A thump. Cecelia breathed deeply as her heart pounded. Hands clenched fiercely. Tremors ravaged her body as she waited. Yet, nothing happened—as if the universe stood still waiting for her. Feeling a surge of courage, Cecelia opened her eyes and turned towards the door. The man stood still, facing away from her, towering above a still form. The man still held the knife in his right hand, a strange liquid trailing down the edge.
The hunter that waited for both of them was dead. It wasn’t human by any measurements and was hideous in Cecelia’s eyes. Dark brown fur covered its entire body with bone-like protrusions. It was bipedal in nature with bulging arms. Without a doubt, if given a chance, it could easily tear a man in half.
Cecelia alternated her attention between the dead creature and the man, still unsure of the situation. Trying to calm her nerves, Cecelia reasoned with herself. Given that the man neutralized the creature and had yet to make any negative motions against her, he could at least be considered a neutral entity. The man acted to protect both of them. Slowly, but surely, Cecelia felt the heavy feeling of dread lift off from her shoulders. Without a doubt, however, she was still nervous and fearful. She should, despite that, try to act in a rational manner.
“It’s dead,” the man stated emotionlessly, his eyes still focused on the monster laying below him. His head turned towards Cecelia, still void of any emotions or facial language. It wasn’t a disinterest at the monster or the situation, but that unique vacant look he carried. Yet, if Cecelia focused on his eyes, she could sense a small spark of life in them. The killing of the monster had awakened something in him, but Cecelia lacked any idea of what it was.
Slowly standing up, Cecelia glanced at the monster from above. Leaning against the desk for support, Cecelia took in the form of the dead creature with disgust and revulsion. There was no way for nature to have come up with such a creature naturally. For some reason, Cecelia knew she had seen such a creature before in her life. It was uncomfortable to her as she pondered silently, trying to fetch the particular memory. She could almost grasp the creature’s name, yet she couldn’t utter the words. Moments passed quietly before Cecelia gave up. There was no point to continue to ponder when her memories continue to elude her.
“Who are you?” With her nerves calmed sufficiently, Cecelia reached out towards the man with an age-old question. As still confused and nervous as she was, Cecelia couldn’t wait any longer. It was either she reached out to the man or they could just stand here. She needed answers, even if they will be unpleasant.
There was no movement from the man. For a brief second, Cecelia worried that she accidently wronged the man with such an innocent question. Then the man turned, facing Cecelia directly. Effortlessly, the man replied, “Your servant, master. I answered your call.”
Confusion compounded upon itself in Cecelia’s mind. There was no doubt what she did earlier summoned him, given what she read from the parchment. It was like some fiction she read in her spare time of mages summoning familiars or heroes. There was a small spark of excitement within her. Perhaps the realization she performed magic finally caught up to her. Yet, she pondered the implications. Summoning implied nothing, especially loyalty. Yet, again for some reason, she knew that loyalty wasn’t an issue. She knew, from somewhere unknown to her, that the man would kill himself at her command. It was sudden and unfounded, yet Cecelia felt herself relax even more.
Feeling more confident than when she first woken up in this strange building, Cecelia pressed the man for some answers. She wasn’t confident if the vacant man had anything profound, but anything was better than staying in the dark. The parchments only focused on magic and summoning and searching through the books would be too time-consuming.
Thunder continued to roar outside as the storm continued on, as ferociously as when Cecelia first woke up. The man’s answers to each of her questions could best be described as sparse and vague. The man didn’t even know his own name and Cecelia was forced to bestow upon him a temporary name—Brian. The man, Brian, didn’t even have the faintest idea of the creature he murdered. The best Brian could provide was that Cecelia was on some world called Agoi in the Kingdom of Persi in the city of Mord. It would certainly been profound and earth shattering to Cecelia in the beginning, but at this point her mind was tired and accepting. Her old world certainly didn’t have any magic nor monsters, Cecelia was certain of that. Cecelia also knew for sure she didn’t look anywhere close to what she does currently.
Cecelia stroked her chin as she pondered, digesting her current situation. With the immediate threat and fear gone, her mind was able to work optimally. Her current knowledge was too incomplete and, under the watch of Brian, she skimmed through some of the books from the bookshelves more thoroughly than before. None of the books provided any valuable information from her second search. The only notable thing she could gather was all of them related to summoning in some form.
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Carefully stepping over the creature’s corpse, Cecelia bit her lips again as she stared down into the abyss. It was perfectly dark down the stairs and given that was likely where the creature came from, she didn’t have much confidence going down. Given the bleak state of information in the study room, she hoped there was something down in the lower floor that could enlighten her.
