Heirs of Hyarch

The wine cellar was a place Edeline had almost never visited.

Normally, when she had wanted a keg tapped or some bottles brought up, it had been Lendra or another servant that had gone down to take care of it. She could recall a few instances where her father, eager to celebrate some occasion, had gone himself to find a bottle. It just was not considered proper for her to fetch her own wine, so she had not.

Of course, propriety did not matter much any more, given recent events.

The wooden stairs leading down looked a little thin and rickety. She extended one leg, testing it. It creaked, but the top step held under her weight. Carefully and slowly, she moved down step by step into the cellar.

"You sure you don't need a lantern?" Nela said from above.

"Phosphaira," Edeline answered, lighting up the underground room with a greenish hue. Well, calling it a room was putting it generously. It was not much more than a wide corridor, with shelves of wine bottles near the entrance. Further down, two rows of kegs sat against each wall, elevated on carved wooden legs.

The far wall, however, was what drew her attention. More specifically, the gaping hole in it, with broken bricks scattered on the floor near it.

More creaking sounds coming from behind told her someone was joining her. "You see it, don't you?" Myron asked.

"If you mean the hole, yes." Edeline willed the little light to float off her finger, closer to the hole. Even with that, it was impossible to see into it without approaching closer. She recalled the light with a thought, then turned back to Myron, who was standing halfway up the stairs. Behind him, she could see Nela and Hamond peering down at them.

"That's the project I was told to oversee," Myron said, "I was compelled to by that spell."

"Digging out a passage? To where?" Edeline wondered out loud. The cellar ran directly under the house, and across the street were more homes that belonged to some of the wealthier merchants of the town. This seemed far too elaborate for breaking into one of them.

"No, you don't understand. The passage behind that hole was already there. All the laborers I had hired...been made to hire, they just broke down the wall."

"A secret tunnel then?" Now that she said it, it sounded like something out of the stories Edeline had read over the years, tales of adventure and romance. But this was no story. "Do you think our father knew about this?"

"I don't know. I certainly didn't, not until, well...anyway." Myron moved down to stand beside her. "After the wall was broken down, the next step I'd been told to do was send some men in to investigate. I sent in a couple of watchmen."

Edeline glanced back at the hole. "What did they find?"

"I don't know that either," Myron said, "They never came back."

Edeline closed her eyes, certain they would not be seen alive again. More dead men that did not deserve that fate. "And you have no idea what they wanted out of this?"

"The elf who cast the spell was looking for something that's down there, that's all I know. He did have a piece of paper he was carrying, but I never got to look at it." Myron drew back, face pained. "And he wanted you as well."

"It was an elf?" Edeline asked, "Did you get his name? What did he look like?"

"He never mentioned a name. He was thin with long brown hair, and he wore simple clothing...I think." Myron paused, rubbing his forehead. "Sorry, my memory's a little blurry."

"Don't worry," Edeline said quickly. Something about the description bothered her, but the reason why eluded her. "Anyway, whoever he is, he failed to get to me. He can be stopped."

"You've definitely gotten stronger," Myron said, patting her shoulder. "I...I just wish you hadn't turned to...never mind."

Edeline sighed, knowing what he'd been about to bring up. "There are days I wondered what would happen, what would have happened, had I not started studying thaumaturgy. But it is what kept me alive and free. I can hardly regret that now, can I?"

"No. I suppose not." Her brother took a deep breath. "So now what?"

What indeed? Taking back Hallowscroft, while daunting, had seemed simple, but the passage was a complication Edeline had not foreseen. And if there was a different threat down there, it getting loose might be even worse. But if they went down there, they could be trapped down there.

But then again, so could he.

"What were you supposed to do once you finished with the passage?" she asked Myron.

"Wait until he came back." Myron scratched at his beard. "I'm not sure when. Let's see...it would have been three days from..." He paused, face turning pale. "Tomorrow evening."

It was almost midday, so that gave them a day and a half. Not a lot, but if they acted fast, they might could pull this off. "Do you think we could use the passage and cellar as a trap? If he wants something down there so badly, it would make good bait."

"That's a possibility," Myron replied, "Perhaps I could trick him into believing I was still under the spell."

"No. Not happening." Nela all but leapt down to come face to face with Edeline. "You're not risking Ronny falling under that spell again."

"Ronny?" Edeline echoed, giving her brother an incredulous look. Myron shrugged with a sheepish smile.

"Ronny. Got a problem, princess?" Nela spat at her. Edeline paused, realizing the suggestion of putting Myron in danger again had Nela seething, even if it was Myron's own idea. And honestly...no, she wasn't willing to risk it either.

"No, and you're right. Too many things could go wrong with that." Edeline let her voice take on a practiced conciliatory tone. "We'll need to come up with some other plan." Nela visibly relaxed, although her expression was still one of bitter irritation.

"Indeed," Hamond agreed. He stepped down onto the first step, now blocking much of the sunlight from outside. Edeline blinked as her eyes adjusted.

"What do you propose then?" Myron asked Hamond.

