Narrator's POV.
The silence in the room was a little awkward, the fireplace in the middle crackling a little, The Messenger stared at the man who had just entered the room while The Adventurer was slowly reaching out behind her to grab her curved greatsword.
"Who are you?" She asked somewhat wary of the man.
"Ah, no need to take your weapon, lady" The Man spoke with a smile before walking over, sitting on the other side of the fireplace looking at both of them. "I'm a Priest of the church, I don't bring any harm"
Hearing his words, The Adventurer just let go of her weapon. "What is a Priest doing here?"
"This castle is cursed, it behaves weirdly and the endless abominations in here constantly calls the attention of the church that sends a Priest from time to time to investigate and try to fix whatever is happening here" The Priest said calmly making The Messenger perk up a little.
"So this room, and the door with the holy symbols..." He started and the older man nodded his head.
"Yes, this room was created by previous priests, they've been coming here for years, this castle was devastated 400 years ago, but only around 300 years ago the Church started to send Priests to investigate the place, the first one created this room and subsequent Priests connected this room to various doors across the castle" The Priest added with a little smile. "So please, if you find another door, don't hesitate to enter, rest is good for your body"
"I'll definitely do that then" The Adventurer sighed with a smile. "This place is nice, can you make doors on your own as well?"
"I'm sorry, but even though I'm a Priest, I haven't learned the correct use of the Holy Symbols used to create these doors" the old man admitted with a shake of his head. "Unfortunately, because of how the room works, one cannot travel between the different doors this room connects to, so please keep that in mind"
"Priest, from what floor do you come?" The Messenger asked with some interest.
"From the 7th floor, why?"
"Do you mind if I come out with you? I need to get to the top of the castle" He asked making the man tap his knee a little.
"Sure, you can come but...why do you want to get to the top?" The Priest asked making The Adventurer perk up with curiosity.
"I'm a Messenger, I have to deliver a letter to the Lord of this Castle"
"Wait, you're a Messenger?" The young woman leaned a little closer. "There are still some of you around? I heard all of you are getting replaced by pigeons"
"I doubt a pigeon would be able to traverse this place safely, and I assume it'd get too cold for a bird on the highest floors" a little laugh came out of the Priest. "Though it is weird, Messenger, why would you have to deliver a letter to Lord Argos? As far as I know, he died 400 years ago when this castle was overtaken by whatever curse started here"
"That doesn't matter, I've been entrusted with a letter for him, so my work is to give it" The Messenger spoke blankly.
"I see...then please make sure to take care, it's a long way up to the top"
"Don't you think you could've been pranked?" The Adventurer asked crossing her arms. "Are you even getting paid for this?"
"They already paid enough" His silver eyes stared down at the fire. "So I have to work"
"That's a sad existence..." The woman grimaced slightly.
"What about you, young lady?" The Priest asked looking at her. "What is your reason to come here?"
"Well...I'm an Adventurer, I heard that this place was mostly untouched by adventurers, so I decided to come and loot all I can" She answered nonchalantly. "It's all because of the money~"
"Haha I see, then I'll try to take note on if I find any treasure to let you know" The Older man slowly stood up and looked down at The Messenger. "Young Messenger, are you ready for us to go?"
"I am" He answered standing up as well.
"You two go~ my Adventurer pride won't let take a shortcut to higher floors, so I'll keep going up on my own" The young woman said with a smile. "Good luck to you two"
"You as well, Lady Adventurer"
The Priest walked over to the door of the safe room, slowly opening it letting the outside of a hall in the 7th floor be seen, The Messenger walked through the door and the older man walked behind him, closing the door behind him.
"I have to keep going up as well, Young Messenger, you don't mind if I join you, right?" The Priest asked looking slightly down at him.
"Not at all, Priest, your presence is appreciated"
"Then let's go, no need to rush, I've already taken care of the abominations on this floor"
"I didn't expect a Priest to know how to fight" The Messenger side eyed the older man.
"I just turned a priest recently, I took on the mantle so my request to come here was accepted...I used to be a Crusader, that's another reason of why I don't know the Holy Symbols to make more doors" a mildly nervous laugh came out of him. "I'm a little embarrassed by that"
"That's fine, I'm not a person of faith, so I don't have much opinion on those matters"
"I've already been shamed by my former companions for having been 'demoted' so I appreciate your understanding" The Priest smiled. "Though I must admit, I should've asked the church if they had a map of the castle, I still haven't found the stairs to the next floor...."
"I have a good sense of direction, Priest, I'll take the lead"
"I will follow you then, Messenger"
The Messenger started to walk in front of the Priest as the older man followed him closely, they moved across a few halls, taking some very specific turns until eventually, they reached the end of a hall.
"Oh my, looks like you were right, Messenger" The Priest looked up. "But..."
"The stairs are broken..."
Both of them simply looked up in silence, seeing the destroyed stair a few meters above them, the remains of the stone steps laying on the ground in front of them, and as The Priest simply continued staring up at the broken stairs, The Messenger just started to walk around and pick up some of the smaller remains of the stairs.
