In, With & Under

by Citizen Nappa

Their meeting was like something out of a fairy-tale. An accomplished scholar and a decorated noblewoman, both burning with ambition, happening upon each-other in the midst of a lavish celebration. But little do they know, their meeting heralds a fundamental change for the city of Yharnam - a change with them at its forefront.

6. Still in the Dark

It was a while before they departed again. Laurence decided it was best that he conduct a full quality check of their newly established camp in order to ensure everything was up to standards and once that was done, he had to gather his team together in order to decide who would be assigned where. Ultimately, it was decided that two of them – Caryll and Norbert – would stay behind at the camp while the rest of them carried on. For her part, Lady Maria assigned two of her men to stay and watch over them: from what he understood, Emil and Robert were their names.

However, those who would be leaving did not mean to go forward, but rather back. There were still two places in this part of the tombs yet to be explored and their guardians had promised that they would be able to explore it in its entirety. Even if they hadn't made that pledge, Laurence would've insisted on it regardless; they could not afford to cut any corners.

They had two paths to choose from, but settled on the one that they had spotted when they first arrived, which they were far overdue to visit. Laurence would've preferred that they sent out two teams to explore both of them simultaneously, but upon Lady Maria's insistence, he had been forced to walk back on this. It would've been foolish of him to expect to get his way on every matter in the best of times and especially not when his decision could potentially put others at risk. Still, her willingness to consult with him instead of simply deciding their course of action herself had been most appreciated.

Much like before, Lady Maria lifted the bright-red door open with relative ease, showing a remarkable amount of strength in doing so. Beyond was a long, narrow, dimly lit corridor, with a faint light just barely visible in the distance. By now, everyone knew what the general procedure was - she and her knights would go first to weed out any potential threats and they would follow close behind – which meant that everyone stayed relatively quiet as they entered the corridor.

As Lady Maria led them forward, a torch in hand, Laurence made sure to keep both his eyes and ears open, not just for potential danger, but also to get a better understanding of their surroundings. The labyrinths were an architectural marvel, but the reason for their existence was perhaps even more astonishing.

Worship was a hallmark of many an empire in history. Farmers believed their crops grew because their Gods had blessed their harvest and armies marched because they believed they were fulfilling the will of their Lord. Civilization was built in part on faith and this had been especially true in the case of Pthumeru, which existed almost solely due to the devotion that was so ingrained into its people.

But as they say – "the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away", a reality which clearly wasn't confined to a single faith.

Not even a quarter of the way into the corridor, Lady Maria put up a fist, causing them all to come to a stop. Without even saying a word, she walked forward a few steps and peered around a corner into one of the breaks in the wall just before she thrust her saber forward and just as quickly pulled it back. There was a brief stutter of pain and surprise and then, a dark figure fell forward into view, having been slain by her hand.

After quickly flicking the blood from her sword, she silently motioned for everyone to continue following her, leaving them to silently pass by her victim. It was a feeble creature, much smaller than what he'd seen so far, but no less hideous in appearance. It had no doubt been lying in wait, waiting for them to pass by so it could catch them by surprise, seeing as its feeble stature made it no match for them or the other denizens of Loran.

It wasn't long until they were again motioned to stop, but this time, Maria nor any of her other knights moved a muscle, their gaze fixed directly ahead.

"Professor, I need you to take your scholars back the way we came, now." Despite the calmness in her voice, there was nevertheless a clear sense of urgency, one that he was quick to heed.

"You heard her. Go back." He turned and told his followers, being sure to keep his voice similarly calm so as to not stow panic.

While they moved back, Lady Maria and her men moved forward towards whatever threat awaited them. Over the sounds of their footsteps and the blowing sand, Laurence was able to make out what sounded like a low growl, not unlike what he heard from the large creature that Gehrman had lured to its grisly demise. Unfortunately, it did not seem that this tactic could be repeated again here; Lady Maria and her men had no choice but to face it down.

Laurence and his team stopped once they seemed a safe distance away and turned back to observe what the knights were going to do. From their position, Laurence could just hear Lady Maria's voice.

"Back, back!" She cried as the torchlight danced across the walls. If he were to guess, they were trying to push the beast out of the narrow corridor and into a more open area; clever.

"Professor, shouldn't we do something?" Lobsang asked him.

"If you mean that we should try to help them, I fear that staying back here is all we can do. Otherwise, we'd just get in their way." Laurence replied.

"I know, but it just doesn't feel right being so passive." He reasoned.

"I understand, Lobsang, but they agreed to bear this responsibility."

"Indeed, they did." It was Gehrman who spoke this time. "And you must not underestimate the courage they must've had to do so. This is one duty one cannot take lightly."

He was right, of course. The few creatures that they'd encountered so far would make just about any man's blood run cold and would just as easily tear those same men to ribbons. Mustering up the courage to face down such threats would be impressive on its own, but battling them and winning? Very few could boast of such a thing, he was sure.

Very soon, the corridor once again fell silent, suggesting that a victor had finally emerged in the battle taking place in the next room. At first, he found himself wondering who that victor is, eyeing the passageway in the off chance the beast came through. However, it was Matthias that eventually appeared.

"It's safe! Come along!" He called out to them, prompting them to begin their approach.

They entered the proceeding room to find the knights standing over the bloodied corpse of a similar wolf-like beast to the one they encountered before. Its body was riddled with numerous slashes and burn marks, but it had nevertheless ended up in much better shape than its predecessor. Laurence was unlikely to forget that sight for a very long time.

As he observed the deceased beast, Lady Maria went up to him and held out the torch she borrowed. "Thank you." She told him.

"It was nothing." He replied as he accepted it back. Looking around the room a little more closely, he found two possible ways for them to go: a grand staircase leading up and a small doorway to their left.

"Yet another crossroads." Laurence noted.

"It appears so." Said Maria. "What do you…"

Before she could even finish her sentence, an eerie sound rang through the hall, turning everyone's attention towards it.

"What was that?" Micolash asked.

"I'm not sure. It sounded like…" He heard the noise once again and sure enough, it sounded like the chiming of the bell, which seemed to be emanating from the passageway to their left.

"Oh dear. That can only mean trouble." He heard Gehrman say and for the first time since they got her, he sounded somewhat nervous.

"What kind of trouble?" The answer to Laurence's question soon revealed itself.

A humanoid figure bound in rags appeared around the corner and wasted no time in besieging them, forcing the knights to immediately go on the defensive. As it swung its twin blades from side to side, Laurence couldn't help but notice the reddish aura that enveloped this particular assailant. It wasn't long before their attacker was struck down by Matthias, yet almost as soon as its body hit the ground, its body quickly faded away into nothing.

"That's new." One of the knights commented just before they heard additional movement coming from the nearby room.

Very soon, the incoming attacker appeared at the door way, but rather then being a humanoid or canine-like creature like they had grown used to, they instead found themselves besieged by a massive spider, which almost immediately leaped at one of the knights. Thankfully, he was able to hit it with his sword and knock it on its back, after which one of his fellows quickly stabbed it in its soft underbelly. However, the slain spider was soon replaced with another one, and then another, who started pouring into the room. And as Lady Maria and her men fought back against the invaders, Laurence couldn't help but grip the handle of his dagger.

Of course, there were spiders. Why did there always have to be spiders?

As their guardians cut the last of the spiders down, they heard another ringing bell in the distance, which prompted Matthias to run into the next room in order to hopefully spot where it was coming from. After looking over to the apparent source, Laurence saw a worried look creep onto his face.

