Adventure of Exiles

They made to an abandoned house on the outskirts of Wittenden.

Felix looked at the house and asked, “Are you sure this is the place, Jan?” Felix asked.

The house was made of stone and was two stories tall. Ivy grew on the walls. There were a couple broken windows.

“Oh, I’m very sure. It’s the same as I remembered it. I saw this place many times in my nightmares. No one lives here anymore. The place was left to decay after the incident.”

Felix went to the door. It was locked with a cheap looking cast iron padlock.

“Wish Alvar bothered to give me a key. Give me a second.” He knelt and pulled out a lockpick and tension wrench out of his bag.

Lisa watched him with interest.

Felix put the pick and tension wrench inside the lock and started to feel around for the pins.

After a few seconds he managed to line the pins up and unlocked the door.

“Ah. Done.”

He then removed the lock from the door and opened the door.

Lisa clapped.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Jan asked.

“You learn a thing or two on the streets of Breslow.” Felix replied.

“A thief and a street fighter? What a combination.” Jan commented as he opened the door to the house.

“Well, you don’t get much choice on what you want to be in the slums.” Felix replied as he went through the door.

“Humph. Sounds rough.”

They were inside the entry hall of the house. The wooden floors were worn and dirty.

The inside was a mess furniture scattered around the house, dusty and grimy. Bloodstains on the floor and walls.

Lisa shivered a little as she looked around, “creepy. Where should we start looking, Felix?”

“I’m not sure. Just look around. Jan, can you think of anything?”

Jan was stood there silently at the doorway.

“You still here, Jan?” Felix asked.

“It’s just how I remember it in my dreams...or rather nightmares.” Jan muttered he then rubbed his eyes.

“No, unfortunately not. This house is a vague memory to me and at the time the military rushed me out of here. They wanted to hush up this incident as quickly as possible.” Jan continued as he then started to check the bookshelves.

Felix sighed and started to check around the room too.

He checked the kitchen, a mess of plates and cups. Like it was abandoned in a hurry.

Felix opened the cupboards. Inside were more plates, goblets, and cups. Some rotting food, nothing out of the ordinary.

He turned back to see Lisa tinkering with something.

“What are you up to, silly girl?” Felix asked as he leaned down to Lisa.

“Just tinkering with something that will help us...and done!” Lisa then showed a thopter.

“Eh? The children’s toy? How it is going to help.”

“Just watch.” She said as thopter took flight it was glowing in a pale blue light.

“See? Now it should help us search the house. The thopter has a basic searching enchantment now and can detect magic.”

“Interesting. So, if you were to search for magical item, how would it work?” Alex said as he watched the thopter fly.

The thopter then flared up in an intense blue light.

“Arrgh, my eyes!” Felix said as he reflectively went to shield his eyes.

“Oops, sorry.”

“Ah, whatever.” Felix went over and checked the where the thopter was with the light now fading.

Hmm? He moved over a small carpet and felt the floorboard.

There was an ethereal looking pad lock securing a handle.

Felix pulled out his lockpicking tools when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Jan looking down at him.

“What are you doing, bird brain? That’s an arcane lock.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“It’s a magical enchantment making the lock more secure.” Lisa explained.

“Humph. Is there literally nothing magic could do? What next, I get turned into a sheep or something?”

“Don’t tempt me.” Jan said as his staff glowed. He then began chanting.

“Huh? Can you actual? You better not. I would trample all over your face.”

Jan rolled his eyes and completed his chant, the lock on the floor hatch stopped glowing and was a normal black cast iron.

“Try now.”

Felix picked the lock opened and flipped open the hatch.

It looked to be a basement with a ladder leading down. Looking down it was pitch black.

“Let’s see what is down here.” Felix said.

“...you first.” Jan replied.

“What? Bitch, it’s just a room.”

“Do you have nerves of steel? There is something sinister down there! I can feel it.”

Felix felt Lisa grab his arm, “yeah, me too. Something down there feels bad.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll go down first.” Felix said as he hopped down.

When he landed the first thing that greeted him was a smell of rot. He then saw a torch rack next to him.

“It’s fine. Just smells bad. Come on down.”

Jan climbed down.

Followed by Lisa, Felix helped her down and then pointed at the torch, “a little help here?”

Lisa touched her staff against the torch and it lit.

Felix held it up. They were in a dirt passageway with wood pillars. There was a wooden door on the other end.

“Thanks, girl. What’s with that look Jan? Haven’t you been down in this basement before?”

Jan nodded, “I have but this area...this is new. The smell of rot, this is wrong. This place has been abandoned. So why would it smell like this? I feel nothing but dread emanating from that door.”

“What exactly happened last time you were here?”

“Erick was in a state of panic, he was screaming. By the time we were able to storm the building we found her daughter standing over him, having ripped him to shreds. His daughter transformed and laughing with a voice not her own. By the grace of the Goddess Herta, we were able to contain her and dispel the curse over her...I don’t like talking about it, haunts me to this day.”

