pancason
Part 198 Archanum Castle

Hi all loyal readers of Pancasona, sorry yes yesterday had a few days off. There are some writing problems. Mangatoon policy system is doing a lot of harm to the author, especially the level system, if my level drops continuously I will stop writing here. Not easy to write on target, if my hard work is not appreciated, why do I survive to? Complain dikit.

Now I'm back again. While waiting for a new policy that hopefully will not harm us, the author of mangatoon. Here we go. Up to where we were yesterday yak. wahahaha. I luvaaa.

    _________

They are now in a gas station, in addition to refueling, they also need to fill their supplies that have begun to thin. The trip this time was in the far nun there. A country hundreds of miles away from where they live. For Gio's expertise, they can go to that place without having to take care of trivial things such as passports and residence cards. Because one of their teams certainly does not have a residence letter because of its status that is not recognized by any country.

The pilot sat in the waiting room of the plane. He was sitting alone, but in the other seat there was Ellea and Abhimanyu talking lightly, and on the other side was Arya and Nayla, with Nayla's head now in Arya's lap. The girl looked sleepy and very exhausted. This was a private plane belonging to someone Gio knew very well. An old friend and one of his best friends. Gio was chatting with his old friend for quite a while.

Until Gio finally came out of the special room, then smiled widely. And make his friends confused, even though they have seen a fresh breeze for their journey later. Gio nodded with his row of white teeth and thumbs that were shuffling. The five friends cheered happily.

They will board this plane to get to their next destination. Archanum Castle. These private planes are very comfortable, even this is their first time in this luxury transportation. The seats are soft, equipped with VIP aircraft facilities, they do not need to starve, because there are flight attendants who serve all their food needs. The hero and Gio were sitting next to each other, in front of them there were already various delicious foods that had just been served by the flight attendants. On the other side, there is the eternal pair of Arya and Nayla. Nayla hugged Arya's arm and leaned on the young man's shoulder. Both of them were silent, just enjoying the view of the sky from their side windows. Meanwhile behind them was Abhimanyu and Ellea discussing something. Before boarding the plane, Allea gave word that her pregnancy had entered the third trimester, and her enlarged stomach began to make it difficult to move. Boutique owned by the twin brother, forced to sell Allea, because he was not able to take care of the place alone. And even though he recruited employees, several times his employees actually made the boutique chaotic. About how it works is messy, the stock of goods that are getting longer is unclear, even theft has occurred.

"It's weird, Biyu, why are they stealing at the boutique! While across it, right, the jewelry store. Which made more sense to steal," Ellea growled with a slight understatement of her voice. He does not want others to feel disturbed or even think about it.

"Eum, probably because the thief saw minimal boutique security, dear. That's why he easily steals in your boutique. But the employees are good, right? How much loss?"

"The employees are good. Losses may not be much, because money deposits happen to be once a week in the bank. And just yesterday Allea deposited into the bank. But the boutique clothes are all broken. In ripped ripped. Huh, pity Allea. He must be stressed!"

Abhimanyu was silent for a moment. He also felt guilty for making this mess up. If Ellea hadn't taken this trip, maybe the boutique wouldn't have happened.

"Ell, what if you go home. I'll get you home after we get back from that castle. Let's just stay at home, and wait for me to come home" Abhimanyu explained seriously.

Ellea looked at him coldly then shook her head quickly. "No! I want to come with you! Whatever happens."

"But, Ell ...."

"Biyu, you know what? If we both have to end this. Abhimanyu went back to silence, trying to digest Ellea's sentence just now.

"Hm, yes we must work together to solve all of this. But if you're waiting at home, that's okay, baby? I'm also worried that something will happen."

"Biyu, we're both going to end this. Wanna?"

"What do you mean, Ell?" abi asked suspiciously. Ellea was silent, her gaze turning to the window beside her. The attitude of Ellea who was just silent responded to his question, made Abhimanyu become overwhelmed with deep curiosity. Ellea's words were impossible without a solid foundation. Moreover, his attitude that seemed unwilling to discuss it made Abi even more want to know the reason for saying so.

"Ellea?" call Abhimanyu again in a soft voice, Ellea hand he reached and certainly made the girl turn towards him. Highlight Abi's eyes in a deep yet firm manner, asking for more explanation than all of Ellea's words which he thought were a bit strange.

Ellea's lips trembled, she bit her own lips as if enduring the pain. He looked up and tried to pull both corners of his lips. "I'm dreaming."

