John had been clearing away the rubble and loose rocks around what appeared to be a doorway for the past ten minutes, Will and Methos chipping in where they could, but they didn't seem to be making much progress. To his shame, Watson was forced to wait on the sides, wishing that he had long-levity like Helen so that he could help, feeling too helpless for his own good.
"Are you certain?" Helen asked the young man who had just thrown a large stone out of the way.
"Yeah." Will dropped another rock onto the growing pile, "Should be the main foyer for the Bhalasaam hall of records."
"My father instructions mentioned a passageway or corridor leading to a subterranean caverns below."
"We have no idea… what the original interior of this building looked like," he moved yet another stone, "let alone where an access point may be." Turning back to the wall, he pushed against the remains to loosen it, only to have it fall away, leaving a hole into what appeared to be a tunnel, ancient air escaping its new chimney.
Taking a flash light, Helen stepped forward to inspect it. "Well done."
"I'm seriously geeking out right now." Will said to no one in particular.
"As am I." Watson said, looking at him in an understanding way.
The inside was somewhat like a city in itself, corridors, bridges and stairs leading off in several directions at each crossroad they passed, but the map they had gave them some instructions as to how they were to travel. After a while, they reached the bottom of the first set of stairs.
"Why would the vampires build a cavern beneath a hidden city?" Will asked, shining his light around the dark space, "Seems kind of redundant don't you think?"
Helen turned back to look at him, "Even though they were the conquers, the rulers, the overlords, they advanced civilisation by centuries. Their knowledge, their technology was far more advanced than anyone could have imagined back then."
"So they kept their secrets well hidden." John looked up at their surroundings as James caught up, his steps beginning to falter.
"Well they knew the world would turn against…" Watson put a hand on the bald man's shoulder, beginning to show the trouble he was getting from his machine, "They would have calculated for the possibility that… Bhalasaam might one day be found, and pillaged…"
"…Lest their wealth of knowledge fall into the wrong hands." They all turned to the new face, the spiky hair and sharp canines only meaning one thing. "Miss me?" Tesla asked.
"John…" Helen said, stopping the angered man from doing something stupid. Adam swore silently as he noticed who it was. He hoped the vampire wouldn't recognise him, though was glad that they'd met recently enough for him to think nothing of his appearance.
"I know he's difficult to kill but I'm sure there are ways," the ripper said, his eyes screaming out in bloodlust.
"Is that before or after you retrieve the blood because frankly, good luck with that if I'm dead. You know, you can't do it without me." Nicola explained before stepping towards them, "Nice move, last time we met, Johnny." He clicked his neck, "Took me a while to get over it."
"Not long enough old boy. Care for another helping?"
"What are you doing here Nicola?" Helen asked before the new member had time to answer.
The vampire sighed and touched the lamp hanging over him. It sparked for a moment before it lit up, along with the rest of them moments later, meaning the group could put theirs out. Adam raised his eyebrows. He'd forgotten vampires could do that.
"Isn't it obvious? The Cabal want to turn the world into a war zone, only the ancient blood can stop it yes! I do keep abreast of current events, thank you."
"Yet you refuse to answer any of our communiqué's" Watson complained, leaning against one of the pillars.
"My dear James, you're looking… older. Feeling your age?"
"Ever the gentleman I see."
"And what have we here?" he faced the youngest members, "I'm guessing that one of you must be a blood relative of Nigel Griffin otherwise why would you have been brought along, I hope you're up to the task."
Clara grinned, "Damn straight I am skinny."
"You I like, you…" he pointed at Will "I don't know."
"I'm doctor Zimmerman. I work with doctor Magnus." Will replied, his voice emotionless.
"Protégé. Well, a mission's necessary disposable item."
"Stop this Nicola." Helen stepped forward, "You know what we're facing why not make contact?"
"Firstly, I prefer to work alone. Secondly, I don't trust any of you any more than you trust me. That's why I skipped the orientation part of the tour." If only I could have done that.
"How did you get down here?" James asked, keeping the focus on him. Adam smiled, thankful he hadn't been noticed yet.
"There's another entrance, far side of the mountain just have to know where to look for it which I do. Now follow me." He turned and began to walk down one of the tunnels, "Magnificent isn't it? All that remains of my ancestors. Their work. Ten thousand years of knowledge and power, hidden from the world."
"You've been coming here for decades haven't you?" Helen asked, making him pause, "This is where you got the idea to revive vampires as a race."
"Your father… He did his job well." He turned, "Despite my best efforts, we can only retrieve the blood as… one. Adam?"
