"Arys, wake up."
I quickly opened my eyes. I woke up to a familiar space, a cluttered mess, grimy walls, a leaking ceiling, and a faint smell of filth. I see the ceiling fan is still working despite it being covered in clouds of dust. My sink still stinks with undone dishes and cup ramen leftovers. I am back in my room.
Before me is a woman dressed in a motherly blouse, her kitchen apron still fits her even though its colors have worn out. I can almost discern its design but never mind that, it seems like she is unpacking my weekly supply of groceries.
"Mom?" I yawned, I am still feeling a bit tired.
"When will you wake up, Arys…" her disappointed tone still irks me, "You have to wake up."
I roll my eyes in anticipation of another lecture, "I am awake." I got up to approach her.
"No," her voice deepens, horrifyingly, "Wake up."
Suddenly, my surroundings melted, and it became dark. But then, light shoots directly at me.
"Wake up!"
I gasp for air. A burst of lamplight welcomes my eyes, I stumble for a bit, and I realize I am sweating profusely. When my vision settled, Barth held me down, trying to calm me for a bit. It worked, and then I soon had my senses back.
"Good," Barth whispers, "You're awake." he veers the lamp that he is holding away from me.
The first thing I realized was the smell, it is exuding with earthy musk. I look around and I notice the lamp's faint light reveals dusty bottles on the shelves and rows of weathered barrels. The stone floor where I lie is cold, so I sit up while Barth assists me.
"What happened?" I ask, caressing my head, now slowly building a slight pain.
Barth places the lamp down, "I don't know, all I remember was I fainted." he removes the laces of his puffed shirt, "I woke up and I'm here. How about you?"
"Same." my response still weak, "Where's Big Sis? Amelia?" I hastily stand, and a rush of pain suddenly puts me off balance.
He followed and supported me from falling, "I don't know, Garth is nowhere to be found, either."
I grab the lamp from the floor, and the realization that we must be in a serious situation finally kicks in. We must be calm, I must stay focused, or else Barth and I can get hurt. I watch him tie his laces together.
"They didn't take anything valuable," he said as he put his rings and bracelets on the tied lace, "Assuming we are kidnapped."
"Kidnapped after a funeral and a burial, how heartless…" I clench my fists, "Who could've pulled this stunt?"
"I am guessing one of the guests?"
It dawns on me, "It may be one of those rich highborn landowners…"
Barth wears the lace on his neck, hiding the jewelry beneath his shirt, "There's a lot of them. Give me a name and we might figure it out."
"H-Hansel? Lancel? Something like that…"
His face turns furious, "Ansel Daggerhand!"
Immediately, I recognized the name, "Yes, Ansel! Do you know him?"
"He and his family have been harassing mother and father for years," he reveals to me, "Challenging the legitimacy of our fortune and our blood!"
Nobody knows that we are adopted. Everybody wants to know how we got rich. Only our small family consisting of four adopted kids and loving parents knows our secrets. We have oppositions, it is natural for people to feel envy, but we can handle it. But a powerful enemy who challenges our status is new to us.
"Was he in the house during the last rites?"
I nodded, "Yes, I spilled juice on him."
Barth smiles, "Good," he turns around, "But he wasn't invited. So, it's safe to assume that he's the one behind this?"
That would be unfair but if we are in a cellar then that means we are in a big house that can afford racks of wine under their home. We also have a cellar but it doesn't look like this.
"Maybe. Let's find out." I hold the lamp towards our dark path.
The lamp's flickering light reveals a stairway leading up, possibly to the floor above. I glance at Barth, and we both nod in agreement that we are heading that way. As we take our first steps we instantly hear the jingling sounds of keys opening a heavy-sounding door from above.
We immediately look at each other. There is no time to waste. We grab a few bottles and place the lamp in the middle of the floor. We take position on either side of the stairway's last step, hiding ourselves in the shadows, ready to strike.
As the person descends from the stairway, their footsteps grow near, but it stops. We saw their shadow illuminated by the light above, standing. The lamp distraction flickers. Unexpectedly, Barth foolishly shows himself and strikes the bottle at the stranger on the steps.
With haste, I followed his attack, and our bottles shattered. In front of us is a robed individual, their stature stands tall. They seem unaffected by our offense.
"Arys, run!" Barth shouted at the top of his lungs, I obeyed without hesitation. I feel the adrenaline, I feel scared.
But the robed individual blocks my way, he grabs me with only one arm. I turned and saw that Barth was going for a tackle. Our opponent stops him using his other arm. Our weak bodies and measly puppy muscles did not prevail. We fear death, we struggle to free ourselves.
But this individual hushed, "Silence!"
I recognized his voice, Barth was too busy being afraid. I stopped resisting their grasp.
"Barth, be quiet!"
His deep voice resonated even in a mellow tone, "It is me," he said.
Barth soon takes a breather, the robed person lets us go, and then he lowers their hood. Revealing Garth's face.
Barth broke down and whimpered, we both rushed for our savior's embrace. Garth returns the gesture. We finally found comfort but the situation still breeds unease. When our hold on each other ended, the three of us stood up.
"Just the two of you?" Garth looks around the dark cellar.
"Yes. Is Big Sis with you?" Barth asks.
"I woke up on a cell." Garth gently kicks away the pieces of shattered glass on the floor.
I turn around and grab the lamp that we used for distraction, "What about the Baron's daughter?"
"I saw no one important on the way here." our older brother replied with his usual monotone voice.
"We should look for the girls." the lamp flickers as I hold it up.
Barth grits his teeth, "We think the Daggerhand family is behind this, brother!"
"I know." Garth turns around to take a step up the stairs.
We followed, I looked at Barth to see his reaction but he did the same to me.
Barth skips a few steps to get in front of Garth, "So, we should inform the local guards! Organize a militia. We weren't the only ones who were knocked down when we fainted!"
"Yes! I felt weak before I fainted and got here!" I added.
Barth, now out of breath from trying to keep up with Garth who is ascending quickly up the steps, "Brother! I saw it. Some form of smoke… Gas! A discernable mist that just made me feel panicked, weak, and faint!"
"Weak and faint is the same thing." Garth jests, quite unexpected but he does that from time to time.
"No, they're not!" Barth responded with his last breath before stopping from following Garth.
I smirk at the ridiculousness, but I also get tired. How far does this stairway go?
Garth stops as well but only because he wants to wait for us, he still stands tall.
"Must be some kind of magic," Garth starts to undo his robe's laces, "Or worst, alchemy."
"Alchemy?" Barth appears to be shocked.
Magic is a respected and established way of life in Evereal, it made the study of sciences always come last. The structure of this world is so focused on the usage of magic that progress in science and technology is just an afterthought.
But alchemy is the combination of the two. It is a branch that is still considered new. A practice that is taboo.
"Damn it!" Barth shows his frustration, "The Daggerhands dare make themselves enemies to all!"
"Indeed," Garth said and continued ascending the steps. We follow once more, trying to keep up.
I rubbed my chin in disbelief, "But how did you know it was them, brother?"
Garth looks at me with a grin. Finally, we are at the landing of the stairway, the uppermost step. We arrived at a new floor but a door was in front of us. Behind it must be new enemies to face.
Barth and I nervously prepared ourselves for the fight to come. Garth tossed his robe down the stairs and put his hand on top of my head.
"No need, brothers," he said as he calmly approached the door and opened it.
Before us is a scene where a brawl occurred. Scattered are unconscious men on the floor, one of them is even on a table, and another is inside a chest with the rest of his body sticking out.
"I took care of it."