AN: Ok, now we're getting to the really fun part :'D

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Chapter 6:

With Denzil snatching Bryce up off the floor harshly, and with Talon doing the same to Falkner, they were promptly manhandled downstairs to the first floor. Denzil's grip on Bryce's bicep tightened as he pulled him to the right, away from the stairs and deeper into the manor.

Unexpectedly, he was led to another staircase, but it descended, leading toward something he could not properly see. The flight of stairs was actually quite remarkable, despite the decaying state of the building. Red carpet, gold fittings and trimming, the banister made from strong oak. A lot of work had been put into the thing. It gave the distinct feeling that it was leading toward something important. Something almost revered.

And it was down those stairs that Denzil pulled him down.

Honestly, from the way Denzil was hauling him about, Bryce got the distinct feeling that the guy would have thrown him down those stairs. But he restrained himself, likely with nothing more than the words Naseer had said to him about leaving Bryce unharmed.

They finally reached the final step and Bryce was surprised to realise that the room was spacious. It almost looked like a ballroom. Sure, the place was a complete mess with broken furniture, with signs of vandalism and looting. But it would not be hard to imagine the toffs of society wining and dining here.

Yet, it was the large stone structure directly opposite of the stairs that had his full attention.

It was not a structure. It was actually a set of stone doors with floral designs. It appeared to be in two parts, with an emblem of the shield within the centre. A symbol that looked just like the pendent that still hung around Bryce's neck. And they were quite large, about ten-foot in height and about eight-foot in width. They towered over Naseer, who stood before said doors, seemingly inspecting it.

That must be the vault. He remembered something about the thing being in the basement or something. Amazing that something so big existed beneath a mansion.

"Is it ready?" Denzil demanded more than asked as he dragged Bryce closer to the rather imposing doors.

Naseer turned and gave Denzil a piercing glare. "They've been ready for decades. Just get that man to touch the doors and they will open."

"If he's the one," Denzil murmured, peering hatefully at Bryce from the corner of his eye.

Touch it and it'll open? Would it be that easy?

Shit, what if it wasn't?

Bryce's mind reeled and he unconsciously gritted his teeth. If the door opened, it proved that they were right, and that Bryce was the dreaded heir to the Adalbern family. But if the door didn't open, they were wrong and they may take their hatred and anger out on him and Falkner.

Either way, they were in danger.

Damn it. What should they do? They needed to find a way to escape.

Bryce did not have much time to think about it before Denzil tightened his grip on his bicep yet again and then, oh-so nonchalantly, threw Bryce toward the doors. He stumbled over his feet, but stayed upright, only to collide with the doors with his shoulder.

He winced, not from the light pain of his arm striking the sturdy stone, but the fact that a bright white light flashed. It had been emitted from the doors next to him, radiating from the curls and whorls of the engravings.

Instinctively, Bryce jumped back, watching in muted surprise as the bright lightly flittered over the door, moving much like a liquid.

Then, the door rumbled.

And opened.

It...opened? It actually opened? What the ever-loving fuck?

"Finally," Denzil uttered as he suddenly snared Bryce by the arm again, and hauled him through the doors.

Naseer and Talon with Falkner followed closely behind. But that there was only darkness, the light of the empty ballroom of no help. Naseer raised a hand and created a fireball in his palm, allowing for illumination of the area.

Bookcases, treasure chests, exhibition cases displaying eccentric gold jewellery and antiques lined the walls. Along with paintings and a couple of suits of armour. It held everything that one would imagine a treasure vault would contain.

A vault. A treasure vault. Just like they had expected.

Unbelievable.

Bryce glanced over his shoulder, to look toward Falkner. The two of them shared a silent conversation, both of them wondering what was to happen next. The doors opened; the vault was discovered. They got what they wanted.

But what were they going to do about the two of them?

Another stone structure sat in the centre of the vault. Circular in shape, raised from the ground like a small podium. But it was not a stage. Definitely not. It was something else.

"There's the altar," Naseer suddenly announced. "Just as written in the texts."

Altar?

