The Key to Eve
a fantasy
7
Eve of Destruction
FOR DAYS, men camped around the mansion and its impenetrable wall, watching for the cat. As is usual among men, disputes arose.
“The cat is calico, so it is a female,” said one man wisely—as though the information would be helpful.
“Nonsense. The cat is silver gray. I saw it with my own eyes.”
“Oh, did you really? What color is the ribbon around its neck holding the key?” asked another.
“The witch kept it hidden. There might not even be a ribbon with a key on a cat,” said one disgruntled suitor. He picked up his pack and set off westwardly. Certainly, there had to be women easier than this one.
One man saw a cat chasing a rat behind the tavern. He chased after it, certain it was the cat with the key. The rat made a fast turn at the pigsty; the cat swiftly pounced beyond to latch onto the rat. Unable to stop, the man leapt toward the cat, landing face down in the muddy sty. Splattered by the mud, the cat dropped the rat, which ran down the neck of the man’s shirt as the cat stalked off to clean itself of mud.
That night, the man told a story in the tavern of his great chase and how the cat had scratched his back in its battle to get free. He even showed the scratches on his back (left by the frightened rat) as evidence of his fight with the cat.
“Aye. So… Just asking you know…” said Lorelei the Barmaid, “if the cat was behind you, what was it fighting to be free of?”
“Well, it was… We got… I was…” the man spluttered.
“You was face down in the pigsty when I found you,” laughed Boris Dremel, the man who owned the pigs. “Thought you was trying to steal one of my pigs.”
“How did the cat scratch your back and your shirt not get torn?” asked another.
Soon the tavern was filled with jeering and laughter. The next morning, the man left for lands farther south where perhaps people had never heard of that darn cat. Others went as well.
Of course, they took souvenirs with them. The women of Tumwater had quickly put together hats, gloves, blankets, and even sweaters knitted from wool with up to ten percent cat hair from Tumwater. Another vendor sold amulets as a commemorative token. Each amber amulet had a cat hair trapped inside. Even market day morning had booths selling fruit and vegetables ‘harvested from the witch’s garden.’
Lilith had nothing against the people of her town earning a little cash, so she freely traded her fruits and vegetables with them so they could sell them for a tidy profit. As more adventurers, traders, and shady merchants came to town, the townspeople grew prosperous.
As one wave of adventurers left Tumwater, yet another arrived. And with this wave, a new cadre of merchants and scheming peddlers reached the village.
“Catnip! It’s the one sure way to catch a cat. Doktor Grigor’s Custom Catnip is the best there is. Sprinkle a bit of this on the ground around you and just wait for the cats to line up, waiting to be petted and examined. Just ten ruri a bundle. Harvested from the high Alps, this genuine premium catnip is 100% guaranteed.”
“Ten ruri? That’s a bargain!” yelled one of the adventurers who happened to have arrived the same day as the peddler. The villagers turned to the stranger.
“BUT!” all the men stopped to listen to Doktor Grigor again, “if there is one thing cats love even more than catnip, it is silvervine. On my treacherous journey to locate the rare herb, I came across this miracle of cat intoxication. I personally harvested over a thousand silvervine blossoms and dried them so you may attract every cat within a mile with the scent of this precious herb. Why should you trust to mere catnip—even such a rare breed as I have brought—when you can have silvervine for just twenty ruri. That’s right, just twenty ruri will get you silvervine and if you act now, I’ll throw in the catnip for just five ruri more. That’s right, folks. Mix the catnip and silvervine together to have an unbeatable cat attraction. Just twenty-five ruri for both!”
Men lined up to buy the weed that looked and smelled strangely like the local peppermint and the silvervine, which smelled like hyacinth. Nonetheless, just twenty-five ruri a bundle seemed like a bargain compared to the rumored wealth of the witch’s girl.
“Now, there isn’t a man here who can outrun a cat,” said the next peddler. “You have to trap the cat so it can’t get away from you. But who wants every cat in the neighborhood to show up in his trap? I see four cats from where I stand and not one of them is of interest.”
This caused an immediate stir among the enrapt crowd who looked around to watch cats scampering away from rooftops, under houses, and into trees. They returned their attention to the peddler.
“None of those cats were of interest. Why? Because they didn’t hold the key! You aren’t interested in capturing the cat! You only need the key. So, the object of my invention is to lure the cat forward. Nothing lures a cat like a flashing light. This tiny mirror, hung from a thread will reflect the light of the sun in different directions. That flashing spot of sunlight is irresistible to cats. When a cat pounces on the spot of sunlight, which all cats will do, it triggers a ball of yarn to drop from a shelf and roll across the floor. If there is one thing that will attract a cat more than a spot of sun light, it is a ball of yarn. The cat will chase and bat at the ball of yarn as it rolls down this track, where it will hit the jar at the end.”
