AN: I'm thankful I managed to get this chapter done as I'm more then certain I'm getting a cold DX Never mind that; this chapter has a bit of fluff and guild bonding :3 Hope you enjoy reading and do let me know what you think~!
Chapter 22:
It took Drayce a bit of effort in removing the lid to the container that held the Moon Legacy. He was attempting it with one hand, after all. But with a flick of his thumb the lid popped off and the etching in the wood that provided the Moon Legacy with mana to both sustain itself and concealed it from others seemed to immediately dissipate.
The wooden container shook in Drayce's hand for barely a second before the parchment that held the Moon Legacy itself flew out, unfurled itself and floated in the air before them.
That was something Drayce had not expected…
The parchment floated peacefully in the air in the centre of the clearing for a few moments. White lines then began to appear, dancing across the surface of the parchment and forming words and symbols. Drayce himself didn't understand what the words said, but a soft gasp from Kamali told him that he did.
The white lines on the parchment rapidly began to glow, growing brighter and brighter before it formed into a ball of pure light and energy. It then shot toward the end of the clearing, toward a natural wall of thick brush, trees, and roots. A wall that was seemingly impenetrable.
A strange sound, like that of a piece of glass splintering echoed through the air around them. And as that sound rattled through their ears, the ball of light abruptly faded and left a slight opening in the forest wall.
That…
That was amazing!
But what was that exactly?
"W-what happened?" Faelen stuttered as he subconsciously huddled close to Nashoba.
"The…Moon Legacy has fulfilled its duty," Kamali explained, his voice cutting through the silence that had fallen over them. And seemingly the entire floor itself.
"There's something hidden in the trees over there," Drayce said as he pointed to the slight parting in the branches and moss covered stones.
That…was where the moon legacy wanted them to go. Whatever was on the other side of that brush was the very thing that the Moon Legacy was created for.
Drayce ignored the pain in his leg as he urged Blayke to help him toward that opening. They were so close to learn more. More on the Radiant Moon or this Forgotten Princess.
Blayke was at first reluctant to move, obviously concerned for Drayce and the injury to his leg. But he soon sighed and helped Drayce to limp over to the direction the Moon Legacy had indicated in. He also knew that they were close to discovering the truth or possibly more information on the true purpose of the Moon Legacy.
As they pushed through, rather slowly with Blayke doing everything he can to act as Drayce's crutch, Drayce noticed a few interesting things. The hedges were so thick, if the Moon Legacy hadn't literally pointed them in this direction (and perhaps even cleared some of the way), Drayce wouldn't have thought to look more closely. It was hidden well. The trees and bushes close together creating a wall and the branches hung low. It appeared to have been done on purpose, strangely enough.
After a few tricky steps, they suddenly found themselves in a small area. He wouldn't say it was a clearing exactly. Just an area with less dense foliage. But it was a strange object in the middle of the area that immediately caught Drayce's attention.
Hidden beneath the moss and climbing flower vines was something that was obviously man-made. A large stone object that was rectangular in shape. It stood approximately waist high, two foot wide and five foot long. The more he looked at it, the more it appeared to be some kind of a stone container.
An alter? Or perhaps a tomb? Or a memorial stone?
Though the moss and vines were rampant, Drayce could see that the large stone object was divided in parts. Specifically four walls and a large stone slab as the lid.
There was nothing else in that tiny clearing. Just that stone container or sarcophagus.
"This is…" Drayce murmured as he limped over to the object and timidly touched it with his hand.
"It's a stone chest," Kamali said as he slipped next to him, his eyes focused entirely on the stonework in front of them.
"Not a coffin?" Blayke asked as he readjusted his grip on Drayce and eyed their surroundings cautiously.
Drayce pressed his hand flat against the stone before he idly brushed aside some of the fallen leaves and growing moss. "I don't know. I don't think so," he murmured as he pushed back a large clump of moss and his fingers brushed against a slight indentation etched into the stone.
He brushed aside more of the fallen debris and noticed that it seemed to be a symbol of some kind. Writing even.
"Kamali, there's something written here," he said.
"Let me see," Kamali said as he pushed forward to get a closer look. He spent a few more moments brushing aside more forest debris to reveal yet more words and symbols.
"Can you read it?" Drayce asked eagerly.
Kamali was silent as he trailed his fingertips over the engravings. "Yes," he finally admitted. "Many of the words have faded from time, but I believe I can get a gist of it. It…mentions something about a princess. Not her presence, but the words of her life."
"So it's an ancient treasure chest?" Drayce mused aloud.
Kamali nodded his head as his eyes carefully inspected the stone chest and the area of which it rested in. "Yes, it seems to hold the treasure of information."
