A/N: No one's reading this? Seriously? Ah well. Gonna upload the next chapter anyway. Also in case anyone's wondering, I don't know what the currency is in Nosgoth so I made it up. Brecken is Copper, Litas is silver and Zaire is gold.
After history, Thea and Nysa went to the campus' library, where Nysa brought out the maps and started to explain the situation. "So, I've heard that this map leads to the Tomb of Kain- but it's so old that it's not entirely accurate. I figured you'd know something about how to fix that."
"You are up to no good again, aren't you." Thea crossed her arms. "Nysa, I swear—"
"Thea, please." Nysa held her hands. "This is seriously important to me- I can't tell you why, but it is. I have to find this tomb before someone else does."
Thea just sighed. Nysa had always been a peculiar girl in this aspect, like she was living this secret life that she didn't want her to know about- and she'd been this way since high school. She remembered meeting Nysa in Year Seven and being drawn to the punk outfits and crazy-coloured hair and the don't care attitude she had. She wanted to be like her in that way, even if Nysa was a troublemaker at times. She wanted to be mysterious and carefree and cocky, too. (And find out the secret to her perfect eyeliner wings.) This time, however, Thea wanted a payment- this was her chance to figure out why Nysa had so many secrets. "Okay. I'll help. But on one condition."
Nysa blinked and pulled her fringe out of her eyes. "Name it."
"You have to take me with you."
The other girl gave her an apprehensive look. "I thought you said you didn't want to go."
"You said I didn't have to. But I'm tired of you keeping secrets- if you're going to find this Tomb, I want to at least find out why."
Nysa just stared at her. "It could be dangerous."
"If you're involved, it's bound to be. I'm used to it by now." Thea kept her arms crossed, her chin jutted evenly so she looked taller than her friend- she knew she hated it. "You take me with you, or it's no deal."
The dark-haired girl took a deep breath in and out, measured and frosty as her tone. "Fine. But if I tell you not to ask about something, you keep your mouth shut and trust me. Okay?"
Thea tried not to look smug, but it was a little difficult knowing she'd managed to successfully change Nysa's mind for once. "And if I ask a question anyway?"
"You won't get an answer."
"Sure."
"I'm serious. There are things I know about that you're not supposed to. Knowing said things could get you killed." Nysa was usually laid back and all shrugs and chuckles, but this was definitely new. "And if I told you what I knew and why I knew it, you'd never think of me the same."
Always so dramatic. "Fine, whatever. Now, do you wanna find this thing or not?"
They got to work, comparing a more recent map of various cities around Nosgoth and cross-referencing it with Nysa's old map, narrowing down the possibilities of where the tomb could be. Their first choice was Coorhagen, the recorded birthplace of Kain and therefore the logical choice, but it seemed too easy. It was recorded that Kain had risen from the dead there, but he had completely vanished all those years ago- he'd need to be somewhere specific. Their second choice was the Pillars, south of Nachtholm, but it was off-limits to everyone except the Pillar Guardians, save for a few select festival days, meaning it would be hard to get into- and Nysa was hopeful that it wouldn't come to her having to tell the truth if Kain really was buried under the Pillars and they needed to get there. Then there was their third choice- the Chronoplast, an ancient time-streaming machine built beneath the very stone of Nosgoth itself and fabled to be somewhere up in the mountains that towered over the Termogent Forest. It had been Mobius' favourite toy back in the day, and what he based his time-streaming chambers off of when he built them, but this was the original, said to have been constructed by the Ancient Vampires. Kain had taken a liking to it, or so it was written, so now they had three places to search.
"So now what?" Asked Thea. "There's no train service to Coorhagen- we'd have to get the bus from the Wasserbunde terminal."
"Aye, and the ticket costs too much," Nysa sighed. "Three bloody Zaire for a ten-minute drive, it's ridiculous. I could just drive us there instead."
"Yeah, but it takes longer and the road goes through the woods." Thea looked at her with her arms crossed. "Safer to take the train, even if it is expensive."
"Yeah, well. One Zaire and thirty Litas for a full tank of petrol that'll get us to Coorhagen and back compared to three Zaire? I'd prefer the drive."
"But the woods!"
"Ferals are nocturnal and we'd clear it in about an hour." Nysa smirked. "What's the matter, scared?"
Thea frowned. "Uh, hello? I don't give a damn what you say, I don't want to take chances with a feral."
"You plug it full of bullets and it dies. It's not rocket science." Nysa shrugged.
