Chapter 6|Manor of Escape

Noivern Manor

Nocturnal Haven in the Pines


"What is he doing here?" boomed a voice from upstairs that shook the house. Eko's dad was powerful, and he'd hate to see what he'd do to Radar and Olivia for talking to him. It was all his fault… Luckily, they had already made it down the stairs.

"Quiet down, I'm trying to sleep!" exclaimed another voice, belonging to Nevan. Eko couldn't hear the voices anymore, as they rushed into the cellar, closing the door behind them.

"That was close," said Eko, breathing heavily. "But we can't just leave now."

"I'm sure that guildmasters Mason and Alice wouldn't mind, we've already done a lot," whispered Zoran.

Eko scoffed, whispering, "We're not done yet. Let's get under the staircase." Archer was perched on Eko's shoulder, shivering wildly. "We're gonna be fine."

"Find him!" roared a primal voice. "Radar, Olivia, you're staying with me. We're going down to the foyer." The sounds of swooping and scratching immediately filled the house, followed by the clicking and opening of the front door.

"Why is he here, did he tell you?" asked Eko's dad, eerily calm.

"N- no," replied Radar.

"He did not, dad," said Olivia. "He asked me how things were going here, but I doubt he's here for a reunion."

'You guys are the best,' thought Eko. It seemed like Inigo didn't hear everything in their conversation.

"I know what he's after," screeched Eko's dad angrily.

"You two, help the others find him," said his dad. "And get Nevan down here, why's he still asleep!?"

"Yes, sir," the two droned, soaring off like the others. After a few minutes, Eko could hear Nevan coming down the stairs, yawning.

"Nevan, he knows," said his dad. They were uncomfortably close to the cellar door, as Eko could hear their voices even though they were whispering.

"About what, dad?" asked Nevan.

"The Shards," said his dad, "Why else would that disgraceful boy return for that thing?"

"That idiot doesn't know what he's messing with," said Nevan.

"He's in an exploration team now. He brought his friend with him," said his dad.

"The guilds can't possibly know their true power, so how did he find out?" asked Nevan.

"That Lurantis could know… No, she was handling it so carelessly... Unless she was delivering it as well," theorized his dad, there was a creaking noise from the outside entrance to the cellar.

'Oh no, I cut the lock off,' thought Eko. A pair of yellow eyes shone through the darkness, a screech resounding from the figure. Suddenly, they made eye contact with the group.

"Found you," whispered Inigo, grinning, his ears emitting a ringing noise. A jet of sound hurtled in their direction, Eko blocking with a boomburst of his own. The shockwave toppled the shelves in the cellar, a crashing sound followed by the metallic smell of blood gave the two enough time to escape up the stairs. As they opened the door, they realized their mistake after Nevan and his dad were both staring right at them.

"Hurry, knock them out!" exclaimed Nevan. They couldn't do anything as three boombursts hit both of them from all angles, Archer, still hiding in the cellar, winced as two thuds could be heard from the floor above, signaling the team's demise.

Eko struggled to stay conscious. And although his ears were ringing, he made out the words, "Take them to the dungeon." Inigo noticed him stirring, finishing the job with a sharp kick in the face, sealing Eko's fate.

They woke to find themselves put in a cage, no... a cell, surrounded by stone walls that were lit by the flickering flame of a torch. Zoran rolled off the bench he was laying on, the thud jolting Eko awake. His aching nose was bandaged by someone, probably Olivia, and his ears were still ringing. He had several bruises over his body, Zoran having the same.

"You okay?" mumbled Eko, rubbing his head.

"What did you say?" groaned Zoran, picking himself off the ground.

"Never mind," said Eko, hearing the approaching scratchy footsteps of a Noivern.

"How did you know what was in the bag?" asked Eko's dad.

"Why should I tell you, dad?" asked Eko defiantly. Zoran was shocked by Eko's audacity, as he was normally more reserved.

"I said, HOW DID YOU KNOW WHAT WAS IN THE BAG!?" roared Eko's dad, grasping the cell bars with his blood red claws. This was Zoran's first good look at him. His wings and face had scars all over them, his eyes glowing red instead of the normal yellow. He was huge, his wingspan the size of their cell.

"I asked Ivan," said Eko, "I threatened to kill his son."

"I'm impressed, I never thought you'd be able to do something like that," chuckled the voice.

"I wasn't going to," said Eko.

"No matter. So you somehow found out about the Shards," said his dad.

