The Serpent's eye

Whisperroot

2 days ago

series

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00:00Chapter 1 The Ash and the Abyss

00:09London, 1942. The city was a bruised and exhausted ghost, its soul stripped bare by the relentless

00:18wail of the air-raid sirens. Inspector Alistair Finch stood on a pile of rubble that, just

00:23hours before, had been the west wing of the prestigious Stirling Barton Museum. The air,

00:30thick with the scent of cordite and burnt brick, clung to his wool coat like a second skin.

00:36He adjusted his bowler hat, a habit born of a pre-war life that felt a thousand years away.

00:44The Blitz was a thief, but a clumsy one. It stole lives and history indiscriminately,

00:50its calling card a crater and a pile of ash. This time, however, the theft had been precise.

00:58Chief Superintendent Davies, his face a grim mask of exhaustion, pointed a trembling hand toward the

01:05museum's gaping maw. The bastards didn't just bomb us, Finch. They picked our pocket.

01:12Finch's gaze swept over the scene. Uniformed officers picked through the debris,

01:16their flashlights carving out feeble circles in the pre-dawn gloom. A heavyset man in a velvet

01:23smoking jacket, the museum's curator, was pacing frantically, wringing his hands. His pleas to the

01:32heavens seemed to be aimed at a specific deity, the one in charge of ancient artifacts.

01:38What was taken, sir? Finch's voice was a low rasp,

01:42a permanent casualty of a gas attack in the previous war.

01:45The serpent's eye, Davies muttered, his voice dropping to a near whisper.

01:53The centerpiece of the new Roman exhibit, unearthed just last year, found in the ruins

02:00of a temple in Britannia. The one you read about in the papers, the one the government was so bloody

02:06proud of. It's a flawless jade figurine of a serpent. Its eye a polished emerald the size of a pigeon's

02:13egg. They say it's cursed, that it sees all. Finch felt a familiar cold spark of professional

02:21interest cut through his war weariness. The stolen jewel wasn't just a trinket. It was a symbol,

02:28a piece of national pride at a time when morale was as fragile as glass. A theft this brazen wasn't

02:35an act of opportunity. It was a message. And with a war-ravaged city and a desperate populace,

02:41messages were dangerous.

02:43How was it stolen? Finch asked, his eyes scanning the curator.

02:51The man's distress seemed genuine, but Finch had learned long ago that genuine emotions were often

02:57the best masks. During the raid, the curator, a Mr. Ashworth, finally piped up, his voice cracking.

03:06The alarms went off and we all ran for the shelters. The jewel was in a special reinforced

03:13display case. When we came back, the case was smashed. No bomb damage, just a clean break.

03:21Finch approached the crime scene, his polished shoes crunching on glass and plaster.

03:27The display case was a jumble of shattered glass, its heavy brass frame mangled as if by a hydraulic

03:33press. There were no marks of explosives, no bomb shards, just a brute force that seemed

03:41impossible for a single man. The clean fractured edges of the glass suggested a tool of extraordinary

03:47pressure had been used, something beyond a standard crowbar. Finch knelt, his gloved hand tracing the

03:55grooves in the brass, a cold focused energy taking hold of him. He wasn't just observing, he was mentally

04:02recreating the event, picturing the thief's movements in the dark, frantic moments of the raid.

04:09And no one saw anything? Finch's question was directed at Ashworth, but his eyes remained

04:15on the wreckage. Ashworth shook his head, his hands still ringing.

04:20The shelter was packed. It was pitch black down there, and the roar of the bombs.

04:26It was impossible to hear anything. The case felt impossible, but Finch knew from experience that

04:35every impossible case had a seam. You just had to be patient enough to find it. He circled the mangled

04:43case, his eyes fixed on the floor. Most of the debris was a chaotic mix of brick dust and plaster, but a

04:50small section of the floor was surprisingly clean, as if a large, heavy object had been dragged away.

04:58A closer look revealed a faint, almost imperceptible trail of water, a dark, glistening line weaving

05:06through the dry dust. It was the kind of water that hadn't seen daylight in a long time,

05:12smelling of damp earth and disuse. It was an impossible detail to have survived the chaos.

05:19A quiet breadcrumb left for someone like him to find. This wasn't a job for the official channels.

05:26In a city where every copper was stretched to his limit, a theft, no matter how valuable the item,

05:32would be buried under the weight of more urgent crimes. The government wanted this handled quietly.

05:38They wanted the serpent's eye back, and they wanted the thief neutralized. That was where Finch came

05:45in. His last case had been a series of impossible codes left behind by a missing scientist. A case the

05:52brass had called a waste of resources. Finch had solved it in a week. They now called him when the

06:01impossible became urgent. He straightened up, his eyes meeting Davies'.

06:06I'll need a list of everyone on staff, a blueprint of the museum's old tunnels, and a private word with

06:15Ashworth. He knew from the glint in Davies' eye that his request was granted. Davies nodded,

06:22a look of grim relief on his face. Anything you need, Finch. Just find it before the press gets a whiff,

06:29and before the thief realizes what they've truly unleashed. Finch knelt beside the wreckage one last

06:36time. He saw a small, almost insignificant object tucked beneath a piece of rubble. He pulled it out.

06:44It was a single silver button, engraved with a detailed coat of arms, a stag's head above a field of

06:51roses. It wasn't a museum uniform button. It was a military button, of the kind worn by a specific

06:59regiment, one known for its distinguished and well-connected officers. The polished metal was

07:05too clean, too untarnished by the ash and grit. It was a mistake, a small telling clue that the thief

07:13was not a common civilian. The possibilities were suddenly vast and chilling. Was this a personal

07:20vendetta, a foreign operation, or something far more sinister, hidden beneath the surface of a country

07:27at war? To solve the mystery of the stolen serpent's eye, Finch must pursue the most promising lead.

07:35What is his next move? Choose the option to help solve the mystery. Option A, follow the water trail.

07:43The water trail is the most direct physical evidence. Finch should immediately follow it,

07:48even if it leads into a perilous, bombed-out part of the city. He might find a hiding spot,

07:55a partner in crime, or the thief himself. Option B, investigate the button. The silver button is an

08:03excellent clue. Finch should discreetly run the coat of arms through military and aristocratic records.

08:09This could lead him to a high-ranking officer, or a specific, well-connected family, who may have

08:16had access to the museum. Question the curator. Again, Mr. Ashworth's story feels a bit too perfect.

08:25Finch should press him. Not about the theft itself, but about the history of the jewel. He might know of a

08:33legend or a person with a motive that isn't immediately obvious. A clue hidden in the shadows

08:39in the shadows of the past.

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