Early next morning, the six teens slowly assembled in the room where they first met each other the night before. Bright sunbeams, rising from the horizon, broke through the windows and illuminated the scene. It was anything but a gloomy day for outdoor training, if that's what old Menalarius had in mind.
Menalarius entered the room soon after the six had assembled, bringing with him a sudden look of authority the teens never saw in him before. His experience as King Proximos' most trusted general must have taught him to look professional. His apparel had the same theme as the night before: majestic and tidy. A different feature, however, was that he now had a thin rod he used as a staff of sorts.
"Good morning, students," Menalarius said, leaning on the staff slightly.
The teens, not fully awake yet, muttered their greetings. The early breakfast they had, however, was enough to nourish their willingness to be attentive.
"Today is the first day of your training," the mentor continued, "Not a very bad one, I must add. I will let you all know that I have carefully assessed each of your abilities and talents long before you were brought here."
The listeners all looked a little surprised. Although the statement confirmed some of their earlier suspicions, it was still unexpected in a way. The fact that each of them was stalked by an old man for an unknown period of time...perhaps years...did not make them very comfortable.
"Carry on..." Leander muttered, yawning.
"First of all, I will make sure that each of you is properly equipped. Some of you may have noticed one or two of your belongings waiting in your respective bedrooms. Furthermore, I will provide attire and other equipment appropriate for any task ahead."
"We've noticed," Hyphesia remarked.
"Good. Now each of you won't be confined to your current equipment for the whole time, as I'll supply more necessities in the future. I'll need to make sure you all are prepared for the winter, which will be here before we know it."
The teens slowly nodded as they listened along. Nothing sounded too difficult to them so far. It was reassuring to them to at least know that their new mentor at least had a fundamental plan. After noting their surprising attentiveness for this early in the day, Menalarius then revealed the first step of training.
"I'm glad to see you are all ready for what lies ahead. There is a seaside Metrissan outpost around eight miles from here. It took me much time and energy to discover its location and why it's significant to our fight ahead. A friend of mine who would be important to our cause is being held captive there, and she's been there for too long. I also think the outpost would make good headquarters moving forward...it's not a fortress, but it surpasses this villa by a long shot. Even though it's ninety miles from Metrissa, you don't want any hostiles escaping. If any kind of alarm is raised, that would be a crucial blow to our campaign."
"Wait a second..." Leander said, wide-eyed, "You're starting our lessons with a full-blown exam?!"
"Not an exam, Leander..." Menalarius replied, "A mission. It's a rather easy one and I am more than confident that it can be accomplished if you all work together."
"The guards there would be dumb, just like the rest," Phoebus said.
"Still!" Leander objected, "You expect us to do this in broad daylight? We seriously have no advantages!"
"Teamwork," Menalarius said, "That is one thing that the Metrissan soldiers lack. Back when I was a general, it was a big nuisance organizing the battle lines and keeping my men in the same mind set. If chaos erupts from within them, it can spread like fire and break their formations."
Suddenly the future seemed to be rather intense to the six teens. Before beginning any reasonable training, Menalarius wanted them to conduct a minor assault. He also expected it to be done this very day, which also happened to be only one day after the six first met each other.
"Will you be accompanying us?" Quintiles asked.
"You six will be going on your own," Menalarius answered, "My older state will only slow you down. This strike needs to be quick and quiet."
"If you say so..." Leander said, sighing.
A loud, powerful knocking was suddenly heard from the main door of the villa.
"Open in the name of Zeus and King Proximos!"
Menalarius narrowed his eyes at the sudden disturbance. He was not expecting something like this. It was more surprising to him how Metrissans could find their way around the men he hired to watch over the villa.
"And that..." Cleo said with a grimace, "Must be my parents."
"What?!" Leander shouted, evidently irritated.
"My...my uncle is a senior officer for one of the Metrissan regiments. My family has strong connections with my uncle, so they probably have some influence in how the regiment operates."
