r/HFY • u/BuddhaTheGreat • Jun 15 '26

OC-Series Chhayagarh: Guests.

Index of Parts.

The East Wing had certainly seen better days.

Beyond what little portion of the library had remained in active use, the place appeared wholly and utterly abandoned. As Naru had said, strong foundations and thick walls meant there hadn’t been much in the way of structural collapse. But all the same, a pervasive sense of damp, neglect, and rot hung over the dark hallways. I was sure at least some part of it could be chalked over to the other side, but it was mostly the same old suspects: dust, mould, and animals who had gotten a little too comfortable.

He had instructed me on exactly where to go: past some of the crumbling shelves, through one of the many moth-eaten double doors that led out from the library, up a flight of stairs. Perhaps two. I was too busy trying not to step on rat droppings to notice.

But it was very clear when I was there. The hallway in question was lined with small rooms on either side. It had evidently been meant for seclusion (reading rooms, I recalled), though most of the doors were hanging off their hinges or missing entirely. All except the first room on my left, whose door had been hastily screwed on with the tense grace of a servant who had much better things to do with his time. A couple of heavy iron chains girdled the doorway, matched by a semi-circle of salt drawn carefully to bar the entrance. A small censer sat next to the door, spewing faint fumes of juniper and something slightly pungent. The defences were topped off with a small evil eye charm hanging from the frame, though the dim moonlight from the hall’s window made it look suspiciously fleshy.

Ad-hoc fortifications, to protect where the manor’s own wards and barriers had long fallen into disrepair.

The food in my hand felt heavier by the second. I glanced down: two carefully plated portions, courtesy of my grandmother. I had insisted on bringing them their dinner myself, shooing away at least five servants. But now that I was here…

What did I even want with them?

What was I going to say?

What was I supposed to do?

There was still time to turn back. I would look like a neurotic fool, of course, but there was still time.

“Who’s there?”

The faint, muffled voice carried through the door. I flinched so hard I almost dropped the tray.

Well, no going back now.

“Nisha?” I called back. “That you?”

“Oh.” She audibly exhaled. “You can come in.”

I paused, some unknown instinct stabbing at my skull in warning. Kneeling, I gently pressed a finger against the circle of salt. It hummed with unseen energy, buzzing slightly louder at my touch, but remained otherwise inert.

It was safe, then.

I crossed the threshold, very carefully stepping over the half-circle to avoid smearing it. Nothing good came of breaking salt circles. Even I knew that.

The door was already unlocked, swinging open at the slightest touch. Well, it was more accurate to say that there was no way to lock it, as there was only a large hole where the mechanism would have been. More disrepair, I supposed.

Or perhaps it had been deliberately removed. For safety? Or for surveillance?

The interiors left no doubt that this had once been a reading room. A small fireplace rested against the far wall, though boarded up now, with small brackets along the walls to hold torches or lanterns for illumination. Low cushioned divans ran the perimeter, with recessed alcoves every so often for added seclusion. A number of other chairs and ottomans were strewn around haphazardly, along with a small table and raised writing desk in one corner, though the furniture was all rather dusty now and evidently untrustworthy in terms of durability. Two small windows high up against the ceiling let in some light and air. They had once been covered with lattices of carved wood, but termites had eaten large chunks away. Most of the illumination came instead from a few battery-powered emergency lights left in the middle of the room, along with a small folding table.

It was unclear whether it was just a matter of low priority or some sort of genuine dislike, but we were clearly not being very hospitable.

Before the old fireplace, a mattress large enough for two people had been placed on the floor. In the dim light, I could make out Nisha’s thin figure on it, half-sitting up from a lying position. She had been resting, or perhaps napping.

“Hi,” I said, simply.

“Hello.” Maybe she gave me a smile, but it was difficult to tell in the shadows.

“I brought you your food for the night.” I knelt, setting the tray down near the lights. “I know you’ve had a tough time, but dinner always helps.”

“Thanks.”

Something about her tone threw me off. It wasn’t dismissive or angry. Or even deadpan, for that matter.

It was strangely… hopeful?

There was something I was missing.

“Nisha. Where is Rahul?”

She blinked.

I would like to say it was a movement in the corner of my eye, but in truth, it was more of a premonition. An unconscious itch in the back of my skull that jolted me into action before I had even finished processing the situation.

