A/N: Hi hi~ sorry I haven't updated in a while. Notice the picture change on the cover section? Yeah, I've been working on a cover for this fic! Here's the link to the full picture if you wanna see it :
celestialcolors. tumblr post/ 73304272121/ omg- i- actually- did- this- thing- wow- slapped (remove spaces btw ^^)
Anyway, this chapter WE'RE CONTINUING OUR INVESTIGATION! Yaaay ^^ *smacked*
Ahem, 'k then, let's start!
Warning and Disclaimer... *points you to the first chapter*
Enjoy~
Chronicles of the Drowned City
C.21: What Lies Beyond the Veil
As the sun rises, signaling a new day, the people of Armoroad woke up not to the sound of pounding rain, but to birds chirping.
Oddly enough, the rain didn't last as long as they predicted. But it was heavy enough to drown the city if it were located in some other place.
Even now the city looks as if it had drowned. Puddles of water, varying in size are scattered about, dampening the streets, the buildings are damp as well, the walls now drenched in water, also dripping from the rooftops. Even the drainage pipes in the city became somewhat full.
Due to the dampness, the air became humid and cold, but still managable.
...Not so much for the young Arbalist though...
"Sis, I told ya to grab some more clothes..."
"E-Ey, I know that! I just... forgot..."
"Yer to stubborn for yer own good..." Quietly, Orion smacked himself on the face as he said this.
The Arbalist kept on hugging herself despite the still managable weather as the walked to the Labyrinth's entrance.
They've already gotten themselves registered, and even the Guildmaster got confused about Evita's odd behaviour. It's not that cold today! But he didn't bother to ask.
Once they arrived in the Labyrinth's entrance, the air somehow felt colder for the Arbalist.
"Aw damn it, me and my cold problems.."
"Just what's up with her, anyway?" asked the Buccaneer.
"Well... let's just say she's... not really good with the cold...hehe.." The others merely kept quiet.
"Aw, it ain't no problem! Hopefully when we get into a fight, it's warm me up!"
"Yeah, hopefully..." muttered the Gladiator.
They then did their usual routine; splitting the group up into smaller groups. Evita and Orion will be joining Cia, Heinrich and Rudollf into the Labyrinth, while the rest went to sea. They all then went their separate ways.
Deeper into the Labyrinth's entrance, is a familiar pole of purple-ish light, like the one they saw in the second stratum. Touching it, Heinrich and his group got sent back towards the second stratum's first floor.
Rudollf, upon seeing the stratum for the first time, stared at it, wide eyed.
"Whoa... this's th'second stratum?"
"Yup~. You like it?"
"Hell yeah I do!"
Meanwhile, the two new members, on the other hand, stood there, speechless.
Snapping her fingers in front of the other two members, Cia pouted. "Ey, snap out of it!" she said.
Blinking a few times, Evita's attention went back to reality.
"Wow... hey, you guys discovered some pretty neat stuff 'ere!" Smiling proudly, Cia nodded.
"We're... actually underwater... W-Wait, how the hell can we still breathe?!" asked Orion, baffled by the sudden realization.
"According to the Senatus, air somehow found it's way here into this part of the ocean." Orion nodded. Heinrich then raised an eyebrow.
"Wait... this is already the sea, and... this is only the second stratum..."
"Your point?" asked Evita.
"What's under here? I mean, aside from this 'Deep City'." Everybody suddenly fell quiet at Heinrich's remark.
Good point there. If this is already submurged territory, what's under here..?
After a long silence, Cia sighed.
"Well, whatever it is that's down below us, we'll have to find out for ourselves. Isn't that why we even made a guild?"
"Yeah, your right." Orion then gave a nod. "Alright then! Let's go!"
The group then ventured away from the Pole. They followed the map, passing through a shortcut that led to a mining spot.
Orion immediately went over to inspect the ores jutting out of the ground there, then, he mined some himself.
"Bro... you're seriously still obssessed with rocks..?
