Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine.
Eavesdropping
It soon dawned to Kurtis that it wasn't hard to follow Karel's and Lara's footsteps since their footprints could be clearly seen on the small layer of dust on the ground. Ages had passed this place and their imprint was still clearly seen in the surrounding scenery. Though momentarily the lava stone brought only death and destruction with it, it had also ability to wake the dead landscape to life again. The nature, unlike human beings, could always repair the damage it caused on itself. To be frank, the humans were the only life form on earth that was of no use to its surroundings. The vanity of people had only lead to catastrophes that weren't repairable.
What was this power of harming the surroundings people had been given? The very power some of them called intelligence?
Kurtis shook his head sadly and continued following the footprints drawn on the dusty floor. They lead over the crater wall and became messier once the small party of nephilim and Lara had walked downhill. Could she still be alright? What did they need her for?
When Kurtis began to hear voices he hid himself as fast as he could. He ducked away from sight and regretted the movement when his flesh met the ground. The contact with earth was far from pleasant. A jolt of pain travelled through his body and even if it was short it felt like it had made its way through all of the nerves he had in his body. Pain. Pain was one of the things he'd be glad to get rid of. Could he still be a human if he couldn't feel pain? No. He wouldn't even be an animal. Every single living organism recognised pain but humans were the only ones afraid of showing it.
No one passed him by and after some time, when he though it was safe enough, he stood up and sneaked toward the sound. The sight that lay in front of his eyes was unbelievable. Two lit torches stood on the both sides of a doorway leading inside the volcano, inside the burning pit. It was hot enough, even here, and he didn?t need a raise in Celsius degrees. It must've been at least 40 degrees.
Crawling closer he hid himself behind a rock for the time being. The place was bustling with people but there was nothing he saw them doing. It was like they were standing still paying homage to something standing near the doorway, something he couldn't see. He had a terrible gut feeling about who that person was and where the doorway led to. Karel. Where all these people blindly succumbing under his command just to gain some little treat he had promised them? Was there a chance he could enter the place without anyone stopping him?
He was unarmed. With no means other than the Shadow Katana to defend himself he had to make a better plan. A plan that could actually work. He couldn't possibly disguise himself as one of the workers for they had very little on themselves because of the heat. He had no means or will to kill them all. He had no other way than to use the 'gift' he was given in birth, the gift he'd rather be without.
He examined the crowd with his gaze trying to find a way he could fool them all into believing something that wasn't true. It couldn't be that hard a thing, in the end, also Karel had managed to fool their little pathetic minds.
While grasping the hilt of the katana he now considered his and breathed in once. There was only one try to this and if it didn't work there'd probably be no way to save his neck and all the other people from what was coming if Karel laid his fingers on the scales. He could only imagine it. A power to rule everyone's destiny after death wasn't meant for any petty un-godlike creature such as the humans and the nephilim. Why had the scales been hidden inside a volcano and not thrown into it? Would their destruction mean the destruction of all things vital to organic life forms to succeed?
He crawled still a bit closer to hear the talking that had been incoherent mumbling earlier. Only now he noticed that the nature remained quiet. Had it been that way all the time he'd been here or had it just happened? Was it quiet only because of this place? Had the nature gone quiet only in here?
Kurtis heard voices, a female and a male one and the other was familiar to him. Lara? At least she was still alive and if they were standing there by the doorway it could only mean that they hadn't gone after the scales yet.
"How?" He heard her ask. It was definitely her. She had the same, a bit demanding tone that still held the spark than when they had first exchanged words. Even in a situation like this she could keep her cool. It was an admirable feature in her character. During his years Kurtis had met enough people to know that the majority of them belonged to the faceless mass but Lara wasn't one of them. She had a character and it had its good and bad sides but still it was more than most people ever had.
"How I knew you had the key?" He had never heard Karel speaking. At least he though the man talking was the head of the nephilims, the one they obeyed and were ready to die for. Sadly, it was for entirely different reasons than it should've been. Giving one's life in Karel's hands without questioning his goals, not believing that there could be another way out of it all,
reminded him about himself somehow. Blindly the other nephilim yearned for their leaders praise like he had yearned for the love of his father. He, unlike these foul creatures, had been able to see the truth: It didn't matter how much you tried you couldn't make another person like or even love you. Only thing you could manage was them being proud of you but being proud and liking wasn't the same thing. Being proud didn't even come close.
Karel's voice didn't sound like he had imagined it to. He had believed it to sound cold and vile but it was surprisingly human-like. Well, Karel was partially human and he shouldn't forget that there was a bit of nephilim in himself too. Was it the way he had been raised that made the difference between Karel and him? Could it be that simple? Surely the nephilim too had a choice but were they too devoted to their cause or just too blind?