"There's more on the way!" The rest of his comrades ran to join him, but just as Lady Maria was about to enter the next room, she turned back to them.

"Follow me, all of you. Stay close to us." Laurence found himself taken by surprise, but nevertheless nodded his understanding.

He then turned to his scholars. "This way, quickly!" Despite their evident apprehension, they quickly complied with his order, allowing Lady Maria to lead them to her company, who were in the process of repelling the oncoming horde of crimson attackers.

"All of you, form a shield around the scholars – don't let them break through!" Their captain instructed as she moved to the head of the group. "Push forward! Find that bell!" Was her next order.

The creatures continued to rush down the stairs, but the knights were thankfully able to cut them down with relative ease. As they pushed forward, Laurence and his scholars made sure to keep pace with them; when a small group of their attackers tried to flank them from behind by descending down the other flight of stairs, two of their protectors moved to repel them.

As all this happened, Laurence and his scholars remained at the center of the carnage. The few moments he was able to take his eyes off of the endless swarm of spiders and assailants, the professor was able to see his scholars huddled close together, noticeable terror in their eyes.

"Stay calm. Just keep moving." He told them to keep their spirits up, though he couldn't exactly blame them for being frightened. His heart was racing, his skin was soaked in a nervous sweat, and his mind was unremittingly conceiving scenarios where the knight's defense failed, after which they were almost certainly going to be overwhelmed.

But this was by no means an inevitability. The knights of Cainhurst were still fiercely defending them, not faltering even as the creatures kept on coming in ever growing numbers. And at the vanguard was of course Lady Maria. This had been the first time he had gotten to see her in action and what a sight it was; each of her movements was graceful, refined and devastatingly effective.

Very soon, they were getting close to the top of the stairs and to the source of the bell. Sand blew through the air and obstructed their view, but the room was soon illuminated by a bright red light, which was accompanied by several more spiders rising out of the ground to join the ongoing assault. In the process, it also revealed the silhouette of a hooded, feminine figure, whom he had seen ringing a small bell just before the creatures had appeared.

"Over there! That woman!" Laurence called out, pointing in her direction. The knights had been preoccupied with battle and did not appear to have noticed her just yet, but Lady Maria was quick to heed his alarm.

"Hold the line!" She ordered just before she broke from the group and made a beeline for the mysterious bell ringer, quickly slaying the two spiders she had summoned along the way.

This momentary distraction gave the summoner just enough time to prepare for Maria's approach, allowing her to draw a dagger and rush towards her. However, this only served to make things easier for the captain. With the summoner now close, she swung her blade at an upwards angle and severed her arm; the woman barely had the time to clutch her bloody stump before Lady Maria thrust forward with the shorter blade, stabbing the woman in the chest.

Throughout all this, her summons kept on attacking right up until the bell-ringer stopped struggling, after which they all froze themselves. They looked on as their assailants all suddenly fell to the ground and faded into nothing, clearly not being able to maintain their form with their summoner now dead. Knight and scholar alike then breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the onslaught had finally come to an end and not a moment too soon.

Silence settled over the room as everyone tried to catch their breath. Meanwhile, Lady Maria stood over the slain bell-ringer, tightly gripping her weapon. From the looks of things, she too had not gone unaffected by the turbulence of the last few minutes.

Very soon, she turned back around. "Is everyone alright?" She asked.

"Yes, thankfully. The resolve of Cainhurst's knights truly does live up to their reputation." Laurence believed that he spoke for everyone in making this commendation.

"Flattering, but I must ask that you save your praise until our task is complete." Lady Maria told him, clearly not one for adulation.

"Very well. But regardless, I think you and your men are overdue for a recess." He replied, looking around to find that she and her knights were clearly growing tired.

"That won't be necessary." She insisted, but he wasn't having any of it.

"Please, I insist. My scholars would benefit from such a respite as well. And in the meantime, we wish to study our latest…obstacle." For the next couple of seconds, nobody said anything. Though she appeared like she wanted to argue, Lady Maria sighed and sheathed her weapon.

"You have three minutes."

"Then so do you. You are relieved." He said in reply.

Lady Maria proceeded to walk past him in order to join her men, who were more than ready to take advantage of the time afforded to them to catch their breath. With the bell-ringing woman's body now unguarded, Laurence motioned for Micolash to follow him, after which the two of them went up and knelt down beside her body. Of course, the woman herself wasn't of much interest to them, but rather her richly-decorated bell, which Micolash was quick to pick up.

"What do you make of it?" Laurence asked his fellow professor.

"Hmm, this is certainly no ordinary bell." Was Micolash's simple reply.

"Hmm, I could've told you that."

"You jest, but that is all I can say for certain at the moment. It is clearly imbued with some sort of mysticism, but I can only speculate what it is." He explained while turning the bell around in his hands.

"Still, its properties are truly fascinating. You saw how it seemed to summon those fiends to fight for it, did you not?" Laurence nodded, thinking back to how almost instantaneous the summoning process had been. But what was it she had been summoning? The souls of the dead? Constructs derived from her mind? Existing creatures that she further empowered with her sorcery? But in this slew of questions, a particular one was most pressing.

"Do you think its power is specific to the wielder?" Micolash didn't reply right away, seemingly pondering the question himself.

"Hmm…" Without warning, he rose to his feet and held out the bell, which he then proceeded to ring in a similar manner to its previous owner.

Laurence shot to his feet. "What're you doing?!" He demanded in shock.

"Answering your question." Micolash replied, still ringing the bell. His action had already alerted everyone else, particularly the knights, who quickly drew their weapons and cautiously eyed him.

"Keep calm. It's only an experiment." He calmly insisted, but this seemingly did little to quell their worry.

"Put it down, you fool! Put it down!" Lady Maria ordered, going so far as to point her pistol at him.

"Not until I…I…" Suddenly, Micolash cried out and clutched his head with his hand, dropping the bell in the process. He then fell to his knees, with Laurence moving in to support him as the bell rolled away, now glowing with a reddish aura. Seeing this, Lady Maria quickly moved in and crushed it beneath her boot, prematurely silencing its ring.

Micolash continued to clutch his head, though whatever agony he had been experiencing seemed to have subsided. "Are you okay? What happened?" Laurence asked him.

"I don't know, but it felt like…like something was being torn from me." He brought his head up, looking around as if he didn't even recognize where he was. "Everything seems…dimmer now."

Suddenly, Lady Maria grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up to eye level. "It is a miracle that you could see at all. Did you even consider what you were doing?" She glared at him, a palpable anger in her eyes.

"I didn't mean to…" "Didn't mean to what? You knew full well what would happen if your 'experiment' succeeded. And regardless of whether it succeeded or not, you just made our presence known to every creature within earshot!" Maria angrily berated him in front of everyone.

"I'm sorry, I…"

Deciding to finally intervene, Laurence placed a firm hand on Maria's shoulder, her angry eyes snapping away from Micolash towards him.

"Enough, Captain. Let him go. I'll deal with him later."

She maintained her tense gaze for a few more seconds before once again turning back to Micolash, whose skin had by now become almost as pale as hers. Soon after, she did as Laurence ordered, but not without shoving his fellow professor a few steps away.

"Thank you." Laurence then said to her, which once again turned her gaze to him. And very clearly, her anger had not yet subsided.

She took a step toward him and he had to resist the urge to take a step back. "You would do well to keep your scholars in line, professor. I'm afraid I can't protect them from their own foolishness." Lady Maria's voice was barely above a whisper, but made her words seem more threatening than a tirade ever could.

