CHAPTER 10 – THE CAVE

Author's notes: Some previous chapters were updated to sort out some possible plot holes or to extend some scenes (notably the car chase from Ch.2), so be sure to check them out!

Also, I've decided to add chapter names, hope you like it.

'What a beautiful ship, Prince Valerio!' Kirche exclaimed as she went up the gangway. 'Not as great as our Ostland, of course…' she added in a low voice, so only Colbert could hear.

'Indeed she is, Miss… Zerbst, right? Scire was commissioned as my personal yacht – fast, comfortable and armed against any raiders who dare to attack it.' Borghese answered with a smile. 'Please, follow me to the salon.'

'Raiders? Are there pirates who attack airships?' Saito asked as Borghese led them to the wide superstructure between the masts.

'Not in this region, of course – it's well-guarded and patrolled. But there are many brigands, misfits and bandits at the outskirts of Halkeginia who could spoil the life of a fair traveler.'

'And you need such powerful weaponry just to deter them?'

'Deter? No. Destroy? Yes. As they say, the offense is the best defense!' Borghese chuckled. 'Why would I run when I can wipe them out in one blow?'

The group came to the double doors that were guarded by two sailors; as they opened the door to let Borghese and his guests inside, Kirche gasped in surprise.

'Is that… Jean, we seriously need to think about renovations!'

Inside, the yacht was even more lavish. The bulkheads were lined with fine mahogany; numerous paintings, obviously expensive, hung on them. Handmade rugs littered the deck. A large round wooden table, already set for lunch, stood in the center.

'It's somewhat strange to meet you there, Prince Valerio. Judging by importance of this expedition, I expected someone from Papal University, or Secret Archives.' Colbert said as they settled.

'One word, my dear Professor: Conclave!' Borghese answered with a slight disgust. 'In these days, cardinals and archbishops care for nothing except fighting for power. Nobody wants to step back and pull his candidate from elections. Mark my words, Professor: we won't see the new Saint Aegis anytime soon.'

Colbert just sadly nodded. Romalia was well-known for its lengthy and tedious political process; late Pope Vittorio's elections lasted for three months, and that was considered pretty fast. Many Church officials openly admitted that it was the most unappealing thing about Romalia, but they lacked power, willingness or both to do something about it.

'And to answer your question: I have a degree at the Papal University, and I'm not a cleric, so it was the obvious choice to send me here. Besides, this expedition serves as a nice place to hide from all the politics – the only irritating thing being Du Pont and his experiments.'

He then took a small golden bell; as he rang it, several waiters appeared, ready to serve.

…

They spent the next hour for lunch. Borghese was true to his words – Scire's chefs were masters of their art, although servings were of gourmet-size – clearly made to appease the guests, not to actually still their hunger.

'Monsieur Grammon, may I ask how is your father doing?' Prince asked Guiche as they finished with the food and waiters served the dessert – meringues accompanied by the semi-sweet Romalian wine.

'He's fine, thank you. But…'

'Good to hear that. You see, General didn't reply to my last letter to him, so I've been worried.'

'Well, he was overseeing military exercises, so your correspondence might not have reached him.' Guiche answered in an uneasy voice.

Borghese put on one of his polite smiles. 'I see.'

Judging by what Guiche told him about this man, these maneuvers clearly were not the cause, Saito thought.

'And you, Duke de Hiraga? I've heard that you decided to renovate De Ornielles, right?'

Saito nodded. 'Yes. Although, it is a slow process…'

'You don't have to worry, then. If there is a problem with funding, you can always come to me; I'm sure that we can work out a deal that will benefit us both.'

Thanks, but no thanks.

'No, money is not a problem. It was neglected for ten years, and it's hard to renovate, that's all.' he answered.

'Well, Duke, if you or your lovely wife ever decide to change your mind, it would be my pleasure to help you.'

'Thank you for the warm welcome, Prince Valerio, but shouldn't we go and see that mysterious find?' Colbert said. 'The sunset is soon, and I'm worried that we won't be able to study it properly.'

Borghese nodded. 'Of course. You may go ahead – I will join you in a minute.'

…

As they approached the crevice, they saw that Du Pont already was there; the podgy Gallian doctor was absorbed by some magical instruments – apparently, these were intended to aid research.

'Well, Professor, there it is! We here don't really know how to call this, so we refer to it simply as mural.' he said and pointed to the wall.

The drawing was strictly rectangular and stood at a man's height. Although weathered due to time and harsh climate, they could still make out the details. A pentagram was placed in its center – same drawing that could be seen in any place where mages practiced their art. On its edges, they could make out the writings – several words written with the runic script.

