image [https://i.imgur.com/d5gimNq.jpeg]
753, Izar 14
So, today was… something, I guess? So, Niko’s condition is getting worse, right? And I heard Mom and Dad talking about hiring someone to help him control his abilities. I didn’t think any of it at first, but earlier today, the tutor arrived, and I think he’s kinda cute.
His name is Rikhart, and he’s a fresh graduate from the Tower. He lives at Westie with his cousins, and he said he just moved here to look for a job and he saw my father’s posting. I know a lot already, right? Wahaha! Well, Mom said I should watch over them, (you know how they are with wizards) and so I did. And when Niko gets distracted, I try to talk to him a bit.
I told him I was getting bored, so he did these things with his magic, and it was awesome. Dad always talked about how magic is dangerous, but really, he’s just talking out of his ass because it can do a lot of cool things.
Anyway, when Niko finally fell asleep, I brought some cookies from the pantry, and we had tea out the garden by the well. He talked about his time at the Tower, and his studies, and the things he learned. I’m telling you; Dad is just so judgmental about wizards; I don’t even get it. He also told me Niko should not be suppressing his abilities, and that he should be learning how to use them. He even said that he could qualify to study at the Tower, and there he can even develop his abilities more. And even be a wizard himself! Dad would so hate that. Hahaha!
- N
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Cassana and Ashvell had been to two rooms which were both empty. They reached the second floor through the narrow servant staircase, a big hall of bedrooms that reminded her of their inn.
Except this mansion was well-maintained. Its floors were polished and its walls dust-free. From her experience alone, she knew that it would need a small team of servants and workers to keep a place as big as this intact.
As they slinked across the narrow hall, they heard faint voices from around the corner. Ashvell knelt and took a peek and reported two guards lounging in the next corridor. Cassana pulled him back and she held her staff up. She began incantating a spell while her arms performed the necessary gesture. She held the spell’s effect in concentration as she took her turn kneeling before leaning forward until her head popped out of the corner. With a quick flick she released the spell and the glow in her palms whizzed towards the two guards who were sitting and talking at the end of the next hall.
She slinked back and waited for a few seconds. Afterwards, Cassana sighed and stood up dusting her skirt off and then her palms together. “All good,” she crowed.
She led the way stepping out into the next corridor with Ashvell close behind. “That would have been really helpful when we were fighting that metal arm guy,” he commented after seeing the two guards leaning against each other sleeping side by side at the end of the hall.
“Tell me about it!” Cassana walked towards the next door they happened upon and tried to open it, but it was locked. “Huh… Guards in this hall…” she hinted.
“And it's the first locked door we found,” Ashvell added.
“Which means we should definitely get in,” concluded Cassana. She motioned for Ashvell to step back, and she began casting another spell. Her fingers and the door lock glowed the same hue and sharp bell sound tolled from the space between them.
The young wizard reached for the handle and opened the door.
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753, Izar 26
Dad was livid. He almost kicked Rikhart out, thankfully Mom intervened. Why can’t he see that what he wants is impossible? The only thing Rikhart could do is help my little brother control his powers, but he wants him to stop using it altogether. It’s just never going to happen.
The way Rikhart explains it is that magic is like walking, as long as you have legs, you will be able to walk, no matter what, even if nobody teaches you. That’s the same with magic. He said the fae-folk call it Zihila, or something, which is basically legs, but for magic. I don’t know, Rikhart can explain it better.
But the main idea, Niko is never going to stop using magic. Why can’t he just understand that? I swear, if my brother goes crazy because of irrational standards, I’m going to leave this place.
-N
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Cassana stepped into a small but lavish bedroom, adorned with tapestries that depict scenes from fairy tales and children’s stories, their vibrant palettes contrasting the dull and gray concrete wall.
At the heart of this lovely chamber is a canopy bed, with curtains of lavender and fuchsia, creating an innocent but sophisticated atmosphere. Be as it may, the thick cotton mattress was bare and stained, its white linen now looking more like cornsilk.
The room was well-lit, thanks to the dozens of scented candles arranged on every corner. The edges of the room were also littered with petals, some of which Cassana could recognize, like hyacinth, rose and freesia. However, despite the fragrant smells that these objects release, she could get a whiff of something odd.
“You smell that?” she asked her partner.
“The flowers?” clarified Ashvell.