The men were fascinated by the demonstration and did not even notice the number of cats gathered on a nearby roof watching it. They looked curiously at the contraption, but didn’t move.
“This clay jar is precariously balanced on a pin. When the yarn hits the jar, it will fall over, releasing a mouse inside. Now if there is one thing a cat is attracted to more than a ball of yarn or a speck of sunlight, it is a mouse afoot. The mouse, however, has been tantalized by the smell of cheese and will run directly to the cheese over here. And what will the cat do? Why chase the mouse, of course. But the cheese is on the other side of this wall with a hole just large enough for the mouse to escape.”
“So, what will the cat do then? Go back to the speck of sunlight?” asked the village dunce. The men laughed nervously at the dunce, but each thought the same thing.
“No, my lad. Cats are curious and patient. The cat will lie down next to the hole and peer inside. She might even put her paw in the hole to feel around. Then she will lie there in wait for the mouse to return!” the peddler said triumphantly.
“So, then you jump on the cat?” the dunce asked the crowd.
“No, son. You simply wait for the cat to leave. Remember I said you have no interest in the cat? That is where the secret of this invention lies. Next to the mouse hole where the cat will lie in wait is concealed a lodestone. It is the very most powerful lodestone known and was once used on the ship of Captain Argon to navigate through the straits of the Isle of Lost Souls. When the cat has grown bored with waiting at the hole, she will simply get up and leave. But the key, made of iron as so many keys are, will be stuck fast to the lodestone. The cat will have no choice but to slip her collar and leave the key. Voila! The treasure is ours!”
The peddler demonstrated how a key would stick to his powerful magnet and the men were impressed. There was a fury of enthusiastic shouts.
“How much? I want to buy this cat-key-traption!” shouted a dandy.
“Ah! Even for a man as wealthy as you, the price would be far too great, for there can be only one of these devices. But I have a deal for you. We might all own the device and share in the wealth of the witch’s girl. We can draw lots to see who gets the girl and divvy up the rest of the wealth. Perhaps one of you would like the witch herself.”
“How much?” repeated the dandy.
“The care and precision with which this device has been put together, coupled with the rarity of its elements would demand a price of 20,000 ruri. Yes, a prince’s ransom. But how much would you pay for a share of this device? A thousand ruri to split the ownership among twenty people? There are far more here than that. We might have a hundred investors for just 200 ruri each. I can see you hesitate, but wait! Invest in this miraculous device and not only will you get a share of the wealth and a chance to win the maiden, but you will also get this brand new set of knives, direct from Damascus. This three-knife set includes a skinning knife, a boning knife, and a steak knife. You will eat like a king with these knives. And all for—Did I say 200 ruri? I’m feeling generous today. Why not? We will split unfathomable wealth. And I will give you your share for just 150 ruri, and you get the set of Damascus knives as your purchase bonus!”
The men lined up to purchase their shares of the remarkable key trap and receive their sets of Damascus knives. When he was sold out of shares (represented by the knives), the peddler led his new partners to the tavern to stand a round of drinks for one and all. One round led to another and another. Soon all the men were sleeping where they sat in the tavern.
In the morning, they found the trap all set and ready to capture the key, but saw no sign of the peddler. It was several days and unsuccessful cat-nappings before one of the men discovered not only was the peddler gone, but so was the lodestone. It was at that moment he discovered the knife made of Damascus steel was only bog iron as he attempted to slice the cheese in the mousetrap.
More than a dozen men scattered from Tumwater that day—some swearing to find the cat trap salesman.
That was when darkness began to settle over Tumwater. It was not only metaphorical darkness sobering the men, but it seemed the sun had ceased to shine. The adventurers who came to town were not as simple as those who came before. The lure of wealth and a beautiful maiden brought out the worst in the men, who did not care for animals or decency. They killed cats when they saw them. Some had weapons and some had trained dogs.
The cats, who had previously enjoyed the games of the foolish suitors, now fled for their lives and went into hiding. Vermin, the natural prey of the felines, multiplied and Tumwater was soon overrun with pests—not only the two-legged kind.
Where once townspeople had frequented the tavern to hear the tales of far places from the adventurers, now the locals stayed hidden in their homes. Rumors said strange beasts had accompanied the adventurers drawn to Tumwater in search of the mysterious cat. A griffon was said to be seen prowling the ancient boneyard near the river. Ghosts haunted the burial grounds and drifted into town at night to frighten the children. A vampire was known to have knocked at the door of the local prostitute. Assuming he was just a customer, she let the creature in. The villagers found only an empty husk of a woman, all the blood drained from her body. From that point, no one let anyone into their home and people became more and more isolated.
“Help us, oh great Lilith,” the townspeople began to pray at the gates of the mansion. Eve sat in her room by the window and wept in the darkness.
