The sound of shifting chains accompanied the company's arrival in a new part of Loran. Laurence had been apprehensive on whether the old pulley system would even still be operational after centuries of neglect, much less whether it would be safe for use; thankfully, it seemed age hadn't hindered it, allowing them to travel deeper into the old labyrinth.
As before, Lady Maria and her men led the way, with his scholars following close behind them. Now that they had gotten the chance to recuperate, both parties seemed ready to face the challenges ahead of them with renewed vigor. For how long this rush of inspiration would last, he did not know, but for now, it led them through yet another deserted corridor, though this one was noticeably different from the rest in one regard.
"Ugh, what is that stench?" Amelia complained, covering her nose and mouth with her hand. Very soon, Laurence picked up on the scent as well, with even the smallest whiff making him come close to gagging. Never had he smelled anything so foul.
"I think I might know." It was Norbert who spoke this time, who had turned towards a gate along the side of the corridor. "It seems to be coming from here."
"Then you can take solace knowing we won't be going that way just yet." Lady Maria told them. "Now, come along."
Despite what she had said and the repulsive smell that was emanating from the sealed corridor, Laurence felt himself drawn towards it. He could hear the voice again; though it was distant, he was certain that it was beckoning him beyond this door.
"You feel it too, don't you?" He was suddenly made aware of Caryll standing beside him. He had not yet gotten the chance to question her about the strange symbol he'd seen her draw – the source of this lingering voice in his head – but it was clear that she was aware that he had seen it.
"Yes." He replied, turning his gaze back towards the door.
"Feel what? What are you two talking about?" Norbert asked, but unfortunately, Laurence didn't have an answer for him. All he knew was that this path in front of them would lead them to something – something potentially important.
"Was I not clear?" Laurence and his two colleagues turned to find Lady Maria and the others standing close to the end of the hallway, looking at them in confusion.
"You were," he replied. "I was just wondering if it's possible for us to take a slight detour."
"Patience, professor. We will get to it in due course." Lady Maria replied.
"Then why not now?" he suggested. "Nothing is stopping us from going this way, after all."
Rather surprisingly, it was Gehrman who spoke up. "Yes, but if I may ask, Master Laurence, what reason have we to?"
"Something important lies beyond this door. I just know it." Laurence eventually replied.
"Be that as it may, we already have a task ahead of us." Lady Maria reminded him.
"Not all of us need to go; I just need a small company to investigate what lies beyond this door. The rest can continue forward as planned."
Though he expected her to rebuff his proposal right away, the captain instead took time to ponder it. "Hmm…" she remained in silent contemplation for several seconds before eventually turning to her men. "Tell me, are any of you willing to accompany the professor on his little escapade?"
At first, it seemed like no one was willing to volunteer, that was until Emil suddenly stepped forward. "Sure, why not?" he said, which seemed to come as a surprise to his captain. Clearly, she'd been betting on none of them being willing to go with him.
"Anyone else?" a few moments later, two more knights took a step forward, the same two who had gone with Emil back to the chasm. Seeing this, their captain sighed before turning back to him. "Very well. You may go on your 'detour', but tread carefully. We will reconvene here once our tasks are completed."
"Agreed," said Laurence.
This only left him to decide who would accompany him, a process that didn't take very long. With one look at Caryll, she nodded to confirm she would be coming with him; the same was true of Norbert, who had remained with them. That only left Gehrman, Amelia and Damian, who respectively appeared uncertain, concerned and vexed about the change in events.
"Amelia, Damian: stay close to Gehrman. I look forward to hearing of your findings."
"Yes, sir." Amelia said, while Damian remained silent.
"Make haste, all of you!" Lady Maria called out to them, having already started leading her men to the next room. Just before she went off to catch up with her, Gehrman nodded to him, something he did in kind before watching him lead Amelia and Damian down the corridor, the former of whom looked back at him with a rather worried expression.
A part of him was reluctant in sending their two youngest scholars away like this, especially with someone they hadn't even known before tonight, but at the same time, he knew they weren't children. This expedition was an opportunity for them to exhibit their capability as scholars and they couldn't do that if he and his fellow professors coddled them. Besides, Master Willem had sent Gehrman along for the purpose of protecting them and if Master Willem trusted him to do so, then so did Laurence.
Along the way, she and the two young scholars passed by Emil and his two comrades. "Let's go, professor." He flippantly said as he made his way over to the gate, which he proceeded to open, revealing a staircase leading down into a dreary cave. In doing so, he caused the foul odor to grow even more pronounced, to the point that it felt almost unbearable.
"Bet you didn't miss this, eh, Norbert?" Emil said to Laurence's fellow professor.
"Not in the slightest." He replied, which made the knight chuckle.
"Well, no turning back now." With that, he started leading them down into the cave. It was humid much like the rest of Loran, but unlike the dry air they had encountered thus far, this part of the labyrinths was distinguished by a significantly damper atmosphere, which only served to make the already putrid smell even worse.
The further inside the cave they went, the harder it became to see, forcing Laurence to slow down to avoid tripping down the stairs in the darkness. As they slowly and carefully descended down the stairwell, his ears picked up on something – sounds of skittering and squeaking, which seemed to be coming from further down in the cave.
"I think I hear rats." He whispered to the others, recognizing the noises almost instantly.
"No surprise there. There are rats everywhere, especially underground." Emil replied, not sounding worried in the slightest.
"No, you don't understand. They sound…different." Laurence struggled to find a way to convey what he heard in words, but he can say for certain that they didn't sound like any rat he'd ever encountered before.
"Do rats make you nervous, professor?" the knight asked somewhat flagrantly.
"Perhaps…" Laurence said.
"Then I'll be sure to keep an eye out for them." Emil replied, clearly amused.
