Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 29: The Ataer Pits

Act 1: Blue Ocean Pavilion - Chapter 29: The Ataer Pits

The faint smell of dirt and blood tickled Oscar's nose, slowly waking him up from his blackout. He was still half awake, so he could not see what was happening, but he felt himself being dragged away. Oscar felt his skin scraping off from the collars constantly being tugged.

"Ugh." Oscar hissed from the pain.

The prison guard, who was dragging Oscar, heard him groan. They stopped and kicked him in the stomach.

The pain of the metal boot snapped Oscar wide awake in a painful scream. His body groaned as it was starving and riddled with bruises; the blow to the stomach only worsened his condition.

"If you're up, then stand and walk." The prison guard coldly stated.

Oscar, with great effort, got to his feet, wiping off the dirt from his face. He noticed all the cells were open, and the prisoners were funneling into a single gate.

The prison guards were lined up in every part of the way, keeping an eye on the unruly prisoners. Oscar noticed Boris and John, but their faces were solemn, unlike the crazed laughter they exhibited earlier.

'What is happening?'Th.ê most uptod/ate novels a/re published on n(0)velbj)n(.)c/o/m

He joined the lines of prisoners, walking towards the gate with a heavy expression. It was completely silent except for the rattling of the chains. The tortured prisoners were missing, and everyone else was not in the mood to talk.

The place beyond the gate was unexpected in such a deep underwater location. A large pit stretched deeper into the bedrock where the bottom could not be seen. The only way down was the long spiraling stairs on its walls that went as far down as the bottom.

He noticed a sign on the side with the words 'Ataer Pits' written. Oscar was curious about this place. What purpose did this place hold, being deep underneath the prison?

The prison guards near the stairs handed out pickaxes to everyone and routed them to move down the stairs.

The pickaxe was so heavy that Oscar nearly buckled down to his knees from the weight. It took all he had to prevent himself from falling over the edge. Thankfully, the weights on his feet helped him stay put.

"Stop idling around. Move down to the bottom." The prison guard ordered.

Oscar stared at the wide stairs that descended into the unfathomable depths. There was no way he could make the trek down in his state.

The prison guard grew tired of Oscar holding up the line and pulled out his whip, lashing at his arm.

Oscar clung to the wall for support, dyeing it red in the blood that split from the whip's lashing.

The prison guard stared coldly at Oscar through their visor. "Go down now."

Gritting his teeth, Oscar forced his feet to move. He took one step down and lost his balance from the weight. His body tumbled down the stairs for several steps until he lodged his pickaxe in the wall as a brake.

The other prisoners laughed in contempt at Oscar's misfortune. They passed him with snarky faces, easily lifting the pickaxes and treading down the stairs.

He had never been in such a horrible situation in all his life. The only things he could recall that came close were his battle with Greg and his argument with Isabella. But those times were not as prolonged as imprisonment here.

Oscar put his thoughts away. The only comfort was that he would leave this prison in a week; he merely had to hold on. With that hope in his heart, he descended the stairs again.

Hours passed, and Oscar noted it should be night outside. There was no indication of day or night within the prison since it was inside the lightless depths. He spent so much time on the stairs, carefully taking each step.

The stairs would reach a leveled platform built around the pit's walls. Each level was littered with tunnels dug sideways.

Although it looked like a gaping abyss, it was lit by lamps that burned a strange blue fire. The lights only lit up to a certain radius around them and could not be seen from a great distance.

Oscar went so far down that the top looked like a small circle the size of a disk. His suffering momentarily came to an end when he reached the end.

Draven's words filled Oscar with amazement. There was such a treasure lying deep in this forsaken prison.

"They built this prison for free labor?" Oscar asked.

"Indeed. The Pavilion did not want to waste the precious training time of their people and thus created this place to gather unwilling miners. Even the Minor Hall that performs menial tasks do not do this."

"There must be another use for this," Oscar said. There was no way the Pavilion would gather all this for pure Ein.

Draven shook his finger and said, "I just told you, those details are restricted." His tone darkened to indicate any further questioning would be unwise.

Understanding the warning, Oscar gulped in fear. His thoughts went back and forth about the presence of this strange warden.

'Wait? Why is he down here? Why is he telling me this?' The realization struck Oscar like a rock to the head. The Warden is the highest authority in this prison. There is no reason for him to be here, talking to a lowly Grade Four Outer Hall student.

He asked, "Warden?" in a shaking voice.

Draven dropped to the floor with a loud thud and indicated Oscar to sit. His helmet-covered face drew closer to Oscar. "Do you know why you are here?"

"No, sir. I do not." No matter how often he thought about it, he could not understand the court's decision.

"Someone requested for you to come here."

"Requested?" Oscar did not think anyone could have the power to do such a thing.

'Who wanted to send me to this horrible place? If Samuel had such authority, he wouldn't have made such an outburst.'

"I don't know who it was. But I do not like people messing with the law." Draven clenched his hands on the floor, squeezing the rocks below into dust.

"This is my prison, and I only allow scum and sinners to be chained here. The innocent have no place here. You are innocent in my books, and those rotten, addled elders dared to break my principles." The radiating anger from Draven felt like icicles stabbing into Oscar. He tried hard not to blackout from the nail-biting fear taking hold of him.

"But why? Why do all this to me? I did not offend anyone." Oscar mustered out these words in a yell, laying out his grievances. Even though it was toward Draven, he could not hold it in anymore. If it was the court's decision, he could let it go and carry on, but he was unwilling for all this to happen just because someone had it out for him.

His fist was bleeding was how hard he struck the floor in his temper. The hunger and beatings had whittled down his usual rational thought.

"That's right. Someone wants you to suffer, and you will suffer here; that is the reality of this place."

Oscar's face darkened from his reality. But Draven's next words were the opposite.

"However, that person will not expect you to have an opportunity here."

"Opportunity?" Oscar was astonished.

Draven stood up and patted the dust off of him.

"For this next week, I will train you. Once you're out, go and surprise whichever scumbag abuses their power. Show them you came out the winner against their expectations." Draven extended his hand toward Oscar. Normally, he would never care for a student. This boy was sent here to be broken, but Draven would mold and strengthen him.

This was Draven's rebellion against injustice.

"Now, will you sit there in the dirt? Or take this chance I'm giving you?"