"It is simple, Ms.Croft." So the woman was Lara. "The poem written on the sun medallion is the only way to find out the location of this place unless you're one of those who created this place. They were the dissident nephilim and I'm sure you're just a normal mortal." Normal was far from what she was. "So, the only remaining possibility is that you had found the medallion."
"How did you know about its existence, then, if it were the dissident nephilim sealed this place?" She asked with a hint of mocking in her voice that probably made Karel boil even more, or at least that was what Kurtis thought. She sure knew how to make people mad but perhaps she was making the wrong person or thing angry this time.
"When there still was dissident nephilim," He began. "They held the amulet in a secret place which, in the end, wasn't that well secreted at all. Some of the dissidents were true to their cause but the others had inherited too much of this overrated thing you call humanity. The weaknesses of your species are your short lifespan, feeble mind and the love for vanity. They didn't inherit the short life but all the other weaknesses, yes, and a weak mind is easy to bend."
"So you bribed them?"
"Not them, just one." He then said something in a language Kurtis recognized to be some sort of dialect of the language the nephilim used but the words were spoken in such a haste that he didn?t have time translate them in his mind. One of the men took a step forward and then bowed grinning widely. A traitor. Kurtis sighed deeply. Now there was no doubt of how Karel knew the secret that wasn't for the mankind to find out. The weakness of a human heart beating in the creature's nephilim chest had given him a choice and he had taken it. Betraying the ones who had given him their trust he had sought for his own interest and placed it first, dropping the safety of the world on the second. What had he gotten by doing that? An eternity serving Karel , obeying his each command and living by the rules he had been given? Was that the grand price he had been promised or was the best yet to come? Had he ever wished he could go back in time and make his wrongs right?
"I see." She said in quieter tone than usual. "So it's the quiet one.?"
"He might not talk much but is worth his weight in cold." Kurtis saw how the grin on the traitors face grew wider as if he lived from Karel's praising. Was that why he had betrayed the dissidents? That constant flow of compliments directed to his person? Was it the only reason why he had given up his beliefs? Karel was indeed right - a human heart was weak and indeed easy to fool but rather than the twisted heart of the nephilim race Kurtis'd take the human one any day.
Eavesdropping
It soon dawned to Kurtis that it wasn't hard to follow Karel's and Lara's footsteps since their footprints could be clearly seen on the small layer of dust on the ground. Ages had passed this place and their imprint was still clearly seen in the surrounding scenery. Though momentarily the lava stone brought only death and destruction with it, it had also ability to wake the dead landscape to life again. The nature, unlike human beings, could always repair the damage it caused on itself. To be frank, the humans were the only life form on earth that was of no use to its surroundings. The vanity of people had only lead to catastrophes that weren't repairable.
What was this power of harming the surroundings people had been given? The very power some of them called intelligence?
Kurtis shook his head sadly and continued following the footprints drawn on the dusty floor. They lead over the crater wall and became messier once the small party of nephilim and Lara had walked downhill. Could she still be alright? What did they need her for?
When Kurtis began to hear voices he hid himself as fast as he could. He ducked away from sight and regretted the movement when his flesh met the ground. The contact with earth was far from pleasant. A jolt of pain travelled through his body and even if it was short it felt like it had made its way through all of the nerves he had in his body. Pain. Pain was one of the things he'd be glad to get rid of. Could he still be a human if he couldn't feel pain? No. He wouldn't even be an animal. Every single living organism recognised pain but humans were the only ones afraid of showing it.
No one passed him by and after some time, when he though it was safe enough, he stood up and sneaked toward the sound. The sight that lay in front of his eyes was unbelievable. Two lit torches stood on the both sides of a doorway leading inside the volcano, inside the burning pit. It was hot enough, even here, and he didn?t need a raise in Celsius degrees. It must've been at least 40 degrees.
Crawling closer he hid himself behind a rock for the time being. The place was bustling with people but there was nothing he saw them doing. It was like they were standing still paying homage to something standing near the doorway, something he couldn't see. He had a terrible gut feeling about who that person was and where the doorway led to. Karel. Where all these people blindly succumbing under his command just to gain some little treat he had promised them? Was there a chance he could enter the place without anyone stopping him?
He was unarmed. With no means other than the Shadow Katana to defend himself he had to make a better plan. A plan that could actually work. He couldn't possibly disguise himself as one of the workers for they had very little on themselves because of the heat. He had no means or will to kill them all. He had no other way than to use the 'gift' he was given in birth, the gift he'd rather be without.