Very soon, they made it to the bottom of the staircase and found themselves standing at the entrance to a large, dimly lit room. "Hmm, doesn't seem like there's anything here." Emil observed as he moved his torch around. "Not that it makes the place anymore welcoming."
As Laurence walked up to stand beside the knight, the edge of his shoe came into contact with something wet, causing him to spontaneously pull it back. He was soon able to spot what it was he stepped in, which turned his minor fright into genuine horror; before them was an enormous pool of blood, within which lay countless hollowed corpses, some alone and others piled on top of each-other.
As Laurence looked on in horror, Norbert came to stand beside him. "Not a pretty sight, is it?," he asked.
"No, tis not." Laurence said, finding himself unable to take his eyes off the gruesome sight before him. He remembered Norbert mentioning seeing a similar sight to this earlier that night, the implications of which were harrowing. How many more rooms like this were there in these tombs? How many more dead?
"Well, there's no reason to dwell here longer than we have to. We should move on." Emil said after a brief silence. And Laurence didn't feel much like disagreeing.
Without another word, they started making their way to the other side of the room, sticking to the sides of the room that the blood had not yet managed to reach. All the while, Laurence periodically held his breath to avoid the horrid smell that came from it as much as he could.
They soon found themselves before the entrance to another cave, which was just as dimly lit as before. As they got close, Emil motioned for them to stop before venturing forth into the dark cave alone. He kept both the torch and his eyes up one the ceiling as he went further into the cave, almost as if he was looking for something in particular. Suddenly, he stopped and just as suddenly thrust his torch upward.
Laurence soon became aware of a black mass sticking to the top of the cave, which burst into flames and fell down before Emil's feet, after which he thrust his torch down in order to burn it some more. The mass violently trashed around as flames engulfed its body before deflating before their eyes, a few sparse flames still crackling on its flesh.
After making sure that the mass was out of commission, Emil turned back to them, his face visible from the now faint light of his torch. "Almost got caught by one of these earlier tonight," he said. "Best keep an eye on the ceilings when you pass through these caves. You never know when one of these is lying in wait."
"Sage advice, indeed." Norbert commented, which earned something of a grin from the knight.
"Come along now." Turning back around, Emil proceeded further into the cave, with the rest of them following.
Not even ten seconds later, Laurence once again heard that skittering sound from before, causing him to freeze in his tracks and look to the source of the sound behind them.
"Laurence, what's wrong?" Caryll asked, but he didn't look back.
In the proceeding room, he could now see what looked like glowing orbs moving rapidly in the darkness, orbs which soon turned straight towards him. Throughout all this, the noises never stopped; in fact, they seemed to be getting closer and much more frequent.
"Emil!" Laurence called out.
"What?" He must've immediately spotted what was wrong, for he quickly ran to stand in front of him, holding his torch out in front of him, revealing a pack of enormous, monstrous rats, who were momentarily stopped by the light and eyed them suspiciously. The orbs he had seen were in fact their eyes, which had grown so large that they looked like they were about to burst from their heads.
Upon seeing the massive rodent, the knights readied their weapons. In response, the head rat stood on its two hind legs, barring its enormous jagged teeth and hissing at them before continuing its approach, followed by several more of its brethren.
"Get back, now!" Emil ordered.
Laurence and his two colleagues promptly turned to move further into the cave, only to be stopped as they heard similar noises quickly approaching from in front of them.
"There's more coming!" Laurence warned the knights, who had already started fending off the incoming horde.
"Robert, go!" In response to Emil's order, one of the knights broke from his companions and ran to defend the scholars, who were forced into the middle of the cave as they faced down the swarm coming from either side.
The knights quickly drew their pistols. "Best cover your ears." Emil advised as he and his comrades pointed them forward along with their swords.
"FIRE!"
The sounds of gunshots echoed throughout the cave as the knights shot at the incoming rats; after firing from their pistols, they quickly followed up with a shot from their bladed weapons, which Laurence now realized had some sort of small firearm attached to it. This quick flurry of bullets managed to either injure or kill several of the incoming rodents, but not nearly enough to stop their incoming onslaught.
Once the rats got close enough, they either leapt or swiped at the defending knights, often attacking together with their brethren. Despite their seemingly overwhelming numbers, however, they went down rather easily, with Emil and his comrades managing to cut through them fairly easily. Despite them seeming to have a handle on the situation, Laurence found himself instinctively drawing and readying his dagger to prepare for the possibility of one of the rats breaking through their defenses, which would make him the only one equipped to prevent him and his friends from being overrun.
Overrun and eaten alive by a horde of ravenous rats. Oh, dear heavens, no…
Thankfully, there were soon very few rats remaining, who attempted to retreat once they saw the fate that had befallen the rest of their pack. Unfortunately for them, Emil was able to chase them down and slay them before they were able to retreat back into the cesspits they crawled from.
In between heavy breaths, Emil looked back towards them. "Anything on your side?!" he called out.
"Nothing!" Robert called back to him, having pursued the rats in the opposite direction.
"Good." he let out a relieved sigh and started making his way back towards them, stepping over the bloodied corpses of the rats he'd slain only moments earlier. "You can put that away now." Emil pointed to Laurence's hand as he said this, which made him realize that he was still holding his dagger.
"Are you hurt?" Laurence asked as he sheathed his blade.
"No worries here. What about you two?" Emil asked his companions.
"Not a scratch." "Likewise."
"Good," Laurence looked down at one of the dead rats, whose body was riddled with repulsive warts. "Disgusting creatures…" he uttered to himself. Even normal rats brought plague and disease wherever they went, but he could only imagine what filth these mutants carried.
"I don't understand. What could've made them like this?" Norbert questioned as he knelt down beside the dead rodent.
