In time, the rest of their respective teams would be transported into the chamber one by one; once enough of them had arrived, both Laurence and Maria organized a roll-call to make sure everyone was present and accounted for.
"All accounted for here. What about you?" Lady Maria eventually announced.
"Let's see…" Laurence looked over the gathered group of scholars, who stood in a straight line just in front of him.
"We appear to be one short." He eventually announced.
"Who are you missing?" Almost as soon as Maria asked this, yet another sphere of light appeared on the ground, within which the form of a man started to take shape. This soon revealed to be the older scholar she'd confronted earlier - Gehrman, she remembered he was called -who rose to his full height and stretched out his shoulders and arms, appearing more like he was stepping out on his porch on a pleasant summer morning rather than an underground labyrinth.
"Ah, how refreshing." All those gathered in the chamber now had their attention on Gehrman, who soon relaxed his posture as he went over to join Laurence and the rest of his scholars.
"Well, I suppose that's everyone now." He finally replied to Maria's earlier question, looking over to her side of the chamber.
"In that case, we can finally get moving." She told him.
"Lead the way." Laurence prompted in return.
Motioning to her men to follow her, Lady Maria went through the narrow doorway, with Laurence and his team following suit. The passageway led to another, albeit much larger corridor. Despite the visible age and overgrowth of the hall, the scent within was surprisingly pleasant, which she knew to be due to the numerous censers that hung from the ceiling, which were still producing smoke. But this smoke was not the result of a fire, but rather, the burning of a special kind of incense, which repelled beasts from this part of the labyrinth.
The group of travelers soon turned the corner and found themselves confronted by a metallic door; it did not appear to have any handles or attached mechanisms that would allow anyone to open it. Once they were close enough to it, Maria put up a hand to get everyone to stop before turning around to face them.
"Before we go any further, I must warn you all now. Past this point, you will need to remain ever vigilant; do not drop your guard for even an instant. Knights, ready your weapons and wait for my order. Scholars, remain here for now and allow us to clear out any threats; only enter once we tell you to. Understood?" This last question was very clearly directed at him.
"Understood, Lady Maria." He replied.
"Good. Now, prepare yourselves." She said before turning towards the door blocking their path.
Getting down in a squatting position, Maria reached for the bottom of the door with her hands; with an audible exertion of effort, she started to lift the metal structure upwards, which she got it up to her chest before giving it one last overhead push which send it straight up, with clusters of dust and gravel falling to the ground around her. Without even having to recover from this impressive feat of strength, she quickly brandished her sword and turned her head towards her company.
"Follow me, slowly." She said in a quiet voice.
Cautiously leading the knights through the doorway, they made their way through another narrow passageway before they found themselves in a vast, open area. Rectangular pillars rose up high to the ceiling far above, from which the odd ray of natural light shone down from holes that had formed there. And wandering around these pillars was a sizable group of hunched, hooded figures, who had seemingly not yet taken notice of their presence.
Lady Maria once again motioned for everyone to stop as she eyed the mysterious congregation. Turning her head to them, she put a finger to her lips to warn everyone to stay quiet before making a set of gestures to her men. Once this concluded, the knights split apart into three groups: three of them moved to the left to the room and another three to the right, with Lady Maria herself approaching from the center, backed by the rest of her company. There was no discernable way for them to clear them all out silently, but they could at least catch them by surprise.
By the time Maria spotted the hooded figure who was blending in with the left side wall, it was too late. It rose up as the knights wandered by none the wiser and let out a loud, inhuman screech, which echoed through the halls and immediately alerted the other dwellers in the hall.
"All of you, to me! NOW!" Lady Maria quickly called out to her men, who quickly clustered together near the center of the room, weapons at the ready as the congregation slowly approached them.
"Pick a target and attack. Do not hesitate!" With the order given, each knight broke away to focus on a singular opponent, each of whom stood their ground and prepared for battle, with a few even screeching in challenge.
Eyeing a particular figure near the pillar, Maria split her Rakuyo in two and tightly gripped it as her and the creature circled each-other. It was significantly larger than its followers, with sharpened claws, glowing red eyes and a beastly visage that gnarled at her from beneath its hood, with a strange purple liquid oozing from its maw. If she had to guess, this was the head of the pack.
Eventually, the creature moved in and swiped at her with her claws, an attack that she managed to easily anticipate and evade, before just as quickly moving in herself and slashing at her beastly opponent with both of her weapons. Taking full advantage of its broken defenses, Maria followed up with several more slashes of her blades, each one leaving a gash and eliciting a cry of pain from her opponent, but not enough to slow it down. Now recovered, the beast retreated but did not retaliate, seemingly weighing its options.
"Captain, behind you!" Maria was just able to evade a lunging attack from one of the smaller creatures, which no doubt intended to protect its leader. Turning on her hill, she reattached the two parts of the Rakuyo and swung at the creature, which didn't even have time to react before its head was cut clean off. Hearing movement from behind her, she quickly drew her Evelyn and fired at another approaching beast, stopping it dead in its tracks and allowing her to rush forward with another swing, slicing it in half at the waist.
Taking advantage of her distraction, the larger creature attempted to move in and grab her, which she just narrowly avoided, leading to it stumbling right past her. Not wasting any time, Maria acted, plunging her sword through the beast's exposed back and as it wailed in pain, detached the dagger with her free hand and plunged it into the back of its head with a sickening crunch, ceasing its noise immediately. Getting her weapons free, she allowed the beast to crumple lifelessly to the ground, blood oozing from its two gaping wounds.
Looking around, she found that the rest of its pack had themselves been slain, with her men standing over their corpses.
"Any wounded?" She called out.
"No, captain." One called out. "None here, captain." Said another. When the calls ceased, Maria then turned to the knight that had warned her of the incoming attack, who was holding a bloody Reiterpallasch.
"What about you, Matthias?" She asked him.
"All is well, Lady Maria." He assured her. "And yourself?"
"Unharmed. My thanks for your warning." Matthias acknowledged her statement of thanks with a bow of his head. "Of course, my lady." He said before offering her a soft smile.
Matthias had always been a valiant knight, something that she had keenly observed as she oversaw his training. Maria had observed similar qualities in each of his fellows present here today, but he had proven himself exceptionally during his service to Cainhurst, which was exactly why he was chosen to be her second for this expedition.