"With what gun, Nysa?"
"I have one. Not on me, but I have one."
Thea blanched. "Y-you...what?"
"I live near the woods. It's just a necessary precaution." The dark-haired girl leaned back in her chair and put her feet up on the desk. "So, you can pick. We either take Coorhagen, the Chronoplast, or the Pillars." She started to fiddle with her tongue piercing.
Thea watched her in shocked silence for a few moments more, before sighing and leaning over the maps again. "Okay, well, let's leave the Pillars as a last resort."
"Cool by me." Nysa sounded a little too relieved at that. Thea could only wonder why.
"So," She continued, "That leaves Coorhagen as a good starting point."
"Aye?"
"I mean, the Chronoplast is said to be outside of Wasserbunde, and that's not far from Coorhagen, right?" Thea smiled. "It's like, a half-hour drive."
"Yeah, that can work. I'm still cool to drive us to Coorhagen." Nysa started to fiddle with the coin-like pendant on her choker, emblazoned with the image of a dragon coiled intricately around the image of a phoenix. "I'll need to get some stuff from home."
"Fair enough." Thea started to put away all the books. "Hey, we have that history paper coming up, right? Let's get some good snaps of the Zeigsturhl ruins while we're up there."
Nysa smiled and packed up the maps. "It'll be a good one, I'm sure."
The girls went their separate ways, agreeing to go up on the weekend, and Nysa made sure Thea was out of sight before she ducked into an alleyway. Then, making sure no one was around, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing energies between her hands. Suddenly filled with the promise of everywhere, she chose one specific place and willed herself there. In a flash of light, she suddenly came to stand at the gate to the Pillars, where armed guards stood watch. They raised their guns at her, but Nysa didn't flinch.
"State your business! This area is off-limits!"
"Save for Pillar Guardians, right?" She rolled up her sleeve to show a mark on her left forearm. "I am Nysa, Guardian of Death. Let me pass."
A soldier came and inspected the mark, then looked to the soldiers on top of the gate. With a barked order, the soldiers saluted her as it opened. She walked past them, the gate shutting behind her as she continued down the stone steps until she saw the huge marble monoliths that reached up into dizzying heights above the clouds. Nysa gave a long sigh as she continued towards them. She'd come here once with Vorador, not long before he died, when he tried to give her some perspective on her place among the other Guardians, explaining the elements and what her role would be as Death Guardian- most duties associated with that role rarely came to pass, since the Pillar Guardians' reputation was so blackened by previous transgressions. She sat by her Pillar, her symbol carved into it, and let her back rest against the cool stone.
It was some years ago, around the time that the Second World War had started, that her predecessor stood here with the others, casting an enchantment that would seal off the entire country from the outside world. Through the war, Nosgoth suffered- starved of imports of medicine that could have kept the country alive, so many died of sickness. Some vampires were desperate to keep feeding that they started to eat from the corpses and soon died off over time or turned to eating rats if they were that hungry and didn't feel like dying. Some starved to death, not wanting to drink poisonous dead-man blood or wanting to be known as a rat-sucker. By the end of it and the shield was lifted, Nosgoth was under the magnifying glass as the United Nations picked the Guardians' decision apart. While the world was watching Nazis being put on trial for warcrimes, they called Nosgoth a worse hell than Auschwitz, the Vatican pushed their religious agenda by trying harder to convert the country to Christianity and decrying the faith in the Guardians and the Pillars and calling it a vicious trap of fear.
It didn't come to pass. Something akin to Christianity had lead to Nosgoth almost being destroyed once in the distant past- it was still hilarious to tell Americans that there was no Christian church here. No one felt the need to worship any other Gods after the Elder God was toppled. The Pillars were a necessity, despite the claims of outsiders- but the citizens of Nosgoth could never trust the Pillar Guardians since that day. Ullara and Lycella had only been fledglings during that time, going through their state of change during the war and emerging afterwards to accusations of war crimes. Lycella at least looked like she regretted it, but even though she hadn't been alive when that decision was made, Nysa felt an immense guilt knowing the poor opinion people had of the Guardians. It was why it was almost impossible for Vorador to get her into a school when she was younger. She didn't get into a real school until Seventh Form, and that was when Lycella had taken over the duties of the Sire in the house.