"The same thing that befell the poor souls back there, no doubt." Was the only answer Laurence could offer, but it was the only one that made sense and one that chilled Laurence to the bone.
None of the deceased appeared to have transformed before they died, or more likely, before they were executed. Clearly, the plague had grown so commonplace that symptoms became quickly identifiable and once these symptoms were spotted, the infected would have to be eliminated before it progressed further. But even in death, their flesh remained corrupted.
"Over here! There's a ladder!" one of Emil's comrades called from the other end of the cave.
"Wait, Harald! And keep your bloody voice down!" Emil quickly ran to join his fellow knight, leaving Laurence and the others no real choice but to follow.
The ladder in question would take them out of the pit and up into a circular room, beyond which they found a narrow, dilapidated bridge that would take them over yet another pool of blood. Around them, large metal cages hung from the ceiling, some of which were empty and some of which contained long decayed bodies. Yet despite these gruesome surroundings, Laurence's gaze was fixed straight ahead, where he could see another sealed off door. The closer they got to it, the more intense the utterings became, urging him onwards to see just what they were leading him to.
Once they reached the end of the bridge, Emil forced the door open and revealed a small staircase leading down to one final seal. However, they didn't even make it fully down the stairs before the knight came to a sudden stop, forcing the rest of them to do so as well.
"Why have we stopped?" Laurence questioned, but Emil didn't reply, instead appearing to be focusing on something.
"I know that growl…" he said more to himself than to him. Having been so transfixed by the ethereal voices, Laurence had failed to notice the raspy, almost pained-sounding noise coming from behind the door.
Emil turned back to look at them. "Listen to me carefully. When I open the door, wait out here and let us deal with what's inside. Be ready to run if need be." Laurence couldn't help but notice that he sounded rather nervous as he gave this instruction, but nevertheless followed him and his fellow knights toward the door.
After lifting it open as quietly as he could, the three knights cautiously entered and observed the room, seemingly spotting something. Sparing a glance inside, Laurence followed Emil's gaze and was able to spot the source of the noise he had heard earlier. Sitting in a hunched over position on the opposite end of the room was a lanky humanoid figure, whose body was covered in a silver fur; it did not appear to have noticed their presence, which along with its position and the reserved noises it seemed to be making indicated that it was resting.
Remaining silent, Emil motioned for his two comrades to go to opposite sides of the room while he remained in the center, each of them walking forward slowly and carefully to avoid rousing the beast. This seemed to work for a time - that was until one of them accidentally hit a discarded chalice, causing a sharp clattering noise to echo through the shrine.
The creature lifted its head up and quickly rose to its full height, picking up a torch that had been lying beside it and holding it up just next to its head, its light illuminating its horrifying visage. The beast's head seemed to be bent at a sideward angle; its mouth a gaping round hole lined with razer sharp teeth, which gave the appearance of a fixed, demented smile. This must no doubt be the creature Norbert had told him about, but his description didn't even come close to describing how chilling it truly was.
"Strike now!" Emil ordered, after which he and the other knights charged at the beast. Seeing their approach, it swung its torch from side to side in order to keep them at bay; when one of them attempted to rush in, it quickly changed its momentum and clawed at him with its free hand, its nails growing to the length of their swords in an instant.
While it was momentarily distracted, Emil was finally able to reach the beast. Though the trajectory of his swing indicated that he was trying to sever its arm, it nimbly moved its limb out of the way, though it ended up losing a few of its exposed ribs in the process. Not letting up, Emil quickly thrust his sword forward, managing to impale the beast squarely through the chest.
Much to everyone's shock, the creature appeared unfazed by this, not even dropping its torch. Suddenly, its body began to crackle with electricity, with Emil just managing to run and dive out of the way before it released a nova of lightning in its surrounding area, roaring as it did. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time to remove his sword, leaving it embedded in its chest.
The knight then tried to rise to his feet just as the beast leapt at him, extending its nails in midair and pointing them down. "Emil, look out!" Robert called out, allowing his comrade to look just in time to see it approaching and roll out of the way, causing his attacker's claws to hit stone ground.
Despite this unsuccessful attempt, the beast continued to chase after the unarmed knight, who had no choice but to dodge its attacks as he looked for an opening to retrieve his weapon. Seeing Emil's predicament, his two comrades rushed in to help him, but just like before, the creature was able to avoid their attempts with uncanny ability. After leaping off to the right, the beast bent its head back as if taking a deep breath and blew on its torch, creating a torrent of flames that moved from left to right.
Once again, the knights were forced to retreat in order to avoid the flames. "Get rid of the torch!" right after Emil gave this order, Robert brought his sword close to his head and took aim; almost the moment the beast finished blowing the flames, he fired off a shot, managing to hit the hand holding the torch and forcing it to drop it.
The three knights then charged at the disarmed beast. While his comrades went ahead of him, Emil stopped to pick the discarded torch off the ground before joining in on their attack, thrusting the torch forward and causing flames to quickly sweep across its body as it cried out in agony. Extending its claws once again, it sliced wildly in front of it and although it managed to force its attackers back, the flames continued to burn.
"So, it doesn't do well with fire, does it? How ironic." Emil noted as they watched the creature struggle.
Eventually, the flames went out, though they had burned away much of the beast's remaining fur, leaving several patches of burnt flesh across its body. Though the fire had subsided, its rage clearly did not, as it dropped down on all fours and rushed towards the knights. Caught off guard by its swift, and unbelievably unnerving movements, the knights scattered, struggling to pin it down as it clawed and snapped at them with its jaws.
Somewhere in between this chase, the creature suddenly stopped in its tracks and turned its head directly at Laurence and his colleagues, who had until then been watching the tense battle by the doorway. The professor tensed up as the beast's crazed eyes settled on him – who it no doubt must've seen as easy prey – and turned to chase after him.
