The Defender: Elderwood

One

He saw a door leading out of the room as he heard the sound of a horse's hooves clattering around the outer wall. He dashed to the door and pushed. It didn't move. He glanced down and saw a doorknob. He turned it; it moved after a couple of tries.

The door opened into a hallway. I don't think the bedrooms would be down here. I'll see if there's a way up. He walked down the hallway. He passed two pairs of doors on either side, then came to a narrow, circular stairway. He paused long enough to catch his breath, then walked up the stairs.

The stairway led to another corridor. The corridor seemed wide enough for two men to walk beside each other without touching themselves or the walls. In the dim light, he could see more doors on either side. Most, though, were open. He decided to follow the corridor to see where it led.

He peeked past the first open door he came to. He saw what appeared to be the remains of a bed and blankets. The posts stood, but the canopy was gone and the cloth was in tatters. He found similar scenes of decay in the other rooms he looked into.

Halfway down the corridor, on his right, was another stairway. It was narrower than the one he came up. He decided not to go further up, but to keep searching the rooms on this floor.

Past the second stairway was a row of doors to his left, but nothing to his right. He pushed open the first door he came to. Inside the room was a tub, a toilet, a basin, and the remains of a waist-high cabinet. A bathing room.

A memory rose up in Allan's mind. It was cool autumn night, several months ago. He and Elena found the home of a wealthy merchant. It was vacant; the merchant and his family were away on some personal errand. He and his sister had never been in such a residence before. They were aware of some of how the wealthy lived, but never had firsthand experience. One of their discoveries was that not all the rooms inside the home had doors that locked. Indeed, only two did: the parents' bedroom, and the bathing room.

Allan looked at the door of this bathing room. There was a lock he could turn. He turned it; it moved after two attempts.

The guards might be suspicious of a locked door. Or, they might assume that if they can't get in, I couldn't. He leaned through the doorway; he could barely hear footsteps from below. I can't keep wandering around. I'll have to try it.

He closed the door and turned the lock. He found a piece of the cabinet that he could pick up. He moved it so that it could block the door if the lock was forced. He edged down behind the tub. I suppose, this time, it's good that I haven't yet become a man. A man might not fit down here.

Allan waited. Time passed before he heard footsteps on the floor of the corridor. More time passed before someone took hold of the doorknob to open the door. The man on the other end of the door tried a few times. When the door didn't open, he walked away. More time went by, followed by the sound of footsteps passing the bathing room door.

"The boy doesn't seem to be here, Sergeant," a man said. Allan was surprised he could hear the voice so clearly. They must be in front of that second stairway.

"Still one more floor to search," a second man replied.

"Sergeant, this was a mage's castle. I don't like the idea of being in this place after dark."

"The magic's gone away," a third man said.

"So's part of this building," the first man replied.

"You're right," said the second man. "If the boy's here, he could sneak up on us at night. If he isn't, we could still get hurt by something falling. Right, men, we'll camp outside, and search the grounds tomorrow."