I stepped inside — and stopped.

  Most of the furniture and decorations were intact, and honestly? The place looked great. Sunlight streamed through tall windows, lighting up wicker chairs with red cushions and bright pillows. Hanging plants would have added splashes of green but not only the containers remain but the whole room still felt… warm. Lived in.

  I wasn’t an interior design guy, not even close, but even I could tell the space had been cared for. Everything matched. Everything fit.

  A little farther in, a polished wooden staircase curved downward, the banister smooth and elegant, stained glass casting soft colours on the floor.

  “Damn,” I muttered. “The System knows how to pick a location.”

  I searched through the whole building, moving from room to room. Bedroom after bedroom, each one matching the warm, polished aesthetic of the rest of the inn — clean lines, soft colours, tidy décor, everything looking almost curated.

  Still nothing.

  Every room felt inviting, peaceful even… but none of them had what I was looking for. The System hadn’t left a single clue in any of them.

  I exhaled slowly. “Okay. So, it’s not in the bedrooms.”

  I finally found what I was looking for outside, after combing through bathrooms, the dining room, and the kitchen.

  Outside, tucked neatly against the wall, stood a glass display case — and inside it, another shard.

  In front of the case sat a sliding puzzle mounted on a wooden stand. It wasn’t one of those tiny kids’ puzzles either; this one was larger, heavier, carved from polished wood and clearly meant to take some effort.

  Of course. Another puzzle.

  It looked like a jumble of words — or pieces of them — scattered across the tiles. Nothing for it but to start sliding.

  It felt like hours as I shuffled pieces around, forming half-words, breaking them apart, rearranging them again. Slowly, painfully, the tiles aligned into actual sentences. And there it was: the clue to the next location.

  “Nice,” I muttered flatly.

  The message lifted from the puzzle and re-formed itself into a System screen, hovering neatly above the wooden tiles. I read it twice, sighed, then tucked my second shard carefully into my duffel bag.

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  “Okay… food related,” I muttered. “Rice, ‘taste the sun,’ something on Fulton Street… Senegalese food, maybe?”

  I raised my wrist.

  “Show me restaurants on Fulton Street.”

  A long list appeared — way too long. Dozens of names, none of them ringing any bells. I frowned and reread the rhyme, focusing on the one phrase that stood out.

  Jollof flame.

  “Search ‘Jollof’ and ‘restaurant.’”

  The display shifted instantly… and highlighted a single restaurant.

  On Bedford Avenue.

  Not Fulton.

  I squinted at the glowing map. “Really, System?” I said dryly. “Dropped the ball there.”

  “Give me the history of Jollof Restaurant.”

  A panel slid open on the display, text filling the air. I skimmed it and snorted. The restaurant had originally been on Fulton Street before moving to Bedford.

  “Okay, System,” I said. “Technically correct… but you’re still not up to date. Good to know you’re not infallible. Not a god.”

  I started toward the restaurant. It wasn’t far, but still… I had never walked this much in my entire life. Not before the last twenty days, anyway.

  At least I was getting pretty damn fit.

  I would’ve walked right past the place if I hadn’t known exactly what I was looking for. From the outside it blended into the street, but stepping in was like walking into a splash of colour.

  The interior was eclectic and vibrant — bright walls, patterned tablecloths, artwork everywhere. It felt warm, lively… even if it was completely empty.

  The case with the shard was located on a table and on a table near it was a board with pictures on it. The System chose that time to display a new riddle rhyme.

  I studied the board, taking in each picture — a carved wooden mask, a woven basket, a painted gourd, a small bronze figurine, a patterned drum. Five objects. All distinct shapes. All probably somewhere in this room.

  Great. A scavenger hunt.

  The actual items had to be hidden among the restaurant décor, and with how eclectic the place was, that didn’t exactly narrow anything down.

  I started with the walls. Bright artwork everywhere — cityscapes, abstract patterns, portraits — but none of the framed pieces matched anything on the board.

  Next, the shelves. Woven baskets sat stacked neatly; I checked each one until I found a basket that matched the picture’s exact weave pattern. One down.

  A carved mask hung near the curtained corner. Not just similar — identical to the one in the picture. Two.

  The painted gourd took longer. I finally spotted it sitting on a side table near the stage area, half-hidden behind a decorative vase. Three.

  The bronze figurine was tucked into a shadowed niche by the entrance — small, stylized, unmistakable. Four.

  And the drum… that one was cleverly placed, serving as a makeshift stand for a menu board. Sneaky. Five.

  With all five objects gathered, I returned to the board. The table below it had faint circular outlines showing where each item should go. The rhyme said, “Place them true upon the lot. When likeness falls where shadows be…” — so the right item in the right outline.

  One by one, I matched shape to silhouette.

  As the last object was put into place, their shadows aligned perfectly with the outlines — and the glass case shimmered. With a soft chime, the lock opened’

  I had three shards now, and only for the last one.

  I read and reread the clue and came to a few conclusions. It is in Macon street or road or whatever… It had something to do with books. So, a bookstore or even a library… maybe.

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  first Royal Road chapter of each pair. The second one won’t have pictures. If you want to see all the art together (or earlier), it’s on Patreon with the combined chapters!