"Oh no you don't!"
Before Laurence even had time to run, Emil rushed forward and grabbed the beast by its tail, causing it to stumble in its tracks. As it struggled to escape, the knight pulled with all his might and was able to throw the beast behind him, causing it to fly several meters and crash into the coffin it had been resting by with a brutal impact.
As it struggled to stand back up, Emil ran towards it, quickly scooping up his torch along the way. Just as it was about to recover, the knight charged forward with his shoulder and hit it square in the chest, causing it to fall back down; before the beast was even able to counterattack, Emil let out a cry and thrust the torch into its gaping mouth.
The creature squirmed in anguish as the knight forced the burning torch deeper down its throat, which was just long enough that Emil wasn't in any danger of its jaws clamping down on his hand. As this happened, he pulled his sword free from its body and after removing the torch from the beast's mouth, he brought the blade down on its twisted face, cleaving its head in two.
As the beast's head fell to the floor and its body finally stopped moving, Emil stood and attempted to catch his breath, holding his retrieved sword in his right hand and the now burnt-out torch in the other. Seeing that it was now safe to enter, Laurence and his colleagues started making their way over to him.
"A well-fought battle," he said as they approached, though he didn't seem to hear him. Looking closer, he could see that Emil was tightly gripping both of his weapons. "Is everything alright?" This time, he managed to get his attention.
"Oh, my apologies. I…I might've gotten a little carried away." He replied while looking down at the beast's butchered body. It was undoubtedly the most brutal display of violence Laurence had witnessed and with the threats they'd encountered thus far, that was saying something.
"Anyway, you can go about your business now. Excuse me." With that, the knight sheathed his sword, leaned forward to take hold of one of the beast's ankles and started unmindfully dragging it away from the coffin, leaving a trail of its blood behind. As he did this, his companions looked on in stunned silence, appearing similarly concerned and perhaps even a little frightened.
"Well then, Laurence?" Norbert said, bringing Laurence's attention back to the matter at hand. "You said we'd find something important here. Where should we start?"
"Here."
Both Laurence and Norbert looked to Caryll, who had already made her way in front of the decorative coffin before them. She then placed her hand on it and ran it along its shining metal before turning to look back at them.
"A little help, please?" After sharing a quick glance with each-other, Laurence and Norbert joined Caryll in front of the coffin and with their combined strength, managed to remove the coffin's lid.
The three of them then peered inside; just as before, the body of the coffin's inhabitant had long since decayed, but unlike before, it was not a woman they found inside. Instead, they found what looked to be a man wearing a set of lightweight armor; whoever they were, they must have no doubt been a warrior in life. But rather than holding a sword or a similar weapon, his hands were firmly placed on the handle of a rather peculiar item; a pair of sharpened points which seemed to be held together by little more than cloth.
"What is that supposed to be?" Norbert asked, something all of them must've been thinking at that moment.
"I haven't got a clue." Laurence admitted. Despite this, he found himself intrigued by the item, leading to him reaching into the coffin and attempting to wrest it from its owner's long dead hands.
"What are you…?" Before Norbert could even finish his sentence, Laurence had managed to retrieve it, taking it by its handle and holding it up to observe it.
"Curious." he uttered to himself. It surely felt a lot like a weapon, albeit a rather crude one, unbefitting of someone as renowned as its wielder must've been in life.
"Hold on..." Laurence ran one of his hands along one of the spikes, finding its texture to be rather smooth – a familiar type of smoothness.
"Bones."
"What?" Caryll asked, clearly confused by what he'd said.
"These two points – they're fashioned from bones. Look," he held it out to give his colleagues a better look.
"I think he might be right," Norbert remarked. "But if so, where did they originate from?"
"I don't know, but I doubt it's from a human." Laurence replied. However, that was about all he could say for certain in regards to it, seeing as the bones did not seem to resemble anything found in a human skeleton, as well as being longer than his arm.
But aside from that, there was something…else about them – something far more bizarre. The state of its wielder's remains suggested that they had been buried for a long time, yet unlike him, these bones did not show any noticeable signs of decay. And as Laurence gripped the weapon in his hands, he felt a sort of drawing force deep within, one that he could not even begin to describe.
"What's that you have there?" Laurence was quickly made aware of Emil standing not far behind them, no doubt having noticed their discovery.
"Truth be told, we're not quite sure ourselves," he admitted.
"May I see?" By now, Laurence was aware that Emil wasn't making a request, but rather an order. And he had no choice but to comply. Turning around, the professor held the weapon out to him, who promptly took it from him and spent some time observing it, all the while sporting a puzzled expression on his face.
"Hmm…very odd indeed." Emil said as he looked back up at them. "I presume you wish to study it further?"
"If it's possible." Laurence replied.
For the next few seconds, he waited for the knight's verdict. As he did, he noticed that he seemed rather indecisive.
"That is something we will have to decide with the captain," Emil eventually said, which didn't surprise him in the slightest. What did surprise him however was the knight holding the weapon back out to him. "That being said, I don't see the harm in letting you hold on to it, for now, at least."
A few seconds passed before Laurence finally accepted his offering, nodding his thanks as he did. He had been almost certain that they would be prohibited from keeping such a mysterious item – something that might very well still be the case – but this gesture at least gave him a little hope.
"Now, unless anything else here has caught your eye, I think it's about time we made our way back." Emil suggested.
Looking around, Laurence couldn't see anything that stood out from the last shrine that they had discovered, so after quickly checking to make sure Caryll and Norbert didn't have any further inquiries they wanted to pursue, they started to follow the knights back the way they came. This unfortunately took them back through the pit they'd passed through before, forcing them to once again contend with its stench and wade through the slew of dead rats they had left behind. Yet despite this, the general feeling among the small company was a positive one, or at least, as positive as one could be in such a setting.
