by TurtleMe
“Now that we’re inside the actual castle itself, it is best not to converse with us or any of the lances,” he whispered with an unusual chill to his voice as we entered through the rather crudely-made door
We walked in silence, with only the echoes of our footsteps filling the hall. On either side were doors that didn’t match the metallic corridor; there were doors of different colors and material, all quite distinct from one another. The corridor didn’t seem to have an end, but luckily, Varay stopped us at a seemingly random door to our left along the way. She knocked on the door without pause until it swung inward, revealing an armored bear of a man.
I took a closer look at him.
“My Lords,” the guard immediately knelt down with his head bowed.
“Rise,” Varay replied coolly. The guard stood back up, but did not make eye contact with either of the two lances. Instead, his gaze was fixed on me as he regarded me both curiously and cautiously.
“Tell the Council of our arrival.” Olfred waved the guard away impatiently. The armored man took another quick bow and disappeared behind a hidden black door that looked to be a part of the wall.
After a few minutes, the guard came back out and fully opened the door for us, allowing us in. “Lance Zero and Lance Balrog have been given permission to meet the Council, along with the prisoner named Arthur Leywin.”
I looked at Olfred, raising a brow. As he walked past me, he muttered, “Bah. Code names,” as if embarrassed.
I couldn’t help but let out a wry smile before trailing behind the two lances. Whatever awaited ahead would most likely determine my future, but all I could think of was what the code names for all the other lances were.
As I passed the guard and stepped through the hidden door, I could immediately sense the change in the atmosphere. We were in a large circular room with a high-rise ceiling that seemed to be made entirely of glass. The room was simply decorated, with only a long, rectangular table at the very back. Six chairs, each seated with one of the members of the Council, were facing the three of us as they looked at me, every one of them with different expressions.
““Your Majesties.”” Olfred and Varay both bowed towards the Council as the kings and queens rose from their seats. Not knowing what exactly the custom dictated in situations like this, I followed after the two lances and bowed as well.
“Ignorant! Do you think of yourself on the same level as the Lances? You should take a knee at the very least as a sign of respect,” a husky voice boomed. I looked up to see that it was the dwarf king, Dawsid Greysunders.
He sported a bushy brown beard that spilled from his chin and covered is upper torso. He had a barrel of a chest covered by an adorned leather armor that seemed like it was restraining his muscles rather than protecting them. However, looking at his soft, uncalloused hand twiddling the gold wine flute, I had second thoughts as to whether those muscles were ever put to use, or if they were simply just for show.
I had a hard time controlling my face as it contorted into a look of annoyance, but before I could rebut back, I caught sight of Alduin Eralith, Tessia’s father and the elf king. He gave me a quick shake of the head, with a worried expression on his face.
Clenching my jaw, I relented. “My apologies, Your Majesties. I am but a boy from the countryside, uneducated in the ways of proper manners,” I said through gritted teeth, taking a knee.
“Hmph.” He plopped back down on his seat, crossing his arms. Even as he sunk back into his chair, it was impossible to ignore the sturdy frame that the dwarf king had. The veins on his arms stretched with every little movement. Paired with a great bristling beard and dark, heavy eyes, even as a dwarf, he looked much larger than he really was.
“Now, now. I’m sure the journey had been long and everyone’s eager to get started. Varay, uncuff Arthur.” Curtis’ father, Blaine Glayder was the one that had just spoken. The female lance dissipated the frozen cuffs that bound my wrists but let the slumbering Sylvie inside the frozen orb, as I surveyed the rulers of this continent. It had been years since I last saw Blaine and Priscilla Glayder, but besides the few extra wrinkles, little had changed about them. I noticed that the queen did look a bit fatigued, but her expression did not give that away at all.
It was the first time seeing the dwarf queen but she was just as I had expected—manly. She had a defined, square jaw with sharp eyes and dark hair pulled straight back into a ponytail. Her broad shoulders strained the fabric of her simple, brown blouse as she stayed seated upright on her chair.
Alduin and Merial Eralith, however, seemed to have aged the most. While it had merely been days since I had last seen them, I wasn’t surprised, since their only daughter had been the center of Draneeve’s act of terrorism.
The two lances that had escorted me here took a few steps back from me as I looked up at the Council.
Alduin Eralith spoke up with in a gentle tone, his expression coming off as almost guilty for bringing me here. “Arthur Leywin. Before we begin, I would like to thank you, not as a leader but as a father for saving my daughter—”
“And need I remind you that we are here as leaders of this damned continent, not fathers?” Dawsid interjected, pounding his fists on the table. “This boy mutilated one of his fellow schoolmates before killing him. Shall I read the description one of the scouts so kindly sent to us?”
Priscilla shook her head, trying to quell the situation.
“Dawsid, I hardly think it’s necessary—”
“Both legs, crushed into mush past the mid-thigh. Left arm, dismember and cauterized past the elbow. Right arm, frozen and crushed. Genitals…” As the dwarf king continued to read off of the scroll, even he seemed to have a hard time saying what was coming up next. “Genitals, along with the pelvic bone, crushed and—”
“I think that’s enough, Dawsid,” Alduin warned.