He examined the crowd with his gaze trying to find a way he could fool them all into believing something that wasn't true. It couldn't be that hard a thing, in the end, also Karel had managed to fool their little pathetic minds.
While grasping the hilt of the katana he now considered his and breathed in once. There was only one try to this and if it didn't work there'd probably be no way to save his neck and all the other people from what was coming if Karel laid his fingers on the scales. He could only imagine it. A power to rule everyone's destiny after death wasn't meant for any petty un-godlike creature such as the humans and the nephilim. Why had the scales been hidden inside a volcano and not thrown into it? Would their destruction mean the destruction of all things vital to organic life forms to succeed?
He crawled still a bit closer to hear the talking that had been incoherent mumbling earlier. Only now he noticed that the nature remained quiet. Had it been that way all the time he'd been here or had it just happened? Was it quiet only because of this place? Had the nature gone quiet only in here?
Kurtis heard voices, a female and a male one and the other was familiar to him. Lara? At least she was still alive and if they were standing there by the doorway it could only mean that they hadn't gone after the scales yet.
"How?" He heard her ask. It was definitely her. She had the same, a bit demanding tone that still held the spark than when they had first exchanged words. Even in a situation like this she could keep her cool. It was an admirable feature in her character. During his years Kurtis had met enough people to know that the majority of them belonged to the faceless mass but Lara wasn't one of them. She had a character and it had its good and bad sides but still it was more than most people ever had.
"How I knew you had the key?" He had never heard Karel speaking. At least he though the man talking was the head of the nephilims, the one they obeyed and were ready to die for. Sadly, it was for entirely different reasons than it should've been. Giving one's life in Karel's hands without questioning his goals, not believing that there could be another way out of it all,
reminded him about himself somehow. Blindly the other nephilim yearned for their leaders praise like he had yearned for the love of his father. He, unlike these foul creatures, had been able to see the truth: It didn't matter how much you tried you couldn't make another person like or even love you. Only thing you could manage was them being proud of you but being proud and liking wasn't the same thing. Being proud didn't even come close.
Karel's voice didn't sound like he had imagined it to. He had believed it to sound cold and vile but it was surprisingly human-like. Well, Karel was partially human and he shouldn't forget that there was a bit of nephilim in himself too. Was it the way he had been raised that made the difference between Karel and him? Could it be that simple? Surely the nephilim too had a choice but were they too devoted to their cause or just too blind?
"It is simple, Ms.Croft." So the woman was Lara. "The poem written on the sun medallion is the only way to find out the location of this place unless you're one of those who created this place. They were the dissident nephilim and I'm sure you're just a normal mortal." Normal was far from what she was. "So, the only remaining possibility is that you had found the medallion."
"How did you know about its existence, then, if it were the dissident nephilim sealed this place?" She asked with a hint of mocking in her voice that probably made Karel boil even more, or at least that was what Kurtis thought. She sure knew how to make people mad but perhaps she was making the wrong person or thing angry this time.
"When there still was dissident nephilim," He began. "They held the amulet in a secret place which, in the end, wasn't that well secreted at all. Some of the dissidents were true to their cause but the others had inherited too much of this overrated thing you call humanity. The weaknesses of your species are your short lifespan, feeble mind and the love for vanity. They didn't inherit the short life but all the other weaknesses, yes, and a weak mind is easy to bend."
"So you bribed them?"
"Not them, just one." He then said something in a language Kurtis recognized to be some sort of dialect of the language the nephilim used but the words were spoken in such a haste that he didn?t have time translate them in his mind. One of the men took a step forward and then bowed grinning widely. A traitor. Kurtis sighed deeply. Now there was no doubt of how Karel knew the secret that wasn't for the mankind to find out. The weakness of a human heart beating in the creature's nephilim chest had given him a choice and he had taken it. Betraying the ones who had given him their trust he had sought for his own interest and placed it first, dropping the safety of the world on the second. What had he gotten by doing that? An eternity serving Karel , obeying his each command and living by the rules he had been given? Was that the grand price he had been promised or was the best yet to come? Had he ever wished he could go back in time and make his wrongs right?
"I see." She said in quieter tone than usual. "So it's the quiet one.?"
"He might not talk much but is worth his weight in cold." Kurtis saw how the grin on the traitors face grew wider as if he lived from Karel's praising. Was that why he had betrayed the dissidents? That constant flow of compliments directed to his person? Was it the only reason why he had given up his beliefs? Karel was indeed right - a human heart was weak and indeed easy to fool but rather than the twisted heart of the nephilim race Kurtis'd take the human one any day.