Percy eventually stopped before a tavern with a sign hanging above its entrance.
Tavern with Inn. He stared at it for several seconds.
"That is certainly a creative name."
The thought was dripping with sarcasm.
Still, it was probably exactly what he was looking for.
Pushing open the door, he stepped inside.
He saw many drunk men enjoying each other's company, with cheap ale and food .
The familiar mixture immediately reminded him of the Shrewsbury Drunkard.
The atmosphere wasn't much different either.
Laughter echoed from a few tables while several patrons sat nursing mugs of beer.
This tavern was slightly smaller , but otherwise felt much the same.
Fortunately, nobody paid him much attention.
Percy walked directly to the counter.
"How much for a room for one night?"
The innkeeper looked up with a welcoming smile. Judging by his flushed face, he seemed slightly drunk himself.
"Two copper crowns."
Percy nodded.
"What about a light meal?"
"Oh, that depends on what you're ordering."
The man pointed toward a board hanging behind him. Percy glanced over the menu.
Most of the space was dedicated to drinks.
The food options were far fewer.
After a brief look, he made his choice.
"Bread and beans. Also a small serving of fish."
"One copper crown."
The innkeeper grinned.
"Since you're taking a room, you can pay afterward."
Percy nodded appreciatively before taking a seat nearby.
He was exhausted and more than anything, he wanted to lie down . Unfortunately he was the type that couldn't sleep on an empty stomach.
A short while later, the innkeeper brought over the meal.
Percy wasted no time as he devoured evrything in a minute , since there wasn't much to begin with for a mere one copper crown.
He barely tasted any of it , not because the food was bad. He was simply too hungry to care.
Once finished, he thanked the innkeeper and received a brass key.
Attached to it was a small tag marked with the number 13.
Percy climbed the stairs quietly and soon found the correct room.
Unlocking the door, he stepped inside. He didn't even bother inspecting the place.
After hanging his coat nearby, he walked straight to the bed and collapsed onto it.
Just as his eyes began growing heavy and sleep was moments away, Percy suddenly jolted upright.
"Fuckkk!"
Percy practically threw himself off the bed.
In two hurried steps, he reached his coat hanging on the wall and pulled out the revolver.
The cold metal immediately settled into his trembling hands.
He spun around, aiming at a direction he wasn't even certain of. The sensation offered no clear location.
"Why now?!"
Percy's finger hovered near the trigger.
"I swear..."
"I swear I'll shoot."
Sweat rolled down his forehead. His hands trembled violently from fatigue and
his eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and the stress of the entire day.
After several seconds of tense silence, Percy was finally able to locate the source of his sensation.
His eyes along with the revolver slowly shifted toward the small wooden table.
More specifically, under it. His brows knitted together as he Kept the revolver raised and cautiously approached.
When he reached the table, he grabbed its edge with one hand and lifted it. The revolver remained aimed with the other.
"What the !!!!"
Percy immediately stumbled backward. His legs struck the bed before giving out entirely. He landed on the floor with a thud, his back pressing against the door.
Lying quietly on the floor was a simple wooden box.
"I'm sure..."
"I'm sure I left you at home."
He distinctly remembered wrapping it in cloth.
Tying it with rope and locking it inside the drawer .
His heart pounded so loudly he could practically hear it.
Ronan was fed up with the silence. As fear, confusion, exhaustion with everything had piled up until he simply couldn't take it anymore.
Taking a deep breath, he stood up and approached the box while Goosebumps covered his arms. Yet he still bent down and picked it up.
For a brief moment, Ronan felt strangely detached from himself. It was almost as if he were watching Percy from the outside.
Percy slowly turned the wooden box over in his hands while Ronan silently watched himself do it.
"Is it some kind of bound item?"
"It had to be right ? "
"Otherwise, why would it be here?"
"Or maybe an artifact?"
The thought crossed his mind as he inspected it. Then his eyes landed on a wooden splinter sticking out from one corner of the table.
After a moment of hesitation, Percy walked over and pulled it free.
The splinter was crude, but it would do.
Returning to the box, he inserted it into the winding mechanism.
The mechanism tightened. When he attempted a fourth turn, it refused to move further.
After a brief moment of silence which he counted . After exactly seven seconds .
*Click.*
A sound of a young female echoed softly through the room.
"He-Hello?" .....
"My name is Zara Astranai."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance." .....
"May I know who you are?" .....
Percy stared at the box.
"A phone?"
That was the first thing that came to mind.
"Is this some kind of phone?"
He turned the wooden box around once more.
There was nothing resembling buttons, numbers, or anything he could use to dial.
Or is winding it the equivalent of making a call?
He lightly shook the box and heard nothing rattled inside.
"Whatever mechanism existed seemed tightly packed."
"Still, something about the girl's voice felt odd."
Percy's brows furrowed thoughtfully.
"Wait."
"She's confused too."
The more he thought about it, the more obvious it became.
"Why hadn't i considered it earlier?"
The first time he heard her voice, she had sounded just as uncertain as he was.
"She had mistaken the thing for a music box.
So how come she figured out it wasn't one?
Maybe she heard my voice too."
The answers he had just received matched the questions he remembered asking. Not exactly but it was close enough.
His thoughts immediately accelerated.
"I don't think it is like a call but more like a voice mail."
"Yes."
That made more sense. The messages weren't exchanged instantly. There seemed to be a delay.
Possibly a full day. Percy looked down at the box. Then brought it closer.
"Hello to you too, Miss Zara."
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well."
He paused.
"My name is..."
For a moment he hesitated. Even if the girl seemed harmless, revealing his real identity through a mysterious magical voice mail box felt incredibly foolish.
"...Ronan Winston."
"Before anything else, I'd like to clarify something."
"I don't believe either of us intentionally contacted the other."
"I bought this wooden box because I thought it was a music box."
He glanced down at it. "And judging from what you've said, it seems you believed the same."
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"Also, please don't misunderstand. I can't hear everything you've said."
"The only thing I heard before was something about wanting to hear pretty music."
"Which means the box likely only delivers messages after it's wound."
"The box seems to be carrying our voices to each other."
"And if my guess is correct, there's roughly a day's delay between messages."
Percy briefly considered calling it a cursed object.
"No need to terrify the poor girl."
"I believe it's some kind of magical item."
"Yes that sounds much friendlier."
After a moment of thought, he continued.
"Today I discovered something strange."
"I'm not entirely certain, but this box may be capable of following its owner."
His expression darkened slightly.
"I left it locked inside my house."
"Yet somehow it appeared beside me after I traveled across town."
He still had no explanation for that.
"Whether it chooses an owner or simply refuses to be separated from one, I don't know."
"I also don't know how long this thing records for."
"So I'll keep talking until it decides I've spoken enough."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Perhaps next time you could tell me when the recording cuts off."
"That would help us understand how this strange thing works."
"Or maybe it records untill im done speaking that would be convenient."
"And yes let's try to figure it out by ourselves we wouldn't want other bad people to take this away from us would you ?"
Percy spoke evrything describing the box and how they should figure out and try to make it remain a secret and asked about how she got her hands on the box etc .
After he was done he kept the box down at the ground and kept the table over it .
And to his surprise after five minutes or so , when he lifted up the table it was gone .
"I should sleep."