Chapter 7 As Above, So Below

Max

July 21st, 2017

5:51 AM

Caffarella Park, Italy

Castle Camelot Museum

The six of us run up the stairs to find Fernando's clue from the old journal booklet in order to get to the crypt where the Reality Shard had to be. I thought back to every other secret society and organization Fernando mentioned that all had strings tied to the Herd of Whales. From the British Occult Secret Service to the Order of the Golden Dawn, all networked from the Saint Loomis order to the Herd of Whales, and every Prescott I've ever met from Seattle to Arcadia Bay were all descendants of this hermetic society.

I still wondered how ConDef was declared an organized descendant of the herd and Saint Loomis. I always knew the Prescott family tree had some sort of shady history only they could know about. It's a shame they had to lose two heirs to their society Sean and Nathan. And the last of the Arcadian Prescotts being Caroline and Kristine were the last heirs to betray Joanna's nobility. If Joanna would go as far as working with British extremist to fulfill her desperation, I could never blame her sister-in-law and niece for disgracing her against any terroristic actions upon herself. Just like her brother before her.

"We should be able to find our way into the crypts with this clue," I said. "The entrance has got to be hidden here someplace."

'As above, so below' our clue said in Latin. With our good adventurer skills and puzzle solving skills, we could never fail to find the Reality Shard's crypt. Stepping out into open air again once we were up the stairs, there was a high tower where we could spot our clue. Our first lead to find something above and below.

"There," said Fernando. "That's the highest tower."

"Okay," I said. "So we just need to make our way across-"

"Look out!" Rachel hissed.

Rachel had spotted more soldiers patrolling the castle like King Arthur's own guards. We braced ourselves for cover to remain unseen.

"Oh, shit!" I snapped.

"Mierda," said Fernando.

"Get down!"

Once we ducked under the walls, we needed a subtle approach before approach. And we needed to think of it fast.

"Now what?" Kristen sighed.

"Alright," I said. "The only way to the tower is through them."

"Great," said Alex. "Whatever happened to that 'sneak in, sneak out' plan?"

"You wha?" Fernando asked. "We can't quit now!"

"Yeah," I said. "Not when we're so close. C'mon, we'll find a way around them."

Frank scoffed.

"This has got to be the most stealth-based vacation of my life," said Frank.

The first couple of soldiers were ones below our feet to lower ground. There were too many of us to handle them all at once. So at least two or three people were going to have to be in charge of the stealth tactics Solid Snake style. Alex and I could be put in charge of taking care of all the ConDef guards. Maybe Rachel could help us too. Even though it's been some years since she's done a thing like this, I know she'll still be up to it.

There were three guards patrolling the low ground where we could get the jump on them from above their heads. I take out the first by simply leaping onto him and knocking him out on the floor as my body humped over his. Alex performs the same tactic on her guard. With one guard left, it was up to either me or Alex to take care of him. We both take care of him by simply shoving him over the ledge as he falls to the ground fatally. The two of us give the 'all cleared' signal to everyone else as they approach us from the high ground and stay behind us.

Upon advancing towards the tower where most of the guards were posted, we really needed to strategize how to get past them undetected. I use my time vision to check around all the guard post so we don't miss anything. This was like a Real Time Strategy game in stealth mode. At least six of Alkaline's men stood guard by the tower's entrance. Four guards outside the entrance, two of them inside the corridor. I turn my head to Alex to make hand gestures to her eyes to explain how we want to play this in sign language. She rolled her eye.

While two of the guards outside walked off patrolling their post to where they wouldn't spot us, Alex and I are given the opportunity to attack the other to guards head on. Giving them a punch across the face for a real good knockout. Then we give the other two guards who looked away the element of surprise by giving them a real hard knuckle smack behind their heads. It was only the two guards inside to deal with now. We gave Rachel, Frank, Fernando, and Kristen the heads up to come closer and stay behind.

The way we were able to deal with the guards inside was by hiding behind small walls they were leaning against, snatching the from behind, and karate chopping them in the forehead as we pinned them. The coast was clear from all fronts and we signaled our four other companions to get inside as they got behind us.

Once inside the tower, there was a small stairwell through a wooden door we could use to get to the top. I guide everyone up the stairs to follow me up to the roof of the tower. That way we'd be able to find our clue using the stars. Alex did mention earlier back in the 4x4 that Arthur and his knights as well as Ezra and his crusaders had to use the stars to find this castle. That's what we were going to do find the Reality Shard's hidden crypt.

The six of us were now all on the roof of the tower where we could see the moonlight and stars at night as bright as day. Even when it had reached six in the morning, the sun wouldn't rise for another hour in Italy when the tour busses would be arriving. So we had no more time left to lose to do our thing.

"Up here," said Fernando.

"Hey, keep us covered," I said. "Alright?"

"Yeah, well just hurry it up, people," said Rachel. "Okay?"

"Yeah, we're sitting ducks out here," said Frank.

Fernando and I walk over on a balcony on the tower while Alex, Kristen, Rachel, and Frank stand back to watch our backs. Us two find a symbol on the floor of the balcony matching the one in the ancient journal Fernando found. Our spot to finding out clue.

"Hey, here," said Fernando. "You see? 'As above, so below.'"

"We're definitely in the right spot," I said.

"Yeah, yeah. But the right spot for what?"

"Well the knights would've hidden the entrance to the crypt somewhere in plain sight."

Fernando had a little telescope with him to see in the distance. Looking back at the symbol, I may have understood something we were missing from the picture.

"Wait a sec," I said.