Denzil's grip on Bryce's arm tightened and he whirled him around to face him. His stare was as icy and vile as before. But the corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly into a satisfied smirk. "And that is where you're going."

...Shit.

... ... ... ... ...

Isiah flipped through the patient form, taking in the extensive list of injuries with a light frown. All of which was inflicted with a sharp blade. A blade wielded by the hands of a nightseeker. They were numerous in number, but perpetrated in such a way meant to cause pain for the sake of causing pain.

Still, the guy was lucky to be alive.

If Bryce had not rescued him from that river when he did, there was little doubt the guy would have died. Who inflicted such injuries, and who the guy's identity was, was just two of the mysteries surrounding him.

Isiah had just finished his signature on the patient form when he heard a quiet groan radiating from the figure on the bed. He dropped the board holding the patient information onto the foot of the bed and moved to the right side when the unknown man began to stir.

"Hey." Isiah placed a hand on the man's shoulder and give a slight shake. "Easy now, let the vertigo pass."

The man furrowed his brow, another low groan rumbling from the back of his throat. Isiah waited patiently for him to flutter his eyes open. A pair of grey, but completely unfocused eyes peered up at him.

"Wh-where...?" he croaked out.

"You're at the hospital," Isiah returned, a phase he had uttered more than a few times in his life. "Do you remember what happened? What's your name?"

The man did not immediately respond, still in the throes of post-unconsciousness. He lifted his head up off the pillow and continued to peer around, perhaps searching for someone. Probably fearing that his attacker was still lingering.

"Th-that guy..." he began, his voice gravely and hoarse. "The one who...who dragged me from the water; where is he?"

That was a rather surprising question. Patients who had endured a traumatic event usually questioned what happened to them, or to the person who had attacked them. Rather than the person responsible for their rescue. "He's not here at the moment."

"Th-they'll...they'll be after him, now."

And that caught Isiah's full attention. "Who will be?" he asked, leaning in.

The man dropped his head back down upon the pillow, his eyes half-lidded. "Necklace...activated. Found him by accident. Indicate the heir. He's the heir. They're...they're after the heir."

He then slumped back into the bed, unconscious.

None of that made sense to Isiah. But he got the gist of it. Someone thought Bryce was the heir to something. And they wanted to get their hands on him. It could be nothing more than the ramblings of a delusional patient, but with a teammate's life potentially in danger, Isiah was not going to risk it.

The guy was going to live. Best leave him to the other medics for now. He had something he needed to do.

Isiah paused long enough to grab the attention of the nearest medic and gave them the information needed before he hurried out of the hospital. He kept his expression neutral as he made a beeline to the Researchers' Clinic. A part of him wanted to believe that the words were just incoherent ramblings. He had heard many a strange thing uttered by patients upon awakening, after all.

But after everything that happened that very morning, he had to be cautious.

Finally reaching the clinic, Isiah breezed through the open door. "I'm back," he announced briskly before he moved to stand in the middle of the sitting room, where several teammates loitered. "Where's Bryce?"

In the kitchen, Varuna immediately snapped his head up and whirled around to face him, his brow slightly furrowed. "He should be at the inn. Why? Did something happen?"

Isiah frowned. "That guy he saved. He woke up. Said something about a necklace indicating an heir, and there's someone after said heir. And seems to think that Bryce is that heir."

Varuna paled, a reaction that was both unexpectedly, yet not unsurprising. "Bryce..." he uttered; concern evident in his voice. He then quickly made his way to the front door, intent of tracing the path to the inn, most likely.

"Wait, Varuna," Roxbury called out as he quickly stood up from the couch and followed the determined and worried nightseeker. "I'll go, too."

Isiah watched as the two disappeared from view through the front entrance before he turned his attention back toward the kitchen. Where Nitish stood, he, too, wearing a quietly concerned look. "He's not back yet?"

Nitish shook his head. "No. Varuna and I, we suddenly felt extremely uneasy. I think something terrible has happened. Falkner isn't here, either."