"Hooray for your uncle," Hyphesia said sarcastically.
"Look, I'm sorry!"
"It's alright," Pollux said, "It's not your fault. I think we should all just find a place to hide as soon as possible, though."
"If they're soldiers, they're better equipped right now for a fight," Leander said anxiously.
"All of you just find a place to hide!" Menalarius snapped, "I'll answer the door."
The six teens immediately exited the room through the door by which Menalarius always entered the room. They were all hoping that the villa provided some ample hiding spots.
"I've always wondered what was this way," Pollux said as the six ran.
"I can't find any good hiding place!" Leander said, looking around.
"How about that door?" Hyphesia said, pointing at a wooden door to the left, "Looks safe enough."
Leander tried shoving the door, but it wouldn't budge.
"It's locked!" he said, panting from both exhaustion and anxiety, "Now what?!"
"Leave it to me..." Pollux said, giving a powerful kick to the door.
The door immediately flew open, revealing a dark, unlit room. The others stared with awe at Pollux, who merely shrugged and led the way into the room. As soon as all six were in, they tried to examine the room. The darkness made it hard to see their surroundings, but they could tell it was a small room.
"Somebody prop something against the door!" Leander ordered while searching for a possible source of light.
Phoebus quickly pushed a wooden table he found against the shut door.
"Is that seriously the best thing you could find?" Leander asked, still trying his best to search through the darkness.
"Unless you're okay with me propping you against the door, yeah," Phoebus replied, frowning.
Leander exhaled deeply and searched room's dusty floor. He was fortunate enough to somehow spot a small piece of flint lying on the ground. Using the sparks from the flint and the metal door handle, he lit a candle which he found on another table.
"There we go, now we—"
What the teens saw after the room was illuminated nearly made them jump in surprise.
There were strange devices everywhere with sizes ranging from large to small, as well as glass bottles containing liquids unknown to the teens. There was also a large wooden shelf carrying a vast number of large scrolls and a few cobwebs. Some open books were also scattered across tables and chairs located in the corners of the room. Organization within the room was not the highest priority, since other materials were scattered about on the floor and various surfaces.
"What is this place...?" Phoebus asked, gazing in wonder.
"This looks like one of my teacher's offices back at the Academy..." Cleo said, "But it looks so different, too."
Leander slowly approached a table and examined one of the open books. The candlelight was just enough for him to read it.
"It looks like an unfinished recipe of some sort..." he said, narrowing his eyes at the inscriptions, "By Hades, what has our old man been up to?"
The others stood there silently, clueless of any possible idea.
"Well, now I guess we just have to wait..." Cleo muttered quietly.
"Seems like it, doesn't it?" Leander said, joining the others who were crowded in one area of the room, "I really hope nobody's claustrophobic."
He noticed Quintiles shudder at those words, which was also accompanied by his fast-paced breathing.
"Dude," Leander muttered, "You need to man up in so many ways."
It was ten silent minutes later when Menalarius managed to push open the door, dragging an unconscious guard.
~ 15 minutes earlier ~
Menalarius sighed before opening the villa door. The men he stationed around the villa apparently didn't do the best job. Upon opening the door, he was immediately shoved aside by two soldiers, who seemed to regard him as an old nuisance. At least they didn't recognize him as the general who disobeyed King Proximos years ago. Menalarius frowned at this act of blunt disrespect.
"How can I help you...?" he asked roughly.
An officer, accompanied by two more guards, approached the old man. He opened a scroll in front of Menalarius' face, revealing an ink sketch of a girl whose features matched those of Cleo's.
"Have you seen this girl?" the officer asked, "She was noted to be missing early yesterday. It's important that we locate her as soon as we can."
"In a matter of fact, I have," Menalarius replied calmly, "I saw her being taken by two bandits to the village a few miles from here...I forgot the name..."
