Dragonfire II: The Twilight Invasion

Chapter 22: The Mansion

After a day of traveling, Gabriella and Goltač made it to Illicen. It was a little before sunset when they arrived, and thus people were still walking around the city. The city itself had a very similar design to Celestia. Most buildings were white, with black slanted roofs. There was greenery all throughout the city to give it life, just like in Celestia. The reason for this was that Illicen and Celestia used to be one. Both Illicenians and Celestials shared an ethnicity, though their physical attributes slightly differed. This led to some minor conflicts, and ultimately disagreements that fully divided them into two. Not long after, Illicen created its own Kingdom just off the mountain of Celestia. They carried much of the same culture, albeit Illicen had some unique culture of its own. For this reason, some spots in the city were filled with varied colors and unique building designs, a stark contrast to Celestia's fluid design. They found themselves in one such colorful area, with banners strung and buildings painted every color imaginable. This was the busiest part of Illicen, the market district. From there, the two asked around about an "Aaron Anwir." No one seemed to have an answer to any of their questions. Yet one thing remained constant; the mere mention of his name seemed to ensue fear. Gabriella was about to ask a passerby about him, only to stop when she heard an adorable sound. She turned around, looking for the source. To her surprise, there was a gray cat sitting at her feet. It had beautiful - albeit strange - glimmering red eyes. It was staring at her, mewing for her attention. "Aww...hi there. Who are you?" Gabriella asked, reaching down to pet it. It accepted the petting cheerfully, looking up at her with curious eyes. 

"Are you alone out here?" Gabriella asked. She looked around for anyone else paying attention to the cat. Everyone was just passing by it, however, and it did not have a collar. It seemed it was a stray. "I'm sorry...I wish I could help you." Gabriella said. She began walking away, only for the cat to mew loudly. She felt bad, but she couldn't do anything to help it. She went to ask another passerby about Anwir but was stopped as the cat pawed at her leg. "Well, it seems to have taken a liking to you." Goltač said. Having retrieved her attention, the cat simply continued staring at her. "I don't have anything for you...I'm sorry." Gabriella said. She started to walk away once more, but the cat wasn't going to allow it. It pawed at her leg firmly, getting her attention back. "You know...if you keep giving it attention it's going to keep following you." Goltač said, "Well, there's a ton of people in this crowd. I didn't ask to be the one person this cat came up to..." Gabriella responded. At that moment, she recalled something Lady said earlier in the day. "'People really should pay more attention to animals...'" She mumbled, "What?" Goltač asked, "Do you...have something to show us?" Gabriella randomly asked. The cat turned around, looking back at her to make sure it maintained her attention. It took a few steps forward, keeping its eyes on her. She followed, and it began walking off. "'...Sometimes there's more to them than meets the eye...'" She said, trailing the cat. Goltač followed in confusion. "Well, this is new." He said, "A friend of mine told me that earlier." Gabriella responded, "A friend, huh? Interesting." Goltač said, "Mhm. You might've met her around Celestia. She's a merchant named 'Lady.' Blond hair, golden eyes...kinda weird..." Gabriella responded, "...I see." Goltač said. His pause seemed indicative of something, though what that was remained unknown. 

The cat led them through the bustling streets, before stopping in front of a large building. The building maintained the Celestial style, at least on the exterior. It was five stories tall, with countless windows. The building was on top of a hill, isolating it from the rest of the surrounding area. There was a wall surrounding the hill, preventing any entry that wasn't through the gate. And naturally, the gate was guarded. "Those guards are using the same gear as the men I overheard talking about Lucille. This must be the place." Goltač said, "Something tells me they aren't inviting people in for dinner..." Gabriella responded. Goltač nodded. "We'll have to find some way inside. Perhaps we could try scaling the wall..." He said. Despite having already led them to their destination, the cat began mewing for their attention once more. "What is it...? Do you have something else to show us?" Gabriella asked. The cat took a few steps away while ensuring it still had their attention. They began following it once more, uncertain of where it was taking them. After a few minutes, they found themselves in a graveyard. The cat walked through the entrance to a crypt, waiting for them to follow. "Why is it leading us in there...?" Gabriella asked, "I don't know, but it led us to the mansion. I think we should keep following it." Goltač answered. They did exactly that, following it below ground into a stone crypt. They ended up in a tunnel, with coffins lining either side of it. Goltač summoned a small flame, lighting the way through the dark path. As they walked through the tunnel, a chill ran down Gabriella's spine. "Is it just me, or is this super creepy...?" She asked. She received no response, though her words were certainly heard.