~Chapter 20- Lockdown~

"I have grave news to share for the city of Mortel. Several monks of the Hall of the Dead were murdered last night... as was my son. Prince Norton. The culprits are Lumb, Ceptance, and Deporah Dolor. Kingsguard soldiers are to kill them on sight. Until their capture, the city will be closed, None shall leave or enter. Any information leading to their capture will be greatly rewarded. These fiends must be brought to justice!"

Dark clouds came over the city of Mortel as each of the cardinal gates was locked down. Soldiers of the Kingsguard scoured the city for traces of the family as a heavy downpour began. Other soldiers were positioned at each of the gates, ensuring there would be no escape for them.

Rain turned the dirt roads leading out of the inner ring of the city into a muddy mess. In the outer ring of the city, civilians remained boarded up in their homes, hoping for this mess to be resolved soon.

A house in the outer ring was blanketed in rain, one that had been abandoned for years. Moss grew around its base, and superstitious individuals steered away from the home. Murders had occurred in that home a decade ago, and it was left to rot. The city would've torn the home down if not for the owners' demand that it not be touched.

The sun had barely risen when three individuals visited the home - the three whom the entire city had been searching for. Ceptance had an arm over Lumb's shoulder as she struggled to stay upright, and Deporah fidgeted with her key to the home. As soon as they opened it, they sleuthed inside, promptly shutting the door behind them.

Deporah looked about her old home. Aside from the dust, it was untouched since she had last been there.

"Where can she lay down?" Lumb asked.

Deporah pointed to her old room, "The bed in there should be fine."

Ceptance breathily replied, "Thank you, dear."

Lumb trudged his mother through the house into the bedroom, promptly getting her into bed and pulling tattered covers over her.

Deporah placed a hand on the table set squarely in the center of her home. She recalled days with her mother and father here, only for memories of that terrible night to resurface again.

She sat in a chair, feeling it splinter and crack from her weight. She transitioned to another chair that had better withstood the test of time.

"Are you alright?" Lumb asked desperately in the other room.

"Yes," Ceptance uttered, "I only need some rest."

Lumb entered the main room of the home, his face drained. All of them were exhausted. If they were just a bit slower, the Kingsguard might've caught them.

Lumb placed a hand on the same chair Deporah had sat in. The little bit of weight he put on it caused the legs to give out and break. Lumb had to catch himself from falling with it.

"Sorry, should've warned you," Deporah remarked.

Lumb smiled, "It wouldn't be the worst thing to happen."

The smile quickly disappeared. Lumb picked the chair across from Deporah and made sure it was sturdy enough to support his weight before sitting down. He and Deporah sat across from each other with folded arms, saying nothing, simply letting everything that had happened to them sink in.

Lumb revealed a book with a metal spine and a lock on it. He placed it on the table and slid it to Deporah.

"We found this with the monk Thomas. It seemed important to him."

Deporah inspected the book. She tugged at the lock keeping it closed; it was sturdy and wouldn't be easy to break. Not without a great deal of force. The spine was even sturdier. On the metal spine was the same mark that had been etched into the people in the dungeons. The same mark Lumb shared on his chest.

"It seemed like he was going to use it to perform that ritual Felli told me about," Lumb said.

"Do you believe all of that? About life after death and possession?" Deporah asked.

"Felli certainly believed it. It would explain a lot of what happened ten years ago. And now."

"You think my mom was possessed by one of those spirits?"

Lumb vehemently nodded, "Urba would never hurt anyone. It has to be them."

Deporah placed the impenetrable book on the table, "I think it was Tradon."

Lumb raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

"The Leader of the Hall of the Dead before Felli or Barja. When we went to see them, Barja said, 'Tradon isn't really gone'. That always sounded strange to me."

Lumb shrugged, "You remember better than me!"

Deporah winced, "That doesn't explain what was happening underneath the castle. Why have they been capturing and torturing people? And why is the King involved?"

"It must be connected to what happened ten years ago. That book has the same mark that Horace cut into my chest. The same mark as on those people you saw in the Dungeons too. Maybe the monarchy is involved?"

"But Prince Norton didn't know..." Deporah replied, knitting her hands together and placing her elbows on the table. She closed her eyes for just a moment... Flashes of her time in that dungeon came to her. Those captive individuals in agony... The monks she killed... and Norton.

