Realm Lord
Chapter 88: A Feast That Will Never Come

Chapter 88: A Feast That Will Never Come

Arthur and Aziel approached the weathered dresser. The brass handles, once polished to a high shine, were now dull and tarnished. Arthur pulled open the top drawer with a soft creak of aged wood, revealing multiple sets of dusty folded clothes inside.

Aziel reached in and picked up one of the shirts, letting it hang loose from his fingers. He gave the garment an odd look, examining the fine but clearly aged fabric, before shrugging his shoulders with his typical nonchalance. The clothes were simple but well-made, certainly better than the tattered remains they currently wore.

They both retreated to opposite corners of the room and changed into their new attire: a white tunic tucked into black loose pants. The fabric felt strange against Arthur’s skin—clean and soft, unlike the dirt-encrusted clothes he’d grown accustomed to. He ran his hands down the front of the tunic, enjoying the simple pleasure of fresh clothing. It had been so long since he’d worn anything that wasn’t torn or stained with blood, sweat, and grime.

Arthur kept the boots he was already wearing, as they might be rather ragged but they were still intact at the least. The worn leather was molded perfectly to his feet after countless miles of walking, and breaking in new footwear was a luxury they couldn’t afford right now. He stamped his feet a couple of times, feeling the familiar comfort of his old companions.

Aziel, predictably, kept his shoeless look, his bare feet making no sound as he walked across the stone floor. To be honest, Arthur was surprised Aziel even put on the shirt, so he wasn’t going to raise a fuss about the footwear.

"Not bad," Aziel said, looking down at himself and then at Arthur. "Almost like we’re people again, not walking corpses." He grinned, the clean white of his tunic making his eyes seem even more vibrant than usual.

Once dressed, they joined the others and helped the rest of the team get packed and ready. Each member carried rather large backpacks filled with supplies—water, preserved food, medical supplies, and various tools that might prove useful. Jonas’s pack was the biggest, which made sense seeing as he himself was the biggest. His massive frame seemed hardly bothered by the weight that would have crushed a normal man.

Soon enough, they were all ready to go. After another short briefing where Lara reminded them of their objectives, they found themselves staring at the door ahead, readying themselves for what was to come.

Lara positioned herself at the front, her hand resting on the door handle. Her knuckles whitened slightly as she took a deep breath, her shoulders rising and falling with the effort to center herself.

"Everyone ready?" she asked, her voice steady despite the tension evident in her posture.

Jonas spoke first, a smile spreading across his face, his eyes twinkling with anticipation. "You bet," he rumbled, adjusting the massive shield on his back.

Kay was next, offering a tired smirk and droopy eyes that suggested he’d seen too many doors like this one. "I guess," he muttered, his hammer hanging ready at his side.

Then Jake, scratching his head awkwardly. "As I’ll ever be," he sighed, his fingers twitching slightly.

Arthur and Aziel were the last to answer, causing Lara to turn around and make eye contact with the two boys. They cautiously nodded their heads in response to her questioning gaze—Aziel with a devious smile that promised trouble, and Arthur with determination hardening his features.

Lara grinned nervously before turning her head back to the door. Her hand closed firmly around the knob, and with a decisive motion, she turned it. The heavy wooden door creaked open slowly, the sound echoing in the quiet room. Everyone held their breath in anticipation, hands instinctively moving to ready their weapons.

The door opened wide, revealing what lay beyond, and with cautious steps, they all tentatively walked over the threshold into the next room, leaving the safety of their temporary haven behind.

The room that revealed itself to them was grand beyond anything Arthur had imagined. He and Aziel looked around with glistening eyes and low-hanging jaws, momentarily forgetting the possible dangers. Neither of them had ever seen a room this big before.

They were so stunned by the magnificence before them that they didn’t even flinch when the door slammed shut behind them with a heavy thud, sealing their path of retreat. The sound reverberated through the vast space, fading slowly into silence.

They were now inside a great hall that seemed built for giants or gods. Marbleized stone covered every surface, polished to such a high sheen that it reflected the light like still water. The ceiling soared impossibly high above them, supported by massive columns that rose like ancient trees, their surfaces carved with intricate patterns that seemed to shift and move when viewed from the corner of one’s eye.

The room was lit brightly with countless lanterns and candles, their flames dancing in perfect stillness, without so much as a flicker despite there being no walls to block any draft. The light cast a warm, golden glow over everything, making the hall seem almost alive with welcoming radiance.

Long wooden tables with rich red tablecloths filled the room, arranged in neat rows that stretched almost the entire length of the hall. Each table was large enough to seat dozens of people, though no chairs were visible. Intricate golden décor covered the walls as well as many paintings.

Their awe was interrupted when Lara spoke, her voice sounding small in the vastness of the hall. "Last time we were in this room, we were too single-mindedly looking for the totems," she said, her eyes darting from one corner of the room to another as if searching for hidden dangers. "Now nothing is unimportant. Look and study anything and everything. Report back to me if anything is discovered."

The rest of her group nodded and immediately scurried off in different directions, spreading out to scour the great hall. Jonas headed toward the far end where a raised platform suggested a high table might once have stood. Kay began examining the columns, his expert eyes searching for structural weaknesses or hidden mechanisms. Jake moved along the walls, studying the paintings with intense concentration.

Lara then looked at Aziel and Arthur, who were still standing aimlessly, overwhelmed by the grandeur surrounding them. "Well... go," she prompted, a hint of impatience in her voice.

Arthur cleared his throat awkwardly before nodding and heading off to investigate the hall, his footsteps echoing slightly on the polished stone floor. Aziel smiled and followed suit, but soon veered off in another direction, drawn to something that had caught his eye.

Soon Arthur was alone in a corner of the hall, walking along one of the many long tables. He ran his hand atop the smooth, dusty red cloth covering the table, feeling the quality of the fabric beneath his fingertips. There were plates, forks, and trays scattered over the table—fine porcelain and silver that would have been worth a fortune back on earth.

Yet there was nothing to fill them—no food, no water. The dishes were clean... prepared for a feast that would never come.

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