'Beautiful, isn't it?' Du Pont beamed with pride. 'I've ordered it to be cleaned – nothing like water, of course; Amelie just conjured a slight breeze to brush off the dust.'

'How old is it?' Louise asked. 'I recognize some of these runes – they were in Prayer Book.'

'It's very hard to determine its age – the Fire Dragon Mountains always were a secluded and dangerous region,' Du Pont answered. 'There are no records of past settlements or even research expeditions.'

Colbert leaned closer to examine the writings.

'Hmmm. These runes – some of them are still in use today; and, as you all know, it was Brimir who developed the runic alphabet, so we can definitely say that it was created after His death.'

'And we can definitely place it to first seven centuries.'

Colbert turned his head and saw Borghese, who just entered the crevice. Not wishing to ruin his expensive suit, Prince has changed his clothes to something resembling working overalls with numerous pockets.

'As you may or may not know, Pope Julius, Saint Aegis the Third, ordered a revision of Brimirian alphabet in Year 741, which led to advent of its modern version.' Prince said and produced a small notebook. 'Basically, he cut out some rarely used and outdated runes – and there are several of these at that painting; I wrote them and their meanings here.'

'Say, Professor, can you translate this inscription?' Louise asked Colbert, who studied the mural along with Borghese.

'I've already did it when we found it,' Borghese answered her. 'Either it's written in some long lost language, or it's just meaningless collections of runes. We can't make a single word from it.'

'Hmm… Derf, maybe you can make something of it?' Saito said as he unsheathed his sword and held it close to the mural.

'Sorry to disappoint you, partner, but these two are right – it's meaningless.' Derfflinger said; hearing that, Colbert sighed in frustration.

'Wait. I… I think I know what it is.' Monmon said; the group turned to her.

'If you want to cast a spell that affects wide area, but you wish to contain its effects, you need to draw a special mural that would hold it; there is a special potion for that. You just have to mix it with a suitable paint.'

The blonde girl pointed at the pentagram in the center.

'You aim your spell at the Pentagram of Elements, and its effects won't breach the mural's borders. But why place it here, in such desolate place, and on a vertical wall? And why is it rectangular? Usually you draw a circle, like an archery target.'

'Maybe some mages set up their camp in this crevice, and wished for some target practice?' Guiche joined. 'Hey, Kirche, fireballs can be contained in such fashion, right?'

The redhead Germanian thought for a second. 'Maybe… I never felt any need to contain my fireballs, actually – any decent fire mage can easily control its size.'

'It might be a crypt.' Tabitha voiced her opinion.

'But who would want to be buried here? And even if someone does, how they dug it?' Saito asked. 'It's solid rock – back in my world, we use explosives to break it up! But there is absolutely no damage.'

'Hey, partner, I just got an idea!' Derfflinger said.

'What's the idea?'

The sword went silent for several seconds.

'It might be a spell. You see, back in the old days, spells were long – so long, actually, that they were almost impossible to use in combat. Just look at your master – hers are perfect example. For every caster, there were five knights tasked with protecting him – otherwise, the poor man would be shred in seconds. Ah, the old days…'

'Can you determine its main element?' Monmon asked him.

'Earth, most likely – they always were the longest. Why, you want to try and cast it? You'll need a good Earth mage for that!'

Blonde's eyes flashed.

'And by a strange coincidence, Derf, we have one right here. Guiche, dear, can I have a word with you?'

…

'Wait a second. If I understand correctly, you want me to cast an absolutely unknown spell with unknown effects and unknown power. Allow me to ask just one small question: are you mad?!' Guiche almost shouted the last words.

'Come on, Bronze Guiche, don't be such a girl!' Monmon said with a wide grin. 'This might turn out to be something incredibly useful!'

Or it might turn all of us into toads, Guiche thought. Although, Monmon would certainly be pleased with such outcome.

'Useful or not, my answer is simple: no way. You see, it so happened that I value my life!'

'Suit yourself, then…' Monmon shrugged. 'But I wonder, what will first-years say when they learn about this adventure? Or, to be precise, about your part in it?' she grinned devilishly.

That was a low blow – the one that Guiche couldn't just shrug away.

'Founder, help me…' he sighed heavily. Alright, alright, you made your point. Prince Valerio, can you lend me that notebook of yours? I don't know meanings of some of these runes.'

As Borghese handed his writings, Guiche went close to the mural, produced his rose-shaped wand and started to chant.