A few moments later, Lady Maria turned back to the way they came in. "The room is clear. You may enter!" She called out to the scholars and soon enough, she could see Professor Laurence leading them into the room. As they made their way over, they did their best to avoid the bloodied remains of the creatures, all except one – Gehrman. Where his fellows looked down at the beasts with a mixture of terror and amazement, there was no sense of awe about him. In fact, the only thing she could discern from him was a sense of pity.
However, this wasn't entirely the case. There was one other scholar among them who seemed more curious about the beasts, going up to one of them and crouching down to observe it. She had noticed him before, particularly because, in stark contrast to the rest of Byrgenwerth's representatives, he appeared to be of Oriental descent.
"By the heavens, the legends are true." He said to himself.
"Be careful, Lobsang. Try not to get too close." The head professor advised.
"Relax, Master Laurence." Gehrman said as he joined who she presumed was Lobsang. "She can't hurt anyone anymore."
Lobsang looked up in surprise. "She?"
"Aye. With this breed of beast, it's easy to tell the genders apart; the females tend to be bigger and naturally, stronger." The older scholar explained.
"But they were not born that way, are they? This… thing was a woman once, was it not?" In response, Gehrman simply frowned.
"Different people were affected by the scourge in different ways. Some transformations were more severe than others."
Lobsang then looked back down at the beast. "And more painful." He said more as a statement than as a question.
"Very likely, yes." Gehrman said. "Nasty business, but I'm afraid they will not afford you the same pity you do them. They are governed now only by the basest of instincts."
This was something that he clearly wanted everyone gathered there to take heed of, but it was something that Maria didn't need to be told. Regardless of who these creatures were before the scourge took hold, that which made them human no longer exists.
"As insightful as that is, we mustn't dwell on it. We should keep moving." She said after a momentary pause.
"Get moving where? We saw a passageway at the other end of the room, but it's gated off." She heard Laurence ask her and just as she was about to reply, Gehrman suddenly started speaking.
"Then we aren't meant to head that way, at least not yet. It is locked by a mechanism hidden somewhere around here; we will have to find and activate it before we can go any further." He briefly and accurately explained, which took Maria completely by surprise.
"Yes, that's exactly it." She confirmed, continuing to eye Gehrman suspiciously. Professor Laurence had said he was a senior scholar, which she took to mean he had been to a previous excursion here before, if not several.
"And what of that other passageway back by the altar? Where does that lead?" It was Micolash who made this inquiry.
"We are unlikely to find the mechanism there, but what we are likely to find there are artifacts – no doubt well guarded ones." She replied to him.
"But I presume it would be better that we unlock the following area first?" Laurence said.
"I believe so. But worry not, you will get the chance to explore this labyrinth in its entirety…in time, of course." She replied.
Suddenly, she heard a voice coming from behind here. "Captain! Over here!" It was Matthias. Through the thin layer of fog that had settled over the area, she could see him standing in front of what looked like a ladder and just beside that, another passageway.
"So, two paths. Which one do we take?" Micolash asked.
"I cannot say for certain. Either one may lead to what we are looking for and if not that, perhaps something else worth searching for." Said Maria.
"If that's the case, then may I suggest that we split up? Having two groups exploring both paths simultaneously will save us valuable time as opposed to if we all remained together." Laurence spoke up.
"What you propose is dangerous, Professor. None of us know what lies in wait in these halls." She told him.
"I am aware. Which is why we must tread carefully." He replied, leaving it to her to consider his suggestion further.
He was of course correct that they would be able to find what they were looking for and cover more ground faster if they split up, but at the same time, if the scholars separated, then her men would have to separate as well. This usually wouldn't be too much of a problem, but in this environment, they stood far more of a chance if they stayed together.
After mulling it over for a couple more moments, she reached her decision.
"Very well. We will do it your way." She said, earning a few surprised stares from her men. "Matthias. Take Robert and Emil to scout out the path on the upper level." Her second dutifully nodded his head.
"Very well. And what about you, Captain?" He asked her.
"I will do the same on this level. Once we're done, we will rendezvous back here." Upon saying this, she turned her attention back to Laurence.
"Well then, Professor, what of you?" After a few moments of silent consideration, he turned to one of his followers.
"Micolash." The clearly eager scholar stepped forward. "Yes?"
"I want you to take a group to the upper level. Lobsang, Damian, Norbert: you three go with him. The rest of you, come with me. But regardless of which path you're taking, remember to keep yourselves out of harm's way; as Lady Maria said before, allow our guardians to deal with any trouble. The work we're doing here is important, yes, but surely I need not tell you that our findings will be worthless if we do not live to tell about them."
He then turned his gaze back to her, nodding to signify she could commence her scouting, which she returned in kind. Before doing anything else, she glanced at Matthias to signal they were to break apart, which allowed him and his two compatriots to start making their way to the ladder.
"You stay down here for now. We will inform you when it's safe to climb up." She heard him tell Micolash just before he started climbing up the ladder, with the two others waiting for their turn to do the same. Maria then prepared to make her way into the corridor before her.
"Oh, and Captain." It was Matthias again, who had stopped partway through his climb to take off a still lit lantern that was hanging from the ladder, which he held down to her. "Here. Something to light the way." After staring at the offering for a few moments, she accepted it.
"Thank you." With another nod, he continued his ascent, leaving her holding the lantern. Once he had ascended out of view, she turned back to the rest of her company. "Come along. Keep your weapons at the ready."
With that, they cautiously entered the corridor. It was devoid of any source of light and a sort of mist hung over the area, which made the lantern that Matthias had given her especially useful as they tried to spot anything that could pose a threat. Even after turning the corner, she could not see nor hear any sort of beast, which seemed to indicate that the coast was clear. She then turned around and silently motioned for Professor Laurence and his scholars to follow them, waiting for them to catch up.
After turning another corner, Maria spotted another doorway, beyond which lay a will-lit area, which naturally became their next destination.
"Wait here." She once again told the scholars before her and her men started making their way to the next room.
"Now, hold on just a moment!" Maria stopped and turned to find that Gehrman had broken away from the group and was moving towards them.
"What are you doing? I thought I told you to wait." She reminded him, more than a little peeved.
"You did, but I feel you'd do well to heed your own advice for a moment." He replied, stopping just a few steps away from her.
"Is that so? Would you care to tell me how?" In response, Gehrman simply smiled.
"Simple. Just look up and then down." As he said this, he motioned in the direction they were heading towards.
