Chapter 7: First stop: Glastonbury

Lara advanced through the corridors of the building, with the man that had previously addressed to her, closely following her. Apparently, he was going to lead them to the key. But before that, they must find Kurtis, who was still searching the other end of the temple. It didn't take them much time to find him, as he was sitting in the middle of the corridor, not knowing exactly what to do next. He stood up as soon as he heard footsteps approaching and looked at Lara.

"Having a rest?"

"I've been walking around here for over an hour and I've found nothing!" he said, angry with himself. "And you? Have you found anything?"

"Maybe." Answered Lara. Kurtis looked at her inquisitively, until Lara pointed to the man who had followed her and who was now waiting at some distance from them. " He told he could lead us to the key. Do you think we could trust him?"

"We have no choice… We could spend weeks here and still found nothing. At least we have a chance of scape if it is a trap."

"Ok. I'll let him know we are coming." Said Lara, turning around. However, she quickly realised that it wouldn't be necessary, as the man had approached them as they talked and was now standin just behind her.

"This way." He said just before he started to walk.

Lara and Kurtis looked at each other surprised, but followed the man. They descended some stairs until they reached a crypt with several niches on the walls. Probably, many of the monks who had lived there had been buried in that place. The man opened one of them and took out the old coffin lying in there, revealing a passage behind it. Lara quickly realised what the reason of that was. If there was any passage, hiding it behind a tomb was a good idea, as most enemies would respect that place, even if it only was for fear of the dead.

"I'll have to close this part once you have entered but you will find an exit at the other side." Said the man.

"Aren't you going to add something like 'if you manage to pass'." Asked Lara ironically.

The man smiled. "You'll pass. I'm sure."

"Don't yoy want to come with us." Asked Kurtis.

"I'm not made for adventure. Besides I have to wait for someone. Good luck."

Both of them entered into the passage and the man closed the niche behind them.

As the door of the passage closed, Lara had to light a flare. She observed the structure in front of her. It consisted of a very simple corridor, neither narrow, nor wide, and without the slightest trace of decoration. It didn't seem to contain any trap. She started walking through it and Kurtis followed her, surprised that she seemed to know where she was going.

"Do you know where we are going?" he finally asked.

"Last time I checked my diary we where looking for a key."

"Yes, but your secretary has just call and said that there has been a change." Lara smiled at the answer. "Do you want to tell me where we are going?"

"It's pretty obvious. We can go back, so we are going forward."

However, as soon as she finished talking, she found a door shaped obstacle in front of them.

"You were saying…"

Lara simply looked around her. They have reached a placed where the corridor widened, enough to say they hace reached a chamber. Lara looked at the ceiling and saw that, hanging from it, in a corner, there were what in another time had been stairs. The wood was rotten and was now lying on the floor just below what remained of the stairs. The ceiling was not low enough and the walls were to smooth to climb them. However she could think of another way of reaching them.

"Look up, Kurtis." She said pointing the stairs, "Do you think you could…"

"¿You are kidding, right?" said Kurtis, knowing what she meant. "This is not the Strahov, Even if I manage to throw you there the stairs won't support your weight. Look at them, they are falling into pieces."

"It's the only way out of the room Kurtis."

He finally accepted, as he already knew that nothing he said could fight her stubborness. The repited the same thing they have used at the Strahov and Lara landed on the stairs that seemed to support her weight. However, as soon as she tried to walk, they brook and Lara had to catch the banister not to fall.

"¡Lara¿You ok?" shouted Kurtis from the ground, relieved to see that she was not among the fallen pieces.

"There is a passage!" she answered while she entereed into it to look for the way to open the door of the chamber.

Lara advanced through the new corridor, with all of her sense ready. It didn't seemed to contain any danger, but her experience told her that narrow corridors were usually full of traps. She approached carefully to a flagstone, which was a bit out of the wall, She pushed it into the wall carefully and waited. Nothing happened. Walls didn't fall over her and spikes didn't went out of the ground. She didn't either hear a door opening somewhere, so she would have to continue looking for the way opening the door below her.

She continued to walk through the corridor carefully, although with each step, she was more and more sure that there was nothing in that place. It was simple in ruins.

Finally she arrived to the end of the corridor. There was another stair, exactly the same as the previous one, although this one was complete. She descended it slowwly till she reached a not very big chamber. She looked around her for a switch. It didn't taker much time to find it. It was just by the doors, as unprotected as the rest of the building. She pushed it and the gates openned.

Lara waited till Kurtis crossed the gates and continued walking through the room.

"Have I missed anything?" he asked.

"Absolutely nothing."

Kurtis smiled thinking how hard must it be for the famous Lara Croft to find a tomb without traps.

The chamber they were in was in better conditions than the rest. At least it didn't seem to be fallen into pieces, it could even be seen some rests of burned torchs and of some paintings, as remembering the old importance of the place. Lara looked around the room, looking for some trace of the key, hoping to find some difficulties in it.

However, all her doubts dissappeared when the light of the flare reached the end of the room. She saw two armours, rusted by damp, in two holes on the wall. Between the, there was a chest, which , without any doubt must contain the key.

"Probably the armours won't even attack us when we take the key." Though Lara, totally disappointed.

Kurtis stopped near the chest, looking for a way of mobing the heavy flgstone that covered it. He took the spear from one of the armours and use it as a crowbard. Affortunately, although it was not in very good conditions, it was not so rotten than it couldn't be used. He put it between the chest and the flagstones, but he couldn't almost move it. At that speed it would take tjem an eternity to open it. And there was always the risk that his wound would open.

"I need help there Lara."

However, he received no answer. He looked up from the chest to find her. She was standing in front of one of the walls, examining it with a flare in her hand. He remove the spear from the little hole carefully and went to meet her.

"What is so interesting on this wall to stop just before the key?"

"Look." She said nearing the flare, In the wall, there were several rests of painting and there could even be seen some figures slightled sculpted on the stone. There were also some words.

"It seems that this part hasn't been so affected by damp."

"It tells how the key end up there."

"If you manage to make sense out of three pictures and four words, I'll let you drive my motorbike." Said Kurtis.

"A woman arrived at the monastry, with three riders." She started looking what seemed to be the first picture. "At some time the wall must have had other previous pictures, but they are lost." She said pointing to her left. "She talked with the abbot, but he didn't want to help them." She then looked at the next pictures, which showed the monks blinded by a light. "That seemed to convinced them. The resto of th paintings are almost erased, but there are some words left such as "crypt", "Behind", "Tired" or "forget". I supposed that as they were keeping the key they were attacked to steal it. Maybe, because of that they decided to locked it in the crypt and about forget it.

"How could they forget it?"

"If no monk remembered it, none would talk about it and they wouldn't try to look for it or something like that. I imagine that's why the place is in such bad conditions." Lara looked up from the wall and notices for the first time the spear Kurtis was carrying, "What are you doing with that?"

"Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth!" answered Kurtis returning to the chest. "Let's get the key."!

They both managed to move the flagstone and at the bottom of the chest they found the key. It cosisted of a black stone, with the shape of a rose, in metal base. As soon as they took it they heard a door opening.

Again I am very sorry for the delay but I've lost the count of the times I have write and rewrite the chapter…Hope you enjoy it! And I am going on holiday so I'm afraid I am not goint to update in several weeks (again).

The chapter has several mistakes but I'll correct them as soon as I return.

(By the way thanks for the luck for the exams, it really worked!)