'…Odal… Pertra… Eol…'

He quickly glanced back. Rest of the group converged near the exit; Colbert stood in front, with his staff in hand, ready to defend them from any threat.

How brave of you, folks. '…Naud…Sil…Eol…Sil…'

It took him almost a minute to finish.

'…As…Madr…Eol! And here goes nothing!'

As Guiche finished his spell, the mural started to glow – first the pentagram, then other symbols, and finally, the frame. In a few seconds, it turned into a rectangle made of pure light – and then it suddenly extinguished, leaving a dark passage.

'Incredible!' Du Pont shouted as the group went to congratulate him. 'Monsieur Gramont, you are truly a great mage!'

'T-tthanks… I think.'

'See? Even you can be useful!' Monmon patted him on the cheek.

Guiche just sighed in relief and wiped the sweat – but then he started to think. What if this mural can be copied, let's say, on a dormitory wall…?

'Guiche, please return Prince Valerio his journal. And if I'm correct in my assumptions about your current thoughts – and I'm always do…'

'Eek! My dear Montmorency, how could you come up with such idea? I would never use ancient and potentially dangerous spells to break into…'

She just shook her head. 'Hide that grin, two-timer. And come on already…'

…

'Incredible! Simply incredible!' Du Pont couldn't hide his excitement. 'This could be the most important discovery in the recent years!'

'So, what's next?' Saito asked as they converged around the newly-opened entrance. 'Should we go explore that cave?'

'Of course not. First, we should document all of that, and then send for more scholars.' Du Pont said didactically. 'It is obvious that our expedition is not ready for a proper exploration of ancient magic places. We can ruin it by just walking in there!'

'But Doctor Du Pont!' Louise protested. 'It could take months for them just to get ready! Saito, back me up there!'

'And it was you in the first time who called us here because of it.' Saito reminded him. 'And now you're going to deprive us from making this discovery? That sounds not fair to me!'

'I completely support the young Duke and his lovely wife – we should move ahead!' Borghese said in a joyful voice.

The Gallian doctor frowned. 'But...'

'Enough of your buts, Du Pont. As the head of this expedition, I say that the great discovery awaits us – and we shall make it today!' Borghese exclaimed.

'They are right, Doctor. Something – or someone – might eventually stride inside and ruin it.' Colbert said. 'We should get in and explore it as soon as possible.'

Borghese smiled. 'Onwards, then! Professor Colbert, Miss Zerbst, would you kindly provide us with some light?'

'But please, do not touch anything you find inside!' Du Pont shouted.

…

The passage was absolutely straight, floor and walls were smooth as silk – a clear sign that it was made by magic, Colbert told them. Soon, the passage went wide, and they entered a large cave, completely veiled in darkness.

'Professor, do you see anything?' Saito asked.

Colbert strained his eyes; he could make out several rectangular forms – clearly man-made.

'Looks like some long-abandoned dwelling. Let me add some light… Wow!'

What they saw in a gloomy light of Colbert's staff was indeed a dwelling. But it was not just abandoned – it was completely thrashed.

Several tables which once stood along the walls were now smashed to pieces. Everywhere lay fragments of cloth, paper and pottery, many of them jagged and burned. In the very center of the cave floor was a large circular hole that led somewhere downwards.

'What is this place? Looks like vault, or storage.' Kirche murmured as she eyed the room.

'Looks more like a study of some sorts.' Montmorency answered. 'See that stone bowl on the floor?' she pointed at the large circular object that lay near the hole. 'It's a magic-resistant vessel where you can mix potions and elixirs.'

'And that,' she pointed at several smashed pieces of glass, 'looks like the vials to hold them. Whoever owned this place, he was a very rich man – only high class institutions and court mages can afford such hardware.'

'Anyway, we can be sure that there was something very valuable inside,' Borghese said. 'Otherwise those who built this place wouldn't install such intricate door.'

'It seems that something made its way inside and ruined it.' Du Pont said in a gloomy voice and pointed at the hole. 'Probably one of fire dragonlings – these critters are known to be very good burrowers when they search for food.'

He hit the wall with his fist. 'Damn them! They've destroyed everything!'

Colbert patted him on the shoulder.

'Lighten up, Doctor! There are still many things intact!' he told Du Pont confidently.

Meanwhile, Louise went to explore another corner. Large curtain, torn and burned in several places, lay there; the girl grabbed one end and pulled it up, to see if there was anything underneath –

'KYAAH!'

Saito and Guiche were first to react; they darted to Louise, who was trembling with horror, eyes wide open.

