Denner Family Secrets

Written by Lahtori

“Read it to me again Father,” the small voice of a young four-year-old Tabaxi pestered.
“Again? Don’t you wish to hear another story?” her father questioned.
They were surrounded by a sea of books. Their library vast and endless, certainly for a small Tabaxi child who could barely reach the third shelf from the bottom if she stood on her tiptoes. She grasped in her hands a picture book with the cover showing snow leopards on top of a snowy mountain.
She shakes her head furiously, clutching the book tightly and holding it up at her father.
Through the windows of the library, the sun was setting over the horizon, turning the sky beautiful shades of red and purple, illuminating the room in its peculiar light. In the distance, to the south, their very own real mountains peaked across the land.
With a kind smile and a small sigh, Jameson picks up his daughter and sits her on his legs, taking the picture book from her. He opens to the first page - the book filled with beautiful imagery of snow leopards, of mountains, of snow, but no words.
“A long long time ago, our people lived high in the mountains, where the snow rests. We never descended the mountains, having been told strictly to stay, and never would we leave the snow.”
A maid enters to light to the small oil lamps on the table. The sun’s last rays fill the room as they flip through the pictures, night time washing over them.
“But then, one day past, the snow leopards realized they could bring the snow with them. No more did they need to stay high above the land. No, they could explore it to its fullest, finally touch what they could see.”
Only the light from the lamp remained, dancing off the pages of the book. The young girl was engrossed in the story, her eyes never leaving the pictures, her ears perked, intently listening. And yet, a small yawn escaped her. Then a larger one.
“And thus they journeyed down the mountains, snow in hands, and started anew their lives. Though the mountains remain their forever home, they would never look back, only forward.”
The book came to a close, and Jameson sets it aside on the table. He stands, keeping his daughter in his arms. Her big purple child eyes, full of wonder and questions, peer into his older and wiser ones. His gaze wavers, moving towards the fireplace in the room.
“Elisa… In a day that is far away still, I hope, you too will descend from the mountains and learn the secrets of our lands, of us, our family…”
The memory begins to fade, young Elisa falling asleep in her father’s arms, and grown Elisa returns to the present, eyeing the very same chimney, the same fireplace, the only piece of her former home left untouched by the fires and the years of nature reclaiming what is hers.
In all her years of running, she never imagined coming back to her home, let alone with friends. Two of her companions canvas the masonry, looking for signs of weakness, for a lever or switch, doing their all to help Elisa find a hidden room that she so feverishly believes exists. Her other two companions, unsure of the reality of secret rooms, opt to keep watch and instead examine the month old boot-prints littering the grounds. However, any small chance of discovering information that may assist them in retaking Catthorn Ridge from the Venandi is worth exploring; thus, they do not outwardly question Elisa’s sudden interest in secret rooms.
“I know something's here, I just know it,” Elisa mutters.
She approaches the white stone forming the base of the fireplace, as her friends try once again to knock the rocks down. She crouches down and enters the fireplace - the stone is smooth, no sort of keyhole, no switch, no lever. In her mind's eye, she can still see her father looking here as he spoke those words.
Was that story even true? Did her father make it up?
Elisa shakes her head, banishing all thoughts unrelated to the task at hand.
“I just know it,” she repeats and slams her hands down on the stone in a futile effort.
Ping
All stop, and look. Stone does not make that sound. Elisa hits the stone again, three times.
Ping ping ping
The sound echoes through the chimney, exciting at the circular opening above and dissipating into the afternoon sky.
She stares at her hands, then at the stone slab, her friends eyeing her quizzingly. Slowly, she extends her left hand out and gently places it on the stone. She rolls her wrist so that her family crest on her thumb ring touches the stone. It shudders underneath her and vanishes.
Her friends watch as the stone disappears under her and she falls into darkness. A moment later, covered in light dust, Elisa reappears, a triumphant smile etched on her lips.
“I knew it! I knew it!” she exclaims. “Not crazy.”
Together, they descend the circular stone stairwell, into the found Denner secret room.