The #Broken_Dagger Forum

Dulcie goes to work, this day the same as every other day, the master key unlocking the doors of the tenants that have checked out, cleaning out the rooms of those who have been and gone. But there were other tasks as well, that of giving the more permanent residents their clean linens.

Dulcie only ever cleaned the rooms of the ones that left their wastebarrels at the door, so she knew that they were out of the room so that she could clean it.

She had been in the tavern a few months now, and was beginning to get to know some of the patrons and which rooms they stayed in. It was now that she was beginning to put faces, names and rooms all together. It was strange, how some of them were decorated, or the things they left lying about. Sometimes she was tempted to pick up these items, to get a closer look.. but she never did.. everything left in place save the dirty linens which were replaced with care every day.

OOC: Being as how Dulcie is the chambermaid it would make sense if she knew how the patrons kept their rooms. If you have anything you would like to post about your character's room so that Dulcie can add it to her IC knowledge that would be fabulous. Be creative folks.. leave me some mysteries

Neat. orderly. The chambermaid would know who's room this is, since they belonged to one of the most talked-about men in the town of Myrken Wood. The General, Eriks Demord Sleipner. His rooms needed no cleaning, for the most part; save perhaps a discarded shirt here, a parchment there.

The only thing that seemed messy, in fact, was the desk; filled to the brim with notes, maps, the entirety of the country written and drawn in a neat hand. Various notes, labeled, written in a foriegn tounge proving gutteral in sound if pronounced aloud.

Sometimes there the General's armor would hand; shined, oiled, kept in perfect working order. His sword, however, would never be found. Often a coin or two would be left in a conspicuous place; an obvious reward for those that served his needs.



Further down the hall, a room that always remained locked; not only that, but it proved unbudgable. Perhaps something heavy was propped up against it. In either case, a rather strong, musky smell emerged from this one; already a few complaints might have been lodged. But it's tenant paid well, though how the room was exactly entered remained a mystery.

The General's room was always something of a treat. There was so little work to do there, that Dulcie just couldn't help but to be thrilled at the fact that he was one of the regular tenants. Some days she would spend just a little extra time there, exploring the curiously neat man's room.. but there was often little to find.

The notes on the desk were ignored for the most part, and certainly there were never any rumours about what was written there, however the General would know that the maid had been there, for sometimes if a note had fallen she would straighten it back on the desk.

The armor too was a favored item, but never touched.. the maid fearful of leaving fingerprints upon it and marring it's shiney apearance. It was always carefully swept and dusted around, never moved by the girl, which was quite clear, for when it sat there for a few days the dust would begin to collect beneath it.

Then there was the matter of the coins.. another item that was never touched. Oh the General left them there, and it was clear what the intention could be.. but Dulcie never took them, they simply remained where they were left.

Sometimes, the room would go untouched for weeks at a time. Sometimes, there would be shredded, blood-stained velvets tossed into corners. Always, there was the underlying stench of copper. No manner of scrubbing would get the smell out of wood stained far too many times.

Solena's room had, no doubt, even been *warned* about by some of the other maids. It was mostly empty. The wardrobe was usually left untouched. No clothing hung within its doors. Decorations were sparce, except for the table and chair that was merely a part of the room itself.

Underneath the bed, an ornate trunk was shoved far back against the wall, likely unnoticed entirely. It's contents would, no doubt, remain a mystery regardless of curiosity. It was locked.

Nothing special at all.

.. except for the smell.

There's been a change in her room, these last weeks. Ordinarily pristine to the point of Spartan excess, it had been abandoned some weeks ago, and is much the worse for it.

Most belongings have been removed; the wooden chest at the bed's foot is emptied. Not so the bedside table, which is littered with parchment, quills, a small pot of ink. On closer examination, one could readily see why -- but then, who would *want* to look more closely? After all, before even opening the door, one is assailed by the stench of pure *rot*.

The bed is the worst of it, if one actually opens that door to glance inside, but even the floorboards are splattered with dark red stains, the thickest of them crusted near the bed's feet. Fortunately, the bedding has already been stripped away ( for burning, surely), but this is only a small mercy, for the straw mattress is soaked through with old blood. The damage is irreperable, and must have been the resuly of considerable force, for some of the same splatters that bedside table, and the items strewn across it.

There is also significant damage to the door's hinges, but given the state of the rest, it's hardly worth mentioning.

The chambermaid grumbles a little to herself. First it was Solena's room with that awful smell that she couldn't get out.. and then there was that -other- room. Gods it was filthy.

"Why can't they just bleed to death outside?" she grumbles to herself as she sets to work on that second room. The entire mattress had to be destroyed and replaced, for there was no way that the straw could be saved. She was pacing herself with this room, cleaning little by little.. but it was much like Solena's in a sense.. there was no getting that smell out of the stained wood.

It isn't long before the state of that room becomes the talk of the tavern staff.. world travelling fast from the chambermaid, and those that didn't know about the state of it from when the crime was committed certainly would know now.