Drayce slipped his arm from around Blayke's neck to rest fully against the stone treasure chest. He placed both hands against the side of the large slab that acted as the lid. He gave a precautionary and exploratory push and he heard a slight scraping sound. Like stone moving against stone.
He quickly deduced that the lid was able to be removed to allow them access to the information stored inside.
"We're going to need to push aside this stone slab, though," Drayce said before he chewed on his bottom lip as he tested his injured foot to the ground only to lift it back up immediately when a shot of pain raced his leg. "I doubt that I can at the moment."
"Let me try!" Faelen immediately insisted as he slipped next to Drayce, his hands atop of the treasure chest and looked up at him with an expression that was pleading to let him help in some way. "I'm stronger than I look."
Right, Therians were famed for having outstanding strength.
Drayce gave Faelen a grateful look as Blayke snared his arm again to drape over the back of his neck to support him once more. "Give it a try. Don't push yourself, though."
Faelen's expression immediately brightened, his ears perking up. "Yes!"
With Blayke's wounding an arm tighter around Drayce's back, he tugged him back to allow their rover enough room to attempt to push aside the stone lid. Drayce relied heavily on Blayke as he hobbled back, willing to let Faelen try to push the lid back, but also ready to push himself forward to help him should he need it.
Faelen manoeuvred himself to stand in the middle of the treasure chest and he placed his hands securely against the side. His ears folded back as a determined look of concentration appeared on his face. He then uttered a low grunt as his back and shoulders tensed and he pushed at the stone.
In jarring, shaky movements, Faelen was able to push aside the stone lid enough until it was more than half off, and allowed gravity to remove it the rest of that way. It fell to the ground with a loud crash, breaking branches, roots, and stones as it did so.
"Great job, Faelen," Drayce said as he reached out with his free hand to take Faelen by the shoulder and pull him back toward him so that his back hit the middle of his chest. "You all right?"
Faelen tilted his head back and grinned up at him. "That was easy!"
Drayce smiled back down at him. He then notice Kamali push forward cautiously to look inside the stone treasure chest. Drayce felt his arm slip to rest around Faelen's shoulders as the rover turned to positioned himself on the other side of him, his own arms wrapping around his waist to offer him support to keep standing along with Blayke.
"What's inside?" Drayce asked as Kamali leaned into the chest.
"Scrolls," Kamali said as he leaned back with a couple of faded, yellow scrolls of seemingly frail parchments in his hands. "Ancient scrolls and books."
"How many?"
"Quite a few, honestly," Kamali answered before he turned to look at them with a quizzical look on his face. "I believe there's another seal here. At the bottom of the crate. It's hidden, waiting to be activated."
Drayce furrowed his brow and frown. "So it needs something else other than the Moon Legacy?"
"It appears so," Kamali answered as he nodded his head idly before he lifted the scroll his held in his hand higher. "Perhaps the information we need are in these documents?"
Hopefully. Still, what a find as it was! If the words atop of the treasure chest were any indication, then the scrolls and tomes held inside may be the information and documentations of the Forgotten Princess before and perhaps even after she was banished from the royal family. And hopefully they would at least give a hint into her mindset and what drove her to try something so reckless.
And more important information on where the Radiant Moon could be found.
"But…the Moon Legacy…" Drayce murmured. "I think it's gone now. It's done its duty."
"Yes," Kamali immediately agreed. "It no longer needs to exist in this plain."
Good. Good…no one had to worry about it anymore or force it upon others. He couldn't help but wonder if the Moon Legacy was also dismayed by being passed around, but then it would mean it was a sentinel being, huh?
A sharp, shearing pain in his leg pulled Drayce from his musings and he involuntarily released a sound of pain as he fell against both Blayke and Faelen. "Ngh..."
Damn it, he was exhausted.
"What?" Blayke immediately asked as he tightened his hold and grip on him. "Your leg?"
"Yeah," Drayce said as he tried to smile through the grimace of pain. "Sorry."
"We need to get you out of here," Faelen said with great concern in his voice as he also tightened his arms around him.
"Where's Fiorello and Nashoba?" Drayce asked as he looked around and didn't see either teammate.
"They chose to stay just outside of the opening to prevent others from trying to trespass," Kamali was the one to explain.
"We've found the place now, so let's get out of here," Blayke said in an insistent tone as he tried to nudge Drayce back to the opening and onto the main floor of the labyrinth.
But Drayce shook his head slightly. "Let's grab everything and take it with us," he said as he motioned toward the stone chest. "We...can't risk leaving them here. Not now. The Moon Legacy is gone now."
"How are we going to carry everything out?" Faelen asked.
