The Demon Lord And His Hero

"We look like suspicious characters," Syryn said to the blond next to him. They were both wearing identical grey cloaks with hoods that hid the upper halves of their faces.

"It's standard getup for a night at Silent," Rowan answered. "You'll appear more out of place without a cloak."

Rowan and Syryn were waiting at the spot in their garden where the rift would open.

"You'd think the place is crawling with criminals the way everyone has to hide their faces," Syryn commented.

The two of them saw the air split before them. The rift was opened from the inside. Rowan stepped in first, then Syryn. To his surprise, their companions were familiar folks - Artemus, Sebastian, and Vincent - cloaked similarly.

"Oh hey, it's Siran," the golden-eyed anti mage waved.

"Rowan, why is this man talking to me with familiarity as though I know him?" Syryn asked the blond.

"Play nice while I speak with Artemus," Rowan said before stepping up to the other mage hunter. Sebastian fell back and joined the bickering pair while the mage hunters spoke in low voices ahead of them.

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Artemus led them out to a sandy beach where a large number of turtles were sleeping. In the distance, a large castle stood on a small island that was mostly composed of rock.

"That's Silent," Sebastian pointed out to Syryn. "I heard it's your first time visitin'."

"Yes. How are we getting to the island?"

"We're walkin' to it."

Syryn thought Sebastian was joking but he saw Rowan and Artemus walking on the surface of the water.

"Look, there's a bridge," Vincent pointed to his feet. There was a brick path leading right from the edge of the beach to the island. "It appears only during a low tide."

A sliver of water rested above the brick path that Syryn had missed because of the darkness. "But how do we get back when the tide rises and we're still at the market?" Syryn asked the anti mage.

"We exit through the rift in the castle."

"Why don't they allow entry then?"

"Silent market has some strange rules and one of them is that guests are to arrive at a specified interval of time durin' which the tide is low enough to allow entry. If ya miss it then ya miss it. Not even boats are allowed anywhere near the island," Sebastian explained to him.

Their feet made sloshing sounds on the bridge as they crossed it. And when a large wave came crashing towards them, Sebastian's wind swept the wave back against itself.

They were nearing the island when Syryn heard the faint sounds of a person whistling an eerie tune. He turned around and looked behind him but the bridge was devoid of any living creature aside from themselves.

"What's wrong?" Vincent asked Syryn.

"Don't you hear that?" He said to the others.

"Hear what?" Vincent replied. Even Sebastian looked puzzled at Syryn's words.

The alchemist's first thought was that they were both in on a joke being played on Syryn. But then he looked at where Rowan and Artemus were ahead and in deep conversation. Neither appeared to have heard the whistle. And they weren't the type to be involved in such trickery.

"You guys, do you not hear the whistling?" He asked the other two again. It was a high pitched, mournful tune that made the hair on his neck stand.

"I don't hear anythin'," Sebastian replied.

"Just the wind and the waves." Vincent looked at Syryn oddly. "Do you have.... special ears?"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Syryn was getting antsier by the second. The whistling seemed to follow them.

"Why are you getting offended, Saron? It's just a question."

Syryn walked closer between the mage and anti mage. He hoped it wasn't some kind of a joke because the whistling was creeping him out.

"I can hear whistling."

Sebastian looked at him with concern. "The whistlin' of the wind or someone whistlin'?"

"A person.. the tune goes like this," Syryn said and whistled a tune for them. The act of creating the tune through his lips birthed a strange feeling within Syryn.

"Thats weird.." Vincent said after listening to the tune. They were almost to the island, a relief for Syryn since he wouldn't have to hear the whistling when within the silent market.

"Whatever is goin' on, I hope it's nothin' too strange," Sebastian said while looking at Syryn in interest. Fun was had when Syryn was around attracting trouble for them.

"Nothing too strange? It's already weird enough that only I can hear it. Are you two messing with me?"

"No," Vincent said in all seriousness. "Why would we do that?"

"S'ryn, the sound will stop when we get inside there. Every little sound gets eaten inside. If the whistlin' still persists when we exit through the rift then we'll look for wherever it is that's makin' ya hear the whistle."

Syryn nodded even as a frown made itself known on his face. He was desperate for the whistling to end.

-----

The group climbed a stone staircase and arrived at the entrance of the castle. A guard in heavy armour held his hand out and accepted a large amount of money from Rowan before they were allowed entry.

The moment Syryn stepped inside, it was as if he had gone deaf. Utter silence reigned, but it wasn't just the absence of sound. Inside the walls of the castle, the existence of sound was nullified. Going from the sound of whistling and crashing waves to this oppressive silence was a jarring moment to Syryn's senses.

Rowan turned back to look at him. The blond gestured for Syryn to come with him. When the alchemist had been told of the existence of such a place, he had assumed that people were silent in adherence to a rule set by the owners of the market. But he had been wrong. The entire castle was a magical creation that absorbed sound. The alternative was that it harboured a magical device that nullified sound.

Syryn snapped his fingers under the long sleeves of his cloak but he heard nothing. It was disconcerting. He would go crazy if he stayed inside here for longer than an hour.