"Twenty-six bodies, my lord, were found at the estate—all the guards and servants. Gazi was found near the eastern entrance, an arrow through his back. The four guards on duty that night, also dead," reported the Vizier. "A merchant reported trading with a boy that fit the description on the road to Sarmalius, but we have not found him in the city. I have a squad of guards following the road southeast, but they have not reported yet," he finished with an apologetic look.
Sultan Murad I sat on a comfortable leather chair in his study. Theodora sat next to him, worried for her nephew.
"Use more men, but I want that boy found," ordered the sultan, "he is, in a certain sense, my cousin, and I want the people that did this found and executed. They can't just attack the house of a pasha with impunity!" he emphasized a little anger in his voice.
"Yes, my lord, I have dispatched more men already. We are getting reports of groups of armed men on the roads," he reluctantly added the Vizier. He had hoped to omit this piece of information and deal with it on his own.
"I want this taken care of immediately. I don't care how many men you have to use. We're about to start our campaign to take Constantinople, and there can't be unrest at home!" yelled the Sultan. His anger rose, "Get this done, or I'll find someone who can!" he threatened.
"Yes, my lord," the Vizier vowed and exited the room.
"Aunt, don't worry. I'll make sure we find the boy. I'm sure he's just comfortably hiding in a city," the Sultan said caringly to the septuagenarian.
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Zain Al-Rahman had climbed to the leadership of the Brotherhood of the Ebon Tulip based on his successes. Every mission he had ever commanded had accomplished its goals. Every mission he had ever commissioned had succeeded. That is, until this one. Zain, to put it mildly, was livid.
"…when we entered the cave, a force field blocked us, and we couldn't continue," Falcon finished his report while he and his team kneeled, head lowered, awaiting their doom.
"What you're telling me is that a thirteen-year-old boy escaped your attempt at capture, evaded your traps, journeyed thousands of kilometers unhindered, passed through your cordon to reach the cave, and then disappeared?" yelled Zain, "Unfcuking believable," his right hand closed into a fist, and Falcon fell to the floor, his throat crushed.
"You are the new team leader, " he said, pointing at Viper, "don't fail!"
After a few seconds, he added, "Guard the cave entrance. He will eventually have to come out. I don't care for how long. Do not engage him if he comes out; only report and follow. He will be extremely dangerous when he returns from the sect."
"Understood, lord Zain," answered Viper. "Yes, lord Zain," echoed the other kneeling Ebon Specters. Then, they filed out of the room.
"Quill, send another team to Constantinople. Have them infiltrate the aunt's household. He may just show up there," Zain ordered his assistant.
After Quill exited and closed the door, the ephemeral image of Auberon appeared in front of him, 'we can not let the Sects be rebuilt! If they regain their power, we will be doomed,' Zain heard the familiar voice in his head, 'Ayg will not let him leave until he's at stage three, and then only our elites will be his match.'
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"It has a bitter aftertaste, but the clarity afterward makes it worth it," Gustav commented to the merchant seated across the table. He had been trying to set up his trading house for months but quickly found out he needed more than money. The merchant guild would only let members in with a recommendation. No matter how much gold they had. He had tried to buy his way in but was immediately blocked by the more established houses.
After much thought, he decided his sister-in-law might be the answer, but he couldn't just show up on her doorstep. So, here he was having this khave drink that was becoming popular with the well-to-do in the city with Baba Yıldırım, a well-known socialite he hoped to bribe into a fortuitous introduction.
"Five hundred gold, and you can come as my wife and I's guest at the Imperial Banquet next month. There, I'll introduce you to Lady Martha, and what happens from there is your own business," the middle-aged nobleman nonchalantly gave his terms.
Gustav thought for a couple of minutes, then discreetly pulled out a pouch full of coins, "half now, half at the banquet," he said as he passed it to the nobleman.
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Unlike what the Sultan thought, Renier wasn't comfortably hiding in the city. He had just entered a rectangular, elongated space, both ends extending into a barely visible darkness. The walls, made of massive blocks of dark gray stone, climbed to about five meters, meeting a flat ceiling. The floor consisted of unevenly shaped but flat stones, with a few glowing faintly and sporadically in a particular pattern that meandered across the room. Moss and vines clung tentatively to the walls, hinting at the ancientness of the room. A few water droplets seeped through the cracks in the ceiling, creating small, sporadic puddles on the ground, which reflected the dull gleam of the glowing stones. At the far end of the room, a tall archway led to the unseen beyond, its details obscured by the imposing form of a stone guardian. The air was cool and damp, and silence pervaded the space apart from the occasional drip of water. The faint glow from the patterned stones provided the only light, casting a muted illumination across the otherwise shadowed room.
A stone Sphinx sat imposingly at the end of the room, its form carved meticulously from a dense, dark gray rock. It rested on its haunches, embodying a seamless blend of a lion and a human. Its lion-like body, robust and muscular, displayed a detailed depiction of a sturdy creature, each limb solid and ending with clearly defined paws. Though made of stone, the wings conveyed a sense of power and potential for motion, arched gracefully yet firmly at its back. Its human head bore a serene, almost detached expression, with almond-shaped eyes that stared forward into eternity, a straight nose, and a mouth set in a neutral line. A stone five-peak crown adorned its head. The Sphinx emitted an air of dormant power, its entire being a paradox of motionless vigilance.
