind the “curtain”. The residents of the sixth block only remembered the information officially disclosed by the government and believed the decline of their home was due to the chemical pollution. Of course, there are a few that said it’s the neglect by the authorities, but that’s not much different from what he heard from the sunbathing old man.
The truth was covered by a curtain, the actual record had been tampered with, and the city-state authorities had only disclosed the tampered information. Still, Duncan cannot conclude that the “curtain” was set up by city hall or the church based on only this. In the world of the supernatural, a powerful anomaly or vision could blind everyone.
In the face of powerful anomalies and visions, even the so-called “reality” was nothing more than a canvas that could be smeared and changed.
Duncan sat down on a bench on the side of the road, casually reading the contents of the pastime while thinking about the future.
Now it seems that the source of that “curtain” was not in the factory, maybe not even in the sixth block, and if this so-called “source” was the sun fragment, then it should be hidden somewhere deeper.
Until there are more clues, the investigation cannot continue.
The Sun Cultists are looking for the fragments of the sun, and they have stirred up the city-state for that end. Nina’s memories and dreams faintly point to the fragment and are likely connected to this. Through the sun mask, he managed to glimpse through to the real sun that inexplicably resembled an evil eyeball god asking him for help….
Before I knew it, I seemed to have fallen into a messy ball of thread.
Duncan sighed and shook his head slightly. It’s then at this moment, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw a strange smoke rising upwards from a block nearby.
There was also a faintish red blooming out from the bellowing smog.
Duncan paused and immediately got up from the bench. Like himself, many of the pedestrians on the street had stopped their current task and looked upwards. Some were frozen and unsure of what to do, and a few had started to run through the streets in a panic while shouting: “It’s on fire! The museum is on fire!!”