Though confused by his suggestion, she complied with his instructions and looked towards the ceiling, holding her lantern up high to help see more clearly. At first, she couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary, but eventually something caught her eye; it was a large steel, bladed object resembling a guillotine, which blended in well with its misty surroundings. Looking down, she was able to spot a floor tile that rose just a bit higher than the rest, which must've been what triggered the blade to fall. Just one more step and it would've come down on her with lethal force.
"A rather ingenious trap. It's as if they knew those who would venture here would be far too focused on what lies ahead that they'd lose sight of anything else." Gehrman commented as he came to stand beside her.
"Yes, yes, it's all very profound. All it shows is that we must remain vigilant." She replied before she prepared to go around the trigger.
"Wait. You hear that, don't you?" Gehrman said to stop her and sure enough, she could hear the faint sound of footsteps, as well as a series of animal-like growls. Something quite large was waiting for them.
"Now, now, before you do anything hasty, consider the options you have at your disposal. Is a full-on attack really your best option here?" He stopped her from moving forward once again, making her grow all the more impatient with his lecturing.
"Do you have a better idea?" Instead of offering a verbal response, Gehrman simply smiled, turned his head towards the passageway and placed his fingers to his mouth to let out a loud whistle, an action that shocked Maria to her core.
"Have you lost your mind?!" She cried out as she hastily gripped her weapon, knowing full well that his action had alerted whatever awaited them.
"Ah, ah, wait for it." He replied, remaining just as calm as he was before, even as the sound of dragging claws grew closer.
Soon, Maria spotted a creature emerge from the pillowing smoke from the next room; a large, lanky creature only loosely resembling a wolf, which stood and moved on all fours. Saliva dripped from its snout as its glowing yellow eyes spotted them, letting out a growl as it slowly started to approach them. The creature continued to get closer and still, Gehrman did nothing, with every passing second eroding Maria already stretched patience. But even as she was about to rush towards the beast, he stopped her by putting an arm in front of him.
"Just a little longer." He insisted, keeping his eyes squarely on the beast.
Once it became clear to it that no one intended to attack it, the beast rushed towards them, ready to rip them to shreds. Yet as soon as it lunged at them, Gehrman finally acted, pushing down on the triggering floor-tile with his left foot. A sound resembling a bell echoed through the hall as the blade dropped down on the unsuspecting beast's head, with the force of the impact easily caving in its skull and splitting it in two, splattering its blood and cranial matter all over the ground. The beast's body convulsed even as the blade rose back up to its original position before finally going limp.
Maria's racing heart gradually slowed down as she turned her gaze from the beast's brutalized body to Gehrman, who hadn't so much as budged since he had alerted the beast.
"And there we go. Cleared without a hitch." He said while casually brushing off his hands, which only served to baffle her further.
"Well, go on then." The impudence in his statement hardly registered, seeing as she was still far too shocked by his audacious display. Once she had regained her bearings she turned back to the rest of their company, who seemed just as amazed as she was.
"Let's go." Was all she managed to say, before turning around and carefully making her way around both the trigger and the mangled beast, not wanting to suffer the same fate as it had.
The first thing she noticed when entering the room were two small braziers from which the billowing smoke was flowing, which she promptly destroyed with a swing of her saber in order to clear up their view. The room they found themselves in seemed to be empty, aside from a few wooden containers, pieces of pottery and some strange wooden carvings that depicted miniature ghoulish looking figures with circular mouths, each one holding a long staff. There was no sign of the mechanism or another path anywhere in the room.
"There's nothing here. You are free to come in and try to find anything we might've missed." She announced.
"Mind your step, Master Laurence" She heard Gehrman say, turning to find the head professor and the rest of his cohorts making their way around the body. Some of them were very clearly disturbed by the grisly sight before them, with one woman in particular covering their mouth as she averted her eyes.
As all this happened, the wooden statues that littered the room caught her attention. As she went up to inspect one of them, she quickly took notice of another pressure pad nearby. Once she was close enough, she cautiously placed her foot down on it, causing that same clicking sound from before ringing through the hall just before a flaming arrow fired from the statue's mouth, whizzed past her and embedded itself in the wall on the opposite end of the room.
"Another trap. Keep an eye out for these statues in the future; if you see them, either make your way around or destroy them." She told everyone who was gathered in the room.
"Hmm, that is a lot of traps in place for one small room. They must be here to protect something, but what?" Gehrman hypothesized.
"A good question." Laurence said in agreement. "Everyone, spread out and start looking. We have to be missing something." He then ordered, prompting his followers to each spread out and begin their search. Maria and her men left them to their work, but nevertheless kept a close eye on them. There was a small chance the thing that Queen Annalise had asked her to find was hidden in this room.
"Professor, I think I found something!" She heard a female voice call out.
"Where, Amelia?" He called back from across the room.
"Over here." The one known as Amelia replied, drawing both her fellow scholars and Maria to her, finding that she was crouching down in front of a now opened chest.
"What's inside?" Maria demanded as she approached, causing the scholars to cautiously eye her.
"I'm not sure. It's just a few vials; I'm not sure what's inside." The young woman's answer immediately caught Maria's attention.
"Let me see." Amelia appeared reluctant to grant her request, which led to Laurence placing a hand on her shoulder.
"It's alright. Do as she says." He instructed.
After a few more seconds, Iosfeka stood aside and allowed Maria to inspect the contents of the chest. Carefully taking out one of the vials and holding it out in front of her, she could clearly see that it did indeed contain blood. However, she could quickly tell that this was a familiar sort of blood which was used in order to break the labyrinth seal rather than the blood that Queen Annalise desired.
"Well?" Laurence asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to keep this. I hope you understand." It was clear that Laurence and the others were disappointed to hear this, but at the same time, there was really nothing they could say or do to protest this decision.
"Very well." He eventually conceded.
After taking out the second vial, she safely stored it away in her satchel. As much as it no doubt pained them to give up such a precious commodity, she couldn't afford to let them claim it. Allowing regular citizens the means to access the Tombs of the Gods at their leisure was a recipe for disaster.
"We should get back. There is nothing more for us here." She said once she was finished putting the vials away.
"Then let us hope the others have better luck." Laurence replied.
Maria then began to escort them back to the doorway, only for them to stop part way there. She turned around in order to determine the cause and found that one of them had stayed behind on the other side of the room, seemingly staring off into nothing.
