“Lulu, wait,” Aurae grabbed his wrist.

Luther immediately released his grip on the half-turned knob. “Have I missed something?” 

“I can’t say for sure,” Aurae squeezed her hands together, surveying the simple wooden door graying from time with the decorative bricks framing it cracked in spiderweb patterns. “Sometimes, I get these promptings that have no apparent merit. Khessy says they’re assistance from Caxtune, but I’m not convinced—they come too frequently to think a god is paying such close attention to me.” 

“I can’t think of a reason why he wouldn’t want to keep someone as dear as you safe, but, no matter the source of the prompting, I’m glad to listen to any cautions.” 

“Is the prompting something specific?” Lyall asked. 

“Before we open the door, I believe we should knock.” Aurae rapped her knuckles three times upon the wood. She nodded. “That feels right. 

Aurae turned the knob, and the door swung open with the tiniest of squeaks. She strafed to the railing seeking safety aside Lyall and Luther. Steady seconds ticking by and no danger manifesting leaned their heads over one-by-one. Two potted plants beneath the windows on either side of the door marked a short entranceway where a quarter-circle room on the left jutting out was the only breaking of the open area aside from a spiral staircase in the middle. Aurae found it acceptably mundane and stepped past the threshold. Luther followed, and Lyall nearly tripped on his heels since Luther abruptly halted and glanced up. 

“I appreciate your prompting, Aurae. There is a trap here,” Luther slid over to give Lyall room, and the three of them studied the loaf-sized iron box above the door with several recoiled metal arms like the folded legs of the spiders he and Luther eliminated. “I haven’t studied mechanisms such as this with great focus, but the crucial components visible on the device gives me confidence an unwanted effect would have occurred had the vibrations of a knock not retracted the triggers.” 

“I want to know what you consider not ‘great focus’ in your studying, for you figured that out fast,” Aurae shook her head. 

“Where in my sentence did I state that my knowledge is inadequate? I merely meant there is more for me to learn,” Luther swept his hand to his chest. 

“Better be careful. I’ve heard that wizard hubris can—” 

Aurae kept speaking, but Lyall let her and Luther’s voices fall away. The stillness of the room and utter lack of reaction upon the door’s opening impressed aloneness, but Lyall treaded softly upon the faded, aubergine-hued runner leading deeper into the room. The air was clean—not musty as if the tower had been tightly locked for years. Rafters met the ceiling free of cobwebs, and Lyall approached the furniture on the other side of the staircase without fear of sneezing since dust had no place here. The cushions of the six couches and four armchairs were green, dark wood crafted their arms and feet, and the noon sun filtering through wide windows cast a cozy haze upon the scene. Happy were the planters set against the wall hosting a thick line of remarkably kept blooms and leafy bundles, but Lyall barely dipped to give the closest a whiff when a hurried hand on his shoulder tugged him up. 

“Take caution with these,” Luther warned. “There are a few I don’t recognize but given that the remaining bear poisonous properties it’d be wise to assume the rest do as well.” 

“Why would one tend to so many?” 

“It is a high likelihood this tower belongs or belonged to a spellcaster, for several of these plants are used to cast damaging attacks.” 

“Of the poisonous variety?” 

“How did you know?” Luther’s lips curled. 

“This is a lavatory,” Aurae peeked out of the jutting room, “although the toilet is strange. Lulu, you should come look at it.” 

“I can’t say I’m inclined to investigate an object where—” 

“I’m not asking you to stick your head in it.” 

“Alright,” Luther sighed. 

Lyall trailed Luther inside the lavatory. It was an orderly place of humble decoration, giving focus on its most important aspects of the sink and toilet. The two tepidly peeked into the bowl of the latter, and Luther clicked his tongue at the bizarre, inky void spiraling at the bottom. 

“The toilet of the rich and ostentatious.” 

“How so?” Aurae wondered. 

“That ominous force? That’s an annihilation portal.” 

“Uh...” 

“Anything that crosses its threshold immediately vanishes from existence. Useful when one wishes to liberate oneself from the tedium of plumbing. Before your concern grows, a strong barrier is set above to prevent anything living from reaching the threshold of the portal. There’s no risk in using this should any of us find ourselves at that point during our investigation.” 

