Cursed: Expulsion

Chapter 5

Zak lowered his gaze; he couldn’t take it anymore. How am I gonna get through today if I can’t even look him in the eye? He noticed that his heart was beating fast. Calm down, Zak. You have no reason to be scared of him. He hasn’t done anything to you…..yet.

Mel was shifting nervously as Kayzer stared at them for a while. He looked like he was enjoying their discomfort.

“Welcome to your first official training session!” Kayzer finally broke the silence. “Before we get into the practical component, I want to describe the structure of the city of Zayan and its castle.”

He extracted a board marker out of his robe and drew a circle on the nearby whiteboard. Mel remembered that this was where he left off before Layla and Zak showed up last time.

“This circle represents the castle.” He then drew a bigger circle that encircled the first one. “This bigger circle represents the city walls. The castle is in the middle of the city.” He shaded the area between the perimeters of the small and big circles. “This shaded area is the city itself. Any questions so far?”

Mel and Zak remained expressionless.

Kayzer continued. “The outer wall is connected to the castle by underground tunnels, situated at every city gate. Put simply, one can travel directly to the castle without traversing through the city, like Zak and Layla did when they arrived this morning.”

Zak confirmed this with a nod.

“The castle itself consists of eight floors, five above ground and three underground, and eight towers. The towers I speak of are the ones you can see around you now. They are luxury suites; for special guests. Mel slept in one last night. The Grand Masters also use them when they come to visit. Knights are permitted to use them, as long as no higher ranking personnel are present.

Each floor in the castle serves a different purpose. I shall state every purpose in descending order, starting from this floor. Please note that the floors get wider and taller each level you descend, so the castle is roughly shaped like an upside-down cone with towers sticking out of it.

This is the fourth floor. It consists of the courtyard and the throne room, and also the doors to each tower. The throne room is where the Grand Masters, and obviously the king or queen, sit whenever they have a meeting in this city. The courtyard can be used as a training ground or for castle events. Civilians are not permitted to enter this floor of the castle.

The third floor is also known as the military floor. It consists of the captains’ quarters, the soldiers’ quarters, armories, strategy rooms and many other military related rooms. It is where missions are handed out. You ate your lunch, in the soldiers’ kitchens, on this floor.

The second floor is for science and technology. It is mainly a floor full of labs. It is where our technology is developed and where experiments are performed. Most of what goes on in the labs is top secret, therefore you are not allowed in without full authorization. Civilians are obviously not permitted here either.

The first floor is a huge library, open to the public. It’s one of the biggest libraries in Kawkan, seconded only to Dethera’s colossal book haven. Not much to say about this floor. Books, books and more books.

The ground floor is where we host public events. It houses the great hall, where Mel had a marvelous feast the night she arrived. The city’s main courtroom is also on this floor. Furthermore, it is where civilians can voice their opinions and comment on the castle’s performance.

The first underground floor, also known as B1, is a portal room. It is where all the portals are kept, but we are short on fuel, so that room is currently out of order.