"Messenger...what are you doing?" The Priest asked a little confused staring at the young man.
"Stacking rocks..." He answered blankly as he put a few rocks on a small pile, though it quickly crumbled down. "...oh" a little sound came out of him as he simply stared down at the rocks.
"You have a particular train of thought, Messenger..." A nervous, slightly embarrassed smile formed on The Priest's face.
The old man looked up at the stairs above them, he gave a few steps back before jumping up, a golden rosary around his neck glowed dimly making a pair of golden wings form on his back, the golden wings flapped twice pushing him further up the air letting The Priest reach the stairs.
"This'll be easier, Messenger" He spoke before grabbing the rosary and pulling it over his head. "Focus on it and have faith"
The Priest dropped the rosary down towards The Messenger, his silver eyes stared down at it for a second before holding onto it and giving a few steps back to make some distance, repeating what the older man did before, he jumped once while holding onto the rosary, for a single second the golden wings formed on his back flapping once to push him further up before they flickered and disappeared.
His eyes opened a little as he started to fall but The Priest managed to get down and stretch his arm to grab a hold of him.
"Oh dear...that was certainly weird" The Priest spoke softly pulling him up effortlessly. "It's the first time I've seen the rosary malfunction that way..."
After reaching the stairs with the help of the man, The Messenger looked up at him. "I did say I wasn't a person of faith..."
"I know, but it should still work nonetheless because of my holy powers being close to it" The Priest opened his hand, letting the shorter man put the rosary on it. "It's cold to the touch...is there something in this young man that rejects holy powers?"
"I hope it's not broken, Priest..."
"Don't worry about it, it'll take a little time to recover its power, I'll check it thoroughly once we find a door to the safe room" He smiled warmly starting to walk up what remained of the stairs. "By the way...you're incredibly light, Messenger, as if you didn't weigh anything at all"
"I'll take that as a compliment"
"I wish the church had a map of this castle, we used to have one but..." A small sigh came out of the Priest. "It's been over a decade since a Priest came here, so the map was in too bad of a state to even be read"
"It's okay, I have a good sense of direction" He repeated what he said before as he started to walk.
"I'll follow your lead again then"
The two of them walked up the stairs, The Messenger taking the lead yet again, momentarily stopping at intersections or big rooms to look around before picking a seemingly random direction, their eyes something seeing the remains of a few abominations they hadn't taken care of.
"Could there be someone else in this floor?" The Priest drove a hand to his chin.
"Perhaps, these remains seem to be from around 2 hours ago" The Messenger said before taking a turn. "I see a door to the safe room"
"Oh my...you do have a good sense of direction, Messenger"
"I know"
They walked towards the door, and The Messenger's hands wrapped around the handle twisting it, the holy symbols on the door glowing dimly before he opened the door and his eyes immediately locked onto a person casually sitting and reading a book in front of the fireplace.
The woman briefly stopped reading the book in her hands slowly setting it down in her lap, she had long light brown hair tied in a messy bob behind her head and a pair of emerald eyes framed in round glasses, she wore a white robe with green embroidery that reached below her knees, a pair of knee-high brown boots covered her feet and legs and a pocket watch attached to a silver necklace rested against her chest.
"Hello...you're not abominations in disguise are you?" The woman asked intently looking at both of them.
"We are not, abominations can't enter these rooms because of the holy symbols, lady" The Priests said with a smile walking into the room.
"I see..."
Both of them entered the room and The Messenger closed the door behind him, the woman stared at them for a few seconds before opening her book again staring to read.
"I didn't expect to see people other than myself here" She said still staring down at her book.
"Haha, I thought the same, but then I stumbled across this Messenger and a Young Adventurer" The Priests laughed as he sat down across the woman while the Messenger sat on his left. "But I am curious, why is a person from the West Arcane Academy in this place?"
"Ah, you recognized the robe...I assume you're a Priest, I thank the church for their job in this place" she bowed her head slightly. "I'm a Scholar of the West Arcane Academy, I am here for personal reasons may I...ask the same to both of you?"
"You are right in your assumption, I'm a Priest from the church, I came here to investigate the curse in this castle and find a way to purify it"
"I'm a Messenger, I have to deliver a letter to the Lord of this Castle" The Messenger said making The Scholar perk up.
"Weird...is it an old unsent letter? Lord Argos died many years ago" her hands closed the book, looking at The Messenger somewhat curious.
"No, I got possession of it around 2 months ago" He responded.
"Even I start to believe what our young Adventurer said about you getting pranked" The Priest smiled a little nervous.
"Who would even send a letter to him?" The Scholar tapped her knee thoughtfully. "From what I've studied of him, he was a somewhat cruel man, even his son abandoned the castle and disappeared before this entire place was struck by this weird curse"
"Oh? I didn't know that" The Priest's eyes widened a little. "I guess the church focuses more on the curse itself than those who are already gone"
"I can't say who's the one who wrote the letter" The Messenger said looking at the woman.
