4
Surprisingly, despite the lift being over a thousand years old, the lift safely delivered them the to what looked like the courtyard of the fortress. The fortress walls seemed to form a square around them, with a tower sitting at each corner and the fortress sitting near the back wall. Before them lied the stone stairs that led up to the fortress. They were lined with fieldstone walls and on those walls were unlit torch sconces. The courtyard was dotted with bushes, benches, trees, and metal lampposts using fire, allowing Amadeus to think about how beautiful this place would look at night. The thought of exploring a fortress that had been the victim of time for centuries was exciting to Amadeus, but he forced what was important to constantly be at the forefront of his mind. “After this is all over. Then I’ll come back here” he thought to himself.
As the group approached the stairs, the torches lit themselves as if they had sensed that someone was approaching them. The large doors that led to the fortress suddenly flung open and out walked an old man in a dark blue robe with purple lining. In his hand was a wooden staff. The wood at the top formed a cage surrounding what looked like a large ruby suspended in the air. Amadeus readied his hand on his pistol, despite knowing that it would probably be futile if this man knew an extensive amount of magic, and it looked like he did. Unbeknownst to him, the rest of the crew had been prepared to draw their weapons as well. The old man stopped at the head of the stairs and drew back his hood. Hs head was completely bald and the only hair on his face was that of a white mustache and a short beard. The old man looked down towards Amadeus and said, “Are you the one they call Amadeus?”
Amadeus, still cautious, responded, “Who is ‘they’?”
“‘They’ are the many previous caretakers of this fortress. The generations before me that have lived here in the pursuit of knowledge by any means necessary, far away from the prying eyes of the world. This is The Mt. Moonside Fortress. If you are not Amadeus, then you must leave. And if you refuse to leave, you will be expelled forcefully”.
Amadeus considered the wight of the old man’s words and of his threat of expulsion. There was a chance that his words simply fell flat, but there was also the possibility that he and his crew would soon go tumbling down the mountain. After much though, Amadeus said, “I am Amadeus. What is it you want?”
Upon hearing those words, the old man then walked down towards Amadeus and then raised his hand towards his head. Immediately, Alfred rushed towards the old man and put his gun to his head. “What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” he said angrily.
The old man, unphased by the gun to his head or by Alfred’s tone, said, “Amadeus, if you’ll call off this savage imbecile, I’d simply like to take a quick look through your memories to prove that you are who you say you are”.
Amadeus looked to this brother and gave him a reassuring look. Seeing this, Alfred lowered his gun ad backed away slowly, but still stood relatively close to his brother. Amadeus then looked to the old man and said, “Before you do this, how do I know that you won’t try to scramble my brain or steal my memories or something?”
The old man chuckled and said, “There’s no need to worry. I’ve seen enough of this world to know where evil deeds such as that would lead me. A dark place that few ever come back from. No, I just want to confirm that you are, in fact, Amadeus”. The old man then rested his hand against Amadeus’s forehead and said a few words in a language that Amadeus didn’t understand. The old man’s hand then gained a white glow followed by Amadeus’s vision going white and his mind going blank. It only lasted for a few seconds, but afterwards, Amadeus staggered and fell to his knee. Alfred, who saw all of this, rushed to his brother’s side. Richard, who had been standing in the back, but also seeing everything as well, did the same. Alfred looked to the old man, who wore a joyous smile, with a look of anger and said, “What did you do to him!?”
“Not to worry, everything’s fine my dear savage. Going in and coming out of a mind reading takes a bit of energy from you. Your brother will recover within the next couple of minutes or so”. It happened just like the old man said. Amadeus stood up and took a deep breath. He looked to the old man and said, “Did you get all that you needed?”
The old man nodded and said happily, “With that out of the way, it’s great that you’re finally here Amadeus. I have waited so long for your arrival.
Before Amadeus could respond, the old man interrupted him and said, “I know you have plenty of questions, but they will have to wait. First, I must show you and your group to your rooms. Then I will answer any questions you have Amadeus”. The old man then walked off towards the main entrance into the fortress, leaving behind a very confused Amadeus.
