Cabinet of Curiosities

The doorway to the Medical Marvels tool is not like the other doors in the Hotel. While the others were relatively normal - wood, carved, with a door handle or bar - this one is... well, it's cloth. You can't read the words painted on the cloth, but your demon leads the way and pushes through the cloth door. You follow and are immediately engulfed in steam and a smell of peppermint and something muddy. The steam is so thick at first that you can't see in front of you. Your demon takes your hand and pulls you in further. Slowly, the steam clears and you're able to see the actual exhibition.

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Still definitely not what you were expecting.

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Instead of a museum-like room like the others, you find a slow-moving river surrounded by a bamboo and pine forest. There is tall grass growing in tufts along the banks. It's precariously warm and humid, and that's when you notice there is steam rising from the water itself. As much as you enjoy the beautiful nature, you wonder if perhaps Alfie's goblins made a mistake labeling this the Medical Marvels room.

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Just as you turn to head back out of the "room", you notice there is a strange-looking creature sitting on a rock with a long, seemingly endless stretch of table beside him. He's scaly, but has a bird-like beak, and his head is flat on top. There seems to be moss or something growing like hair from his flat head, and you swear he's wearing a turtle shell, but it's melded into his skin.

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You walk over to the creature and introduce yourself. The green creature looks up at you, squinting with one eye, and grunts. He gestures toward the table. "See what you like, and I'll tell you about it."

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You look over to the table, finding dried herbs, bottles, rusty medical tools, knives of all shapes and sizes, and something that looks like it was used to blow air into a forge. There's even what looks to be a small clay crocodile with a rope around it.

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You ask the creature why nothing has a label.

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The creature grunts and gets up off his rock. A little water sloshes from the top of his head, and you realize that he has a small pool of water there. You try not to stare. This has to be the strangest thing you've ever come across, and you've seen a LOT of demons.

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"It's too much of a bother to label everything," he says, pointing down the line of tools and herbs. "And why should I waste my time writing it all down when I can just tell you? I used to teach you silly humans about medicine all the time! Then you got all fancy with your technology and didn't want to listen to me anymore-"

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You're not sure what he's talking about, and apparently, it shows on your face. He scrunches up his beak like there's a bad smell. "I'm a KAPPA, mortal! My people gave your people medicine and agriculture! Not that I wanted to," he crosses his arms. "Unwitting, stupid creatures. You just abused that knowledge and-- BAH!" He waves at you. "Not that you care. None of you do."

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While you're a little offended, you're wondering if perhaps the kappa feels like people have taken advantage of him and his people's knowledge. After all, that's what summoners and demons relationships have been for millennia: wishes and knowledge is exchanged, but perhaps leaning more heavily in favor of the summoners.

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You ask the kappa about a nearby instrument you've seen. It looks dangerous and frightening, but the kappa's eyes light up and holds it up. "Ah, this one! You wouldn't believe the kind of trouble we went through to perfect this knife! You see the hook here? They look like they would hurt much more, but in fact, it is the opposite! "

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You politely listen to the kappa's rambling story about the knife and what it was used for and how many lives it saved because they perfected its form and function. You don't care for the minutia, but frankly, he's just so happy to be talking about it that you don't have the heart to stop him.

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That's when you decide that perhaps he's just a bit grumpy, and he just needs a good outlet for his favorite things.

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Prompt:

Read a book that comforts you

or that you think will be a new favorite book