It was with heavy hearts that they set out again. The moment that Maria returned from her seclusion, her men had looked to her expectantly, awaiting her decision. Seeing them again made her momentarily second-guess herself, the haunting image of Emil's lifeless expression running through her mind. Despite this, she managed to find her tongue and soon found that they needed little convincing to follow her onwards.
This time, they left no-one behind, with the camp being entirely cleared out, leaving only Emil's body behind. Though the thought of a creature coming along and violating his body crossed her mind, she ultimately decided it didn't warrant leaving a watchman behind; they needed all the strength they could muster. As for Professor Laurence, he similarly gathered his scholars and once again followed them into Loran's depths.
Soon, they reached the end of the second layer where Emil had made his last stand… and where his killer's body still lay. As they got close to the poisonous beast, Maria's company looked at its carcass in pure hatred, with Harald going so far as to spit on it.
Maria then placed a hand on his shoulder, hoping to stop him from going any further. "We mustn't linger here. Come."
A moment passed before he quietly nodded his head and continued to follow her towards another lift, with the rest of her men following suit. Just behind them were the scholars and as they walked, Gehrman herded them away from the beast's body. "Keep your distance. Even dead, they can still be dangerous," he advised them.
This statement caught her attention. Had he encountered a creature like this before? He had certainly been aware of the poisonous nature of some of Loran's beasts, which had been the only reason more of Maria's men hadn't been killed. Yet she had never stopped to wonder how had come to possess such knowledge.
Before she could get too preoccupied with this thought, Laurence joined them just in front of the left. "Well, Lady Maria?" he asked her.
"Yes, my apologies," she replied. "Let us go."
They then proceeded to gather on the left, being careful not to put on more weight than it could hold. All the while, Maria couldn't help but think about the words they'd exchanged – about the offer he had made her. She had known he would come, but she had thought it would be in order to urge her onwards, to allow them to continue their research.
But he hadn't done that. Far from it. Instead, he had left it to her to decide what would become of their expedition or rather, whether she could bear to risk the lives of any more of her men. And although he didn't say it outright, he had seemed almost disappointed when she refused… and she could understand why. They both knew that going forward would only put more lives at risk, not just of Maria's men, but Laurence's scholars as well. Neither of them wanted that, but at the same time, neither of them could return to their masters empty-handed.
When all of them reached the bottom of the lift, they proceeded onward. In the corridor that followed, they found no doorways along the walls, leaving them with nowhere to go but forward. After lifting open the door blocking their path, Maria led the others further into the labyrinth and soon, they found themselves in a large rectangular room, with pathways leading in all four directions. Aside from that, the room was empty, save for a few wooden crates and what looked to be coffins along the walls.
"Where do we even begin?", she heard Matthias ask from behind her.
"That is the least of our worries." Maria replied, stepping a bit further inside. "If the rest of this place is any indication, both of these paths will lead us to the same thing. What we need to…"
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the hall, followed by an equally loud scream of pain. Turning toward the source of the noise, Maria saw that Matthias was clutching his face and backing away from a small, bipedal beast, which had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"Matthias!", cried Robert, moving in to attack the creature. With its element of surprise taken away, the beast was swiftly cut down, not even having time to defend itself against the enraged knight.
Meanwhile, Maria moved to check on Matthias, who was already being crowded by the others. "Are you alright?" The knight then took his hand off his face to reveal three bloody scratches across his face, which thankfully had missed his eyes.
"I'll live," he replied, looking down on his bloodstained glove before turning to the now dead beast. "Damn thing came out of nowhere."
It took only a moment of inspection to see that this wasn't exactly true. Lying around the beast were various pieces of wood, which no doubt belonged to the coffin that had been by the wall just moments before. "It was hiding in the coffin. They must be cleverer than we gave them credit for," she instructed.
"You don't say." Matthias said as he stood back up to his full height. "Now, what else is hiding down here?"
Mere seconds later, they heard snarls coming from the hallway on their right, as well as incomprehensible shouting from the one directly in front of them. And on top of it all was the familiar tolling of a bell – two of them.
"You just had to open your mouth, didn't you?" Robert complained as he prepared himself for the inevitable struggle to come.
