solis | svt au

15

Seokmin, Vernon, Chan, and the new addition to their group, Soonyoung, at last arrived to their destination, Serenitum. Much to their relief, they arrived around 10 minutes before the magic border was activated, and though the guards looked slightly annoyed, they were allowed through.

The inn they stopped at was passably clean, the slightly faded sign decorated with a black bird and the words: The Screeching Crow.

Seokmin frowned at the sign as the others hurried in, eager for warmth. He had seen that sign somewhere before but couldn't quite pinpoint where.

"Seokmin?" Chan called.

"Hm?"

"Aren't you coming in?"

"Oh- yes, coming!"

Seokmin entered the inn, still feeling an instinctive urge to leave.

The evening passed without much incident, and they all headed to bed in the hopes of fresher minds the next day.

-

The room they had rented contained two beds, which Chan and Vernon had taken on Seokmin's insistence. Soonyoung and Seokmin slept on the floor. 

Chan woke up to Seokmin's and Vernon's spots empty, the blankets neatly folded. Soonyoung was still at his spot, occasionally making a half-hearted growl, fingers twitching.

After getting dressed, he crept down the inn stairs for breakfast. Half-expecting Seokmin and Vernon on the first floor, he was surprised to see it entirely empty. Not one patron was there - even the innkeeper was gone.

Bewildered, Chan approached the kitchens, finding them empty as well. Where had everyone gone?

Then a voice spoke, coming from the innkeeper, who suddenly appeared behind him. Her eyes glowed white, and she spoke with a voice that wasn't her own. The sound of at least three voices overlapped each other eerily at the same time, and he felt the weight of thousands of eyes staring him down from every angle.

"Well, well, little swordsmith," the innkeeper chuckled.

The tone was light and playful, though Chan could sense something very sinister underneath.

"Who are you?" Chan asked.

He received a tinkling laugh in reply, "You will find out soon,"

"What do you mean by swordsmith?"

"Who else?" the innkeeper said, "The Tinkerer - doesn't that name ring a bell?"

"The Tinkerer- you don't mean that legendary-"

"I see you are familiar with his name, child of Eidis."

"Eidis?"

The innkeeper sighed, "You scum are so forgetful, losing his name after only a few millennia." They gave a twisted grin. "But no matter."

"What-"

"Tsk tsk, so full of questions," the innkeeper scoffed, "I have a deal to offer. Your two friends - the ones you call Seokmin and Vernon - are currently in my possession."

Chan's eyes widened in alarm and anger. "What?"

"Don't. interrupt." The 'innkeeper's voice was like steel, "As I was saying, your two friends are in my possession." A dark mist started to form along the ground as they continued, the temperature in the room starting to fall rapidly, "If you want them back, come to the Library of Secrets. You may find other things of your desire there as well."

Chan started to warily back away, "And if I don't?"

"Oh, you will." was the reply, "If you don't, you and your friends will face far worse things than you could ever imagine."

Before Chan could ask anymore, the black mist, along with the innkeeper, disappeared like dust in a mere instant.

-

Soonyoung came down several minutes later, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. After a dramatic display of confusion and concern, Chan was able to explain the course of events he had just experienced. Thoroughly awake at this point, Soonyoung slumped into a chair before asking, "You're sure they said the Library of Secrets?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Soonyoung sighed, burying his face into his hands. 

"What's wrong?" Chan asked.

"What's wrong?" Soonyoung repeated, an unusually grim look on his face, "What's wrong is that the whereabouts of the Library of Secrets has been completely forgotten through time. Most say that finding it leads to death,"

"But what is the Library of Secrets?"

"I'm surprised you don't know. The Library of Secrets was once the greatest library in Solis - all of the greatest minds of the kingdom flocked there for its boundless knowledge," Soonyoung explained, "But after the Bookkeeper's death, it disappeared despite its enormous size - a mystery that still hasn't been solved yet." 

Chan listened to the explanation with dread in his heart. Their journey already felt impossible.

Fortunately help was coming.

-

a/n 

thank you for reading :)