Chapter 286 - Chairs To Heaven
Madam Locraine took the boy in a very long hallway. In this path, a large floor to ceiling painting was hung in the the side of the hall.
Elliot looked around but saw no doors around them. He was about to ask the woman what to do when she placed her closed fan on the side of the frame of the painting. The fan went past thought the frame and Madam Locraine twisted it like a doorknob.
This made the painting push inside and a hallway opened up for them. Elliot slowly realized that this was the way for the vault. Madam Locraine was keeping her most prized possessions inside this vault and she was taking him to the chair.
Another part of Elliot's mind was doubting the woman. With a gulp, his right arm bent slightly upwards, just a few inches away from the handle of his sword.
"If you think I would try to do something horrible to you, I could've done it long ago," Madam Locraine said and turned, curling her brow up and looked at Elliot's hand for a split second.
"I-I'm sorry," Elliot lowered his hand and his head. He was ashamed for even thinking about the woman turning on him. She was helping him, but his doubts were eating him alive.
And they were winning.
Elliot was doubting everything. And to him, this was dangerous. He didn't want a day to come that he will doubt himself. That would become a very dangerous threat if it happens.
"Don't worry," Madam Locraine said and continued walking inside the dark hall. "I'm not offended. When you're working in the industry of selling and collecting, doubts are part of everything. Something as miniscule as this misunderstanding is nothing to me."
"Thank you," Elliot whispered just enough for her to hear. The woman chuckled and tapped his head with her fan.
"Look forward," Madam Locraine said. "Don't let your doubts slow you down. And an embarrassing situation like that should be owned up to, not continue being ashamed of."
"Copy that, Madam Locraine," Elliot said.
The woman clicked her tongue. "We're here."
Elliot stopped and looked around the area. They were still in the middle of the hallway and he was wondering how could they be in the vault already.
"Madam Locraine–"
"Shush," the plump woman silenced him and opened her fan. She walked to the side and placed the fan on the wall. She used the feather on the rim and drew an arch on the wall, using the fan like a brush.
"Elliot, this is my vault," Madam Locraine grinned and let the boy drop his jaw in amazement. The wall where the woman drew the arch lit up and curves of different colors glowed. Elliot held his breath as the light got brighter and brighter until it covered both him and Madam Locraine.
He covered his eyes with his arms and let the light swallow him entirely. When he opened his eyes and lowered his arms, he found himself in a large room decorated with bright ember lamps and gold decorations as far as the eye could see.
"This room is amazing," Elliot gasped and looked around. There were short but wide circular columns that held the antique items Madam Locraine collected. The items were covered with a glass that had a transparent gold vine paintings on them.
"The vine paintings are actually runes that protects these items," the woman said. "I placed them there because the items are perishable. The runes contain a time seal that allows the items to become preserved in time."
The runes reminded Elliot of his Inventory. It was a mix of spatial and rune magic. The spatial magic allowed him to store what he needed and the runes preserved them.
"This is amazing," Elliot gasped. "But I need the chair."
"Come with me," Madam Locraine said and led Elliot to more rows of items. Apart from everything looking expensive, some of them had strong powers within them.
There were paintings, books, parts of vehicles, gears, and everything that was from the past. As Elliot looked around, more and more items intrigued him, piquing his interest and taking his attention.
"How many are these items are in this room?" Elliot asked. "There are so many of these things, I lost count."
"My collections are all in all seventy one," she replied. "But now it will only be seventy."
Madam Locraine stopped in front of a column. The column was wider than the others and had an old broken stone chair on it that had glyphs written all over it.
"It's beautiful," Elliot said in awe.
Madam Locraine looked at Elliot. Her heart softened after seeing he genuine interest in the boy's eyes. She was worried that she was going to give the chair to him and he would only use it for its power. But after seeing the joy in Elliot's eyes, her worries vanished.
"I will open the seal," Madam Locraine announced. "Only I can open the seal of the runes and the protection from it. If others try to do it, they'll be penalized depending on the amount of tampering they did."
"Has someone died before because of this?" Elliot gulped. The woman turned to him and shrugged, you're the only other person alive to have walked this floor. All the other ones are dead since they're my ancestors and my predecessors."
This made Elliot's eyes widen. Madam Locraine trusts him so much that she was willing to take him in a place where she had never taken anyone before.
"I feel honored," Elliot said. "And I am honored. Thank you."
"You keep thanking me and I haven't done anything worthy yet," Madam Locraine chuckled and placed her fan on the glass. She tapped it three times, making the runes on the glass glow. "Open the seal that I've put before. Dry your tears and lift your protection. The time of this item shall continue to flow along with us."
With a burst of light, the glass that enclosed the chair vanished and the stone chair started to darken.
'Quest [ Chairs to Heaven ] completed.'