Soon, the enemies started pouring into the room: beasts similar to the one that had attacked Robert from the right and hooded humanoids from the front, some of which were carrying burning staff and others wielding cleavers, with the latter ones being a tinted red. Acting quickly, Maria formulated a plan of attack.
"Hold your ground!" she ordered, drawing her blades and waiting to meet the horde head on.
When they finally came, Maria and her men each focused on an individual opponent, primarily focusing on the ones they knew would stay down. For her part, she engaged the staff wielding watchers, evading their wild swings before slicing their wooden weapon in two, leaving them defenseless as she moved in for the kill. Once they were dead, she was left to contend with the summoned fiends, who she knew would be reborn shortly after death.
"Leon, Robert, Harald: with me! The rest of you, stay with the scholars!"
The summoned knights quickly finished whatever battle they were fighting and followed Maria into the following room, while the others crowded in front of the path they had come from; even with his wound, Matthias quickly established himself as the first line of defense.
After fighting through the newest wave of summoned warriors, Maria and her men crowded into the room from where they came. Quickly scanning the room, she spotted the first of the bell maidens, who was situated on the furthest end of the room; the second one was nowhere to be seen, but they could hear a bell coming from further up. Upon spotting them, the ghoulish woman prepared to ring her bell once again…only for Maria to draw her pistol and fire it at her, hitting her in the chest and causing her to slump up against the wall, perishing soon after.
Despite the maiden's death, there were still several enemies running down the stairwells on either side of the room. "You two, go up that way." Maria said to Leon and Harald, pointing to the staircase on the left.
Without a word, the two of them ran off, allowing her and Robert to take the right-hand side. By splitting up, they forced their attackers to themselves split their numbers in order to defend both pathways. In their case, they were blocked by another watcher at the top of the stairwell, who opted to toss explosive bottles at them while two spiders moved in to attack them. This turned out to be of little use, as the two knights each dispatched one of the spiders before running up the stairs towards the hooded figure, who was unable to even draw his cleaver before Maria ran him through with her saber.
"Go, Robert!" she called out, prompting him to run past her towards the bell-maiden. Off to the right, her two other men had to deal with a similar situation, with Leon dealing with the summoner's guard while Harald joined Matthias in his attack.
As the maiden raised her bell into the air, Robert reached her and with a single swing of his blade, severed the arm that was holding it, giving her but a moment to wail and reach for the bleeding stump before Harold decapitated her, leaving her body to collapse to the ground surrounded by blood and body parts.
Once they were sure that the room was clear, Maria went to reunite with her men, who were still looking down at the maiden's mangled corpse. "If I have to hear the sound of a bell one more bloody time…" said Harald, clearly irritated.
"If we do, we will overcome it," Maria assured him. "They're trying to wear us down. Do not let them."
As she spoke, she started making her way towards a door on the right-hand side of the room. If their previous encounters with the summoners were anything to go by, they were guarding an important area. Squatting down in order to get a grip on the bottom of the door, Maria once again attempted to lift it up…only for it not to budge. After trying and failing to get it open the usual way, she stood back up and attempted to push it open instead, thinking that she might've missed something, only to come up short yet again.
"Is something wrong?", she heard Robert say from behind her.
"It's sealed shut." Maria replied, finally ceasing her efforts.
"It is? Out of all the gates in this place, why is this one sealed?" His question was a pertinent one, and one that had only one possible answer.
"There must be something beyond it that they don't want us to reach," Maria said before turning back towards her men. "And I think I know what."
Upon hearing this, their expressions turned to awe. "You mean…" Leon started to say, but didn't finish his sentence, not that he needed to.
"Yes," she confirmed. "We're close. I can feel it."
…
Back at the start of the dungeon, Laurence and his scholars continued to wait under the guard of the remaining knights. They had only caught glimpses of what had transpired ahead of them before Lady Maria and some of her men continued onwards, leaving them behind. Despite the ever-real danger of their situation, his colleagues appeared more impatient than anything else.
"It's gotten quiet now," Gehrman soon noted. Sure enough, the sounds of battle seemed to have ceased, but Lady Maria was still nowhere in sight.
