’That was stronger than I thought’

Kael felt Seqina waking him up. It was evening when he woke up.

“Are you alright?”, Seqina asked, assisting him to stand. “What happened to you?”

“A.. uhmm.. I got tired?”, Kael said.

Seqina was a bit confused from his answer. She shrugged it off, and invited Kael for the evening meal after she looked into him.

Kael learned so much from the experience. He got the right potion, but it’s more potent than he thought. His young body didn’t even need a single drop to be asleep for hours. It was instantaneous, and it’s hard to wake anyone that was unlucky enough to ingest the potion. It’s just as he wanted, but he didn’t want to taste it again.

After all the servants left the castle, the night was open for exploration. The limited spaces he can go, as he was accompanied by the guards, didn’t give him much information. It’s time to test the potion.

[Float]

Droplets of potion went to the guards’ nostrils. All of the guards bothering Kael fell asleep. He was careful not to cause too much sound, as he make the guards fall one by one. Before anyone of the guards can react, they all went unconscious.

He wandered inside the castle after all the guards fell asleep. He was lucky that none of the four main servants stayed in the castle. With the opportunity opened for him, he began exploring.

By his thinking, there’s not a place outside that was hidden to the outside guards. His potion was limited, so he needed to conserve it, not using it to every single guard in the castle.

He looked around quietly, checking every point, looking at the windows sometimes to see if the guards can see him. He checked the quarters of the guards, he checked the great hall and the hallways, and he checked the storage room.

He noticed something in the great hall. There’s a secret passage that almost went past him. It’s stairs led him to an underground chamber with a single source of light. He checked the said chamber to see any secret passages, but the room was a dead end.

Discovering a secret passage prompted him to also look for other ones. He returned to the rooms of the guards, but he didn’t see any. However, in the storage room, he found out another hidden passage.

In the corner of the storage room, covered by sacks of grains, there’s a trapdoor, blended well with the stone floor. He opened it, finding a decaying wooden ladder leading to the dark underground.

Stolen story; please report.

[Light]

He began climbing down, careful as to not break the steps as he descended. Then, halfway in his descent, a weak crosspiece snapped.

[Light Breeze]

He slowed down his descent at just the right time. He was nervous that someone might’ve heard what happened. But he didn’t want to stop there, as he was already at the bottom. Even greater reason he had was what he discovered. There’s a narrow passage in front of him.

Every step he took, the light he had in him kept revealing more distance to walk through. He was walking for minutes, anxious that it might be morning on the surface. He began thinking that the passage might lead him to a dead end, and that this long journey will lead him to another stone chamber. Even worse would be if he ended up in one of the servant’s houses, bringing himself to more certain danger than he has back in the castle. His light faded without seeing a discernible exit.

[Light]

He continued walking, his worries growing steady like the distance he travelled. He continued walking, setting aside his doubts. He continued walking, even if the passageway was suspiciously neat despite its structure. He denied himself, and continued walking.

It felt like he was spending too much time digging through his own grave. But something drove him, so he continued.

After what felt like an hour, he was faced by a wall made of dirt, just like the whole passage. He put his palm on it, and he felt that the wall was loose. And so, he pushed the end of the passage and was suddenly brought to darkness.

His second light went dark before he can fully see what’s on the other side of the wall. But he felt the damp grass as he was cushioned by the greenery. He stood and look at where he is. He can see the shadows of trees, and when he looked up, the starry night sky revealed itself.

He was outside. His eyes wandered around, in awe and in a sense of freedom, like what he’s supposed to be. He looked behind him, seeing the passage where he came from, and seeing the town so far away from him. He thought it will not be that easy, but it turns out, all he needed to do was to explore.

There’s no going back. He’s free, he can return to his grandparents. And so, he started his journey without further delay.

----------------------------------------

Seqina went to the castle. She was looking forward to see the little child that she grew fond of. She liked it when someone listened to her, whenever she discussed about her potions. Kael had always been kind to her, always helping on things that as someone treated as the Earl’s son, shouldn’t be doing in the first place. She finds him strange, lacking a care for himself for the sake of others. But even though that’s what Kael was, that’s something she also admired from him.

So, when she went inside the great hall, and found several guards lying unconscious, she ran quickly to Kael’s room. There, outside the door of the room, she saw the same situation. She felt the dread, and the worry. “What happened?”, is what she thought. She opened the door, and confirmed the thing circling in her mind. Kael wasn’t in the room.

As she saw the terrifying sight, the face of the powerful Earl came to her mind. The lord of the castle will not like this. They will witness the master mage’s anger.

She kneeled on the floor, unable to muster the courage to face the Earl. A running person came to her. It was Elalios, that after seeing the empty bed, felt the same dread that Seqina had.