"That's understandable...I heard Messengers are very secretive and strict regarding confidentiality" She nodded a little.
"What floor did you come from, Scholar?" The Messenger asked next making her perk up.
"I'm on the 9th floor, I can move up rather comfortably because I can do magic, but I plan to stay on the 9th floor, I'm investigating the library" she admitted making The Messenger stare at her. "I...assume you want to come with me?"
"Yes, with how many floors there are, I appreciate any shortcut" He said bowing his head slightly.
"You can come then, unfortunately I won't be accompanying you up the next floors...I still have many things to read in the library" The Woman admitted with a nervous smile.
"That's okay...you'll eventually go up the upper floors as well" He said making her perk up slightly. "There are other 2 libraries alongside the one on the 9th floor, there's one on the 16th floor and another one on the 28th floor"
"Messenger how do you know that?" The Priest asked a little taken back.
"...I studied the layout of the Castle before coming, to secure the fastest route" The Messenger answered after a few seconds.
"I see, I thought you'd say it was because of your good sense of direction" The Priest smiled. "This young man isn't good at lying is he? He doesn't seem like a bad person though"
"If what you say it's true, then I'll be going up the next floors after I'm done with the library on the 9th floor...after that I'd appreciate if you could take me to whatever floor you are at the time" The Woman smiled clasping her hands together.
"Messenger, I'll be staying here with the Scholar, since we're both gathering information, it might be useful if we exchange what we know" The Priest said looking at the young man who nodded at his words.
The door of the safe room opened and The Adventurer walked through, a sigh of relief coming out of her as she closed the door behind her, one hand brushed her disheveled hair as she moved towards the fireplace sitting down at the Priest's side.
"Haaaaa~ why are all the stairs to long? My feet hurt" she said before her eyes locked on the Scholar. "Ah! H-Hi..."
"Hello! I assume you're the Adventurer that both of them spoke about?" The Scholar signaled at The Priest and Messenger.
"I guess I am, unless there's another one trying to steal my loot..." She bit her finger a little annoyed. "I swear I barely find anything"
"Patience is rewarded, Young Adventurer" The Priest patted her shoulder gently.
"I know I know..." A sigh came out of her before she drove a hand behind her back. "I brought to make some hot chocolate in my magic bag, do you three want some as well?"
"That's very kind of you, Adventurer, I accept" The Scholar smiled.
"I'll accept as well, it's been years since I last tasted some hot chocolate" The Priest followed.
"I never had it..." The Messenger said making the Adventurer stop.
"...ah? Y-you never had hot chocolate?" She looked at him with some pity, taking the magic bag from behind her waist and starting to pull out a bag of cocoa, a pot and a few bottles of milk. "Your existence really is sad..."
"Don't be so rude, Adventurer, our young Messenger seems more like a tea person" The Priest quickly defended the silver-eyed Messenger.
"I never had that either..."
"Don't say more, you'll make me cry" The Adventurer deadpanned at The Messenger.
"I'll help you make the hot chocolate" The Scholar set the book aside and got close to the fireplace alongside the Adventurer.
The two of them started to make the drink, heating up the milk with the fireplace, the Priest joining to help pouring the cocoa on the milk.
And the Messenger patiently watched them do all the work.
"How old even are you? You have such a sad life..." The Adventurer sighed.
"Guess..."
"Uhm...19? That'd make us the same age, you don't look older than me"
"Yes, I'm 19" The Messenger answered blankly.
"He's lying..." The Priest deadpanned.
"Is this young man trying to make her feel better about her own age?" The Scholar closed her eyes with a mildly nervous smile.
"19 years old and such a sad life... you should quit and become an Adventurer instead, it's much more fun" The Adventurer said with pity in her voice.
"I can't really quit"
"Uh? What does that even—" her eyes immediately locked on the pot, seeing the boiling liquid. "Ah! The hot chocolate! Crap!"
Pulling the pot out of the fire she managed to save the hot chocolate, not following on the conversation she set the pot down and from her magic bag she pulled out a few metal cups, starting to pour the hot chocolate on them.
"Okay, it's a little hot, so be careful..." She offered a cup to The Scholar and another to The Priest.
"Thank you, I'll wait for it to cool down a bit" The older woman accepted the cup holding it with both hands.
"Haha, If I get burnt I can just heal myself with my holy powers" The Priest laughed also accepting the cup.
"Here, Messenger, this one is for you, if you get burnt at least make a funny face" The Adventurer now offered a cup to The Messenger.
"...thank you" The Messenger's hands held the cup carefully.
The three of them patiently waited and spoke between themselves while drinking the hot chocolate, just some trivial chit-chat, The Messenger just listened to them talk, his gaze moving down to look at the cup of hot chocolate in his hands, his silver eyes barely being able to see the reflection of his own face in the liquid.
And in silence, he gave it a slow sip.
★ ★ ★