“No, something else…” Cassana dismissed her own comment for a moment and walked towards the bed. She quickly knelt and checked underneath it, but there was nothing there. However, as she stood back up, she noticed something different.
“You remember the floors in the other rooms?” she asked Ashvell again.
“Yeah, they’re not wood or concrete…” answered the young man.
“They’re carpeted. This one is not,” added Cassana.
“Huh, you’re right,” said Ashvell before stomping his foot on the solid floor. “What does that mean, though?”
“Just curious…” Cassana moved around and found a hanging shelf on one side of the room. She browsed the collection of books and recognized some of them, especially the titles meant for adolescent readers. But among the scores of books stacked on that shelf, she noticed one specific tome that didn’t seem to belong.
She pulled it out. It was string-bound, with a ribbon that ran across horizontally from cover to cover. She unfurled it and quickly opened the book to realize her hunch was correct: it was a journal. The young wizard started skimming across multiple pages, checking the dates written on the top of each entry. Once she got to the end, she flipped it back to see the first page. There, she saw the name Denise Von Schreiber handwritten in cursive.
“This is hers…” she commented.
“Whose?” asked Ashvell.
“Nissa’s. This is her room.”
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753, Eirene 11
I went out with Rikhart. I knew Dad wouldn’t give me permission to go out with him so I sneaked out after I told him I would just be going shopping. I had to bribe Mr. Müller not to tell my parents where I went.
We met near the Post Office, outside under a maple tree. We spent the whole afternoon together, and we just talked and strolled through the park. It’s nice having him just for myself, with no Niko to bother us.
After that, we tried going to the bay to watch the sunset together, but Mr. Müller said we had to get back before dark or he’ll have a hard time explaining my prolonged absence. Rikhart walked me back to the mansion, and I wanted him to kiss me, but I guess he was too shy. (Also, there were too many people outside at that hour)
He said he’ll find a way for us to go out again sometime. It was nice.
-N
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Cassana and Ashvell had finished looking over the entire room, but they couldn’t find anything else to point where the real Nissa was, or if she had even been here recently. It didn’t look like the room had been used for years, despite being properly maintained and routinely cleaned.
“Something really feels off about this room…” sighed the redhead, “but let’s not waste our time. That spell on the guards is gonna wear off soon…”
Ashvell noticed Cassana casually slipped Nissa’s diary inside her sling bag as they exited the door. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Let’s find another room,” said Cassana.
“No, that book, are you just gonna steal it?”
“What? I’m just gonna borrow it for a while. There might be something here that could help us solve this whole thing. You know, find out more about this family, or whatever,” Cassana dismissed.
“But you were mad at Minos for getting that fancy bow…” Ashvell inquired.
“That’s different. He stole that bow. That bow belongs to Otheric. Belonged. He had no right to take it from his house!” Cassana objected.
Ashvell’s eyes pointed at the book that she just swiped and Cassana shook her head.
“Just shut up,” she blustered.
Cassana closed the door behind her as the pair stepped out back into the corridor. They both glanced at the guards at the far end, still asleep.
“You don’t like him that much, do you?” asked Ashvell.
“What?” answered Cassana, confused.
“Minos.”
“Oh…” she faltered. “It’s not that I don’t like him, it’s just that he’s unlikeable.”
“Come on, he’s cool. Robb is fond of him,” declared Ashvell as they slowly meandered along the lengthy hallway.
“As well as you, I presume?” Cassana grinned.
“Yeah, sure, whatever. I mean…” Ashvell hesitated, “he’s funny, he talks a lot, he gives good advice… he’s nice!”
“Aww,” Cassana guffawed, “sounds like you’re in love with this guy.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Shut up!” Ashvell jeered. “I knew you were gonna say that…”
“Look,” Cassana stopped on her feet and motioned for her friend to listen to her intently. “The guy is a fraud, okay? Minos is not even his real name.”
“It’s not?” the young charcoal-maker gasped.
“It’s not! See? How well would you even know a guy who hides his real name? He could be a wanted criminal, or a felon, you won’t know.”
“Nah…” doubted Ashvell.
“Just be careful, okay? And tell that to Robb too. Don’t trust everything he says. He’s the kind of guy who would pretend to be a friend, if he wants something out of you. He would act sympathetic or like he cares just so he can earn your trust before he stabs you in the back later on.”
Ashvell stared at his friend, unconvinced with everything she said.
