As soon as the Treasure Hunter reached the other end of the chamber, the old man followed suit, keeping his left foot in front of his right. Rashid waited for the archaeologist to traverse the maze safely before he dared to proceed further. He might be a Treasure Hunter, but Rashid intended to keep his word—just until he had the Bracelet of Tiamat around his wrist.
"That's one obstacle taken care of," the elderly man said as he stepped off the labyrinth. "But I'm certain that whatever's ahead of us is more deadly than what we just finished. We must take caution from here."
Rashid could only nod in agreement as he faced the looming entrance to the next room. He unconsciously rubbed the place where the statue slashed him. The blood had long stopped flowing, but the wound was still open. He had bandages to cover it, but he lacked the medicine to disinfect it properly. The Treasure Hunter could only hope that by the time he was through here, his condition wouldn't worsen.
The dark-skinned teenager followed the archaeologist into the darkness of the corridor, keeping a hand on the wall until his hand met empty space. Without support, Rashid stumbled blindly in the dark until he tripped. Something clattered against the floor when Rashid fell, causing his head to turn around in the direction of the sound. "What was that?" he wondered out loud.
"Rashid!" The archaeologist called in the darkness. "Young man, where are you?"
Just like the room before, their need for light was answered by the chamber. Soft blue light emerged from the walls, creating odd patterns in rapid succession with unusual shapes. Rashid looked around the room—which was larger than the one they passed through earlier—taking in the sight of the designs on the walls. Judging by how the light slithered along the walls like snakes, it looked as though it were trying to depict something.
With a proper source of light, the archaeologist found Rashid not too far away—but something behind the Treasure Hunter made the old man scream in fright. The young man looked behind himself to see what had scared the old man—only to gape in awestruck fear at the large tail that led to the skeleton of a colossal reptilian creature.
"Wh-what is that?" The archaeologist stammered.
Rashid hurriedly pulled himself off the ground, choosing to stand beside the archaeologist to examine the skeleton. Occasionally he encountered skeletons in his Treasure Hunting career, but never did he find any skeletons other than human ones. So what was this?
"We're finally here!" Lector exclaimed once he caught sight of the temple.
"Yay!" Frosch cheered as he and Lector flew ahead of the group.
"Of course we'd make it!" Sting puffed his chest out in pride. "Not even a mountain could stand between the great Sting Eucliffe and his goal!" he crowed.
"Oh, dear," Rufus murmured as he adjusted his hat.
"Lower your voices, please," one of the old archaeologists pleaded quietly as they approached the temple. "This structure is in a potential avalanche zone."
"We would appreciate it if you didn't bury an important part of history," the second old man added.
Rogue stared at the pillars as they ascended the stairs, taking note of the size. "This place is unusually large," he said. "In fact, a Dragon could walk through the entrance," he added with a nod to the doorway.
"Actually, we never understood the size of the temple, either," Jean-Luc agreed.
While everyone else passed through the entrance, Rufus stopped at the threshold of the ancient temple, taking in the sight of his surroundings. He saw pictures of ruins in books and occasionally visited some, but never did he find an entire structure that survived the test of time. The Memory-Make wizard closed his eyes, taking in the memory. How many years did this beautiful sanctuary spend hidden within the mountain, waiting to resurface? How many memories did it hold?
"Impressive, isn't it?" Jean-Luc said, nodding in approval to Rufus' reaction. "Actually, this temple was built during the time of the Four Tetrarchs."
Rufus' eyes suddenly opened, examining the interior of the sanctuary. "The Four Tetrarchs?" he repeated. "Then this temple was part of the Northern Tetrarchy."
One of the older archaeologists nodded in confirmation. "Your associate is well-versed in history," he said to the Dragon Slayers.
"Can someone explain everything to the rest of the class?" Sting demanded.
