Little update: A big thanks to those who are following this story so far! In case you are wondering, this is a self-written story (an amateur attempt I know) during the days when I was fascinated by the stuff about knights, castles, kingdoms and sorcery, you get what I mean. For those who wish to check out the previous chapters, here's the link! With that let the adventure continue!
Chapter 34
Rak and Moya saw their destination.
"Into the bushes! He might see us!" whispered Rak.
The two of them stooped low under the tall grass, trying to minimise their chances of getting detected, while Maltov continued to walk nonchalantly behind them. The two of them wriggled their way in a proning position towards the wooden door, then tiptoed up the staircase, before Moya bashed down the door. The two of them charged in as the door crashed down, but they found no one. It was all silent in the hut.
Maltov stepped in after them and saw their disappointed faces. For sure, they were expecting someone to be in the hut. But who was this person? Still, he was clueless as to what they were up to. Then he saw Moya proceed into the smaller room at the back, and without any orders, he started ransacking the drawers, the shelves and even the clutter on the shaky table.
The next moment, Moya was shouting for Rak to go over. They had discovered what looked to be a secret passage. The trapdoor was unlocked and upon lifting the cover, they saw a long stairway leading downwards.
Then Rak warned, "Be careful, it might be a trap."
Moya uttered, "Spello defecto!"
They waited for a moment, and when they felt the stairway was safe to descend, they went for it. When they reached the pit, they saw a cell door on the right and a solid piece of rock in front.
"Let's try the cell door," suggested Moya. "Door destructo!"
Immediately, a blast appeared out of nowhere and the metal door came crashing down. Inside the cell was a man, who looked slightly younger than them.
"I wonder who this person is," commented Moya.
He turned around and saw Rak trembling with fear.
"What's wrong, Rak? You recognise this person?"
Shivering, Rak said softly, "He was the one who tried to take my life."
"He's the young prince, Malcolm? What is he doing here? Ariton captured him too?"
Moya paused to think for a moment, and he suggested getting Malcolm out of the cell. Rak did not like the idea but he volunteered to keep watch at the cell door, in case Ariton returned.
All this while, Maltov was behind the two of them and he was stupefied by what he had seen and heard. Who was Ariton? Why was his brother locked up in the cell? And the most unbelievable thing of all, how could a timid person like Malcolm try to take someone's life? He figured that it would be better if he remained unseen and continued to follow the gang, which would now consist of three people.
Not having eaten for the past few days, Malcolm was very weak. Moya took out some of their rations and offered them to him. He thanked Moya profusely as though he was a beggar, and gobbled the food down in a few gulps.
When Malcolm was feeling better, Moya asked, "Why are you here?"
Malcolm opened his mouth but upon seeing Rak at the door, he went speechless. He wanted to apologise to Rak but he could not bring himself to do so. Moreover, it seemed that Rak still remembered what he did to him in the castle.
Seeing the tension building up between the two of them, Moya spoke, "Let's get out of this place first before Ariton comes back."
"Ariton's gone for good," muttered Malcolm.
"What do you mean?" asked Moya.
Unexpectedly, the question triggered Malcolm to tell them his trials and tribulations, all the way from his first meeting with Ariton to the point when he was locked up in this cell. He also took the chance to apologise and hoped Rak could put the past behind him.
The story indeed gave Maltov some food for thought. It filled up some of the missing pieces in the jigsaw puzzle and it was now clear that he was one of the five sons of Doria that would be fighting alongside with Rak and Moya against Ariton and the Perisher.
Then he heard Moya's exclamation outside. He walked out and realised that one of them had found a secret lever to split open the piece of rock. Lying ahead of them was a secret passage. It was long and the end was nowhere in sight. As usual, Moya casted the Defectory spell before the group of them entered, with Maltov following close behind.