"What is that?" Slya asked in a hushed voice, her tone shaky. She was looking at it as if the castle would provide the answer by itself.
Arvas’s voice broke the silence. "We are here. First, I’d like to congratulate everyone for making it this far... those who made it. The next stage is inside that castle itself. We made it here to the front of the door the last time we came.
"We weren’t able to open it, but this time, we will. You will dig the treasures out of the ground with your own hands. Your rewards will be plentiful, all according to your contract and contributions." Arvas said the words flatly, as if he just wanted to get them out of the way.
"Now, follow me according to your teams."
The mood had now turned to one of excited expectation as they followed their team leader. I myself was feeling a slight buzz in my head at the thought of what they’d... what I’d find. My mark burned with renewed intensity, but I held it back with my will.
When they got to the entrance, they split up. The workers stayed behind while the Squires and Knights joined the Errant Knights at the front of the gate.
A black metal door, taller than four men, gleamed with the same sheen as the castle. Unlike the castle, the door was imprinted with symbols, and there were no seam lines indicating it could open.
Kren lifted his hand and pointed at the symbols, his hand trembling a bit. "See there? That’s the ancient language of darkness, alchemy, and forge. And right there, you can see the Forbidden Mark."
He didn’t need to point the last part out. I could see the purple circle and the darkness that seemed alive. It trembled and shook, drinking in any light available.
’Was that a flash of crimson?’
I looked closely, but it was still the same darkness, no light. I breathed a sigh of relief; I didn’t want to see any more weird things. But at least I had now confirmed that the Forbidden Mark was there.
’There must be something relating to it in there as well. Maybe we’ll even find out who owns the castle. They must carry the Forbidden Mark too and have things relating to it!’
I didn’t say all that out loud or allow it to show on my face as I asked, "So how do you plan to activate it? I’m guessing blowing it up didn’t work."
Kren grinned. "No, it didn’t. I did a lot of research on how to open ancient doors and came up with different methods that we’re going to try."
I froze. "You’re saying you don’t even have a specific way of opening it?"
Arvas snorted. "Of course not. Even Steelclaw couldn’t open it, so it’s not about raw power. We can only research how to open it. Hopefully, something works."
I looked at the two of them in stunned silence and thought, ’You guys said you knew how to open it! That’s the whole reason everyone was gathered here. So we’ll just stand here and start testing how to open it? You should have said so before we all came here!’
I cleared my throat and said, "I see."
The other Squires didn’t say anything, but they gave me surprised looks. I understood with a flash of insight: ’The others behave with the Captains like employees to employers, while I treat them like equals’
I shook my head at my musings. ’I shouldn’t be thinking about that right now’
I nearly missed when Kren brought out a small key, similar to Emily’s, from his pocket and bent down to open a compartment in the ground. A much larger shelf of stone lifted up, filled with bottles and jars containing different colored liquids and powders. Another part of the shelf was filled with small and large metal containers, all inscribed with symbols of power.
Emily, Lim, and the bushy-eyebrowed Knight stared at the shelf with unconcealed greed, as if they wanted to claim it all for themselves.
I didn’t see the value in the treasures, but I wasn’t one to judge others for what they found valuable. Besides, they were alchemists.
"Let’s see," Kren said as he searched among the containers until he picked up a small one. He held it on his palm and whispered low over it. The tin glowed as the symbols lit up, and then it opened with a click.
He brought out a key from inside, a different key that twisted and turned, blurring with darkness. "This is an enchanted tool that can open all doors, even enchanted ones. Very valuable, but you can only use it twice before it resets, unless you want to pay the price for getting lost."
It was then that I felt the same greed as the alchemists. ’So all those containers contain enchanted tools? Just one enchanted tool goes for at least thousands of gold! No wonder they’re even giving away constructs. If they have this much wealth, then...’
My thoughts trailed off when I heard Kren cursing.
The man looked at his key and then at the gate in annoyance. "Well, that didn’t work. One method down, more to go," Kren muttered as he returned the key and picked up a bigger one. He whispered over it, opening another container.
From this, he brought out a scroll, much larger than normal scrolls. He lifted it and slammed it against the door, where it stuck, glowing with intense red light. The paper scroll turned into liquid light, spreading across the surface of the door like water.
"This will create a door within the door that will lead inside," Kren said.
They waited in silence, watching the liquid light dance across the door. I cleared my throat and nodded toward the door. "Is it supposed to be like that?"
Arvas snorted. "I doubt it. I’m thinking it should... open a door or something?"