•~•
Umbra led the five children down several flights of moldy stone steps.
At the bottom of the steps was a passageway, also made of stone. The air was chilly, and Shanae wished that she had worn a jacket. Lining the sides of the passageway were numerous iron doors. There were no gaps in the doors. Numbers were carved into each door.
"This ought to be obvious," said Umbra, "But the cells drain your magic. If you were to step inside, you would be unable to use magic."
"How do the prisoners eat?" asked Shanae.
"The doors are magical. Food can go through, but people can't," explained Umbra, "Usually, sound can't go through, but if you're a Master, you will have a master key. Each Master has one. The master key can configure the doors, though only three keys combined can open the door. The Masters have to vote to release any prisoners. Unless they're not serving life sentences. In which case they may leave when their allotted time is up. Ah, here we are."
Umbra stopped outside a cell door. It's number was 21. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. It was silver, and tiny gems were speckled over it. He tapped the key to the door. There was a decidedly unexciting and disappointing clink.
The door became transparent. The cell was a small cube. The walls were stone. The floor was stone. The bed (thank goodness) was not stone, but it was a rather small, unimpressive bed, that Shanae seriously doubted could support Sordul. Sordul was standing in the center of the room, staring straight at them.
"You were expecting us," said Umbra, sounding slightly surprised.
"The Master Key has a distinct smell. It emanates wizardry. I can detect it," said Sordul, coldly. Shanae recalled that there were three types of magic. Sorcery, wizardry, witch craft. Sorcerers could only perform one kind of magic, wizards could do a wide range of things with spells, witches specialized in casting spells on living things.
Sordul stepped closer to the door. Even in the cell, he was an imposing figure.
"You asked for the children. They are here," said Umbra.
"I can see that," said Sordul.
"Why did you want to see us?" asked Lifei.
"I have something to tell you. No doubt the council is worrying about what to do about the Nightmare Army. You must find the Sword. The Sword of Eternities. It was made by the Firsts, long ago, when one of their descendants stole the Sword. I was ignorant of the charms and spells on the Armor. Now I understand it better. The Firsts enchanted the Armor so that only one who was at least half First. Over the years, your blood was contaminated by sorcerer blood. Gradually, you became less than half First. But then, when your blood mixed with Wan Sin's, when she was poisoned, Wan Sin became more than half First. Thus she could use the Armor. The Sword ought to have similar enchantments. Wan Sin is the only one who can use it to stop the Nightmare Army. It is also the only weapon that I know for sure has a chance of defeating Ymorag's master," said Sordul.
"Who is he?" asked Umbra.
"I cannot say," responded Sordul.
"What? Why?" asked Lifei, incredulous.
"I think he's been threatened," muttered Cassandra, "That's it, isn't it?"
"Indeed," said Sordul.
"Who was it?" asked Lifei.
Sordul remained silent.
Suddenly his eyes widened. He fell to the ground, gasping for air, then-
He exploded.
Bits and pieces of Sordul went flying everywhere. Blood splashed along the walls, pieces of white bone went skittering everywhere, and what appeared to be a piece of his brain slapped against the cell door. Shanae gaped, shocked. One moment Sordul had been there, whole and alive, and the next he was just... all over the place. Even if he had been a traitor, nobody deserved to die like that.
The piece of brain fell off the door. It landed on the floor.
Uro's eye twitched.
•~•
The children had been sent back to their lessons. Melody had looked as though she might be permanently traumatized, but they had taken her to the Infirmary, where the doctor had assured them that she was merely shocked. She gave Melody a spoonful of red liquid, and Melody was fine again. None of the Children could concentrate. If Melody had been paying any less attention, Cassandra would have taken her head off. Fortunately, Cassandra was paying even less attention to their combat lesson than Melody. Lifei had accidentally made a seed grow too big, and it had nearly squashed the instructor. Shanae was nearly bitten by the snake, at which point Kate decided to give her a break. Wan Sin's instructor had taken one look at Wan Sin's distracted face and decided that she would rather give Wan Sin a break rather than have her head blasted off. Meanwhile, Aunty Nani and Aida were fuming.
"WHAT?!" demanded Aunty Nani, "Sordul BLEW UP?"
Umbra grimaced, "Can you not say that? It sounds so... messy."
"What word would you rather I use?" she demanded.
Umbra shrugged, "Popped."
"Do you even know how this was DONE?" demanded Aida.
"We believe that thousands of tiny bombs were injected into Sordul's bloodstream. They were remote controlled," said Uro.
"You know what this means, don't you?" asked Aunty Nani, "There's a traitor. One of the people in this room, assuming the traitor isn't one of the children, one of the people in this room is a traitor."
"Why do you say that?" asked Master Armatus, his voice distressed.
"The killer knew that the children were going to interrogate Sordul. That's why Sordul is dead," said Aida, her voice quiet.
"Enough," said Vivus, "The traitor can wait. We have more important things to do. Sordul mentioned that it would be a good idea to brief you two with the children. We obliged. Now we understand why. Sordul has set a task. Find this 'Sword of Eternities'. Use it to destroy the Nightmare Army."
Umbra coughed, "If I may interject. Wan Sin claims that the Armor of Creation, the Armis Creaturae, nearly overwhelmed her when she used it, which was why she chose to destroy it, so that its magic would not consume her. We must acknowledge the fact that the Sword may be the same. Wan Sin may only be able to do small things with the Sword. Certainly not obliterate an army."
Vivus turned her gold and silver eyes on him, and he cringed slightly. "What then do you suggest?"
"Destroy the portal," said Umbra, "The one connecting Earth and the Betwixt."
There was a moment of stunned silence. Umbra took the opportunity to speak again, "Now, this may seem like a foolish idea-"
"It's a stupid idea!" bellowed Armatus, "You will destroy the world as surely as the Nightmares will!"
You see, there is an ancient theory that if the Dimensions were ever to disconnect from one another, the world would end. The entire Multiverse would die.
"Now, now, Armatus. Who's the Dimensional Science expert here? That's right, me. I have thought about the world ending theory at all angles, and have decided that it's not possible. Hakuna your tatas, my friend," said Umbra.
"I assume you want me to lead the children to the Sword," said Aida.
"You do know the location, right?" asked Uro.
"I am the mouthpiece of Korina, one of the Firsts. Of course I know," snapped Aida.
"Great-" started Umbra.
"Not so fast," said Aida, "It's not as easy as just walking up to the Sword and picking it up. There's a defense mechanism. And you need the password to unlock it. Four serial numbers."
"Oh," said Umbra.
"I know where the first number is. In theory, we should be told the location of the numbers by the other caretakers," said Aida.
"Very well," said Uro, "You two will take the children and-"
"And me!" said Umbra. Everyone looked at him.
"I am a scholar. I could write a paper about the Firsts from this," said Umbra.
"Point taken. All in favor?" asked Uro. He raised his hand. So did Master Armatus and Mistress Vivus.
"Father the children. Pack your bags. You leave as soon as possible. The Nightmares will arrive in..?" Uro looked at Umbra.
"Five days," said Umbra.
"You heard him. Hurry along, and save the world. Try not to die," said Uro.
