Irin entered the room and found himself terrifyingly astonished by what he saw. The house above was much smaller than the room below. He pondered the technical expertise and resources it must have taken to build a large underground room.
The Pit, as Edmund had called it, had a slightly raised stage. A mounted board, held by chains, hung from the ceiling on the stage.
The board had papers and maps all over it, which were pinned with metal fasteners. A thin red thread connected and intersected other sketches and diagrams to form a giant information network.
In front of the board was a C-shaped desk with several chairs arranged around it. The room had many shelves with individual ladders that stretched to the farthest point of the room.
Some shelves contained case files, scrolls, and large books. Other shelves held stacks of sealed boxes and crates of various sizes.
However, Irin saw that one artefact stood out from the rest. It was a medium-sized glass cube on a stone slab wrapped in chains.
Inside the glass case lay a cane and a monocle nearly identical to the one Edmund wore. The only difference was that the lens of this monocle was broken.
"What is that?" Irin asked, turning to Edmund.
"It's a long story. But I'd advise you to stay clear of that glass. Trust me, you won't like to go too close to it."
Before Irin could ask more questions, a voice called out from near the board.
"Well, look at what we have. Is this another recruit?"
Irin turned sharply.
Three figures stood near the board: two men and a woman.
They must have been there all along, yet Irin had been so overwhelmed by what he saw he hadn't noticed them.
Edmund walked forward with Irin trailing behind him.
"Everyone," Edmund said, "this is Irin Halgrave. Our newest to-be detective."
Edmund pointed to the man dressed in black cloth with broad shoulders. The man crossed his arms and had a somewhat confused expression on his face.
"That's Cassian Marlowe."
Cassian stared at Irin for a while before he finally spoke. "Are you sure you can do this?"
The second man Edmund pointed to was dangling nonchalantly from a chair. A long scar ran down the right side of his face.
"He's Levi Delroy," Edmund said.
Levi tilted his head lazily. "Welcome to the club."
Finally, Edmund nodded toward a beautiful lady standing closest to the board. She wore a simple blouse with rolled-up sleeves. She loosely tied back her blonde hair. Her eyes were cold, indifferent, and unreadable.
"She's Violet Nightingale."
Violet locked gazes with Irin, then gave a small nod.
"Interesting timing," she said in a sweet little voice.
Irin wasn't sure what that meant.
Irin nodded to each of them. "Nice to meet you."
Cassian snorted. "Give it a week."
Edmund clasped his hands behind his back and stared at the board. "Any progress?"
Cassian sighed deeply. "We've got leads. Too many, actually."
Levi pointed at the board.
"This occult group left these cult symbols after carrying out a killing. We gathered these few witness accounts and identified areas where the beast had been sighted. Even the dead bodies of the victims all have their private parts missing."
Violet spoke out quietly. "The problem we have is that we found no unifying ties with the beast and the occult group, which, of course, strikes us as weird."
Irin stepped closer to the board and started analyzing the leads and information pinned to the board.
He frowned.
"May I say something?"
Cassian laughed abruptly. "Kid, this case has been hard to solve. What makes you think we haven't made all possible deductions?"
"Let him," Edmund said evenly.
Irin ignored Levi's scoff and focused on the sketched diagrams of the beast that looked like a hand with six fingers, and at the center of its body was a large mouth.
His eyes darted between the creature's anatomy and the grisly sketches of the victims' crime scenes. Finally, he lifted a finger and pointed to a specific cluster of notes.
"He's just a newbie," Levi laughed, leaning back further in his chair. "Does he really think he can crack in a minute what took us weeks to put together?"
"Quiet, Levi," Edmund commanded. "Go on, Irin."
"Notice the anatomy of the beast," Irin said in a steady voice. "Look at how the limbs fuse. It isn't any kind of monster. It looks like a reanimated, living version of the cult's own sign."
He traced the cult symbol found on the dead victims, which turned out to be a hand with a sixth finger, with each tip curving into a hook.
"The creature has one eye at the top of its mouth, centered in the middle of its body. It walks on two limbs, then uses the rest of its limbs to lash out and feed."
Everyone was quiet in the room as they listened with keen attention.
Violet stepped forward and looked from the diagram to the symbol.
"He's right. We didn't take that into account," she said.
"The cult isn't just killing its victims. Considering the victims' bodies, they harvested their private part which I think was a crucial item in creating this beast."
She turned and sprinted to a nearby shelf, pulling a dusty yellow scroll from an old box. She came back and unfurled it across the desk.
Listen to this, she said, and read out loud for all to hear:
" 'The Desecrated Hand' is a shadowy occult group with hidden intentions. Their symbol features a five-folded pillar with a vertical line, creating the impression of a sixth finger digit. They were last seen two hundred years ago."
She looked up with a pale face. "The fact that they are reappearing now and using their victims to create a beast that looks like a living symbol of their cult means they're after something."
"That's a wonderful discovery. All thanks to Irin," Edmund clapped his hands, praising Irin.
He turned to the others and said authoritatively, "Cassian, Levi, and Violet. You have found the missing clue. Track down the Desecrated Hand to whatever hole they've crawled into and find out what they're after. And don't forget to put their beast out of its misery."