Chapter 2113: Cursed Letter
As he ate breakfast, Shard asked Emilia the reason for her early arrival. As expected, she had sneaked out again:
"The three of us agreed to meet at the inn lobby for breakfast at 7:30 every day. I got up an hour earlier to avoid them."
As she spoke about it, she even looked very proud, but she didn’t forget to explain the reason for her visit:
"We’ve been staying at the Three Cats Inn for half a week now. The academy’s task of tracking down relics is going smoothly, but ever since I moved into that room, I’ve been having strange dreams frequently."
She frowned, holding her fork. At the Shard Family home, she wasn’t wearing any talismans to disguise her appearance, so she still looked youthful and radiant:
"If it were just dreams, that would be fine. But this morning, I was startled awake by a nightmare and found a letter in the room. Oh, does the cat eat food too?"
Mia walked away disdainfully, laying back beside Shard’s hand.
Emilia didn’t mind, and she handed the letter to Shard. He touched the envelope, confirming the paper was ordinary. Then he checked the stamp and address location. The stamp was the cheapest 1 pence stamp, suggesting the letter was sent within the Tobesk City Area. However, the stamp’s pattern was a bloody hand on a black background, which Shard was certain was not a standard stamp design.
As for the address location, it was a string of strange tadpole script.
"I don’t recognize this writing."
The elf girl spoke softly while eating her fried egg. Shard didn’t recognize the writing either, but he could decipher that it was an address within the city area.
Taking out the letter, the text was written in Draleon Common Script—
[Hello Stranger:
This is a cursed letter. After seeing this letter, you must send it to at least three different people, or you will die horribly in seven days, and your soul will burn in demon fire for forty-nine days.]
Beneath the brief text was a handprint seemingly drawn with blood, but after sniffing it, Shard realized it was red ink.
Then he looked at the back of the letter, finding nothing. After stroking the intrigued cat’s head, Shard frowned and thought:
"A prank letter... No, there are traces of Whisper Element, but very faint."
"Really?"
Emilia raised her head in surprise; despite her strong perception, she was still within the range of an ordinary elf:
"I’m not sure if this is truly a cursed letter or a prank, so I came to find you. If I report to the academy and it turns out to be a relic, my family will definitely use it as a reason of danger to make me return."
"It’s highly likely to be a relic. Although it looks like a nasty prank, the element traces can’t be faked."
Originally planning to visit Miss Belindel in Moon Bay City as Luviya suggested, Shard also gave up on going far this morning. He adjusted his posture and seriously addressed the elf girl holding the fork:
"Report it to the academy. This isn’t something to joke about. Safety first."
"But, but..."
Emilia pursed her lips, looking very aggrieved:
"The academy will definitely request us to return under the summer spell. I haven’t had the chance to see Tobesk yet. Miss Annette said she would take me shopping over the weekend. Also, Miss Luisa, I want to visit her apartment where she created ’Hamilton Detective Stories.’
She lowered her head but raised her big green eyes to Shard, looking pitiful:
"Can you help me figure out what kind of relic this is? I promise if we can’t handle it, I’ll immediately report it to the academy. I, I, I can pay you for your help."
"Hmm...when you’re at school, if you can’t turn in assignments, do you plead with professors like this too?"
Shard asked, and the elf girl pursed her lips, looking on the verge of tears, prompting him to nod:
"Alright, alright, don’t be like that. I’ll help you. You know I’ll certainly help you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have come to me, and I won’t disappoint you."
He said, picking up the cat watching the drama:
"But you must stay close to me and not run around."
"Okay!"
"What about your companions? They’re probably worried about you now."
"It’s fine. I left a note at the inn’s front desk. They know I went to see you and that I’ll be back by evening."
Concerning unknown relics, it’s natural to seek identification from the respected elder, Old John.
Thus, after Emilia finished breakfast, Shard left the cat at home and took a carriage with her to Old John’s Pawnshop. Naturally, early in the day, there were no customers. The old man behind the counter was leisurely reading a newspaper, and the front page still featured a large photo of His Majesty the King. Hearing the bell at the door, he raised his eyes to look, then raised an eyebrow in surprise:
"Good morning, Detective... Elf friend?"
"Hmm? Isn’t there a camouflage spell?"
