Part 5: A Sudden Message

The door creaks as she opens it, and her nostrils are hit with the distinct scent of floor wax.
She flips the switch, and after a brief hum of electricity, the room lights up.
Vertin: That man, Stefen. He clearly knows something. But he appears to be rather mentally unstable, and he's hostile towards me.
Vertin: Madam Z cautioned me on this. I must be extra careful when dealing with people like him. Should make sure I have a backup plan in place before proceeding.
Vertin: Still no sign of Lilya.
She tries contacting her on her communication device, but the line is busy.
Vertin: ...
She tries again, but still no luck.
Vertin: Did she get in trouble?
Suddenly, the phone on the nightstand rings. It vibrates violently.
Vertin: Hello?
Telephone: tap, tap, tap, tap
Vertin: Hello?!
A series of strange tapping sounds comes from the other end of the line.
Vertin: Erm, is that Ms. Tuesday?
Telephone: tap
Telephone: tap, tap—tap, tap
Telephone: tap, tap—tap—tap
Vertin: ...
The short and long sounds are distinct. They form a certain rhythm.
Vertin: Oh, I think I know what this is.
Telephone: tap, tap—tap
Vertin: That's an R.
Telephone: tap
Vertin: E.
Telephone: tap, tap, tap
Vertin: S.
Telephone: tap, tap—tap—tap
Vertin: P.
Telephone: tap—tap—tap—
Vertin: O.
The phone is abruptly hung up. But it doesn't matter. The thoughts are complete.
RESPOND
Vertin: ...
A message conveyed through Morse code.
A means of communication that sacrifices efficiency for safety. It's commonly used in intelligence, but rarely for anything else.
Why would there be such a message in a motel?
Telephone: ring-ring-ring—
The telephone rings again. She picks it up without hesitation.
Tuesday: Hello, is this Ms. Vertin?
Vertin: Ms. Tuesday?
Tuesday: Yes. I have an announcement for you.
Tuesday: There's a service outage going on in the area. Some critters nibbled through the cables of a nearby signal tower. But all our internal phone lines are still running well.
Vertin: I see.
Tuesday: It should be repaired soon, since we share the signal tower with that armament factory. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Tuesday: I'll bring your dinner up later. It's on the house.

Tuesday: Is there anything else I can help you with?
Vertin: I'm good for now. Thank you.
As she hangs up, she feels a light touch on her neck, like a feather brushing against her skin.
She reflexively touches her neck. It's a spider's web. She follows it up to the corner of the ceiling.
Vertin: Spiders?
A spider falls onto the surface of the wooden cabinet. It moves its slender legs, crawling from one shadowy spot to another.
As it moves, sparks ignite in the air.
Then, in the glow of an arcane skill, she can see everything clearly.
Vertin: Is that an arcane array?
Vertin: The pattern's familiar. I've seen it somewhere before.
The surface of the bedside cabinet has a rough engraving on it. She traces the markings with her fingers, trying to discern their texture and direction.
Vertin: ...!
The array burns her fingertips, and in that momentary pain, memories are awakened.
Vertin: Yes, I've definitely seen this before,
Vertin: when I was in school.
Instructor: This is an extremely dangerous array—one that you are prohibited from using. It can go easily beyond the caster's control.
Instructor: We study arcanum and tame it for our use.
Instructor: But once its power surpasses our limits, it is highly likely that it will lead to our own destruction.
Instructor: I need you all to remember that. It'll be in your next exam.
The students put their heads down, and the sound of scribbling fills the classroom.
Sonetto: Vertin? Are you listening?
Sonetto: The instructor just said it'd be in the next exam. If you like, you can check my notes.
The top student nervously clutches her notebook in her hands.
Vertin: Oh, thank you. My mind was somewhere else.
Vertin: Why have they made it a key point of the exam if we can't even use it?
Vertin: I see. They didn't teach us about arrays so that we could use them.
Vertin: They wanted us to be able to identify them so that we could avoid danger.
She looks out the window. It's getting dark.
Vertin: It's highly likely to cause an explosion or other severe consequences if I act too hastily.
The array glows faintly.
Vertin: Lilya still hasn't come back. I must find someone else to help.
What qualities should an ally have?
Decisiveness, efficiency, some means of offense or self-defense ...
A sudden knock on the door interrupts her thoughts.
She opens it to a familiar face.
Argus: Hey. We met back in the hallway, remember?
Argus: Now, it's your turn.
Vertin: What exactly do you want from me, Miss?
The mercenary raises an eyebrow.
Argus: Well, it's simple. The person I'm looking for is right here in this motel, and I'm scouring every corner of it to find her.
Argus: Look, missy, I don't wanna make things hard for you. Name your price, and we can talk.
Vertin: If this person's gone to such great lengths to avoid you, perhaps she doesn't want to see you at all.
Argus: Well, that ain't my concern, is it? A job's a job. Whether it's catching a cheating spouse, tracking someone down, or delivering a letter, it don't make no difference to me.
Vertin: Very well. But you'll have to look elsewhere, I'm afraid. There's no one but me in this room.
Argus: Hah.
Argus: Look, I know what I'm doing. How about you turn around and take a good look around the room?
Vertin: So you can knock me out as soon as I turn my back to you?
Argus: Hahaha!
The mercenary gives a hearty laugh.
Argus: Missy, if that were my plan, I wouldn't have spent all this time talking to you.
Argus: I much prefer to do my business pleasantly. I don't like to see things get too ugly.
Vertin: I see.
Argus: Fine. If you don't wanna turn around, I'll tell you what I see.
The mercenary squints, that same emerald light shimmering in her eye.
Argus: You've burned your finger there. You should be more careful.
Vertin: This is ...
Argus: Don't look like a fire burn to me. What was it? Some arcane energy?
Argus: Looks like this room has a couple secrets, too.
The mercenary shifts her gaze to the room further away.
Argus: So you touched an arcane array, and its power burned you. How's that for a guess? Pretty close, huh?
Vertin: ...!
She examines the mercenary's burning emerald eye.
Argus: This is my arcane skill. It allows me to see the traces that people leave behind. That's how I get these jobs, you see.
Argus: Ain't nothing happening that don't leave a trace. If there ain't no trace, then it never happened. I came to your room to look for evidence, not a person.
Vertin: I see. You want to know whether the person you're tracking has been here, right?
Argus: Now we're talking.
Vertin: Before I let you investigate the room, I have one more question. You take jobs from people nearby, don't you?
Argus: Of course. It's obvious, ain't it?
She doesn't get the response she wants. In this familiar silence, the experienced mercenary smells an imminent deal.
It's a mixture of caution and trust, anticipation and doubt.
Argus: You seem more intrigued by my profession than my peculiar request.
Argus: You're in trouble, ain't you?
Argus: Then let me formally introduce myself. The name's Argus, I'm 26, and I have extensive experience as a mercenary.
Vertin: Let's make a deal.
Vertin: You may search this room all you like, and I won't say a thing. But in return, I'd like your assistance in my own investigation.
Argus: How, exactly?
Vertin: Can you tell when that array on the cupboard was drawn?
Argus slings her shotgun over her shoulder and crouches down beside the nightstand. After a brief examination, she gives her assessment.
Argus: Less than 24 hours ago.
Vertin: In other words, this was left behind by the last guest who stayed in this room.
Argus shakes her head.
Argus: Can't say for certain.