A Myriad of Mysteries

05

They were only a few feet away from the gates when they heard the hiss of a snake and the caws of a crow. Two marticules leaped in front of them.

The one on the right had a snake's body the size of a human. It had the wings of a dove, the hind legs of a rabbit, and the front paws of a rat. The maticule on the left was a crow who had the antennas of an ant and the feathers of a chicken which made the bird appear white.

The snake-like creature slithered and wrapped its body around Romina. The woman drew her daughter closer to her in an attempt to shield her from the squeezing serpent's scales. It slithered towards the direction where they had left Datino.

Once again, Eirisinia froze in place, unable to comprehend what had just unfolded infront of her very own eyes.

How are we going to escape?!

A hand grabbed her and dragged her towards the marticule. "If we could get past that monster then we can think of a new plan to rescue Datino and Romina, along with their daughter." Reyzenar's determination seeped through his voice. Eirisinia swallowed the guilt building up inside her and followed his lead.

The crow-like creature flew towards their left and rammed the both of them using its steel like body. Reyzenar's back bounced on the rock wall as if someone had banged a drum. He shielded Eirisinia's impact using his body and the both of them leaned back on the wall.

The wall opened its mouth and swallowed them whole. Leaving the marticule crow confused upon their sudden vanish.

It was a dimly lit room hidden among the rest. One dying torch illuminated the assymmetrically oval, almost cave-like room.

They heard the clanking of chains behind them. As they slowly turned around, they saw a small figure in front of them. It was a little girl not older than twelve, sleeping on the floor.

She was slumbering peacefully even though every limb of her small stature was shackled to the floor with cold and heavy chains. She was in noble clothing, her dress was made of blue and purple silk, etched with white and black floral designs. This was something similar to what Eirisinia wore when she was still a child. The sight of the girl made no sense and the imprisonment of a noble was simply preposterous.

However, her clothes were not the most surprising thing about her. Her silky smooth hair was dark as the purple night sky. Her clomplexion so pale she appeared as if she was a living doll preserved in an antique collection brushed with a few years of accumulated dust.

"Her clothes... how is a dark conjurer like her wearing a noble woman's garments?!" Eirisinia roared. Startling both Reyzenar and the sleeping girl. She flinched as the angry rant bounced around the small space.

"Easy on the volume, that marticule outside might hear us," Reyzenar complained while covering his sensitive hearing. An assassin's ears are trained to a point where they are able to hear sounds from twenty feet away.

Eirisinia stared in disbelief at the little girl for she was undoubtedly a dark conjurer. An air of mystery surrounded this girl. It made her wary and uncomfortable.

The both of them approached her slowly as Eirisinia ushered Reyzenar to wake the child up. Giving him a little shove. He shook his head and pointed his finger towards her, then back towards himself and then to the sleeping girl. She glared at him before sighing in agreement.

They kneeled beside her and gently gave her a little shake which seemed to instantly awaken her. She sat down -with eyes half open or half close- and rubbed her eyes. She fixed her gaze on Eirisinia who had her hood down revealing her tired face full of caution as she looked down. "Mother?" she uttered as she stared at her. "Is that really you?" In an instant, her body rose and hugged her.