"Hey, c'mon... there's actually some pretty neat stuff here..." He then continued mining, fishing out more ores.
Heinrich sighs, shaking his head a little.
"Great... more people with unhealthy obssessions..."
"Well, at least this time it isn't as bad as Chitose's..." the Monk whispered. Again, Heinrich sighs, whilst shrugging.
"I guess..."
After a while of inspecting and mining, Orion stood up satisfied. They then moved on...
Close to the mining point, there's another shortcut. They went through it, and as soon as they got out, they saw a familiar looking ninja standing at the south end of the small clearing. Although something seems amiss...
"Agata!" Said-ninja jumped a bit, turning towards the person who called him. Cia.
"H-Huh? O-Oh, hey. How's it going?" Cia raised her eyebrow a bit. He doesn't seem to be too enegetic today...
"Uh... hey, who's this kid?" asked Evita.
"O-oh, right! This is Agata," the Monk then turns towards the ninja,"Agata, this is Evita and Orion. They're our new Guild members." Agata gave a nod.
"Nice to meet you." The other two siblings nodded.
"Well, anyway, we're doing ok. How are you?" Agata scartched his head before answering.
"Oh, well... it's nothing, really. Just..." The group merely stayed quiet, waiting for the boy to continue.
"Hypatia... she's been acting well... weird ever since we got to this Strata. She doesn't look well either." Agata then gave a small sigh. "Though I can kinda understand why she's nervous."
"Hypatia's been acting weird? Weird... how?" At this, Agata's uneasiness seems to have grown. Despite this, however, he opens up still.
"Hypatia's dad was one of the first astrologers in Armoroad. He's been here before." Heinrich nodded.
"But then, their Guild left one day to inspect this stratum and... they never came back.."
"Wait... you said they came to inspect this Stratum?" asked Heinrich, confused.
"Oh, the Senatus didn't tell you? This place has actually been found a long time ago. Narmer just
blocked progress for the more recent explorers when it came to the fourth floor."
"I see..."
"And... after her dad's Guild went missing, Hypatia..." the ninja then fell into an abrupt silence, not
wanting to continue the story any further.
The group wanted to know more, sure, especially Cia, but a part of her tells her not to coax the story
any further.
Evita though, decided to ask for her.
"After that, what happened?"
The uneasiness in Agata grew, and the boy became conflicted. But after a while, the boy finally
responds.
"I...I think Hypatia feels like she's been here before." A pause.
"See, after her dad went missing, she was in so much shock that she couldn't remember a thing."
Evita grew uneasy, regreting asking the question.
"She may act happy, but she doesn't remember anything about her past or her dad. That's kinda why I brought her here. I was hoping we can find some clues about her dad here. Maybe then... she could finally remember." After that, Agata fell completely silent. It doesn't seem like he has no more to say, and the determination in his eyes seem very obvious. Cia then nodded.
"I see...Well... I guess we should get going now too, then." The group then walked off, before Cia stopped again, turning towards Agata.
"Oh, and... sorry for poking our noses into your business there." Agata merely nodded, a sign that he was ok with it.
Awkwardness still in the air, the group pressed on, Heinrich double checking, then triple checking his map as they walked.
Finally, they arrived at the stairs leading to the next floor. Climbing it, they went down, entering the next floor.
At first, the floor didn't seem too different. The scenery is just like as it was in the last floor. But, as they walked further, they found out that this floor had a certain... gimmick to it.
An annoying one, from what the group can see.
"The current here's strong... we'll have to be careful."
"Aww really?! Currents? Here? We're underwater for heaven's sake! There's supposed t'be no currents if yer deep underwater!" said Rudollf. Evita then let out an exasperated sigh, but then hugged herself all of a sudden.
"Great... there's winds here, huh...?" Orion chuckled a bit.
"Haha! How bad can it be? It's just currents. We'll find our way around it."
"Yeah, easy for you to say..." Cia then blinked, as if remembering something.
"Hold up a sec. Maybe we can use these currents to out advatage?"