"What are they for?" asked Eko.

"You're not in the best position to be asking questions," said his dad.

"What are you going to do with us?" asked Eko.

"Us?" asked his dad, "Ah, yes. Your friend, Zoran is here too." Zoran gulped. "I don't like traitors, especially those who DON'T RESPECT THEIR PARENTS!"

Eko hesitated, his heart thumping against his chest. He mumbled something under his breath out of sheer pent-up anger. "Why should I respect you?"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" roared his dad, a maniacal rage building up in his eyes. "Everything I do is for this family. Your mother-"

"Don't bring mom into this!" snapped Eko.

"Your mom has everything to do with this! She spent every… waking… moment… caring for you! You ungrateful…" exclaimed his dad.

"I'm surprised you care that much about someone. Mom actually cared about us, while you just want to build us up into war machines! What are you planning?" roared Eko, venting everything he's felt through his rage. What happened to his dad, who once acted like a caring father?

"E- emotions are a distraction, Eko," said his father, although hesitantly. "I'll need to talk to Olivia and Radar about that. They'll be punished, and it'll be your fault."

"Why are you doing this? The war is over," asked Eko, almost pleading.

"War never ends," said Eko's dad, breathing heavily. " I'm trying to protect this family from a threat that you don't even understand!"

"Then tell me, what is this threat?" asked Eko, raising his voice.

"Those Shards… they hold a power more great than you could ever imagine. They will protect our family!" exclaimed Eko's dad. "They will protect this nation!"

"What is the threat?" repeated Eko.

"Stop talking! You're done asking questions. You'll stay here until I get a Hypno," said his dad, slinking up the stairs to get back to bed. "You'll be punished sooner or later. And don't worry, I'll make sure Radar and Olivia won't come down to save their precious little brother." Eko scowled.

"Geez, your dad is insane," said Zoran. "It's a good thing I didn't say anything. Wait, where's Archer?"

Eko shushed him and whispered, "We'll talk in an hour."

"Oh, never mind," said Zoran, sitting down on the bench. An hour passed, and there was hardly a sound. Eko actually contemplated calling the guild, but their bags were taken.. His spirit was already destroyed by his ignorant dad, and he already felt terrible for getting Radar and Olivia in serious trouble. The only thing he could do was what he was best at, getting caught up in his thoughts. His dad didn't tell him anything.

From what he could infer, his dad was still working with the dragons.

If he ever got out of the cell… he could try to stop whatever they were doing. He could only hope that Archer would find them.

"What's up, Eko?" whispered Zoran.

"I have a plan, but I don't know if Archer can open the door to the dungeon. It's the door opposite the one from the cellar, but she should know where it is," said Eko. "No, we are not calling the guild." Zoran got up and looked out the cell. To their right was the staircase that led up to the foyer, a keychain hanging from a nail sticking out of the wall, just above their bags. To their left was a strange-looking circular room, with what looked like a fire pit at the center. On the side of the pit was the rune!

"Eko, your dad brought the rune down here!" whispered Zoran, pointing towards the room.

"I'm guessing that's where they're going to activate it," said Eko.

"We're going after it after we break out, right?" asked Zoran.

"Yeah. This is going to be risky, but I'm going to call Archer," said Eko. "I hope she doesn't respond out loud." Eko whistled again, quieter than last time, waiting for something to happen. Another hour passed, and Zoran knew they had to break themselves out.

"I can try to break the bars with my Leaf Blade," suggested Zoran.

"Go ahead, just keep it quiet," said Eko, laying down on the bench. After fifteen minutes of whittling, Zoran gave up, the bars were solid.

"Welp, it looks like we're stuck here," said Zoran, looking around at the worn down walls. "How old is this place?"

"Pretty old. It was built before the rise of the Dragon types. My dad used this dungeon to hold prisoners of war," sighed Eko. "I didn't know that there was a pit here."

"Looks like we're going to be here for a while," said Zoran.

"Or not," said Eko, his ears perking up at the sound of faint knocking. "I don't think she can open the door though." The sound of knocking got louder, and soon Eko feared that his family would find out. Then, Archer swooped down the stairs and hovered in front of them. Eko noticed her beak was heavily scratched up.

"Did you peck your way through the door?" whispered Eko concernedly. The Fletchling tweeted weakly. "You didn't need to do that."