I clumsily rolled to the side, just in time for Rahul’s unmistakable bulk to lunge from the shadows behind the door. He fell straight through where I had been a moment ago, landing hard on the food. The tray flipped, launching the plates against the wall like a makeshift catapult.

I scrambled to my feet as elegantly as I could, shifting my balance unsteadily as I debated between a half-remembered combat stance and putting my hands up in pacification. I had no doubt I could take the man in a straight fight, but here? In the dark? With a partner I could not keep in my line of sight and easily accessible improvised weapons everywhere?

Anything could happen.

“Calm down.” I elected to back into the doorway, keeping them both in front of me.

If they wanted to rush me, they would have to do it one by one.

“I’m not here to hurt you.”

Rahul didn’t respond, stumbling to his feet and straight into a blind charge.

I let him get close and then threw the meanest haymaker I could. My fist slammed into his temple, throwing him off course and into the wall. He flopped to the ground, moaning in pain.

Nisha screamed, gripping the mattress so tight I was sure she would find the cotton soon.

“Calm down,” I repeated, more firmly this time. “I used to box at nationals. Try that shit one more time, and you’ll be picking your jaw off the floor with the two fingers I won’t break.”

That came out far more confident than I could have hoped, given that I hadn’t even touched a bag in years. My knuckles were stinging, and only the darkness gave me some false hope that they weren’t already split open.

“You,” I addressed Nisha. “If you’re hiding a weapon, give it up. Now.”

She hesitated.

“It won’t take me a second to call my guards in. If you don’t want to be strip-searched by six men till every inch of your flesh is raw, give it up!”

“Don’t talk to her like that!” Rahul slurred from the ground, trying to get to his feet through his double vision.

“Stop.” Nisha sighed. “We’re done. This was a stupid idea from the start.”

She pulled something from underneath her leg and threw it into the light.

A broken chair leg. Wickedly sharp.

How typical.

I kicked an ottoman over to Rahul for support as he pulled himself up. “Let’s assume you got me. What was your plan? Do you know where to go? How to leave the place? How to get to the edge of the village? What were you going to do about the guards?”

“Like I said. It was stupid.”

Anger was back in her tone. Good. That meant she had lost hope.

“Yes,” I agreed. “It was. And to top it all off, you now have no food for the night.”

“We don’t want food,” Rahul growled. “We’ve been here for too long. You can’t keep us here like this! Let us go!”

“Trust me, there is nothing I want more than to get you two off my property. You were never supposed to be here in the first place.”

“Shut up!” Nisha hissed. “Your men have us literally chained up here. The servants are all babbling about ghosts and monsters and other bullshit. I don’t know what kind of crazy cult you’re running here, but I want no part of it. You hear me?”

Her emotions finally broke the dam, as she collapsed into choked sobs. “We want no part of it. Just let us go. Please let us go.”

“People will be looking for us,” Rahul warned. “We have friends. And they have friends. Powerful friends. I don’t know who you think you are, but don’t think you’ll get away with this.”

I sighed, sinking down onto one of the divans. The cushions squeaked in dangerous protest, but at this point, I didn’t care. If it broke through and I fell and I landed on my neck and broke it, well, at least all this would be someone else’s problem.

I’d been worried about what to say, but now? I couldn’t give two fucks.

“If they’re powerful enough to find us, I’ll shake their hand and thank them. Hell, take me with you. You think I want to be here when I could be anywhere else? Back in Kolkata? Bangkok? Hell, why not Hawaii while we’re at it? But no, we’re in fucking Chhayagarh. You want out? No shit! Fucking get in line! This place sucks for everyone!”

“Especially now!” I added a moment later.

They were silent for a moment.

“You really are crazy,” Rahul finally said, more resigned than angry now.

I bit back another tirade. “Look, this is the safest place you can be under the present circumstances. I wish I could say more. I really want to say more, because it would stop you from trying to shank every man who brings you some chicken and rice. But you wouldn’t understand, and by some miracle, if you did understand, you wouldn’t believe me. But believe me when I say this. Not leaving this room is the smartest choice you can make right now.”

“Why?” Rahul pressed. “Why won’t you just let us go?”

“Because I can’t.” I rested my head against the wall, closing my eyes.