"Duly noted." He replied, not breaking her gaze for a second.

Very soon, they heard a myriad of growls, which were growing closer by the second. "Something's coming!" One of the knights called out.

A few seconds later, Lady Maria turned away from him with an irritated sigh, leaving him standing in place. "Ready yourselves! Keep them out of this room!" She ordered, drawing her blade and leading her men to a nearby passageway.

Laurence watched them go in silence. He had kept his hands behind his back and was now gripping them tightly together to keep them from shaking. Somehow, she had managed to frighten him more than any beast they'd encountered thus far, but perhaps that was to be expected. After all, up until this point, she had been what was standing between him and them.

Once the knights were gone, Damian made his way over to Micolash. "Are you alright, sir?" Laurence heard him say as he helped him straighten out.

"Yes, yes, of course. Thank you." Despite this, Laurence could see that he was still somewhat shaken up.

Once Micolash was on his feet, he looked over to Laurence with a somewhat grateful look. However, he was by no means happy with his fellow professor and he made sure to convey that to him with his responding glare. Taking note of this, Micolash's expression fell and he and Damian started walking away.

He couldn't say that he was angry with him - just disappointed. Micolash was a devoted scholar and strived to improve his knowledge on his area of study, but that devotion also made him impulsive. And Laurence hadn't been the first to recognize the risk that this trait presented; Master Willem must have as well, which was why one of them was in a higher position of authority over the other.

As the sounds of battle raged on in the neighboring hall continued, Laurence spared one more look at the now crushed bell. It was most likely useless in its current state, but it would still be a shame to leave such a priceless artifact behind.

"Quite a lot of trouble for a small trinket, don't you think?" Laurence looked to the side to see Gehrman approaching him.

"This is considered a trinket?"

"Believe it or not, bells like this are dime a dozen in these parts. There's always one ringing somewhere in Pthumeru." Gehrman said as he stopped just next to him.

"And yet we aren't allowed to claim them?"

"It is a wide-reaching policy, Master Laurence. But think about it like this – just because something is common does not mean it is worthless."

Laurence once again turned his attention to the bell, thinking about what Gehrman had just said. With all the restrictions their "benefactors" had put in place, they were unlikely to leave these labyrinths with little more than hypotheses and a handful of trinkets rather than anything they could study long-term.

Seeing as the knights were all still occupied in the next room, Laurence went up to the bell and picked it up off the ground, placing it in his satchel.

He then heard Gehrman chuckle, turning towards him. "Now there's that scholarly spirit." He said.

Soon after, Matthias reappeared at the doorway. "It's done. We're leaving." He announced. Laurence then turned towards his scholars in order to relay the information to them, but soon noticed that something was wrong.

"Wait. Where's Lobsang?" The rest of his team looked around in confusion, seeming just as unsure of his whereabouts as he was. A sense of dread almost immediately set in; had they somehow lost him?

"Lobsang!" He called out, hoping that he was still somewhere nearby. Very soon, he heard the sound of someone quickly running up the stairs.

"I'm here, professor!" Lobsang called back to him, coming into view soon after.

Laurence breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank heavens. With all that's happened, I feared the worst."

"My apologies. I was just on the lower level." He told him, but didn't quite elaborate on just what he was doing down there.

"I see. Well, just be sure to stay close to us going forward."

Lobsang nodded his understanding. "Of course, professor."

With everyone accounted for, they went to where Matthias was still waiting for them, finding that he had by now been joined by his superior.

"I trust everything went well?" Laurence asked once he was close enough.

"You're all still alive, aren't you?" Judging from this reply, Lady Maria's mood hadn't improved, not that he expected it too.

"Right." He then took the opportunity to get a better look at their surroundings and found that they were once again faced with yet another branching path. On the right was a hallway leading to another large room, where most of Lady Maria's company were still waiting; on the left, a wooden door.

"So, what now?" He asked.

"Well, I said that you'll get to explore this labyrinth in its entirety and a promise is a promise. You are free to take a team to investigate what lies beyond that door." Lady Maria replied.

"And what about you? Will you go to see what lies beyond that room?" "There's no need. We found another hallway, but from the looks of things, it will only take us back to where we started." She explained.

Matthias then stepped forward. "Captain, if I may, perhaps we should confirm your theory. You take some of our men in that direction and I'll take Professor Laurence to see what's past that door there."

At first, she appeared to be rather unsure about his suggestion, but rather surprisingly, she didn't argue. "Very well. But in that case…" She pointed her weapon at Micolash. "You, come with me."

When he nervously looked over at him, Laurence gave him a stern nod that told him to go along with her command, which he seemed to immediately understand. Him and Damian then proceeded to walk towards Lady Maria, who moved to the side to allow them to pass before turning back to them.

"Once you're done here, meet us at the camp. Good luck." She told them.

"Thank you, Captain." Said Matthias.

The two parties then turned to go their separate ways, with Maria's second almost immediately making his way to the door in order to open it up. As all this happened, Laurence went up to Gehrman and put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

"May I ask that you go with them?"

Gehrman appeared rather surprised by this. "You refer to Master Micolash?"

"Yes." Laurence confirmed, making him smile.

"Afraid that our lady will gut him when we're not looking?"

"Not exactly, but I still think it would be better that you're there." Laurence replied.

Though he was clearly hesitant, he eventually complied. "Understood, sir."

"Thank you, Gehrman." The professor patted his shoulder just before the older man turned around and moved to join Lady Maria's half of the company. As he made his way over, two other knights entered the hallway, no doubt ordered to join Matthias in escorting them.

"Oh, do excuse me, gentlemen." Gehrman politely said as he passed them, causing them both to look on in confusion. If they were thinking about stopping him, they ultimately decided against it.

"Professor Laurence!" He heard Matthias call out, finding that he was still standing by the unopened door. "I suggest you keep up."

"Just a moment." The professor quickly ran up to join him, with Amelia and Lobsang following in tow.

Once they and the other two knights were close, Matthias lifted the door open as had been done numerous times before. But even though he was able to open it successfully, the knight slightly stumbled to the side once he was done, managing to prevent himself from falling by placing his hand on a nearby wall.

Laurence moved to check on him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, professor. Thank you." Matthias said as he stood back up to his full height, though that was clearly far from the case.

"And here I was thinking I'd discharged you too early." He jested, earning a small chuckle from him.

"Come now, you and your lovely assistant did a splendid job." He heard Amelia utter a quiet "hmm" behind them. He would've liked to point out that she was much more than just his nursing assistant, but rather a doctor in her own right, but he decided now wasn't the time nor place.

"Anyway, let's get moving." Just before he stepped into the room, Laurence took notice of something on the other side of the room; once he spotted it, he grabbed Matthias by the shoulder to keep him from going any further.

"Wait! Look over there." He pointed towards an arrangement of three wooden carvings, the same ones they happened upon earlier. "You weren't there when we first encountered them, but they're a trap. If you had stepped on that tile there, you would've been skewered by a flaming arrow." Laurence explained to the knight, who appeared somewhat shocked by the news.

"Yes, I see." He replied, looking back to the statues. "Well, we wouldn't want that happening, would we?"

"No, we wouldn't. It would be…inconvenient, to say the least."

Matthias lightly chuckled in response. "Then we'll be sure to exercise caution going forward." He then said.

Laurence then watched as Matthias led his two companions inside, making sure to avoid the mechanism as they made their way towards the row of statues on the other side of the room.

"Do you see anything?" Laurence asked when they were about halfway inside.

