Scarlet Crypt

The Quest

“Ma’am, your quadrant is required to the headquarters,” Malty said. Cosette looked at him and paused for a while, probably thinking about something. She looked at me and said, “Come with me.” I nodded and we marched towards the headquarters. The headquarters looks like an ordinary building from the outside, but as we stepped inside, like a child in a museum, I gawked at the amazing architecture of the place. The building had five floors underground and in every room that we passed served different purposes. We went inside an elevator and Cosette pressed “-3.” After a few moments, the escalator dinged and it opened. As we stepped outside, we turned to a left and Cosette opened a door that had a sign, “BOARD MEMBERS.” I swallowed the lump inside my throat. I hope that it wasn’t obvious that I was nervous.

“Cosette, good. You’re here,” a man with gray eyes like Cosette’s spoke to us. “He’s my father,” Cosette whispered. I nodded and turned to his direction. “Good morning, sir,” I said. He smiled and continued pressing on the remote for the presentation he was showing to the people inside the room.

“Here is the structure of the castle of the kingdom of Euphrasia. Most of the bedrooms are located at the second floor and five are at the ground floor. The kitchen can be found in the very last room of the west wing, but, that’s not the point here. Cosette” — he looked at her to see if she were paying attention — “you were called so that the chosen members of your quadrant would go to the castle and find out the weak spots of the castle. Here, ” — he pointed on a pentagon shaped room — “is the—”

“Meeting room of The Circle,” I continued.

The people in the room looked at me. I didn’t feel conscious at all, instead my eyes were fixed on him. “It is where The Circle plans everything — tactics, the economy of the kingdom, the people. It is dangerous and, well, comfortable.” I took a step forward and I knew, in that moment, they were very suspicious of my identity. “There are precisely seventeen rooms in the second floor and the very last room of the west wing is the Wine room and not the kitchen,” I said. “How do you know all of these?” a plump woman with red hair asked me. “This room here is the room of Cristoff Morgenstern and here” — I pointed to a triangular room — “is the room of Cyrielle Morgenstern.” “Who are you?” a bald man across the room asked.

I looked at my shoes and held my gaze towards the people inside the room. I observed their facial expressions and I saw that there were several who were looking at me suspiciously. Cosette looked really confused and her father looked amused yet unconvinced. “I am the son of the king of Euphrasia.”

~***~

Most of the men stood and all of the weapons were pointing at me. The facial expression of Cosette’s father was broken and his eyebrows met. “Why are you here, Euphrasian?” Cosette asked. She wasn’t pointing me any weapon, but her eyes almost killed me. “I am not here as a spy. I’m here to defend this group and to help you with this mission. I hate my father for the brutality that he had done to the people and I will never let myself be labeled as a traitor.” Cosette’s father looked at me from head to toe and after a while, he asked, “Do you know if there are any secret tunnels inside your castle?” “All my life, I have been with my father with his meetings and all. And yes, I do know secret tunnels inside the castle.” 

Cosette’s father stood and he said, “I am Oskar Lockheart and I hereby assign you to this mission.” “But father, he’s!” Cosette interrupted. Oskar just raised a hand to silence her and she did. “I do not trust you, boy, but the life of this group and of these people are on your hands. You better be not like your father,” he nodded and for a moment, I felt that he really understood me.

Cosette and I left the room and we headed towards my cabin. While we were at the door, she faced me and I saw that suspicion and confusion were on her eyes. I hate seeing them in her eyes. “I don’t know what your plan is, Euphrasian, but I’m hoping that you won’t blow up. I don’t want to kill one of my most trusted members of my quadrant, because I will, if I have to. Do you understand?” “Relax, I won’t blow this up. I promise.”

We packed few of our clothes and food. Cosette gave me a gas gun. She said it’s much safer and I’m not supposed to use or bring any weapon. I was forbidden, since they learned that I was the king’s son. The gas gun was incredibly heavy, despite its size. I placed it inside my new belt, a gift from Garrick wherein you could place guns and other weapons in it.

When we arrived at Euphrasia, I observed that Cosette was sweating too much and her hands were shaking. “Is there something wrong?” She looked at me and she shook her head. “Nothing,” she said, cutting the conversation. I looked at Elias, a bald dark guy with muscly arms and he just shrugged. I offered her my handkerchief and she took it. She wiped the sweat on her face and gave me a half-smile. I was glad that she did.

The jet plane landed sixteen hundred kilometers away from the kingdom. I never knew this place existed, until Cosette explained to me that this place was abandoned hundreds of years ago. Darkness swallowed Euphrasia and the three moons glowed above us. We picked up our bags and rode on to a specialized motorcycle, designed with unbelievable speed and silence. Elias was leading the way and we arrived at the tunnel in no time. 

“We’re here, boy, where now?” Elias asked. I recognized the door covered with thick vines and leaves. Somehow, I still have the card used as a key for our home. I swiped it and it made a ding sound. Then, the door creaked; the vines pulling away from the door, revealing its true identity. I saw that Elias was astonished with this and Cosette was looking down on the ground. It was as if she was remembering something from her past. I grabbed the door knob and opened it. Inside it was huge, dark tunnel. The torches began to light itself as we stepped inside.

“Hell!” Cosette shrieked. When I turned around, I saw that her left leg was raised and for the first time, I saw in her eyes that she was afraid. “I hate rats!” She glared at us, telling us to move on and continue to walk. Elias and I stared at each other and knew that we were laughing inside. We continued walking and there was a dead end.

“What? A dead end? Are you sure we’re going in the right direction, lad?” Elias asked. His voice was filled with frustration and a little hint of hope. It was not my first time going through the tunnels, so I just gave him a smile and pressed a triangular button with an eye at the center. The ceiling rumbled and everyone’s eyes were looking above. A staircase fell from the ceiling and dust covered us from head to toe.

After some coughs and the rubbing of the eyes, I lead them upstairs, revealing another circular door in which we had to crawl through. “I should go first,” Elias suggested. I looked at him and saw determination and courage in his eyes. I nodded and I gave him the card. “Just swipe it and it will open.” He took hold of the key and he swiped it and the door rotated. A loud thud filled the tunnels and I saw Elias covered with crimson liquid. His blood covering the door filling the staircase.

I grabbed Cosette, but it was too late.