The Quicksilver Relics
Prologue
Your head is pounding.
You open your eyes. A quick glance out the leaded glass window confirms that the sun is setting. You wonder where the day has gone, your thoughts muddled. A vague feeling of apprehension settles in – you have somewhere important to be, but where?
Sitting up, the sun glints off the strangely-shaped silver object on your nightstand. Its strange runes seemingly pull the light from the room. A flicker of purple traces the etchings of the odd device as you pick it up and put it into your pocket. Curious, it’s warm and vaguely slick to the touch. Ah, yes, now you remember, you have a meeting across town, at the ancestral home of an old shipping magnate – now long dead. The Monkshood Estate – yes, that’s the place. You can picture the ramshackle mansion in your mind, although you can’t recall ever having visited – or even been to the Lambert Quay before. Odd, that. Throwing your coat over your shoulders, you slip a knife into your pocket – an unconscious action for your profession. A quick pat comforts you in knowing that the silver relic is safe.
You open the door, surprised to see a hansom sitting in front of your home – waiting, as it were, an ancient driver, wrapped in a black cloak, perched on the rear of the cab. You glance at the last rays of the sun and step off your doorstep. An adventure awaits…