"If that Elefae is indeed the Spellking's agent, then most likely what he seeks is magical. Some ancient spell, or tome on magic, possibly buried by an ancestor of yours." Hamond's eyes glittered in the light of Edeline's spell. "So we should try to get to it first."

"Actually go down there?" Nela said, looking over at the opening. "I'm not sure that's a good idea just going right in there. Not if those men vanished."

"We would make preparations first," Edeline said, then stopped as she felt her stomach complain. "But before that, we ought to eat."

"Oh. Right." Nela scowled. "Stupid watch."

Hamond sighed. "I suppose I could go check your kitchen."

"Do not trouble yourself if you do not feel up to it." Edeline did not want to unnecessarily impose on Hamond. Even if the servants were missing or had fled, even if she had no skills at cooking...even if deep down, she wanted him to cook for her.

"If you're offering to cook, I for one would appreciate it," Myron said, "I haven't eaten today either."

Hamond's eyes widened slightly. "I should've realized. I'll see what I can do."

"I could help," Nela chimed in, "But somehow I doubt there's any food down here, so let's get our arses up and moving." Not even waiting for a response, she spun and climbed out of the cellar.

Edeline really could not bring herself to offer any argument to that. Neither did Hamond or Myron, who both followed Nela up into the sunlight. Bringing up the rear, Edeline was forced to cover her eyes as she left the cellar. Aether, how did the servants adjust to going in and out of there while carrying wine bottles?

Blinking, she surveyed the garden. For a moment, her eyes fell on the spot where one of the fruit trees had once stood next to the garden's walls. A scarred and burnt stump was all that was left there, reminding Edeline of that night. Sneaking out to practice her thaumaturgy, not aware that spell would be so powerful...well, now she knew not to.

Starting to turn back to the others, Edeline noticed something odd at the edge of her vision. Deciding they could wait, she trotted over to the far corner of the garden, her curiosity growing.

A patch of dirt here was exposed and churned. An old spade leaning against the nearest wall further confirmed what was already obvious. Someone had been digging up this spot in the garden.

It could not possibly be related to the passage, since that was going in the other direction. In fact, on closer inspection, it seemed more to her that whoever was responsible had been trying to bury something, out of the way. But she couldn't think of what...

...no...there was one very obvious thing that would have needed to be buried.

"What is it?" Hamond asked. She looked up, seeing him approach with Myron behind him.

"Did you know about this?" Edeline directed the question at her brother.

"What in Aether's name?" Myron walked over, looking down. "I don't recall...wait. A couple of watchmen did come through yesterday, one carrying a large bundle. I didn't pay them much heed, or rather, I couldn't. Thinking about it, the bundle almost looked like..." Shock overtook his face as he remembered. "...a person," he finished, pale.

Edeline stood stiffly. Although she still felt grief, part of her was honestly relieved. Grateful, actually. They may have intended this to hide what had happened, but really, it was perfectly fitting as a grave site. All it needed was a marker.

Her maidservant had come home to rest.

"It's her, isn't it," Hamond noted, apparently drawing the same conclusion.

"Her?" Myron echoed.

Climbing slowly to her feet, Edeline turned to face them. She was slightly surprised herself to find that her eyes were clear and dry. "Lendra was slain by the men who first came for me."

Myron stepped backwards as if struck. "Aether's blood...I'm sorry."

"Who's this Lendra?" Nela asked, coming up behind them.

"My personal maid." Edeline didn't like having to explain this again, but it was hardly Nela's fault for not being there earlier. "She sacrificed her life to give me a chance to arm myself, when the watchmen first tried to seize me."

"I think since she'd seen Princess Splendora's death, she'd be willing to do anything to prevent something like that again," Myron added.

"Who is this Splendora, and why do you keep bringing her up?" Nela said, arms crossed.

Edeline glanced at Myron. It was curious that he had not told Nela about that yet, but she supposed it had not been relevant. Well, they had time before they ate, so she might was well tell that story.

"What do you know about the old royal family, the House of Pelagoin?" Edeline started walking back to the house.

"They all got killed by the Spellking, right?" Nela asked, following. "Then a different family took over and declared themselves kings and queens and all that."

"That's...one way of looking at it," Myron said with a slight smile.

"I will not bore you with the details." Edeline suspected an in-depth lesson on history would not sink in with Nela, not in the time that they had available. "What matters here is that when the Spellking's forces laid siege to the capital, several members of the old royal family had fled. One of them was Princess Splendora, who came here to Hallowscroft with a few servants. Lendra was one of those."

"I'm guessing it didn't end well," Nela said.

"It did not. Although the siege was broken, the king and many other members of the House of Pelagoin died. Splendora remained in Hallowscroft for her own safety, but some of the Spellking's hired men slipped across the border, tracked her here, and murdered her."

"Our father himself was wounded, trying to protect her," Myron added. "He still has the scars to show for it, and I think he blamed himself for the princess's death. He disliked it whenever we brought it up."

"I think I get the picture." Nela came to a stop, looking up at the house.

"Good. So let's go eat." Edeline was practically starving now, although she was not about to admit it. Actually, no, why hide it at this point? "I'll take the first dish."

Hamond rolled his eyes and walked past her. Edeline smirked and followed.