Chapter 15: Echoes of the Past

The sun was barely above the horizon as Cassidy and the man walked back toward town, not in great spirits, relieved finally that they could take care of the task at hand and succeed. The dark energy of the Shadow Crystal had been neutralized, and the clearing cleansed. There really wasn't a feeling of accomplishment, though, as he knew full well their fight against the Order of Shadows was very far from over.

Entering inside the inn, it would be filled with anguish. At the entrance, there would be a middle-aged woman innkeeper at the reception desk to welcome them, but her expression and appearance would show much worry.

"Everything all right?" Cassidy asked, sounding concerned.

The landlord looked around him before continuing, "There's something off going on in town. Events occur; people disappear; shadowy movements of their own accord-unsettling.

Cassidy gave him a look: "Sounds like maybe the Order of Shadows is striking back. We need to know more about these disturbances.

He nodded. "We are going to have to investigate these happenings and find out where they are coming from. Maybe the Order is trying to take over again, or get back.

They got dressed, preparing to go into town. The streets were very quiet, with an eerie feeling in the air. Cassidy and the man make their way through town, speaking with locals and piecing together some sort of story behind the recent disturbances.

One was an aged grey-haired gentleman, Mr. Harper, who looked like a person of knowledge. He said, "I have heard rumors about some abandoned mansion on the outskirts of town. People claim that it is haunted, yet there are those again who say it is some den where those people who practice dark arts get together. Years it has lain abandoned, but of late, people report strange lights and weird noises.

Cassidy filed this with the man for future reference. This abandoned mansion could be the key to a major breakthrough in solving the case.

The mansion, situated out of town, thrust an edge amidst an overgrowth of foliage and enclosed it with an eight-foot-high wrought-iron barrier. The mansion stood before them: a facade, once great but now worn; a mystery wrapped.

"Looks a good place for the Order to work from," he said, "but with caution, let's proceed.

Rusted, it only just held together, creaking open with a push. They went up the overgrown path and came to the front door, which hung ajar.

Inside, the mansion was strikingly silent; dust filled the air, and the floor creaked under their feet. It was a maze inside, just labyrinth after labyrinth of dark corridors and furniture with cobwebs, where it seemed each corner was darkened.

Leading the way, Cassidy pressed on cautiously through the large mansion, her flashlight beam swinging through the darkness for at least some hint of recent activity, or some trace of the Order.

It was a room upstairs, actually-a false wall. Inside was a repository of ancient journals and documents, and a few other arcane artifacts. The journals appeared to belong to someone in the Order, detailing rituals, plans, and dark experiments.

"These might be valuable," Cassidy said, examining the documents. "They could provide insight into the Order's current activities and their intentions."

The man nodded grimly. "We need to take these back and study them. They may hold the key to understanding the recent disturbances."

It was as they were getting ready to leave that Cassidy noticed something odd: some faded symbols carved into the wall near where the secret compartment had been; they had seen several of these symbols before-therefore being associated with the dark practices of the Order.

"This may be a clue," Cassidy said to Rebecca, "we have to go and research these symbols.".

They had taken the time to meticulously transcribe the symbols and gathered up the journals and artifacts. As they walked out of the mansion, the growing activity of the Order of Shadows weighed upon his conscience, threats continuing to grow with each day passing by. No sooner were they back at the inn than Cassidy sat down with the man, pouring over the new documents. Incredibly enough, the journals chronicled the Order's plans for unleashing some incredibly powerful dark force upon the world. The complex and hazardous rituals were designed to enhance the Order's influence and foment chaos.

"There is a pattern here," he said, poring over the documents. "The Order is preparing some grand event, one which may bring disastrous consequences.

Cassidy's eyes narrowed as she went through the texts. "We have to figure out more about this event, find some way of stopping it. The wheels in the Order are in motion, and we have to stay ahead of them. Document referrals were also made to one sealed chamber beneath the mansion that can hold more clues or even other artifacts; this chamber, though seeming to have been sealed off, described how to find it. "We need to get into that hidden chamber," Cassidy said. "That's a source for desperately needed information about the intentions of the Order and how to disrupt their plans." He nodded. "We shall have to be well prepared for the ground. The Order shall not yield any secrets so easily. They mapped their route back through the mansion in search of the hidden chamber. Time weighed heavier with each passing moment, and Cassidy knew she didn't have much time left. Never had the Order of Shadows been so dangerous, and its threat was about to spill into the town, onward into the world. Yet, as they started to get back into gear, Cassidy knew even then that they were perched right on top of something enormous, where the pieces fell very slowly and so many questions were yet unanswered. The war with the Order of Shadows was getting pretty heavy, and Cassidy too wanted to stand up against such evil, together with this man. They were to expose all the secrets of the Order, terminate its plans, and save the world from imminent danger. A future of danger faced ahead, and Cassidy had made up his mind to face everything coming his way. All the echoes from the past swelled inside them-the fight for their future had just begun.

 uuThe sun was barely above the horizon as Cassidy and the man walked back toward town, not in great spirits, relieved finally that they could take care of the task at hand and succeed. The dark energy of the Shadow Crystal had been neutralized, and the clearing cleansed. There really wasn't a feeling of accomplishment, though, as he knew full well their fight against the Order of Shadows was very far from over.