After a quick climb up the stairs to the fourth floor, Rythian, Lalna and Zoey found themselves in a dimly-lit hall. Most of the light in the hall came from the glow of many small chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, spaced equidistance from each other as the corridor continued to stretch downward further and further. Though there were many windows lining the exterior wall, the storm outside prevented any moonlight from streaming in. The only thing visible through the faded old glass was the raindrops as they splashed against the pane, making a soft puttering sound echo around the near-silent corridor.
"Oooh, this is so spooky!" Zoey commented, but her tone and the fact she was bubbling over with excitement again showed that she didn't see this as a bad thing. She turned back to her two teammates with another large grin. "Perhaps we'll meet a friendly ghost up here, like Casper!"
"Zoey." Rythian gave the redhead a subtle look to show her this was not the time to talk of such things. She stared at him for a moment before she gave a curt nod, understanding and calming down. Rythian smiled a bit under his cowl as he watched Lalna move to inspect the closest window.
"Hmm. Despite the apparent age, the iron welding on these things is still pretty sturdy. No chance of getting through without breaking glass and hurting yourself." He commented.
"Besides, if we got one open, it's a three story drop down in Ridge's backyard." Rythian added. "And knowing Ridge, he's probably keeping Creeper Dogs down there or something." He saw Lalna give him a nod of acknowledgement as he moved away from the large dome-shaped window.
"That just means there's more time for exploring! This way first guys!" With another one of her smiles, Zoey scampered off down the hall leading to their left. Rythian called to tell her to slow down before he and the scientist managed to catch up to her.
The trio continued in silence for a bit as they checked any door they came across. Sadly, all were locked with no sign of the key anywhere. The only sounds greeting their ears were the rain, the creaking of the floorboards below them, and the occasional boom of thunder accompanied by a lightning flash. One such boom of thunder was louder than the rest, which caused Zoey to jump and instinctively leap into the arms of the closest person to her. Unfortunately for Rythian, that person was Lalna.
"Careful now." The scientist gave a chuckle as he let an embarrassed Zoey down. "I can't be here to save you every time."
"Hey, knock it off!" Rythian instantly snapped. "She doesn't need to be saved by the likes of you."
"Guys, really, it's no big deal." Zoey tried, but her words fell on deaf ears. Rythian and Lalna were already locked in another staredown.
"Say that again." Lalna spat, taking a step closer to the mage. Rythian continued to glare back as he held his ground. He knew he had hit one of Lalna's trigger buttons; his pride.
"I said," He leaned closer to look the blond scientist dead in the eyes. "She doesn't need to be saved by the likes of you."
"Um, guys? I think I can speak for myself here-" Zoey tried to interject again, but like before, it failed.
"Oh, and what makes you so much better? Just because you can shoot fireballs out of your hands you're instantly miss Zoeya's savior?"
"I don't really need to be saved most of the time, you know."
"Why, do you want one sent flying into your mouth? Because believe me, I can make it happen." Rythian raised a fist up close to Lalna's jaw in a threatening manner.
"Welp, I'm useless here. Best go do something productive."
As Zoey turned to continue down the hall, Lalna's glare towards Rythian only intensified.
"Why you little, shit-faced, SON OF A BI-"
"Hey guys, I found something!"
Zoey finally managed to catch the two's attention as they turned to see her some ways down the hall. She now stood in front of an open door; the first they had come across up here. Rythian and Lalna looked at her, then back at each other, then back at Zoey. There was another brief glare shared between the two as they headed over to Zoey's position. The room Zoey had found was almost pitch black, save for the first few steps into the room being lit by the hall's chandeliers. The three stood there in silence once more, staring into the void of black until Lalna spoke up.
"Well... you go first, Rythian."
"What!? Why me?" The mage turned to give the scientist a confused look. "No way in the Nether am I going first! There could be the murderer in there!"
"Pssh, please. Everyone is investigating their own floors below us. They couldn't have possibly gotten in there without passing us first."
"Then if no one's in there, why do you want me to go first?"
"...That is an excellent question that I don't have a believable answer to."
"If you two are just going to stand here and talk about it all day, then I'll go first." Zoey spoke up. Rythian turned to face her again, and he recognized genuine annoyance on her features. Before he could say anything, the redhead turned and stepped into the darkness. A few seconds later, the two waiting in the hall heard her disembodied voice from inside.
"All clear! Well, I think it is, anyway. It's still really dark in here."
Rythian and Lalna absently shared another look before they walked in together. Soon enough, the trio found themselves stumbling around in the dark. It didn't appear that Ridgedog had routed electricity into this room, for Rythian couldn't find a lightswitch anywhere. He occasionally bumped into Zoey a few times as they both tried to feel around the room. The mage also occasionally bumped into a few things that he could not place a name to.