"I really must thank you for bearing with my 'escapade'." Laurence said to Emil along the way.
"No need, professor," he replied. "After what you've done for us, it's the least we could do."
Laurence could only assume he was referring to his invitation from a few hours before, where he had offered them food and drink. "Please, it was nothing," he replied.
"It might seem that way to you, but…" Emil seemed to trail off for a moment, his eyes travelling down to the floor as if he were unsure of something. "Well, it meant a lot to us." He finally finished, turning his gaze forward once more.
The professor couldn't find anything to say in response, instead finding himself thinking about what Emil had said. Lady Maria seemed to believe that there were ulterior motives behind his actions and while he had of course been hoping to strengthen ties between their respective companies, he still believed that ensuring that the knights were well-fed and well-rested had been the right thing to do, even if it didn't amount to anything meaningful.
As they neared the exit, they suddenly heard several booming noises, prompting them to stop and try to pinpoint what it was, and where it was coming from.
"That's gunfire," said Robert. Sure enough, Laurence was able to recognize it as such and soon realized that it was coming from the direction the others had gone in.
"Captain…" he heard Emil utter, his worry evident.
They then all rushed towards the stairwell, realizing the danger that the other half of the company could be in. As they entered back into the corridor, they turned towards the path leading further into the tombs, where sounds of battle became all the clearer. Before they even managed to come close to it, Amelia ran through the doorway, followed closely by Damian.
"Professor! Professor!" she called out.
"Amelia!" Laurence broke away from the group and ran up to meet her, a wave of relief washing over him as he embraced his terrified pupil.
"There were so many…Lady Maria, she told us to run, but…" she said in a quiet, panicked voice.
"What, Amelia? What happened?"
…
Sometime earlier.
With a decisive swing of her sword, another victim of the scourge fell at Maria's feet, joining three others that had ambushed them. With the apparent threat eliminated, she and her men remained alert, making sure that nothing else was lying in wait before turning back to the awaiting scholars.
"Let's go," she told them.
She then led them up a parallel staircase, keeping her eyes open for any more potential threats.
"Oh my," she suddenly heard Amelia say, turning to find that she had fallen slightly behind the group and was looking up towards the ceiling, looking quite disturbed. Following her gaze, Maria was able to spot what had caught her attention; there were at least a dozen people hanging by their ankles from the ceiling, clad entirely in white robes and their hands bound over their heads.
"They're not…alive, are they?" the young woman questioned.
"No, I do not think so." Maria replied after a brief observation, but this didn't seem to lessen Amelia's horror nor did it make her look away from the gruesome sight. Seeing this, Gehrman went up to her and put a hand on her shoulder to pull her attention away.
"It's alright, Amelia. Let's keep moving." She said in an understanding, almost consoling voice. A few seconds later, the young scholar nodded and started to follow Gehrman back towards the group.
"Be careful not to faint while you're at it." Damian said rather derisively as the two approached, leading to both of his fellows to glare at him.
"Your concern is noted, but not needed…or desired." Amelia replied in a similarly dismissive manner.
"Come now, there's nothing to be ashamed of – if you must blame someone, blame your master for sheltering you so." This made her visibly angry.
"Like we can blame yours for robbing you of compassion?" She retorted.
"That's enough!" Gehrman suddenly intervened, causing both scholars to look at her. "Do not forget why the two of you are here. Master Willem was most generous in allowing the two of you to partake in this expedition and your masters even more so in choosing you out of all your fellow disciples. Whatever squabbles you may have, now is not the time nor place for them. Understood?"
After a few tense moments, the two young scholars relented. "Yes, Mr. Gehrman, sir." Said Amelia.
Maria and her men had remained silent as all this unfolded, remaining so up until Gehrman turned back towards them. "Apologies, my lady. Please, lead the way." A moment later, Maria did just that, motioning for her men to follow her.
"Does this sort of thing happen often?" she asked Gehrman along the way. "Often enough, or so I've been told."
"Told?" she repeated, finding herself rather confused by his answer.
"Do I strike you as a pedagogue, captain?" his question was delivered rather humorously, making it difficult for Maria to decide how to answer him.
"Well…" she started to say, which only made him chuckle.
"Worry not, there was no correct answer. I am a scholar, yes, but my work is of a more…independent variety." Gehrman explained, though she still found herself rather puzzled by his words.
"If that is the case, then what are you doing here?" This was a blunt question, to be sure, but it was one worth asking.
"Well, knowledge isn't worth very much if you don't apply it every once in a while, is it?," was the answer he eventually gave. Yet despite this, she somehow knew that there was more to Gehrman's presence than he was letting on. But before she could pursue the matter further, they entered a circular room, which prompted her to hold a hand up to signal them to stop.
"Is something wrong?" Gehrman questioned, but Maria didn't reply, focusing instead on scanning the room. Despite its relatively small size, it appeared entirely devoid of life, without a stirring to be heard. But if her time here had taught her anything, it was to expect the unexpected.
"Keep your eyes open," she told the others before they made their way inside. There didn't seem to be any other passageways, with the only other path being an upwards spiraling staircase to their right. Cautiously leading the others towards it, Maria tried to focus her vision to spot anything that could be lying in wait at the top, which was made exceptionally difficult by the lack of any light.
That would change once they were around halfway up, when an enormous ball of fire lit up at the top of the stairwell…and quickly started spiraling towards them.
"WATCH OU…!" Before she even managed to finish her cry, Maria felt herself being sharply pulled to the side; before she knew it, she felt the sweltering heat of the ball of fire safely pass by, after which she heard it crashing somewhere in the distance.
"Are you alright, my lady?" It was Gehrman, who she now realized had also been shielding her from the heat with his cloak.