“I don’t like this. I say we search for the herb after we get to our rooms. You should stay with the old man Amadeus. He clearly seems more interested in you than any of us,” Alfred whispered to Amadeus.
Amadeus nodded and looked to Richard who whispered, “I’ll stay with Alfred and map out this place while we look”.
Amadeus then led his band of pirates to the front doors of the fortress and caught up with the old man standing there, waiting for them, who in turn lead them through it. The front doors of the fortress lead to a grand stone hall with a long round table that stretched out before them all the way back towards the wall across from them. Two big chandeliers hung above the table, illuminating it, and making it the main attraction of the room. Along the left and right and back walls were a couple of doors that led deeper into the fortress. Just to their sides sat a couple of torches.
“This was where the previous caretakers sat and ate their meals throughout the day” The old man said as if he were a tour guide. “A millennium ago, over seventy men and women studied, worked, and experimented in this hall”. Sorrow then suddenly tainted his voice. “But then so much was lost on the night that knowledge was destroyed. Ever since then there has only been one caretaker living here, making sure the knowledge contained within fortress does not fall into the wrong hands. Imagine of the wrong kind of people-,”.
Alfred, who had grown impatient of the old man’s speech, spat, “Look, we didn’t come here for a history lesson! Just take us to our damn rooms already!”
The old man sighed and then walked up to Amadeus. He smiled and said, “Well, Amadeus, we can continue this later when we’re not in the presence of ignorant fools. Hopefully you’ll join me after we head to the bedrooms?”
Amadeus, who actually was quite interested in the story presented by the old man, nodded, and followed the old man towards one of the doors on the right, his crew following behind. On the other side was a long hallway dotted with lit torches and wooden doors. The old man led them through another door on the opposite side that led into a circular loft that had four other doors on its walls. In the loft were multiple chairs and tables littered with broken pieces of equipment and tattered books whose pages were lost to time. A few bookcases could also be found along the walls of the loft. Cobwebs and dust seemed to have rule over everything in the room, covering so much that just walking through the loft could bring unwanted spiders on the legs or stir up a cloud of dust big enough to cause a coughing fit.
“I hope our beds aren’t this dusty and dirty” said Richard, trying to avoid as many webs as possible.
“My apologies. I haven’t had company here in at least two hundred years. Things tend to get a little out of hand in that time” the old man said jokingly. He then turned towards the group and said, “But no worries. I’ll have the rooms as clean as the day they were built in no time. Just you watch!”. The old man closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Afterwards, he straightened his arms and hands to his sides for a few seconds, making sure not to move a single muscle. Finally, he did the same as before, except his arms and hands were placed before him. In a single motion, he clapped his hands together and a flash of light went off. He opened his eyes and, suddenly, standing beside him were three transparent, faceless, figures of light that stood in the same pose as the old man had stood in before, as straight as an arrow. The old man then ordered the figures to grab supplies from the closet and clean the living quarters. Immediately, the figures of light got to their task. They grabbed the supplies from the closet across from them, with mainly consisted of brooms and feather dusters, and got to work cleaning the rooms that were behind the other three doors of the loft. The three brothers and the crew mates simply watched as the figures ran from room to room, making sure to do their jobs to the letter. Alfred, along with some of the crew members, stood unimpressed as he had never been one who was interested in magic. Those who weren’t uninterested were scared to some level of what they were seeing. Alfred had always been someone who was more interested in the physical things of the world and refused to tamper with things that went beyond it. Richard, on the other hand, was someone who had always been more interested in the maps that he collected rather than his father’s magical teachings. But seeing the magical figures run around and clean suddenly piqued his interest somewhat. Unsurprisingly, Amadeus stood there with wonder at the display before him. Eventually, all the figures returned the supplies to the closet and then came back to the old man, who knew the task was completed without having to check for himself. The old man then turned back towards the group and said, There you have it. Your rooms have been cleaned. Please feel free to rest before food is served. And don’t worry. The food is not old or spoiled or rotten like this loft whatsoever. I have seen to that myself”. He then turned his attention towards Amadeus. “Amadeus, if you would, please come to the grand hall in a few minutes. I would like to have a talk with you”. The old man then made his way back through the door behind them and towards the grand hall.