"Hey guys, I think I found a candlestick!" Rythian eventually heard Lalna say to the right of him, perhaps on the opposite side of the room.
"Any matches?" Zoey asked. Rythian heard a pair of gloved hands feel around on what sounded like a desk.
"No, not really- Aha! Found one!"
There was a brief scratching noise before the room was instantly illuminated by an orange glow. Lalna became visible, and he lit the candlestick in his right hand before blowing out the match in his left, the small thing already charred black. He tossed the used match aside as Zoey and Rythian moved closer to him for better light. Lalna looked as if he was about to speak, but Rythian quickly turned when he noticed a few shadows besides their own dancing along the walls. Lalna and Zoey must've noticed them too, for seconds later they all huddled together and each gave yells of surprise. Even with Zoey in the room, Lalna's was unfortunately the girliest. Rythian was the first to calm down when he realized that the shadows were just cast by a few taxidermy trophies. This must be Ridgedog's old trophy room, and his collection included a skeletal archer, the head of a wild boar, and a stuffed creeper. That certainly explained what Rythian had bumped into before.
"Holy crap...that one got me good." Lalna panted. The three separated from their little huddle of fear before Rythian spoke up again.
"Okay, we're all just a little jumpy tonight after what happened with Ridge. Justifiably so. We just need to calm down and finish what we're supposed to do up here."
"Ryth's right. Let's finish up here and get to the attic already." Zoey added. Her excitement for mystery solving seemed to have faded a while ago. The three soon left the trophy room after finding nothing and continued their search of the fourth floor. Most doors were still locked, but there were a few that remained open. However, they were just guest bedrooms with more sealed windows too tiny to crawl out of. Eventually, the three circled around back to the stairs that brought them up here before they headed up to the attic. The door leading up to it was perched at the very top of the next flight of steps.
Rythian, taking the lead now, opened the door to find many cobwebs, old boxes, and blankets scattered about the small room. Most of the junk hugged the wall, though, so besides a few old roof supports, it was fairly open in the center of the rectangular space. With Lalna's candle lighting the way, the three split to examine each nook and cranny of the place. No one found anything particularly interesting at first. Zoey found herself digging through a box of old blankets and bed sheets, Rythian was busy busting through a large clump of cobwebs to get to one corner of the room, and Lalna spent most of his time examining a large portrait of Ridge that was leaning up against the wall. The overseer looked as smug and confident as ever. Once Rythian had cleared the cobwebs away, he managed to make out an old wardrobe sitting up against the wall.
"Hey guys, check this out."
Zoey and Lalna turned and walked closer to the mage as Rythian managed to force the doors open, the hinges having rusted from lack of use. It was hard to tell even with the candlelight, but it appeared that there was no back to the wardrobe at all. Rythian stuck a arm inside to test his theory. He was right; there was no back, and he wasn't sure it had much of a floor to it, either. It appeared to him as if this wardrobe led into the void itself.
"What the hell?"
"What? Let me see!" Zoey tried to peer over Rythian's shoulder to get a better look as Lalna set his candle down on the nearest box. Curious himself, the scientist also tried to take a look at this mysterious wardrobe, but unfortunately, he tripped. Before he could catch himself, he collided with Zoey and Rythian's backs, sending them all tumbling down a mysterious chute before Rythian felt Zoey land on top of him a few moments later. The mage groaned and tried to shield his eyes from a sudden bright light. Where the heck were they?
"I heard it over here!" He heard a familiar voice call. The mage looked up to see Lomadia, Ravs, and Nilesy running towards them. They helped the three all get to their feet and brush themselves off.
"We heard a crash, but we didn't expect to find you three here. How the heck did you guys get to the first floor?" Lomadia asked. Rythian opened his mouth to answer, but Lalna beat him to the punch.
"Well, we uh...fell."
"Fell? What in the world d'ya mean by that?" Nilesy fixed his glasses upon his face as he spoke. The Scotsman looked uneasy, but who could really blame him in a situation such as this?
"Well, long story short, we found a secret passage that drops you here from the attic." Rythian replied. He gave a quick look around the immediate area and noticed an odd looking panel in the ceiling directly above them. He pointed a finger up to it. "That's where we fell from. Why Ridge had such a thing installed, I have no idea."
"Good news is, there's nothing too spooky or murder-y up where we were." Zoey smiled and jokingly tried to look suave as she leaned up against the wall next to what looked like a closet. "Now we wait for the others to meet us down here and report what they found. Maybe they've already caught the murderer, too! Everything will be just fine."
Just then, the closet Zoey was leaning next to suddenly swung open, and a large shape fell forward and hit the ground with a loud thump. Everyone jumped back in surprise before Lomadia screamed at the realization of what - or who - it was.
Before them lay Xephos, his bright blue eyes now clouded and distant as blood clotted around a wound on the back of his head.