Rise of a Prodigy: Chapter Five (1)

Elisa was sure of it now, in fact there could be no chance she was
wrong. There were ninety individual tiles on the left wall of her cell,
and at least half of them where covered in moss. That meant that the
left and right walls of the cell had an equal amount of tiles, and
almost the same amount of moss on each side.

She’d always been like this, ever since she was small. When her
mother had been ill with fever, she had tidied and rearranged every
ornament and piece of furniture in their house, and had done so again
when her father had been confined to bed with fever a year later.
Whenever she had had to take some particularly harsh teasing from the
other kids for being a bookworm, she would retreat back into the town
library, reading as many pages as she could before she fell asleep.

That was just her way of handling things, her mother had told her.
Whenever she felt sad or worried, and she couldn’t deal with what was
making her feel that way, she would find something to take her mind off
of it, and work on that till she felt better. Her father had called her
“my lovely little jobs-worth”.

This however, was something else. As much as she wanted to count
tiles or measure the window right now, what she needed to do was work
out what just what was happening to her, and why. The excitement she had
felt this morning had all but evaporated, and in her gut she knew that
this was not the place she thought it was. When she had first been
pushed in here by the soldiers she had tried to convince herself that
this was some kind of test, and she should simply wait and be patient.
After all, it was said that prodigies had incredible discipline and
tolerance, and if she wanted to be one then she would have to learn
that. But as she kept waiting, her doubts had set in.

For one thing, nothing she had read about Elleden tower, even in the
dustiest of volumes, had mentioned anything about cells in the basement.
Instead, it mentioned luxurious bedrooms for guests and residents
alike, with individual washbasins (She was now conscious of the fact
that she hadn’t bathed in days and her body odour was pungent) and
workstations. She had assumed she would be taken straight there, and
then be lead off to an initiation of some sort. She didn’t know what
that might be, as no book ever mentioned any. But it had now been hours
since she had been thrown in here, and no one had come to fetch her or
any of the other prodigies. At first, she had tried talking to the
others who had been thrown in the other cells, but they had all fallen
asleep without saying a word (At least, that’s what she assumed, hoped
even).

“Damn you Lalea” Elisa thought, hugging her knees. “Why, in all of
your letters, haven’t you mentioned any of this?” There had been no talk
of cells, or carts, or smelly, bearded guardsmen. It had been all about
lessons, and parties, and trips to the city. The desire to see her
sister had grown into a desperate need, and Eliza wasn’t sure how much
longer she would last if Lalea did not show herself soon. Had Lalea been
trying to protect her, by not telling her about any of this? Or had she
wanted to tell, but couldn’t? These questions were swirling around
Elisa’s mind, and questions with no answers were like needles under her
fingernails. Hugging her knees tighter, sobs began to escape her, as the
walls that surrounded her seemed to close in, threatening to swallow
her in darkness.

Her sobs ceased when she heard the faint sound of footsteps coming
towards her door. They were soft, but quick, as if the person making
them was trying to be quiet. Elisa stilled herself, not sure what this
might mean. Surely this was not someone who was to fetch her, and if it
were an orderly or a maid, why would they move like that?

She heard a jingling, now right outside her door, and then the lock
on her cell door clicked, as if opened. The footsteps faded away, and
one after the other, she heard more clicks and jingling, each one
further and further away, until at last, all the sounds stopped, and her
cell was again washed in silence.

For a moment, Elisa could not understand what had just happened. She
wondered if she was dreaming, or had started to imagine things. For what
must have been minutes she simply sat still, staring at her door. Then,
slowly, she began to crawl forward, not really thinking about what she
was doing. When she reached her door, she placed two hands upon it, and
slowly she began to push, her whole body straining with the effort of
moving against the heavy door. Sure enough, the door swung with her
movement, until at last it was fully open.

Elisa poked her head out, looking both ways down the hall. There was
no sign of whoever had unlocked her cell, or of anyone else. She stood
up, shaking off the dust of her cell floor, and whispered as loud as she
dared “Hello? Is anyone awake?”

No response. Elisa wondered for a moment if she should try to rouse
the others, as surely they would want to get out of here. But she had
seen how worn out they all where, and she wondered how far she could get
if she had to lead them all shambling about. She didn’t know how much
time they would have before someone came down here, and she had to act
quickly.

She stopped for a moment: What was she doing here? Was she trying to
escape? Elleden tower was where she had wanted to be for so long, would
she truly run away from it now?