"Nothing yet." Just a second later, Matthias focused on the right-hand side of the room, his reaction a mixture of dread and irritation. "Oh, you have got to be…"

A loud screech then echoed through the hall, one that almost made Laurence jump out of his skin. This feeling of dread only grew worse when he saw what had produced this noise: a humanoid figure wielding two sickle like weapons, which quickly besieged the three knights.

"Push it back! Keep it away from the scholars!" Matthias barked out as they struggled to keep up with the assailant.

Laurence watched the ensuing battle with a feeling of uncertainty. The creature displayed a frightening amount of speed, moving from knight to knight in the blink of an eye and attacking them with unparalleled aggression. Though they were managing to hold their own for now, the knights were clearly exhausted from their previous encounter with the bell maiden.

"Professor, what do we do?" Amelia suddenly asked him.

"Stay where you are – this is the safest place for us. That thing might be fast, but I doubt it can outrun an arrow." He firmly replied.

"Wait a second. That's it!" Laurence looked over to his cohort in surprise. "You remember what Gehrman did with that trap earlier, don't you?"

"Of course, but…" The professor quickly deduced what Lobsang was planning. "Yes, I see, but this is far more likely to miss."

"What's more likely to miss? Professor?" Amelia was very clearly confused by what was happening. After taking a few moments to weigh their options, Laurence turned to the others.

"We're going to get its attention. Stay calm, but get ready to run if need be." He instructed.

Amelia was evidently shocked by this plan. "That's insane, it'll…" Laurence put his hands on her shoulders.

"No, it won't. Trust me." He assured her. Though his pupil was clearly still skeptical about their plan, she soon nodded her head in agreement. Regardless of what happened, Laurence wouldn't let any harm befall her.

Looking back into the room, they found that the creature was still locked in combat against the knights and more importantly, that the statues were still standing. Laurence was just about to whistle to get the creature's attention as Gehrman had done, but relented at the last moment. Though doing so was likely to draw the Pthumerian's attention, it was also likely to draw the attention of the defending knights; if for whatever reason their opponent paid no heed to the sound, that single moment of distraction would be enough for it to cut them down. They needed to find another way.

After frantically looking around, Laurence soon spotted a nearby pebble lying on the ground and picked it up. Taking aim, he waited for the pale figure to slow down and once he saw an opening, threw the rock with all his might, which sailed through the air and hit the attacker in the back of the head. Its head then snapped back to find the one who disturbed it, granting the professor his first good look at its skeletal, ghoulish visage.

Quickly forgetting about its current targets, the Pthumerian screeched and charged towards them. In the blink of an eye, its blind pursuit brought it close to the doorway and over the panel that activated the trap. The knights appeared ready to give chase, but Matthias seemed to quickly take notice of its current trajectory.

"Get down!" He called out to his men just before the ringing sound rang out, pulling one of his fellows out of the way just as a flaming arrow flew past them.

Meanwhile, Laurence was likewise waiting to hear that sound, standing firmly as the madman bore down on them. Once he heard it, he grabbed Amelia and ducked to the side, hiding behind the cover of the wall. As he shielded his pupil, a swift procession of sounds followed: another screech from the madman; the approaching flickering of fire; the crunching of bone and flesh. And then, nothing.

The professor cautioned a glance to find the madman had dropped its weapons and was sluggishly stumbling straight ahead, with the only sound coming from it being a painful whimper. He soon saw why; an arrow was sticking out of its back, about where its lungs should be. Even if its lungs had somehow gone unscathed, several essential arteries and veins would've no doubt been damaged as well, not even taking into account the internal damage done by the arrow's flaming tip.

A few seconds went by where the Pthumerian continued on its feet, even as its blood seeped down onto the sandy ground. However, it wasn't long before it fell to its knees and not long after that, collapsed to the floor, seemingly unmoving.

"Professor! Professor!" Soon after the madman had collapsed, Matthias appeared at the doorway and hurriedly looked around the corridor, stopping once he spotted him and Amelia.

"Ah, you're alive. Thank goodness." He said.

"Likewise to you, my good knight." Matthias helped him up to his feet. "What about your men?" He asked him.

"They're safe. We managed to move out of the arrow's trajectory just in time." The knight then turned and walked towards their attacker, who was by now lying in a pool of its own blood. "How fortunate it is that it managed to find a different mark. If it hadn't, I could only imagine what would've happened." He said as he flipped it over on its front, revealing the pained expression it had worn as it had died.

"Yes, indeed." As Laurence said this, he looked over to Lobsang, who had managed to stand up himself and shared a small smile with him. It didn't seem that Matthias had pieced together that it was them that had alerted the madman, much less that it was Lobsang who first devised the idea to do so.

"Ah, but no matter. Let us put this behind us." Matthias said before turning back to face them. "I do hope this ordeal hasn't dampened your thirst for discovery."

"Not in the slightest." Laurence replied.

With that, the knight walked back the way they came in, leaving the deceased madman behind. Just as Laurence and Lobsang were about to follow him, the professor realized that Amelia was still sitting up against the wall, appearing to be rather shaken.

Laurence offered her his hand. "Come along now, Amelia." He said in a gentle voice.

After a brief moment of hesitation, she took his hand and let him help her to her feet. Once she was standing, she buried her face in his chest and started to sob, which prompted the professor to gently embrace her.

"Shh. It's okay. It's over." He said to comfort her. Once it seemed that his pupil had settled down somewhat, Laurence pulled back and looked her in the eye assuredly.

"Now, we're going to see what's in that room. Are you okay to join us?" Several seconds went by without an answer, but she eventually gave a half-hearted nod. "Good. Stay close, now." Laurence said.

With that, he turned towards the door in order to join the others inside, with Amelia following just behind him in silence. Despite coming out of it unscathed, the ordeal had clearly taken its toll on her, which was hardly surprising. Amelia was young - the youngest of them all, in fact. Whereas the rest of Laurence's team was made up of tenured professors, she had only just concluded her medical studies little over a year ago, a process that he had overseen from beginning to end. But no matter how accomplished a scholar she might've been, nothing could've prepared her, or really any of them, for what they faced now.

Once they were inside, they were able to get their first good look at the room's outline. Most of it was obscured by a thick wall of blowing sand, but he could see what looked like a white tree growing out of the ground just beside them; a most curious sight indeed. But what was perhaps more striking was the recesses within the walls, within which were an untold number of human skulls.

"What in the world…" Laurence uttered to himself as they made their way further into the room. He had seen similar arrangements in other parts of the labyrinth, but never to this extent. The very air of the room was foul with decay and everywhere he looked, he saw dozens, if not hundreds more skeletal remains. So much death…

"Professor! Look over here!" It was Lobsang, who had ventured into the blowing sands. Laurence quickly ran up to join him and managed to spot what had caught his attention; a richly decorated chest, whose golden material starkly contrasted with its dreary surroundings. Except…

The two scholars went up to inspect the object in greater detail, which quickly confirmed Laurence's suspicion.

"It's a coffin."

Looking around the rest of the room – at the skeletal remains that lined the walls – he could only come to one conclusion.

"Then we are indeed trespassing upon a tomb…and not one meant for the Gods."

"Yes, it would seem so." Lobsang said in agreement before turning his attention back to the coffin. "But then who is it meant for; I wonder?"

"Someone important, I would assume, seeing as they were honored with an individual resting place." Laurence hypothesized.

