It was an odd place for a building to be. Nothing had dotted the horizon except for trees and hills. The town of Eberdeen was just south of their location. It was beginning to be in clear view. The point of contact was not in town, though. The creatures, goblins as Em had named them, were out front and had stopped just on the side of a hill.
“Looks like it’s close to the end of the road for our adventure. Don’t think I will be doing this again, but if I did, you weren’t a half-bad travel partner.” The curse words rose to Mesu and bounced around in her mind. Anything she said would be used against her and make her angrier. She spat at the ground.
No one was waiting except for the goblins. Mesu and Em dismounted. He held the rope that was around her shackles. He fashioned it after complaining that grabbing onto the metal hurt his hands. She suggested he try wearing them then, but only got a laugh.
“Where is your boss man at? Let’s get this deal done.” The four creatures talked among themselves and to Em. One of them had been volunteered to make the necessary communication. “Don’t be too long. I need to disappear.”
The wait was long. Lunch had passed, and then dinner. Em’s quiet frustration grew every hour. He couldn’t help pacing and fidgeting. His attempts at making conversation with Mesu were met with silence. The sun started to fade, and Mesu lay her head down. It was tiresome being so bored. She could feel the tension that Em was giving off, but stopped caring after some time.
The last rays of the sun showed, and figures appeared on the horizon. More of the goblins and a single human figure.
“About time you showed.” Em picked a dagger he was toying with out of the dirt and sheathed it.
“Wonderful. I didn’t expect you to be here so quickly. There wasn’t much time to prepare for your arrival. Let us get down to what we need to, eh?” The voice was one that Mesu recognized. It had a bit more of a booming quality now. She struggled to remember the name. “Mesu, so happy to see you again. I hope your travels were accommodating.”
“Liam?” He was closer now, and the light highlighted his features better.
“It is, didn’t think you would see me again, did you?” Mesu couldn’t help hiding the confusion on her face. There wasn’t much that made sense in this world. This made even less sense to her. Questions popped into her mind one after another. Each one blocked the rest from spilling out of her mouth.
“Yeah, okay, enough with the reunion. Here she is, now let’s see this.” Em handed Liam the rope.
“Come now. She’s our guest. Undo these chains.” Liam smiled at her in a way that was almost comforting. It was much more of a trusting look than any Em had given her in the last few days. The feeling Mesu got from it was a mixture of fear and calm.
Em worked at the shackles and relieved Mesu of a pain she forgot she had. She rubbed at her wrists but dared not say thank you. There was a level of uncertainty that she could not shake about the whole situation. Zoe had taught her to be alert, and she was more in the moment than she ever remembered being.
Liam walked over and extended a hand to her. It wasn’t the reception she was expecting, and she didn’t take it. He inched closer and beckoned her by waving his fingers towards himself. She peered around first before lightly grabbing on. Her eyes met his, and the comfort was still there. Liam walked her forward a few steps and stopped. Mesu looked around but didn’t see anything. The fields stretched forward endlessly, minus the town of Eberdeen.
“Ready for it?” Liam looked over at Mesu and took another step. She was caught off guard and stumbled forward a little. That was enough for a tower to emerge out of nothingness. Mesu craned her neck as the rest of the group did to look for the top. It was the tallest building she had seen in her life. It was the shape of a cylinder with balconies and windows jutting out in no particular pattern. The creme color of it reminded her of Anna’s skin.
“Magnificent, isn’t it? There are said to be numerous items inside from both this realm and those of unknown origin. A collection gathered over hundreds of years. I shouldn’t just talk about it. We’re here on a mission, after all.”
“What mission is that?” Mesu didn’t move as Liam gave her a gentle pull. He was caught off guard by the sudden defiance.
“You are about to complete your mission. You want to discover the truth about Enya? It’s beyond these walls. A living history of her exploits and adventures. I’m sure there are journals included in there which may shed some light on questions you have been having.”
“What about your mission?”
Liam laughed. It took her back a bit as his tone changed drastically. There was something within that laugh that didn’t belong. Her comfort was overwhelmed, and all she had now was concern.
“Now then, you’ve already seen some of my objectives come to fruition. These goblins, the cave, and monsters are claiming territory. I just want to restore the world to the way it was. Set the world back to a better time.”
“This is all well and good. Will you open the door now? I’m not sticking around any longer than I have to.” Em fidgeted. He was uneasy, something Mesu hadn’t seen before. He stepped closer to the door.
“No need to be worried, friend. Once we are inside, there’s no one who will be able to find us. She is the last of her bloodline and the only one who can reveal this place. It was protection put in place long ago. An ancient blood magic.” Liam scoffed as he let out the last few words. Mesu was not sure if she was supposed to pick up on that or not. She decided to keep it to herself as she was led forward to the door. Liam’s hand touched the knob and easily pushed it open. Mesu took a step in after Liam and could not believe her eyes.