The sphinx spoke with a resounding voice, "Charge, if you are worthy, with strength against the rock. Unleash your strength upon the guard; let swift be your forward walk. Find the path of quick and forceful stride, yield not to hesitating sway. Neglect the whispering light beneath; it leads thee far astray. Strike with fury undeterred; the keeper shall recede. Victory favors those, child, who in their own power believe."
Sure, he understood and was emboldened by past victories against other challenges; Renier unsheathed his yataghan and lunged at the Sphinx. The stone creature, unmoved, swatted him away effortlessly, sending him crashing into the wall. "AAAAHHHHH!" A loud snap was heard.
Renier lay crumpled on the floor, unable to move, feeling unbearable pain as his tibia gave way and broke in two. He tried to remember the seal Ayg had taught him, but the pain was too much. He steadied his breathing. The familiar pattern calmed his mind and made the pain recede. Then, with great effort, he gestured and repeated the words. The blue light ignited from his palm and quickly covered his whole body. The pain lessened as his bones knit together, and unconsciousness took Renier.
Sometime later, he woke. His leg was whole again, although still unsteady. He rested, observing the sphinx, refusing to admit defeat, noting its slow, rhythmic movements. 'Maybe if I try to go around instead of attacking it?' he thought. He flexed his leg until he felt it was limber once again.
Then, he attempted to dart around the sphinx, rushing toward the exit while the creature’s back was turned. With a swiftness belied by its stony form, the Sphinx intercepted and propelled him away again. Luckily, he only rolled this time and didn't hit the wall. Groaning, his body sore from the repeated impacts, he sat and continued to observe but saw nothing different from before. So he tried to dart through the other side with the same result.
Stubborn, he thought he just needed to be faster. So he rested for half an hour. Then he flexed and stretched his muscles, trying to become as limber as possible. He counted to ensure he had the correct timing, and a split second before the sphinx would turn, he desperately raced, seeking to pass. But at the last moment, he was once again rebuffed.
He collapsed at the far end of the room. 'What if the words were a trick? What if it wasn't speed or brawn but the lights that held the key?' he questioned. He sat on the floor, his breaths coming in sharp pangs, his eyes locked onto the stones, observing their periodic luminance, and then, like illumination from above, he saw it.
Pain pulsing through every fiber of his being, he resolved to try one more time. He steadied his breathing and watched the pattern of the glowing stones, noting the interval at which they lit up. He waited, tension lining his face until the next cycle of the glow. Then, with a steadiness born from his prior failures, he walked the glowing path, step by careful step. The Sphinx, stoic and still, did not deter him this time. His heart raced as he neared the exit, the Sphinx remaining motionless behind him. Finally, he stepped through the archway, the stone creature reverting to its inanimate form, an impassive guardian of the last challenge.
And then, the familiar warping, 'Merde, I hate this labyrinth,' thought Renier, 'every time I think I'm done, it starts again!'
The room wrapped and bent around him, distorting into a bewildering illusion. Suddenly, he was back at the entrance of the same chamber, the Sphinx, once again, animating, its stone form emanating a different aura, more menacing than before. Its eyes glowed ominously, and its voice, colder and less resonant than before, filled the air:
"Persist the cyclical abyss. Upon the gleaming path once more, a semblance of the first amiss. Tread now where light does dance and play, a guide in the boundless dark, But beware, for missteps draw dangerous retort, a perilous, life-quenching spark. The left is barred, and so's the right; timing is the key to everything in life."
Renier decided to rest while he analyzed. He sat on the stone floor while he pondered. 'The most obvious is that before, it told me not to go on the lighted path, and the answer was to use it. Now it tells me to go on the lighted path, so the answer must be me not to use it,' he deduced. He sat there for a long while. 'I should test. I don't want to repeat the last time,' he thought.
Going to the first lighted stone, he waited for it to glow, lightly stepped on it, and quickly retracted his foot. Five darts flew and hit the opposite wall. Had he been on the tile, he would be dead. 'Avoid the lighted stones!' But that might be much more difficult than before. Unlike the last time, where only a few stones were lit, almost all of them were now, and they seemed to switch.
He tried to memorize the pattern, but there wasn't one discernible, and the timing wasn't uniform either. Some stones practically blinked, while others turned on and off in lengthy cycles. Tired, hurt, and hungry, his frustration grew. But if one thing had gotten him through thus far, it was his stubbornness.
'The cyclical abyss… maybe it doesn't refer to the room repeating, but that there's a cycle?' but there wasn't a pattern he could see. 'Left and right… maybe left to right… timing,' and then he saw it. The speed of the on-off cycle moved left to right.
He moved to the extreme left and waited for the cycle to begin. Step, wait, move right, wait, jump, step again. Renier moved forward, committed to getting through. He had only three rows of stones left when he misstepped. The darts immediately fired, and he jumped, trying to avoid, but one nicked his left hand. The dizziness was instantaneous. He fell on the stone, no longer illuminated, trying to clear his head, but he could feel the strength leaving his body. With all his willpower, he lunged forward, trying to clear the two remaining rows, but the labyrinth detected his attempt to jump, and the groups of darts fired. His legs had almost cleared when two darts embedded themselves in his left leg.
He slid past the last row and lay on the ground semiconscious, the archway a meter away. 'Move to the exit, child,' screamed Ayg in his head. With the last of his strength, he crawled across the archway into the corridor. A gong sounded, "The trial is complete,' the labyrinth's voice said. A beam of light covered Renier, and his body became translucent and faded to nothing.