"Can you bring us the keys?" asked Zoran softly. They silently watched as Archer flew over and grabbed the keychain with her beak, but unable to open the lock. Zoran carefully took the keys from Archer's beak, but was disheartened by the fact that there were several keys. He handed them to Eko, who looked outside and fidgeted with the keys until he found a single rusted key.

"We're the second on the left side of the hallway, so it's key number four," explained Eko, trying to force his wing through the small gap in the bars. "My wings won't fit, and my claws don't have the dexterity to turn the key from this angle. You got it," whispered Eko, handing the keys back.

"Okay, I'll try," said Zoran, giving it a go. In an awkward position, Zoran turned sideways and got his arm through the bars, turning his wrist uncomfortably to try to get it in the keyhole. "Almost there," he said, accidentally dropping the keys on the ground with a loud jingling noise.

"Oh no," said Eko dreadfully, "I think I heard some noise from upstairs. Hurry!" Archer pushed the keys back through the bar to Zoran, who gave it another try. After several long seconds of fidgeting with the keys, it aligned with a satisfying click. Zoran was sweating now, also starting to hear the footsteps from above.

"Which way do I turn it?" asked Zoran.

"Clockwise, I think," said Eko, shaking with anxiety. Suddenly, the door opened a little bit too loudly. "They're going to find us. Grab the rune, I got the bags. Hopefully we can make a run for it."

"Hold up, what's this?" asked Zoran, clutching the rune. Eko turned around to see him staring at an open notebook on the lip of the pit.

"I've never been down here, but this place is creepy," said Eko. Upon closer observation, the notebook had a drawing of a wheel with ten symbols on it. Zoran suddenly shouted in pain, the nine images: a fist, a flame, a water drop, a lightning bolt, a skull, a wing, a leaf, and a moon that surrounded the simplistic symbol of a dragon were painfully ingrained in Zoran's brain, just like the vision of the runes. Eko was aghast, knowing for sure that his scream would attract unwanted attention. Eko didn't know why he screamed, but now wasn't the time to ask him. They were going to have to fight their way out of the mansion. Eko dragged Zoran, who was still clutching his head, up the stairs after grabbing their bags.

"I'll ask you what happened after we get out of this mess," said Eko. They were met by two Noivern in the foyer: Nevan and Eko's dad. The three of them froze, scanning the area and preparing to fight.

"I'm guessing your little Fletchling friend broke you out," said Nevan, "How thoughtful of her. " Eko's dad didn't say anything, his eyes flickering with fury. Meanwhile, Eko noticed something, the chandelier. Built by Sableye back in the day, Eko knew the glass would leave a mark… if it were to hit someone on the head. He just had to wait for the right moment. Zoran stood his ground confidently, something that Eko wished he could do, but he couldn't stop shaking. Fighting Ivan was different; he was a stranger and clearly evil. Fighting his family however… that was a bit complicated. He didn't really want to hurt any of them, even after what they did to him. He also didn't underestimate his dad and Nevan's strength. "I'm guessing you know about the Shards now," said Nevan. "You'd still be a reasonable spy."

"I would never," said Eko, his fear slowly growing into anger. "I still don't know what the runes do."

"Quinn. They'll help protect this family," said Nevan, looking Eko in the eyes. There wasn't malice this time. "Even the world."

"Yeah, right. Might as well make friends with the Fairies while you're at it," said Eko sarcastically. He thought back to the times when Nevan would boss him around.

"There's a lot of things you don't understand. Now that you know about the Shards, why not help us out?" asked Nevan. "Steal them from the guilds?"

"He would just leave and never come back, probably telling the guilds about our plan while he's at it. We can't let them leave this place," growled Eko's dad.

"Run for it!" exclaimed Eko, swiping an Air Slash at the chandelier. Team Endeavor ran for the door, Zoran pulling out his Leaf Blade and slashing his way to freedom. But, nothing happened. Nevan had sidestepped the chandelier with insane speed, leaving Eko dumbfounded. Eko's dad got hit directly, but he brushed it off easily.

"We reinforced the doors and glass. It seems your Leaf Blade isn't strong enough, Sceptile," said Nevan, now filled with rage. "How dare you come back and wreck this house?"

Eko looked over his shoulder, dragging Zoran into the hallway behind the staircase, Archer falling suite.

"Get back here!" screeched Eko's dad. In contrast, Nevan smoothly glided in pursuit. The paintings of Nokori and Nevan Noivern shook as the fight began, Eko's portrait falling off its hook and shattering.