AN8 Short chapter, but I wanted to get something out as soon as Arrow came back. Thanks for the patience.
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Deep breath. Ahhhhhhhh…there we go. Home away from home.
"…These are the Shaikos ruins." I stated plainly, releasing my air and turning around to face them.
Despite being centuries old and on the brink of total collapse, The Shaikos Ruins still had a way of demanding one's attention. I myself having taken too many trips there to count, I stood in place, completely unfazed as I waited for the others to catch up. The others however, were a different story.
Estellise took in the view with the same kind of interest and excitement one would see in a child as they walked the halls of a large toy store. Karol wandered around displaying similar amounts of wonder and awe.
Yuri followed behind at a steady trot, sporting a look that stated he really just wanted to get this done so he could go home, already, and that he really didn't understand what was so great about a bunch of crumbly old rocks anyhow.
Estellise took some light, tentative steps into the ruins, scanning her damp and dusty surroundings. "It doesn't look like there are any Imperial Knights around." She murmured worriedly, continuing further in. The dog sniffed lightly at the ground in front of us before giving off a rambunctious snort, grabbing Karol's attention.
The boy hurried over to examine the dog's target, and found the point of interest quickly, pointing out footsteps embedded in the sand. "These footprints are still fresh, and there's a lot of them!" He exclaimed.
Estellise also examined them, as if the footprints would somehow divulge the whereabouts of whomever it was that they were looking for.
"Which means it's either the knights, thieves, or both." Yuri surmised.
"Which means.. some of these prints must belong to Flynn!" Estellise added helpfully, and more than just a little bit hopefully.
"Could be." Yuri replied, unsure.
I sighed. This was getting ridiculous. "Hey, over here!" I snapped, impatiently. "Hurry it up!"
A smug look crept over Yuri's face. "Oh, I see. First you get us alone in the dark, then you zap us, huh?"
"Hmm.. 'zap.' I like the sound of that." I pondered aloud with an innocently blank expression.
Karol immediately panicked. "H-hey, what's that supposed to mean? Why are you smiling like that?"
"Can we try to get along, please?" Estellise pleaded, starting off deeper into the ruins, eager to explore.
We moved further into the ruins, each step reassuring me that my theories were, unfortunately, correct. Though we found footprints out here, I had no doubts that the culprits were underground, and only one more thing could tell me otherwise.
"No one's here." Yuri frowned, looking around. I could tell from his face that this only made him more suspicious. "No Knights, thieves, or anything else."
"Maybe they're further in?" Estellise offered.
"How far in are we talking, here?" He gestured to the rest of the ruins, which consisted of a broken stairway and the terrace it led up to.
I walked over to a large marble statue, partially ignoring the rest of their conversation. I examined it from the side, muttering to myself. "The information about the underground couldn't have gotten out." It was too unbelievable. The underground was privileged information, known to myself and few others.
"Underground?" Estellise inquired.
"There's a secret entrance leading under the ruins that was recently discovered. Only a few people are supposed to know about it."
"And it's okay for us to know this?"
I sighed. "Well, I don't really have a choice if I want to clear my name." I moved behind the statue, inspecting the concrete below it. Karol soon joined me, kneeling down to the ground and running a hand over the many lines in the stone.
"The ground is scratched here." Karol commented.
"It's a good thing we came when we did. I'd rather not let thieves have free run of the ruins, above or below ground." My frown deepened.
"Well, then we better hurry and follow them! We just have to move this, right?" Karol got up and moved to the front of the statue, apparently in preparation to move the statue himself. With both hands on the stone, he began to push it as hard as he could. I walked up along side of him, observing his futile efforts.
"Nah, nah." Yuri chided, walking up between Karol and myself. "Come on. You've gotta put your shoulder into it. Like this." He explained, before pressing mightily against the statue with just one of his deceptively thin arms.
The statue became mobile.
I watched closely as he performed this feat of strength, my eyes focused on the statue- but not exclusively. I can't imagine I was the only one, either.
'Not bad." I mused silently.
The statue scraped slowly along the stone walkway for a few moments more, before finally coming to rest beside a newly revealed staircase in the ground. Karol fell flat next to the statue, nearly exhausted. Yuri, however, still retained what seemed to be the full sum of his strength, and knelt next to the staircase unfazed, peering inside.
"Are you okay, Karol?" Estelle queried nervously, taking a motherly tone once more.
Karol began to reply with some exaggeration of how tired he had become but, remembering what had transpired just an hour prior after his altercation with the Treant, changed his tune.
"S-Sure, that was a cinch..." he huffed, trying his best to imitate his better at the entryway.
Without another word from anyone, we entered the passage, Estellise eagerly leading the way like a loose puppy.
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