She stifled a sob and felt her eyes grow watery. Before she realized it, Lumb had circled around the table and put an arm around her, "It's going to be alright, kid. We're going to figure this out..."

She clenched her fists and grew angry with herself through the tears. Deporah knew she shouldn't allow herself to be weak, not at a time like this. But when she thought of the Prince, she couldn't help it.

"He'd still be alive if he didn't come with me."

"That's not your fault."

"Yes, it is. If I didn't drag him into it then..."

Lumb didn't say another word. He simply held his niece ever tighter as she let more tears flow.

Then that sadness turned to conviction. Deporah pushed back the tears and declared, "We've got to make them pay. Somehow."

Deporah reached for the book on the table, "Maybe this will have some evidence we can use against them."

Lumb nodded, "I have an idea of how we'll get it open too."

Deporah was eager to see what plan Lumb had and was terribly disappointed when he set the book on the floor and gripped his hefty axe firmly with both hands.

"You're going to try and cut through the lock?" She asked from behind folded arms.

"I've tried to wrench that thing open with mom's little axe, but it wasn't budging. If I strike the lock with this, it should break it."

"You're going to miss," Ceptance hollered from the bedroom just loud enough for them to hear her.

Lumb rolled his eyes and lined up his axe with the book, "I ain't going to miss."

Deporah stood back as his uncle readied himself. Lumb raised the axe overhead and swung it down. He struck just beside the book, hitting the cobblestone floor instead.

"He missed, didn't he?" Ceptance snickered from the bedroom.

"I was close," Lumb brought the axe overhead again, "I'll hit it this time!"

Lumb brought the axe down hard. When they heard the splintering of metal, she thought he struck true. Turns out he hadn't struck the lock, but the book itself right down the middle.

Both Lumb and Deporah were speechless.

"Did he miss again?" Ceptance sighed from the bedroom.

"... Not exactly..." Deporah replied.

Lumb knelt near the book. The metal binding keeping it together had been shattered. When he picked up the book, it came in halves, each page split in half. Opening the book made even more of a mess.

"This isn't that bad. We just have to match the different pages with each other."

"That could take a while," Deporah sat back in her chair as Lumb pieced together the book on the floor. Any evidence that the book would give them may not be enough. There had to be something else they could do. If the city could simply see that dungeon...

"We need Aingr's help," Deporah remarked.

"He's hunting for us too."

"But he knows we wouldn't do this. If he could just see those dungeons, he'd understand."

Lumb sat up, "Could you tell him where it is?"

Deporah shook her head, "I don't think I could describe how he could get to it... and if he did get close enough, those monks might stop him."

Lumb took the halves of the book and set it aside. He took a deep breath and said, "We need Aingr to come here."

"What?"

"He's only going to believe us if we make ourselves vulnerable. If he meets us in person, we can explain everything. We just have to trust that he wouldn't turn us in."

"I don't think he would!" Ceptance said from the bedroom.

Lumb nodded, "I'm just not sure how we'd tell him and only him where we are."

"I can do it," Deporah asserted.

"How?"

"I know where he lives. I could sneak a letter into his house."

Lumb stood, "No, they're looking for us. If anyone should go, it should be me."

"Uncle, you're not the most subtle person. If you go out there, they'll definitely catch you. I have a chance of getting around them. You can piece together that book while I'm gone."

"Honey, are you sure that'll be safe?" Ceptance asked from the bedroom.

"I can do it," Deporah stood and hustled up the stairs to her parent's old bedroom. She opened her mother's drawers and rummaged through them until she found a particular coat she would wear in heavy rain. It was a bit musty, but still in decent condition. She threw the coat around herself ... it fit rather well!

She looked through her father's desk before finding a notebook with blank paper. The ink he'd write with still sat at his desk. She began writing a message for Aingr.

We're innocent. The Hall of the Dead is behind the disappearing people and the King may be involved too. There's a hidden dungeon between the castle and the Hall of the Dead where the missing people are being held. We can explain everything if you come see us. We're at my childhood home. Please come alone. We're counting on you.

-Deporah

Lumb came up the stairs just as she finished her brief letter.

"How does this look?" Deporah said as she handed her folded letter to him. He looked it over and nodded.

"It's good... You're sure you'll be safe?"

Deporah pulled a hood over her head, "I'll be back before you know it."

Deporah made sure the coast was clear, and the young woman departed from the home, quickly making her way into the city as rain poured overhead.