“Master,” Brain suddenly spoke up, breaking Cecelia from her train of thought. The man had been vigilantly guarding the door while she had been focused on steeling herself in adventuring downstairs. Brian’s eyes were clearly focused on the creature’s corpse. “With your permission, can I absorb it?”
“A-absorb it?” Cecelia glanced at the corpse, surprised at the request. If it was just moving the body to the empty room across the hallway, she could understand that. Considering it, she gave a soft nod.
The creature began to lightly dissipate, slowly turning into vapor. Watching in morbid fascination, Cecelia watched as the vapor slowly flowed into Brian’s open palm. Ever expressionless, Brian absorbed the creature. It was supernatural and defied any laws of reality. Just not too long ago, a corpse laid on the wooden flooring. Now, there wasn’t a single hint of it. When the absorption was done, Brian clenched his fist, his eyes clearly focused on his hand.
“Absorption allows me to gain strength,” Brian explained calmly with a tint of naturalness in his tone, “I don’t know how to explain it or know why, but it can help us master.” Concealing the knife in a back pocket, Brian glanced down into the abyss. Glancing at Cecelia, Brian nodded his head as he retrieved the lantern sitting on top of the wooden desk. The intent was clear as Brian took the first step down. “Master, let me lead the way.”
The wooden steps creaked and groaned as the pair went down the stairs. The soft light from the lantern illuminated their surroundings, revealing slightly of the floor below them. Stopping by the corner on the stairway, Cecelia turned on a lantern hanging off from the wooden walls. It didn’t reveal anything new, but it would be a good marker.
Stepping down onto the stone flooring, the pair cautiously explored around the room. The furnishing was spartan and one couldn’t call it luxurious. A simple wooden table matched with four chairs. What appeared to be a kitchen not too far off. A single bookshelf with just four books. An old map was pressed against a wall to the right of the staircase, showcasing what Cecelia believed to be the map of the kingdom. Finally, there was a hallway leading to four more rooms, three of which were bedrooms and a bathroom. The last one was oddly modern for what Cecelia was expecting, but it addressed one of her more minor worries.
Click. Soft lights soon illuminated the living room and the hallway. Managing to find a switch near the entranceway, Cecelia flipped it. While the overall standard of the house was antique by her standards, a light switch was unmistakable. It was puzzling that the upper floor lacked any lights, but at least the lower floor had some. They weren’t strong enough to fully illuminate the living room and kitchen, but it lifted the burden of carrying around a lantern.
“It’s kind of impoverish,” Cecelia spoke out her thoughts as she uncomfortably sat down on the wooden chair, listening to the rain outside. “The books don’t really have anything interesting. There’s no clues either.” Flipping through one of the books she found in the living room, she sighed. Based on the old clock nearby, they’ve wasted at least two hours exploring the first floor. Nothing hinted at anything strange or weird and there was no basement. Based on their exploration, the house they were in was just that, a house. Yet, Cecelia was left puzzled at where the creature came from. Brian stood still nearby, offering no response nor comments.
The rain had lost of most of its strength and was feeble compared to when Cecelia first woke up. The current time should be around 11:00 PM sharp. Cecelia’s eyes trailed towards the staircase. What worried her was if the inhabitants of wherever they are were the same as the creature. That wouldn’t be the case given Brian’s existence as a human, Cecelia thought to herself. There was no way that thing could utilize any of the items either. The human clothing in some of the dressers wouldn’t make sense either.
Nothing right now made any sorts of sense to Cecelia. Randomly waking up in a room. Summoning a human using magic. Fighting a monster that came from darkness. Exploring and finding nothing in the house they were in. It was as if they just randomly appeared out of thin air. The only thing left, Cecelia pondered, was to explore the city they were in. It was late however and no establishment that would be worth their time should be open. The only option left for either of them at this point was to simply retire for the night and hope for the best tomorrow.
“The door’s locked and barricaded,” Brian stated, motioning towards wooden table pressed against the door. Cecelia had ordered him to secure the entrance as a just-in-case measure. While she didn’t expect him to move the entire table, it was better than nothing. Weighing various options, she decided to hunker down in the house for the night. Hopefully, if this house has an owner, they wouldn’t be too peeved at two strangers staying for a night.
The lights flickered off as Cecelia turned them off. The only illumination provided now were the lanterns Brian and herself were holding. Moving to the furthest bedroom from the entranceway, Cecelia turned towards Brian. The current plan was for Brian to use the bedroom closest to the entranceway so he can respond quickly to any possible threats. Then, if they survive the night, they would explore the city tomorrow morning. Considering the plan she devised, given Brian had none, she gave a small nod, “Good night.”