"How?" asked the Arbalist, still hugging herself.
"Well, currents only head in one direction," Heinrich clarified. "If we walk through the right one, we'll make progress."
"Ah, I see where yer goin' there." Rudollf then looked towards the other currents of water close to them.
"C'mon, then!"
The group avoided the first current, but then went through the next one. They didn't realize how painful it was to go through one of these.
If they weren't careful and not steady themselves, they would've gotten tossed about inside the strong currents. They'd end up getting spit out of the rush of water instead of dropping out of it and landing safely.
In which case, Rudollf managed to avoid the latter. The others however... didn't fare so well.
"Oww... this place is gonna be a pain, is it...?" asked Evita.
Everyone got onto their feet, rubbing their head, their bodies aching slightly from the fall. Cia looked at the Buccaneer, who seems to be ok, all things considered.
"Uh... how can you keep yourself steady in a current like that?"
"I just can!" He then urged the others to move on, not showing them any mercy for the "beating" they got just now.
As the group pressed on, getting themselves spit out of more currents, and getting chased by more crocs, they entered a passageway, north of the map, where Cia discovered herbs growing on the sea's floor.
Kneeling down, Cia inspected each of the herbs, her face brightening as she saw them.
"H-Hey, these are what I need for Zakharia's fever medicine! Yes, I can gather more here now!" She then plucked a few herbs, which she identifies as a Narcissus, stowing them inside her bag, before gleefully moving on, the group chasing after her.
The trudged onward, discovering one more spot where herbs grow before they came upon a door. Opening it, they noticed a familiar girl up ahead.
"Ah, it's good to see you again. Congratulations on reaching the Second Stratum!" greeted Olympia joyously.
"If you've come this far, then you must be under orders to search for the Deep City, correct?"
"Yeah, why?" asked Cia. Olympia slowly looks around the forest before she spoke again.
"Well... I've actually explored this Stratum a number of times already. I've found clues regarding the Deep City, but I have my own reasons for remaining silent." The group raised an eyebrow.
"But... you are trustworthy, and strong..." Olympia then fell silent for a moment, as if thinking.
"Yes... yes, I think I can share my clues with you." Olympia then slowly walks away, the group following right behind her.
A few more steps, and the girl stops. She turns towards the group and speaks again.
"Look there, and I'll show you the clues I spoke of." She then points south of where they are right now. The group turned towards that direction, greeted by the sight of a long, stretching path.
"Past this point are currents which looks to be vestiges of when this place was once submerged. A hidden stairway is supposedly past these currents... one that leads to the Deep City." Olympia then shakes her head, the group still staring at the long path.
"There are countless dangerous fish lurking about there though, preventing people from getting past those currents." Her face suddenly turned grim.
"I've asked a number of Guilds to look into it, but... none of them have returned."
The group too, fell grim, anxiousness replacing their curiosity.
But, they have a lost city to find, and explorations to do!
Steeling themselves, Heinrich spoke to the girl.
"We'll see if we can look into this." Though Heinrich's not sure about this...
But there are no more paths left to take. They'll just have to believe her... for now.
Olympia looks away, her expression faintly weary. She moves slowly towards the wall.
"Thank you. Good luck, then." The group nodded, Rudollf as well, but he also felt suspicious of the girl, albeit not showing it. They then began moving, leaving the girl to rest.
As they walked down the winding path, Rudollf's face turned somewhat serious, as if he suspects something.
Highly unusual for a man like him.
Noticing this, Orion turned to him.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Something's.. odd 'bout that girl." Everybody stopped on their tracks, turning towards the Buccaneer.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, think 'bout it. Th'girl said she explored this Stratum a few times already, right? And if she's got clues already, then why not just continue with th'search herself? I mean, why ask other explorers t'investgate for her?"
"Well, maybe she couldn't handle things herself..." Though even Cia's now starting to have doubts.
"I dunno... she seems capable of handling herself," inquired Orion. "I mean, she's been in here all this time, solo. I think she could'da dodged a few fish."