'What happened?'

'T-t-th-here… u-u-under the t-tarp…' she answered and clung to Saito's arm.

'Probably nothing serious,' Guiche said as he went to lift the curtain. 'Some bugs or rats… Woah!' He practically jumped off as he saw what was underneath; he produced his rose-shaped wand and aimed it at the curtain.

Saito winced at the sight; his wife buried her face into his chest, not willing to look at the grim scene.

'I guess we've found the owner,' he said.

Tabitha was right – it was indeed a crypt.

…

Human corpse lay on the floor – or, more precisely, what's left of it. The body didn't decompose in dry air – instead, it mummified, perfectly capturing the final moments of life.

It was an old man with long hairs and equally long beard. What remained of his dress – it was a long robe with golden weaving – and the wand in his left hand indicated that he was a mage. His facial features were long ago unrecognizable – eyeballs and nose dried off, leaving empty sockets, and skin went brown, hiding away any distinctive marks; all what was left were his hairs.

But what were most striking in his appearance were traumas that he suffered before death.

His left leg was torn down at the knee, nowhere to be found; sharp bone, whitened with age, protruded from the stump. Part of his right arm was also missing; there were signs of bite near the elbow. Chest was burst open, with ribs scattered around; it was like some great predator rip it with his claws.

Colbert and others approached them; Monmon rolled her eyes as she noticed that Guiche was still aiming his rose at the corpse.

'Hey, Guiche!'

'Ah?' the blonde noble jumped at the sound of her voice.

'Do you see that he is dead for, like, several thousand years?'

'Y-yes, of course, my Montmorency!' Guiche forced a smile as he placed his wand back into the pocket. 'But caution will never hurt, right?'

Blonde girl just shook her head and went to join the others as they examined the mummy.

'What a horrible death…' Kirche shook her head.

'Do you have any idea who he was, Professor?' Saito asked.

'Judging by his attire, he was a mage – and, most likely, the owner of this place,' Colbert answered. 'As for his name, or his age – sadly, but we may never know that. At least not until we examine all the debris there.'

…

Meanwhile, Tabitha leaned toward the corpse. What got her attention was a large glass crystal that lay near its remaining arm; she took it and hid it in her pocket.

'Tabitha, what are you…' Saito started to exclaim; she quickly put her finger to her lips and nodded to Borghese, who was apparently checking his laces.

'Not a word.'

…

'Most probably, it was caused by a dragon,' Du Pont said as he approached them. 'What a grim fate. Maybe this man was conducting some experiments on local wildlife – I saw something that looks like cage over there.'

'As he opened it,' he continued, 'the creature attacked his captor, inflicting mortal wounds. Then it went to thrash the place in search of exit; unable to find one, it started to dig its way out, leaving that hole. It's just a theory, of course – we won't know that until proper study.'

…

As others were absorbed by the newfound corpse, Borghese crouched, pretending to check laces on his boot. But what truly attracted his attention was a small, yellowed parchment that lay near the ruined table. In a faint light of Colbert's staff, he could discern lines and writings – definitive features of a map. Making sure that no one is watching him, Prince quickly snatched it and put it in the pocket.

…

'Well, since we already disturbed that place,' Du Pont said as he threw a somewhat angry look at Louise, 'we should start to catalog all of these artifacts and then put them to a proper storage. But first, let's decide where to send them.'

'There is no doubt that these artifacts should be immediately send to Romalia.' Borghese told him. 'If we really have an ancient study here, there may be things that are related to the Church.'

'Maybe you're right, Prince Valerio, but as we are on Gallian land, it should be decided by the Queen of Gallia.' Du Pont said and turned to Tabitha. 'What will your decision be, Your Majesty?'

The short answer came out in a fraction of second.

'Tristain Academy of Magic.'

Du Pont barely managed to suppress a smile when he saw Borghese's face turning green.

'W-w-what? Are you…' the Romalian murmured as he tried to collect himself. 'But Your Majesty, the Papal University has the best facilities and the best specialists!'

'Professor Colbert is the best.' she answered.

Colbert couldn't help but boast.

'As you surely know, Prince Valerio, I was a member of a searching party that discovered the legendary Dragon Raiment – and moreover, I've restored it, and it took part in the War with Reconquista, piloted by Saito. And I think that qualify me enough to study these artifacts, don't you think?'

Borghese winced. 'As you wish…'

He bowed before Tabitha.

'…Your Majesty.' he said in a poisonous voice.

Author's notes: Damn grave robbers!