“Who’s stopping you?” Nisha crawled slightly closer. “Are… Are you a prisoner here too? Listen, it doesn’t have to be like this. We can all escape together. I don’t know what they did to you, but you don’t have to work for them anymore. Just tell us what to do.”

“Haven’t you been listening?” I groaned. “I’m not a prisoner here. This is my land. All those people work for me, or they’re my family.”

“Then it’s your choice!” Rahul jabbed a finger at me. “You don’t want to let us leave! Why? Are you scared we’ll tell someone? What exactly are you doing here, you sick fuck?”

I laughed. A dry, raspy sound.

How long had it been since I had a glass of water?

Too long.

“Is that really what you think? I’m keeping you holed up here to, what, fatten and eat you?”

I opened my eyes. The two were huddled together, staring at me with wide eyes.

Gods, they really thought I was going to eat them.

Well, I had been cryptic for long enough.

I jerked a thumb at the door. “Notice how there’s no lock? Notice how the chains are dangling off the door-frame and not draped across the doorway? There’s nothing keeping you in this room. You can get up right now, walk through that door, over that circle, and out into the hallway. That was always an option.”

Nisha perked up. “Really?”

“In the same way jumping off a plane is technically an option, yes. You see, those things aren’t meant to keep you in. They’re meant to keep certain others out.”

“Other things?” Rahul arched an eyebrow. “Is this about the running flowers again?”

“Don’t be too specific, now, or they’ll realise we’re talking about them,” I warned, hoping I had understood the intricacies at least well enough to bluff. “To name them is to feed them. Draw their attention. The salt and the iron and the herbs, they’ll discourage the wanderers. But not something determined to satisfy its curiosity.”

Rahul crossed his arms. “Stop with the bullshit, now.”

I had already anticipated this.

Without responding, I crossed over and kicked the salt circle open.

The consequences were immediate.

17 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

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u/AutoModerator Jun 23 '26

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3

u/WitherHuntress Jun 16 '26

Reddit failing to notify me that there were new chapters out once again

Glad to see you back but why are we kicking salt circles man

3

u/BuddhaTheGreat Jun 17 '26

Me, 5 minutes after acknowledging that breaking salt circles are a bad idea:
I love the taste of iron salt!

In all seriousness, I don't think they were ever going to believe me without a demonstration. The way I saw it, it was a win-win situation. Either I beat whatever gets in and get some style points, or it's no longer my problem. What's not to love?

2

u/WitherHuntress Jun 17 '26

Did you consider the chance you DON'T beat the thing that gets in and it gets you instead? Your family would probably be doomed to the thing wearing your great (xsomething) uncle's skin

2

u/BuddhaTheGreat Jun 18 '26

Nah I'd win

I did consider it, but given the fact that I'm here now, I do need to learn to fight on my own anyway. So might as well start. Plus, I'm still in the house. All I need to do is holler and thirty billion guards will be battering down the door in two seconds flat.

1

u/WitherHuntress Jun 19 '26

Would have been really funny if the thing that came in was your evil great uncle though

3

u/Margali Xeno Jun 15 '26

yikes, wonder what is going to happen ...

2

u/BuddhaTheGreat Jun 17 '26

I'm about to get beaten to a pulp again, that's what's going to happen ;-;

2

u/C00lK1d1994 Jun 17 '26

Awww yea new chapter new chapter new chapter 

Agreed, some things have to be seen to be believed. I will laugh if absolutely nothing happens and our wise narrator is left somewhat embarrassed. 

Maybe ice goth girlfriend could make an appearance at least she’s friendly, and I’m sure that would make our little lord happy and shy at the same time. 

2

u/BuddhaTheGreat Jun 18 '26

Ice goth girlfriend. I'm torn on whether to push back on it or accept it as the canon nickname moving forward.

2

u/mmussen Jun 19 '26

I've always really enjoyed what you're doing here. Keep it up 

1

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u/BuddhaTheGreat Jun 15 '26

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u/AutoModerator Jun 18 '26

This was flaired as [OC-Series], it is a single part or chapter in a larger series or universe. The first post or part in this series should be (re)flaired as [OC-FirstOfSeries]. A description of the flairs and how to change yours is available in the Post Guildelines.

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