บท 3: A Letter From A Lost Brother
WRIK RESTED HIS LEFT cheek on the wooden table out of boredom. Whilst, Kathrin was on the top of his shoulder, playing with his hair. It appeared that she's trying to organise it, but he could not tell if it's messier than before or not. It's been over an hour, he arrived at Alpstone, and like any other day, it was quite vacant. The business was never on the fairer side for Alpstone. Apart from the evening hours, when folks came in for drinks and beverages. Though the numbers were limited, it's more than enough to keep on going with the Inn for Takln.
Takln was a good man, a man of few words. He remembered everyone's name who came into his inn, though it wasn't true in reverse. Wrik had been coming here for over a year now, he liked the stillness here, the silence and solitary was one of the attractive features of Alpstone. And he was glad that Takln left it that way.
Not waiting anytime more, he ordered the foods, which were oats, cheese with few veggies. Pitt, the only employee of the inn, came in rather haste with the food. He looked at Kathrin and found that she wasn't enthusiastic about the food. So he dined alone.
Though the sustenance was not that delicious, it was more than enough of a savoury. He gobbled them up with ease, as he had taken care of the most difficult decision.
"Meow," Wrik looked at his kitty and found that she was gazing at the entrance. He followed her gaze and found it opening. A skinny yet lanky figure came in. Katrin was quite an expert in sensing her mortal enemy.
Anton came straight to their table, his thin grin on his lips told that he had quite the success in his job. The claw marks on his cheek were not that discernable now. He rested his outer coat on the back of an empty chair while Wrik asked him:
"Are you not going to eat?"
"I'd eaten at Red's," said Anton, resting his back relaxed at the chair. "Surprisingly enough, he paid for all the beverages."
"Well, he is weird," commented Wrik. "So, what's you got?"
"I got more than I expected to," Anton grinned out, showing the whites. "Do you remember Kevin Keplin? The huge guy, we helped a few months back?"
"Yeah, I remember. The guy was wrongly condemned for the serial killing of teenage girls." He nodded. "What's up with him? Is he alright?"
"Alright, he looked more than just alright. Apparently, he got the invitation from Sophia Syfinn as well. He was with Red when I visited his place. Red was training him in combat."
"Give me the details."
"Well, Sophia Syfinn contacted him a week ago," Anton proceeded. "He caught her eye… like me…"
"Stop with that reminiscing, continue."
"Well, after knowing the invitation was real, Kevin accepted it. He was told that there would be others on this trip with him. Others than us. Apart from that, he mentioned a few other things like she asked him to train in the basics of combat and meditation and few other instructions."
"Anything about the Knightshade?"
"Yeah, but it's rather vague. Supposedly, it seems they had quite a decent standing, with only two hundred official members. And the head, being the controller of all the large decisions."
"I expected as much . . . Any particular rules and regulations?"
"Nothing that would affect us."
Wrik nodded with a small frown on his brows. He was pondering. Then noticed he hadn't finished his plate. He gobbled them up saying, "It looks good."
"Then, we?" A glitter appeared in Anton's eyes. And it only broadened when he saw Wrik nodding. He was delightful enough to have another go with Kathrin, but decided not to in the unusual location.
"I think our business is over here," Wrik said as he stood up, finishing his plate. "Ton, pay the bills."
Anton nodded in understanding. They didn't know when they would be here again, so it's best to pay the money they owed.
"Keep the change," Anton brought out two red notes of hundred penz and handed it over to Takln, the balding innkeeper.
Takln gave them an inquiring stare, then nodded in understanding. "My inn is always open for you. Ton… Wrik…"
They didn't know what the Innkeeper understood. But, both of them gave a quick bow, before leaving the place. The white kitty followed them, lunging here and there.
The sun was already at 3 o'clock; the atmosphere had regained its stillness. Autumn wind breezed, uncaring of anything. Unsurprisingly, there weren't any wagons in the street to cause a divulgence in the stillness.
"We have to leave for home… Tomorrow would be a good day..." Wrik sighed. Even if it's not, they have to go. Time is the only thing they don't have.
"We? Me too?" A heavy look appeared on Anton's exterior, washing away all his enthusiasm.
"That's your home too, Ton."
"I got chills hearing about home," Anton exaggerated. "Aunt, she would kill us, if she knows where we're going."
"Kill is an understatement," Wrik sighed high, recalling their aunt. "Be prepared, Ton. Stone your heart. We can't let her play the empathic mother as always."
"Easy for you to say."
'Easy? Definitely not,' Wrik mused inside. Their aunt, a hard woman, she won't be swayed by theirs or others' opinion at all. She had quite a different view about the philosophy of the world.
When they arrived at their apartment, Wrik noticed another person was waiting for them at the entrance. A middle-aged man, not that tall, holding packs and stacks. A courier man.
"Now, who would send us a courier?" Anton questioned.
"Might be another new client."
Wrik walked on with Anton towards the entrance.
"I would have left if you're a little late," said the middle-aged man with the courier. He should've waited for a long time.
"I apologised to keep you waiting." Wrik finally noticed the unicorn tag on the man's shirt. The Unicorn corps, known for their work ethic, and fast conveyance. An enormous enterprise had business all over the world.
'Someone got a load of cash. Who could it be?' He mused inside.
The courier man nodded as he gave a pad towards him, which he signed promptly.
The man left, leaving a package behind. The package was not that big nor that heavy.
"Who's it from?" Anton asked.