Amadeus and his men checked the rooms, only to find them absolutely spotless with not a speck of web or dust or dirt in sight. Compared to the loft just outside, it was like night and day. “Those figures really did their job” Amadeus said in bewilderment. In each of the rooms there were three large beds, enough for each member to have their own to sleep in. Along with the beds, each room was nicely furnished with dressers, closets, mirrors, lavatories etc. Everything to accommodate someone who would have lived here. Seeing all this, Amadeus thought, “This is all very interesting. Rooms these lavish are usually reserved for royalty. And yet here before my very eyes are the kinds of rooms fit for the nobles and the kings and the queens of the world. Obviously, someone of royalty would not share their room with anyone else but their lover or close family, but the fact still stands”. Suddenly, a hand appeared on his shoulder to break him away from his pondering. It was Alfred who had already garnered the attention of the other crew members.
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“Alright. It’s time for us to search for that herb. The quicker we grab it, the quicker we can leave this decrepit place and leave the old crackpot to whatever the hell he does all day”. Alfred then turned to Amadeus. “You should see what the old man wants Amadeus. But be careful. I don’t think that someone who’s lived here by themselves for so long is exactly in their right mind most of the time. Who knows what he could be planning?” Amadeus simply nodded in response. “If you can. Keep him busy talking about this place. That’ll give us more time”. His face then grew somewhat serious. “If we can’t find it. We’ll interrogate that old man. He must know where it is”.
“Well, if that’s the case, then why don’t we just have Amadeus ask him?” asked Richard.
“No, that would draw too much suspicion. We’ll just have to let Amadeus talk to him while we search for it” answered Alfred. He then turned to the crew mates and said, “After we’re done here. You lot and the rest of the crew on the ship will be paid a portion of my earnings”. Finally, he turned to Amadeus again and said, “Alright. That’s the plan. Go out there and distract him. If you get any information on where that herb might be. Tell me when you get the chance”. Amadeus nodded again before exiting the room and making his way back towards the grand hall.
…
As Amadeus entered the grand hall, he found the old man patiently waiting for him by the table. As soon as the old man saw Amadeus, he sprang up and immediately went over to him.
“I trust that the rooms served you well?” the old man asked.
“Yes, they have, thank you”.
“Good, good. I apologize if my first impressions were too troublesome. I have to take certain precautions to make sure that unsavory people don’t enter these halls. I’m sure you can understand”.
“I do”.
"Excellent. Well, before I show you all that this fortress has to offer, allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Lucius Darkin, current holder of the title of Protector of this fortress. I am the first person to have served alone here ever since the Night of Destroyed Knowledge”.
“You keep mentioning that night. It was something my dad always talked about when we were younger. What exactly happened on that night?”
“All in good time Amadeus. All in good time. First, I have to show you the fortress, then we can talk about history”.
Amadeus nodded and followed the man as he led him towards one of the doors on the back wall of the grand hall. He opened it to reveal another hallway that was exactly like the one he had passed through previously, except this one had no doors except for one at the end of the hall. The door at the end lead to a rectangular shaped room that had a large similarly shaped table at its center. A wooden table stretched along the left and back walls. Along the right one was multiple cabinets with glass doors that served as a window to the contents inside. In the center of the wall was another door. Along all the tables were different types of equipment. Finally, compared with the bedrooms in the loft, this room looked as if it were cleaned daily.
“What’s this room?” Amadeus asked.
“This room has no specific name, but it’s where the previous caretakers would come and experiment with both science and magic to create the most amazing and wonderful things”.
Amadeus had never heard of this ‘science’ before. But seeing all this interesting equipment before him piqued his curiosity.
“Do you use this room often?” Amadeus asked.
