Kthaahthikha

XIX - 0600

I awoke in darkness. Sitting-up in bed, I heard the door open, and a figure entered carrying a small lantern. As they stood by the bed, I could see their face. Maldoni looked at me, crouched amidst my bedclothes.

'Come,' he said. 'We shall discuss things in my study.'

I put my gown on, and followed the man out of the bedroom and along a high, narrow hall. After several turns, he stopped at a small oaken door, and opened it by way of a large brass key. Within, a simple study presented itself, lighted by a gas-lamp in one corner and furnished with a large bureau and several armachairs.

Maldoni seated himself in one, behind the desk, and gestured for me to take the other. A fire was burning away brightly in the grate. Maldoni offered me a glass of sherry, but I refused politely.

'You are no doubt burning with questions,' said Maldoni, 'and so am I. It is not usual for people to come here without knowing what they would find, or without our having intended them to come. Usually it is my practice to travel out amongst the countrym provide information, invitations and the like, and ensure that whomsoever comes here is a person suited to Ville du Lac Bleu. But you, you provide a unique problem. It is a side-effect of the shrinking nature of the world.'

'But what is this place?' I asked. 'Are you all ghosts? Corpses waiting on their own departed souls?'

'Not as such,' Maldoni replied. 'It is something of a lengthy story, that has its beginnings many hundreds of years ago...'

Doesn't it always? This'n is especially-small due to my taking a shower and up-dating my web-comic.