Rufus sighed inwardly in exasperation. Sting might have ranked within the top five of Saber Tooth, but he was hopeless when it came to history. "Centuries ago, the area that later became the country of Fiore was divided into four provinces, each governed by a ruler called a tetrarch. North, East, South, West: those were the names of the four tetrarchies."
Anubis the dog sniffed the floor, searching for the scent of his master. When he reached the beginning of the stairs, he barked and immediately headed down. The Archaeological Society gestured for the Saber Tooth wizards to follow them down the stairs. Even with the combined light of three lanterns, the path down to the basement was still difficult to traverse. Strangely, they couldn't hear the steps of the dog who ran ahead of them.
"Where's the Treasure Hunter's dog?" Sting questioned, looking around for the obsidian canine. With all the shadows, they could easily walk past the dog and never know it.
"Anubian Jackals can travel though shadows," Rufus informed. "I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to reach the bottom already."
Sting looked at Rogue, who happened to be Saber Tooth's expert in shadows. "Think you could get us though, Rogue?"
"I could," Rogue mused, his eyes focused on the shadows. "But I've gone six hours without eating. I'd prefer to do this." The Shadow Dragon Slayer sucked in a breath, drawing the shadows towards him. Slowly, the stairway brightened until the way forward was clear. At the bottom of the stairs, Anubis barked up to them.
The wizards of Saber Tooth reached the end of the stairs with the Archaeological Society in tow. The Society searched the chamber for signs of their companion and the Treasure Hunter, only to find a note tucked into one of the torch holders.
"Whoa." Lector flew around the chamber, soaring above and beyond to reach the ceiling. "This place is huge!" he exclaimed, his voice echoing throughout the room.
"Whee!" Frosch cheered, flying across the great expanse of the chamber.
"What's with the statues?" Sting wondered, trying to figure out why someone would put statues on the path across the room.
"Wait!" Jean-Luc yelled at the wizards who were about to step onto the path. "Don't go yet!"
"Huh?"
Anubis barked twice, alarming the Exceed, who nearly fell out of the air. The spear-wielding statues pointed their weapons at the Exceed in the air. Without warning, Lector and Frosch's wings vanished, causing them to plummet towards the path. The Anubian Jackal ran onto the path, catching the Exceed on his back.
"Hm?" The Archaeological Society looked from Anubis to the note in their hands in confusion, unable to comprehend how Anubis was able to walk forward without activating the statues. "That's odd," one of the older archaeologists murmured.
"Is there something wrong?" Rufus asked.
"The statues can cancel magic and attack with it," Jean-Luc explained, looking up at the group. "Actually, to traverse the maze safely, you must walk with your left foot forward."
"The left foot?" The wizards of Saber Tooth stared at their left feet, wondering what made it so special. "Why the left foot?" Sting demanded.
"Offering your left foot was equivalent to offering your heart," the second old man said. "It was a great sign of respect to royalty."
"Then how," Rogue began, turning his head in the direction of Anubis, who carried the Exceed over to the other side, "was the dog able to walk across?"
A light seemed to turn on in Jean-Luc's head. "He is a dog," he stated as though it explained everything, "and animals can't show respect like humans."
Rashid and the aged archaeologist inspected the second basement chamber carefully, searching for clues that could lead them forward. The Treasure Hunter tried his best to ignore the various skeletons of enormous reptilian creatures, but the bones attracted the curiosity of the elderly man, who proceeded to dust the bones and examine them.
Odd, Rashid thought, his eyes darting around the room. Unlike the first chamber, this one didn't have another doorway. Was this the deepest part of the temple? The Treasure Hunter shook his head mentally, refusing to believe that he came all this way to reach a dead end. Think, he berated himself as he closed his eyes. This is just another test. There has to be something.
A soft, cool breeze brushed his cheek, causing Rashid to open his eyes. When he did, though, the wind stopped flowing. He looked at the archaeologist, who began to write something in a journal. "Did you feel that?" he asked.