“Not often. I have so many tasks to do in this fortress that I rarely get to use it. When I do, the extensive equipment in this room is able to keep me busy for hours on end” Lucius replied.
Afterwards, Lucius led Amadeus back int the grand hall and into the other door of the back wall. At the end of the hall, Lucius stopped and turned to Amadeus.
“This room is my favorite and it’s where I spend the majority of my time working. It’s called the Greenhouse” Lucius said. Then then opened the door to a room that forced Amadeus to look in utter awe and amazement. The room they entered was huge, much bigger than that of the grand hall. The main purpose of this room was to grow and cultivate different types of flora. Plants of every type could be found here, even plants that belonged in completely opposite biomes could be found. In a big square there were rows upon rows of these plants. Along the walls the same could be said, expect that these plants were being grown in small pots hanging from the wall. The main source of light was the glass ceiling that allowed in a large amount of light into the room. Next to or near every row and every hanging plan was a sign giving the name of the plant.
“This…this is amazing” Amadeus simply said.
“I thought you’d say that” Lucius said happily. “All of the plants in this this room are grown using magically enhanced soil, making it so that plants can be grown in any climate. The soil constantly transfers life into these plants, ensuring that they don’t wilt and die”.
“How do you do all this by yourself?”
“I do it much in the same way that I cleaned your room”. Just like before, he summoned a couple of figures, but this time it was for the sole purpose of showing off. “It pays a lot to have good help” he chuckled.
Before they moved on with the tour, Amadeus took the time to look around at all the different plants in the room. Some he recognized from Signia, like the Trap Hole Plant, a plant that would root itself into the ground and snatch small unsuspecting creatures such as squirrels or rabbits, and Black Spotted Mushrooms, shrooms that, contrary to their name, could be eaten safely and tasted like licorice (Amadeus never understood why Alfred liked those so much as he despised the taste of licorice). But there were other plants that managed to bewilder Amadeus in their design. There was a normal looking tree that looked a bit glassy, and it grew fruit had a crystalline look to it. According to Lucius, it was a Great Gem Oak. It was a tree that took minerals from the earth with its roots to create its fruit. The fruit is hard to crack open, as it has the toughness of a rock, but inside there are edible minerals that taste very sweet. The next plant that had caught Amadeus’s eye was a large blade of grass that was as tall as he was and much wider and bigger than the typical grass you’d find in a field. Looking at it, it looked sharp enough to act as a real sword, and sure enough, Lucius explained that his previous caretakers simply called it the Blade of Grass. It was then that Lucius decided to show Amadeus his favorite plant of them all. And it was a sunflower simply looked like a regular sunflower, except that this one had a slightly deeper tone of yellow.
“What’s so special about this one?” asked Amadeus.
“This plant is a Sun and Moon flower. Using energy from the sun, it can display the time of day with different shades of color. It’s absolutely the most interesting plant in my collection”.
Amadeus didn’t share is opinion, personally he would have given that title to the Great Gem Oak, but the Sun and Moon flower was interesting regardless.
Their last stop on the tour had them going through a door and down a hallway that branched off of the Greenhouse. At the end of the hallway there was a split with a door to the left and right. Lucius led him down towards the right door, but, curiously, Amadeus looked back towards the left door and asked, “What’s in that room?”
“That’s where we keep our most prized possessions. Relics and artifacts collected from all over the years to sturdy their magic and ancient properties” Lucius replied.
The adventurer within Amadeus immediately perked up and his mind began racing with thoughts about just what kind of interesting stuff could be in that room. He had half a mind to dart into that room, but he figured that he’s try and sneak in there later, or ask Alfred or Richard if they had.
The final room they came too was an empty one. It was shaped much like the loft, and stayed true to its previous state of cobwebs claiming their territory over it all. Looking around at the room, and quickly becoming unimpressed, Amadeus said, “This is it?”