"That only fools others. Bringing this strange elf lady to visit my business first thing in the morning, Detective, should I say thank you?"
He asked with a smile, as Emilia tugged at Shard’s coat, following behind him, sometimes leaving Shard unsure if she’s bold or shy:
"Indeed, it’s a visit for business. There are two matters today. This elf lady has encountered some trouble, and I’d like you to help identify this relic."
He had Emilia repeat the matter about the letter, then handed the letter to Old John. The old man frowned as he listened, flipping through the letter before giving an answer:
"Things have indeed gotten stranger these years; such items can also appear in Tobesk. Keeper of Secrets Level Relic - Chain of Malicious Curse Letters, considered an uncommon event-type relic, though it’s quite well-known."
"Keeper of Secrets Level? That’s a relief."
Shard let out a sigh of relief; if it was Sage Level or even Angel-Level, he would immediately report to the Academy.
"So, the curse on the letter..."
Emilia asked timidly, shedding enthusiasm for caution, making it apparent that she is a fifty-something adolescent elf.
"It’s real."
The old man nodded assuredly, peering at the stamp on the envelope:
"The origin of such relics has become untraceable. Currently, the academic consensus is that it’s inseparable from traditional prank letters. Angel Relic [Body in the Wall], Sage-Level Relic [Friendly Neighbor], Keeper of Secrets Level Relic [Chain of Malicious Curse Letters], Scribe Level Relic [Ghostly Afterimage], Poet-Level Relic [Midnight Footsteps], collectively known as the Five Great Urban Legends Relics. But appearing in a big city like Tobesk is unprecedented... They usually appear in closed, superstitious small towns, or cities like Green Lake City that are old and decaying."
"If one follows the letter’s instructions and spreads the curse to three others, what happens?"
Shard asked.
"On one hand, it further spreads the curse. On the other, it turns the sender into a puppet controlled by the curse, constantly sending more letters until losing physical form and transforming into a malicious cursed item. The solution isn’t complicated; just decrypt this."
Old Man John pointed at the tadpole script on the envelope:
"Find the sender and have this elf lady kill them. Yes, remember, it must be the cursed one who acts. This way, the elf lady can naturally break free from the curse chain, and even if she’s already sent the letter, the new recipient can also break free. Of course, if the sender can’t be found, finding the sender of the previous link in the chain works too, but it’s more troublesome.
My news is very informed, and I haven’t heard anything about such relics in the city, so this should be close to the curse chain’s origin. If you find a living person, kill them, then inform the church via the black market; the church should follow the trail to continue searching for the source, quickly eliminating this incident. If you find something other than a human, which is the starting point of the chain..."
He deliberately paused, and Emilia showed a fearful expression, pulling at Shard’s hem to hide behind him:
"Old sir, what would happen?"
"Then you’re in luck. The relic’s source is a humanoid but extremely grotesque entity. If you can directly resolve it, then the locally effective curses will also lose their power. Additionally, that kind of entity can be considered a strong malicious conglomerate; destroying it might earn you an extra Spirit Rune."
Old John said with a smile:
"These curse sources can be divided into two types: a very small portion are humans transformed by relic’s Whisper Element due to intense negative emotions, but this is quite rare. Their greatest ability is creating Maze Lock-like parallel spaces filled with malice, but defeating the main body can break them. Most of the time, they’re naturally occurring weak dark creatures, really weak."
The elf lady was puzzled:
"How can such a strong curse have such a weak source?"
"What strength can creatures spreading fear and malice in the shadows possess?"
Old Man John retorted, waving the letter in his hand:
"Detective, I’ll waive your appraisal fee this time; sell me the stamp on the envelope. It’s a relic derivative, which I happen to need. Is £3 7 shillings okay? As for the tadpole script, do you need me to find an Ancient Script master for you? This text is ancient."
"I’ll handle the text. You might remember I’m skilled in Ancient Script analysis. As for the stamp, it’s not mine..."
Turning to Emilia, who nodded:
"Sell it to you."
She didn’t refuse the money but rather thought of using it to buy some pet toys for Mia to thank Shard once this matter is resolved... Unaware that the cat doesn’t enjoy toys, preferring a certain ring and Shard.
Shard then brought up the second matter:
"I need your help in identifying this."
The silver ship anchor given by Miss Eles was brought out by him.