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Behind the large wood door was a long corridor that led into an extravagant dining room.
The room was dominated by a long and grand dining table, built of marble and inlayed with intricate engravings made of pure gold. Surrounding it were matching chairs, with numbers chiselled into the marble headrests. The lowest of the numbers was one and the highest was forty.
Despite its magnificence, the table hadn't been used in quite some time, as both it and its chairs had been weathered to time. With cracked marble, dulling gold and a covering consisting of dust and moss.
On the centre of the table, below a gold three-headed candelabra, which was also rusted, was another note.
Plucking it off the table, Louie saw that it was another rhyming riddle.
"You've bested trial one, congrats you survived the pit. You must be feeling tired, so go ahead, sit. But beware the seat you choose, you must be brave. For if you pick wrong, it may become your grave." - He read it aloud like the first message and scoffed. - "It's somehow worse than the first riddle."
As he walked around the room, Louie tried to figure out which seat he was supposed to sit in. There seemed to be no obvious way to guess correctly. It was complete one in forty chance.
Then he noticed the paintings.
Around there room there were forty frames. Inside, portraits of people, painted throughout Human civilisation. Built into the bottom of each frame, was a golden plate, on which was engraved a number, a name and a date. The paintings while covered in dust, were luckily in a better condition than the table.
A smirk graced Louie's beak. - 'Forty paintings, forty thieves... What are the chances?' - He thought.
Examining them closely, Louie found it difficult to locate a significant difference in any art in the room.
They were all quite typical portraits, all the same size and all seemingly painted by the same person, which Louie based on the exact same style throughout all forty. While strange, an immortal painter who worked for a mysterious thieves guild which spanned time, definitely wasn't the strangest thing, Louie had ever encountered.
The painting's frames were the same, all made of black painted wood, with no hidden mechanisms or buttons that Louie could find.
As he pondered whether or not it was worth taking the risk and choosing a chair randomly. He decided to take one more look at the paintings.
Starting at the painting which was marked by the number one, he examined it for a full minute and when he could not notice anything notable, he moved on to number two.
Making it all the way to painting twenty-one, Louie finally noticed something different, compared to the others. In the background of the portrait, which like all the others were completely black, there was a glint of something shiny, like glitter throughout it.
The painting was of a fox, with a dark twirled moustache and goatee, wearing 13th century era huntsmen clothing, and a bow strapped to his back. His name was Robert Fitzooth the Tenth. Or as it was in roman numerals was Robert Fitzooth X.
"Let's hope X marks the spot." - He muttered, as he crossed the room and sat in the corresponding seat.
As he settled into the chair, he had no idea what was supposed to happen.
He waited for a moment, but nothing happened. Before beginning to feel around the chair and the table. Finding a button on the underside of the table in front of him. Louie pushed the button, but it was stuck. After a bit more pressure, it finally sunk into the table.
There was a mechanical whirling noise, like gears churning, then suddenly the chair leaned forward, the floor beneath his feat fell away and Louie was hurtling down a dark shoot, hoping he had chosen correctly.
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Italy, 1999...
The Città di collina is a town built near the base of the Alps in the Piemonte Region of North-West Italy. Having been founded prior to the forming of the Romans, it was a city, rich with history and culture. In the present, it currently acted as an oversized tourist attraction, consisting of shops and inns dedicated to travellers who wanted to ski or climb the nearby mountains.
The Cloud Slayer had landed in a airfield, which belonged to an old friend of Scrooge, around an hour ago and then he, alongside his teenage wards, Della, and Donald, had packed their climbing gear into the boot of a rental-car and drove over to the town.
After finding a space in a large car lot near the centre of city, Scrooge stepped outside and took a deep breath of the chilly air. - "Ya smell that kids?" - He questioned, hands on his hips, staring up into the mountains.
"Sure do, Uncle Scrooge!" - Della answered confidently, as she also stared up at the mountain range, which rose above the cloud line. - "Smells like adventure!"
Their goal today was to find and explore a temple which had been alluded to in an ancient book that Scrooge had recently bought in an auction. It had cost him five-million dollars and was choked full of information which could fuel a years worth of adventures.
As they begun to walk through the town, the adventuring party noticed that they were down a member.
"Donald, come on Lad!" - Cried Scrooge, as the teenager exited the car in a massive dark-blue parka that was zipped up to his chin and waddled over to the others. - "I hate the cold." - He complained, shivering.
Scrooge laughed. - "Ya think this is cold? Wait until we reach the top!"
Muttering a few things under his breath, Donald pushed ahead of the group and into the town.
Following her twin-brother into the town, Della watched as he quickly disappeared into the large crowds of bustling tourists browsing the various stores and food-stalls.
"Wait up Donnie!" - She shouted, sprinting into the crowds herself.
The further she walked, the more lost she got. Having existed for millennium, Città di collina had experienced much urban sprawl as the population grew, time passed and the town expanded, so the cobblestone pathed streets of the town had little regulation or coordination, and she soon found herself in the seedier side of town.
Now in a large courtyard, surrounded by large stone buildings, Della found herself in an environment where she was surrounded by suspicious individuals. Large black tarps were strung between the buildings, giving the courtyard some cover from the elements, and wooden tables and chairs were scattered around, but everyone seemed to be gathered around the one in the corner; cheering and screaming at one another.
Knowing she should be looking for her Brother, but nonetheless intrigued, Della found herself approaching the table.