"I'm fine." She quickly replied, shaking off her shock and moving past him. He had managed to get them into a small cavity in the wall, with just enough space for them to get clear of the trap's path. With the threat seemingly passed, Maria peered out and tried to spot her men along. "Leon! Frederick! Where are you?!" she could not see them anywhere, leaving her to fear they had failed to get out of the way in time.
"Over here, Captain!" Maria quickly saw Leon peek out from a similar opening further down the stairwell, with Robert becoming visible soon after.
As she breathed a sigh of relief, Gehrman also looked out. "What about Amelia and Damian!" he cried out.
"They're both safe!" Frederick called back.
Their relief was soon interrupted when Maria became aware of something flying towards them. This time, it was her who pulled Gehrman back into the opening, getting them to cover just as an object crashed down on the stairwell, exploding upon impact. A few seconds later, another small explosion erupted not far from their feet, which showed that the danger had only just begun.
"How very exciting." Gehrman said, making her peer in his direction. He had acted surprisingly quickly in the face of peril, even if his actions were ultimately unnecessary; had she so wished, Maria could've gotten clear of the trouble just fine on her own.
"Just stay behind cover. We'll deal with this." She instructed, leaving him to calmly nod his understanding.
Maria waited for another explosion to go off, before calling out "NOW!", rushing out of her hiding place and up the stairs, her men following close behind her. She was soon able to spot their assailant; a thin, white-skinned humanoid who continued chucking dark bottles at them even as they got closer and closer to him. One of its projectiles flew past Maria's head, leaving the figure unable to react before she reached him and cut him down with a single swing of her saber, leaving his head to fly and land a few meters away. As its body crumbled to the floor, her two companions joined her at the top, though they found themselves with nothing to fight.
"It can't be that easy." Frederick commented, and she was inclined to agree. Soon enough, their suspicion was confirmed, as they heard a loud growl coming from a passageway just up ahead.
"No, indeed."
As they readied themselves, they saw the hallway had become better illuminated, with more than one shadow dancing along the walls. More surprisingly, they could also hear hasty uttering in an unfamiliar language on top of the beastly growls, which also seemed to be getting closer and closer.
A few seconds later, another of the wolf-like beasts appeared at the doorway and peered in their direction, but something seemed to prevent it from attacking them on sight. As it exited the hallway, they soon saw why. There was an enormous collar around the beast's neck, attached to a chain that was held by three other white-skinned humanoid; additionally, there were two hooded watchers on either side of it, both of whom were wielding flaming halberds.
The beast snapped its jaws at the knights, hunger gleaming in its eyes as its captors visibly struggled to hold it back. One of the hooded figures pointed at them and spoke something in an indiscernible language, after which the beast was released and charged at them.
"Scatter!" Maria called out, prompting her men to move off to the side as the beast bore down on her. As it pounced at her, she moved back just out of its reach, but found herself unable to retaliate as the beast started clawing and slashing at her. While it was focused on Maria, her two tried to attack it from the side; as it turned to swipe at Leon, Frederick was able to drive his blade into its side, causing it to roar in anguish and turn its attention to him, forcing him back as well.
As this happened, Maria saw the humanoid figures running to join the fight. "No, focus on them! I'll deal with the beast!" she called to her men, who were promptly assailed by the beast's masters.
This left her to face off with the ravenous beast, avoiding its wide-reaching attacks and countering with slashes of her own. Its skin was tough, which made it difficult for her to inflict any meaningful damage and with its relentless nature, it was hard enough to land a hit on it as it was. Her men weren't faring much better. Though their opponents were much less physically imposing, they both had to deal with several of them at once; when one of them was left at a disadvantage, another was quick to attack in its stead, leaving the knights with few opportunities to attack.
In between the sounds of battle, Maria was able to hear a distant, yet very distinct sound – the ringing of a bell.
She had only a split second to dwell on her dread before she was forced back on the offensive. "Fight on! We need to hurry!" Maria cried, knowing that if they didn't eliminate their enemies soon, things would quickly go from bad to worse.
Mere seconds later, the first of the summoned creatures made their way into the room, quickly followed by another, and then another. They quickly moved to attack her men, who now had to deal with even more overwhelming odds. Although they managed to cut some of them down, another would quickly come to take their place.
And somewhere in the distance, the bell kept on ringing.
"Fall back! Retreat!" Maria called out, quickly realizing that they were fighting a losing battle.
Though they were clearly shocked by her order, Leon and Frederick quickly turned to run from their assailants, with Maria distracting the beast just long enough for them to make it past before retreating herself. As the knights ran down the stairs, they saw the scholars peek out from their hiding places, no doubt having heard the commotion.
"All of you, run! Back the way we came!" Maria ordered and the scholars quickly complied, joining them in their retreat as their attackers gave chase.
Once they reached the passageway leading to the parallel stairwell, a red glowing spider suddenly dropped down in front of them, stopping them in their tracks. Thankfully, Leon was quick to strike it down before it could attack the scholars, but they soon saw others like it coming from the floor above; had they waited any longer, they would've been trapped.
"This way! Quickly!" They all ran down the stairs and back through the cave they went through when first entering, soon managing to make it out and coming before a small, circular pit, which they could only get out of via a ladder. Looking back, they could see the horde was fast approaching.
Maria quickly turned to Gehrman, who was himself showing signs of worry. "Get your scholars out. We'll hold them off so you can escape." Though he seemed somewhat reluctant, he nodded, which she did in kind before turning to face their pursuers.
"Come on, come on, both of you – climb! Quick!" she heard him saying to his two younger followers, no doubt making sure they both got out before he did.
Thankfully, the summoned spiders made up the front lines of the pursuing force, which made it easy for Maria and her men to fight them off, at least initially. Very soon, the beast came into view, easily outrunning its summoned helpers and even crushing one under its paws as it approached them.