"Caryll, we're leaving!" The head professor called out to get her attention, after which she seemed to snap out of her daze and turn back towards them.
"Oh, yes. One moment." As she quickly ran to rejoin her fellow scholars, Maria looked behind her to see what had caught her attention, but saw nothing but a plain wall. Yet despite this, Caryll still seemed rather unnerved.
"What is the matter with you?" She questioned the scholar.
"Nothing. I just got distracted." Caryll insisted, albeit unconvincingly.
"There is no room for distractions down here. You either keep up or we leave you behind. Understand?" This warning clearly frightened her somewhat, but from the looks of things, Laurence was not fond of this, as he proceeded to stand in front of Caryll and give her a rather stern look.
"With all due respect, Lady Maria, no one is being left behind." He said and rather sternly at that.
"You know I can't guarantee that." She calmly replied.
What followed was a tense few moments where neither party said or did anything. Perhaps her position seemed harsh, but in her eyes, it was by no means unreasonable; she and her men could only do so much to keep the scholars safe, after all. Besides, they were just as much Laurence's responsibility as they were hers, if not more so. If one of them fell behind or was somehow lost entirely, it would ultimately be because he had failed to keep track of them, not because she failed to protect them.
The tense scene was soon interrupted by the sound of gunfire, followed by some additional indiscernible noises, which caused them all to turn to the source.
"That sounded like it was close." Gehrman noted.
"Then they must not have gotten far. Come on." Maria and her knights quickly moved back to the passageway and after maneuvering around the pressure pad, rushed back down the corridor. As they moved, Maria could make out the sounds of battle much more clearly; As the noise was coming from above them, she looked up and found a large hole in the ceiling, which seemed to connect to another room.
"FIRE! DON'T LET IT REACH YOU!" She heard Matthias call out. "I'M TRYING! IT'S TOO QUICK!" Emil cried out in turn. And between all of this, she could hear the sound of scraping metal and loud, blood-curdling screeching.
"Matthias, can you hear me?! If you can, help is on the way!" She called out just before she and her men continued to rush down the path. Once they exited the corridor, she found Micolash and the other scholars by the base of the ladder; they appeared to be out of breath.
"What happened?" She demanded.
"We found the mechanism, but it's being guarded by some foul madman; once it spotted us, it cleared the length of the room and was upon us before we even had time to blink. Your knights told us to run and stayed behind to fend it off, but I just don't see how they can keep up with it." Micolash explained, appearing rather shaken.
"Stay here. We'll go help them." She said before almost immediately making her way onto the ladder. As she climbed, she could still hear the ongoing battle, suggesting that their luck had yet to turn. Though part of her was sure that Matthias and the others were more than capable of defending themselves, she couldn't sit idly by when she could be helping them.
Once she reached the top, she rushed into the nearby room, finding Matthias, Emil and Robert locked in combat with a tall, yet lanky pale-skinned opponent with long black hair and a sickle in its hand. At the moment, they had it surrounded, but the incessant swinging of its weapon prevented them from getting close.
"Captain? What are you doing here?" Matthias said as he caught sight of her, with the momentary distraction motivating their target to rush towards him at blinding speed.
"Matthias, watch out!" She called out, rushing forward even though there was no way she could reach him in time.
Thankfully, he was able to raise his blade just in time to divert the madman's hook, which would've almost certainly taken his head off if he hadn't reacted in time. This did little to impede the assailant, who quickly recovered and continued his onslaught. Backstepping to avoid his opponent's relentless flurry of swings, Matthias brought his weapon to his face and activated the small firearm that was built into the guard of his weapon, which fired a single shot and managed to hit the madman amidst his wailing, knocking him off balance and momentarily forcing it to its knees. Not wasting a moment, Matthias propelled himself forward and thrust his weapon forward, managing to impale the madman through the mouth. In a few seconds time, the hook fell from the madman's hand and its pained gurgling ceased, after which he pulled his sword free and allowed it to crumple to the ground dead.
With the madman dead, Maria saw it fit to approach her men, all of whom were visibly relieved that the battle was over. Matthias in particular was still trying to catch his breath, still holding his bloodied sword.
"How nice of you to join us, Captain." He jested as she approached.
"A bit late, it would seem." Matthias briefly chuckled before wincing in pain, taking hold of his chest.
"You're hurt." "I'm fine, it's nothing - just a graze." He assured her, straightening himself.
"Just one graze?" Matthias appeared rather hesitant to answer. "Well…"
She softly smiled. "As I thought." Even for the brief period she saw the madman in motion, it was very likely it managed to tag him more than once.
Maria then turned to Emil and Robert. "And the rest of you?" She inquired, receiving similar non-answers. With an amused sigh, she turned back to Matthias. "The scholars tell me you found the mechanism?"
"Yes, it's just through there. This cretin here was the only one standing guard." He said, pointing to a passageway on the far-right side of the room.
"Nicely done, all of you. You may return to the others; I will finish up here in your stead." Though Matthias appeared hesitant, he nevertheless nodded his understanding.
"Of course, Captain." He said.
Maria watched her men return the way they came before turning her attention to the passageway. Making her way inside, she found a small room containing a stairwell and at its base, a lever. Though she had been assured that its guardians had been eliminated, she nevertheless remained vigilant in the off chance something else lay in wait, but thankfully, she reached the bottom of the stairs without issue. Standing before the switch, she carefully stepped onto a miniature altar and pulled it to the side, resulting in a loud mechanical sound echoing through the room. Once she let go of the switch, it slid back into place, but it was clear that it had served its purpose. They could now progress further into the tombs.
Those who ventured here quickly came to understand that the Pthumerians were quite defensive of their homeland and the secrets that it contained. Perhaps it was because they believed themselves to be the only one's worthy of the Eldritch Truth, but whether this belief was due to avarice or simply because they saw it as a burden only they could bear, one could not say for certain. Yet the most likely option is that the sheer volume of defenses they mounted was entirely due to their reverence for the Great Ones, whose 'resting places' they wished to remain undisturbed.
Hurrying back to rejoin her fellow travelers, she found them already gathered close to the gate on the far side of the hall.
"There you are." Laurence said as she approached. "We heard a noise coming from the gate. I presume that means it's unlocked?"
"It should be." She replied.
"Then are we to move forward?" Originally, Maria's answer would've been a simple yes, but recent events made her stop and consider the consequences of such an action.