After a few moments, Laurence decided to go up to their guardians. "Should we really still be waiting here?", he asked Matthias, who maintained a readied composure despite the still-bleeding wound on his face.
"If they had fallen, we would know. We wait until she returns," Matthias replied, turning his gaze towards where she went. He had sounded determined that his captain was still alive, which also meant that Laurence was unlikely to convince him to go forward.
Just as he was about to return, they spotted movement opposite them. As the knights relaxed their posture and moved away from their posts, Laurence spotted Lady Maria approaching them, determination in her step. Seeing this, he looked back at his awaiting scholars and motioned for them to follow, quickly going to join the knights at the center of the room.
As they got closer, Lady Maria took notice of them. "I trust that the danger has passed?", he asked her.
"Indeed. Let us continue on," She replied without a hint of hesitation, turning towards the passageway on the right-hand side of the room.
"Are you sure? What about…" "We go forward." Lady Maria responded swiftly and decisively, not even turning back to look at him.
Despite his hesitance, Laurence knew he wasn't in a position to argue. "Of course," he soon said.
Without another word from anyone, they proceeded into the following corridor. As he walked just a few steps behind Lady Maria, Laurence couldn't help but feel…concerned. The pain of losing one of her men still hung over her and already, her decisions were becoming increasingly rash, not to mention zealous. She no doubt wished to avenge Emil's death or at the very least, ensure that it had not been in vain, but a part of him feared that it would only yield even graver consequences.
It wasn't long until the captain brought them to a stop once again, cautiously entering the proceeding room, only for her guard to seemingly drop as she gazed around her. "What is it, Captain?" Matthias asked, going over to join her and similarly being entranced.
Seeing all this, Laurence broke away from the group and walked to Lady Maria's side to see what had so caught her attention…only to be awestruck at what lay before him.
Carved into the cave was a ruined, yet still impressive temple, brilliantly illuminated by countless burning torches. High rising pillars rose from the ground, surrounded by innumerable tombstones and beyond that, countless bones and discarded weapons, the remains of warriors long past. As the rest of the knights and scholars entered the room, they also looked around in wonder, with Gehrman in particular making a long-winded whistle as he took it all in.
"Now, what could this be for, I wonder?", Gehrman said as he came to stand just off to Laurence's side, his question mirroring his own thoughts. The grandeur of this room compared to others they had visited suggested that it must've held some significance to the residents, but why?
"Get down!"
Suddenly, Laurence was swept off his feet and pulled off to the side. Before he could realize what was happening, he heard a loud explosion, as well as felt a sudden rush of heat coming close to where he had just been standing. Opening his eyes, he found Lady Maria looking down at him, having moved him out of the way and shielded him from the blast.
Before he could get over his shock, they heard another explosion coming from above them, which sent several sizable boulders falling down on the gathered scholars and knights.
"Back, back, all of you!" Matthias called as he herded the other scholars and knights back the way they came, but soon, the falling rocks crashed onto the ground, forcing him to move out of the way to avoid being crushed.
"No!" Laurence cried, rising to his feet and trying to run towards the site of the crash, only for Lady Maria to pull him back.
"Professor, wait! You must stay close to me!"
Another explosion rang out behind them as she guided him behind the pillars, putting him against one before peeking back out. "Hello! Hello, is anyone still out there!"
"I'm here, Captain!" Matthias called back, his voice seemingly coming from the other side of the room.
"Captain! Captain, can you hear me? We're going to get you out of there!" Came a second, muffled voice, which sounded like it belonged to Robert. Sparing a glance, Laurence realized that it was coming from the direction of the entrance, which he could see now was blocked by a large pile of rubble.
"Belay that! We'll find our own way out!" Lady Maria ordered. "Did everyone make it?!"
"No one else is missing as far as I can see!" Robert called back in reply.
"What about my colleagues?! Are they safe?" It was Laurence who called this time, his worry superseding any logic.
"Laurence?!" Micolash called back in reply. "Laurence, is that you? If it is, everyone is…" he suddenly stopped, as if realizing something.
"Laurence, Gehrman isn't here! Is he with you?!
