Chapter 15: The Forbidden City

1460 A.D. The Middle East

"Much has been written about the exploits of conquerors. In the context of history, one man's champion is another man's nemesis: hero or murderer. Much has been written, but what is not is far more interesting… The Tome of Eternal Darkness mentions a Venetian artist of the Renaissance, named Roberto Bianchi. Roaming abroad to find inspiration, he was captured by a warlord expanding his empire. He forced Roberto to use his architectural and engineering skills to construct a monument to his greatness. To complete the task, he must survey the site."

Roberto shielded his eyes, staring up at the two soldiers who had just thrown his rope down the hole. He had climbed down first, then the two of them undid the rope to make sure he didn't escape back to the surface.

"Survey the site quickly, dog, and maybe you'll live long enough to see the sacrament's construction!" the soldier crouching down near the whole said with a sneer. "Did you think we would trust you, Bianchi? Even though you are graced with the generosity of our liege, you are still his prisoner! As I said, finish your work quickly, and maybe we'll drag you out of this hole…"

Roberto lowered his hand, knowing it was useless to argue with the guards. They treated him as a slave and nothing more. It was to be expected. He turned to look at the dark rock passage behind him, shuddering at the ominous feeling from that direction. It just made him wish to quit the survey, but he knew he had no choice. It was either look around or be punished severely.

Roberto lit his torch with the aid of one on the wall and walked through the passage. Up a ladder, through an empty room, and down another ladder, he arrived in a corridor with a rotting corpse lying on the ground. As he approached it, the corpse stood up, staggering towards Roberto. In a panic, he waved the torch in front of him to ward off the creature. It ignored the flames but immediately paid the price as it went up in flames. Roberto edged his way past the burning creature and up a ladder.

Two workers were talking to themselves when Roberto entered. They paid him no attention until he called them both over to the four pillars in the middle of the room. He explained how the pillars would need more reinforcement if they were going to be able to hold up the enormous structure above ground. They both nodded and proceeded at once with the task. Satisfied, Roberto went to climb down a ladder across the room, but stopped as he caught a glimpse of an old saif on a stone ledge. His thoughts drifted back to the creature he had faced before and immediately picked up the blade. If there were more of those things, he would need this. Feeling a bit more comfortable with the sword in his hand, he climbed down the ladder.

The room he found himself in was very dark, but he could just make out the prone forms of bodies on the floor. They were all behind gates, and a lever was nearby. He carefully walked over to it and pulled it down, looking to his left as the gate opened. The single corpse inside staggered to its feet, heading straight for Roberto. Now that he had a sword, he sliced through it with ease. As he pulled the lever inside the cage, the gate behind him rose up, revealing two more of the zombie creatures. As before, he quickly dispatched them and pulled the third lever. The final gate in the room rose. This time, he faced three zombies. It proved more difficult than before, and he escaped with a few nicks and scratches. He climbed up a nearby ladder, hoping no more of those things were there.

Two workers were in this room, along with a crossbow and arrows for it. As before, he instructed the two men to reinforce sections of the room before proceeding down another ladder. Something strange happened though. He was now in a white-stoned temple of sorts. The pathway he stood on was covered with human faces that screamed in pain and agony.

Shuddering, he averted his focus from the faces to the statues that lined the pathway. There were about six statues of various people, but one lacked a torso. The name on it was Pious Augustus. Roberto wondered who these people were as he walked down the path to a large, leathery hand. It opened as he approached, revealing a book bound with human bones and skin. Hesitantly, he picked it up and found himself back in the room with the two workers. They gave him strange stares, and he immediately made his way down the ladder. With the strange book in his possession, he continued on with his task in this nightmarish temple.

-------------------------------------------------------

Guardian of the Temple

-------------------------------------------------------

He had been searching through the site for a while now. He had lost track of time long ago, along with the amount of monsters he had slain. Roberto was bone-weary by the time he happened upon a small circular chamber with three pedestals. A trickle of rocks from the far end of the room caught his attention, and he made his way over to it. All of a sudden, a ghostly blue light formed in front of him, and a spirit appeared right before his eyes. When the spirit spoke, his voice was heavy with anger.

"Venture no further, or be struck down where you stand!" he warned. He was holding a large sword in his hands, ready to strike.

Roberto's eyes widened in surprise and fear. "Who…? What…?"

The spirit stepped forward towards him. "I am the Guardian of this Temple, the Forbidden City." Roberto took a step backwards, but found his way blocked by another specter. It was a woman, her body cut in many places, and glowing blue light where her eyes used to be.

"None shall enter except the Chosen. Speak!" Before he could, the spirit brought his blade around and slashed through Roberto. He felt a cold sensation through his body, but he wasn't harmed. He looked at his hands in amazement as the spirit spoke. "You… are the Chosen. For many years I have tested those who came here and all have failed. You are unaffected by the Power I wield, and thus must surely be the Chosen…"

"I…?" Roberto asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

The spirit's expression softened. "Once I was as you were, confused and without answers. Yet, they came in time. Now, my duty is complete. I can finally rest. My sacrifice was not in vain." He looked behind him, where the spirit of the woman appeared. He stared back down at the ground, and the two of them vanished from sight.