No, Elisa decided, she was not escaping the tower, but she was
getting out of this basement. She only desired one thing, and that was
an answer. She would never to able to rest until she knew why all this
had happened to her and the others, and she would stop at nothing to get
answers.

Resolving that she must leave the others behind, for now at least,
Elisa made her way along the corridor, towards the spiral staircase that
surely led up to the ground floor. Moving as silently as she could, she
reached the stairs and began to climb, fearful that guards could come
down at any moment.

The stairs where long, and when she was sure she had reached halfway,
her legs began to cramp, forcing her to take a rest. Once she had, she
pressed onward, fighting back any further jolts of pain. Eventually she
reached a large wooden door that seemed to tower over her as she
approached it.

Elisa thought that she would have to turn back, but when she tried
the handle, the door slowly opened. Elisa did wonder for a moment who
was behind this, as if someone was guiding her steps to leave this
place. But she knew she had to focus on the task at hand, or she would
fail.

Going through the door, she found herself in a large, open room,
which seemed to be an entrance chamber for the tower. On her right, she
could see a large, marble door adorned with markings and runes. This she
assumed to be the main door, by which she had expected to arrive at
Elleden Tower. On her left, she could see that the walls were lined with
statues, some of old men with long beards, and others of women with
golden hair and big dresses. On the walls themselves, Elisa could see a
tapestry she recognized from one of her books. It told the tale of the
first Maestro’s and their prodigies, and how they had aided the early
kings of Gardena to govern the land, and build new cities and towns for
the people. A chandelier, with half of its candles lit, gave light to
the space.

Elisa new that this was not the time for gazing at art, so she made
her way to what was much more important: The staircase. At the far right
end of the hall, she had seen a round square, too big to be called a
door, cut into its side, through which she could see another stone
staircase. Keeping as quiet as she could, she ran almost on tiptoe
towards it. Upon reaching it, she slowly began to climb up, keeping her
left hand on the wall to support her. Once, she nearly tripped over her
long skirt, but fortunately she righted herself. She would be damned if
clumsiness got her caught right now, not when she was so close.

After what seemed like ten minutes, she reached what looked to be the
first floor, as the staircase, after levelling out for a few feet,
continued up towards the top of the tower. She was faced with another
hallway, this one long and with a high ceiling, with lit torches hanging
from the walls. Leaving the stairs behind for now, she walked slowly up
the hallway, still striving to be as quiet as she could.

She could see around six doors, three on each side, lining the
hallway, with one large door at the end. Walking up to the nearest one,
taking a torch from the wall as she went, she tried the handle, curious
to see if this was another unlocked door. The swinging motion it made
gave her answer, and pushing with what strength she had, she stepped
through.

What hit her first was the smell, nearly making her gag as it seeped
into her nose. It was a concoction of rot, mildew and decay, with some
other smells that Elisa could guess at, but not quite recognize.

When she had finished gagging, she let her eyes settle on what was
inside. On the floor, all she could see where crates, some stacked atop
each other, others in neat rows. Some of the smell came from the crates
that had evidently been here for quite a while.

Elisa walked over to the crate nearest to her, and, kneeling down
slightly, she looked for a way to open it. Finding a small lever, she
gave it a twist, and in a violent motion that made her jump back, it
opened.

Looking into the crate itself, Elisa saw that it contained what must
have been a summers crop worth of green herbs. She vaguely recognized
them as Apiria, a herb found near Luchelle.

Repeating this action with other crates, she once again found Apiria,
as well as a wide assortment of other herbs and plants. There was
Maakdie, orange Batsayerk that came from the eastern border, and some
red Pasyr, that was said to dyed with the blood of battles fought
against the brutish tribes of the Ferrland.

But these herbs weren’t the cause of the other, much more potent
smell that was hanging over this room. Elisa’s eyes now turned to the
large pile of boxes that was on the far side of the room, stacked higher
than any other group.

Heading towards them, she began to sense that they were concealing
something. When she reached them, she began trying to move them aside,
but found them hard to budge. In frustration, she simply barged into one
with all her might. Realizing her folly, she could only stifle a gasp
as the crates tumbled, with a crashing sound she was sure someone in the
tower would have heard.

For what must have been a minute, she stood still, unable to move.
When she heard no other sounds, she composed herself, and looked to
where the crates had previously stood. She had to know what they were
hiding, if she was to risk being caught making all that noise.

What stood before her was a bed, and a grand bed at that. Or at
least, it had been, in former days. It was large, large enough to fit
four regular sized people. Its sheets and duvets showed clear signs of
rot, and it was clear that this was the source of the mildew smell. But
even to Elisa’s eyes, the bedclothes were of unquestionably fine make,
the scarlet still showing, and the pillows still plump.