"You mean Thalia?" the officer asked, raising his right eyebrow in a superior manner.
"Yes, that's it!" Menalarius said, nodding quickly, "I'm sure she was taken there."
The officer stood there silently as if trying to read Menalarius' eyes.
"Alright. Thank you for your help, citizen," he eventually said before turning to two of the guards, "Hey, you two! Search this man's villa. I don't want any bit of this left unsearched. As for myself, I will be going with the two others to Thalia. Once you finish, head to the village...and if you find anything or anyone suspicious, send word to me immediately."
"Yes, sir!" the two guards replied, saluting.
Menalarius cursed inwardly. He had to step in. The question was how, and this question raced through his mind as the two guards started to look about the room. From what he previously heard about Phoebus, Menalarius knew he was a good hider, but he wasn't as sure about the others.
"Excuse me, sirs?" he said, trying to sound as innocent as possible, "Is there any way I can assist you?"
"Yeah..." one of the guards replied, "Assist us by not getting in our way."
"Very well, sirs."
He had to do something before the guards decided to split up.
"I have a secret to tell both of you...regarding the current situation..."
The guards turned around, wondering what this man had in mind.
"Mmm?" one of them muttered curiously.
"What I am about to do must not be known by Metrissa."
Menalarius immediately threw a powder-like dust into the faces of the guards. Upon breathing it in, both of them became limp as rag dolls and collapsed to the ground. Menalarius then muttered a strange-sounding word and snapped his finger, causing the guards to instantly close their eyes and fall into a deep sleep.
"I really wish that didn't have to be done..." Menalarius said to himself crossly.
He proceeded to drag one of the guards into his bedroom, where he stuffed the unconscious man into his closet. Since there wasn't room in any of the closets to stuff two guards, it took him a considerable amount of time to decide where to put the other guard. It was true that the villa had plenty of space, but it was difficult to keep any room secret and secure. Any room except for one.
"Looks like I have to use my office..." Menalarius eventually said with a dismayed sigh.
Menalarius greatly preferred complete solitude in his office, even if his company happened to be an unconscious person. The office and everything in it was meant to be a secret to everyone else. He always made sure the door was properly locked before leaving it. If his students ever discovered it...who knows what they would think of him. Menalarius quickly shook the troubling thoughts out of his head and dragged the other guard to the door of his office.
Much to his surprise and dismay, he discovered the locks were smashed. Menalarius cursed again, this time aloud. The students had used his office as a hiding place. Even with the double-lock system, they were still able to enter.
"Pollux must have crashed open the door..." he said, dropping the guard and pushing against the door with both hands.
It was difficult to move the door, but he managed to shove it open after a minute or so. He then dragged the guard and entered the room. Upon entering, he found the six exchanging nervous and confused glances at him and the guard. Menalarius' face was red, the teens guessing from either anger or exhaustion. Probably anger.
"Excuse me...but can you please explain the meaning of this?" Leander asked in an annoyed tone of voice, waving his arm behind him.
Menalarius placed the guard in the middle of the room before letting out a long, deep exhale.
"This...is my office."
"And what are all these devices and books?" Hyphesia asked.
"Those...are for one of my hobbies. I considered learning spells and making potions as a good way to protect myself from any Metrissan who tried to attack me."
"Wait..." Leander said, taking another look at the various devices, "You're an enchanter?"
Menalarius nodded.
"You know that King Proximos ordered any enchanter or enchantress to be killed on sight, right?" Hyphesia asked.
"That law has been in effect for nearly a decade, too," Cleo added.
"Yes, I am aware of both of those things," Menalarius said, opening the door again, "But I believe this hobby will help save Metrissa. And we're running out of time to do so. I believe I have all the right equipment now, so how about we all go to the main room and plan your assault on the outpost?
The group quickly made their way out of that small, strange room. It would be difficult for the teens to forget what they had seen in there, as well as what they just learned about their mysterious mentor.