"My lady?" Laurence said after she didn't speak for a while, prompting her to quickly try and make a decision.
"Right. I think I have a plan, but you're going to have to bear with me." She eventually said, which seemed to surprise him somewhat.
"Alright. What is this plan of yours?" He prompted.
"Firstly, you and your scholars will have to stay here." The professor appeared ready to protest, which prompted her to continue giving the rest of the details. "For now. Me and my men will go forward to scout for any threats and return to you when we're sure it's safe to progress. In the meantime, there's something I'd like you to do."
"And what's that?" He asked.
"I think it would be wise to set up a base of operations here. Your company holds the majority of our supplies, so while I take my men forward, you can start setting it up. That way, both tasks should reasonably be finished within the same time range."
Laurence took a little while to consider her proposal. "A worthwhile suggestion." The professor said before turning to his followers.
"Listen up! It would seem that we are setting up camp sooner than expected. Each of you are expected to aid in its construction; once it is completed, our exploration will continue soon after." He announced before he started issuing a set of orders.
"Wait, Professor! What about them?" Amelia called out, motioning to the corpses of the beasts Maria and her men had slain only moments ago.
"Leave them to us." Maria spoke up. "Leon, Frederick, Robert: help me dispose of the bodies. The rest of you, stay here and help out here however you can. Follow Professor Laurence's instructions to the letter." She instructed.
"Just as she was about to commence her work, she suddenly became aware of Gehrman standing just beside her, having approached so quietly that he had gone undetected until that moment.
"Lady Maria, if I may, I would like to offer you my assistance in your cleanup." He told her, hardly seeming to realize just what it was he was asking her.
"I cannot ask you to do such a thing." She replied.
"Come now, I will have to get my hands dirty sooner or later. Besides, I relish the opportunity to observe creatures such as this up close." Maria couldn't help but raise a brow at his insistence. It was an odd thing to be fascinated by, to be sure, but she supposed that understanding these unfortunate souls would be beneficial to understanding Loran as a whole.
"If that is the case, then you are permitted to observe us, but I must nevertheless insist that you leave the disposal to us." She said to him.
"As you wish." Was his reply.
With that, everyone set off to work, with Laurence taking responsibility for coordinating the campsite's construction while she and her men set about disposing of the slain beasts. As there was nowhere to properly bury them, the most they could do was pile them together away from the camp. She briefly considered lighting the corpses ablaze, but ultimately decided against it. With how many there were, it would take far too much firewood to properly accomplish. Though it felt wrong to leave them in this horrid state, Maria recognized that she had already done all she could. At the very least, their pain was over.
Once this unsavory task was concluded, Maria and her men prepared to return to the soon to be erected campsite. Just before they were to exit, she looked back to find Gehrman crouching down in front of the pile of corpses and observing them with a keen eye; at the moment, he was seemingly attempting to extract something from its mouth, transferring it into a small tube that he held in his other hand.
"The three of you may leave. Gather the others and wait for me by the gate – once I arrive, we move forward." She told her men, prompting them to leave and allowing her to approach Gehrman.
"May I ask what you're doing?" She said to get his attention. Turning his head towards her, Gehrman held up the tube he was holding, which now contained a purplish liquid.
"Collecting samples. It's venom, from the looks of things; its claws seemed to be coated in it as well." He told her. This made her remember the substance she had seen the largest beast in the pack producing.
"You'd be wise to ensure you don't allow those creatures to graze you going forward. Heaven knows what will happen if they do." He followed up by saying, but Maria didn't respond to him, choosing to observe his work for a few more moments.
"You seem to be quite familiar with these labyrinths. Am I right to assume you've been here before?" She eventually asked him.
"Well, I haven't been here specifically, but yes, this isn't my first tour." He confirmed.
"I see. And these beasts, you study them?" Was her next inquiry.
"Indeed, I do. Putting aside any peculiarities, it is much like studying fauna: their behavior, their anatomy, their…evolution." This last part of his list caught Maria's attention.
"You mean you know…" "What made them this way? No, only that they were all human once." He said before letting out a small sigh. "Poor souls, but it does beg the question – does this primal nature lurk within all men, just waiting to be awakened?"
This was a question that Maria herself pondered on occasion. The sheer volume of the outbreak of the beastly scourge that had afflicted Loran seemed to point the arrow in a certain direction, but at the same time, many others had escaped unaffected. It was certainly something to consider, but not something she liked to dwell on - the implications were far from pleasant.
"I would hope that you never have to find out." She could see a small smile forming on the old man's lips.
"As do I, my lady." He solemnly replied.
Maria continued to silently observe Gehrman's work for a few more moments. At first, she considered trying to get a little more information out of him, but ultimately decided that now was not the right time. Duty calls.
"I must go. Once you're finished here, return to the camp. You'll no doubt get many more chances to conduct your 'research'." She said to him.
"But of course. I'll be with you in a jiffy." With that, Maria turned to leave.
Maria couldn't help but note that Gehrman seemed rather enthusiastic about being here, at least in comparison to the rest of his cohorts. Whereas the other scholars took on a more serious disposition, he was just about the only person in the labyrinth with a smile on his face. Whether this was the result of natural optimism or merely his method of contending with his dreary surroundings, she did not know. But at the same time, she could see how such an ethos could be beneficial.
She returned to find the campsite had already started construction. Though they had no traditional tents to speak off, the scholars had nevertheless brought a number of tarpaulin sheets, which they had set up in order to protect their food and sleeping gear from the flowing sand. With their limitations in regards to pack animals, they were never going to be able to bring enough to ensure they could settle in for more than a few days. Because of this, they could not afford to waste any time.
Her men were waiting for her by the gate, as instructed. As she approached, they quickly took notice of her and stood at attention, allowing her to move towards the gate. As she did this, they began to fall in line behind her, but when Matthias attempted to do so, she put forth an arm to stop him.
"Not you. You stay here." She told him, an instruction that he seemed rather surprised by.
"What're you talking about? I'm coming with you." He insisted.
"Not in your current state, you're not. What you need is rest and medical attention." Maria replied.
"And how, pray tell, am I to receive the latter?" Though he clearly thought this was a question she wouldn't be able to answer, that was far from the case.
"Professor Laurence! A moment, please!" He was in the process of aiding in the construction of the campsite, working alongside Amelia to organize what looked to be their medical supplies. Hearing her call, he excused himself and went up to them.
"Can I help you?" He asked her.