Pushing to the front of the crowd, the seventeen year old found herself standing behind a large brown bear, who was hunched over the table, which was covered in various loose paper currencies, most likely stolen from tourists.
Behind the table, was another young white-feathered duck, in a old-fashioned leather and fur mountain jacket. He was shuffling three playing cards, which were backed by the a painted picture of the mountainside and bent in the middle, back and forth while taunting the crowd.
"Oh come on, giving up so soon?" - He laughed, as the bear slammed his fist on the table in frustration and stomped away. - "It's so simple!" - He flipped the cards revealing the Queen of Diamonds, alongside the King and Queen of Spades. - "All you got to do is follow the queen!" - He flipped the cards over again. - "Is Bruno, the only one with working eyes?" - He asked, gesturing over to a portly Skunk, who was smiling and proudly showing off his winnings.
A thirty-ish year old, brown-and-white rabbit, dressed in expensive climbing gear, approached the table, putting down a fat-wad of American Dollars. - "I'll give it a go." - He stated poshly and Della was sure that she had heard his voice before. - "This'll be simple."
The young duck smiled, his emerald coloured eyes scanning and seemingly evaluating the wealthy figure in front of him. - "Finally, a big spender..." - He began to shuffle the cards once more. - "Watch the cards, follow the queen." - He said, not taking his eyes off the Rabbit.
After thirty seconds, he stopped and stepped back. - "Where's the Queen?" - The teen questioned.
The Rabbit's hand drifted over the three cards before he pointed to the one furthest left.
Della agreed with him, his shuffling looked complicated, but having played enough games with Scrooge before, it was simple to keep track of the Card.
The Duck smiled. - "Is that your final choice?" - The posh man nodded. - "Okay then." - With a flick of his wrist, the teen flipped the card, revealing the King of Spades. - "Wrong suit, wrong royalty."
The Rabbit's jaw clenched. Obviously frustrated, he pulled another clip of cash from his pocket. - "Double or nothing." - He demanded, waving the cash in the air.
The teen was ready to run with his winnings, but the large handful of money the Rabbit was basically wafting in his face, meant he couldn't stop himself.
"Alright, one more game."
His nimble hands made it so the cards moved fast and made them hard to track, and while everyone was focused on the moves of the card, the Duck's eyes was focused on the crowd, looking for a new mark. When his jade eyes met Della's brown ones, and with a single lopsided smirk, Della felt her face heat up.
This time, when the teen stopped shuffling, the Rabbit was much quicker in deciding which card to choose. But when the teen flipped it, it was again the wrong card. - "Oh, that ain't a Queen."
The Rabbit was more or less shaking with rage now. - "NO. I followed that card closely-"
"Not close enough." - Someone in the crowd joked, and others snickered.
"I-I knew that was the right card!" - He all but growled, before something flickered in his eyes and he pulled forth another bundle of money.
Aware that the man had realised his con, the teenager just shifted the small fortune he'd garnered into a brown backpack, that he had kept below the table and put the three cards into a deck he pulled from his pocket. - "Sorry, but I've been out here for a few hours, I think it's time for a break." - He muttered pocketing the cards and throwing the bag over his shoulder.
As he attempted to walk away, a large Rhino, wearing a strikingly similar set of gear as the Rabbit, stepped in his way.
"What are you his bodyguard?" - The teen said, stepping backwards.
"Yes he is." - The Rabbit answered as the teen was backed into a corner.
Della watched as the Rhino grabbed the other Duck by the collar of his jacket and lifted him off of the ground as everyone else in the crowd dispersed, not wanting to get involved in something that was little of their business.
The Rabbit reached inside his jacket, pulling forth a 9mm handgun. - "You know..." - He began, checking over his weapon. - "I really hate being cheated- Being made to look like a fool! Because I am not a fool!"
When he was finished examining his handgun, he pointed it at the teen, and that's where Della jumped in, grabbing him by the wrist, she spun around and performed a judo threw, putting him through the table.
As she did that, the other teen reached into his pocket, pulling out a switchblade which he used to slice at the Rhino's cheek, causing him to drop the teen as he recoiled in pain.
When he landed, he left over the unconscious Rabbit, grabbed Della by the hand and sprinted off. Della knowing she definitely just put herself on that psycho's list, didn't object.
The two zig-zagged through the back alleys, in an attempt to put as much distance between them and the enemies thy had just made, eventually making it back into the crowded streets, where it would be much easier to disappear.
Stopping outside a small café, the boy stopped and dropped into a chair at empty table. "Thanks for that." - He huffed, smiling. - "I was beginning to get worried."
"Beginning to get worried?" - She questioned, not believing what she was hearing. - "He was going to shoot you!"
"Would you believe me if I said it wasn't the first time someone pulled a gun on me."
Della scoffed. - "Giving how I already want to shoot you, I guess not."
The boy laughed, before gesturing to the seat opposite him. - "Come on, take a seat, I'll buy you something. I did just come in to a little money."
"I don't even know your name."
"Didn't stop you from saving my life." - He fired back, but relented. Putting her hand out for Della to shake, he grinned. - "Leo. Leo Galló.
Della sighed, sinking into the seat. - "Della Duck."
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Thanks for reading Ch.24 of Legacy, I'm at the part of the story where I can start to explore the history of the Triplet's father as well as the Guild itself. I hope you enjoyed, and also hope you comment, vote, follow me and Read Ch.25 - MM