Wrik was about to answer, but closed his mouth, glimpsing at the name tag of the sender.
It was Lucas Rossetti. The lost brother of theirs.
He rechecked the name of the sender; the name didn't change. It was Lucas Rossetti, his best friend and brother from childhood. They used to live together, he, Lucas, and Anton. But now he didn't even know where he was.
His hands were shaking. "It says, Lucas." He answered the inquiry of Anton.
"So, now that bastard remembers us," Anton similarly couldn't calm his composure. He confirmed the name on the package and yelled with over-excitement. "Open it, let's see where he's been for over a year?"
They were still standing in front of the entrance. Without bothering to open the apartment, Wrik opened the packet with rough handling. There were not many items in the package. The first thing that caught his eyes were two envelopes. Two letters: one addressed to him and Anton, and the other one for Anna Rossetti, his mother. Their aunt. There was also a small rectangular box inside, made of fine metal. He opened the letter meant for them and started reading.
"Read it out loud," Anton quoted.
"Ah… sorry." Noticing his mistake, Wrik started to read it out loud.
" 'Hey, Wrik, Ton, how are you guys doing? I reckon you'd managed fine without me. Ton, if I'm not wrong, you still haven't succeeded in your quest of finding a girlfriend.'"
"Fuck you…" Anton flared up, hearing the mocking, while Wrik continued reading.
"'So I'm the first to get a girl, assuming Wrik hadn't changed. Ton, you might die out of envy if you see her.'
"'Enough of the jokes, it's been a year. I haven't seen the two of you… time passes quite fast. I'm doing fine. Yes, I'm a Mahasayer now, I bet you two are fuming with fury. Again I apologised for departing with no explanations, and I assume both of my brothers have forgiven me by now.'"
"I haven't." Anton clicked his tongue in disdain.
"Me neither," Wrik agreed. He proceeded on reading.
"'The Maha Tower was amazing. It really filled you up with ambition and vigour. But hate to crush your dreams, it wasn't the place we heard in the stories in our childhood. There are many of the things you won't like here, many you would loathe to destroy and few you would love to protect…'
Wrik took in a deep breath—he expected that. Though he had a little understanding of the tower world, the only way to know better was to explore it.
"'Well, you'd be surprised if you see it with your own eyes. I put a lot of thought before writing this letter. But the end decisions are yours. I won't condemn you for anything. There is something for the two of you in the box. Open it up now. The password being the initials of our name.'"
Wrik gestured to Anton to open the box. Anton picked it up, and after fiddling for a good minute, he could open it. He found two fabric-type papers inside.
Anton's arm trembled. These two fabric papers were identical to the ticket—Sophia Syfinn showed in the very morning.
"Two tickets to the trial."
Wrik examined the tickets. It had a height of 10cm and 6cm in width, black. There was some code written on it in the runic pattern that he didn't understand. Apart from the symbol of the Tower, there was a symbol of a sword in the middle of it as well. While on the other one there's no sword but a red pattern of a letter. It should be Elnin script.
Apart from the tickets, there was a small red crystal ruby and a crystal card. Wrik went on reading the letter.
"First about the tickets. Yes, they are the tickets of the Trial of the Tower and both are quite special than normal tickets. I had to spend a lot to manage these two. The one with the sword on it is for you, Wrik. While the other one for Ton. It would give you a head start against the other participants. I know what you're thinking, but let me remind you again - Strength is everything here, and without it, you can't pursue your dreams. OMEGANET gives opportunity to everyone, it's quite fair. Though there are few complications inside. But one thing is sure: it all depends on the success of the climbers.'
"'Next is the red crystal. I recorded some information on it. It will be of some help to you later. You can't open it without being a mahasayer, so bring it with you to the Tower. And the Card worth some amount of money, it should be more than enough to solve the issues you guys have.'
Wrik checked the crystal and the two tickets again, to pack them up in the box, while left the card out. He continued to read again.
"'Now, let's talk about a few things. Most of the things you know about the Tower are myths… But not all. You can find anything here, though it's tougher than I thought it would be. Even treating your mother was not impossible, Wrik.'" Wrik clenched his fist. His reading faltered for a moment. He continued: "'If you want to climb the Tower, there would be no better time than this, and I can't tell you why. There are some restrictions placed by OMEGANET over the information, so I cannot comment on the more serious matters. Time is very short, so my advice for you is to come to the tower as soon as possible. The end decision is yours to make.'"
A stern frown appeared on his brows. Wrik became serious after reading this. The situation must be more urgent than he thought.
"'I don't know how much time will be left for the trial to start when you received this letter. I reckon you would have about a week to prepare. The trial is at the end of the tenth month.'" The frown on his brows deepened. He looked towards Anton. "What today's date?"
"Fuck," swore Anton. "It's the 28th. We got about 2 days."
"I guess we have to hurry then," shaking his head, Wrik proceeded to read again.
"'Apart from the two of you, we have invited another person. Apparently, she doesn't live near Elania, so you can only meet at the Trial. Her name is An Byul. By the way, deliver the other letter to my mother, she would kill me. I got goosebumps thinking about it.'
"'Be seeing you at the Tower, I'll look for you if you choose to climb the Tower. There are few instructions below...'"
Wrik finished reading the letter and felt the heftiness of the matter. "Looks like we have a busy couple of days ahead of us."
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END OF CHAPTER THREE: A LETTER FROM A LOST BROTHER.
NEXT CHAPTER: A CHANCE MEETING.
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