"That depends. How far does your expertise on medicine extend?" Laurence raised a curious brow.
"Well, I became a physician before I started teaching, as you do. Can't teach medicine without first practicing it, after all." This was no doubt his indirect way of telling her that this was a very silly question to ask someone who not only taught medicine, but was also the head of the faculty itself.
"Why do you ask?" "I have a small favor to ask of you. I fear that Matthias here has been wounded; can you take a look at him for me?" Maria told Laurence, much to her second's chagrin.
"Captain, I assure you that this isn't necessary." Matthias said.
"Perhaps not, but we can't be sure just yet. Even a minor cut may prove fatal in these conditions, assuming it is left untreated." Laurence replied, stepping a little closer to him. "Come with me, my friend. Let me see what I can do."
Matthias was slow to accept the Professor's offer, but Maria gave him a stern look to let him know that they weren't going anywhere until he got the proper medical attention.
"Well, if the Captain insists upon it." He eventually conceded.
"Excellent." Laurence turned his attention back to her. "Will that be all?"
"Yes. Thank you, professor." Was her reply.
"My pleasure. I'll see that he's well looked after in your absence." He assured her. With that settled, Maria turned back to the gate.
"Oh, and… good luck." The professor suddenly added on, recapturing her attention. For whatever reason, she found herself unsure of what to say, prompting her to simply nod her acknowledgement, which he did in kind.
Finally going up to the gate blocking off the next part of the labyrinth, Maria once again crouched down and lifted it up, allowing them passage inside. Turning back to motion for her men to follow her, she also managed to spot Laurence leading Matthias away, who turned his own head back to look at them, very clearly not pleased by being separated from them. Despite this, Maria knew she had made the right decision; minor or not, his wounds would slow him down and make him an easier target for whatever awaited them next.
Proceeding forward, they discovered yet another long corridor, similar to the one that they encountered when first entering the dungeon. Much like last time, there was no sign of anything that might pose a danger, but she nevertheless kept her guard up.
"Captain, look. Up ahead." One of her men – Robert – pointed out. "Another passageway. Do we…"
"No. Leave them alone for now. Our partners are no doubt keen on exploring them alongside us." She promptly told him, not even slowing down to glance at the passageway.
"I see." Robert said as he fell back in line.
"You know, for a moment, I thought we were preparing to leave them behind." Harald suddenly said.
"Doing so would reflect rather poorly on us, wouldn't you say?" Maria replied.
"Maybe so, but we would certainly be making much more progress if we didn't have to also keep them from stumbling into the jaws of a beast." He complained.
"They are here with Her Majesty's blessing. She says that we need to keep them safe and so it shall be." Was all Maria said in response, secretly hoping to end the exchange then and there.
"Ah yes, so they can help fulfill their master's vision." It was Emil who spoke this time. "Pfft, the old man is playing a dangerous game, as does Her Majesty by enabling his delusion."
Stopping just before the end of the corridor, Maria turned to face her company, all of whom almost immediately came to a stop as well.
"If you have concerns regarding Her Majesty's choices, you are more than welcome to bring them before her." She told Emil before turning to face the rest of her men. "As for the rest of you, remember that while we have a primary objective, it does not nullify our secondary ones. We are not guaranteed to find what we seek here, but what is guaranteed is Her Majesty's wrath if we fail to protect Byrgenwerth's scholars. Are we clear?"
Her men didn't respond right away, with a few of them sparring a couple of apprehensive glances at each-other. Eventually though, they all slightly bowed their heads to signify their understanding.
"Of course, captain." Harold spoke on their behalf.
"Wonderful. Now, if there are no further interruptions…"
Suddenly, Maria heard a loud, but distant growl coming from behind her, causing her to quickly turn around to determine the source. She found that the path was sealed off behind a stone door, engraved with various pieces of iconography and depictions of robed figures.
"What was that?" Asked Emil.
"Nothing good. Prepare yourselves." Maria then proceeded to approach the door, behind which they would no doubt find their next major challenge.
Pushing forward with all her might, she was able to open the door just enough to see inside, finding a vast and surprisingly well-lit antechamber, containing numerous candles, lanterns and chandeliers. However, before she could process any of this, she was made aware of something else present within the room; a large, dark figure quickly approaching her position.
"Get back!" She quickly called out, moving away from the door just as the figure reached it and swiped forward with its claws, though it only managed to hit the door. Maria then saw a large, clawed paw wrap around the left side of the door before violently jerking it to the side before doing the same to the right half, forcing it completely open.
Recognising that the creature was attempting to escape its enclosure, she rushed forward and with all her might, rammed into the beast with her shoulder, forcefully dragging it back into the room and knocking it off its feet. This gave her men just enough time to pour into the room and completely block off the exit, but in almost no time at all, it was back up and appeared none too pleased by their interference.
It resembled a rabid, malnourished canine, though it also sported a pair of horns resembling that of a ram on its head. Once it stood to its full height, they found that the creature towered over them and was eyeing them with a distinct look of hunger in its ravenous eyes.
"Stand your ground! Do not let it pass!" Maria called out.
Letting out a roar of defiance, the beast once again rushed directly at her, no doubt angry at her for preventing its escape. It clawed at her countless times while maintaining its approach, forcing her back more and more each time as she tried to stay out of range of its attacks. However, the beast's hyper-focus gave her men an opening for an attack, with two of her knights rushing towards it and slicing at its back.
However, the beast appeared far more durable than its scrawny frame would suggest and it quickly spun around with its claws, forcing its assailants back as well. Her men continued trying to surround it, with each of them trying to find an opening to attack in between its incessant clawing and biting. Right now, their best course of action was to tire the beast out and once that happened, overwhelm it with superior numbers.
Much to their surprise, the beast stopped its ravenous assault and looked around it, appearing to recognize its precarious position. They cautiously looked on as it raised its clenched paw in front of it, just before the unthinkable happened. In a split second, a searing fire formed within its palm, which it sprayed as a quick torrent that it aimed from left to right.
"Watch out!" The encirclement was quickly thrown into disarray as her men scrambled to avoid the incoming flames, which allowed the beast to run forward and regain its advantageous position. When the other members of her company ran after it to try and surround it once again, it quickly shimmied to the side, very clearly not intending to let the same tactic work again.
"All of you, back off!" Upon hearing this order, her men cautiously complied, allowing her to approach their opponent.
