The Enemy Lurks
"Excuse me, is anyone home?" Glade asked as he knocked on the door.
It took half a day for Zeke's temporary party to reach the town of Hezsfra. The directions around town is not that difficult and, it didn't take long for them to reach the house where Hark's family currently stayed at.
Zeke remembered the letter of Miss Sylvia as they separated. 'I hope that the next time we meet, there would be no hatred.' Zeke thought about this but, the only feeling he had at the moment is sleepiness. One that has been dragged over his limit. His body now felt cold and he felt his reasoning getting a bit weaker, thinking mostly of sleep and nothing more.
"Oh my, and who might you be?" An old lady came from the door, looking at the group consisting of three elves and one human.
"Good day ma'am." Allesiah said coming forward.'
"I am Allesiah Windsprite and, back there is my older sister Sylph. We came looking for our sister and was told that she'd be here." She continued.
"I think you have the wrong house, good –" The old lady proceeded to closing her door but, Sylph held on to it.
"Please, her family is in great danger. We just want her to be safe." Sylph said.
The old woman looked at the other Windsprites with a stern look on her face. She then sighed, removing her hand on the knob and continuing the discussion.
"You have the same eyes as Lady Sylvia." The old woman said and at this, another figure came out, one that is smaller than the old woman.
"Granny, who's at the door?" Zeke knew the voice. It's a boy who kept asking him questions on his first night in Elysium. It's Keith.
The boy immediately saw Zeke and came running at him. Jumping up and wanting to be caught but, Zeke dodged, making Allesiah the one to catch the tiny human.
"Nope. No more physical contact for today." Zeke thought to himself, getting more irritated because of his lack of sleep.
"Please come inside, the couple went for errands and should be back before the sun goes down." The old lady said, motioning everyone to come inside.
What they did not expect however is that, the outside of the house is nothing but an illusion. As they stepped into the house, a bright light caught them. After this flash ended their eyes widened at what they saw. Everything got wider and suddenly, Zeke felt that he is in a mansion owned by a rich aristocrat.
There is a huge garden at the middle, with a large tree as the centerpiece. Further back are two staircases that leads to both the left and right side of the hose. All around them, there are butlers and maids, all busy doing their chores. The old woman herself changed appearance and turned into a tall female elf.
Her appearance is only second to the beauty of Sylvia yet, she wore modest maid clothing. Her eyes are light yellow while her hair is an auburn brown.
"Welcome to the secret Windsprite manor. I am your host, Illia Carion."
"Secret manor? How come I've never been told about this?" Sylph asked.
"Uhnmm…I think that's why it's called 'secret' sis." Allesiah replied.
"Looks like somebody wants to spar with me." Sylph replied, not welcoming the comment of Allesiah that made her seem like an idiot.
"Guys, break it up. We need to get our priorities set." Zeke said.
"I'm guessing you are the leader of the group." Illia said, with a smile on her face.
"How are you so sure? It might be me or Allesiah." Sylph replied.
"A group consisting of two noblewomen, one male elf, and one human, can have two outcomes. One is a beaten down human with cuffs on his legs – meaning slavery. The second is, a human who looks perfectly fine without any sign of mistreatment – meaning, he leads the group."
"That's quite smart of her." Zeke thought to himself, not saying anything else as he is reserving his strength.
"Right now, we should wash up first. We'll wait for the two to return in the afternoon and then, let's proceed to planning."
"What makes you think they'll allow us?" Glade asked Zeke.
"Please, this manor is technically owned by Miss Sylvia. And with Hark as her husband, it means that this place has a neutral perspective on humans and elves. Plus, bringing her sisters here means that we're guests already." Zeke used up a lot of his remaining energy in explaining this.
"Looks like we have another promising human like sir Hark." Illia said. She then clapped her hands twice making more servants appear.
These elves assisted the group, dividing them and putting the boys and the girls inside separate baths.
"Ohhh god that feels so good!" Zeke shouted as he dipped inside the hot spring.
"You're probably tired from all the fighting you've gone through." Glade replied as he sat beside Zeke.
"That's true, although it's fine because it'll end soon." Zeke said to himself, seeing how the primary main quest will probably end at a close date.
"You seem to be confident about everything you say." Glade said but Zeke didn't respond anymore and simply let the warm water sink in on his body.
"Ah! I remembered! There was something I forgot to tell you about the history of Elysium master Zeke." Glade said.
"Oh and what might that be?" Zeke replied, interested in hearing more about the history of the continent.
"You see, the first king's followers are still scattered around Elysium, looming in and waiting for their chance to strike." Glade's words felt cold. Even with the bath's calming effect, Zeke suddenly felt that danger is close by, specifically, sitting next to him. He was about to stand up but then, Glade suddenly used the spell he used on Sylph.
"Somnus." He said, and at this, Zeke lost consciousness. His whole body dropping to the bath.
"Master Zeke!" Glade shouted, making two servants enter the bath.
"What happened sir?"
"I don't know. My companion suddenly lost consciousness. Help me get him to a place where he can sleep will you?" Glade continued, an order which the servants immediately acted upon.
The girls heard about the news and quickly went to where Zeke is now sleeping. Sylph didn't want to come of course but, her sister seemed to be worried so she tagged along.
"What happed?" Allesiah asked Glade.
"I think he fainted from over exhaustion. He's been fighting non-stop since yesterday and haven't' gotten any sleep." Glade said.
There is trout to this of course and, Zeke is truly exhausted. However, the whole truth was not told. Specifically, the part where he forced Zeke to sleep using his spell.
"Allesiah went to the side of Zeke's bed and held the forehead of her master, checking the temperature if he has fever.
"There was something he told me to do though. He said that we should probably go and look for Miss Sylvia and Hark as the troops can strike earlier." Glade said.
Both Windsprites trusted Glade's words. He's been part of the household for a long time and, for the most part, he has always saved Sylph from a lot of dangerous situations.
"I think he's right." Sylph replied, wanting to meet her sister as soon as possible.
"Okay. Let's head out then, we must make sure that no harm comes to sister Sylvia." Sylph continued, going out of the room. Allesiah immediately followed her, leaving Glade alone in the room with Zeke.
The air suddenly turned cold again and, even without changing appearance, one can tell that Glade is now an entirely different person.
"The king was betrayed by the court of nobles which he trusted the most. All the elves on that council plotted the demise of the first elven King and all the human members of his council. However, there was a man who was able top escape and warn the King's household." He took out his necklace, showing the symbol of a lion embedded on it.
"All this time, the people who showed loyalty to the first king's standard still surround Elysium. They are…we are, deeply within all parts of the system, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike." He continued.
"And that, Master Zeke, is now. All the pieces are in their perfect places. The informant who made the King get drunk with the idea of reuniting with Sylvia. The failed assault of the Wood Scouts. The coming of the Windsprite siblings to this town. The marching of the Capital's soldiers to this place. Everything is now set."
"You are the only variable that seemed to be a hindrance to our plans. Thankfully, you thought everything was actually going the way you wanted them to be. You even tired yourself out and didn't sleep, making my spell even more potent on your body." He continued.
"Well that's enough chit chat don't you think? There's no use if I keep on talking to you." Glade said, finally opening the door and looking at Zeke one last time. With a menacing smile on his face, Glade spoke:
"Sleep soundly, I'll take care of the rest."