As Cron and Lia entered through the door, the secret door closed. Their hearts pounded when the door shut on them. Lia looked at Cron with worry in her eyes.
"What now?" She asked.
"We keep going," Cron said quietly. "We are already here. No point in stopping now."
Lia nodded and got equally ready with Cron to travel down the stone stair case. Torches were hung up on the way, guiding their descent. Soon, they were able to hear people discussing. They couldn't listen to what it was about but stayed quiet.
Soon enough, the talks were moving further away, a sign for the duo that they had to keep moving. As they entered the room, they were amazed at the sight. It was like traveling back in time.
Beautiful hand-carved statues stood, holding a clock in their grasp. Paintings were plastered on the walls, and age was clearly shown on their canvas. Old paper forms rested in a corner, piled on each other.
There were about four openings in different areas. Two of them were storage spaces for the old relics. The other led into a hallway, but the one in the center was a meeting chamber.
Somehow, a light blue shone in the room, giving it an unnatural feeling. No one was in the room; it was Cron and Lia in the open space, and they were amazed.
"What is all this stuff?" Lia asked.
"I don't know. It all looks so old," Cron said.
"Hey, what's that?" Lia said, walking to a strange item.
The small black item looked like a handbag with two circle dials. On the side, there was what looked like a silver pin, but it also looked broken off. On the back of the bag was a long black plastic rope-like thing with two plugs that could be hooked up to something.
Cron also glanced at the strange item. It looked alien to him; he had never seen anything like it. One idea came into his mind: "Do you think it's an Imbued Item?"
Lia's eyes widen. "Is that what it is? I've never seen one before."
"Let's keep away from it just in case," Cron said.
Lia nodded as she backed away. Suddenly, they could hear people arguing as they approached the area. "Hide!"
They quickly dashed to the nearby storage area and hid among the old relics. Then, a large group of maroon-robed people exited a hallway, arguing. As they left the hallway, they gathered in the meeting chamber.
Cron dared to peek at the chaos. Luckily, all had their head turned away from them. Lia looked at him frustratedly. "What are you doing? Hide before they see us."
"But I gotta know what they are talking about," Cron said.
"Do it from right here," Lia argued.
"I can't hear them that well," Cron said as he started to inch out.
Lia sighed and followed Cron. Soon, they were close enough to the crowd to hide among the relics in the open. The group was in an uproar, so neither of them could decipher what the group was talking about. But soon, one man shouted for silence.
The air grew thin as the man took the center of everyone. This man had a thick black beard, shadows covering his face. But he looked around the crowd to make sure he could speak.
In a booming voice, he spoke. "If we argue, we will get nothing done!"
"But, sir, we don't know what to do! We have no leads! Times are getting desperate, and we cannot proceed with anything!" One said.
"Yes, I know," the man said. "We must continue as normal."
"And do nothing?" A woman shouted. "The Time Festival is coming back. We've warned the council not to proceed with the risk, but they are not listening to us."
Cron and Lia looked at each other. They shrugged because none had the answers for what was happening.
"Let the council do as they please," the man said. "If they want to poke the bear and give it an opening, this will be their problem, not ours!"
Cron realized that they were in far more danger than they both thought. He taps Lia on the shoulder. "Let's go," he whispered.
Lia nodded as she got ready to move; she accidentally hit a relic on the ground. The entire group stopped their chat to look at their intruders. They all seemed shocked to see two kids in their lair, but they grew serious.
Lia didn't let another second go back; she cast her Orgone and grabbed Cron to run up the stairs. They zipped up the stairs but were met with a closed door.
Cron and Lia panicked at the sight. They began rapidly touching every stone on the wall to open the door, but it was too late. The Stop Orgone took over Lia's Orgone. Cron and Lia were frozen, panicking at what would happen to them.
The steps behind them were loud and intimidating. Behind them was the man with a thick beard. He studied the kids in their secret lair.
"First-years?" He questioned. "How did you get in here? No matter, I will put you two away."
The man let go of his Orgone, and as he did, Cron and Lia looked back at the sout man. Cron was terrified, thinking he would start to hurt Lia and him.
"Now, if you two were smart, you wouldn't be in a restricted area. But I will ask you to follow me. I'd rather things not get ugly."
Cron nodded, not wanting things to get worse for them. But Lia glared at the man. "What makes you think we will listen to you, Timekeeper?" She said the last word as if it was venom.
The man looked shocked at the mention of Timekeeper. "Excuse me? Where did you hear that name?" "I'm not telling you, Timekeeper!" Lia said with defiance.
The man then looked at Cron. "Will you tell me?" Cron shook his head nervously. The man sighed. "We are not the Timekeepers."