Untiled Book

Chapter 2: Mathias

Chapter 2
Mathias

The sun was well below the horizon, slashing the darkening sky with violent streaks of red, orange and purple. The first weak twinkling of stars had begun to appear scattered among the colors, as if painted by a careless child. One by one they came into view, seemingly oblivious to the sharp cold creeping over the low rolling hills they hung above. The small village of Twinvale sat nestled among these hills, quiet and unassuming with only one large tower jutting out above the slate roofed houses. From the tower came the peal of bells now signaling the arrival of twilight and the approaching end of yet another day in Engaea. Despite the late hour, however, the city was far from quiet. The people of Twinvale filled the streets singing, dancing and celebrating. Lights shone from nearly every corner bathing the village in a warm glow. Deep in the heart of this glow was a simple ramshackle building called The Gleaming Sword Inn. The few travelers that had been to this humble establishment remarked how it was a sorry name choice. Most of the Inn was in extreme disrepair. Plaster often fell from the ceiling onto an unsuspecting customer’s head. The rooms were terribly drafty and almost every window was cracked and teetering on shattering. Rats and mice seemed to frequent the place more than guests and evidence of their presence could be seen almost everywhere. The owner, Bane Flora, knew it would take nothing short of a miracle to keep him in business much longer. He had already let go all of his employees. Now only he and his wife maintained the crumbling Inn. It seemed like ages had passed since anyone had come calling for a room for the night. Consequently, Mrs. Leona Flora had nearly fallen over when a well dressed mysterious man had come in requesting a room for three nights! The man seemed odd to Bane however. He seemed young, barely into his twenties, tall with a slim build. His face was long and framed by tousled light brown hair. His most striking feature was his bright blue eyes which seemed to glitter when the light touched them. He had come in so quietly that Leona jumped in surprise when the man said, “Excuse me madam.” Quickly composing herself Leona squeaked out her formalities and arranged accommodations for their seemingly high profile guest.
He had been very specific about which room he wanted to stay in. It had not been a problem of course. It was not as though he had any competition in occupying the room. The only thing special about it was its size. It was larger than the rest of the rooms in the building with one massive window, which boasted a magnificent view of the town’s sunset. That window was open now and the mystery man stood in front of it watching the last rays of sun disappear. Lord Mathias seemed impervious to the cold, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back, eyes closed, letting his mind wander. The wind rose up and buffeted his face carrying a faint smell of the sea which lay beyond the hills. It was nice to be near it again. As the sun finally finished it’s glorious swan dive into the landscape flurry of emotions rose in him. The hour was late. “Where is he?!” raged Mathias internally. “He should’ve been here by now!”
Minutes ticked by, and still he stood alone. Finally convinced that something had gone terribly wrong he rushed across the spacious room to the well used bed where his travel satchel lay. Violently he dumped the contents out onto the bed, stirring a large amount of dust into the air, and sorted through it till he found paper and a pencil. He wrote only four words and then quickly folded up the message. He stuffed his belongings back into his bag haphazardly and hurried out into the hall and down the stairs to the dining hall of the Inn.
Bane Flora stood behind the bar washing glasses that had never been used and offered an eager smile to Mathias, saying, “Is there anything I can –“
“I need this message sent out immediately. Please use your fastest bird, it’s extremely urgent,” said Mathias brusquely.
“Why yes, of course sir-“
“Thank You,” Mathias cut him off, “I appreciate your hospitality but I must be going now. May the Dirge pass you over.” He turned and strode out the door before Bane could utter another word.
“Now what do you suppose he left so quickly for?” asked Leona, who had just entered the room.
“How should I know!” bellowed her husband, “Do I look like a Messenger?”
“Ah well,” Leona said ignoring him, “I’d best go clean up the room. Though I doubt anyone will be in it soon.” She bustled up the stairs humming to herself.
Bane merely grunted and continued on with his work. Only a moment had passed when he suddenly heard Leona scream from upstairs. Damned woman! he thought, probably just another mouse. He thundered up the stairs, eager to be done with her nonsense and burst through the door at the top of the stairs. Leona stood transfixed staring at the wall on the other side of the room. Bane craned his neck around her to see what she was looking at and gasped himself. There, in the wall stood a door. It was semi transparent and seemed to be drifting in and out of wall. As if that weren’t odd enough, the door was on the outside wall of the building. If it were to open, there would be nothing but air beyond it. There was only one thing it could be.
Leona turned to face him, “Do you think - Could it be - here – “she stammered. Bane didn’t wait for her to gather her thoughts, he ran out of the room and down the stairs, almost tripping several times. He snatched the message Mathias had left for him to send. It was addressed to Head of the Collective in Fallmoor. Gingerly, afraid of what would be there, he opened it. He couldn’t believe what he saw. Four little words, hastily written:
The door is shut.
He froze as the full weight of the message descended on him. “Ancestors, help us all…