Upon hearing this, a chill ran up Laurence's spine, his eyes set on the pile of rubble blocking the entrance. "Gehrman?! GEHRMAN!" he called out.
"Yes?"
Both Laurence and Maria sharply turned to look behind them, finding Gehrman standing with his hands folded behind his back, with barely a hint of worry on his face. "Can I help you with something?" It wasn't entirely clear which one of them he was posing this question to, but it was Lady Maria who recovered from her shock first.
"Yes. Stay with the professor and keep close behind me. We're getting out of here."
"Of course," said Gehrman. "But I'm afraid it's not going to be that simple."
Very soon, they heard footsteps and yells coming from the opposite end of the room, after which a group of short, bone-thin Pthumerians poured into the room. As Lady Maria moved in front of them and prepared to attack, Laurence spotted what looked like a ball of fire coming towards them or more rather, the pillar they were hiding behind.
"Watch it!" Gehrman cried as he moved Laurence out from behind the pillar. Thankfully, Lady Maria managed to hear this as well and cleared the area before the fireball hit the pillar, immediately destroying it and sending rubble crumbling down. Immediately afterwards, she was forced to engage the Pthumerians, with Matthias running in to aid her soon after. Amidst all this chaos, Laurence was able to spot something in the cloisters above them; a brilliant white cloak and above it, a small flickering fire, which soon began to grow in size.
"We'd best keep moving." Laurence then told Gehrman, who quickly caught on to what he was planning. "I think that would be wise."
The two of them then started making their way across the battlefield, moving just fast enough that they were able to avoid the spells cast at them, but also staying within their sight to ensure they continued to fire. Not that they would've been able to avoid them regardless; as it happened, there were two sorcerers stationed on either side of the temple, granting them an eagle's view of the grounds below. But with the fireballs focused on them, the two knights were able to fight their foes without any interference, whom they dispatched in short order.
"Come on!" Lady Maria then called to them, prompting the two of them to run and rejoin her.
The four of them then ran into the following room, finding two narrow stairwells that took them to the upper part of the temple. Before they had even stepped out onto the suspended walkway, Laurence had formulated a plan. "There's one of them on each side! I suggest the two of you split up!" He called to the knights, who quickly got the message.
"You heard him! Go!" Lady Maria said to her subordinate, who dutifully nodded and ran off to the right, while his captain went left. Laurence was just about to follow before he felt Gehrman's hand on his shoulder.
"I wouldn't bother, sir. You've done more than enough," the older scholar told him.
Deciding to take his advice, Laurence instead watched as the two knights descended on the two sorcerers. With each one being distracted by an assailant, they were unable to defend each-other from a range, which seemed to be where they were most dangerous. This was soon proven when they were forced to confront the knights head on, as they were dispatched in a matter of seconds.
Once it seemed that the coast was clear, Laurence motioned for Gehrman to follow him and together, they went over to join Lady Maria, who stood over the body of one of the sorcerers. His white cloak had been soaked with blood and his wooden staff lay uselessly by its side, but what stood out to Laurence were the curved horns that jutted out from beneath its hood. And it seemed that Gehrman had much the same curiosity, for he crouched down just beside its body.
"Hmm, interesting," he uttered, grasping one of its horns and lifting up its head to get a better look at what was hidden under the hood, revealing a twisted, almost demonic visage. "Beasts don't tend to have horns like these. What makes you so special?" Gehrman said, seemingly wondering aloud.
"He was a cleric once." Lady Maria revealed, prompting both him and Laurence to turn to look at her.
"A cleric, you say?" Laurence repeated.
"Yes. But that is all I will say." Somehow, he knew that it was more that it was all she could say. Any more information would reveal something that Queen Annalise didn't want them to know. Yet even so, one thing was clear. This creature's status in life, and what he chose to do with it, likely led him to this point.
And for whatever reason, he found the sight before him rather…foreboding.
Shortly after, they heard Matthias' voice. "Captain, there's another door over here! Do we go through it or no?"
"Wait, Matthias! I'll be right there!" Upon saying this, she turned back to them.
"The two of you go. The door just behind us will lead you safely back to the others. Wait for us until we return."
