Infused with Darkness

Chapter 8

Zuwha shivered as the cold of the hallway hit him. It was windy in there and ice cold, but the candles didn't even flicker in the wind. Were those enchanted as well?

Vespana noticed Zuwha looking at the candles and figured what he was thinking about. 'They have spells on them. They never burn out. If they did, we'd be stuck in the dark and it'd be even colder.'

'Raglein says he can't feel cold,' Roshiro said, looking at the wall as they walked on. Then Zuwha noticed he wasn't looking directly at the wall, but something before it. Yet there was nothing there.

'Who's Raglein?' Zuwha asked, confused.

Roshiro hesitated, rubbing his index finger with his other hand. The corner of his mouth twitched and he sighed. 'He's my friend. You can't see him since he's.. a ghost. But I can see and hear him. He's basically always been there for me.'

'You see ghosts?' Zuwha blurted out, surprised. He thought ghosts were invisible. Once they died, they went to the Underworld, to Mafrel's realm. He never knew they lingered, let alone that someone can see them or talk to them.

'Yeah. I can..' Roshiro looked away, at the ground. Vespana walked over to him and patted him on his shoulder.

'It's alright. It's normal here. Don't worry about it,' the elf said, trying to comfort Roshiro. The boy looked at Vespana, then at something Zuwha couldn't see and sighed.

'I guess. Thanks,' he mumbled softly. Zuwha felt kind of bad for causing such a reaction in the other boy.

'I'm sorry,' Zuwha said, not sure what else to say. He just hoped it was enough to make up with the boy. He didn't want to have bad blood within the first hour of meeting someone.

Roshiro looked at Zuwha and smiled slightly, though it didn't reach his eyes. 'I'm used to it. Back in my town they used to call me crazy as well, they never believed me.'

The three walked on in silence, exiting the building. Zuwha blinked a few times against the bright light again. The light the candles gave was nowhere close the light of the sun. Zuwha looked at the building Druji had called the mess hall earlier. Like he'd seen during the tour, the mess hall was made out of the same gray stone all other buildings were. But unlike the other buildings, you could hear a lot of noise coming from the hall.

A bolt of light flew through a window, nearly hitting Zuwha and the two others. Zuwha yelped in surprise and fear. Roshiro hid behind Vespana, who just walked on as if nothing happened. Zuwha looked at the elf, wondering how she could be so calm.

More screams and yells came from inside the mess hall. Vespana sighed. 'It's safer for us to wait a while. If you enter now, you might get killed.'

'You say that as if you're used to things like this,' Zuwha said, frowning. How could anyone be used to something like that? And how did she talk so calmly about getting killed?

'I used to be in human settlements. They often had fights,' she explained, shrugging. Her face was void of emotions, her tone flat. Zuwha decided it was better not to ask more things.

They waited there next to the entrance. Zuwha peeked through the open doors, looking at the huge mess inside. Mages of all ages were battling eachother. Bright flashes of light erupted, explosions happened and lightning crackled loudly. The scent of blood filled the air. Some bodies were scattered on the ground, other people were wounded. It was horrible.

Zuwha looked up when he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was the man he met earlier, the magister, and he looked furious. Zuwha stared at the magister for a second and then quickly moved aside. The man walked into the building with big, angry steps. The moment the people inside realised the magister was there, the entire hall fell silent, except for the ones that were groaning in pain.