“Mmm,” Aurae grunted. “I’m fine for now. Shall we return to the main room to search for the chest?” 

“I didn’t see one, but a more thorough search is best,” Lyall said. 

The three gave the first floor their all, yet no viable space for a chest to be made itself known. Lyall kept a cautious ear listening. Not a single sound coursed throughout the tower aside from their own noise. However, something else caught his attention when he closed his eyes to better concentrate on knowing if anyone else might be around, and it was timely that Luther ended up before the plants once more. 

“You aren’t considering taking any of them for components, are you?” 

“That is my consideration. Should it not be?” 

“Those plants aren’t alive.” 

“Not alive?” Luther furrowed his brow, squinting at the closest little bush. 

“I cannot connect properly with anything aside from large growth, such as trees, but I can feel enough to know these plants have no energy coursing through them. They’re fake.” 

“Ahh,” Luther whined. “Some of these ‘plants’ are rather expensive and rare too. Luck is not gracing me well these days.” 

“If this is a spellcaster’s tower like you suspect, we’ll definitely find something handy, no—elbowy somewhere,” Aurae encouraged. 

“I’m stuck with that joke being my legacy, aren’t I?” 

“Yes,” Lyall and Aurae confirmed. 

“I wish it was something a little cleverer, but,” Luther stared strikingly out the window, “I will not deny fate.” 

“Did you take acting classes too?” Aurae reasoned. 

“A few.” 

“You need more.” 

“How dare!” Luther gasped with all the emphasis of a noble matriarch clutching her pearls. 

“I’m going upstairs,” Lyall headed towards the staircase. 

“Allow me!” Luther jumped in front of him, and a swirl of deja vu swarmed Lyall from how the wizard crouched low climbing the stairs to ensure none bore the trigger of a trap. Lyall and Aurae let him be and followed Luther to the second floor after receiving the all-clear. They reached a circular landing and a floor of proper rooms as evidenced by the transitional space and two wooden doors set on opposite sides of the curved stone walls. 

“The roundness of this place is uniquely interesting, but surely fitting everything to the curves would be a great pain?” Aurae pondered. 

“Clearly someone believed it not enough of one,” Lyall shrugged. “Let’s check the doors.” 

They each took their turn inspecting the doors for malicious intent, and Aurae firmly knocked on each. Lyall stood at the ready behind Luther as he chose the eastern door in front of the stairs to open first in case they required a hasty retreat. Delightful warmth and the most glorious waft of freshly baked bread lured Lyall into the room right behind deeply sniffing Luther. Aurae jumped in after them. 

“A magical kitchen! I’ve always wanted one of these!” 

Lyall had never dreamed of a magical kitchen, but he did now. Gleaming marble counters stretched both the outer perimeter and as a long island in the center of the cream-tiled floor. Wide pantry cabinets filled the end walls while a gentle heat haze bobbed out the cracked windows whose supple, cotton curtains fluttered in the wind. All manner of utensils recognizable and unknown—there was a rounded-edged knife with tiny prongs sticking out the end as a wayward limb—arranged themselves prettily on hooks or in glazed cannisters. Three spaced arcane stoves glowed with cheerful oranges while the most impressive sight was the dessert feast being cooked without master. 

Floating knives peeled shiny apples in perfect, singular spirals. Four large bowls kneaded puffy dough. A long-tipped bottle squeezed glistening caramel into the center of rows of cupcakes as a piping bag a row behind swirled smooth frosting into graceful globs where a sieve followed yet another row behind to dust the display with chocolate powder. Lyall didn’t know fancy food. There were round pastries stuffed with jam and cream, cookies that looked like seashells, layered cakes with glossy topping cut into narrow pieces, and all manner of bread molded into shapes and textures anew. However, Lyall knew that he wanted nothing more than to cram everything he saw into his mouth. 

“What a cruel trap,” Luther bemoaned, reaching his hand out towards a buttered roll bobbing by before snapping his fingers closed. 