"If you think about it, all this time we may have been set up.." Everyone turned towards Heinrich, startled by the sudden remark.
"What do you mean, a trap?" asked Cia.
"Yes. I mean, I don't know. There's just something about that girl. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I noticed it when we met her back in the first strata. When she told us about camping in the Labyrinth?"
"Yeah.. yeah, I remember."
"Well, whatever it is, we ain't gonna find out just standin' here. C'mon." The group nodded, pressing on, the Arbalist taking the lead.
Taking a few more steps into the long path, the came to it's end surprisingly quickly.
Huh... well now, the passageway's not that endless now, is it?
They then came upon a number of currents. Mapping those, Heinrich looked at the map, thinking. Now, which current to take...?
They decided to first go through the current in the middle. It went into a loop, ending up in the third current, a treasure chest past it.
So, the group doubled back, coming through the first current this time. Walking through the passageway, they came into an fork in the road. Going through the first road, they came upon a door, with a moon like seal. Walking through the other road, the group made progress, along with some more tossing by the currents.
Soon, they came into one passageway that looks to be forming a loop. There, they saw 3, giant, fanged fish. Ancient ones at that.
"I'm guessin' these are the fish that girl mentioned?" asked Evita.
"Yeah, I guess... now, how do we avoid it?"
"We wait, then we follow it!" Rudollf then went and hid just in front of the passageway. The three fish kept on swimming, one following the other from behind. Once all three fish had passed, he signaled the others to start moving.
They followed the fishes, while keeping their distance. Once an opening out of the loop are within their sight, the group made a run for it. Once they got out, they took no chances and kept on moving, slow enough that they can still catch their breaths.
They went through another winding path, opening a shortcut right in the middle of it, before they came into a small clearing, a feeling of dread and unease suddenly overcoming the group.
In front of them, the corals, which are usually bright in color, are stained dark red, almost crimson.
Like blood.
"Ok... is it just me, or are we getting ourselves into something bad..?" asked Cia. Her foot then hit something on the ground. She looked down, and noticed a bag, and equipment which looks to be an explorer's standard equipment, scattered about the sea's floor, also stained with the same, red splotches.
Suddenly, the dreadful presence they felt became stronger.
"Uh.. guys...?"
Slowly turning their heads, the group is greeted by a horrifying sight.
Those fish that they dodged just now are currently right before them, it's eyes looking at them with gluttony, hungry for fresh meat.
Did Olympia really set them up for this..?
"Oh god, I knew that girl ain't no good th'minute she told us t'come 'ere!"
"Do we really need to fight through them?" asked Cia.
"No, they're too strong for us right now... that girl must've known this," uttered Heinrich.
Wildly looking around the room, they found no roads or anything that could get them out of here.
Is this really the death of them?
"We'll just have t'dodge 'em then!"
"But how?"
"Make a break for it!" Orion then ran towards an opening the school of fish made, skillfully dodging the fish's assault. "Follow me!" he called. The others did as told.
They dodged, and dodged, fear and fury both mixed in their eyes. Orion lead them towards the shortcut they opened just now. Quickly, the group went through it, the fish close in the heels, mouth open, it's stained fangs ready to rip open more flesh.
Though they didn't get what they want. The group safely made it out, close towards the exit to this hell of a fish nest.
The others looks relieved, albeit still angry over what just happened.
Cia though... not so much.
Gritting her teeth, the girl curled up her hands into a fist, punching a tree bark, her bandages doing little to protect her knuckles.
"I'm gonna kill her for this..."
"I don't think that girl's even human..." said Orion.
"Hell no she's not!" shouted the Monk, furious. "How could she throw away that many lives and still go about with that 'happy' disguise of her's?! It's disgusting!"
"Look, Cia, calm down. We'll go back and question her, and unless she does something, I want to you try and contain yourself," ordered Heinrich.
"Why? Aren't you all mad at this too?!"