"Save your strength. I'll deal with this."
The beast did not attempt to meet her approach. Instead, it reared its head and roared as it formed two large fireballs from its hands, lobbing both of them towards her one after the other. Maria quickly moved to the right to avoid the first projectile before moving to the left to dodge the next, which hit a nearby pillar and obliterated it in one shot. Both of these evasive maneuvers brought her a little closer to her opponent each time and once she had safely evaded both fireballs, she spun around with her saber outstretched, allowing her to reach it and inflict several gashes.
The wounded beast quickly scurried back, but Maria did not let up, chasing after it and thrusting forward with both of her weapons, intending to skewer it before it could do anything else. Seemingly recognizing that keeping her at a distance wasn't going to work, the creature instead attempted to claw at her once again, hoping to force her back on the defensive. Seeing right through this strategy, she backstepped, quickly reattached her two weapons to grant herself more range and thrust forward, managing to impale the creature's shoulder.
Before the beast could even finish its pained cry, Maria continued her assault, unleashing a flurry of strikes that eventually led to her detaching her two blades mid-combo and continuing her attack that way. She kept going as long as her endurance could allow, after which she moved back a step in order to get out of range of any potential counterattack.
By now, the beast was visually battered and was breathing heavily, indicating its exhaustion. Maria had hypothesized that since it had sufficient enough means to control space through its command of fire, flanking maneuvers were not the ideal method to deal with it. However, when faced with a foe that could close the distance quickly and force it into close quarters combat, the beast would be put in an unfavorable position and wear itself out trying to escape. Evidently, she had been right.
In a last-ditch effort, the beast once again released a torrent of flame in order to force her back, but this time, she didn't play into its hands. Instead, she ran forward and jumped right through the incoming flame; as she came down, she swung her saber at a sideward angle, immediately severing the hand which had produced the fire.
The creature's enraged cry echoed through the room as it pulled back its bleeding stump, leaving it wide open for another attack. Almost as soon as her feet reached the ground, she swung both blades in opposite directions, inflicting an X-like wound into the beast's flesh and forcing it to its knees. With its defenses irreversibly breached, Maria drove her saber right through the beast's chest, piercing its heart.
As the beast let out its final, pained whimpers, she looked into its eyes. Its pupils no longer resembled that of a human, appearing to have somehow collapsed in on themselves and turned to mush. Yet despite that, she could almost see what appeared to be the smallest hint of fear in its eye, before even that faded away into nothing.
"It is over. Farewell." She whispered.
With the beast now dead, Maria swiftly pulled her blade free and allowed it to fall to the ground. As she stood trying to catch her breath, she looked down at its corpse, finding that she felt neither triumph or disdain; instead, she felt only pity.
With the threat eliminated, her men went up to join her around the slain creature. "I can't believe it. It commands the flames, just like the clerics of old." Emil said.
"The clerics? Do you think is what became of them." Harold then asked.
"The scourge does not discriminate." Maria reminded them. Everyone within Loran – regardless of social rank – had been in danger of succumbing to the scourge, which was exactly why it had to be abandoned.
"Even so, how is it possible for a beast to retain this power?" Asked Emil.
Admittedly, she found herself pondering that very same thing. In the past, command of fire was a gift only bestowed to the most seasoned of Pthumerians: clerics, elders and the ever-vigilant watchers, each of whom used their gift to better serve and protect the Old Lords. The secrets of pyromancy had fallen into obscurity since the abandonment of the labyrinths, but it didn't take much to imagine that mastery of this art required a great deal of control. From what she'd seen, this beast utilized fire in a primitive and chaotic manner, but that didn't make its command of it any less impressive.
"It would seem that some fires simply cannot be extinguished." Was all she said.
The knights remained in this position for several more moments, each of them seemingly lost in their own thoughts. No matter how hard she tried, Maria couldn't stop wondering about the nature of her quarry. It had been rather crafty, at least when compared to its brethren and made use of the tools at its disposal in order to counter their strategies rather than mindlessly attacking. All of this made her hearken back to her earlier conversation with Gehrman – to the ever-pressing question he had raised.
Deciding they had lingered here long enough, she fixed her gaze straight ahead. "We're done here. Let us return to the others."
They returned to the hall to find the camp all but completed. She couldn't say for certain how long they'd been gone, but however long it was, the scholars had used it well.
Maria soon spotted Professor Laurence crouching down besides Matthias, appearing to be in the process of cleaning the wounds on his chest with water and cloth. With him was Amelia , besides whom were various medical supplies, which she would no doubt hand to her superior when asked.
"You are relieved for now. Take some time to recuperate and if you wish, help out where you can. We'll resume our duty shortly." She told her men, who dutifully nodded and split off to go in varying directions, leaving her to go check on their comrade. As she approached his position, Matthias quickly took notice of her.
"Captain!" He called out, making both of his caretakers turn towards her as well.
"Ah, Lady Maria, you've returned. Thank goodness." Said the professor, whose relief soon turned to concern as he observed her more closely, no doubt noticing the slight scorches that had been left on her garb. "What happened?"
"We…ran into a bit of trouble, but nothing we couldn't handle." She tried not to draw too much attention to herself and instead, decided to enquire on Matthias's condition instead. "Will he be okay?"
"As you can see, he sustained a handful of cuts, but thankfully none of them were deep and the bleeding wasn't severe. So long as we can keep them from becoming infected, he should be fine for the remainder of the expedition." Laurence explained as he folded the cloth he had been using.
"Good. Assuming you're finished here, Professor, I'm going to need a few moments of your time." She told him flat out.
"Just a moment." He turned back to his two followers. "Amelia, I want you to stay with Matthias here for a little while longer. I'll be back as soon as I'm able."
She nodded her understanding. "Of course, professor. Consider it done."
"Good. Now, do excuse me." Standing back up to his full height, he walked over to join her.
"Say, if you don't mind me asking, have you seen Gehrman anywhere? I'm afraid I haven't seen him since he went with you to dispose of those bodies."
This question caught Maria by surprise. "When I saw him last, he was still in the preceding corridor. Perhaps he's…"
"Oh, hold on. There he is." She followed his gaze to find that Gehrman was approaching them.
"Master Laurence. Lady Maria." He greeted the two of them. "I hope I'm not intruding."
"Not by any means. We were just wondering where you ran off to." Laurence said.
"Oh, my apologies. I must've gotten a little too absorbed in my inspection. I will see that it doesn't happen again."
