She was awake long before they were brought before the grand chair. The people called it a 'throne' and from the direction of their voices, someone with a deep and commanding voice sat on that throne.
Her wrists and ankles were bound by thick and rough ropes and she felt something soft around her eyes. The soft thing was tied tightly around her head, making Mel guess that she was blindfolded.
Mel didn't dare show that she had stirred as she knew that they were at someplace where the heavy-clothed people had the advantage. She figured that since they knew what the bombs were, they'd have some kind of countermeasure for it. And from the scent in the air that was dry and unattractive, along with all the footsteps and shuffling of armor, this was a highly secured area.
That was where the figure's lesson played in Mel's mind about keeping her mind in check. An attack can come from anywhere, and the last thing they need is a small slipup that can get all of them killed.
Speaking of a small slip-up...
"Who are you?!" Cold demanded as Mel mentally sighed. Even Kristen knew to keep her mouth shut. A loud slap rang through the air, knowing that it was to keep Cold silent. Judging from that reaction, either the rules here are incredibly strict or the person they are facing is incredibly powerful and a force to be reckoned with.
"Search them."
Mel bit her tongue when she felt a pair of hands rummage through her suit and pull out something from some pocket. She'd taken note of her small pockets, yet she didn't notice that there was something there.
"Cadleighan Warriors?" the voice on the throne asked, "You know what to do with them."
"Right away, sire," said another voice before Mel felt the small thing slip back in her pocket and she was picked up.
Mel took note of her previous assumption to be true once again. This man was a person of power, someone who had command over everything going on in this building.
Speaking of the building, whilst they were taken somewhere, Mel tried her best to map out the place to the best of her abilities. Using a feather she managed to slip onto the person carrying her, she could see a great many things happening.
Dozens of people in heavy clothing walked around carrying some kind of load. Many of them talked to one another, but from the looks in their eyes and their body language, Mel figured that they weren't chatting about anything light-hearted. Many objects lined the walls, banners, swords, torches. Some had racks of weapons, but most of those racks were empty. And on top of all that, Mel realized that there were no windows anywhere. It'll be quite hard to tell the time.
In a matter of minutes, Mel noticed that the person carrying her had gone underground. The walls looked poorly maintained as cracks and dust piled up, accompanied by crawling critters quickly making homes at each corner.
This floor was also filled with heavy-clothed people. But there was something more to it. Everyone had their weapons ready as though a fight could break out at any given moment. There was one wooden door at the right wall near the stairs. After that, the walls seemed to back away as some kind of thin, silver columns lined up on either side.
Mel tried to get a better look at what was beyond those silver columns, but before she could, she felt the person throw her.
Biting the inside of her lip, Mel waited until the person left. She then created another feather and slipped it ever so slightly in front of her to assess the situation. When she saw that there was no one in front of her, Mel willed some wind to push the feather behind her, covered by some strands of her hair.
She was behind those thin columns. To her sides, she saw that her friends were also placed behind other columns as well. Strangely though, she didn't notice Cold anywhere with them.
Thinking quickly, Mel asked a silent question to herself, "Could you spare some help please?"
No reply.
"Great," Mel thought. She'd have to figure some other way out of here. But then again, all her other friends may be thinking of a way out.
Finding that using such time to do the same thing was ineffective, Mel took a deep breath before letting it out quietly.
Creating another feather, Mel tried her best to not get confused by the split view. Luckily, Mel adapted quickly and the feathers were off on separate paths, figuring out what this place is.
Manipulating light, Mel was able to make the feathers mostly invisible, allowing them to easily fly around the area. Honestly, Mel wasn't sure what was going on at first, but after a few minutes, she'd managed to map out the floor she was on and the one above her.
While she let one feather explore further, Mel willed the other to eavesdrop on a few people. To her disappointment, nothing much was going on as many who were chatting loudly talked about personal lives. Those who did talk about something that looked interesting were very wary of each conversation. Everyone else kept their mouths closed.
It made her consider risking her feather closer. Maybe attach it to one of their clothing.
After another few minutes, Mel was starting to lose hope of finding anything valuable. But finally, her feather surprisingly caught onto the arm of a person walking quickly.
The person walked through two big doors that led to that throne from earlier. He crouched in front of the man before addressing him with respect.
"Speak."
"Our forces are on its way to the north of Bleidin, sire. Diplomat Lucius assures you that the contract will be signed by King Bein," he reported.
"Excellent, lieutenant. Any update on the forces at Antrinita and Cadleigh?"
"Antrinita has sealed their partnership with our kingdom, sire. They will deliver provisions shortly. As for the kingdom of Cadleigh, their forces are getting weaker as you have expected. In seven days, your grand attack shall be ready."
