Chapter 98 Kalaini's Power

Lucas raised his eyebrows. "So, you can use magic too?"

"Of course," Kalaini replied. "Why wouldn't I be able to use magic?"

Lucas shrugged his shoulders. "I guess, I didn't know that magicians could actually manifest their powers."

"Well, now you do," Kalaini replied. "Now, let's get out of here."

"Right," Lucas said, "let's go!"

He grabbed the man's staff, which had fallen to the ground during their struggle, and used it to pull himself up.

Once they reached the door, Lucas called out, "let's check upstairs first."

Kalaini nodded and follows Lucas into the hallway, where two guards were standing up. They stopped when they noticed Kalaini and Kali approaching.

"Hey!" One of them shouted. "What do you think you're doing?"

"This girl is a friend," Haya tried to explain while placing his hand on his ribs.

"And who might you be?" The other guard asked.

"That's none of your business," Lucas replied instead while glancing at horrible Haya's condition.

The guard stepped forward menacingly, lifting his sword. "I suggest you turn around right now, or else."

"Or what?" Lucas wondered, inhaling more air.

The guard reached out and grabbed Lucas' shoulder with one hand, "you're the protagonist!" he said. "I don't like heroes... especially ones that aren't real."

Lucas smiled smugly and said, "well, I am real, and there's nothing you can do about it."

A blinding flash of light struck the guard and knocked him unconscious. Luas turned to Kalaini and smiled.

"Now, let's go," He looked at how was Kali holding too.

As they left the building and walked back to the road, Lucas realized that he didn't recognize any of the streets.

"Where are we? Where's the inn we were supposed to meet Xina?"

Kalaini looked at the city around them, "we must be close. It's getting dark."

The street ahead was empty; the buildings all looked deserted.

"Let's keep going," Lucas decided, "it should be near." He one more time looked at Kali.

The source of this content is n/ov/elbin[./]net'

They continued walking until they came across an old building with a boarded-up window.

"Look!" Kalaini exclaimed.

Lucas approached the window. There was writing on the wall inside:

The Silver Bell Inn

"How did it get here?" Lucas wondered aloud.

"It fell from somewhere up above," Kalaini replied lifting her eyebrows up.

Lucas sighed. "I hate these kinds of mysteries. Let's go inside."

Inside the inn, which was lit only by a single candle, the floors were covered in dust. A small fireplace burnt brightly in one corner; the room smelled faintly of ashes and smoke.

Lucas took a look around the place and said, "this isn't much of a hotel, but it'll do."

Lucas notices a large mirror on the wall. He knelt down to examine it.

"Is there something wrong?" Kalaini asked while helping Kali to lie on the bed that was next to a dirty wall.

Lucas looked up and smiled. "No, I just wanted to see if I could pick the lock."

He picked up the mirror and placed it carefully on the table.

After letting go of Kali's shoulders, she came closer and examined the mirror curiously. "What does it do?"

Haya stood up from the chair he was sitting, "a lot more than you'd think. It's best to take a look around at this place, I don't see Xina anywhere." He sighed and leaned back.

After a few minutes of searching, Lucas found a book hidden under the bed and opened it. It was written in an old language that he didn't understand, so he put it back and continued looking for something useful.

In the end, he found a leather pouch containing some kind of powder.

"Alright," Lucas said as his eyes widened, "now I need to figure out what this stuff is." He felt curious about it.

He poured the powder into his hand and tasted it.

"This isn't poison," Lucas decided, "so I guess it's safe enough to use."

He shook the pouch a couple of times, then sprinkled the powder on the floor. A cloud of dust billowed up and settled over the area, covering everything in a thin layer.

"What's that supposed to do?" Kalaini asked while gently massaging Haya's sleepy shoulders.

Lucas said, "I don't know, but maybe it will make it easier to find whatever's hiding under the dust."

He knelt down and began scooping away at the dirt using a stick from the fireplace.

"There's gotta be something important under here," Lucas mumbled, "where's Xina?" He was whispering while gently biting his own lip.

Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet gave way and dropped him into darkness.

"Lucas!" Kalaini shouted.

He had fallen through a trapdoor.

Lucas hit his head hard as he fell, then landed on the wooden floorboards below. "Ow!" he cried.

He looked around; there was a strange green light coming from the far side of the room.

Lucas got to his feet and stumbled toward the light.

He reached the edge of the chamber and peered down into it.

Something glinted in the distance.

"Maybe that's what I was looking for," Lucas thought.

He stepped forward and cautiously made his way to the source of light.

When he reached it, he saw an open chest lying on the floor.

"Oh, hello!" Lucas said sarcastically.

He picked it up and opened the lid. Inside were several coins of different shapes and sizes, along with a small dagger.

Lucas closed the box and pocketed the contents.

"I'm glad I found this," He smirked.

Then remembered what the powder in the pouch did.

"Wait a minute," Lucas said, "I forgot about the dust."

He took a handful of the powder and threw it into the air. As the dust floated downward, its colour changed from white to red.

Suddenly, the dust fell right onto the chest, and a blast of fire burst forth, engulfing it in flames.

"Well, that explains why I couldn't find anything under there," Lucas said slowly.

A gust of wind blew away the smoke from the burning chest and revealed a passage leading east.

Lucas headed back to the other room and knelt down next to the trapdoor.

The keyhole was large and circular, fashioned to fit the shape of any key.

Lucas bent down and tried to pick the lock, but he couldn't get it open.

"I really wish I knew how to pick locks," Lucas muttered.

Lucas looked around for something else to try.

He spotted another locked door in the corner of the room.

"Let me give this a shot," Lucas said, "maybe it's the same one."

He walked over to the door, picked the lock, and entered the east wing.

The hallway seemed empty.

Lucas walked west then turned north and continued down the hall. The corridor ended in a T-intersection.

Lucas headed south and stopped when he saw a woman sitting on the ground. She looked like she was asleep, but her eyes were open.

"Hey," Lucas whispered, "do you know a way out?"