Still hidden under their robes, each of the boys' bodies tensed, ready to strike if the hooded figure made even one hostile move toward them.
Hamid took the lead, speaking for the three of them as Amin and Karim were too focused on preparing to fight. "We are sorry for intruding. We are just looking for answers."
"If it is answers you want, the least you could do is show yourselves to me. Then I will be able to see your faces, and tell if anything you say to me is a lie."
The triplets glanced at each other, before nodding in agreement. All raised their hands to their hoods and slowly moved them down, revealing their young faces to the hooded figure who moved the lantern in his right hand nearer to their faces. Just as they put down their hoods and began to remove their robes so they could move more efficiently, the hooded figure froze. The lantern he was holding crashed to the floor, shattering beneath him and his breathing echoed around the room. He looked like he wanted to stumble away, but for some reason his body didn't follow his mind.
"What? What–What are Ibraheem's children doing here?" He said, trembling. His eyes raced across the room as he fell to his knees. His voice rose significantly as he looked up and reached out for something above him despite nothing being there. "They have finally found us. We are all dead!"
He turned his attention to the triplets who looked uncomfortably confused, still kneeling, bowing down to them, replicating the position of a citizen during Mass Prayer. "We are sorry for what we are doing. Please, let us be and we shall not dishonour your father's name again. We do this to share our voices and opinions, not to defy the king, I swear." Neither of the triplets found the opportunity to say something as the hooded figure's cries continued. "Please, have mercy on us. Or at least them. You can kill me but not any of them."
Karim squinted, an awkwardness chilling his body. "Hey! What are you doing? We aren't here to kill you. Like we said, we are just looking for answers. So get up and stop acting a fool."
Hamid, with a softened tone, tried to reassure the hooded figure. "It's okay, we aren't here to hurt anyone. Nor are we here in the name of our father. I promise."
With tears falling down his cheeks, the hooded figure lifted up his head, still unable to control his fear. "Do you really mean it? You aren't here to harm us? How kind of you."
Amin, losing his patience and desperate to move things along, interrupted. "Look, we have no idea who you are and what you're talking about. So how about answering some of our questions and we'll be on our way?"
"If I do not speak, will you tell your father about this place, leaving him to lay ruin to it?"
Hamid stepped forward, a gentle look on his face. "No. We don't have the intention of hurting you…or anybody. But judging by your reaction to seeing us, we believe some of our questions have already been answered."
The hooded figure pulled himself back up, dusting his knees. Seemingly still frazzled, he said, "Well…if it is knowledge you wish to gain, then follow me. Our ritual is about to begin. I believe witnessing it should answer all of your questions."
The triplets duly followed, Amin and Karim's guard still raised as they never quite stopped looking around them.
"How do you know who we are?" Karim asked, intrigued.
The hooded figure pulled down his hood, revealing a devastatingly ugly haircut. The entire back and sides of his head were bare, while only the top of his head was populated with thin strands of hair pointing upwards. Though unsettled by the sight, the triplets kept their eyes on him, awaiting his answer.
"You look like strong young boys, with a cold and menacing face. You look exactly like a Hakimi would. Also, there aren't many other sets of three people in this world who look so similar. That's why I immediately panicked. You may be surprised that I knew who you were, but it is your sheltered upbringing which must be the cause of this. It is why someone like me knows about you, but you don't have a clue someone like me exists."
"I–I see…" Hamid responded, unable to think of anything else to say.
They soon reached the end of the narrow path they walked along, vaguely able to see a room finely lit by fire. "Here we are," said the hooded figure. "Wait here, I have to inform everyone else of your undue presence. It may take a while, as I'm sure this will cause a great commotion."
The hooded figure walked around the corner, the boys hiding as they could hear him reason with whoever was on the other side. Some screamed at first, others strongly questioned the hooded figure's decision. But then a protruding voice of reason took control of the frantic discussion. It spoke with a strong tone, silencing all of the voices that preceded it.
"If what he says is true, and they are really here, then there isn't much else we can do. Even if they say they won't harm us, we can never be sure. And, besides, telling them everything means nothing, for they already know where to find us. That is all they need to disrupt our plans."
Even more arguing followed, but soon it died down, the domineering voice once again taking control and ending the triplets' wait around the corner.
"You may enter…sons of the Great Tyrant." The triplets listened and followed the voices command. Though several hostile gazes fixed on them, the boys paid no attention, absorbed instead by the strange room they had just entered.
A pentagonal table stood at the centre of the room like an altar, its surface carved with a jagged, unfamiliar red symbol that twisted upon itself. The mark infected the room, the flickering torches revealing not only the hooded figure's black robe, but also the daunting red mark that was dotted all over the walls.
Encircling it, more cloaked figures stood in silent formation, their stillness unnatural. From above, they appeared almost ritualistic, an unmoving ring of shadows bound together by secrecy and fear.
At the head of the table stood a figure, taller and steadier than the rest. As he lifted his head, the air tightened, his darkened face and shining blue eyes carrying a weight that pressed against the triplets as they anxiously awaited the ritual to begin.
But before he began the ritual, his eyes dropped from the ceiling toward the triplets, and he spoke.
"Children of Ibraheem. Are you ready…
…To learn of the hidden perils of this world?"