D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

Chapter 2300 A Totally Normal House on the Hill

--- Kat ---

The little mansion on the hill was surrounded by walls, though not ones that were terribly high. If anything, they seemed more a slight privacy measure then a way to actually keep people out. The stone walls were chest high for Kat and there wasn’t even metal bars above it to try and keep people from hopping it. That meant that, though the gate was shut, a quick jump was all anyway needed to get inside.

Once they were on the other side of the wall, the garden came into focus. A slightly winding stone path took you up to the front door, but along the way all sorts of plants were growing along the sides. Though perhaps ’growing’ was no longer the correct adjective for them. The hill had a number of garden beds at its base, and then as you climbed the firm garden beds gave way to bundles of wildflowers and bushes with berries on them.

It was nice to look at... so of course Appoline immediately made her way over to them and started to tap them with a knife. They were all frozen. "Dammit. No ingredients again. I mean, these aren’t great looking ingredients in the first place... but it’s still annoying."

"What do you mean?" asked Kat.

"Do you think every single plant in a forest is worth using in alchemy? Sure everything has an alchemical use, but that doesn’t mean it’s efficient or worth your time. Just as an example, the grass here? You’d need acres of grass just to equal a few of the better flower PETALS you can grow for healing potions. Now sure, some particularly magical forests contain so much energy that even the grass is good for some things, but you get my point right?" Appoline explained.

"Yes I suppose so... and is there nothing to be done about these plants?" asked Kat.

Appoline shrugged, "I’m really not sure. They’re frozen and I can’t use them like this, or even collect them... but if I could they might be worthwhile because of that same time influence? The problem with that idea is that, well, I still don’t know if I could take them into my storage ring and anything that breaks them out of the time lock might also destroy the plants."

"Ah... yeah that’s a risk I suppose," agreed Kat as she continued her way up the path. Appoline did try a few more plants on her way up but they were all ’solid’. Kat and Lily made it to the front door, and weren’t surprised to find it locked. A glance to the sides showed that the windows did indeed have some glass covering them... but a glance upwards showed that one of the upper windows had been left open slightly.

Kat and Lily could sneak inside, with water and Lily’s Memphis form respectively... but there was no way Appoline would fit. The window was cracked open just enough that Lily would struggle with her horns after all. There was no way to fit a full-sized person through the gap.

"Hmmm... should we go inside without you?" Kat queried. "I don’t know if I want to leave you here in case we get attacked..."

"Well we can check the back?" offered Appoline.

"What?" asked Kat.

"There is no way this place only has one entrance. There’s certainly a back door, and maybe a few side doors as well. If it really worries you, we can just... go around and check. Or you can try to break down the door I suppose, but I don’t think you’ll manage it," Appoline explained.

"Right, no that makes sense. I mean, even Lily’s house has a back door and it’s not that big..." Kat mumbled.

[For some reason I feel like I should be insulted?]

Why? I grew up in a large orphanage which was obviously bigger because we had a bunch of extra people living there, and you don’t have a crazy large block. You live in the suburbs with an average sized house.

[Yeah I’m not sure either. I just feel like I SHOULD be insulted. Not that I am?]

Kat shrugged mentally at that before leading the group around the side of the house. Appoline had been correct about the multiple exits, though the first lot they found on the side were also shut. They actually just followed a path to the first one. Looking inside it went to the kitchen, and directly next to it was a double door leading downwards into the cellar... but that too was locked, it even had a chain over it to keep it extra secure.

Continuing around to the back which had a bunch more flowers and even a few trees at the bottom of the hill saw them with a door that WAS actually opened. Kat was a bit surprised by that. The door was clipped back and you could just walk inside. Taking a step inside, and dropping Lily onto the ground so that she wouldn’t be caught up in any traps, Kat looked around.

The back door appeared to connect to a sort of sun area. Big windows with chairs and a table as well as a few vases and tiled floors. Moving swiftly on from that, Kat got to the next door, which didn’t actually have a door, just a doorway. This is where the real house began. Steeping onto the wooden flooring, Kat expected a creaking sound or something, but just... nothing. The wooden floorboards were remarkably sturdy under her feet. The small hallway had doors at the end, and a staircase side in front of them. Another door at the end of the hall probably led to understair storage, or perhaps the basement.

Kat shrugged and went for that end door first. Trying the handle and finding it wedged in place. It wouldn’t budge. Kat clicked her tongue and moved back the other way to the door on the opposite wall. It should lead to the kitchen... and it was just as stuck in place. Kat didn’t let that bother her too much. Instead she stepped forward towards the bottom of the staircase and looked around. The room was somewhat open but most of the floorspace here was the staircase itself and the upper landing that let you look down on everything else. A bunch of doors... but of course a quick check of all of them and they too were locked.

Upstairs was a different story, as Kat made it to the landing, she could see a bunch of open doors along the two sides of the house. The first looked like a child’s room. Filled with pillows and dolls. A large dollhouse was actually taking up the middle of the room. Currently closed but still very much present in the footprint of the room. Kat felt a bit like she was being watched while inside, and stepped out swiftly afterwards. The next room appeared to be some sort of guest room, or perhaps just belonged to someone without much personality.

It simply contained the usual things, a bed, a bedside table, a set of drawers and a mirror above them. A rug to make the room feel a bit more lived in... and that was it. The only thing that showed anyone had slept their ’recently’ was that the bed was ruffled. Kat swallowed as she stepped inside and tried to shift the sheets, only for her hands to catch on them. The wool frozen in place. The same as everything else. The ’recent’ use possibly decades ago.

The last door on this side was locked shut. Kat couldn’t open it at all, and trying to glance underneath it showed her nothing much. A rug blocked the way. This was the same room that had the open window. Kat wasn’t sure if that meant anything, other than that she could access it later if she so desired. Still, Kat pushed herself up off the floor and turned back around. Appoline and Lily were waiting for her at the top of the stairs. Apparently content to let her investigate first. Lily was watching her, while Appoline seemed to be interested in looking over the grounds through the big window at the back of the stairs. What she saw out there that was notable, Kat didn’t know.

Kat looked at the doors on the other side for a few seconds before trying the first one. It was cracked open a bit, just enough for her to stick her face against the room and gaze inside. It looked to have belonged to an older girl then the one directly across from it. Darker colours, mostly purple with some black and quite a lot of lace lined just about every surface from the curtains to the bedsheets to the cloth that rested on the dark wood of the bedside table. The rug inside seemed to be a pelt of some dark furred beast. Still, the room was empty otherwise and Kat moved on to the next door... and determined it was locked. Expected. One more room to check...