"That is good. With how things are, it is best that we all stick together – makes it easier for me to keep track of you all."
Gehrman nodded his head in agreement. "Very good, sir. Now, how may I be of assistance?"
"Well, I'm afraid you're rather late to help with the set-up, but seeing as I have you here, may you please go and check on Caryll for me? She's just over there." He motioned over to a specific tarp close to a pillar, where the scholar in question appeared to be sitting cross-legged and holding a journal in her hands, which she appeared to be in the process of writing in.
"Gladly, sir." Just before Gehrman departed, he looked over to her. "My lady." He said to excuse himself before he finally walked away, leaving her to eye him for a few moments before she turned back to her counterpart.
"Is she alright?" Maria asked him.
"You mean Caryll? If so, she's just having a short rest. Hopefully, it'll help clear her head." He briefly explained.
"That is good to hear." Was all Maria chose to say in response. She doubted he had forgotten what she had said before she had attempted to come to Matthias's aid, but decided now was not a good time to remind him of it.
That said, Maria still found herself wondering just what was going on with this Caryll. She had appeared somewhat distracted ever since they arrived here, hardly saying a word and seeming to be constantly on edge. This may very well be because she was aware of the dangers that this place presented, but at the same time, she remained this way even when no threat was visible. Regardless of the reason for this odd behavior, Adrian's advice to keep an eye on her was still fresh in her mind.
"Ah, but enough distractions." Laurence eventually said. "What did you wish to discuss?"
"We're going to have to decide how we are going to proceed right away. Your strategy proved fruitful this time, but I fear that if we continue with it, we will grow increasingly isolated from each-other." Said Maria.
"That is a valid concern, but I still maintain that our best course of action is to continue exploring in groups rather than all together. As we've already seen, we will cover more ground quicker and much more effectively." Laurence replied.
"And what if along the way we encounter a force that we cannot overcome with smaller numbers? I hope you realize, Professor, that if my men fall, then your scholars will shortly follow suit." She bluntly reminded him and judging from the silence that ensued, this reminder forced him to reconsider his position.
"Hmm… then what do you say that we handle things on a case-by-case basis?" Was his eventual proposition.
"What do you mean?" Laurence proceeded to explain. "Each part of the Tombs that we enter, we initially do so together. Once we have established both the general layout and the threat level present within, then we come to a decision on whether we should stay together or split apart."
"So, a compromise?" Maria summarized.
"If you would accept it as such." Was Laurence's reply, leaving her to mull it over for a few moments. Eventually, she came to a decision.
"Very well. But as you've no doubt already concluded; we will not be able to have everyone on active duty. This camp will need to be maintained and guarded." She said.
"That is for the better, I think. If someone needs to rest, then they have a place to do so; once they have recovered, then they may either rejoin us or take the place of another who wishes to temporarily retire." This was admittedly a well thought out idea. The last thing either of them needed is dragging along someone who was exhausted or wounded.
"I agree. Let it be so." Maria told him.
"Then it is settled. Once we are finished here, we will decide what our next target shall be." Laurence conclusively said.
"Of course." Believing that their negotiations had concluded, she prepared to depart.
"Before that, does anyone else in your company require medical attention?" He asked when she was a few steps away.
"You are free to ask them if you wish." Maria replied.
"Then shall we start with you?" She looked back at him in surprise, finding that he now sported that very same shrewd, yet inviting smile she remembered from the night of their meeting. Though their surroundings hardly justified such a thing, Maria couldn't keep herself from offering him a smile of her own.
"Oh, do you wish to inspect me, Professor?" She kept her voice just low enough so that only he could hear her amongst the noise in the hall.
"Do you wish to be inspected, my lady?" He replied. From the looks of things, that boldness she observed during the banquet wasn't a fluke after all. All the better, she thought to herself.
"Not the time or place, I'm afraid, but perhaps sometime soon." Maria told him, which didn't seem to hamper him in the slightest.
"I will hold you to it then." The two of them maintained their eye contact for a few more moments until Maria finally managed to break it and continue on her originally intended course, leaving Laurence to likewise turn his attention to other matters.
As she walked away, Maria kept on smiling. As she expected, Professor Laurence wasn't going to let her be the sole deciding authority on this mission and was perfectly willing to challenge her if he saw it fit. But at the same time, he was just as willing to listen and compromise as he was to contest and resist.
This was a most welcome surprise. Had he been someone who was unwilling to stray from his preconceived plans, then their inevitable bickering would've slowed their progress to a grinding halt; at the same time, Maria wasn't fond of the idea of dragging along a counterpart who showed no initiative and did as she said without question: neither were marks of a capable leader. But clearly, Laurence was aware of the authority that had been vested in him, but was likewise aware that it wasn't absolute and that the two of them needed to cooperate if they had any hope of surviving here.
"How refreshing." Maria thought to herself.
She had gotten used to dealing with men in either extreme: those who were too afraid to challenge her and those who were far too pompous to afford her even the slightest dignity. This made getting the opportunity to correspond with someone who exhibited neither of these shortcomings a rare treat indeed, one that he seemed to have enjoyed indulging in just as much as her. Of course, that hadn't been the only thing they'd indulged in.
Turning her head back, she found that the professor had rejoined Amelia as he had promised and was already back to work in checking on Matthias. Him offering to do the same for her could be seen as a simple gesture of good-will, but she was able to detect just a sliver of subtext in his words that completely changed the nature of his offering…and she couldn't help but play along.
Thinking back to the conclusion of their initial meeting, Maria recalled the rather precarious position she had put the two of them in. It had been a test, of course, to see how well he would hold up under pressure: would he pull away in embarrassment or would he hold firm? He, of course, chose the latter option, leaving them standing a mere hair's breadth apart from each-other, his eyes boring into hers. Of course, this wasn't the first time she had found herself recalling that moment, because as much as Maria would've liked to say that she had remained unaffected by the tension she had created, it would be far from the truth.
The truth was that she felt drawn to him and from the looks of things, he was experiencing a very similar draw as well. Was dallying such as this becoming figures of their standing? No, perhaps not, but that didn't make it any less fun. But that's all it was, just a little bit of fun. At the end of the day, they were still representatives of respected orders and their interactions ought to retain a sense of professionalism, especially in front of their cohorts.
Besides, neither of them knew what would happen after their partnership drew to a close. Why not make the most of it?
...