"We are. Trust me, we are. And I bet those people who died are too. To be honest, I want to stab her in the face myself," admitted Heinrich,"but throwing punches won't solve anything. Let's just approach this calmly first." Cia's fist hardened a bit, but then she took a deep breath, calming down, though fury is still evident in her eyes.
"Fine. Let's go." And so they went.
Once they came back towards where they saw Olympia, they noticed that the girl's position remains unchanged. Leaning against the tree barks, gazing at the blue sea...
But when she notices the group, her mouth gapes open in shock.
"You're... you're back..." But her tone was not that of relief, but of distress and shock. Cia's hardened her fist again, but Heinrich put a hand on her shoulder, attempting to calm her down.
"But...it shouldn't have been impossible for you to survive a battle with so many fish..." weakly, the girl uttered. By now she had changed, her veil slowly coming off.
"Spit it. Why did you do this?" spat the Monk in the most venomous tone she can muster.
"I have no need to explain myself to you," the girl bluntly said, discarding her veil completely, revealing her true nature; her cold and distant self.
"Zephyr... you have become a nuisance." Her gaze turns ice cold, but the fire in Cia's eyes seem unfazed. Her fury won't die down until he's beaten this... this thing!
"I'll be clear. Either you obey me and abandon your search for the Deep City, or else..." Her hands then brushed lightly against the trees. An effortless move, to be sure, but then the tree bark suddenly splits in half, startling the group, even the still furious Cia.
"...You will meet the same fate. Go no further if you value you life, and tell your Senatus that as well." The girl then went off, into the path she opened just now.
"Hell no I'm not..." Noticing Cia starting to lose grip over her fury, Heinrich's grip on her shoulders hardened.
"Not now, Cia." Sighing, the girl fished out an Ariadne Thread.
"C'mon, let's report in to the Senatus."
"Hm? What's the matter? You all look pale." Flowdia then sighs a bit.
"I don't know what happened, but-"
"You need to warn the other explorers about something." Flowdia raised her eyebrow at the Hoplite.
"Oh? What might that be?" Heinrich then proceeded to explain everything.
...
"...I see... This new information may shed some light on the new occurrences.."
"I'm sorry?"
"Countless Guilds have gone missing, you see, right there in that stratum. I'd always assumed that the Labyrinth is the cause, but..." Flowdia briefly shakes her head,"if that girl is the cause of this, then..."
Flowdia's gaze hardened all of a sudden.
"She's rue the day she defied me like this! I've issued another mission for you. Hunt that girl down, and take her back here." A pause.
"I'm not sure if you know about this already, but the Undersea Grotto has been investigated on for a long time now. I've seen dozens—no, hundreds of explorers make their grave there. If that girl is the cause of this-"
"Then ya want us t'catch her as soon as possible?" Flowdia nodded. The Buccaneer sighed.
"We'll take it, but I can't say this will be easy," said Heinrich.
"Of course, I understand that. I'll have Kujura lead a company of sentries down." Flowdia then returns to her desk.
"The race is on to find this woman. Capture her, and bring her before me!" The group nodded, then went off.
Once they're outside of the office, Cia sighed.
"I'm guessing we'll start the search tomorrow...?"
"Yeah... we should rest and prepare... y'know." Orion shrugged.
"I guess your right.. uh.. sorry for... you know..."
"Nah, nah, it's ok, girl! I was actually ready to shoot a damn cannonball at that bitch's face."
"That can wait. Let's just rest up for now. I'll go tell Kujura that we'll be ready tomorrow morning."
"Ok. See ya." Cia and the others then went off, Heinrich going back into the Senatus' office.
Who would've thought things could take a turn like this..?
-To Be Continued-
A/N: LONGEST. FUCKING. CHAPTER. YET. OMG.
Aaaa, finished this in a whole day... Well, not really, but the first segment of this chapter I did about a few days ago. The rest like... 3000 words or so are done in one day TTnTT I needs sleep...
Anyway, yeah, I uh... don't even know where that chapter title idea came from XDD
*yawns* And now I shall sleep *creeps ino blankets*