“If you don’t wanna believe, fine, just…” Cassana conceded.
“What’s the deal with that fancy bow anyway?” Ashvell knew better than to further annoy his companion, so he tried steering the conversation away.
“That’s…” Cassana couldn’t begin to answer the young driver’s question, despite having most of the information inside her head. “It’s an artifact, from Maeve. It’s been lost for hundreds of years…”
“Maeve?”
“She’s called the Fae-Queen, she’s the goddess of the drows… fae-folk.” Cassana corrected herself.
“So Otheric’s family had it the entire time?”
“No, they found it. That’s what they were searching for when they left after Mom died.”
“Ahh!” nodded Ashvell. “But what has it got to do with you? Why did the drows attack you for it?”
“Cause I gave them the map.”
“You had the map?”
“My father had the map. And I took it from his library and gave it to Otheric’s parents.”
“Oh Cass…” the young driver shook his head, though he didn’t appear to be fully disappointed, “Why do you keep stealing from your father?”
“I didn’t steal it, I borrowed it, okay? I was his daughter; I can borrow stuff from him…” Cassana snapped. She looked up at her friend and he remained unconvinced. “Get off, you use your Pops’ stuff all the time!”
“After asking for permission.”
“Whatever, Ashvell…” she stomped her feet soon as they arrived at the end of the corridor. The two guards were still frozen asleep, leaning on each other, their backs against the wall, one snoring louder than the other. Cassana fought the urge to poke them with her heel as she turned around to look back at where they came from.
“That’s weird…” she declared. “I thought there’d be a room here…”
“Huh?” Ashvell scratched his head as he stared across the hallway as well.
“That room is too small for this corridor,” explained Cassana, pointing at the door that they just exited from. They were already more than twenty feet away from it but the room beyond was only about ten feet in length.
“You’re right,” agreed the young driver. He then walked back closely examining the laminated wall on his right-hand side. At one point, he pressed both of his palms and took a sweep of the polished wood. “Huh…”
“What?” asked Cassana.
“This panel here is made of cedar, but the rest of the wall is oak,” he explained. Ashvell then knocked on the different panels and noted the differences in the sound they made. “It’s also newer. Like it’s just been added recently, but the rest here has been here for years. They tried to give it the same paint, but if you look closely, you could tell…”
Cassana couldn’t. She looked back and forth between the different panels, and they all looked the same. Still, she trusted her friend’s expertise. “So, I was right, there was a door here and they hid it.”
“They covered it, look,” Ashvell pointed at an uneven gap right in front of him, “I can even tell where the old door frame used to be. Here.”
Cassana smiled. She looked at her friend with glee in her eyes and began to ask, “You think we can crack it open?”
“Why not? It’s just wood!” Ashvell answered. He motioned for the young wizard to take a step back as he brandished his axe out of its holster and aimed to smash the wall open.
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753, Eirene 38
I just want to leave this house. I can’t take it anymore.
Niko, I love him, but he’s just too much. Last night, he threw a glass at my head using magic. I’m lucky it missed. But there are times when he gets angry, and I can feel my throat tightening or my legs unable to move. I didn’t tell any of this to Rik because I don’t want to hate my brother.
I also can’t tell this to Dad cause I know that he’ll only punish Niko more and I’m sick of hearing him cry and wail.
Earlier this morning, Rik came in and he was acting strangely, like something had been weighing him down, but I was too afraid to ask. I wish I could just tell him to take me away from this place.
-N
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The wall broke with a loud crack, and the pair paused and waited for any reaction. The night was quiet, and the air was still, but they were greeted by a foul waft breezing out of the room they broke open.
“Something died here…” Cassana commented, as she stepped over the debris and rubble. She casted a light spell on her staff, dissipating the darkness, and quickly beheld a horrific sight.
In the middle of the room was a bed, and on it laid the skeletal remains of a woman, dressed in a once lovely gown. Its colors had now faded, and her bones had sunk into the mattress, while filaments of her blonde hair scattered about.
Beside the bed stood a heavy chair, and on it sat a corpse, rotting and disheveled. It had the features of a man, with his thinning hair cropping out of its decaying scalp. Muscles and tendons cling off his every bone and it was covered by fabrics of linen clothing, now withered and tattered.
