The Underground Review

Chapter 3

              In the blink of an eye, I was transported from my shared room at the orphanage, to what appeared to be an office of some kind. The two strange men were clearly exhausted, yet still pacing the small room fervently.

"Good, you decided to join us." Dantor exclaimed happily, though still rattled.

Before I can respond, Zenitha came through the portal, of which closed right behind her, "Well, that was close." She said as she turned around to verify the portal was closed.

The three of them were catching their breath so I decided to take a good look around the room. It was clearly an office, but it also felt like a bizarre trophy room. Aside from the few bookshelves with large leather bound tomes, there were so many shelves with peculiar items strewn about. I could see what looked like a large crystalized eye, various strange weapons on display, and the heads of strange creatures mounted on the walls.

"Not the most ideal room to pop into without any pretext, I know." Zenitha came close and placed her hand on my shoulder, startling me a little.

"What is all of this?" I asked her.

She gave the room a quick glance with a smile, "This is my quarters, and these are only some of the things that you will soon become familiar with. Everything will start to make sense soon enough, but first we need to take you to see the headmistress."

"Who all knows I'm here?" I asked. It felt like everyone knew about me, yet I knew nothing.

She gave me a quizzical look, "Just the headmistress and us in this room. No one expected your house sigil to show up tonight during the Royal Call."

"Royal Call?" I repeated, more confused than before.

Dantor stepped in, "It's a lot of information, but the Headmistress will be able to clarify more clearly than we could. Afterall, it was her who sent us to retrieve you, we're just your escort."

"Ok, where's the Headmistress?" I asked them.

Zenthia placed her stone on the ground and created another portal, "This way". She directed.

"Why didn't we just go there first?" This just felt like extra steps.

"The portals are doors, they create a pathway that can only be reselected once closed properly. In order for us to choose a new destination, we must close the door, to go back through the portal. It's all stuff you will learn." Zenitha elaborated. Magic sure was odd.

I looked around the room one last time, "Thank you, I think." I said to the group, unknowing whether or not it was justified.

Dantor simply nodded and smiled at me, Krato was more vocal, "They knew who to get for a tough mission, but no thanks necessary, just doing our duty." He responded in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"We were the only ones available," Zenthia retorted coldly, "after you Chase." She motioned for me to walk through her portal.

I didn't wait any longer, I needed answers sooner rather than later. The longer this encounter drew, the more questions that were raised. When I stepped into the other side of the portal, I was transported to a massive room, much like a fantastical museum. Strange objects were displayed on pedestals, floating ornaments emitted just enough light to illuminate the room but not overwhelmingly so. One thing was clear, the headmistress loved gold and silver, as nearly every item was a combination of the two.