Isiah felt the furrow of his brow deepen. With Bryce's little brother sleeping off a fresh set of injuries, it was greatly unusual that he was not also hanging around the clinic. Especially after what happened. The calming, restorative aid that Nitish had brewed up for Blayden had begun to wear off. Bryce would want to tell Blayden that the runaway carriage was just an accident.

Something had to be wrong. He hoped that his suspicions were wrong, and that he was just being paranoid. But he would not be satisfied until the two missing teammates returned to the clinic.

"How's Durriken?" Isiah asked suddenly, wanting to keep his mind busy as he waited for Varuna and Roxbury to return.

Nitish indicated toward the patient's room. "Resting, thankfully. He hasn't had a reaction to the feeding tube."

Good. Isiah hated resorting to such methods, but they needed a way to keep Durriken alive so that they could help him with his severe eating disorder.

"Blayden?"

"Resting, also." A light frown tugged at his lips as his gaze flickered toward the ceiling. "He...doesn't know that Bryce isn't here."

Probably for the best.

"Where are the rest-?" Isiah's question was interrupted by Varuna and Roxbury returning suddenly.

He had not expected them to return so soon.

Varuna did not say anything as he practically stalked through the seating room, in search for something. The fact that he did not look the least bit happy, made Isiah assume he was searching for his weapons. Which was not a good sign.

"Did you find him?" Isiah decided to ask Roxbury, taking note of a single knapsack in his hands.

"Unfortunately, no," Roxbury replied, his expression purposely neutral. His lips tugged into a frown shortly, however, as he presented a square piece of paper toward him. "We did find this, however."

Isiah arched an eyebrow as he received the paper, only to quickly realise that it was in fact a photograph. One of a certain redheaded sniper, restrained and a mixture of discomfort and worry.

A bristle of protectiveness raced up his spine. "Falkner..." he murmured under his breath.

"Huh? What about Falkner?"

Isiah winced when he recognised Fletcher's voice. His gaze immediately flickered over to the stairs, where Fletcher stood at the top to peer down at them. With him was Miach, and rather frustratingly was Blayden, supported by Baldur. With them stood Zoran, the sweet arcanist seemingly trying to keep the four kids from getting too rowdy.

He should have figured that the younger members would notice the tension that had fallen over the clinic. But he still was not happy.

Roxbury took a deep breath as he took on the leadership role once more. "Bryce and Falkner appear to be missing," he said simply. "And, unfortunately, we're unsure where the two of them could be. But...it's likely that they are together, and somewhere against their will."

That naturally elicited numerous responses and reactions from their guildmates. The two youngest immediately began rapidly asking questions out of instinct. Roxbury could not answer any of them, of course.

The situation was...unsettling. Isiah had seen Bryce in battle. He would never go down without one hell of a fight. Even then, he would not stay down long. He was a very stubborn man. As was Falkner. Something about the guy Bryce saved must have piqued Falkner's interest. He was incredibly nosy, which he would readily admit to.

His nosiness may have gotten him into trouble.

Hmmm...He understood it now. Falkner had been captured first, and used as blackmail to ensure Bryce's compliance.

Not good.

"Can I make a suggestion?"

Isiah's frown deepened and shot his gaze toward the patient's room. Where Durriken stood, leaning against the frame as he held the IV stand with his hand. "No, you can't. Get back to bed."

Durriken was far from perturbed, however. "This suggestion may help you find your friends."

Varuna immediately perked up. "How?"

"Do you have a map of the city?"

Telem unexpectedly bristled. "You're not doing that."

Durriken rolled his eyes, somewhat frustrated. "No, I'm not. I'm in no condition, I know. It wouldn't be any good if I do it, anyway."

Sat on the couch, Kalan lifted a hand and idly curled a strand of his brown hair around his finger. "Ah, you're thinking of using a pendulum?"

"Yes." With Telem's help, Durriken pushed away from the doorframe and carefully made his way into the seating room, promptly taking a seat on one of the couches. "Those with close attachments to what they wish to seek will be able to narrow down the search area. And with Varuna's heightened instincts, he'd be able to find them both far quicker."

"What do we need to do?" Nitish asked.