"Dreams?"

"Yes, weird dream, Biyu. Surprisingly the dream keeps repeating itself many times now. Every night I dream the same thing. Even every detail I can memorize and can already guess that every time I close my eyes at night, I will definitely see it."

"What's? What do you see, El?"

Ellea did not immediately reply, she looked back at her lover with a bitter look. "We, who will end it all, though in the end many will be sacrificed."

"Many people are sacrificed?"

"Yes. If I don't go on this trip, it's all free. So inevitably, I have to come, me and you," explained Ellea firmly. He looked back at the window beside him. Watch the vast array of clouds like a beautiful sky rug.

Their plane finally landed smoothly. Their journey had already come to the point where the place they were headed to was. Unlike the place where it was before, now the Archanum castle is actually in the city center. It is located in a place where many people can see it.

It is located in the middle of the city center and quite crowded traffic around it. They looked at each other as soon as they saw the huge building from a distance. Until finally they were at the gate of the castle which is also as crowded as the conditions on the highway around. Several groups were seen thronging the castle grounds with a tour guide explaining the dark history of the old building. Then there came a woman standing before them with a big smile. "You're Jerry's entourage?" tanyanya friendly. Hearing the name said Gio immediately broke through the friend who was standing in front of him, he then reached out. "Yes, right. I'm a friend of Mr. Jerry's, you're definitely going to guide us in this castle, right?"

The young lady welcomed Gio's helping hand, and nodded vigorously. "I'm Kattie, I'll be your tour guide, as long as I come to the castle of Archanum" he said as he widened his right hand and showed me where the building stood. The building was old, magnificent, and indeed quite beautiful in its day, but now it looks gloomy and terrible. Managers deliberately do that to add to the impression of mystical and ancient. That's what Kattie said.

They follow wherever Kattie steps, as a tour guide she is a capable and talented woman. The explanation is very easy to understand even to the point of making them quite amazed at the history that occurred in this place. When they go inside, they are immediately treated to a dark atmosphere. Even though the wall paint has been replaced and not so faded. But the color chosen actually makes the atmosphere feel the same as the beginning of this castle was founded. The same impression and feel remains the same keeps its inhabitants inside. 

Kattie's explanation they didn't listen well, they just kept quiet while checking around. Find where the things they are looking for are. Every corner of the room always makes them stunned, because the furniture is still original and ancient impressed to amaze them. There are some paintings and of course wall hangings that look to be of high artistic value.

It is one of the most haunted castles located in the centre of Edinburgh. It was a scary story as if it had become a legend in the city. Some of the spirits that often appear include the ghost of dogs that often bark in foggy nights, headless drummers that often pass in the corridor, etc, and the ghost of Lady Gladis who was burned down by witchcraft in 1537, and still often heard her voice at night. With Edinburgh's often rainy, humid and foggy weather conditions, this magnificent castle is increasingly visible and feels creepy, especially after 5 pm.

The news about Lady Gladis, one of the residents of the castle was quite shocking to all the people at that time. The young woman was one of the princesses of the king who studied witchcraft and performed many heretical rituals. Even many times there are people who died unnaturally. The king, who knew his daughter's behavior, always covered up all of Gladis's deeds. Until finally there was a mass rebellion carried out by the people and attacked the castle, killing all members of the kingdom especially Lady Gladis. The woman was called a witch and immediately tied to a wooden block in the shape of a cross like Jesus, they burned her alive. His unnatural death, made his spirit certainly not calm and continue to be in the castle even now.

The clock shows at 17:00. The fog has started to appear because the drizzle has started to fall since an hour ago. Some visitors have started to leave because the castle is not open to the public at night. With the reason of minimal lighting and also the state of the building that still holds a lot of horror in it. The manager does not want to take risks if things happen that are not desired later and also does not want to be responsible if something happens to visitors outside of visiting hours. Because many of the dark visitors who fared ill when desperate to enter and was inside the castle after dark.

Kattie ends their road session and leads them to the gate. Abi and his friend certainly still felt heavy to leave, they just kept quiet for a while while staring into the building behind them. Kattie waved her hands off their departure. While they were indeed preparing to raise their legs, but it was just sheer camouflage. Because they are still near the castle. Watching and waiting for the place was completely deserted.

They decided to wait in a cafe not far from the castle. In this place also the castle will be clearly visible, therefore the cafe is quite crowded visitors. The view of the castle at night and from a distance, makes the place look like the setting of a terrible horror film.