And that was a really good question. As of right now Drayce needed both Blayke and Faelen to keep himself upright.
"How about we use my shield to carry the hoard?" he suggested. "And then we'll use the Ariadne Thread to get out of here."
"Faelen, let's get Drayce out of here and into that clearing with Fiorello," Blayke commanded. "Once he's there, we'll return and grab everything."
"Right!" Faelen immediately replied.
Although it was a bit of a struggle to get out, especially now that Drayce couldn't put any pressure on his leg without pain. But after a few moments of stumbling about and hastily pushing aside twigs and branches, Blayke and Faelen helped Drayce out into the clearing. And just as Kamali had said, both Fiorello and Nashoba stood together in front of the opening, standing in such a way in hopes of hiding it from prying eyes.
As Drayce limped out with Blayke and Faelen on either side of him, both Fiorello and Nashoba turned to look. Nashoba's ears perked up that gave the indication that he was relieved while Fiorello made a slight tisking sound of disproval.
"Fiorello," Drayce said. "Anyone wandering about?"
"None so far," Fiorello answered as he indicated for Drayce to take a seat on the ground so he could rest. "I take it we've found something?"
"There's something there, alright," Drayce replied with a slight grin as Blayke and Faelen helped him to sit on the ground. But as he sat down yet another sharp pain shot through his leg and he grimaced once more. "Hngh..."
"You ok, Drayce?" Faelen asked him with obvious worry in his voice.
"Yeah, don't worry," Drayce said around a weak smile. "Just tired. Let's get what we can and leave, ok? Go ahead, I'm not going anywhere."
"We'll be right back," Blayke said as he reluctantly stood up from Drayce's said to snare his shield and trudged back into the forest wall.
Faelen was also reluctant to leave Drayce, but with a slight nudge and a smile from Drayce, Faelen jumped to his feet and hurried after Blayke. With the two busy elsewhere, Drayce turned his attention to their botanist.
"How bad is it?" he asked.
"Lacerations and flesh damage. Adrenaline has worn off which is why you're really feeling it now," Fiorello said as he began to inspect Drayce's leg again. "You're exhausted."
"Yeah," Drayce muttered before a smile made its way onto his lips as Nashoba moved to lie down behind him, allowing him to rest back against him if needed. "Thanks, Nashoba," he said as he patted the wolf on the head. "Man, Ashton is going to be so unbelievably pissed off, though."
Fiorello chuckled lightly as he idly tied off another bandage around Drayce's leg. "Let's get you back as soon as possible."
"As soon as Blayke and the others return use the Ariadne Thread," Drayce instructed as he leaned back against Nashoba. "No need to hang around any longer than that."
They fell into a somewhat uneasy silence as they waited for the others to return. The sounds of the forest were quiet, but not in a way that was suspicious. Drayce was still on edge, though. If there was to be another monster attack he wasn't sure if he could handle it. Grit his teeth and bare it if necessary.
The sound of snapping twigs and rustling leaves pulled Drayce back to full alertness and he turned his head to see Blayke and Faelen carrying his shield like a stretcher with a small pile of books and scrolls sitting on top. And behind them appeared Kamali, idly pulling twigs and leaves from his long hair.
"Got everything?" Drayce asked.
"Everything," Kamali replied.
"Good. Fiorello, if you don't mind."
Fiorello withdrew the Ariadne Thread from his pocket and without a word, activated it. There was a sudden flash of light before the sounds of a busy city were heard. Blinking away the after effects of both the flash of light and the nausea from travelling, Drayce was relieved to see that they were on the outskirts of town. At the base of the long stairs that led to the labyrinth's entrance.
One less hurtle to worry about.
"Ok. One obstacle down, one more to go," Blayke said, almost mimicking Drayce's thoughts as he crouched down next to Drayce. "How are we getting the…find back and you as well?"
Another good question. Jeez.
"I'll try to find some strength to stagger back," Drayce said as he sat up straight and tried to think of a way to push himself to his feet without having to put too much strain on his injured leg. "You help carry our loot."
Blayke immediately scowled at him and grasped him by the shoulder to push Drayce back down. And his brow furrowed further when he managed to do just that with very little resistance from Drayce himself. "You can't walk on your ankle."
"I'll help him," Kamali offered as he knelt down on the other side of Drayce but kept his gaze up on Blayke. "You'll be able to help Faelen carry the treasure far easier than I."
"Would it be better if I run ahead to get Ashton and perhaps Caelem?" Fiorello suggested.
That actually sounded reasonable. Ashton wouldn't be happy, but he'd be less happy if Drayce staggered in with an obviously leg injury. It would be worse for him in the long run if he did that and passed out because of the pain and exhaustion.
