Encounter 2

You lost them...hmm...said a man of tall stature, wearing black leather uniform, sitting on the rock sharpening his dagger with golden sheath, his face was covered with a mask but his silver sleek hair was shining under the moonlight, as he looked down on those two assassins, kneeling in front of him.

Please forgive us Sir Nyx...said one of the assassins. We were following them from behind as you ordered but that b***h disappeared in front of our eyes, we were still following the trails but it faded near the ditch, we couldn't even hear them leaving from there, she must have been using magic. if you allow us to use the mana detector we can...

"So you are telling me you lost them just because she was using magic...interesting..an eight year old using magic!( he smirked and ran his fingers through his mop of thick hair) and said in a low voice...

"I didn't know that the members of Shadow Guild were so incompetent".

The assassins trembled in terror. They banged their head against the hard ground and pleaded, "please forgive us my lord, we beg you! give us a last chance and we will...

Nyx waved his hand and said, "second chance....why not" with a devilish smile visible through his eyes.

Sqwelp! Sqwelp! the swords, covered in a black aura, pierced their back while they were begging..., blood flowing out of their wound and mouth, their blood shot eyes wide were open for a moment and then, closed for eternity...

Those cold and brutal eyes did not even look back at the bodies and ordered his subordinates, "get rid of the bodies and make sure you throw them in the same ditch where they lost them".

As he was leaving a chilling sensation, everyone present there felt. Some of them mumbled, "he is a monster...","he didn't even bat his eyes before killing them".

"Silence! if you do not want to end up in the same state", shouted one of the senior members.

The ship was sailing smoothly but Isis felt her life drowning...

Her only remaining family, her little brother was nowhere to be found...she rushed in panic towards the barrels, whe..where did he go? there was no sign of him....

she placed both of her hands on top of the place where she kept Eugene and closed her eyes...

( I am sure I kept Eugene here with advanced silence and defense spells...it was a tier 4 magic, I am sure whoever took him must be of a higher level than me...but who it could be...I made sure I erased my trace so that they can't follow us here...)

Damn it! they didn't leave a trace. she was unable to find mana( her magic energy) other than her.

what should I do now? Isis is panicking.. think Isis, think! you can't be so irresponsible, there must be something I can do... mumbling to herself while going forth and back...

(she was rummaging through her memories)

Suddenly she realizes, "oh! I used 'that' spell on him, why didn't I think of that."

(the tracking magic, I recently learned, before leaving him here, I casted that on him, it works on the principle that the caster can track his own mana instead of finding others mana.)

she closed her eyes and chanted, 'Track Eugene'...her light brown pupils changed into a mysterious blue color....as she slowly opened her eyes... she could see where her mana was going.

it worked !

but she has no time to celebrate she must find him before the track fades away.

"I should hurry" Isis thought and started following the mana tracks.

From the barrels, she went to the opposite side of the ship, it was crowded but she managed to get through and pass it thanks to her short height.

( being short has its own perks).

There she saw the tracks going inside a small wooden door, she opened it in the hope of finding her brother but was rather disappointed when she saw that it was completely empty and looked abandoned.

But to her surprise the tracks didn't seem to stop, it was going down...

she checked the floor but there was nothing beside a thick layer of dust Isis was discouraged, just about to stand up she saw some marks deeply engraved on the floor.

whoosh! whoosh! swiping the floor as fast as she could, she removed the dust with her bare hands.

cough...cough...cough..( just from how many centuries this place hasn't been cleaned)

The mark was looking more prominent now that the dust was removed.

"What is this? It looks like a tree with long branches, what does this mean? Is it some kind of lock?"

the tracks were becoming diminished..

oh no! I have very less time remaining! what should I do ? confused Isis looked again at the pattern and saw that the tracks were going inside it.

Ah! here goes nothing. she starts injecting all her mana into the engraved pattern...

The pattern is absorbing the mana like it's feeding on it... why.... why is nothing happening?

After continuously injecting mana for ten minutes, she the tracks disappeared so did her last hope.

huff..huff.. I... I am..out of mana..huff..huff.. the tracks are also gone.

(In a trembling voice) what should I do now...

She was helpless. Nothing seemed to go her way. She felt a lump in her throat and was soon reduced to tears, like raindrops her tears dropped on the floor and on the pattern...

"Eugene where are you...?"

The pattern reacted to her tears and it begun to glow, she was taken aback by this and scooted away but the intensity increased and it produced a blinding light...

Unable to see anything Isis covered her eyes and was dizzy because of low mana, in a few moments the whole room was engulfed in the light and Isis fainted.

When she opened her eyes slightly it was bright but not as much as before.

"My body feels heavy and it seems like I am still a little dizzy, how did I end up getting fainted..."

Suddenly! she realizes, Eugene!

I need to find Eugene! as soon as she tries to wake up and stand on feet, she collapses.

wha..what is happening?

After her head became more clearer, she was astonished as she was sitting on a large fluffy bed in a huge room with lavish décor. A huge chandelier hanging at the top of the room, any one can tell that this wasn't the room where she fainted.

"You must be feeling weak due to mana depletion", said a boy, sitting near in a chair with crossed legs, looking a few years older than her with a authoritative yet calm and soothing voice.

(Who is he and WHERE AM I?)

The boy sitting in front of her looked suspicious to Isis.

She was confused and had very little mana to use any magic, so, she gathered courage and asked him firmly,

"Who are you?"