"Blimey Bu—"
Elmer could not get himself to complete his words as his mouth, which had been widened in shock, abruptly let loose a barrage of coughs.
He quickly turned away from the sight before him then, but that did nothing to calm the raging pounding of his heart. It was beating so loudly that he could even hear them, and he had not enhanced his hearing.
Suddenly becoming of the mind to kill the quivers that had come to be upon his stomach, Elmer took a deep breath in and out before immediately straightening himself on his feet. He then allowed his eyes the leeway of roaming about the countless and various shades of trees which made up the opposite side of the walkway he was standing on. At least, that was what anyone on the outside would probably see, but they were more of a frantic darting than moving.
This can't be real…
Elmer thought to himself as he placed his hands on his waist and puffed up his cheeks for a moment.
He then turned around, taking his gaze from the different trees and placing them back upon the sight that had sent his mind wandering.
A grand and imposing black gate adorned with intricate scrollworks of ornate wrought iron rose in front of him, and flanking it were two stone pillars that bore low brick fences which went as far as anyone would be able to see from where he stood.
Elmer could still not believe what had been laid bare before his eyes. The towering beauty that stood way beyond the gate.
It had only been a short while ago since he'd been here—although to him it felt a lot longer due to the countless events he'd undergone—but that was hardly the reason why he had been unable to put together the pieces of what had made this place seem so familiar to him before now. The reason for that was because he had not gotten a good enough view on that night.
That hour had been blessed with more darkness and less light.
At this moment though, he could see it clearly.
The landscape formed from the cedar trees which flanked the pair of crescent roads that ran the length of the exquisitely crafted curtilage, and as well the ceramic water fountain which had been carved in the likeness of a goblet. The view jogged his memory.
This was where he had come to with Patsy.
He had not noticed that before from the address which had been written down in the agreement form for his job, because Patsy had been the one to conduct the interaction with their coachman on that night. But now he knew.
His newest employer was the owner of this mansion which was based in Farend's Avenue. A mansion he and Patsy had raided for the purpose of stealing.
What sort of coincidence is this…? It isn't good for my mental health at all…
And it only became worse for Elmer, along with his already lingering uneasiness, as he suddenly remembered the details of the job he had taken.
Wait, wait, wait… Please, that should not be true… This job is not to find the item Ostrich lady had stolen, right…? This is bad… It most likely is… How am I even going to get through this now…?
Ostrich lady for one is nowhere to be found, and I can't just walk up to Lev and take back the item she had given him… Hmm… That one is false, isn't it…? I could just pay the price for it with the sort of money I have in my possession now… Yes, that's actually plausible…
But what if it's the other item that she said had belonged to her father…? Whether she had been lying or not, it's pretty obvious that she wouldn't have sold such an item she had spoken so passionately about to give me money… She most likely had taken another and sold that one… So if it was the one she was passionate about in particular, where am I even going to start from…?
Elmer ran his hands into his hair with a grunt.
This whole situation that he had wandered into was completely messed up, but there was little to nothing he could do about it.
At the end of the day, he had to go into the mansion. Bailing out on the job was not an option, and there was no surety that he would be able to handle the consequences which would come with taking such an action.
Who knew, he might even be tagged as a corrupted one if the owner of this mansion took it up to the Church directly and had him hunted with the classification of the job as a high grade one.
He could not have his existence in this world being jeopardized, especially not when he had gotten nothing to help Mabel yet. That was a situation he should try to avoid by all means.
Tightening his fists and heaving out a soothing sigh to calm his tensed nerves, Elmer strode forward and banged softly on the gate.
It did not take long after for a young man dressed in a pure white frock coat and a bowler hat of the same color to come rushing out of a guard shack hidden almost completely out of view to the left of the gate.
"Who's you?" the guard queried in a fascinating manner of speech as he approached, his white attire clear and eye catching.
Elmer wasted no time for small talks. He was pretty cranked up already as it was.
While he dipped his hand into his waist bag and brought out his bounty hunter license, displaying it before the guard's eyes, he said, "Kindly relay to your employer that the bounty hunter he requested has arrived. Elmer Hills is the name."