Finally, some useful information. Vital even.
The man on the throne smiled. "Great work, lieutenant. Continue the preparations."
The man lowered his head before standing up and turning to leave.
"Your Majesty!" someone exclaimed, prompting Mel to let her feather slip off the person.
"Speak."
"The underground prison. There has been an outbreak," the person, also in heavy clothing, described with a worried expression of what is going on. "What is your order?"
"Recapture them. Kill whoever goes out of line," the man at the throne replied.
"Right away, sire!"
And with that, Mel cut connections with both her feathers after willing them to fly to the torches and succumb to the flames. She opened her eyes to see that there was definitely an outbreak around her, all the thin columns bent to form an opening wide enough for people to pass through.
"Mel, get up!" Kristen shook her body before trying to undo her binds.
"I bet my knives that Cold is the one who started this," Mel shook away Kristen's hands before easily burning the ropes, freeing herself.
"Isn't it obvious?" Kristen helped her up before the two of them ran for their friends.
Like how the lieutenant described it, the floor was utter chaos. Everyone was fighting each other, heavy-clothed against diversely clothed. The diversely clothed people seemed angry, thirsty for revenge.
"We need to get our weapons," Kristen told Mel who nodded as the orange girl opened the wooden door near the stairs. "Haiyah," Kristen sighed as Mel took a peek at the large room filled with piles of weapons, all messy and uncoordinated.
Mel dashed past her and created a dozen feathers, all assigned to find a certain weapon.
Her brain tried to think of a more effective solution for this, but it wasn't that easy. If she created too many feathers, it may cause her head to split, rendering her vulnerable and a burden on her friends.
"Hey, you two!" Mel heard someone exclaim by the door. Three of the heavily clothed people had found them.
"Keep searching, I'll hold them off!" Kristen exclaimed as she picked up a nearby knife.
Mel is pretty sure Kristen told her that because she didn't want to do the searching.
Eventually, Mel found all of their weapons, huddled together in the same pile. Whoever is tasked with stowing them away must be lazy or didn't think things through. She counted all nine of Rayn's knives, all secure in his pouch, before turning to face Kristen and the people.
To her surprise, the men had a sword at Kristen's throat. Her eyes still shone wildly, as though she wanted to slit all of their throats, but Kristen knew better than to move.
"Drop the weapons," one of them ordered, "Or your friend dies."
Mel stared at them blankly as she scanned for openings. When she saw that Cold was there, Mel dropped the weapons and raised her arms.
Naturally, Cold knocked two of the three out while Mel threw a nearby club at the last one, knocking the last one unconscious too.
"Great timing," Mel praised Cold as he picked up his spear. Kristen retrieved her guns after thanking Mel specifically, much to Cold's annoyance. Mel herself strapped her knives behind her back, delighted that they were with her.
"Let's get out of here quickly," Cold told them, "Rayn and Kura are making our escape route."
"Making," Mel repeated. Though it was a question, she said it like she should've expected that Cold would get them into this kind of thing.
"Yeah. You won't believe how closed off this place is."
Mel ignored Cold's remark and picked up the rest of the weapons—Rayn's knives and Kura's circlet along with another strange-looking object that piqued Mel's interest—before they raced outside the room and up the stairs.
Sure enough, Kura and Rayn were hiding at the side, concealing themselves from the heavy-clothed people. When they saw the three of them, they sprung into action.
Kristen and Mel joined Rayn in defeating the heavy-clothed men while Kura and Cold did some kind of thing Mel wasn't sure of. Her best guess was that they were going to tear down a wall.
This time, Mel hated being right.
To her left, moonlight pooled through the enormous hole in the wall. Mel was quite surprised that it didn't cause many other things to collapse, but then again, she didn't know a thing about how structures work.
Following Cold's lead, Mel dashed for the opening with her friends and into the cool night. When they were all out, Kura thrust her arms upwards and a wall of earth appeared, blocking their exit.
"Where to?" Cold asked.
Mel had to bite her tongue to keep herself from scolding Cold that he should've thought of this part before they tried to escape. Luckily for her, Kristen did all the talking. "You should've thought this part through, you Stupid Blockhead!"
"That's a little harsh on the nicknames don't you think, Kristen?" Cold retaliated as Mel clapped for their attention.
"Follow me," she told them as Mel let three feathers into the sky.
"See, she knows what to do lah," Kristen continued to tease Cold who just sighed.
As they purged through the night, Mel leading them away from the gigantic building, she couldn't help but ask another question to herself.
For a powerful kingdom, didn't they let the team escape a little too easily?