The caravan belonging to the tour committee began to leave the castle grounds. This indicates that the place is empty. But they saw that the gate in front was hard to lock with a thick enough chain. But it's not a problem for them of course.

"Do you see where the key is?" gio asked as he devoured his sphagetti bolognes.

"I haven't seen. Though I have pelototin it every furniture there. From sculptures, paintings, cabinets, nothing!" nayla Sahut. He then sipped a warm lemon tea that is very suitable in the cold air like now. Especially since this drink is his favorite.

"What else?" ask Gio again.

"Same. I don't see where that is either." Ellea started to rouse, stirring the straw in the drink that was in front of her. Sipping it slowly while staring at the place.

"Maybe we are less thorough," said Arya.

"Okay, we'll continue looking inside. Looks like we need to move now. Before it was too late" Abhimanyu asked, then moved on and paid for their food to the cashier.

They crossed the highway, and began to approach the castle fence surrounded by iron around it. Gio took the lead and walked to the back corner of the castle. He had already estimated the place where they would enter it safely of course.

The iron fence in front of them had an exit at the back of the courtyard. Gio immediately opened the iron lock with a spare key that only he knew where it came from.

Easily the padlock was open, they immediately entered while settling the precipitate and checking around. Once it felt safe, the small gate was again closed, without a padlock. Because their padlocks were placed under an iron fence.

The back of the castle looks more lush than the front yard. Many tree trees around it and make the situation darker and cooler. Every now and then they stop their steps from feeling something around them. But when examined, there was nothing lun they had encountered near them.

Arrive at a door, which is behind the castle. Of course they will enter from the door, because the front door is too striking to enter at night like this. Because on the shoulder of the road, there are still many people who gather, with their friends, to spend the night in a haunted place. This was a natural and common thing to happen in front of the castle.

Gio opened the back door easily, just as he opened the back gate. The moment the door opened, the cold air coming from within the castle seemed to hit their bodies and faces rough. Like there was a strong wind restraining their bodies, but of course this was not a problem for them. Because now their steps are getting deeper into the castle. Flashlight in each hand, to help lighting that is very minimal. There are many dark corners in some rooms. The lighting in the castle is only equipped with scene switch lights that will dim according to the needs and will certainly ease the electricity costs in this large castle.

"We're splitting!" tell Wira. They are now in a corridor with 3 different passageways.

"Lu's sure the time is that enough? This castle is big!" elak Gio's.

"Related. And, my feelings aren't good. So we shouldn't be here too long!" Arya then took Nayla's hand and walked to the left aisle. Abi and Ellea chose the hallway to the right, and the rest were certainly Wira and Gio in the middle.

Each hallway will take them to a different room, and will end up in one place. The front door of the castle.  Abi and Ellea start exploring their parts. Now they have arrived at a room that there are many reading books that are obsolete and certainly placed in a closet. The book looks so old and dusty. "We're trying to find it here. Who knows if there is a secret room or the key is in one of the books" Ellea said. Abi snorted loudly, he stared at the bookshelf higher than himself and with the width of this one room full. In all corners of the wall there are book closets and of course they have to check one by one the book.

Elsewhere, there are Arya and Nayla. They were now in a room with a fireplace still burning with a small fire. There's a big table with a nightstand. Also a large painting on the wall.

Then Gio and Wira were in a large and luxurious room. This room belongs to the king. Because his painting is clearly attached to the wall near the door complete with his wife. His daughter's son was also in another painting, but only when they were little. There were no paintings when their children had grown up. They also checked the place.

The whole corner of the room they check and search carefully. Their time is long. Even until the morning before, but it is true that people say, if you are in this castle for too long, especially at night, it is not a good idea.

Abi began to feel a chill at his nape. Several times he looked around and looked around. He felt that he was not alone in this room with Ellea. Ellea who was still focused on the few books in front of her did not feel anything strange like Abhimanyu. Abi then walked out the door, he turned to the right and left to see the situation outside the room. But he still found nothing in the hallway. But as Abi stared at the floor he was on, there were several pairs of footprints there. The footprints looked like wet feet and were in the room he was checking. The floor of the room was filled with those strange footprints. It must be strange, because both Abi and Ellea are wearing footwear. So whose feet are on the floor?

Ellea who noticed Abhimanyu's strange attitude came closer to the door. He touched Abi's shoulder, looking in the direction the young man looked. "What's wrong?" tanyanya.