The guard anchored his attention on the license Elmer was holding up for him to see for a while, before further assessing Elmer's countenance with furrowed brows.
Yes, yes, I know… I do not look like someone who your employer should have requested for… But as you can see, I have the license to prove it, so do get on with it already, I don't have the time to waste…
The guard exhaled as though he had heard Elmer's thoughts and strolled back to his shack.
There, he whispered through the window, causing Elmer to believe that there was probably another guard inside. He then swerved to the other side of the shack, which was fully hidden from Elmer's sight, and after something of a minute, rode out on the back of a horse, taking the left half of the crescent roads toward the mansion.
Before the whinny of the horse had made its way into Elmer's ears, he had not been expecting a barn to be so close to the front gate. Although, he could see the reason why it was that way.
A person relying on the strength of their legs to trek all the way to the mansion would be quite the journey. It was not like he couldn't do it, but he hoped they lent him the horse to ride as well.
It would be good rest for his aching legs, and also a chance to ride on the back of a horse for once.
He returned his license into his waist bag and awaited the guard's return. If only he could control the pounding of his heart like he could control his hearing that would have been nice.
I can probably do that, can't I…? Every time I use my enhanced hearing my heartbeat always slows down because I seem to always be at peace then… Eh, maybe I should try it, I'll just put it to a stop right before I fall asleep… I hate this nervous feeling…
Elmer took a quick glance at the guard shack first, and when he saw no sign of being watched by whoever might be inside, he took a step to his left, taking the shack away from his eyes, and hopefully, keeping himself out of those of whoever was inside as well.
Now sure that no one was going to see him as a weird person once his eyes had begun to drift close, he took in a deep breath and forced his earlobes open.
He had no reason to narrow his hearing in this area, seeing as there was not a single noise to worry about, so he let his ears take flight as much as they wanted. And so they did.
The whistling sound of the wind, which had been barely perceptible to Elmer before, suddenly came upon his ears. It was loud but at the same time silent, and it brought with itself tranquility and calmness, the two things Elmer had entered into this graceful state for.
Elmer's view of the distant mansion beyond the gate narrowed slowly—his eyes were drifting close—but his heartbeat had not yet slowed down to the point he wanted yet, so he let his hearing remain enhanced.
The gentle rustles of leaves poured into his ears next. Their soothing sound further pushed Elmer deeper into a sanctuary that had only peace, and caused his heartbeat to slow down considerably again. It was now where he wanted it.
But just as he was about to put his abilities to a stop, the hushed conversation of two men suddenly entered into them, and he instantly noticed that the range of his hearing had spread out too far, more than he had ever thought it could.
Though, that was not the only thing he had noticed. The conversation pouring into his ears was about him. And because it was, he listened further.
"The bounty hunter is here, sir. He says his name is Elmer Hills," Elmer heard a gruff voice tinged with professionalism say.
"I see. Let him in," the second voice said. This one was low and well refined. It was befitting of the tone of a person wallowing in riches, and it struck Elmer with a teeny bit of familiarity. He was not sure from where though.
"Right away, sir. Although, I still believe we should have put this job offer directly to the Church."
"What difference does it make? The bureau is overseen by the Church, Al."
"I know that, sir. What I'm saying is that the Church would have given us a bounty hunter with a greater skill set."
"But we'll have to give them more information on the item we're putting up for search, don't you know that? It's better this way. It is a mystic artifact, one very precious to me, and the Church will take it into their possession if we went to them directly. I can't have The Warlock's Torch leaving my hands."
As soon as the last of those words crawled into Elmer's ears, he instantly, though unwillingly, relinquished the enhancement of his hearing and snapped back to what made up his current scenery.
He jerked a step backward while his eyes blinked rapidly for a moment as he struggled to orient himself. The heartbeat he had wanted to calm so much had only gone ahead to fluster even more than before.
What had he just heard? He could not possibly have heard right.
Have… Have I just been employed to search for The Warlock's Torch…?