"Honored, you say?" Lobsang was clearly skeptical, but the professor knew him enough to know he wasn't disparaging his hypothesis. He was not native to Yharnam and naturally held beliefs that were vastly different from his. But far from driving a wedge between the two of them, they found that they had much to learn from each-other.

"In their eyes, perhaps." Laurence paused for a few moments, taking a deep breath. "Shall we get better acquainted?" He asked his cohort.

Lobsang was clearly apprehensive at his suggestion, but the two of them quickly came to a silent agreement. Together, the two scholars placed their hands on the lid of the coffin and pushed with all their might, eventually managing to push it off. Within, they found the mummified remains of what looked like a woman, whose now brittle hair was adorned with a richly decorated crown, a clear symbol of the status she held in life.

From what was understood, women were held in high regard among the Pthumerians, as their monarchs were almost exclusively female. However, he very much doubted that this woman had been one of those monarchs and if she was, her name had long been lost. But whatever her role was, it was likely she was esteemed not for her wisdom, but rather her ability to serve as a vessel, in a way only a woman could.

As they observed the body, Laurence soon took notice of something that the mummy was holding against her bosom. It didn't seem like any kind of object and appeared just as withered as its bearer, if not more so. Upon closer inspection, what it was soon became clear to him…and the realization came close to making him wretch.

"Oh, dear heavens…" He said as he forced himself to look away.

Not far away, Matthias took notice of his discomfort. "What? What is it?" He asked as he made his way over to them. Once he joined them by the coffin, he himself saw what had elicited this reaction and produced a similar shock in him.

In the woman's arms was an infant, one whose body had withered down to a bony, ghastly state. Its eyes were hallowed, its arms were as thin as a twig and what was left of its skin was ashen dry: Laurence feared that a single touch would cause its body to crumble into dust.

"Poor soul." Lobsang lamented. "What do you think happened to it?"

"The same thing that happened to every other soul entombed here. It was infected." Laurence replied.

"By the scourge, you mean?" "It has to be. The Pthumerians, they are not beholden to the passage of time nor can they succumb to hunger or thirst. These catacombs - they were not filled as the decades went by, but rather months, perhaps even weeks." Laurence said, thinking of just how many Pthumerians rested here.

"You believe they died of illness?" Lobsang asked him.

"No." Laurence replied, which seemed to surprise him. "The scourge would've been the catalyst for their deaths, not the cause. Given their nature, it would fester within their bodies, but never to the point where it could actually kill them. However, it could still be passed on to others, or at least, that must've been what they believed."

"I see. So, in order for them to die, they would've had to be…" "Executed." The two scholars looked over to Matthias, who had finished Lobsang's thought for him, with the professor noting that he appeared even more shocked than they were.

"Yes." The professor carried on. "History suggests that whatever it is that fell upon this land, they never found a cure or, in fact, any suitable treatment. In that scenario, more drastic measures must've been taken in an attempt to halt the spread."

Despite this being little more than a theory, Laurence was quite confident in his conclusion. Every doctor knew that it was essential to recognize signs of illness early, as this was when treatment was most effective; the longer the disease has to develop, the less effective treatment will be. But in this case, there was no treatment, but the illness nevertheless had to be eliminated, which would leave only one option.

"No wonder then that Loran was forsaken." Said Lobsang. "But the question remains: Where did this 'scourge' come from?"

"With any luck, that is a question we will soon answer." Was Laurence's reply. "But I'm afraid that answer does not lie here. We should move on."

"Wait, Professor!" Lobsang called out as he turned to walk away from the coffin. "Are we to leave empty-handed?"

Laurence took a moment to consider his colleague's question. They could very well take the woman's crown or perhaps even her late child if they were careful enough: either of these prizes could make prime candidates for additional study. But they had already defiled their resting place and the thought of defiling the dead was not something that appealed to him.

"Leave them be. There is still much for us to discover." He ordered.

"Very well." Lobsang agreed.

From there, Matthias led them back the way they came, which took them past the dead madman and beyond that, the bell maiden. Neither of these guardians appeared to have fallen to beast hood, but nevertheless appeared to have lost that which made them human. What was it that reduced them to that state, he wondered?

As they walked, Laurence fell in step with Amelia at the very back of the group, who was yet to say a word. "How're you feeling?" he asked her.

"Better." She replied. "Please, do forgive my earlier…mishap."

"There is nothing to forgive, Amelia." He assured her. "Regardless of what you might think, you showed great courage."

"Did I?" She said, clearly unconvinced.

"You did. Like the rest of us, you stood firm in the face of peril. But unlike us, you were willing to show that you were afraid."

Amelia looked at him, showing a clear surprise at his words. "But, professor, you chose me to accompany you on this journey because…" Laurence placed a hand on her shoulder, interrupting her.

"I chose you because you are determined, inquisitive: as the best scholars are. I did not choose you - nor anyone else here with us today – because I believed you to be infallible. You are human and thus, are subject to fear; without it, even death would go unlamented. But you are only governed by fear if you allow yourself to be."

After a brief silence, the professor continued. "But though I may have chosen you, I cannot force you to stay. If you so wish, you may leave at any time."

He kept his voice just quiet enough so as to not draw the attention of Lobsang or any of the knights, not wishing to place any unwanted attention on Amelia that may influence her answer. The young woman remained silent for several more moments, no doubt mulling over what he had told her. Yet despite that, Laurence felt like he knew what she would say before the words had even formed on her lips.

"No, professor. My place is here, by your side."

The professor smiled. "And so, it shall be." He said.

From there, they walked in silence until they returned to their camp, where they were relieved to find those who had separated from them, as promised. Lady Maria was the first to take notice of their arrival, stepping away from her resting men in order to come over and greet them.

"Welcome back. I trust that all went well?" This question appeared to be directed to Matthias, who promptly responded.

"We ran into some minor resistance, but we were able to overcome it. For their part, Professor Laurence and his scholars displayed…remarkable fortitude." At first, Laurence thought nothing of this comment, but he soon picked up on a certain implication in what the knight had said. Turning his eyes to him, he saw Matthias lightly smile, but nothing more.

"I'm sure they did." Said Lady Maria, promptly turning her gaze to him. "And what of you, Professor? Any discoveries to speak of?"

"Yes, we found what seemed to be a catacomb – we took time to study those who rested there, but otherwise, left them undisturbed." Laurence decided to leave out their actions before this occurred, just as Matthias seemed to have done.

"I see. And I presume you wish to explore further?"

"If you and your men are willing." Laurence replied.

Lady Maria turned back to her company, who were all taking the time to recuperate in their own ways: reclining and chatting with their fellows. To no one's surprise, they appeared quite tired.

"I will see who I can muster, but I fear we cannot afford to keep going much longer." She told him.

Laurence then looked to his own scholars, who he could tell were getting similarly fatigued. "Understandable. Once we are finished, I believe a reprieve is in order." He said.

"I must concur." Maria replied.

The two parties then split off in order to determine who will be staying and who will be going. Laurence, Lobsang and Amelia went to rejoin their fellow scholars, who had gathered by a fire that had been organized near the center of the camp, which was being fueled by their own firewood and remains for some empty coffins they'd found nearby.

Gehrman was quick to notice them. "Ah, and so our wanderers return. Find anything interesting?" He asked them.

"We did, but unfortunately we do not have time to tell of it. We are due to set out again soon." This announcement did not see much jubilation, not that Laurence expected anything different.

"Yes, yes, ours is a most toilsome task, but the miner cannot expect to strike gold by simply venturing into a cave. Every piece of rock he chips away brings him ever closer to his coveted price. Perhaps it will be found beyond the very next stone or perhaps in a different cave entirely; he will only know for certain if he presses on."