"Hm?" The old archaeologist lifted his head, regarding the Treasure Hunter with a puzzled expression. "Did I feel what?"
"The wind," Rashid said. "There was a wind blowing. Couldn't you feel it?"
The elderly man peered at him with a worried expression, something that irked Rashid. "I did not feel a breeze at all, young man. Are you sure you're feeling well?"
Rashid closed his eyes again, trying to convince himself not to lash out at the old man when the wind hit his face again. This time, a soft feminine voice rang through his mind. 'Where the wind blows, there I wait.'
Once again, the Treasure Hunter opened his eyes, searching for the owner of the voice. But there was no one here but himself and the archaeologist, who decided to try and decipher the markings on the walls.
Where the wind blows, someone's waiting, Rashid thought, closing his eyes once more. The wind blew again; this time, he decided to follow the breeze to its source.
"Hm?" The old archaeologist used his magnifying glass to get a better look at the markings, which were actually depicting a scene. A figure stood alone while the wind blew in his direction; the next picture depicted the figure advancing in the direction of the wind; the third scene portrayed the figure bowing before something that resembled a mirror. "What could this mean?" he murmured, unaware of the actions of Rashid, who walked slowly towards the wall facing the entrance.
After bumping into several skeletons and tripping over bones, Rashid found that the wind would dissipate if he opened his eyes. So he kept his right arm stretched out to feel his way towards the wind's source. When his hand touched stone, Rashid opened his eyes. The wall loomed over him, but claw markings on the surface caused Rashid to tilt his head. They're way too high up to be made by people, Rashid thought, turning his head in the direction of the skeletons. So only the things that were here before us could have done this. But...why?
"Oh?" The aged archaeologist looked away from an adjacent wall long enough to see Rashid examining the wall facing the entry. "Did you find something, young man?" he called to the Treasure Hunter.
There's something behind this wall, Rashid concluded, running his hand along the wall's expanse. Those things wouldn't have clawed this wall for nothing.
Rashid's hand rested against a design that resembled a cross between a winged dragon and an ouroboros. The mark began to glow as a small magic seal appeared and enveloped Rashid's wrist. The Treasure Hunter recoiled, but his arm remained in place, held back by the magic seal.
"Wh-what happened? What did you do?" the archaeologist shouted, worried that the young man might have set off a trap.
The magic seal vanished, releasing Rashid's right arm from its hold. The Treasure Hunter held his wrist against his chest, rubbing the smooth, cool material that encircled his wrist—
Wait, what?
Rashid looked at his wrist, blinking several times as he held it up to the light emanating from the wall. Dazzling blue gold lined and backed with yellow gold encompassed his wrist. Small blue wings sprouted from both the sides of the artifact. A golden dragon head crowned the bracelet with blue eyes that glinted in the light. "The Bracelet of Tiamat," Rashid said in a hushed voice as he marveled at the bracelet's beauty.
Immediately, the archaeologist came over and held the magnifying glass over the bracelet, taking in every detail. "Blue and yellow gold," he noted, "joined together seamlessly. And the eyes... such tiny jewels, so meticulously installed..."
Rashid had no idea what came over him; overwhelmed by feelings of triumph, he made a sweeping motion with his right arm, inspecting the bracelet at a distance. "The Bracelet of Tiamat is mine!"
A rumbling sound from the wall in front of them forced their attention back to it. The whole wall began to shine, causing Rashid and the old man to cover their eyes as a blinding light filled the chamber. As quickly as it came, the light vanished, allowing the two men to discover the wall before them gone, giving the chamber more capacity.
Eyes adjusting to the change, Rashid's eyes fell upon the end of the chamber, where a section of the new opposing wall composed of solid ice. The duo ran towards the other end of the chamber, unable to ignore the slab of ice that made up the wall.
Rashid stopped in front of the wall, taking in a sharp breath before he took a step back in awe. Suspended above him within the ice was a girl.