Chapter 1.4
I will not deny that my first urge was to sit on the throne. Or well, not really sit on it per se, but go over and examine it. The designs were exquisite, not at all like other ancient Mayan art. For instance, the red jaguar throne in the room far above was a piece of thrift store junk compared to this throne.
Carved animals, monkeys, serpents, jaguars, capybara… The last example actually managed to knock my concentration back on track. What was a capybara doing in Mayan art?
That, of course, brought my attention back to my two, also trapped, companions. I tugged on the rope, experimentally, just to be sure that my earlier hypothesis was correct. The pile of bodies that I was currently awkwardly balanced on rolled, forcing me to try and walk along with it.
My boots squelched from all the water, and I could already feel that in a few hours they would be quite uncomfortable. The calluses already on my feet would ensure that it wouldn't be much worse than uncomfortable, but it would still be an annoyance.
My eyes flickered around the sheer limestone walls, looking for something else to anchor my rope to besides the throne. I was still going to go over there and check it out, but not until I pulled these two to safety. Finally, my gaze returned to the torch, still weakly burning. It was burnt down but still gave off unnatural light. Tinges of green interspersed with the ordinary orange-yellow hue.
I hefted my other axe, weighing it, calculating the distance. The bracket the torch rested in looked like it might be strong enough. It wasn't metal, but it looked like the stone was embedded in the wall. I twirled the axe once and then snapped my arm forward, sending the axe flying towards the muraled wall and torch.
With a deep echoing clang my stainless steel axe impacted the wall and slid down perfectly on top of the torch, which immediately popped out of its stand, hit the slight gravel below it, and bounced into the tepid water with a hiss.
The light fled with it. I had barely a moment to say anything in the sudden pitch-black gloom before a weak blue light sprouted from the cross the still conscious man brandished out of the water.
The echo of his tired voice, "Lampa" died away gradually, bouncing back and forth in the dark cavern. Polish, I bit back an amused snort. Was everything Witcher or Polish themed for this guy?
I tugged on the rope, the rope wrapped around the wall bracket, courtesy of my exemplary throw and I grinned, feeling the drying blood around my face crack slightly.
I slowly bent down and spared a moment to secure one of my axes to my belt. I barely spared a moment to grimace at the fraying fabric, another thing I needed to remember before I did any more aggressive exploration.
With the rope leading to the two men newly secured I began to tug on the rope attached to the bracket, pulling us towards where the light had been before. The strange blue light continued to emanate from the man's cross, which I was thankful for since otherwise, I'd have to rely on my eyes in the pitch black. Not something I was too keen on repeating.
Crawling up the body disposal in near darkness a day or so ago was bad enough. I shook my head, dispelling the memories of the flies, maggots, and body fragments I had to climb over. Unlike there, I didn't have to worry about somehow getting stuck and slowly starving to death, surrounded by the dead.
It was slow going. The metaphorical and partially literal sea of bodies around me made forward movement tedious and draining. My arms had to work to both pull us through unnumbered dead bodies but also push my erstwhile raft through as well all the while keeping my belly taut to keep from pulling something.
By the time I reached the little platform and muraled wall, small lines of sweat dotted my blood-soaked skin and left clear rivulets down my skin. The ground crumbled as I stepped onto it, the nearest third of a meter slipping down into the water with nary a bubble. The portion closer to the wall seemed sturdy for the moment and I planted my bloody boots there and proceeded to pull the two closer.
The blue light had steadily faded as I pulled them closer. The older man was still unconscious, but I thought I could see his chest rising in steady, albeit shallow breaths. The younger one looked completely exhausted.
I nodded to him and stretched out my hand towards him when I had pulled him close enough that his tired eyes flickered between the thin strip of land and me.
"Don't get cocky." I informed him quietly, nevertheless, the words still carried, his brown eyes shot up towards my own, which were still visible behind the crown of the Queen of Damned, "truce?"
He regarded me for a long moment, long enough for me to pull him close enough that I could reach out and grab the older man, which I did, seizing him by his lapels and hauling him onto the little platform of land.
"Aye," The younger finally replied, pulling himself to dry land where he flopped for a moment, breathing heavily before he closed his eyes and the light diminished. I took the opportunity to open my satchel, digging around in it for anything I could use to start a fire.