Cassana looked at the wall to her left, and immediately figured out why the room on the other side was covered with petals and other aromatics. Ashvell carefully stepped towards the bed, trying to get a closer look at the two corpses. As he leaned in, he didn’t notice the one sitting move and shift, and he only felt the coarse texture of its skin touch his. He glanced towards it and found its bony hands wrapped around his wrist.
“Whoa!” Ashvell stumbled backwards, but the dead hand’s grip only tightened as he managed to pull the entire corpse upward. It stood on its gnarled knee and moaned a deathly growl towards the young driver.
“Ashvell!” Cassana yelped as she stepped back. Her friend was panicking, trying to shake away the dead man’s grip but managed to kick it off him. The creature stumbled back and rose up again in the blink of an eye.
Ashvell ran towards Cassana and stood behind her like a little boy. “What is that?” he trembled.
“It’s an undead,” said the redhead.
“You mean, like a zombie? From the stories that Robb read?”
The undead creature shuffled towards the pair, growling and grunting. “Hold it off,” Cassana ordered.
“How?” Ashvell flustered.
The young wizard stared at him with a stink in her eye. They had been friends for as long she could remember, and she had never seen him this scared. Not against bullies or bandits, or deserters, not even against bloodthirsty drows. Only now, that he was face to face with an undead creature. “Use your axe, keep it away from me,” she explained.
Cassana pulled her father’s grimoire from her bag and quickly skimmed through its pages. She found a section containing spells for necromancy and leafed through it trying to find the one she needed.
Meanwhile, Ashvell held up the handle of his axe to block the creature’s advance, pushing it away from Cassana. After a minute, the young wizard recited an incantation, and with a wave of her hand, released the effect of a new spell. Turn Undead.
A wave of magical energy blasted off from her staff, reaching the creature. The undead jolted back and its entire body started spasming. The joints of its bones locked in place and its body dropped face down on the floor.
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753, Arkaitz 17
I’m scared, but I’m also happy, I guess… I’m overwhelmed with emotions; I don’t know what to think. I haven’t told anybody yet, but I haven’t had my period in two months, and I never miss my period. I heard there’s a wizard-physician who can make an accurate test if somebody is pregnant. I already asked for money from Mom, and I’ll head there later.
It’s all just to confirm it because I already know that I’m carrying Rikhart’s baby. I’m sure of it.
-N
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Cassana inspected the fallen body and confirmed that it was no longer undead. With Ashvell’s help, she returned it to its original position, up on the heavy chair, its head slumped over its shoulder.
She then moved to the bed and studied the corpse laid it. It was truly dead, and by the state of its decomposition, had been so for years. Even three years, probably, the same length of time that Nissa and Rikhart disappeared.
She tried to picture what the person would look like, if it were alive, from the color of its hair to its body build and height. It helped that her memory of Nissa’s physical features were still fresh from encountering the monster that took her guise. A part of her was scared to admit the truth that was laid out in front of her, so he pulled Ashvell for a second opinion.
“What do you think?”
“Are you saying…?” Ashvell hesitated.
Cassana looked at him and his face betrayed the same sentiment. She felt her heart sink deeper into her chest, and a spring of tears started welling up in her eyes. She looked away and fought the urge to cry.
After a few deep breaths, she noticed Ashvell was standing right beside her, holding something between his fingers.
“What is that?” she asked. It was a sheet of folded paper, stained and moldy.
“I found it under her arm,” Ashvell pointed at Nissa’s corpse.
Cassana took the paper and carefully opened it. It had a similar handwriting as to that of the journal entries, and it bore a date that was almost three years ago. She started reading it aloud.
My Little Robin,
As I returned to my childhood home, I tried to look for my old journal so I could write something on it. But I couldn’t find it, so I just decided to write to you directly instead. I don’t even know if you’re going to find this, maybe you don’t, and that’s okay. Maybe that means your father and I are back together with you.
Firstly, please don’t think that we left you because we don’t love you anymore, that is far from the truth. Your father and I love you very much. You are the best thing to ever happen to both of us. You gave meaning to our lives and every day that we look at you makes us want to be better people.
But we couldn’t. Not until we make up for our mistakes. Your father and I were not perfect. We messed up, we hurt people, and we ran away thinking we could make a fresh start. That’s not the kind of parents you deserve, and so we decided to return to Soliton to make amends-
Cassana quickly folded the paper again. It didn’t feel right, Nissa’s last words were not meant for her. She looked up at Ashvell and the giant of a man had the face of a little boy on the verge of tears. She clenched her fist, bracing herself from a surge of sorrow that was about to engulf her entire body.