Besides the bed stood a washbasin, clearly disused by the sight and
smell of it. But this too had once been grand, made of marble stone with
brass taps for running water, a rare thing to see in any place but a
nobleman’s house.

Elisa very much doubted that these fine things were moved here merely
for storage. She darted around the room, and found other relics that
furthered her hunch. A bookcase on the left wall, with its volume’s now
unreadable due to decay. A workstation, whose inkwell stood dry, and its
papers rotted away. Paintings hung the walls, though it was clear that
they too had been neglected.

However, it was what hung above the doorway that was the most damning
confirmation of what Elisa had begun to fear. It was an inscription,
carved into a marble panel, which read “Honour to our guest of Elleden
Tower. May your visit bring you joy and wisdom.”

Running out of the door, she headed straight across the hallway to
the other room, and upon entering, repeated the same actions she had
done just that moment. It was an almost identical scene in this room as
the last, crates all across the floor, Grand bed, washbasin, and all the
rest that had been neglected, and the same inscription hung above the
door.

Stepping back out into the hallway, Elisa took a moment to breathe,
leaning herself up against the wall. She did what she could to gather
all her thoughts together, yet the facts where undeniable. These two
rooms were, or at least once had been, the guest bedrooms of Elleden
tower.

What Elisa could not understand was how this had come to happen. She
remembered the stories she had read about famous scholars who came from
every corner of the known world, all to get the chance to spend a week
or two in the learned company of Elleden tower. The stories always told
of how well these guests where received, in what comfort they were kept,
and how easily they slept in comfort.

Why then, had no guest come to the tower in years? Elisa could not be
sure how long these rooms had been in such a state as this, but it must
have been years, she was certain of that. She would not subject her
worst enemy to such a place, much less an honoured guest. So clearly,
the tower had not been visited by any learned personages in too long a
time.

She remembered the other doors that lined the hallway, and headed
towards one of them. When she got closer, she saw clear as day, the sign
attached to it, on which was simply written “Men’s dorms”. This door
too was unlocked, and upon stepping inside, Elisa saw that this room was
far larger than the guest bedrooms had been.

Like the other rooms, the floor was covered in crates, all of which
surely contained herbs. But scattered among the crates, Elisa could see
at least twenty small beds, all neglected as the ones in the guest
bedrooms where. They were arranged into neat lines of ten, up and down
the long room. On the far wall, Eliza could see a doorway, above which a
sign declared “ Washroom”. Somehow, Elisa did not feel brave enough to
venture into there, given how decayed everything else was. Turning her
torch around, she could see that the door next to this one also lead
into this dormitory.

Like before, she repeated similar actions with the doorway on the
other side, which sign read “ Women’s dorms”. Again, the same scene
greeted her, neglected beds and full crates.

Now Elisa was beginning to despair. Where were the resident prodigies? She knew they had to sleep somewhere, so why not here?

In her mind, she tried to come up with some kind of explanation.
Maybe the prodigies where all away somewhere, or this was some kind of
spell to fool intruders, or maybe these weren’t the bedrooms at all.

But she knew she was just trying to fool herself. Her head began to
spin with a wild swirl of emotions, those of confusion, fear, wonder,
and a desire to escape this place.

But more than anything, this discovery was fuelling her desire to
finally see Lalea. Lalea would know something, Elisa was sure of that.
Perhaps the explanation would be less terrible than the ones Elisa was
starting to imagine, and she would start to feel at peace.

Before she turned back to the stairs, Elisa decided to take the time
to inspect the door at the far end of the hall. The sign on this door
read “Kings Room”, and upon entering, Elisa was not surprised to see it
in much the same state as the other rooms had been, Crates lining the
floor and all the furnishings, this time a four poster bed that was as
big and tall as any bed Elisa could have dreamt of, all rotting and
neglected. Clearly, the king had not visited the tower in many years,
and perhaps he would not ever do so again.

But before she could turn to leave the room, she heard footsteps
coming up the stairs, which clearly belonged to men wearing armour. She
quickly shut the door to the king’s room, and pressed her body flat
against it, not daring to breathe.

She could hear them coming closer, now surely almost at the first
floor. Elisa wished upon every star she could name that they would climb
the stairs further, but instead she could hear them come closer to her.

Then she heard one of the doors opening, and Elisa could swear that
her blood was turning to ice, her heart pounding in her ears as loud as a
drum. She was convinced that in a moment, they would come to the door
she now hid behind, and then she would be caught.

To be continued.