Chapter 3: Chapter-2: Strayer’s Guide

“Just go”

Gweyne muttered through his teeth. His voice lost its calmness from earlier, almost feral. His eyes were shut from the pain. He looked not too sane for her to argue. She huffed herself up, using the wall as support, her whole body felt like led. Last hour has not been kind to her. A bowman was good enough to take her shoulder. Arrow still in there, pulling out would be agonizing and blood loss would give her her long desired rest. Last of her Mana was spent on stopping the blood from leaking out through her wounds. She just had to cast the last spell and an easy one. After that, she could rest.

She took the locket. Gweyne’s eyes trained her, as if to say something more but he kept quiet. She raggedly took a breath and dragged herself through the polished stone floor. Star light hardly made anything visible on this moonless night. She had to reach the innermost part of the fort, where the mansion stood in which Celine resided. Had she been in sane condition it would have taken at least 10-15 minutes to walk there. She was on the roof of the first gate, Mansion she needed to reach was visible from here. There were two more Gates and Chasms inbetween. And there was no direct passage, she had to go down and make it through the second gate. From there it Should be a direct hallway to the Mansion. 

Alenor dragged herself to the stairs, brittle, gray, cracks running through them. Alenor stepped on the first step and it crumpled, she lost her footing and sled, landing on her butt. Pain once again coursed through her, her muscles tightened, she gritted her teeth. She checked her scream. 

She could have said no to Gweyne, Alenor wished, but the notion of being thrown down alive, compelled her to oblige. Warmth and wetness trickled down her shoulder, pressure reopened the bleeding. Her breathing became more disorganized as she stared at the gray slate surrounding her. She tugged at her inky black hair, ‘ just a little more, and I can rest.’ 

Alenor heaved and  pushed through the heavy metal exit. She made it through the stairs without falling again. The first and hardest part of the journey was over. Now, she just needed to endure the second, and then it would be over. She walked straight toward the second gate past the yard, empty and unkept, small animals fighting ran seeing her. She reached the second gate; it was smaller than the colossal standing of ancient times. She walked four even steps from the meeting of both sides and whispered, "Pratyax”. Magical words, she called them. They always made her feel light headed. 

A small door on the side of the gate appeared, as if a paper cover covering it had just burned. Just as Celine had told her. This, too, was made of metal and was too heavy for her liking. It took her all to push it open.

Walking past the door, now she just needed to find the secret passageway.

“ Past the door, walk  right, and reach the illuminating red flower, strayer's guide, and then whisper the same entreaty twice, do not take a breath, forgo your sight, bow, and if you truly wish to find me… the passage shall appear, and if you have an ulterior motives, which would harm The Caretaker... Then you will be adjudged as strayed, and shall forever seek the repentance”

“I hope it won’t happen," Celine added. She told them about these passages on their first reporting, two days ago. 

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Alenor reached the flower, it truly was glowing in the night. It looked so mystical. The Red flower glowing, specks of red and yellow mana flowed around it. She did the whole process, lastly closed her eyes and with thought of finding Celine she bowed. After a few moments of nothing, Alenor’s stomach lurched, a warm feeling spread through her, pain subsided. All other uncomfortable feelings subdued in a few moments. 

She felt wetness around her feet. And opened her eyes, all pain came back, like a hammer stuck to her. She was in a narrow passageway, a few inches in water, water illuminating red, kind of ominous. Passage made of cobblestone, gray brick walls wide enough to house Four people standing side by side. She kneeled down and picked up a handful of water, it still glowed in her hand…

She walked forward, step by step. Her Mana recovered, this place contained way more mana than anywhere she’s been to. She refocused all the mana into her shoulder. Her bleeding had increased when she felt the lurch, most likely a teleportation spell, she thought it was a myth till now. Most things were myths to peasants anyways. Alenor walked steadily, not wanting to reawaken her shoulder wound. There was at least one spell in that arrow; otherwise, a normal one would never cause this much damage.

After walking for what felt like an eternity, she reached a narrow end. A pitch black wall. After trying to push it, and almost falling down. She realized they were stairs carved out of obsidian, as black as nothingness itself, supposedly impossible to cast any spell. 

Alenor stepped on the stairs going upwards, and the agonizing pain vanished. Did the stairs cancel that spell? She climbed, her headache lulled, she had recovered enough mana in the tunnel for her mind to Govern her body properly. She reached the top, it was closed. She tried to push the wall, it was impossible to make out anything inside obsidian, even in light. She supposed it was a door but it did not budge. After using everything she had, she stopped. Her breath came out laboriously. 

‘It cannot be opened.’ She concluded. It made sense—what if some kind of threat had entered here? After controlling her breathing, she tried to shout a few times, in hope of getting someone’s attention from the other side. It did not work.

‘What if there was some entreaty here too.’ She thought.

“Pratyax” but to her non-existent hope, it was not. She did not have anything else. She struck her armored hand into the wall with frustration and urgency, intending to destroy it, but a part of her screamed that she was breaking into Noble's home. Another part screamed that she did not have time to stand around. She did not know when the Army would reach here or how long she had been standing around. As the armor collapsed onto the obsidian, a shrill noise reverberated. Alenor winced. She did not expect such a sound. It was a response, so she continued on with the hope that maybe she would be heard or break It.  

 

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