The scholars shared a few glances among themselves, something that made the professor smile. He then continued his address. "But at once, a miner with aching limbs and an empty stomach is unlikely to make much progress." He then looked behind him. "Lobsang!"

"Yes?" He promptly replied.

"What do you say we start putting that fire to good use, hmm?"

A moment later, Lobsang smiled. "Any requests?"

"Surprise us." He then turned back to the rest of his scholars, who seemed slightly more alight.

"It'll be a while yet before our meal is prepared – more than enough time for us to do a little more scrounging. And a hard day's work is likely to make it all the more fulfilling." Laurence said, slightly putting his hand forward in invitation. "Now then, shall we?"

For a few moments, no one said anything, leaving it to Gehrman to break the silence. "I'm convinced." he said, going up to take his place beside him.

Laurence then waited for the rest of them to follow suit, which they soon did. However, when Micolash started to do the same, he hesitated and did not rise from his seat, instead opting to look up at him expectantly. This was no doubt a result of what occurred before they were separated, something that Laurence had by no means forgotten. Despite this, he silently motioned for Micolash to join them; this obviously surprised him, but it only kept him from standing up for a few more moments. Laurence had no intention to let his colleague's earlier action slide and he fully intended to have words with him once things settled down somewhat, but he also didn't want to make a scene in front of the others.

"You stay as well, Amelia." He then told his student. "You've been on your feet ever since we arrived here. If anyone deserves to rest, it's you."

The young woman nodded. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

With all that decided, the professor turned around. "The rest of you, with me. Onwards we go!"

He proceeded to lead Gehrman and the rest of his scholars towards the right-hand gate, which lead further into the labyrinth. They were yet to see what lay beyond its boundaries, which made the prospect of exploring it all the more enticing.

Near the gate, they reunited with Lady Maria and her company. The two knights who had accompanied Matthias returned to guard the camp, but their superior remained by his captain's side. Without needing to say a word, Laurence and his counterpart shared an understanding nod before their respective teams joined together and continued past the gate.

From there, the journey proceeded much like the last: there was a gate, a dark corridor and a handful of beasts for the knights to swiftly dispose of. Much of the scenery that they encountered seemed to blend together, with hardly any distinguishing features to separate their current path from the last; there were no engravings, nor did there seem to be any change in the art or brickwork.

As they made their way through what at first appeared to be yet another dimly-lit corridor, Laurence noticed that Caryll had fallen behind from the rest of the group and was staring down a passageway branching off their main path.

"What is it, Caryll? Are you alright" he asked in concern, but she didn't even seem to notice him. Before he could ask any other questions, she took off running down the corridor. "Caryll!" he called out as he chased after her.

"Master Laurence!" He heard Gehrman call out to him, but he didn't pay him any mind, turning the corner after her

As he ran after his friend, the air somehow became clearer and easier to breathe, a welcome relief from the almost suffocating humidity they had been forced to contend with. But that wasn't all. Nearby, Laurence could hear the sharp sound of flowing air, but it wasn't like the steady gust that carried the sand throughout the halls – this was wind. Real wind.

Very soon, he passed through the doorway and saw Caryll standing at the edge of what looked like a cliff. "What were you doing? You could've…"

The words he wanted to say were instantly forgotten as he found himself staring at a most astonishing sight. From the small platform he was standing on, he could see a long, wooden bridge stretching across a wide chasm, creaking in the wind. Looking further still, he could see countless more bridges of a similar make and above them, he looked up to see an opening in the rocks, beyond which he could see the sky.

So enraptured was he that he barely noticed Gehrman and Lady Maria join them on the platform, no doubt having pursued him there.

The captain began to approach Caryll, clearly displeased with her rash action. "You! What were you…" She stopped short of finishing her sentence as she too saw where they were. As the rest of the knights and scholars began to join them, they all displayed very similar reactions of awe.

"Well, I'll be." He heard Gehrman say as he walked to his side. "This is definitely a first."

As they continued to stare at the scene in front of them, Laurence soon took notice of something. "Look, over there!" He pointed across the chasm, where he could see a burning torch. "It looks like there's another path up ahead. Shall we investigate it, my lady?"

There was no response. In confusion, he looked to Lady Maria, finding that she was standing completely still, almost as if she had been turned to stone. "My lady?" He repeated, which seemed to snap her out of her daze.

"Oh, yes." Her voice was much meeker than he had grown used to. "I…I think we should return to our path – see where it leads first."

"If I'm not mistaken, that would be down there." Matthias spoke this time, with them turning to find him looking at the left-hand edge of the platform they were on. Laurence went up to join him and found that sure enough, there was another passageway leading to another bridge.

"It is still worth investigating, I think." Laurence soon said, turning back to Lady Maria. "We can send two teams: one for each bridge."

"No." She said rather abruptly, catching everyone off guard. "I mean, not until we're certain these bridges are safe to cross."

Matthias soon stepped forward. "Then allow me to be the judge." He said.

At first, Lady Maria appeared hesitant to accept, but surprisingly did not rebuke her knight. Instead, she silently nodded her approval, a gesture that Matthias returned in kind; for the briefest moment, Laurence thought he saw what looked like a glimmer of gratitude in the captain's eyes.

Everyone turned to watch as Matthias stood in front of the bridge, which creaked and swayed in the wind. After the knight had gathered his courage, he stepped onto its wooden boards and then took another step forward, and then another, and another. Each step he took was cautious and mindful of the wind blowing through the cavern; if he lost his balance, he would surely be plunged into the depths below. Thankfully, the bridge held firm, which allowed Matthias, and those watching him, to allay some of their fear.

"It seems sturdy enough." He announced. "We should have no trouble crossing it, assuming we remain cautious."

Laurence then looked to Lady Maria, awaiting her judgement. "Very well." She eventually said, albeit reluctantly. "Though, it is doubtful that they will bear our combined weight."

"But surely, it will be able to bear the weight of a smaller group." Laurence replied.

"Yes, perhaps so." Lady Maria then turned to her company, in particular, a man with a well-combed red beard. "Emil, I want you to take a team down the path we saw earlier. If it does indeed lead to the bridge below us, cross with great caution."

Emil nodded his understanding. "Of course, captain."

This now left Laurence to decide who within his company would go where. His first instinct was to once again assign Micolash to head the other group, but then he remembered the rabble he had caused earlier. Handing off such responsibility after what he did would not reflect well on him, as well as having the potential to cause further friction with Lady Maria, who was also unlikely to trust him in such a position so soon. After looking through his gathered scholars, he came to a decision.

"Norbert!"

A somewhat plump man stepped forward. "Yes, Professor Laurence?" He asked.

"I want you to accompany Emil's company down to the lower level. Can you do that for me?"

Norbert had clearly not anticipated this request, but soon complied nonetheless. "Yes, I believe I can."

"That is good." Laurence replied. "Take Micolash and Damian with you; be ever careful."

"Be sure to do the same, my friend." Said Norbert, placing a hand on his shoulder, a gesture that Laurence returned in kind.

He then watched as Norbert turned and followed Lady Maria's representative back the way they came, leaving Damian and a noticeably disenchanted Micolash to follow him; before he left, Laurence's fellow professor gave him something of a dismayed look before finally turning to leave. It was not lost on him that Micolash had expected to be the one to lead the others on and in any other case, Laurence would've chosen him without a moment's hesitation. But he also had to maintain a degree of order within their ranks and this was a perfect opportunity to make that clear not just to Micolash, but everyone else as well.

