Arsh watched Bera, who continued to kick the door with kind of frustrated look. There should have been soldiers on the other side, but no movement from the outside. It was obvious they walked straight into a trap prepared for intruders. It was already weird how easy they got inside.
'Luckily, this time there's no weird creature,' Arsh thought.
While he was trying to figure out what was happening, Walter headed downstairs with confident steps.
"I'll check the situation outside and get you all out one by one," he said, before disappearing again as he reached the door.
However, that confidence was short-lived; they heard a loud thud, followed by a cry of pain.
"Walter?"
"Ahem... I guess I can't get out either. Whatever this is, it's even stopping me," Walter said. When he became visible again he was rubbing his forehead, his face was twisted in pain.
"What are we going to do now?" Gilda asked anxiously.
"I'm not sure what it is, but I think I know something similar. It can be an artifact is protecting this place, or maybe it is a siuni, though I'm not sure. Anyway, someone has trapped everyone inside here," Bera said, before giving the door one last kick. It was a weak kick, as if she had finally given up on opening it.
"But with the General's family members inside, does that make sense?" Walter said.
"I don't know... Arsh, can you find a way out for us?"
"I will try." Arsh closed his eyes and focused. 'How can we get out of here?' he thought.
He could feel only one golden thread. But something didn't sit right with him.
"What is it?"
When he opened his eyes to look at the golden thread floating in the air it showed the same place where the last documents they were looking for were.
"Hurry, someone is coming!" Walter shouted.
"I found something, but..."
At that moment, gunshots echoed through the corridor. Bera grabbed Walter and pulled him aside. Gilda threw herself to the other side just in time.
"I'll be back!" Arsh shouted as he ran away.
He could hear Bera shouting behind him, "Don't go by yourself! It's dangerous!"
"No, it's not dangerous," he muttered to himself. He was already far from the stairs.
He entered the corridor leading to the second wing and kept going. He could feel that there was no danger at the end of the thread. However, as he heard the sound of gunshots echoing behind him, he wasn't so sure about the safety of the others.
'They can take care of themselves. It is not that I can help them when there are guns.'
When he finally approached the room where the golden threads were leading him, he saw that the door was slightly open. Before entering, he pushed the door and waited for it to open completely.
"It took you some time to find me," someone said in the room. When Arsh turned his head toward the voice, he saw a guy sitting on the edge of the bed. This guy looked about his age. Both of them looked at each other in silence for a while. It was clear from the expression on the other person's face that he didn't see this intruder as a threat.
'The General's oldest son,' Arsh thought.
After a moment, the guy gave a faint smile and took a deep breath. As he did, Arsh heard the walls and windows of the house creak around them. Then he reached beneath his pillow and pulled out a file.
"Take these," he said without getting up. "Come on, I'm exhausted. Just take them."
Even though Arsh didn't know exactly what was happening, he had an idea about what kind of documents were in that file. One of the golden threads was stretching directly toward these documents. He slowly reached out and took them from his hands.
The other golden thread was pointing directly at the boy. The way out of here was through him. He was the one who had trapped them.
"I assume you came here to get these documents. They've been in my room from the start. My father believed I would keep them safe. No one can enter or leave this building, or even open a door, without my permission."
"Why did you trap us in the building... just to give us these?"
"Yes."
"But why?"
"Actually, I promised my father to protect them... until I saw what was inside. I don't think what my father did is right... I am too tired. Go now. Be careful. The moment I stop using my ability, the soldiers at the door will jump on you. They have surrounded the whole building. I will give you three more minutes. Don't use the exit you came in through. I locked the soldiers in the third wing into rooms. There won't be anyone at that exit because they trust those soldiers," he said.
"...Thanks," Arsh couldn't say anything more. He had some questions he wanted to ask, but he didn't have the time. He looked at the guy for a couple more seconds and then headed for the door without saying anything else. He had to quickly get back to the others.
The gunshots had already stopped. As he approached the stairs, he ran into the others who were coming up.
"The exit in the third wing! Let's go there right now!"
"Security is tight there," Bera said.
"Trust me. We need to be fast!" Arsh shouted.
They went back to the first floor and headed toward the third wing. Reaching the exit, Bera grabbed the handle and looked at Arsh. As he turned it, the door slowly opened, and everyone let out a sigh of relief. The rain was no longer as heavy as before.
There really was no one outside. However, they could see soldiers gathering a little farther away, close to the main door.
"We need to get to the vineyard without being seen," Bera said.
"Don't worry, the others will distract them now," Gilda said and gave a whistle.
Soon, white smoke began to rise from the vineyard. A thin layer of fog slowly surrounded the area. Then, shouting came from the direction where the soldiers were. Arsh could see vines wrapping around the men's legs and lanterns exploding in their hands.
"Let's go now, show the way, Arsh," Bera said.
Although Arsh couldn't see clearly through the fog, rain, and vines, he followed the golden threads and found the other team members. They were not far away. When they got close, the fog was left behind enough to see what was ahead.
"Did you get the documents?"
"I got them. Actually, the General's son gave them to me."
"What?" everyone said at the same time.
"Save this story for later. We need to leave right now. It's hard to keep the fog up because of the rain," Matt said.
They quickly crossed the fence and started running toward the mountain road.
According to the plan, they weren't going back to town. Instead, they would go to a cave that Jones used from time to time. He and the others usually used this cave to be alone and improve their skills. There was no path leading to it, and Jones had hidden the cave between trees so that no one could find or see it.
"Even if they have a good tracker, the rain will wash away our tracks. Matt says the rain will continue until morning. You will be safe in the cave until then," Jones said.
The inside of the cave was large enough for everyone to fit comfortably. Inside, there were a few items, blankets, and wood that the others had used before.
While Rose lit the wood, the others took off their raincoats and gathered around the fire. Only then did they notice the situation.
"Sh*t! Again. Do you have to get hurt every single time?" Walter shouted.