“It seems I’ve made my point. Yes, it’s all convenient and everything that this boy happened to save the entire school, but it did not justify the torment he put his schoolmate through. To me, I can only see this as him using this whole fiasco as an excuse to get revenge on someone who he’s clearly had enmity with since the past,” Dawsid said coldly.
“You can’t be saying that this boy’s main motive for delving blindly into such a dangerous scene was just to seek revenge. And even if he did, what of it. You can’t prove to anyone here what Arthur’s motives were. He did what we couldn’t do in times of need and that was potentially save every student inside Xyrus,” Alduin barked back, his face turning more and more red.
“Yes, and that is why I’m not suggesting we kill the boy. We just need to merely cripple him as a mage.” It was the dwarf queen that spoke this time. The cold indifference in her voice seemed to even make her husband falter for a moment.
“What my wife, Glaudera said, is exactly my thoughts as well. This boy is too dangerous if left alone. Imagine if he and his pet dragon decides to make enemies out of us…”
My ears perked up at the mention of Sylvie.
“My God, do you hear yourself? You sound like a paranoid criminal. Blaine, Priscilla, what do you have to add to all of this?” Tessia’s mother, asked, shaking her head, disconcerted.
“Merial, my husband and I both agree with you on this, speaking as a parent,” Priscilla said evenly, her distant gaze switching back and forth from Sylvie and I. “But, it is best to consider the Greysunders’ view as well. What they say, they say with the entirety of the continent at stake.”
“So what, we cripple the boy and kill the dragon, all for the off chance that the boy might harbor ill feelings toward us and decide to get revenge?” Alduin nearly yelled as he stood up, facing the other leaders.
“Alduin, know your place! Don’t think you are on the same level as us just because you sit here. May I remind you of your inability to even take care of your own lances?” Dawsid growled menacingly as he pointed accusingly at the elf king, “This continent is potentially at the brink of war and you were careless
enough to lose one of our biggest trump cards!”
“Your Majesties. Was I brought here to simply hear my judgment or am I allowed to—”
“You will not speak until you are instructed to!” Dawsid roared, cutting me off. “I refuse to any claims this boy is trying to make. He could say that the God of Iron himself spoke to him and ordered him to do all of this but it does not change what he had done and what he will be able to do if left alone. The scouts are still in the middle of gathering accounts from the witnesses.”
“I see no point in me being here if I am not even allowed to speak and give my account on what happened and why it happened the way it did,” I did my best to control the volume and tone of my voice, but I could tell it was coming out a lot sharper than I had wanted it to.
“You’re right! There is no need for this prisoner to be here. Olfred, lock him up in one of the lower cells and keep him there until further orders. Also, lock his pet in a vault.” Glaudera Greysunders responded for her husband, waving her hand toward us.
“Dawsid, Glaudera, the Council is not for you to run and order as you see fit. Aya!” Alduin growled. Behind him, a figure masked in the shadows kneeled, awaiting a command.
“Stand down, elf! Remember that you only have one lance at your disposal.” There was heavy tension as the elf king and dwarf king locked eyes.
Alduin was the one to concede as he reluctantly sat back in his chair. For a brief moment as I was picked up by Olfred’s stone knight, our gazes met. I could see the unrelenting determination in his gaze as he gave me a firm nod. I bit my tongue and chose to stay silent.
It was obvious that the dwarf king and queen were all for crippling me, while the Glayder’s remained neutral since much is still unknown. I was going to have to rely on Alduin and Merial if Sylvie and I were going to get home unscathed.
As the stone knight carried me through a different door and down a flight of stairs, I tried to talk to Olfred with little results.
Taking a look around, it seemed like your typical castle dungeon where prisoners of war and traitors were held. I was in just one of the many cells, but much of the area was covered by shadows that the light of the few burning torches couldn’t reach.
“This will be your cell, Arthur. Your bond will be placed elsewhere.” The summoned knight carrying me suddenly crumbled into dust upon reaching my dungeon chamber. I landed rather unimpressively on my knees and elbows as Olfred shut the metal cage.
“Ouch, he could’ve warned me,” I muttered aloud, brushing the dust off of my knees.
“That voice. A-Arthur? Arthur Leywin?”
My head bolted up at the sound of the feeble, yet familiar sound.
“Director Goodsky?”
Chapter 100: Intentions
“Director Goodsky?” I sputtered incredulously.
“Y-yes. Although, ‘director’ doesn’t seem to be appropriate anymore seeing as how I was stripped of that title. Who would’ve imagined I’d meet you in here, Arthur,” she replied weakly, and by the audible pant in her speech, it seemed as if she had suffered considerably.
“Stripped of your title? I don’t understand. What is going on here? Why are you here, Director?” I leaned against the metal bars of my cage in hopes to hear her more clearly. From the source of her voice, I deduced that her cell was diagonally opposite my own, but because of the way the torchlights were set up, most of the cells were still in darkness.
“We will get to that later. Arthur, how did you end up being locked up? With your ability, I assumed you would be able to fend well enough for yourself or at least escape if necessary.” There was a hint of despair in Cynthia’s voice as she asked me.