"As you wish. Best of luck." It was Gehrman who spoke this time, with Laurence merely nodding his understanding to her shortly afterwards. Her eyes soon fell to the floor and Lady Maria turned away from him and started walking in Matthias's direction, leaving the two of them behind.
As much as she was clearly trying to hide it, Laurence couldn't help but notice a change in her. Before, every word she spoke had been delivered with conviction, but now, they were hesitant at best. Not that there was anything that he could do about it. She had made her choice, after all.
Once she was a fair distance away, Gehrman stood back up. "Now then, Master Laurence. Shall we?" he asked.
The two of them then made their way into the short corridor behind them, which as Lady Maria had said led to a wooden door, one which looked to operate the same way as all the others they'd encountered. As Laurence tried to think of how they'd get it opened, Gehrman walked by him.
"Please, allow me," he said, coming to a stop just in front of the door. Before Laurence could question what he was doing, Gehrman crouched down and started to lift it up, getting it open with minimal difficulty. Once he was finished, he dusted off his hands and turned back towards him, standing aside to make way for him.
"After you, sir."
Once he got over his surprise, Laurence made his way through the doorway, with Gehrman following just behind him. The act of lifting such a weight wouldn't have been too impressive, had it not been for the fact that Lady Maria had somewhat struggled in doing the same, even though her strength was clearly beyond that of an average human. Furthermore, it made him hearken back to Gehrman's momentary disappearance mere minutes before; somehow, everyone had simply lost sight of him the moment the chaos began, only for him to reappear completely unscathed. How had he done it?
"You've gotten rather quiet. Is something on your mind?" Gehrman soon asked him, breaking him out of his thoughts.
"Don't worry about me, Gehrman. I'm fine." Laurence replied.
"Very well.", he said, making Laurence think that it was the end of their exchange. "May I ask then how your 'meeting' went?"
Upon hearing this, the professor came to a stop, turning his head to see that Gehrman now stood a few paces behind him. "It was… productive."
"So, I see." Gehrman replied. "But was the result you reached desirable?"
Several moments went by and still, Laurence wasn't sure of how to respond. Instead, he decided to answer his question with another question.
"Tell me, Gehrman. Do you think what we're doing here is worth giving your life for?"
A brief silence followed, with Gehrman appearing visibly surprised by what he heard. "That is a rather hefty question, sir.", he eventually said.
"Perhaps so," Laurence acknowledged. "But I believe it is one worth asking."
"Hmm…" another pause followed before Gehrman spoke again.
"Well, I cannot say that dying sounds all too appealing, but that is something we must all come to terms with sooner or later. Unless, of course, such concepts were to simply cease to be relevant."
Laurence looked off to the side. "Yes, indeed.", he said. "But who is to know when – or even if - such a thing will ever be possible?"
"I cannot say for certain. I doubt anyone can." Gehrman replied. "But so long as that possibility exists, then people will pursue it, no matter how faint it might be."
"I know. But what good are visions of a promised land if the prophet does not know how to reach it…or whether his disciples will make it there?"
At first, Laurence was prepared for Gehrman to protest his words – to explain to him the reasons why their research was the only way that such a fantastical thing could be possible, just as Master Willem had done so many times before. But instead, he didn't do anything. No, instead, he simply…smiled.
"You are a fascinating fellow, Master Laurence. Nothing at all like what I expected." he said as he started walking towards him, stopping just beside him.
"But to answer your question, people will follow whatever – or rather, whoever - they think makes the most sense. And they're always open to new ideas."
With that, Gehrman continued on his way, leaving Laurence alone with his thoughts. The elder scholar's words had sounded both like genuine advice and something of a warning at the same time, as it probably should've been. Master Willem had a vision, yes, but he did not yet know how to achieve said vision…and neither did Laurence. Regardless of where it would take them in the end, there was but one, clear path forward.
For now, at least.
…
Shortly after parting with Laurence and Gehrman, Maria moved to open the newly discovered door, allowing her and Matthias to step inside. Within, they found a long, seemingly empty room, their view almost totally obscured by the darkness and the ever-shifting sands. Yet despite that, they were able to spot a faint light on the other end of the room, which could only mean they had found the place that the clerics had been guarding.
