Several knights were standing in the back alleys of the capital city’s square. Standing in front of them were me and Father. Standing before us was a single wooden door.
“Are you sure this is it?” Father asked.
I nodded. “Yes, I saw the robed man made his way here and had one of his friends usher him in.”
“Are you absolutely certain, Feyt? If we barged in there and it proved to be someone’s home, the paperwork would—”
“I’m one hundred percent sure!! I saw that robed man enter here, no doubt about it!”
Father looked at me before turning his gaze thoughtfully to the door. “Very well. If it means catching whoever is responsible, paperwork means nothing!” He turned to the knights behind us, and he cleared his throat regally.
I clutched the sling of the sword on my back instinctively, fingers tightening on the worn leather strap. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝔫𝔢𝔱
“Everyone, listen up! Beyond this door, there’s a chance we would have an encounter with a hostile mage. Are you all prepared for battle?!”
“Yes, Sir!” the knights responded in unison.
“Good!” Father faced the door and walked past me. “Feyt, stay behind us and don't get in trouble.”
I nodded. That was my plan in the first place. The best I could do was listen if there was any thing strange happening and hope Father would trust me enough to believe them.
Father stood still in front of the wooden door. He raised his foot and then—
The door was blasted inside by his kick, the door’s hinges and its splinters flying in all directions. Father and the knights charged in an orderly manner, their hands on their sword hilts. I followed cautiously behind them, my ears on high alert, prepared to pull out my sword anytime.
Once inside the building, we expected to be inside of a house of some sort. But instead, it was just one big barren room with empty crates, with a singular long stair case leading down on the floor.
I couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary in the room, so the only option forward was the staircase. Father instructed two of the knights to stay on the surface in case anything happened. Then, when I was about to follow him down along with his knights, he stopped me by my tracks.
“You stay here too,” Father said. “I appreciate your help in finding this place, but I cannot let you go any further than this.”
“What?! I can’t just stand here!” I blurted out. “I want to help as much as I can! I’m sure there’s something I can do to help you all!”
Father stared at me intently. He walked up to me and placed his hand firmly on my shoulder, never breaking eye contact. “Do you care about this that much, Feyt?”
I nodded. No hesitation. That robed man nearly killed me, it also hurt Leila. I couldn’t let that bastard get away.
Father’s grip tightened as he glared, his gaze felt like it pierced through my soul. But then, he exhaled sharply through his nose. “Do as you want. closely, and don’t stray too far. If things get dangerous, run. Got it?”
“Yes, Sir!” I responded, copying the knight’s intonation.
Father returned to the front of the staircase and began descending slowly. “Tread carefully, men!” Father warned, his booming voice reverberating across the narrow cobblestone stair corridor. “The door breaking should’ve warned them of our presence, so proceed with caution!”
“Yes, Sir!” I responded in unison with the knights.
We continued, the atmosphere heavy with the sounds of the knights’ metal boots and our own heartbeats. We passed by several small chambers on our way down, all of them containing empty crates and barrels. Was this place a storage of some sort?
Although it was only a few seconds since we broke the door in, it felt like minutes had already passed. I was starting to wonder if they had gotten away or something.
That was until I heard a set of heavy and panicked breaths further down. I somehow recognized that breathing pattern as familiar. It could only belong to that robed man. “Fath—Ehem! I mean, Instructor Sareid!” The dense atmosphere nearly made me slip up my tongue. “I-I believe they are still here,” I lowered my voice to a whisper.
“Hm?” He turned his head around. “Did you just call me—” He shook his head, lowering his voice to a whisper too. “No, never mind. Why are you sure they’re here?”
“W-Well,” it would be best if I acted that slip up never happened. “I hear them breathing further down below, probably panicking as we speak with how hurried they sound.”
“—And how exactly can you hear them from here?”
This was like, the third time someone asked me that. “I believe I have [Enhanced Hearing], Instructor. I can hear things from further away than everyone else.” And that was my third time giving that answer.
“How…? I-I see.” Father gave his attention back to descending the stairs. “Very well, I’ll trust you for now. If they are truly down there, we have no time to waste! Let’s hurry!”
With how our voices kept reverberating across the stairwell, I could only imagine the panic those culprits were feeling down there.
And as we went further down, there was no longer any need to imagine things, as I picked up their chatter. I could vividly picture what was happening just from the sounds alone.
“You idiot! You let them follow you?!” A gruff voice shouted.
“I-I-I didn’t hear anyone, I swear!" That robed man responded, quivering. "B-Besides, y-you checked the alley before you closed the door, right? Isn’t this your fault then?! Stop blaming everything on me!”
“Oh, shut up, you outcast mage!" The gruff voice scoffed. "You’re lucky we even hired you after what you did at that academy! Now, think of a way to get us out of this mess! Use your magic to hold off the knights or blast a hole for us to escape!”
“What?! What do you mean you can’t?!”
“Y-You told me to use e-e-everything I got to fire at the castle… So, I-I did…”
“Aghhh!!! You’re totally useless! You know that?!” He slammed his hand on a table.
“S-S-Stop it! St-Stop calling me useless!!!” I hear the familiar cracklings in the air down below. He was... casting another spell?!
“W-Wait, what are you doing?" I heard something heavy, possibly his body, thudding the floor. "S-Stop! Stop right there! Don't you know what will happen if you---”
“Y-You’re just like those teachers! I’ll… I’ll show you, just how powerful I am… and, and then… I’ll show them, hehe, HAHAHA!!!” The cracklings began to grow more audible, like small fireworks.
“AAAAAAAGGHHH!!! SOMEONE SAVE MEEEEEE!!!” The gruff voice turned into a girlish squeel.
Father flinched. “Was that... a scream?”
The knights nodded, confirming Father he heard right.
"That sounded like a girl... Don't tell me they have a hostage?" one of the knights asked himself.
Just from hearing that distant chatter alone, I could vividly picture what was happening down there. From the sound of it, only two people, both men, were inside. And one of them was about to have his life snuffed out by the other.
“Fath—Ehem! Instructor! We need to hurry!”
Father didn’t even hesitate as he nodded. “Let’s go!”
Everyone started rushing down, their rushed footsteps covering each and every space in the stairwell. The air ahead felt suffocating, as I felt we were descending into something far different than just a simple hideout.
Judging from what I’d just heard, we weren’t going to just deal with a mage, we were about to face a mage who lost all reason.
Would we really be alright?