"Pistols at the ready!" Maria and her knights each drew their firearms, pointing them towards the fast-approaching beast.
"FIRE!"
The deafening sounds of gunfire echoed through the cave as the three of them unleashed a hail of bullets at the approaching beast, which staggered back with each successful hit. Had it been hit by ordinary bullets, it would've gone unscathed, but these were quicksilver bullets, specially infused with their blood. But even then, the damage they did was minimal and with an angered roar, the beast resumed its advance, its eyes set on her once again. As it got closer, both Leon and Frederick readied their blades.
"Wait." She said to stop them, clutching the handle of her sabre as the beast bore down on her. Keeping her eyes squarely on it, Maria watched as the beast leapt at her and swiped with its claw.
Just as she had anticipated.
With a single, quick slice of her saber, the beast's left claw arm was cut clean off, leaving it to fall to the ground as its lost limb fell uselessly off to the side. As it tried in vain to get back up, Frederick quickly drove his own blade through its skull, killing it instantly.
"Lady Maria, it's time to go!" she cautioned a backward glance to find that Gehrman was still standing by the ladder, with the two younger scholars seeming to have successfully escaped.
"For you, yes!" she turned just in time to slash at an incoming spider. "So, get moving!"
"And how do you plan to escape?" he called out as the horde in front of her grew larger and larger.
"That doesn't matter! Go!" she couldn't afford to turn back this time, so she had no idea if Gehrman had complied or not. All she and her men could do was continue to fight back against the seemingly endless sea of foes that came their way, slowly making their way back towards the ladder.
"You two get out. I'll hold the line." She told Leon and Frederick, who both looked at her in shock.
"But, captain, there are too many! You won't be able to get out – you'll be killed!" Leon argued with her.
"We'll all be killed without reinforcements. What you need to do is…"
"Mind your heads!" The three of them were shocked to see someone drop down just in front of them, driving their sword through an incoming spider as they landed.
"Emil!" Maria called out, shocked by his arrival. "How're you…?"
"We heard you got yourself in a bit of a bind." He replied as he stood back up. "Surely, you won't object if we help untangle you."
Soon after, Robert and Harold dropped down on the left and right sides of the well, attacking the incoming horde from both sides. With a small smile, Maria prepared herself for battle once more.
"Onwards!" she rallied, charging towards the horde with Leon and Frederick in tow. As they cut through the front lines of the summoned creatures, Maria saw movement out of the corner of her eye, turning her head and looking up just in time to see Gehrman turning to walk away, disappearing out of view. She didn't have time to dwell on this however, as another wave of enemies had already appeared.
Emil's arrival helped turn the tide of the battle, allowing them to fight their way back through the cave and towards the staircase, which the spiders completely ignored by crawling down along the walls instead. Upon closer observation, Maria could see that they were coming from two sources: the path they'd originally taken and another from further up.
"We need to cut them off," she said before turning to her men. "Emil, take your company and go further up. We'll go through the middle path."
"Yes, captain!" Emil replied.
With that, they continued fighting their way up the stairs, separating once they reached the middle. Maria briefly watched as Emil, Robert and Harold ran up an additional flight of stairs towards an unknown path, though if her hunch was correct, it would take them to the same location as them. Going back through the room from which they were forced to retreat, Maria and her two companions were able to get past the winding staircase and make it to the top once more. They found that they now had to contend with fewer spiders, which seemed to indicate that Emil was successfully drawing some of them away.
As they followed the sound of ringing bells, they found their way into a corridor that branched off to the right, only to be met by several more summoned enemies. As they prepared for battle, several of them ran off to the right, where Maria could hear them being cut down. Soon enough, Emil and his company appeared around the corner, slicing through the spiders that blocked their path. Almost as soon as they were slain, the bell rang out again and it was now clear that they were directly ahead of them.
"They're coming from this way!" Maria called out, leading her men into the room ahead.
Once inside, they were able to see not one, but two bell maidens standing amidst the blowing sand. Additionally, the four soldiers they had encountered before had retreated here as well and once they spotted the knights, they formed a defensive line in front of the maidens and charged at them.
Thinking quickly, Maria thought of a plan of attack. "Emil, with me. The rest of you, cover us!'' With that, they charged, with four of her men running ahead to engage one of the individual guards and allowing her and Emil to focus on the bell maidens.
Seeing their approach, the two summoners began to ring their bells in unison, but instead of summoning additional defences, they instead created a large ring of purple energy, which moved towards them with blinding speed. Having sped up in the hopes of reaching them before their minions could spawn, neither Maria or Emil could react to the attack in time and once the energy hit, a sharp pain shot throughout her body, causing her to stagger and fall to her knees. Though her ears were ringing and her vision was blurred as a result of the attack, Maria was able to spot a blur of movement in front of her, one that was quickly moving towards her.
Reacting on a moment's notice, she raised her sabre and was able to deflect the maiden's incoming dagger before it could reach her throat. Maria managed to rise to her feet just before she attacked her again, enabling her to evade the maiden's wild slashes with relative ease. Deciding to end the encounter before she could surprise her again, she parried the maiden's dagger with her own, throwing her off balance and giving Maria the chance to drive her sabre through her chest; with a hollowed gasp, the summoner dropped her bell and weapon before falling to her knees, after which Maria pulled her blade free and allowed her to collapse to the ground.
She then heard a similar gasp off to her right, turning just in time to see that Emil had managed to cut down the other summoner. Behind them, the others had also dispatched the remaining guards, leaving them all to try and catch their breath.
"It is done," Maria said, sheathing her sword. "Well done, all of you."
She then turned her attention to Emil, who much like the others, looked exhausted. "Am I right to assume your task is completed?" Maria asked him.