Once Norbert's company were all gone, Laurence turned to the two scholars that still remained with him: Gehrman and a still distracted Caryll. While the former had been carefully observing the departure, she had been staring out across the chasm, similar to what she had done the last time she had accompanied him. She didn't seem to notice him walking up behind her and almost jumped when he placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention, sharply turning her head around in his direction. Taking note of her uneasiness, Laurence smiled at her.

"Come, Caryll."

A few seconds later, she nodded and proceeded to follow him. Clearly, whatever afflicted her had not gone away, which made him all the more resolute in his decision to keep an eye on her; the last thing he wanted was for her to get herself hurt.

Before they could step onto the bridge, they first had to wait for Lady Maria and the few members of her company that remained to go before them. It took a surprisingly long time for her to take even a step onto the bridge and even longer still for her to start moving at a somewhat constant speed. In stark contrast to his captain, Matthias stood confidently about a quarter of the way along the bridge.

"Come along, now. Mind your footing…and don't look down."

Laurence did well to follow the knight's advice. Though the wide expanse of the bridge mostly hid it from view, they were very, very far off the ground. And to make matters worse, there were no support beams or ropes or any kind for them to regain their balance were they to lose it, which made it most prudent to go at a slow, careful pace.

However, it seemed that Lady Maria had taken this advice to heart a tad too much, for she soon started walking forward at an almost glacial pace before stopping entirely. "My lady, why have we stopped?" Laurence asked, but there was no response – not even so much as an acknowledging glance.

From behind her, he could see that she was tightly grasping the hilt of her weapon and even over the sound of the wind, he could hear the sound of her breathing. Just as he was beginning to get worried, he saw Matthias standing on the opposite end of the bridge, looking in her direction.

"Come, captain. It's just a little bit further." His words were resolute, but assuring.

Lady Maria remained in place for a few more moments before she finally took a tentative step forward and continued on her way, allowing the rest of them to do the same as well.

"How very odd." Gehrman quietly commented, and Laurence couldn't help but agree.

A few moments later, they were all safely over the bridge, allowing the professor to look back across the vast chasm they had to cross to get there. As he did, he spotted Norbert's company attempting their own crossing; not wanting to unnecessarily startle them, he limited their interaction to a wave, which Norbert mirrored further down. Laurence couldn't help but smile as he observed their crossing, which he was soon joined in doing so by Gehrman.

"Remarkable, is it not?" he said, glancing around the chasm.

"Indeed. No one's going to believe this." Laurence replied, prompting Gehrman to chuckle.

"Oh, I very much doubt your headmaster will find much interest in vistas like these. His eyes are set firmly beyond the horizons."

"I know." Laurence replied. He knew better than anyone that Master Willem had long found little pleasure in worldly delights: things like food, scents and splendorous views. Wherever it was he looked, his gaze was set on what lay beyond the confines of this plane and his mind was set on determining how to reach it.

"Then shall we keep looking? We are bound to find something that will pique his interest eventually."

Gehrman smiled in response. "Lead the way, sir." He prompted.

They turned to find the knights standing close to the doorway, with Lady Maria standing particularly close. "Are you sure you're alright, my lady?" Laurence asked her.

"I'm fine." She said, keeping her eyes straight ahead. "I'm fine."

Laurence couldn't say he was entirely convinced, but recognized it wasn't his place to pry. "Well, then in that case, lead on." He told her.

Lady Maria proceeded to do just that, entering the proceeding corridor with a bit more haste than they'd grown used to. As usual, everyone remained vigilant for any possible threats, though from what he could see, this particular corridor appeared to be empty, save for a wooden coffin that was leaning against the wall. Despite how inconspicuous this was, the company remained wary as they passed by the object, but ultimately managed to pass without issue.

In time, they came to stand before yet another closed door, which Lady Maria proceeded to open before her and her knights entered to check if the coast was clear. "There's no one here." She soon announced.

Laurence and his two companions saw this as an invitation to enter and upon stepping foot within the room, he found himself standing, mouth agape, as he saw what they had discovered. At the very front of the room, he could see a vast collection of treasure, which were littered around an altar; furthermore, there were numerous chests in various corners of the room.

"So, have we struck gold yet?" Gehrman jokingly asked as they observed the room's contents.

"Let's find out."

Laurence then started making his way further into the room, past the knights and towards the altar. Sure enough, he found numerous artifacts: pots, shields, cups, candlesticks and even a couple of swords, all of which were in surprisingly good condition despite the deteriorating sand surrounding it. With how many no doubt valuable items were stored away here, he was genuinely shocked that they were unguarded.

Or at least, that's what he thought.

"Laurence, above you!" He heard Caryll cry out, which made his eyes shoot up just in time to see a round, black shape descending on him.

Within a split second, a crushing weight knocked the professor on his back and he quickly became aware of what was attacking him: an enormous spider, its four lidless eyes boring into his soul as it loomed over him. However, it did not seem to possess any fangs like a normal spider, leaving it to attempt to stab him with its pointed legs.

In a panic, Laurence narrowly evaded the creature's attempts to skewer him and attempted to crawl out from underneath it, but it did not let up, clearly not wishing to give up its advantageous position. However, it had no way to pin him down, which allowed him to reach for his dagger as it bore down on him again. As soon as it was out of its sheath, the professor quickly thrust it upwards and managed to impale its abdomen, causing the spider to cry out in anguish.

By now, terror had firmly taken hold and Laurence's mind was focused solely on ensuring his own survival. Pulling out the blade, he stabbed the spider again and again, before bringing it out and plunging it into the center of its head, firmly grasping the hilt until it stopped writhing and its legs gave out, causing it to fall onto him, dead.

Though his attacker was slain, Laurence found himself unable to move, staring up at the ceiling as he sucked in breath after breath in a bid to calm his racing heart. Throughout this terrifying ordeal, surrounding sounds hardly registered to him, but he was now able to hear someone running to him.

"Laurence! LAURENCE!" It was Gehrman, who pushed the dead spider off of him and knelt down by his side, with Caryll by his side.

"Look at me." He gently said as he put his hands on either side of his face. "Look at me, are you hurt?" Finding that he couldn't bring himself to speak, Laurence managed to shake his head no. "Are you absolutely sure?" This time, the professor nodded, which brought some relief to the worried Gehrman.

"Oh, thank goodness." He uttered, smiling in relief before looking at the deceased spider, who still had the dagger lodged in its eye. "Came in handy after all, eh?"

In response, Laurence managed to force out a smile, though he was still quite shaken by the ordeal. His attacker's blood had stained both his clothes and his face; in the chaos, he hadn't noticed that it was coloured red like a human, rather than the blue that was expected of a spider.

"Get out of the way! Out of the way!" Lady Maria suddenly ran up to his side, crouching down beside Gehrman.

"It's okay, my lady. He's alive."

Her eyes turned to him and then back to Laurence. "And unharmed?" Once again, he nodded to confirm, which made her worried look shift into a soft smile.

"Good. That's good."

For the next little while, the two of them continued to look and smile at each-other until Lady Maria held out her hand in order to help him up, which he accepted.

"Forgive me." She said as she helped him up to a sitting position. "We were ambushed by two more of its kind – they kept us from coming to your aid sooner. I have no idea how we missed them."

"Do not fret yourself, my lady. They hid themselves well." Gehrman said. "Still, it is fortunate that Caryll was able to spot them when she did. Otherwise, I fear things would've turned out differently."