Suddenly, she found herself reaching for Ashvell, and as he embraced her, she found his strength augment hers, finally enabling herself to cry.
“She’s gone, Ashvell. Nissa’s gone,” she wept as the young man covered her entire body with his comforting arms.
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Cassana’s sullen reverie was broken by a high pitch noise that was followed by the gem on her staff glowing. She willed her concentration and suddenly, she heard a voice whispering directly in her mind.
“Cassana, it’s me,” it was Firroth, sending her a magical missive.
“Firroth, what happened?” she replied in her head. She rubbed her cheeks dry and explained to Ashvell what was going on in her mind.
“Minos sent a message, he needed help. We’re just finishing up here, maybe you get there sooner?” Firroth explained.
Cassana repeated the message verbally for Ashvell’s sake before replying. “Sure, did they say where they are?”
“They said they’re under a well, by the garden,” said Firroth.
Cassana stood up and pulled open a curtain. Through a wide glass window, she could see the garden outside below, along with the aforementioned well.
“I can see it. Alright, we’ll head down,” Cassana responded.
“Be careful. See you,” answered Firroth as the magical effect dissipated.
“Let’s get down there,” Cassana gestured for Ashvell. She then pushed the window open, inviting the cold breeze of the evening air.
“Wait, from here?” confirmed Ashvell.
“Yeah, why not?” Cassana climbed up the windowsill, bending her knees. She held her staff firm on her right hand while her left gestured for Ashvell. “Come on, hold my hand.”
Ashvell hesitated for a moment, before reaching Cassana’s outstretched palm. Soon as he did, she leapt out of the window, dragging him along and leaving him with no choice but to follow. However, instead of plummeting to their deaths, they gently landed down on the garden below like a feather being swept by the wind.
The young driver was howling and laughing in amusement the entire time. “Magic is so cool!” he commented, and Cassana waved her hand.
They then climbed down the well and into the darkness of the cistern underneath. But their uplifted spirits quickly took another dive the moment they saw what was waiting for them.
Minos was sprawled on the floor, holding the wounded body of Lira. They didn’t even notice the dead flesh golem beside him.
“What happened?” asked Cassana as she stepped close.
“Cassana! Please, please, help her! Help her!”
The young wizard bent down to check on the drow huntress. The floor was already sticky with the thick pool of blood underneath them, and she could tell that she was going into shock. An insipid image was trying to perforate her memory: cold morning air, Otheric on her arms. But she pushed it all out.
She concentrated and casted a spell. Heal Wounds.
The amethyst gem on her staff appeared like a lone star on the dark underground chamber. Minos watched as the gaping hole in Lira’s chest started to close up and heal, slowly at first, but gaining speed every second. Suddenly, the drow huntress let out a gasp as she began breathing normally again.
Cassana stopped concentrating soon as Lira became stable. She remained unconscious on the floor, with her head over Minos’ lap, and the redhead gave an approving nod. The young nobleman looked up at him, his face covered in sweat, blood, and tears, but his eyes were filled with relief.
“Thank you!” He repeated over and over towards Cassana and was even trying to reach for her hand. She looked away and stepped back instead.
“What happened here?” she asked. It was only then that she noticed the mass of flesh flumped on the floor beside him. She also heard footsteps coming from the direction of the well as Firroth and Auren arrived, asking the same question.
They all gathered a moment to collect themselves and breathe, as nobody seemed to want to volunteer speaking up first.
“Did you find the Baron?” Minos asked, finally.
“No sign of him anywhere,” Firroth answered. “All the rooms were empty. We avoided all of the guards, didn’t want to spook anyone.”
“He’s dead,” Cassana added. “Has been for a while. Though somebody put a curse on him, turned him into a zombie.”
“What?” puzzled Minos.
“Whoever is behind all this, it’s not him. But if I have to guess…” Cassana pulled out Nissa’s diary from her bag and started leafing through its pages. “Apparently, Nissa has a younger brother who can do magic. Reading through some of the stuff here in her diary, it looks like he was abused growing up, in some way. What if he did all that mess upstairs, as well as this whole thing.”
“A brother?” Minos trailed.
“Yeah, here…” Cassana pointed her fingers on a single page. There, in one paragraph, sprawled a name written in cursive. “His name is Dominic.”