I still had that Eternal Cartographer map with me. I pulled it out to find the same symbol on the floor marked on the cartographer.

"Yeah, look," I said. "That same symbol appears on Ezra's map. Right next to this."

"Of course," said Fernando. "Ursa Minor. The North Star."

"The one fixed point in the night sky."

"So if we follow that down to the castle…"

"Whaddya bet it points out to our hidden entrance? Can I see that?"

"Yeah, yeah. I want it back though."

I hold Fernando's scope next to my right eye to spot the stars of the right constellation. If learned anything about star gazing as a kid, it would be that the Big Dipper faces down and the Little Dipper faces up. I could see Ursa Major, the Big Dipper, through my looking glass turning my head upwards. And next to it, Ursa Minor, the Little Dipper. I scan the constellation downward to where the North Star had sparked. Bingo.

"I found it," I said. "Alright, let's see if we can find that entrance. It should be directly below the North Star."

I move my head and eye directly downwards below the star and see another tower in the castle directly under it. With a door between two statues on the tower that must be our crypt entrance.

"There it is," I said.

"Well that's hidden in plain sight alright," said Fernando.

"Um…guys!" Rachel snapped.

"Yeah, just a minute!" I snap back.

"It can't be that simple, can it?" Fernando wondered.

"Max!" Frank snarled.

"What?!" I responded.

"RPG!" Alex warned. "Twelve-o-clock!"

I turn my scope over a little to see two ConDef troops with one of them armed with an RPG. Ready to aim and fire. As soon as the rocket was fired, I was jumped and the six of us immediately jumped off the tower from the balcony right before impact.

"Look out!" Kristen warned.

"Get down!" Alex yelled.

The six of us of us run across the castle's wall roof just as soon as the explosion was set off from the rocket destroying the balcony. We didn't have the proper weapons to handle the demolition men. So we ran as fast as we could to avoid the rocket fire.

"Run for it!" Fernando hollered.

The man with the RPG I had just seen on my scope wasn't the only demolition man posted. There were men with RPGs posted on every rooftop firing rockets left and right. There wasn't going to be any escape for us retreating from the RPGs and at this point, Alkaline and Joanna must know we're still alive and Ares know that I've recovered from our first meeting back in Greece. And they'd do anything to extract us away from the picture together.

"Ah shit!" Frank cried. "Come on, people! Hurry the fuck up!"

"These guys are fucking insane!" I shouted.

I could see and feel rockets being hit against the walls blowing them into chucks like they were Lego bricks. It was like fighting in a trench in a warzone even though I've never fought in one. Imagine this at Blackwell from the shooting three years ago. Not very many people would survive this.

Another rocket hit the wall and caused an explosion after another. ConDef weren't necessarily know for subtlety, but this was a bit oppressive destroying a castle museum just to make sure we don't live. Even by ConDef standards alone.

"Oh Jesus!" Rachel shouted after the last explosion.

"What the fuck's wrong with these guys?!" I bickered. "They're destroying this place! Keep moving!"

The loud combustions blowing up next to me nearly makes me go deaf as they do nearly get me killed. I had hoped the cacophony wouldn't last much longer.

We reached another rooftop where a wire was hooked to the wall and Dragunov sniper rifles were lying around for use. We could use the wire to zipline our way off the roof and escape the men with the RPGs, but not before they were dealt with first.

"There!" Kristen pointed. "There's a wire! We can zipline across!"

"Not while they're firing at us we can't!" Fernando barked.

"There's sniper rifles lying around!" Alex pointed. "Someone take one and use it to shoot those fucktards down!"

"You can count on me!" Rachel prevailed.

I figured Rachel would take the bait with the snipers. I always knew how much the best marksmen in the business can be even after three years on hold. This was no time for a performance review. Rachel takes a rifle and I as well take one to help. Even though my sniping skills weren't as profound as hers.

The two of us look though our scopes to aim our crosshairs at the demolition men and cut them down like cheese with one bullet. Rachel snipes the RPG men posted on the left, I had the ones posted on the right. Until now, I've only just realized something about myself shooting people. I'm so used to using guns and defending myself, I'm no longer that girl in the junkyard shaking herself with an empty magnum. Aimed directly at a skeevy drug dealer who is no longer. I don't pleasure myself using guns, however. Only endure myself using them.

After all the RPGs were neutralized, it was time for the six of us to bail out and zipline off the roof. Assuming we had shot down the last of them.

"Come on," I said. "We gotta move. Now!"

Rachel and I put down our rifles and line up with others to zipline across the wire. We would use our pistols as our hooks to slide across the wire. Alex was the first in line to do just that.

"Ready?" She asked. "Let's go!"

As Alex slid down first, Rachel and Frank slid down after her. It was only Fernando, Kristen, and I who need to go and zipline down next.

"Right," said Fernando. "It's all clear. On the wire!"

But before any of us could zipline down, there was still one RPG guy we missed who fired directly at us. As soon as the rocket blew up in our faces, the three of us flew off the roof and landed a few feet down on lower ground with our backs. Before I was blacked out, there was ringing in my ears that deafened me from the explosion. And then we were knocked out from the shock.

Note: So I've just played The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit yesterday and it was a cute little addition to the Life Is Strange series. Right before Life Is Strange 2 is released this September where Chris Eriksen could be our next protagonist. With a little power of his own as seen in the game.

I'd also like to announce that I'll be heading out of town this weekend for Los Angeles to go to Universal Hollywood Resort and Disneyland. So I may right a little while I'm gone, but I may not post another chapter until I'm back in town. Your understanding and convenience is appreciated.

Until next time, stay tuned and golden!