The Fallen World

House Konnen - Part 3

     An hour later, Diana was released from her chains, her silver caroli flower was returned to her, and she was allowed to heal her brothers, hanging unconscious on their racks. Then the three wizards were released as well, and after one last look at the two soldiers they were led out of the torture chamber and up a flight of steps to the mansion itself.

     “You won’t leave them there, will you?” Diana asked one of the soldiers accompanying them.

     “Don’t worry, miss,” said the soldier with a grin. “They’ll get a nice, cosy cell, and so long as you all behave yourselves nothing will happen to them.”

     “And how long will they stay there, locked up in a tiny cell?” asked Thomas.

     “That’s up to his Lordship,” replied the soldier.

     They already knew the answer, though. Lord Basil would never let them go. He couldn’t take the risk that they might try to take revenge on him. He would use them for as long as he could and then kill them as soon as the danger they represented outweighed their usefulness. Unless they could find a way to escape, Shaun and Matthew would never leave their cells alive, and none of them would ever return to Tharia.

     The flight of stairs rose past the ‘ground’ level of the mansion, the level that contained most of the rest of the city of Kronosia, and went straight up to the first floor; the floor containing all the bedchambers and bathrooms. At the top of the stairs was a door and, going through it, they found themselves in a wide, luxuriously decorated corridor illuminated by glowing globes of marble hanging at intervals from the ceiling. A beautifully patterned carpet covered the floor and paintings depicting tranquil, idyllic scenes of Agglemonian country life hung on the wood paneled walls.

     There was a fancifully uniformed houseman waiting for them, and the soldiers turned them over to him before returning the way they'd come. "Welcome to the Konnen mansion," he said, smiling pleasantly. "Your rooms are waiting for you. If you'll follow me?"

     He led the way, and the questers followed wordlessly. They had no choice.

     The corridor had one fancifully carved wooden door on each side, facing each other, but at its end it opened out into a much larger passage, almost wide enough to be considered a very long room and so long that it clearly ran the entire length of the mansion. Pedestals were set on either side on which the busts of famous historical characters were set along with, they were willing to bet, notable past members of the Konnen family.

     The houseman took them along it, strolling unhurriedly, and they passed many other ornate wooden doors, each presumably leading into a bedchamber. They also passed a maid in a pretty blue and white uniform carrying a pile of clean linen who stared at them in surprise as they went past. After they’d gone some distance they came to another smaller side corridor which contained two doors side by side and the houseman opened one of the doors for them, inviting them to precede him in.

     They found themselves in one of the most extravagantly luxurious bedchambers they’d ever seen. Only the bedrooms in the shrine of the Sceptre of Samnos exceeded it in comfort and elegance. It was huge, and contained a pair of giant four poster beds separated by a low bedtable, opposite which was a connecting door into the next room. Various cupboards and dressing tables stood against the walls along with a washbasin full of warm, soapy water and a wide variety of soaps, towels and flannels hanging by ropes from the wall beside it. A huge wardrobe stood with its doors wide open revealing a vast quantity of ladies clothing, most of which were furs and silks. An aroma of expensive perfume hung in the air and their feet sank an inch into the pure white, deep pile carpet that covered the whole floor.