As Dobin left the room, he immediately called Paul since he didn't have his adoptive mother's contact information. Paul answered immediately, wanting to know how everything went. He was worried because they hadn't returned yet.
Dobin skipped filling him in on the rest of what happened on the planet and went straight to them being on Abel Island and why.
"Well, it seems as though excitement is just following you around!" Paul exclaimed. "I'll contact mother. She'll need to explain this to the school as well, I would think."
Dobin thought for a second, "the school knows they are both in high positions with family matters. They just need to know something is going on and they needed to tend an important matter. Tanisha will not be returning."
Paul nodded, "I'll make sure she knows."
They disconnected the call after wishing each other well. Paul called his mother.
Cere was in the lab working with his father, so he heard the whole tale. Paul heard his father's voice once he was done, "those poor kids have too much on their shoulders."
Cere agreed and kissed him then raced from the house. She climbed into her ship, punched in the coordinates then called the school once she was airborne.
The general took it well and didn't request any additional funds, considering the absence excused based on the deal that was in place. The teachers were contacted and informed the students may be out for a while.
Cere tapped her foot impatiently the entire way, worried something else would befall her children.
Dobin found the stairwell when he was there for the wedding, so he knew where to go. What he didn't know was how many floors and rooms that stairwell led to. He decided to go floor by floor thinking the lower levels had to be smaller than those above.
This floor was primarily servants' quarters, storage for linens and the family laundry room. Dobin wasn't sure it was a laundry room at first. The room was vast. While there were washing machines, not everything could be machine washed.
This room had a massive tub in the center that was used for the more delicate fabrics. It took Dobin a while until he recalled a movie his sister would watch where two people were stripped of their nobility and were forced to wash clothing by stomping on them in water or using a washboard.
He shuddered at the thought of having to clean anything that way and walked on. He found rooms with sick people as well as locked doors.
Dobin heard a moan behind a door. He opened it slowly to find Gerald lying on the floor, struggling to his feet. He kept falling over.
"Gerald!" Dobin rushed in the room to help one of the few servants he knew. Gerald's head had dry blood on it and he was coughing.
"Let me help you into bed," he said as he put an arm around the older man.
"What … happened?" he barely managed to say. His throat was dry and he was trying not to cough. As he climbed in bed, he lost the fight and went into a coughing fit.
One of his hands went into this pocket. He came out from under the blankets with the keys and his wallet.
Dobin took them and looked around for some water. He found a pitcher and a few glasses. He quickly brought them to the man's bedside. He poured a glass and thought about handing it to the man. He realized Gerald's hands were shaking too much and helped him drink.
Dobin filled him in on everything that happened. For once, Gerald was too ill to conceal the emotions on his face. Once he heard everything, Gerald informed him how to open the family records to order things, pay bills and the like.
Dobin took meticulous notes between Gerald's coughing fits. He offered sips of water to provide some relief.
Dobin took the items offered and lay the man gently in his bed, "get some rest."
He quickly left, looking for the beds. Gerald told him they were on the next floor down. Now he needed to find those stairs again.
The leader's twin knew he was taking too long. Tanisha probably knew right where they were. He found a stairwell and picked up his pace on the way down.
Only five minutes later, he found a door and opened it. His jaw dropped as the room was filled with a glowing blue light. As he entered the room, the blue light mesmerized him.
He soon realized there was an indentation in the room. He looked down and could see the sea. What really shocked him, though, was at the bottom were 18 people. They all had broken legs and other injuries but were still alive.
Dobin carefully created a staircase that went around the wall and quickly raced down, Rosalie hot on his heels. She understood these people were part of the family in some capacity.
At the bottom, Rosalie used her tentacles to pick up the two least injured among them. The people all looked at Dobin and Rosalie.
One had a dawning look on his face. "I don't know if you remember me, Sir, but my name is Yarlis. I served drinks at your sister's wedding," While speaking wasn't painful in itself, his leg hurt a lot.
"Do you have a healing ability? Lady Bianca. She went crazy! She…"
Dobin put his hand up, "she's dead. My sister has already dealt with her. She spread poison. We need beds to set up in the dining room. I can't find them."
Yarlis thought for a second, "The school. One of the teachers has a healing ability and another has a teleport ability. They should be able to help."
Dobin nodded, "I don't know where any of that is. I didn't think this place was as vast as it is. Can you take me there?"
Yarlis nodded, "this is a fine animal companion you have here. Why didn't you bring him to the wedding?"
Dobin chuckled as he started ascending the stairs. "She is the aunt of the cat my sister carries with her. I have a stone manipulation ability. She's a recent addition. Her role is meant to be training Kent how to fight."
As they got to the top of the stairs he created, "Kent is with my sister. She expended a lot of energy fighting her mother-in-law and needed rest."
Yarlis nodded while the person with his simply bit his lip against the pain moving any part of his body caused. He was more broken than Rosalie knew.
Following directions, they found the school. Dobin once again explained what was going on. Yarlis needed to back him up in this case. Those who lived in this wing of the house never got out and had no idea what was going on above. Their job was to raise the next batch of kids.
The only thing they knew was they were no longer holding the tournament. The future of the children was different. They assumed Barica just had a change of heart for some reason. This made them quite happy because it broke their hearts every time they had to watch their charges die.