My current clothes were too ruined by the water to use as fuel for a torch, even though I did have both flint and steel. My hand scraped against something sharp in my satchel and I almost jumped, I was pretty sure that I hadn't actually stashed anything knife-like away recently.
A moment later my now slightly bleeding hand closed around the excruciatingly familiar form of the Key of Chak Chel. I stilled, suddenly hyper-aware of my surroundings. The beating of my heart in my chest. The slow pop and hiss of the decomposing bodies resting around us. The unsteady breaths of the younger man and the shallow exhalations of the elder.
I pulled the Key free, and as I did, light flooded into the chamber. Just as the knife glowed with searing light the moment before I stabbed Dominguez with it, so did it glow now. It was as if an actual sun had come down from the heavens to light this deep place.
The chamber lit with light, and I had to turn my gaze away. The younger man grunted in alarm and I could see his raised arm, warding off the light now shining into his eyes. I used the moment to examine the chamber in more detail, noting the way the bodies, even partially exposed to the water seemed to smolder, burning away under the Key's light. The roof of the cenote stretched upwards, a titanic rook of limestone reaching over our heads until the very middle of the room, where there was a gaping hole.
Must be where we fell from, I mused to myself. I spared a moment to think about climbing out that way but disregarded it as an option of last resort. This would be a tricky climb just for myself, limestone isn't the most stable. I mean, it had plenty of really nice looking handholds, it was just that was all there was to it, it looked nice. More often than not, limestone would crumble unpredictably. Definitely, not a climb two wannabe explorers… I really didn't know what else they were supposed to be, vampire hunters?
That was probably it, I spared a glance for the elder vampire hunter. Yep, with a gut like that, I kind of doubted he was going to be able to climb. Sure, he still had other muscles and seemed pretty well built otherwise, but rock climbing emphasized arm and core strength not bench presses.
"The climb would be difficult for you," I softly informed the still conscious, maybe Polish, maybe just a Witcher fan. He just grunted and seemed to concentrate on his breathing.
I cast one last longing look at the throne, it really did look interesting. It would be an impressive archeological find, not one that could be ethically demoted to just a place in my office back home.
Stooping I knelt and began to remove my boots, I had to place the Key down so I could unlace them and the light immediately withered. Strangely enough, the light did not completely go out but lingered, softly radiating light like an anemic candle.
Pop.
The water nearby bubbled once. I cast a quick glance it's way, one hand full of laces the other half-stretched towards the knife. After a long moment, I returned to my task, slipping off my boots and the sodden socks underneath. While I didn't usually deviate from approved mountaineering footwear, these boots were just going to get too disgusting, too quickly. I pushed them aside, sending a few small pieces of primitive gravel rolling into the water.
I heard the younger man shift to my side, and a moment later the sound of water being wrung from cloth. A quick glance his way did, in fact, confirm he was wringing the dirty water from his grey cloak. I cocked my head to the side, regarding him. The cloak itself had a feature I hadn't noticed before, softly glowing silver runes appeared almost embroidered in the grey fabric. It was only due to the soft light that they were visible at all.
His face was gaunt, and despite a healthy-looking small black beard, deep lines stretched down from his eyes. His tanned skin, all that was visible, which was just his forearms, hands, and neck, was marked with pockmarked bruises. If my best deduction was correct, I suspected they were in a fight even before they met me.
"Well," The man said, shooting a tired nod towards her, "Since you wanted this truce. What exactly are you doing in this temple?"
"Chichen Itza?" I asked, mostly to confirm what I already suspected.
"Si," he muttered a little suspiciously, suddenly seeming just a little more alert.
"What a coincidence," I snorted, rummaging in my satchel again, removing a red berry, which I rolled in between my soiled fingers for a moment, "Just traded one temple of Kukulkan for another."
He rolled over, bending to check on his companion, he whispered a word, this time one I surprisingly didn't actually recognize and touched the neck of his companion, right over the artery in his neck. He was still for a moment before he frowned, but didn't say anything.
"A temple of Kukulkan, another one?" He asked, with what I think he thought was no small amount of tact. I could've laughed, it was obvious that he didn't trust me and was just trying to either by time or fish for more information,
"Yeah," I offered, finally putting the berry in my mouth, feeling the aches and pains which were just starting to build up again, dissipate back into the ether. I decided to throw him a bone. "In Paititi."