"Wolves lose no sleep over the opinion of sheep, child," Vorador had said. It was supposed to be some metaphor about the worthy being able to see past titles and reputation to get to know the person behind them, but it didn't get across very well. All the same, Nysa could only stare up at the impossible height of her pillar and wonder if it was time to tell Thea the truth and pray for the best, but fear kept that at bay. Thea's family didn't hold a high opinion of vampires, so how was Nysa supposed to tell her best friend that she was being turned into one in eleven years on top of her being a Guardian and a Necromancer? Necromancers were hated just about as much as the Pillar Guardians were!
A few deep breaths, in and out, slow and measured. Worse come to worst, she'd know if Thea was a wolf or a sheep. She could only hope for the best at this point. Thea's opinion of her was less of a problem considering the Soul Reaver was up for grabs. That much was more of a concern than the opinion of a mortal.
Returning home that night, Lycella stood waiting for her in the foyer, a bundle tucked under one arm. "Welcome home."
"Lycella." Nysa gave a nod, then made to walk past the Balance Guardian, but she caught her by the shoulder. "What?"
"We need to have a talk."
"No we don't."
"Yes, we do." Lycella's tone was stern. "Nysa, you know I'm not your enemy. I'm not my sister."
"Thank god for that," The Death Guardian remarked humorlessly.
"But I have something for you," Lycella continued. "Something our Sire wanted to give you before he died." She passed the bundle to Nysa- it had a defined weight to it beneath the cloth, and Nysa gently unwrapped it, soon finding the glint of a blade, and a letter tucked between the folds of the cloth. "I know you're going to find the Soul Reaver." The Balance Guardian rubbed her arms. "If you find it, promise me that you'll keep it safe. That blade was Vorador's greatest creation, but it is extremely powerful. You might not be able to wield it."
Nysa smirked. "No pressure."
"Nosgoth's past is forged in treachery and betrayal, child. Take whatever allies you can." She sighed. "I...hope you can accept me as one. I'm not trying to replace our Sire—"
"He was your sire, Lycella," The Death Guardian sighed. "Not mine." She re-wrapped the bundle, but before she could thank her, the piercing voice of Eire scoffed from the top of the stairs.
"Pearls before swine," She snipped. "Why bother letting a weed take root?"
Nysa looked up at her and scowled. Lycella just sighed. "Eire, go and eat. You get grumpy when you haven't eaten."
"Acts like she owns the place," The Nature Guardian grumbled.
"I do, actually." Nysa's smile was mirthless and cold. "Still gonna be mine when I'm turned. Do us both a favour and get the fuck over it." Eire scowled back, then vanished, probably to feed. "You see why I hate these people?"
"Solomon was the same, but he at least tried to get along with them," Lycella reasoned.
"Solomon got caught kidnapping innocent people to experiment on," Nysa snapped back. "So if you're implying that I'm anything like that fucking psycho, shove it. Thanks for the present." With that, she took the bundle and went upstairs.
The weekend rolled around. Nysa waited at the graveyard with a duffle bag full of clothes and various other items, along with the bundle Lycella had given her, with the letter she'd found with it in her hands. The wax seal on it was definitely Vorador's- the same emblem on her choker adorned it, a dragon coiled around a phoenix. With a sigh, she stuffed it in her messenger bag with her laptop. Not yet. She'd probably start crying- and Nysa hated crying. It was unflattering, and she'd make her mascara run if she did. The last thing she needed was for Thea to start worrying as well as trying to pry into things she didn't need to know about. And speak of the devil, she rolled up about ten paces away in her maroon Mitsubishi Verada and got out with a smile as she walked over and hugged her, kissing her on both cheeks as usual. "Ready for our big trip?" She asked with a grin. "I put together a few playlists for the road. All the good stuff."
Nysa chuckled and picked up her bag. "You're pretty hyped up for a trip to find some vampire lord's tomb."
"I can't help it, it's never been discovered and we could be the ones to make the big find!" Thea was practically beaming. "We'll be famous! Two ancient history majors making the discovery of the century! Museums across the world will pay us millions for the artefacts!"
Nysa set a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Not likely- look, let's settle on finding the place first, yeah? Then we'll worry about international acclaim later." She started walking towards the car, grunting under the weight of her duffel bag. She'd had to pick a pretty large one to hide her new scythe in- but it was a rather weird scythe. There was a clip of bullets that came with it. Maybe the letter had instructions, but that could wait for later. For now, it was best to get on the road and enjoy the trip while they still could. They did also have a paper to write, so at least she could make a start on that up until Nachtholm, then the drive could take her mind off of things.