“Tessia was held captive by Lucas and I had to use most of my mana to fight him. When two of the lances appeared, I didn’t have enough strength to escape,” I sighed.
“I...I apologize; I don’t quite follow. The half-elf boy, Lucas?”
It was obvious that Director Goodsky wasn’t aware at all of the recent happenings at her own academy, which I found unsurprising since she would’ve surely been there to help if she had known. I filled her in as detailed as I could in the quiet of the dungeon, only being able to assume that her silence was indication that she was fervently listening.
It was hard to tell whether the other cells had prisoners inside as well, but the information I was revealing wasn’t exactly confidential so I caught Goodsky up until the events of what had just happened with the Council.
“Can you describe for me how exactly the boy, Lucas, seemed to you when you fought against him?” Goodsky asked.
“Apart from the massive increase in his mana manipulation capabilities, I noticed that his physical appearance was different as well. Let’s see, he had this sickly, gray skin tone as well as dark lines, which I assumed to be his veins, running down his face, neck and arms. His hair color had changed too; it wasn’t blond like I remembered it to be, but it was more of a dusty black and white color. The Wykes family had always been known to have a keen fondness of elixirs, no matter what the side effects may have been—”
“No elixir on this continent has the capabilities to enhance the user’s mana core that drastically Arthur. And, you weren’t able to catch a glimpse of what the leader of this whole disaster looked like?” Director Goodsky interrupted, her voice edged with frustration.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t arrive in time to see him. Why?”
“I just wanted to confirm some things, but I think I already have a basic understanding of the whole situation. I knew it was bound to happen, but not this soon. They’re moving forward with the plan much too quickly.” I could hear the director’s footsteps echoing as she paced insider her cell.
“What do you mean you knew it was bound to happen? Who are ‘they’? Director Goodsky, I’m beginning to have a nagging suspicion that I truly hope I could denounce as simply my lack of judgement...”
There was a brief pause from both of us where only the flickering snaps of the torches’ flames broke the still silence of the dungeon.
“I cannot say, Arthur. I am bound by forces beyond anything either one of us can hope to go against. I am truly sorry.”
“A binding? Huh, I see. How convenient. And is there a way to remove this binding?” I asked in response, sounding more sardonic than I had meant to.
“I have searched for decades on this matter, and all were futile,” Director Goodsky let out a deep breath, ignoring my tone.
“Then the reason you are locked up here is because…”
“From what you have told me and based on what I already know, it seems I have been made a scapegoat that the Council wishes to utilize as a convenient excuse for all that has happened recently.”
“Why would the Council need a scapegoat?”
“I cannot say the reason for this as well,” she replied. There was clear frustration in her tone, but not directed at me, but rather at herself. “Arthur, it is painful for me to continue talking about this. Even the very thought of mentioning what I know to someone activates the curse. We should both get some rest; heaven knows we’ll be needing it.”
Letting out a sigh, I stepped away from the metal gate and leaned my back against the rigid, stone wall of my cell. Even without the artifact binding my mana core, I was still unable to use any sort of magic here.
With nothing else to do, my mind began racing with different thoughts.
We were inside of a floating castle located above one of the deepest ends of the Beast Glades. Assuming that I could escape with Sylvie and Director Goodsky, would we even be able to make it out of the Beast Glades alive? Sylvie was out of the question since her recent transformation had left her in a state only slightly better than a hibernating bear. Goodsky was a silver core wind mage, which might be enough for us to fly back.
I backtracked my plan after realizing the three of us would still probably get wiped out. On our way here, the two lances had to constantly release a strong killing intent to ward off any beast. Even the
n, they were cautious enough to hide all of our presences at times. It would be near suicidal to think we can simply fly over the entire Beast Glades.
After what seemed like hours of deliberation, I could only click my tongue in frustration and roll over on the cold floor to try and get some sleep. It was impossible after all. It was becoming harder and harder to push down the sensation of hopelessness creeping up the more I continued to plan for our escape.
BLAINE GLAYDER’S POV:
“What the hell was that, Glayder? I thought we had an agreement?” the former dwarf king barked out after slamming the door of my study.
“Yes. I am well aware what the agreement is. Rest assured, you will have my, and my wife’s, vote, Dawsid. However, even you cannot make me spout out such irrational accusations at the boy who had just saved the entire future generation of this continent, including my children,” I responded icily, pouring myself a glass of aged liquor.
“And, I’m saying that there will be no future generation if you do not side with me! Arthur and his bond has to go. That was the agreement. They have to be brought back to Him if we’re going to even have a future in this continent.”
“I know what the stakes are, Dawsid. I do not need you badgering me every moment you feel insecure. What you and I are doing is betraying the entire population, you realize that, yes?” I hissed, staring at the dwarf who wasn’t much taller than I was even when I was seated.
“It’s not considered betraying if this continent was already bound for annihilation. Blaine, you and I both know what is going to happen to Dicathen, regardless of whether we try to save it or not. We have to look beyond that and try to salvage what’s important to us,” he consoled, his hands gestured in a placating manner.