Though exhausted and uncomfortable, Durriken stayed alert. "First, a map of the city. And a crystal tied to a chain or rope. Something to take the place of a pendulum."

"I may have something," Nitish said as he turned on his heel and hurried upstairs, likely to his room.

"There's a map in storage," Isiah revealed. "Varuna, head upstairs and get it."

Varuna simply nodded his head before he flew upstairs.

Isiah had not a clue what Durriken was planning to do. Or what he wanted others to do. But if he could help them locate, or at the very least narrow down the list of possibilities, on where their two teammates were, it would be greatly appreciated.

A few moments later, Varuna and Nitish reappeared from upstairs. The twins gathered around Durriken, following his instructions readily. They spread the map out upon the coffee table, and Nitish moved to hand the clear crystal tethered to a silver chain, but Durriken shook his head.

"No, you're the one who needs to hold the pendulum. Varuna will lead to Bryce. And Telem should be the one to indicate Falkner."

A flicker of confusion appeared on Telem's otherwise impassive face. "Me?"

"Yes, I know what I'm doing," Durriken answered sternly, rather surprisingly for someone in such a frail, emaciated state. "Now, Nitish, take command of the pendulum. Telem, Varuna, place your hands atop of his."

Although wholly confused, the three did as they told. Nitish held the chain at the end, allowing for the crystal to dangle down over the map. Varuna did not hesitate to place a hand atop of his brothers, but Telem was. Understandable, really. Cloudy Stronghold inhabitants had a strong aversion to touching, well, anything.

But he pushed past that innate fear and placed a hand atop of Varuna's, and the three turned their attentions toward Durriken expectantly.

Durriken leaned forward in his seat, though it was clearly difficult for him to do so. So, Mahalah sat down next to him without prompting, and placed his arms around the far-too skinny runemaster, to help him concentrate on the task at hand rather than maintaining his posture.

"All three of you, close your eyes. Nitish, allow Telem and Varuna to remind you of Falkner and Bryce. Now, focus on your teammates' presences into the crystal. Slowly move it over the map. You will feel nothing at first. Then, you will feel a pull in a certain direction."

Again, the three did as they were told.

Isiah watched with cautious scepticism while others seemed to watch with bated breath. Nitish began to move the pendulum around the map in a circular pattern, the pendulum swaying slowly. Yet, the more that Nitish moved it, the longer he held onto it, the speed of the swinging pendulum began to increase. But only a certain corner of the map.

A place that Nitish soon narrowed in on.

The three opened their eyes at the exact same time. "Adalbern Manor..."

Varuna and Telem then both turned away from Nitish and the map, and went to grab their weapons and jackets.

"Second floor," Telem said as he wrapped his cloak around his shoulders. "Rooftops will allow for a quicker path."

Varuna nodded his head sharply. "Right."

Roxbury was startled by the reactions of the two nightseekers. He soon gathered himself, and knew than to ask any questions. Especially of the two said protective nightseekers. Not that he had much of a chance to do so; the two were already up the stairs and the sound of a window sliding open promptly followed.

"Nitish and Isiah, get ready," Roxbury commanded the rest of them. "Biast, I'm counting on you to follow Varuna and Telem, and to take Isiah and Nitish to the site as well. Zesiro, Achyuta, and I will follow, but you will get there a lot sooner than we will. Everyone else is to stay here. We don't know if this is some kind of a trap for us, or if they could strike the clinic, too."

"What?!" Fletcher immediately began to protest. "I can't stay here! Falkner is-!"

"No, Fletcher." Roxbury was surprisingly stern as he interrupted the younger sniper, startling him into silence. "Stay here. Mahalah, I'm leaving you in charge."

"Of course," was Mahalah's dutiful response.

Isiah turned on his heel and made his way into his office. He snatched up his medical bag and took a moment to ensure he had all the essentials. It had been a while since he had worked out of his bag, and he hoped that he did not need to again.

But he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was not intuitive or psychic like Varuna and Nitish, but his gut instinct told him that something was seriously wrong. He could only hope that they were prepared for whatever happened to their guildmates...