66 A Treffen and an encounter...

Enclave's Treffen, in the reign of King Darius… 

"Would somebody mind explaining to me what had just happened?" Darius booming voice echoed through the room. 

"How did the seal from Marjoram got broken…" The redhead was almost ready to erupt in anger. He cast his gaze on the six gilded chairs next his own. Only four were occupied. 

The other kings who were present simply bowed their heads at the high king. They only felt the seal break but they never had any idea on what happened. 

They could not ask one another, only four of them were there for the Treffen.

The other ruler who was currently in charge of Marjoram and Azalea could not make it. And the remaining one was also preoccupied with a civil unrest in his own domain. 

It had seemed that all of them had no clue of how the incident had transpired. None of the spies that they had were able to relay a report yet. 

"I thought that only heirs would be able to undo the seal." The blue eyed King Caules had taken the initiative to talk after the older king from Verbana, Leo had nudged him. 

"Is it possible that the missing princess had been the one to undo it?" King Leo asked. 

He was the eldest one in the enclave and the wisest so far.  He had been one of the kings who had encouraged the high king to take Lily into custody. 

Technically, speaking she is Darius' niece. Queen Anemone was Darius' younger sister. 

Although, they were estranged, the high king did not reject his proposal and tried to seek the child, but unfortunately, they could no longer find her. She simply disappeared without any trace. 

"But that is not possible! Only male heirs could have both the power and ability to break the spell." King Carson had spoken one of the conditions that had been passed down from the olden days. 

"The spirit relics that had been used as catalyst for the seals could only be wielded by male members of the enclave which include the heirs… Lily is the sole heiress of Marjoram. Something must have happened that the guardian had allowed her to use the relic." Leo hypothesized. 

"We are not even sure that it was Lily who broke the seal." Darius interjected. He seemed skeptical that his own niece would be the key to bring destruction. 

"Where in the world is Reed?" Caules asked, while scratching the scar on his face. "He should have been here. He is the one who temporarily managed Marjoram. 

"He had trouble in Azalea, so he had asked Briar to look after Marjoram for a while." Leo answered for the younger monarch. 

"Then Briar should have been here." Caules said. 

"We cannot invite him yet, the Treffen is only meant for the full fledge members of the enclave." Darius incised. 

The high king continued. "Unless the spirits will recognize Briar as the king of Marjoram, Reed will not be able to be relieved from the burden his father had made." 

"We have deviated a little." Carson butted in. "So what are we going to do with the broken seal?" 

"Ask someone to investigate and secure the remaining six seals. We cannot allow that monster to be revived." 

The kings gave their affirmation and their forms faded into oblivion. 

Meanwhile…. 

The pair navigated through the darkened tunnels until they were able to reach a landing which was a bit different from the previous floor. 

Briar held her hand and helped her move up the steep ledge. The light that Lumina gave was enough for them to see the area that they had to explore. 

"I don't think we have been here earlier." The girl commented as she cast her gaze on the catacomb-like chambers.

The air was dry and it was making Briar's throat itchy. He coughed out, "We haven't been here earlier. These are hidden passages that were uncovered when the other floors had collapsed." 

"This area does not look like a part of the fae's territory." Atropa noted the eerie place. 

The pair was a bit apprehensive in going through that place, but they had no choice but to trudge on. Lumina had been giving a steady glow to guide their way. 

Whenever they would encounter a fork path, Lumina would usually light up towards the direction that they had to pick. 

Briar had no qualms in exploring this maze like place. He had explored similar areas before during his self-imposed exile. 

He hid a smile when Atropa held his hand tightly when something had made its presence known. 

"I never knew you would get creeped out with this type of place." He could not help but say. 

  "It…it is… not that I am scared or anything…" Atropa stuttered a bit while shaking off his hand. "It is just the place that is a bit unnerving." 

She pointed at the hollows by the walls. They looked as if something would come out and suddenly drag an unsuspecting victim to its lair. 

Briar frowned and reassured her. "No need to be spooked, I am here to protect you." He offered his hand once again. 

She just looked at his hand hesitantly. But when some sounds akin to a combination of groan and shuffling of feet were heard, she drew near and grabbed his hand 

Briar's smile grew wide with that. But when Atropa glared at him. 

"After I receive Lumina, my ability to sense mana had heightened. I am feeling a bit jumpy right now due to the fluctuations of mana in the air. I am not scared, your highness." She added. 

"I believe you." Briar said after clearing his throat. 

They continued trying to find the treasure that they had to seek. 

"I am already a bit famished… I wonder how long are we going to find that item." He mused. 

"I am hungry as well. It may take quite a while… perhaps, we should take a short break and at least fill our stomachs." Atropa said. 

The two of them selected a spot where they can rest for a few moments. Atropa had produced a bundle with biscuits and a couple of flasks filled with water. 

"If only we had been more prepared earlier." She sighed before eating her portion. 

Briar knew that Atropa was talking about the amount of food and preparation that they had. 

Since they only intended to conduct a simple investigation and had not anticipated a full blown dungeon exploration, they were not able to prepare that much food and drink. 

Hopefully, they can find the item and leave the dungeon in just a few hours. Or else, they would risk running out of rations. 

"Our food is just this much but it is quite filling… and I feel that my strength had returned." He commented after he consumed several biscuits.

"I had cast a recovery spell on the biscuit." She explained while cleaning up their area. "We need all the strength that we have… considering that a lich is on the loose."

"Speaking of that lich, did your copies find it?" he asked while helping her tidy up their things. 

She looked at Attie who had given her a few gestures. The she replied. "One of the dolls seemed to have found it. It is currently tailing the lich." 

"I see… how about its phylactery?" 

Atropa looked at her copy once again before she blurted out. "A dozen or two Attie's had been trying to find it."

"Then we just had to pray that we won't have to fight that lich." He muttered. 

Although he had recovered his strength due to the spell Atropa cast, he knew that facing off a lich would be a really challenging feat. 

He never wanted to fight one especially since this current opponent has an ability to transfer from one body to another and could summon different types of undead. 

Just when he had said his wish not to fight the lich… Attie had caught their attention… Her eyes had glowed dark red and she looked as if she was angry. 

She shook her mistress' sleeves and pointed at an opening to their right. 

At first, the pair did not see anything besides two glowing blue orbs. The fiery orbs grew bigger and the silhouette of its owner started to take shape. 

Goosebumps formed on Briar skin as he drew his sword. By his side, Atropa also got ready for her spells. 

Out from that darkened corner, the skeletal creature in tattered royal garbs emerged. A crown with spikes was on its head and a pair of skulls served as its shoulder guard which held its frayed cape in place. 

  "I cannot believe I will be defeated by such brats!" Its ghastly voice reverberated through the cavern. "You have destroyed a portion of my army and my other bodies. So now, it is time for me to destroy you." 

As those words came out of its jaw, the orb on its staff crackle and light up with a mixture of dark and light eerily.