Chapter Text
There are a lot of things the nighttime can be used for. Late night movies in the cinema. Starlit walks through parks with friends. And, apparently, sneaking into strangers hotel rooms to steal their items. Most people probably wouldn’t do the latter, but the man currently crouching on his floor, rummaging through his items, was not like most people.
Since the only source of light was the moon, and Tannhauser wasn’t completely awake yet, he didn’t notice that many details about the man in his room. Only that he was a man, in his room, and that he left in a hurry, as one would assume many people would do when caught stealing. There was actually one strange thing about his exit. Tannhauser didn’t actually see him go out the door. It might just be because he was still sleepy, but a strange voice in his head told him differently. Or, actually, it told him: Please! You’ve got to help me!
A strange thing to hear in the middle of the night. At least, Tannhauser wasn’t used to hearing that it the middle of the night. It might be a common occurrence in Trüberbrook, but he was really doubting it. When he finally felt clear enough in the head to start reacting to what just happened, he got out of bed, and stood by his briefcase. The strange man had been crouching by that same briefcase, which was evident by the fact that the briefcase was open, and its contents were messed up in the briefcase.
Did that guy just disappear with my paper? It would appear so, but one can never be too sure. So he did as anyone would do. Took out his recorder, and started talking into it.
“Something unusual happened.” He started, deciding to go with an understatement about what had happened. “There was an uninvited guest in my room tonight. Now that he’s escaped, I’m going to chase him down!”
An interesting decision when you think about that his previous goal had been to relax for the entire holiday. It truly is amazing how much a small robbery can change your plans.
He was determined about catching that thief, and nothing could make him turn around. Except for when he turned around to look at some weird marks on the floor. He hadn’t noticed them before, but now that his head was finally clear, he saw a bunch of odd footsteps on the floor. It was glowing in the half-lit bedroom, and upon closer inspection, it seemed to be some kind of goo. Where someone would get glow-in-the-dark goo under their feet was not common knowledge. At least not to him.
With the determination and adrenaline still coursing through his veins, he went out the door in pursuit of the thief. When he went out the door, he heard a crashing sound, but as previously stated, nearly nothing could make him turn back.
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The entrance looked like it had the previous evening. Nothing looked like it had been meddled with, but the footprints on the floor were still leading the way for him. They led out the door, though they were slightly losing their colour. He hurried across the floor and out the front door.
“Darkest night. In the pale starlight, this village appears to be composed of jagged silhouettes and loneliness.”
His eyes were still trying to get used to the darkness, but he still needed to find the man who’d been in his room. He started walking towards along the footprints on the ground, when a voice broke the silence.
“Psst!” It said, “Hey there. Taking a little night stroll?”
A woman stepped out from the shadows. He couldn’t see her clearly in the darkness, but what he could see was that her hair was very red. Or maybe it was orange? It definitely shone through in the night.
“Someone... was in my room.” He told her. While he still wasn’t quite certain that someone had actually been in his room, and that he didn’t just dream the entire thing, now he could feel the sting of the cold air. Someone once told him that you can’t feel pain in dreams, and this cold was definitely feeling like a thousand needles on his skin.
“You only just got here and you already have secret admirers?”
“No. It was a burglar, I think.”
“Well, I haven’t seen anybody sneaking around here…” She said. He didn’t know how long she’d been standing there, but it was a bit odd that she hadn’t seen the man running out the hotel. “But if I were you I would probably follow these somewhat extremely obvious footprints...”
“You’ve got a point there. Please excuse me.” He’d already been following the obvious footprints. All the way from his room to the town square, and he hadn’t planned on stopping then.
He walked up the stairs by the cinema, and ended up at the end of the street. With nothing else to do, he pulled out the recorder, and started speaking.
“The situation is growing aggravating. I followed the person who stole my notes into a kind of dead end street.” He said. “... and now he’s vanished.”
“Picture me, standing here at the edge of the world, stripped of my writings.” He’d really lost his notes. The man from his room was gone, and with him, the notes he needed to finish his studies.
“I wonder who on earth would steal a paper on quantum physics?” The woman from the cinema had followed him, something he only just noticed, and was apparently just as stumped as him.
“Do you like ghost stories?” A strange thing to ask someone you’ve just met, but if that’s what she wanted to go with, then that’s just fine. “It is said that a Proto-Germanic cult used to live up here in the mountains. They prayed to the spirits of the forest.”
A slightly odd topic to start talking about, but Tannhauser wasn’t complaining. Other people’s interests had always interested him.
“I know it’s a long shot, but maybe this visitor of yours is one of those spirits?”
“Evil spirits?” He asked, not believing a single thing she’d just said.
“Nonsense, I was just trying to mess with you.” Oh, thank god . “What was your name again? Tannhauser? Name’s Gretchen. I’m an anthropologist. In fact, those old Proto-Germanic ritual grounds just so happen to be my special subject! One of them is supposedly somewhere around here, though I haven’t been able to find it yet.”
“Gretchen. Well met.” He said. “Now, that’s all well and good, but what am I going to do without my notes?”
“You know what? I’m going to help you track down that burglar! It looks like he escaped with one of the old gondolas. I bet he’s hiding somewhere in the mountains.” She said. “...which … incidentally… is also where I was heading.”
“Come on, you’re a scientist!” She continued. “You’re coming with me and now you’re going to help me find this ritual site! Who knows, maybe you’ll even find your evil spirit there…” He had to admit, it was starting to sound a bit interesting. If he didn’t find
“The one with an interest in quantum whatchamacallits.”
It was around this time that Tannhauser had had enough, and reached into his jacket for the pack of cigarettes he kept there. Just one more. Two people have made fun of your profession, so just one more cigarette, and then you’ll quit. It’s fine.
“You scratch my back, I scratch yours?” Gretchen said. “So, what do you say? You with me?”
“I…” He tried.
“Ha! I knew you had the spirit of adventure in you!” That’s not at all what I was going to say! “Are you ready to go? I am ready to go!” She said. “‘The early bird catches the bird’ and all that! We have to find a way up the mountain! It would be easier if we used the cable car.”
“I reckon that’s also what our friend thought.” Friend?
“The cable car doesn’t appear to be in exactly pristine condition. What do you think?” He asked after putting out his cigarette.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure I can fix this!” She exclaimed. She seemed very sure about her abilities. So sure that Tannhauser almost believed her. Almost.