The Lands of Ralosia & Ranuulo (Books 1-3)

Cursed Amulet Chapter 5- Ebonheim

~Chapter 5- Ebonheim~

Jirro, Ruben, Nout, and Kelvin continued through the maze but were largely undisturbed. They noticed the paths had fewer intersections and became a single winding road. Jirro turned a corner and saw a long stone corridor leading to what appeared to be an exit.

"A way out?" Nout said hopefully.

The group jogged towards the exit. When they came out of the maze, they saw a large structure shrouded in fog. A decayed building with many stone spires pierced through it. A largely demolished manor, one that looked like it was without residents centuries.

Nout scratched his head, "Is that the Duchess's manor?"

"Maybe..." Jirro replied, "Should we go inside?"

Ruben frowned, furrowing its stone brows, "It's either go in there or go back into the maze."

Nout said, "It seemed like the maze was leading us here."

Jirro sighed, "We weren't getting anywhere in the maze... Let's check the manor out."

The others hesitantly nodded, and the group headed into the building. Several boulders were laid out on the dried-out lawn leading to the manor, and one of the long vertical doors of the manor's entrance had been twisted off.

The manor would've been poorly lit if not for the many holes dotting the ceiling. More spires of stone winded through the structure, something the kids were very wary of.

Wide open hallways, ornate decorations, and grand venues made up the manor, though all of them were aged and ragged. The blue carpets lining the halls were tearing apart at the seams, and anything metal had rusted.

They came upon a hall with many portraits on the wall. These were surprisingly well maintained, as if they had averted the decay of time. The first portrait was a painting of a large group of people in elegant clothing. Dresses, suits, all of them with blonde hair and blue eyes. At the center was a woman wearing the most ornate of the dresses. It appeared to be a family, with that woman acting as the head of the family. Perhaps a Duchess? Beneath the portrait, there was a plaque with the transcription 'Age 500.'

"Whoa!" Jirro remarked, "This painting is from almost 500 years ago."

Ruben and Nout inspected the next portrait. A similar-looking family was in the painting, but a different woman was acting as head of the family there. Many of the individuals in the portrait looked familiar but were aged. The plaque beneath read, 'Age 525'.

As they continued down the line, the portraits seemed to show the same family across each generation, each with twenty-five years between paintings. The family maintained the same blonde hair and blue eyes through each photo.

Nout placed his hand on one of the paintings, "It looks like you'd fit right in with this family Jirro."

"Because of the blonde hair?"

"Yeah. Maybe you're related to them."

Jirro nodded, "Apparently my mom came from a family with money. It'd make sense if these people were my ancestors."

"There's a Densius in the family!" Ruben shouted, pointing to one of the paintings. Jirro looked and saw a tall Densius standing behind most of the family in the photos. Its stone arms were folded behind it, and it stood in a poised and proper manner. Its eye stones were dark black. Jirro couldn't help but think it looked sad.

The same Densius appeared in every portrait. While the family aged and passed away, that Densius was everlasting.

Nout asked, "Ruben, how long are Densius able to live?"