“What trap do you mean?” Aurae asked. 

“Surely you’ve heard one of the many stories featuring impossible displays of delectable food inexplicably before the protagonists where nothing good happens upon partaking of the seemingly harmful delights?” 

“We can’t eat anything?!” Aurae’s jaw dropped low. 

“Not a single bite,” Lyall warned. 

“But...but...” 

“The coin guaranteed from this job will facilitate a wonderful dinner at a restaurant capable of duplicating these treats normally. Let’s treat ourselves to such as a reward, but otherwise, for now, we’ll search this room quickly.” 

Aurae pouted in response. She sulked to the right pantry, leaving Luther to hold his breath, grimace ducking around flying sheets of luxurious food, and travel the entire length of the room to search the left pantry. Lyall gratefully took to the cabinets of the wall counters since the tantalizing harmony of sugary sweetness and demure tang of yeast was a little less by the open windows. He searched three cabinets thoroughly for the chest—it could be quite small, after all—and searched the next two with hasty hands. The alluring scent within the kitchen swiftly morphed to addictive. Lyall’s palms grew slick, his swallowing doubled, and his stomach creaked as if Lyall neglected it all day. The want to eat from merely being around good tasting food heavied into a forced need to consume. 

From his right, Lyall caught the subtle smacking of tongue upon lips. 

“Aurae!” he sprung up. Aurae flinched and turned around from the pantry with lips coated in powdered sugar. She blinked once, noticed the half-eaten lemon tart in her hand, and dropped it with a tiny yelp. 

“I-I didn’t even realize—!” 

“This space is enchanted to make us desirous to eat,” Luther sped to her. “I despise charms. How do you feel?” 

“Completely fine. The urge to eat is fading too, so perhaps it’s more about not being gluttons than...” Aurae frowned. “No. No, I’m passing out.” 

Lyall dashed, and he and Luther lowered her to the floor as her eyelashes securely fluttered together. 

“It’s a sleep spell,” Luther gauged. “A powerful one that isn’t easy to undo. I can try something but help me move her out of the room first.” 

Easier said than done. Not because Aurae proved weighty to move. She shifted surprisingly light into their shared hold despite her metal armor etched in Caxtune’s iconography. It was that neither Lyall nor Luther wished to leave the room. The air caught Lyall’s ankles like tar, and he groaned from the hungry pang clawing at the increasingly sore lining of a traitorous stomach. Luther furiously shook his head, clapped his hands together, and opened them as tiny sparks of lightning upon his fingers shrieked a ringing into their ears. Luther didn’t hesitate slamming the magic onto Aurae’s breastplate. Her body seized up, but she didn’t wake. 

“A controlled shock is the only method I know that has a chance of breaking a charm this potent,” Luther grumbled. 

“How long do you think she’ll sleep for?” Lyall wondered, and Luther answered with an exasperated slump. “I don’t feel comfortable leaving her alone on the floor, and we’re at a severe disadvantage having her out for the count.” 

“I found something in the kitchen that might be a solution, but I’m not eager to go back in there.” 

“Then hold your breath and hold my hands, for we need to at least try.” 

Luther bit his lower lip and nodded. They took deep inhales of clean air, held hands to banish wandering fingers, and moved to the end counter by the left pantry where a rack held numerous cookbooks. Luther signaled his composure and freed his grasp to open the one labeled ‘Better Than Coffee’. The entirety of the pages were blank save for one in the middle. 

“It’s a charm-breaking potion. The ingredients are in the room as I saw some in the pantry, but...” Luther pointed to instructions requiring lengthy cutting and stirring. “Well! We’ll simply have to prove we’re rational, poised men, won’t we?” 

“Indeed,” Lyall agreed. 

“Here,” Luther set the book on the counter. “I’ll get the ingredients from this pantry. You search for the rest.” 

“Got it.” 

Lyall didn’t even get to turn around. Luther shifted towards the pantry, a honey truffle zipped before him, Lyall saw Luther’s eyes glaze, and the wizard snatched the treat.

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Until the next chapter is available, these other Action Fantasy entries are sure to entertain you. Links to each are in the description below.

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