“That’s awful.” Lisa said with concern.

“Which is why I’m here. I must know the truth of what happened here. What’s beyond this door.” Jan said as moved past Felix and opened the door.

Felix sighed, “come on. We can’t let him do this alone.”

Felix and Lisa followed him into the next room. Felix looked around.

This room was more furnished and organized than the upper floor. It had a work desk with papers and scrolls. It had a small table with three chairs. A bed and a small cabinet.

“Looks like this was Erick’s study.” Lisa commented.

“Oh, my looks like we have some guests. Welcome.” Said a feminine voice who emerged from the back of the study.

She was a tall and beautiful blonde woman...previously. Now? Her face was distorted into a manically smile where the skin around her mouth was rotted. Her eyes were pitch black.

Felix looked at her in surprise, “Ingrid?”

The woman laughed, “oh my! You know my name! A name given to me out of love, by my dearest husband.” She vaguely gestured behind her.

Jan recoiled, “you! You aren’t Ingrid! I know your true name you foul creature, Lyndis. The knight of delusions.”

Lyndis sighed, “oh it’s that boy again. Not content with ruining things just one time?”

“I came back to finish this.” Jan said as he readied his staff.

“I just want to be left in peace with my husband.” Lyndis said as she then pulled up a decaying corpse.

“By the gods! Is that Erick?” Felix asked drawing his own sword.

“Why of course! I promised Ingrid that I could bring her husband back. I promised Erick to uncover more secrets of the ancient era. I promised Lena that I would make daddy come to his sense. The yearning for fictitious past only after realizing what’s been lost. That’s truly delusional.”

“Shut up you monster!” Jan said as his staff flared up into a red flame.

Lyndis looked over at Jan.

“Please! Mommy! Anyone help me!” She screamed in a child’s voice.

“It hurts, mommy! I don’t want to die!” She squealed in anguish like she was lit on fire.

Jan went wide eyed, his arm trembled to hold the staff. He started to breath heavily. Beads of sweat forming on his face.

“Don’t let her fool you, Jan!” Felix shouted.

“You don’t understand! I never meant to hurt anyone...I tried to save you, Lena!”

Lyndis lunged forward. Jan didn’t try to avoid.

Just shock and horror.

He just stared at her and let out screams.

Blood curling screams like a dying animal.

Felix moved to defend Jan.

Lyndis moved fast. Having to need to move he was caught flatfooted. Felix caught a swipe of her talons with his sword but the follow up cut his chest.

Felix grunted in pain as scarlet red blood spattered the room.

“Miserable bitch!” Felix said as he slashed forward his sword crackling with lightning.

Lyndis moved back out of reach.

“My my. What a violent man you are.” She spoke.

Felix kept his focus and kept his forward momentum.

Lyndis raised her talons defensively.

Flicking his wrist, Felix slashed down catching the arm.

Lyndis screeched and slashed back with her free hand.

Felix stepped into the blow and stabbed her through the stomach. Lightning surged into her body.

Her body jerked and seized as she let out a scream of agony. She then pulled out his sword from her body.

She shrieked at Felix.

The moment he heard the scream, he felt a pain throughout his body. He felt to the floor of the basement.

His head was spinning, he was feeling a mix of emotions and had a sudden urge to vomit.

Felix could hear Lyndis snarl and approaching him.

Shit. Get the fuck up, idiot.

Too late the talons swing down on Felix.

The talons slammed against a blue barrier protecting Felix and she recoiled of.

He looked to the side to see Lisa with her staff glowing in a bright light pointed at Felix.

“Get up, Felix!” She cried.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

He got back unsteadily on his feet.

Felix angrily turned back to Jan, “what are you doing? Fight!” He snapped.

Jan looked at Felix, his eyes still wide eyed and was looking around wildly.

“I failed Felix...I killed a child! I lied to Lena and told her everything will be ok. Look at what happened to her mother and father, I failed.”

“Are you serious right now? Get it together, Jan.” Felix said as he grabbed Jan by the collar of his jacket and slapped him.

“You are the one who wanted closure. Put her to rest and be done with it.”

Jan rubbed his face and turned to Lyndis.

“Yes...I need to put her to rest…the least I can do for this family.” Jan said as he took a deep breath.

Lyndis motioned with her arm and shattered the barrier.

She didn’t seem too bothered by being literally stabbed Felix thought.

With a bored expression on her face. She looked at Felix and Jan, “put me to rest? Like you did the first time when you and your friends burned a child alive?”

“You monster, you possessed her and used her to kill her own father!”

“I did what she asked. As Erick died, his madness did abate in the end.” Lyndis licked off the blood from her talon.

She looked contemplative and then her face broke out into a wicked grin.

“Oh my! Why Felix, you have so many more regrets. You been a naughty boy, haven’t you?”

Felix gritted his teeth from the pulsing pain of the talon slash. He raised his sword, “do you worst.”

“Is that a good tone to have young man?” Her voice...changed.