Oh shit "Hey… Tesla." Adam smiled slightly, "Long time no see."
The others frowned, turning to look at him. This was exactly what he didn't want to happen.
"It's been almost five years!" the scientist replied, grinning enthusiastically, "I thought I'd killed you."
"It'll take more than a knife wound to kill me Tesla."
"Ah yes. I shall have to try harder next time…"
"As interesting as this is, we really must be going. Nicola, lives at stake." Helen said, eyeing Adam before turning back to the vampire.
"This way."
James held out his hand. "John…" he gripped his shoulder again, "Thank you."
"What the hell was all that about?" Clara asked, turning to the man she knew as Adam.
"It's complicated. I'll tell you some other time." Quickly, Methos walked towards James and Druitt's disappearing backs. It appeared that the time was closer than he had expected.
"This place goes on forever." Will complained, shining his light down a passageway that was unlit.
"It's a labyrinth." Helen explained, "It's designed to keep valuable secrets from those that would steal them."
Tesla turned to look back at her, "Was that aimed at me?"
"Yes."
The next corridor they passed through opened out into a large room, its roof high above them and a circular plinth lay in the centre up to about waste height. They all made their way over to it slowly and were soon all stood around it.
There was a five pointed star drawn on it, and within each point was a key shape. Around the edges were the roman numbers one through to ten.
"Some sort of numeric code?" Zimmerman was full of questions today apparently, Adam thought.
"My mother's birthday," Helen began to tap the numbers II, I, VIII, III and VI, "my father's favourite password." Once the sequence had been completed, the middle rose to reveal a roll of paper which Magnus unrolled onto the table as the slot slid back down. "It's his handwriting."
"Latin?"
She nodded, "His favourite language."
Was there anything about the guy she didn't know?
"It's Caveat addressed to all five of us." Watson pointed to a bit of scribble on the side, "It's a warning that the blood should only be sought by all of us or not at all."
"And only for the most altruistic reasons."
"Well saving civilisation from global chaos and war seems worthy but… he's your father." Tesla grinned mischievously.
Helen ignored the comment. "It's a map of the labyrinth."
"Look at this," Will pointed to some words written on the map itself, "five notations here."
"Yes five tests, each has one of our names beside it." James explained, translating the remaining Latin.
"What kind of tests?" Clara was obviously nervous. Mind you, who wouldn't be in a room full of people who could kill you in an instant inside the bowels of a mountain under a city that wasn't even supposed to exist.
"They're designed specifically for each of our gifts." Tesla explained, "Impenetrable to anyone else."
"My father knew that in order to prevent any one of us from trying to access the blood alone, he had to use the technology the vampires left behind to safe guard their secrets."
Zimmerman looked at the vampire, "And even you couldn't find a way around it."
"I know, nervous yet?"
"And at the end of each test there's a key, once we have the five keys…" Watson began, only to be taken over by Magnus.
"…We can access the vial. My father loved the metaphor of keys, he saw them as symbols for the unlocking of secrets."
"So we can assume that none of these tasks will be… simple and easy?" They all knew this wouldn't be the case, but John had to ask.
"Knowing my father absolutely. May I?" She reached out to turn the map towards her.
"Oh, yes." Watson relinquished the paper, turning his head slightly as it rotated.
"Will, take Clara to Griffin's test, that's… that's here." Will turned to look down another corridor that she had pointed to, "Watson yours and John's markers are closer together." James looked off in the other direction at his route, "When there work as a team. We'll all meet back here with our keys."
"That leaves you and… Nicola, your tests are marked for the same area." Druitt's eyes began to fill with the anger he had previously pushed away.
"I guess your father liked us best as a couple." Tesla stated, making her stare at him.
John looked between the two of them, "Helen if you can wait…"
"I'll be fine."
"Such chivalry." The grin covering Nicola's face was almost begging to be hit.
The ripper turned to face his rival, "If any harm comes to her, accidental or otherwise…"
"I have no reason to do her any harm but you, I'm finding more reasons by the minute."
"Honestly, I'm surrounded by adolescence!"
They all began to turn their separate ways, leaving Adam to look after each of them. "Hey, what about me?"
Helen sighed. "You should stay here. I don't trust you with Tesla and you'd probably distract James. Clara's under enough pressure as it is without two men following her around."
She had a point. He nodded and turned back to the pedestal, watching Will put a hand on Clara's arm before turning to their exit.
AN I hope to explain Tesla's relationship with Methos in a later installment or in a related story