The two knights cautiously started making their way toward the light, not being foolish enough to think that the room was unguarded. Surely enough, Maria was soon able to hear a raspy voice amidst the wind, which brought the two of them to a stop. As she tried to pinpoint the source of the noise, she heard Matthias sigh in apparent annoyance.
"I'll deal with this," he said, taking a few steps in front of her.
"Matthias…" "Just…wait."
Maria watched as Matthias continued to brazenly walk forward, which seemed to finally alert the room's guardian. Almost without warning, an almost ghoulish figure appeared from the shifting sand, charging at them at an alarming speed. Yet, despite this, he kept on walking, showing not an ounce of fear. The instant that their attacker raised his sickles into the air, Matthias brought his weapon up and fired off a shot, the force of the impact being enough to knock the Pthumerian off balance and force him to his knees. As he crumpled, Matthias immediately swung his blade and took his attacker's head clean off, continuing on without even sparing a glance at its body.
"Done. Now, let's go."
It took Maria a few moments before she chose to follow, walking past the Pthumerian's headless body and towards what he had been guarding; the lever that would unlock the gate to what could only be the final portion of this labyrinth. Despite reaching it before her, Matthias stood off to the side and waited for her to join him, seemingly wanting her to do the honors. Yet when she came to stand in front of it, Maria found herself hesitating to pull it.
"Well?" Upon hearing this, she turned to look at Matthias, the scar across his face still seeping blood. After holding his gaze for a few more seconds, Maria sighed and turned back towards the lever, finally deciding to pull it.
"Captain, are you alright?" Matthias asked her, a clear sense of concern in his voice.
"I'm fine, Matthias," she assured him. "We should get back to the others." With that, Maria turned around to go back the way they came.
"What did Professor Laurence want of you?"
Maria stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn to face him. "Nothing, he…" At first, she wanted to simply leave it at that and move on, but she knew it wouldn't be enough to satisfy him. And she also knew that the only reason the professor had gotten a chance to see her was because Matthias allowed him to.
"He gave me a choice. To call off our mission and avoid any more…potential casualties."
"And yet, here we are." Matthias pointed out after a brief silence. "Why is that?"
"Her Majesty's will must be done." Was all Maria said in response.
"Much to your dismay?" Despite framing it as a question, she could tell that Matthias already knew the answer. Once again, she found herself unable to reply, leaving him to take a few steps towards her.
"Cap…Lady Maria, you mustn't feel responsible for what happened. Emil – no, all of us knew that such a fate could befall us…and we made peace with that. Such is our…"
"Don't say that!" she finally turned towards Matthias, who was visibly surprised by her forceful words. "You're not my servant, Matthias. None of you are. You are all as much a knight as I and... they should never be seen as disposable."
Silence settled over the room as the two knights stared at each-other, neither seeming sure of what to say. "My lady, I…"
Before he could finish his sentence, Maria walked back up to him and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "There's no need to call me that. Not here.", she told him. "I am no more worthy of titles or accolades than you or any of our fellows. I only wish that Her Majesty will be able to realize that herself."
She knew that she shouldn't have been voicing such views, but she found it difficult to care. Besides, she trusted that Matthias would ensure that what was said between them would not leave this room, as he had done many times before. And why wouldn't she trust him? He was her pupil. Her comrade.
Her friend.
Eventually, Matthias finally managed to find his tongue. "And you think us delivering her a certain prize would do that?" he asked.
"That is my hope.", she replied.
For the first time in what felt like ages, Matthias smiled. "That remains to be seen, I'm afraid. But, in any case, there remains a duty for us to fulfill. And fulfill it we shall."
After a few more moments of silence, Maria nodded her head and the two of them turned towards the exit. "And listen, no matter what happens, I want you to remember one thing." Matthias said to her as they walked.
"And what's that?", asked Maria.
"That we do not fight for you because we are forced to, but because we choose to."
As she looked over at her fellow knight, Maria's lips curled into a soft smile. Words could not begin to describe how proud she was of him; of the noble warrior he had become. And what he likely would never be recognized for simply by the nature of his birth. But with any luck, his valor and those of his fellow knights would soon become clear to all.
...