Light pattering of soles against stone filled the hall. The long length of the hall seemingly unending. A lifetime of a walk ahead of them. That would be correct, if this whole place wasn't made out of an illusion. Truthfully the two only had about a two-day journey.
That didn't make Jet or Adven feel any better about it though.
And all along as they walk these torch-lit walls there has been only one character upon the wall. Another symbol of the mysterious dead language. It was the same one throughout, and it was missing part of it. The word was halved.
Jet finally comes to a stop and drinks some water from his canteen. "These words are the same one over and over." Jet finally admits.
Adven looks over in surprise. "Are they?" He examined one and moved a foot to his right to look at another. "I was thinking they looked the same. I guess they are."
"I don't quite understand it." Jet shakes his head.
"This looks like it may take a long time." Adven says as an understatement. "What if by the time we do get these four items those two assholes already have the Cane and have done whatever they plan to do?"
Jet shakes his head. "There's something strange about them." He observes with a chill he does not register running down his back. "They never bothered to kill us. That seems like their mistake."
"Anyway…what does this repeating word say?" Adven runs his hand along the wall.
Jet looks to one. "It's incomplete as I told you. So it makes no sense." Jet shrugs. "From what I can tell it says 'Sala…'."
Adven lets out a humorous grunt. "I read an ancient legend that I suppose was an early Filgaian Pagan religion." Adven commented. His brief stint in theology pays off! "Before people believed in the guardians, mainly."
"And…the relation to that is…"
"Well…the four gods in that store were based on the four elements…fire, water, earth, and wind." Adven continued. "For all we know, and from what we know, the four beings that created the items we're after may have been the same beings as those four. Considering the fact that the door we went down had a symbol for fire on it...and I recall some story about the guardians making four beings once."
Jet's eye twitched. "That's something that could have been brought up earlier!"
Adven blinked. The anger from Jet did not make him flinch. It would other people, but not Adven. Truth be told Adven and Jet may be the only two people who could ever get along with each other while not getting along at all. If they were to partner up the world would be theirs. Too bad…
"Anyway…" Adven sighed. "the element of fire was ruled over by Salamander. The character you've been reading may have been that name once, but now has faded to just be Sala."
Jet's anger had spittled out by now. Nodding his head, "I agree."
Jet moans as he shakes his head. "What am I doing in this Hellhole?" He bellowed loud enough to echo throughout the halls entirely. Mizu may have even heard it had she been paying attention way back in the foyer.
"I agree." Adven ejaculates. "There is no point to this. Nothing is in it for you or I. There is no treasure involved in this at all."
"I'm tempted to run all the way back…but I wouldn't know how to get the Hell out of here! We're in a f-cking book, after all!" Jet let his anger out on the wall. A piece of the last syllable in 'Sala' broke from the wall as it did to every other 'Sala' on the wall leaving behind only the faded part of 'mander' and the beginning to the word.
"What good would it be for me to run?" Jet cooled as he noticed the way every other 'Salamander' had suffered from his punch. "If the world really is all going to shit I'm dead no matter what I do."
Adven let out a heavy sigh. "If Sakura knew that I was running away from something like this she would never love someone like me…I can't become a coward!" He protested.
"And even if she could love me…I couldn't look into her eyes knowing that I am a coward." Adven rambles on. His heart growing with every word as it exploded on Jet who was not liking it at all. Emotions, bah!
That's the main reason they could never be the greatest team like they should be. Adven was too emotional, and Jet…was…does he have many emotions? That's still subject to say. He has been improving a lot and he had that sudden turn-around a while back. Prison may have helped. He said he was changing.
Regardless, it seemed now that he was on his own he was back to his old ways; despite Adven or Mizu being here.
"Listen," Jet let out in a huff. Unease and nervousness in his voice. "How about…a truce?"
Adven's ears perked up like a dogs. "Come again?"
"A truce!" Jet restated. "No fighting at all between us until this is all over."
"And, that includes those childish things we do like the way we fought to be the first here." Jet went on. "The way I pulled your…pants down to get to that desk. Anything that would bring us stuck together in a doorway."
Adven nodded. "Agreed."
The two shook on it with firm grips. Adven with a sappy smile as he is subject to do, and Jet with a simple gleam in his eye that stood for the same thing.
"Might we add one more thing?" Adven wondered. "A promise?"
"What promise?"
"We must promise one another to put an end to that Gene Nimrod and that other jerk so that they won't funk up our plans of wealth and glory."
"I promise then." Jet bit his thumb.
"Obviously I do as well." Adven but his own.
The two put their thumbs together as an oath. It is commonly done as well as a sort of, 'blood brother' pact sometimes, but it also can be done in promise.
"So, let's get the Hell out of here already."
"Right."
Despite whatever they say, whatever they promise, and whatever truces may come…the two still scramble to beat one another to the end of the hall where they expect to find one of the items.
Maybe they knew what was waiting at the end for them as well, but most likely they did not.
The one made of Moor Gault's feather sits with the jeweled flame at his side.