"Hm. Notwithstanding. Nothing is." Abi looked at Ellea, and indeed the girl did not see what she saw. Ellea looked ordinary and went back to checking the lines of books inside. Abi who was still confused then entered, and returned to find the key to their destination.

But when they were late in the search, there was a sound of steps and seemed to be running in the hallway corridor. Ellea turned her head quickly, and Abi was the same. They both heard the same voice. Both of them went out and checked things out.

"You hear me, honey?"

"Denger. Who's running, huh?" ellea was confused.

"Yuk, we're looking" Abhimanyu asked.

They were looking for a voice that had been disturbing. Until finally they even met with the entourage of Abhimanyu's mother's father.

"Well you guys even come here?" point Arya at the boy and the girl.

"Daddy, no one ran away?"

"Running people? Where's where?"

"Here it goes."

"Then anyway? That feeling of no one but you."

"Gaes!" pekik Nayla looked at the floor below her. The same footprints that Abhimanyu saw.

"What?" arya asked who then approached and stared at the floor below them.

"That! Whose footprints are they?!" tanyanya was confused without letting go of the dozens of footprints.

"Where is it?" asked Arya who saw nothing in front of her. And so is Ellea.

"I saw there too. In that room. But Ellea doesn't seem to see."

"Seriously, Biyu? How come you didn't say?" ask Ellea.

"I can't give you any proof of what I saw. But now you see it too, so I'm not hallucinating, am I?"

"Maybe this is one of the creatures in this castle" Nayla guessed.

"Maybe that witch Lady!"

A boisterous voice sounded not far from them. The sound of objects slamming was quite loud, making the four of them immediately run towards the source of the sound.

Until they finally saw Gio who was in the sky of the castle sky with a cloth wrapped around his neck. The hero was on the table with the condition of crumbling all the wooden parts, as if because of his body that hit the table quite hard. The spirit groans in pain.

Abi immediately looks for a way to untie the cloth ties on Gio's neck. Arya helps Wira stand up. And Nayla's looking for something that might get her friend hurt.

"Nay.." call Ellea while pointing at the painting on the wall of a graceful woman. "Motion eyes!"

"Huh?! You sure?"

"Knew!"

Nayla drew closer to the painting, she observed the woman inside the painting. He retreated when he saw the painting's eyeballs moving. Ellea took the painting and looked for a bat. While everyone was busy with their duties, Nayla saw that there was a box behind the former painting that Ellea had taken. Nayla took it and opened the box. His eyes were round with a big smile. That what they're looking for is in there. Key to five.

The painting was burned by Ellea. The twisting of the cloth around Gio's neck suddenly slipped away. He fell but still looks fine, even while coughing.

But arriving, the castle shook. "Earthquake!" peekik Ellea panicked.

"Come away!"

Everyone ran to find another way out. The roof seemed to be about to collapse and some things began to fall. They arrived at the front door of the castle. The tremors grew louder and made Gio panic a little. Many times he could not open the front door with his magic key. "Where the hell, Gi!" aryan nagel. He took the magic key and opened the door immediately.

They can now breathe free air outside. And strangely, the earthquake-like tremor was no longer felt. And a few details after they came out, the sound of the alarm went off loud. They panicked and immediately hid into the bush towards the castle's backyard.

______

The building has been rented for the next three days. Tonight was really exciting. Without them knowing there are some people who are injured, although not severe.

The accommodation they rented was quite large and could accommodate everyone. Ellea is taking a shower. Arya was with Wira and Gio on the side balcony. They began to make plans for their next trip. Abhimanyu was sitting on the edge of the bed, treating wounds on several parts of his body. Nayla's approaching. "Let's just say it" she said, taking a wet towel that was being used to clean wounds on some corners of her face. Abi was silent and resigned to the treatment of his mother. Nayla painstakingly cleansed and treated the wound. "Have you always been hurt like this, Bi?"

"I'm fine, Mom. Because this wound will heal itself. I'm just ...."

"Yes, I know, you're just cleaning it, right? But the question is, do you always get hurt like this? After we left?" Nayla stopped her movements, and looked at her son. The eyes of the two people were heartbreaking. "Mom says, our lives are not like everyone else, right?"

"...."

"Abi has learned a lot from all these wounds. And indeed our destiny, will always be to fight. And this wound is not an important matter."

"You know what, Bi? I am proud of everything that is inside of you. You're terrific. You grew up so well, even though we left so fast."

Nayla hugged her son. Truly, with the tears of Abi that come dripping over the attitude of his mother.