"Yes, and from the looks of things, just in time, too." She couldn't help but smile at his reply.
"What of Professor Laurence?" "He's safe. I told him and the rest of his followers to return to camp and wait for us there." Emil replied.
"That is good," said Maria. In hindsight, perhaps humoring Laurence's seemingly spontaneous urge to explore may not have been the wisest choice.
"Forgive me, Captain," Emil suddenly said. "It was foolish of me to divide us as I did."
"There is no need for forgiveness, Emil. None of us knew what awaited us," she replied.
"Perhaps, but…" Before Emil could finish his sentence, Maria stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Enough. Regardless of your choice, your timely arrival assured our victory here. We are all indebted to your valor."
After a few seconds of stunned silence on his part, Emil simply nodded his head, with Maria doing the same. Though her earlier decision regarding their separation may not have been her wisest, she had the utmost faith that Emil and the others would be able to handle whatever came their way. And clearly, that faith was not misplaced.
She then turned to the rest of her company. "Now then, shall we continue?" she proposed.
Thankfully, they did not have to go far to find the mechanism that held the key to the next part of the labyrinth, which was located at the bottom of the room they found themselves in. It was to be expected that they encountered stiffer resistance than before; the deeper into the tombs they went, the more committed its residents would be to ensuring they didn't venture any deeper. No doubt, they had a difficult path ahead of them.
As they made their way back the way they came, Maria's men chatted amongst themselves, clearly euphoric on the victory they had achieved. Though it heartened her to see them in such high spirits, she chose to keep to herself, not wanting to spoil their fun. The truth was that they had only narrowly avoided a much darker turn of events; had it not been for Emil's reinforcements, her, Leon and Frederick would've been overrun. As a knight, she had to be prepared to risk her life in order to fulfill her duty, but as their captain, she could not risk theirs.
In time, they would once again find themselves in the narrow well from before and started making their way out via the ladder. Maria and Emil were the first to reach the top and as they waited for the others to join them, they looked across the room towards a sealed steel gate, which thanks to their efforts, was now unlocked.
"Well, captain, what now?" Emil asked her, which could only mean one thing.
"You wish to go forward?" she said more as a statement rather than a question.
"If that is what you think is best." Was his reply, though it was obvious to her that he was only being half-honest.
"Emil, you have already exerted yourself enough – you all have. Is it truly wise to fight another battle so soon?"
"That is our purpose, is it not?" he pointed out. "Besides, I doubt that whatever is waiting for us will be an issue, seeing as we'd all be going together…and without anyone we need to worry about protecting."
By this point, the rest of the company had made it out of the well and were silently observing their conversation. Despite this, Maria could clearly see the fire in their eyes; tired though they may be, they were still ready to fight. Nevertheless, she kept herself from making a decision immediately, choosing instead to weigh their options.
Though it would of course be prudent to rest before attempting any further excursions, the foe that was awaiting them was no doubt a formidable one, if the last penultimate beast was any indication. If they were to return later, they risked facing increasingly dangerous odds in a tired state, which as they just witnessed, would almost surely prove disastrous. Eventually, Maria came to a decision.
"Harald!" she called out, prompting him to step forward. "I want you to return to camp and get Matthias. I want the biggest force that we can muster."
"Of course. I will return in a moment's notice." Harald said before running off down the hall behind them.
"The rest of you, come with me. Prepare for battle."
Maria then led her men towards the unlocked gate and then into the following corridor. As they made their way towards the next part of the labyrinth, she focused her hearing in the hopes of getting some sort of idea of what awaited them. Unfortunately, she could hear nothing, but rather than calming her, this only made her more anxious.
Once again, they found a two-door gate blocking their path. After quietly prompting her men to ready themselves, Maria cautiously began to push them open, remaining wary of any potential surprise attacks. But no such thing occurred; instead, she was able to fully open it and allow them to step inside.
They found themselves within a small circular area, with several long-abandoned weapons and armor littering the ground. And at its center, there lay the body of an enormous beast, causing them to immediately prepare their weapons. However, the creature remained motionless, its long, bony limbs stretched at its sides. Upon closer inspection, Maria could see that the flesh on its back had been partly peeled off, leaving its spine exposed and its skin draped over its head.
"Is it...dead?" Leon asked.
"I'm not sure." Maria replied. Its grievous wound seemed to suggest so, but somehow, she had her doubts.
Tightly gripping her Rakuyo in anticipation, Maria began to cautiously approach the creature. A few seconds later, she heard the faint, but distinct sound of sniffing, causing her to freeze in her tracks.
Suddenly, the beast slowly lifted its head and looked in her direction, its skin hanging over it like a red hood. Not taking its eyes off her, it started to bring itself up on all fours, prompting her men to run up to join Maria, forming a defensive line. Yet even though it was clearly aware of these increased numbers, the beast stood its ground. Drool ran from its jaws and its eyes remained locked on them. And when she looked into them, Maria could see only one thing; a burning, ravenous hunger.
Standing up on its two hind legs, the beast unleashed an ear-splitting roar. Prey was finally within reach.
...
Author's Note: Yes, I am aware that I published this chapter a few days ago, but there's a reason that you're seeing it again. It's because I've reached that inevitable point in all of my longer works where I go back and make a few quality of life changes that really should've been there from the beginning. In this case, I split the third chapter - which initially contained everything from Maria and Laurence final acts before their departure up until their entry into Loran - and split it into two chapters; I did this because I felt it made the original chapter longer than it had to be and kind of messed with the pacing for all of this to transpire in one chapter. Aside from that, there were only a handful of grammatical changes and one minor change to an existing event in the story, but nothing major. Yeah, that's about it. Work on the next chapter has already started, so look out for that, eventually.