"No, no. this is just the beginning” he said with an excited smile. In a single motion, he clapped his hands together and the walls of the room began to fade away to reveal a black void all around them. Soon after the floor began to give way as well. This forced Amadeus into a panic that would have led him back towards the door, if he had not been reassured by Lucius that everything was fine. When the floor gave way, neither of them fell into the black void around them. Instead, they just stood in it, as if there was an invisible platform beneath them. “Signia!” Lucius announced, and instantly the void around them formed into the marketplace of Signia that Amadeus knew so well.
“What in the hell!” Amadeus said, completely baffled. “What did you do? What happened?”
“I simply brought you into the All Seeing Room. It’s a room that can take you anywhere you want, as long as you can name the place and imagine it in your mind, you can be brought there”.
Amadeus looked around at all the people around him, the merchants and the people buying their common goods. He saw a few that he recognized. He went out to reach for one of them, an old friend of his, only to be met with an invisible wall.
“You may be able to go to the place that you desire, but you are still within the confines of this room. And while in it, you are invisible. No one on the outside can see you or hear you”.
Amadeus looked to him with eyes filled with awe and amazement, “I can imagine the kids of things you and your predecessors used this room for. With this you could visit anywhere in the world! See any place that you want without ever leaving your home!”
“Exactly! Those who came before me used this room as a means of keeping tabs on the rest of the world and their kingdoms. We did not interfere with them of course. We merely watched and listened. I still keep up the task of doing so after all these years”.
“Was this how you learned my name?” Amadeus asked.
“No. I learned of your name before you even knew how to walk. I’ve been waiting for you for a long time”.
“Then how did you learn my name?”
Instead of answering his question, Lucius simply walked up to him, a somber look on his face. This only made Amadeus look more confused.
“I think it’s time” he rested his hand on Amadeus’s shoulder, “for you to learn the truth Amadeus”.
“Truth? What truth?” he questioned.
He looked back to the room and said clearly, “Play Message 01, Nicholas Amadeus”.
At the sound of that name, Amadeus began to tear up. Much to his surprise, the room stayed the same. The only thing that changes was that, suddenly, from behind him, a figure appeared. That figure was his dead father, Nicholas Amadeus. Immediately, Amadeus whipped around to see him as he looked around the room.
“Begin recording… Background…unchanged” Nicholas said with sadness in his voice. Afterwards, he lowered his gaze to that of Amadeus’s, their eyes meeting, as if he had known that Amadeus would be standing there. Nicholas opened his mouth again to speak, but the words struggled to escape and form what he had planned to say. He then took a deep breath and finally said, “Son, if you’re watching this, it means that you finally made it to the island that I’ve been escaping to all these years. All those times that I told you that I’ve been sailing the high seas, making deliveries and transporting people, I’ve really just been coming here to study both magic and science”. Nicholas’s voice then changed into an even more somber tone, as if he was on the verge of tears. “What I’ve done to you, your brothers, and your mother, cannot be forgiven. I don’t expect you to. I faked my own death at those docks many years ago because of my own selfish desires. Desires that I now heavily regret, and I wish that I could bring you all here to see the wonders and the marvels that we’ve created so far, but that wouldn’t be the right thing for me to do. It would only take you away from what you’ve accomplished, my son”. Nicholas stepped closer to Amadeus, so close that if he were actually there, Amadeus would have felt his sad, nervous breath. “My son, no, Amadeus, I’ve heard so much about all that you’ve accomplished when you followed in my footsteps. I had heard so many stories about you when I would sail to The Grand Capital for supplies. You were admired, feared, loved, and hated by so many, and I’m so proud of you”. Amadeus couldn’t hold back the tears and they soon flooded down his face. “You became the most notorious pirate in the world, and so often I wished that I could come back home and see you all again, and congratulate you on all that you’ve achieved Amadeus. I love you so much and I hope that someday, we can meet again”. The figure disappeared into thin air, and Amadeus fell to his knees and cried profusely, absolutely unable to stand from what he had seen. Lucius walked up to him with an empathetic look on his face. He placed his hand on his shoulder and said, “There are other messages from him when you are ready. Just say exactly what I said, but replace the number with 02, 03, or 04”. Lucius then walked out of the room, leaving Amadeus in solitude.