On the center of the three pedestals was a small effigy made of dark green emerald and shaped like a warped angel. As his hand neared it, he could feel the corrosive magick of the relic reach out to him. Roberto drew his hand away quickly, wrapping his hands in straps of cloth from his robes before picking it up. The Tome of Eternal Darkness stored it safely, and Roberto made a quick assessment of the room. He turned to leave when his foot nudged a small red effigy on the floor. He picked it up, noticing that it was of a warrior kneeling before an unseen victor. It, too, was stored in the pages of the Tome, and Roberto continued on.

He made his way through the labyrinth once more, passing through a locked door that opened when he summoned a zombie and walked it into a crushing trap. There was another room he had to inspect, but something strange happened when he gave instructions to the workers. All three of them turned on him, trapping him. Strange hisses came from them. "No, stop! What are you doing?" The workers ignored him, and one grabbed him around the throat. Roberto managed to pull free and ran out the door. He closed it behind him, slowly backing away, but the strange workers didn't follow him through.

"Who in the world were those people? They weren't normal. Not at all." He wiped some sweat from his forehead, looking around quickly. There was a set of doors nearby, but they were locked. The only other way other than the way he came was a ladder leading down. He climbed down it quickly, taking out a few of the Trapper creatures in the hallway with his crossbow. He proceeded to another door, but stopped as he felt something strange nearby. When he looked in the alcove that the feeling came from, he saw nothing.

An idea came to mind. He opened the Tome to the spell page and recited five of the runes. "Narokath, Pargon, Redgormor, Ulyaoth, Pargon." His vision was tinted with blue, and he saw what was hidden in the alcove. It was another small statue. This was a green one with a scholar on their knees, holding their head like their mind was being ravaged by some terrifying being. He picked it up, letting it be stored, and continued on into the next room.

A battle was raging between a Horror and a group of zombies. A platform across burning hot coals led to a key on top of a slab of stone. He snuck through the room and took the key, racing back through the door before the monsters even noticed him.

-------------------------------------------------------

Alex looked up from the Tome, glancing back at Edward's spirit. "Help me, Grandpa… I can't take this anymore…" She buried her face in her hands, shaking. All of this was too much to handle.

When Edward spoke, his voice sounded cold and harsh. "Don't be so weak, Alex… You have a stronger mind than this. I didn't bring up a weakling. Not a scared wretch of a girl!"

Alex was shocked by his sudden change in demeanor. "You kept all this from me! You kept me alone! You shared nothing with me!"

"I couldn't. I could never give you the burden. I just wanted you to grow up, to grow up and leave me alone!" he shouted angrily. Edward looked away, speaking in a quieter but no less hateful tone. "Why couldn't you have been killed with your parents…"

Alex held back tears as he vanished; she stared down at the Tome, scared and very confused. What was going on with her grandfather? Why was he so inconsiderate of the fact Danielle had been killed? Something wasn't right, and she was going to find out what.

-------------------------------------------------------

A Monument for All Time

-------------------------------------------------------

Roberto climbed up the ladder leading back to the entrance, worn out from fighting the monsters in the final room he had to survey. The worm-like creatures had scared him more than harm him.

When he stepped forward into the large room, he was surprised to see his captor and two trusted soldiers standing there. The soldiers seized him, keeping him from approaching their lord. He turned to face Roberto, his eyes staring straight into Roberto's. "And what news do you bring me, architect?" he inquired.

Roberto spoke quickly and fearfully, struggling against the guards. "The… The foundations are infested! Demons and devils! Many lives will be lost if you try to build there…"

"Hmm… You have done well to complete your goal, Bianchi. The construction will continue as planned…"

Roberto's eyes widened. "But the demons! You'd be insane to build there!"

The warlord pointed an armored finger at him, cutting him off with an angry shout. "Silence, dog! What dwells beneath the Forbidden City is the very reason it was built! For you to understand, you must witness it firsthand. Let me educate you." The tone of his voice sent shivers up Roberto's spine. "Guards! Put this one with the others of the sacrifice…" The two guards dragged Roberto off, making sure he couldn't escape.

-------------------------------------------------------

Atop the scaffold of the pillar stood the warlord, along with his two guards and many prisoners. As he shouted for all to hear, the prisoners were thrown one by one into the pillar.

"I am the Scourge of God, appointed to chastise you, since no one knows the remedy for your iniquity, except me! You are wicked, but I am more wicked than you, so be silent!" As he said that, the last of the prisoners were thrown in, screaming in a foreign language on the way down. The soldier behind Roberto pushed him forward with his spear. "Now for you, architect. You are about to make your largest contribution to this project…"

The guard shoved Roberto into the shaft. He went down screaming before he felt a spike of pain in his neck, and his world faded to black.