This brought Laurence's attention to Caryll, who was standing just a few steps away, no doubt to keep her distance from Lady Maria. Despite this, the captain soon turned to her as well.

"Yes, indeed." She stood up and approached her. "I commend you, good scholar – you have a keen eye."

Caryll was clearly surprised by this compliment but eventually bowed her head. "Thank you, Lady Maria."

As this happened, Gehrman remained by his side. "Well, Master Laurence? You haven't forgotten how to speak, I hope?"

"Oh no, not at all." Laurence finally managed to speak, forcing himself to stand up with Gehrman's aid. As he did, he was reminded of the hoard of treasure that had originally drawn him here.

"We should alert Norbert and the others – tell them to come join us. We will surely need help getting everything back."

"A fine idea." Said Gehrman, turning back towards the exit. "They are likely to be starting their return journey soon, assuming they haven't started it already. I'll tell them to come straight here; in the meantime, you ought to get your breath back."

"Who says I need to?" In response, Gehrman stopped and turned back to look at him, a somewhat serious glint in his eye.

"Trust me, young master." He said before continuing on his way, leaving Laurence to look after him.

Once the older scholar disappeared from view, Laurence turned around in order to retrieve his dagger, which was still impaled in the spider's head. Though now he could see that the creature that attacked him had twelve legs as opposed to the traditional eight, which together with the lack of fangs and the red blood that still dripped from it numerous wounds led him to conclude that it was no ordinary spider, but rather yet another victim of the scourge.

It took a couple of tugs to remove the dagger from the spider's flesh, a process that made Laurence coil in disgust. Once it was free, the professor looked down at his blood-stained blade, the weight of what he'd done finally setting in. As a doctor, he was no stranger to death, but he had never inflicted it on man or beast, nor had he had ever wished to.

"It had to be done." Lady Maria's voice cut through the silence, causing him to look to her across the room. She was herself no stranger to death, but her duty made it so it was left in her wake. But deep down, Laurence knew she was right. A part of him had hoped to never have to use the blade, but without it, he would've almost certainly met his end then and there.

But in the end, it was not an experience he wanted to relive.

….

In time, Norbert and the rest of Laurence's scholars rejoined them and eagerly started shifting through the room in search of worthwhile treasures. Upon their arrival, the professor noticed that they all appeared somewhat despondent, something that their discovery only slightly improved.

"And where did your travels take you, if I may ask?" Laurence asked Norbert as they searched together.

"Nowhere pleasant." Norbert replied. "Even before the bridge, we happened upon a group of rotten bodies hanging from the ceiling. Past it, we found nothing but a coffin in a room flooded with blood and corpses. You really should be glad you weren't present; the stench was unlike anything I've ever encountered."

"I'm afraid I felt it all the same." He told his friend, recalling that unpleasant odor he noticed as he waved to them earlier. "Was that all?"

"I wish it were. That coffin I mentioned before, it was guarded by perhaps the most hideous creature I've ever had the displeasure of witnessing. Its skin hugged its bones, if they weren't already jutting out; its claws became as long as swords on a whim; but worst of all was its head - it looked as if its neck had been snapped to one side, yet it carried on undisturbed. What's more, if you looked at its jaws, it almost looked like it was…smiling."

Just hearing Norbert describe the beast sent a few shivers up Laurence's spine, which he imagined was but a fraction of what he had felt when he beheld it. Clearly, they had only just begun to see the depths of the horrors that dwelt in this land.

"A continuation of my shoddy luck, I suppose." Norbert said as he picked up a goblet.

"Hmm?" Laurence asked, unsure of whether he heard him correctly.

"You recall the conclusion of my first outing, do you not? Perhaps foolishly, I thought that madman was the worst thing this labyrinth could throw at us, but it seems determined to prove me wrong."

The professor lightly nodded along. "None of us have the gift of foresight, I'm afraid. Though at once, I cannot say that there is much wisdom in always expecting the worst."

"No, perhaps not." Norbert eventually conceded, looking around the room they were in. "I do hope we will come across more oases like this one – finally, something to show for our trouble."

Laurence smiled. "Indeed. Let's hope."

The two of them continued to go through the treasure in silence for a few moments. As Laurence spent time observing a somewhat rusted sword, Norbert picked a small pot.

"Why do you suppose all this is here?" He suddenly asked.

"It could be for any number of reasons. This could be a treasury, or perhaps, they left these items here to safeguard them from the chaos outside." Laurence hypothesized, though he obviously did not know for certain.

"Is it not obvious? They are offerings - this is a shrine."

Both of them then looked over to Caryll, who had not joined them in scouring through the artifacts and had instead been standing in front of the altar, seemingly writing something in her journal. Despite the mundanity of what she was observing, her eyes were alight with wonder.

"A shrine for what?" She did not reply to his question and instead closed her eyes. "Caryll?" Again, there was no response, prompting him to stand up and make his way over to her.

By now, he was rather concerned; it was unlike her to lose focus like this. As he got closer, he could see that she was still tracing in her notebook and quietly uttering in a tongue he could not even begin to comprehend. It looked like she was in a trance of sorts, one that he found himself reluctant to break her out of.

"What's happening over there?" He heard Lady Maria ask from behind them.

"I'm…I'm not sure." He answered truthfully, not taking his eyes off his friend. When even their words did not seem to break her trance, Laurence cautioned a glance at Caryll's journal. But what he found was not writing or sketches as he had expected, but rather something exceedingly strange.

In the pages of Caryll's journal, he saw what could only be described as a set of seemingly random symbols, one that she was in the process of sketching. Though it was faint, it was made up of a set of three lines – the middle of each was smaller than the rest - each topped off with a thick dot and intercepted by a shape slightly resembling a horseshoe. Understandably confused, Laurence attempted to get a clearer look at the symbol and as its outline became more apparent, he felt a sharp twinge deep within his mind, causing him to clutch his head and back away from Caryll.

Seeing this, Norbert went up to him and took hold of his arm to steady him. "Laurence, what's wrong?" he asked, a question that the professor was not able to answer, for he did not know.

As the pain subsided, something slowly became clearer to Laurence: a distant, unintelligible voice. He looked around the room in an attempt to determine the source; it did not sound like it belonged to anyone present in the room, nor were any of them attempting to speak to him at that moment. But as the moments went by, he realized that the voice wasn't coming from away, but rather, it seemed to be coming from within his very mind.

"Professor?" He just managed to make out the sound of Lady Maria's voice amidst the chaotic whispering, finding that she was eyeing him with suspicion.

At first, Laurence felt compelled to ask whether she or indeed, anyone else could hear the voices, but it was evident that they were discernible only to him. "It's nothing. Just a small headache." he lied.

Clearly, Lady Maria was not entirely convinced, but surprisingly, she did not pry further. "Then perhaps that's a sign we've been here long enough." She said, "Wrap up your search – we'll be leaving soon."

After nodding his understanding, Laurence turned back to Caryll, finding that she had shut her journal and was now looking at him with some concern. Neither of them said anything and eventually, he decided to move along and start informing the others of their imminent departure, trying his best to wipe the symbols from his memory.

Yet even as they finished claiming their spoils and began crossing the bridge, the voice persisted. But the further they got from the room, the fainter it became and by the time they were nearing the end of the corridor that had brought them there, it had disappeared completely. Throughout all this time, Laurence kept quiet in the hopes he could understand some of the utterances, but this ended up going nowhere. However, amidst the incomprehensible gibberish he was able to discern one thing – a name.

Oedon.

….