Travelling the main roads by steed was certainly a lot faster than trying to cut through the wilderness on foot. The trio's weeks spent trying to reach Mt. Ebott turned to mere days crossing to the other side of it under the mages' watchful eyes.
It wasn't a pleasant trip. Lamont, Avalbanshee, and the others that had been split across Icefield's forests had joined them. The group tried to speak with the two sisters, as if some light small-talk would change how they viewed their own kidnapping. Each time, Ferris would bristle like a cat while Ciara stayed mute, glued to her side whenever the two were within each other's reach. After the first day or two, they gave up, their only interactions afterward consisting of shared meals and simple orders.
Castellar was kept several paces in front of them for the entire duration of the journey, always riding alongside the one who claimed to be his teacher. Besides him, no one bothered to speak to the skeleton—and even then, it was always in isolated moments full of low whispers Ferris could never pick up. Not once did Castellar answer them.
Eventually, they reached a quiet, rural community under the cover of nightfall. It was larger than the usual village, but didn't look to be big or congested enough to call a town. There were several farms scattered among plots of trees, a wide stream, and a plain, but inviting square. With the exception of a single tavern along the main road in, most of the buildings were dark and the streets empty.
Riding a grey horse to her left, Lamont beamed, "Finally! Welcome to your new home, sprouts! Don't try taking it all in at once!"
"How about you, Monty, don't try to wake up the neighbors?" a young, dark-skinned woman with orange eyes snarked. She'd been the most persistent at trying to get the girls to talk. Even now, she looked over her shoulder and offered up a smile, "There'll be time for a tour in the morning, if you're up for it."
"Not me…" moaned Avalbanshee, sitting regally on the steed she shared with another mage. "This mission took all the energy I had. Tobius, don't you dare send me off on another until winter."
"You really need to work on your stamina, Madame."
"Don't call me that if front of the new blood. I don't want them treating me as if I'm some old woman."
"Say that in front of Madame Valda and she'll have your hide for it."
The group split apart. Castellar's teacher muttered something to Lamont, who glared at the man with displeasure before giving him a nod. The latter took the reins of Castellar's horse and pulled him along a path to the south while the rest of their party headed north. Ferris watched them go, an uncomfortable question rising in her mind. However, the boy never looked back.
Another ten minutes passed along a dirt trail before they turned again and a massive, two-story building loomed before them. Although it was late, there were still a few lights twinkling inside. Above its twin front doors, made of wood and accented with gold and silver, was the same symbol carved into Castellar's talisman.
A hulking, boar-like monster opened the doors for them when they knocked. He seemed irritated by their late arrival, but waved the group in only with a huff. Ferris and Ciara were unloaded off the horses and ushered through.
A wide foyer that split into three paths greeted them. It was mostly empty save for a desk, a request board, and a lavish tapestry depicting a mage in a red cloak greeting a large, goat-like monster. What spoke to the guild's wealth even more, however, were the wooden planks that blanketed the ground. Besides with maybe a woven mat, covering the first floor of any building instead of just packing the earth was an unneeded luxury.
A few faces peeked at them out of the shadows from the passage to the left. The leader shooed them off, "Back to bed, all of you."
They hastily obeyed. Most of the mages they'd travelled with followed after them, retiring for the night. The orange mage grabbed Ciara by the hand and pulled her along with her. Ferris' heart leapt to her throat.
"Where are you taking her?" she demanded. When no answer came, she repeated the question in a more vehement tone and tried to give chase. A hand grabbed her shoulder and yanked her back. All she could do was watch helplessly as her sister tried to fight the woman's grasp to get back to her, then disappeared somewhere deeper within the building.
Ferris was led down the center passage, then turned right along another hall into one of four rooms. It looked like an office—like the one Mollendale's sheriff had, but warmer. Another, fancier and more cluttered desk separated her from a tall window. On one side were a few cushioned seats; on the other, a couple bookshelves lined with various texts and more trinkets than she could sort through.
As the girl was chained to one of the heavy chairs dragged to the middle of the room, Castellar's teacher stepped in front of her and leaned against the desk. He observed her for a minute, grinned, and then spoke, "Now that you're actually here, have you calmed down enough to hear me out?"
If he was a few steps closer, she would've spat at him.
He seemed to get read her desire, because he continued, "I thought not… But you really should know that we aren't the villains here, Ferris. We don't want to hurt you. It's just that your power is one we can't afford to let fall into the wrong hands."
She'd heard it all before.
"I think there was some misunderstanding when we first sent Avalbanshee to fetch you. I would've gone myself, but she was the closest and… Well, long story short, something kept me busy. If things had gone as planned, Castellar never would have laid his hands on you."
That had her attention. It brought back all the good and bad things she'd lived through on their journey. The disgust she'd managed to shake off during the havoc of that final night came rushing back.
"He's my student, so I trusted him," the man explained, the grin on his face momentarily appearing more fake than assured, "but it turns out his father had sent him to us as a spy. When he learned about Valda's gift and that it was to passed on to another—to you—he snuck away in order to reach you first.
"Few humans know of your ability and even fewer monsters. However, his father, Fraktur, is part of a faction that desires the power of seers for the Monster Kingdom. Because it's the one magic they cannot possess. You are the ultimate prize." He looked away with a perplexing expression of both relief and dismay. "Not that the boy-king would ever allow you to be used… He's much too soft-hearted for that."
Ferris tried to ignore how big the stakes were and just how much it terrified her.
"No one here plans to use you either, merely… guide you along the right path," he patted his legs as she stood straight once more, "Here, with the exception of Castellar and myself, only Valda knows that you can leap across time. It's a secret shared between the Guildmaster and the Head of the Crimson Mages, passed on from generation to generation. I should actually fetch her now. She'll be cross if I don't let her know you're here when she's waited this long. We'll deal with the paperwork when I return."
He stepped around her, heading for the door. Ferris kept her face directed at the ground, glad that her hair obscured it from view. His footsteps stepped before he could reenter the hallway.
"Ah! I almost forgot! Welcome to the Arnaud Mages' Guild."
END of ACT ONE
((Author's Note: A big thanks to all of you following this story so far! While I work on the comic for Origins, this has been a fun idea to play around with for a while now. I'm just so glad that I've actually finished the first third of it.
So, yes, there will be an Act Two and Three. I'd also like to try getting the first Act out to print on my Etsy at some point. However, before that, I'll be combing through the chapters to correct all the typos or any missing context I might had missed. Nothing to the story itself will change, but certain things I approached differently at the beginning, such as capitalizing certain words, will need to be adjusted. I'll let you know as soon as that's available.
Thank you all again and remember to stay determined!))