Aw, man, he totally didn't want to imagine how pissed Ashton would be if he did that.
"That would..." Drayce started but the words fell away when he felt a tingling sensation on the back of his neck. It was a feeling he felt before. It wasn't one that gave the indication that something dangerous was near. It...
"Hm?" Fiorello murmured, seemingly have sensed what Drayce had and immediately glanced around.
Unexpectedly his expression brightened as he looked over Drayce's shoulder. Curious, Drayce turned to look also to find a rather familiar white ghost floating silently in the air behind them.
"Oh, it's Theodore," Drayce murmured as the round, white wraith looked at him with a surprisingly confused look on its face. Drayce's gaze, however, was soon drawn to the figure behind Theodore.
He couldn't help but wince when a pair of icy blue eyes locked onto him. He tried to smile reassuringly, but came out more sheepish than anything else.
"Ah, Zohar, fantastic timing!" Fiorello said cheerfully.
As Zohar walked over to them his gaze never drifted from Drayce's. "You...You're hurt," his murmured as his face unexpectedly creased into an expression Drayce couldn't quite discern.
"N-no, it's minor," Drayce immediately tried to insist.
Fiorello actually snorted. "So minor he can't walk on it," he told Zohar point blank before instructing him to do something totally unexpected. "Zohar, carry him. We have a hoard of treasure to contend with."
"Sure," Zohar immediately replied. Not hesitation whatsoever.
"W-wait, that's not-" Drayce tried to both reassure that he was fine and that carrying him was a bit too much.
But was abruptly silenced when Zohar knelt down next to him, where Kamali had once been and wrapped an arm around his back while the other gathered his legs before slipping under his knees. And with barely a sound, Zohar drew Drayce close to him and lifted him up off the ground.
Drayce looked at Zohar in surprise by how easily he was able to lift him. And how easy it was for him to settle in his arms. Arms that were strong and firm as he held him, and yet he could sense tenderness there as well. It was surprising to say the least.
"S-sorry about this," Drayce uttered.
"No," Zohar said as he continued to look at him with that peculiar look on his face. "It's fine."
Drayce gave him a small smile as Zohar turned to carry him to the Crescentia. The others were right behind them with Drayce's shield and the items they had discovered. The Crescentia was thankfully close to the path that led to the labyrinth. And now that Drayce was no longer hindering anyone, they were able to move quickly through the street.
It was also oddly comforting being in Zohar's arms like this. He was also glad that Zohar was carrying him. He didn't think he could have found the strength to make it back to the Crescentia under his own strength. He didn't want to admit it aloud, but his leg was really starting to hurt.
Within the matter of minutes, they were home. Kamali pushed forward to open the doors and took a step back to allow everyone to walk in. Zohar stepped into the foyer and paused by the steps.
"Could you put me on my feet now?" Drayce asked softly. "I don't want to worry the others more than they already are."
Zohar seemed reluctantly, unwilling to let him put any strain on his obviously injured leg. But he nodded his head in acceptance and shifted to allow Drayce to stand on his uninjured leg. However, he kept an arm around Drayce's waist, effortlessly supporting him. And holding him tightly against his side.
Before Drayce could thank Zohar for his help and apologise for troubling him, he fell silent at the sound of footsteps above their heads. Someone was upstairs and quickly making their way to the stairs where everyone had gathered.
A moment later Caelem was seen at the top of the stairs, his ears perked and an expression of relief on his face. "You're back!" he said with a smile, but it soon turned into a look into of surprise and concern. "W-what happened?" he asked as he all but jumped down the stairs.
"Hey," Drayce greeted tiredly as Caelem paused right in front of him, looking worried and unsure if he should (or could) reach out to help him. "Rough day."
"You're injured?" Quickly came Ashton's voice and when Drayce looked up he watched as the green-haired scholar all but march down the stairs with a look on concern on his face. "What happened?"
Drayce tried to smile reassuring but yet again it came out rather sheepishly. He also hid a wince when Ashton immediately reached out to pull him protectively from Zohar's grip to instead support him himself.
"A couple of wild dogs. One took a liking to my leg," Drayce explained as he idly kicked out his injured leg and indicated to where Blayke and the others stood, where they had dropped his shield and their findings. "But that's not all; looks like Shashi is going to be excited."
Also appearing from the stairs, Shashi looked over at Drayce before his gaze flickered over to where his brother was stood with the cache they had discovered. A look of surprise appeared on his face. "That is...?"
"The Moon Legacy is no more," Drayce answered. "However, it led us to a cache of royal documents that seem to hold information on the Forgotten Princess. I'll..." he trailed off for as his injuries made their presence known to him once more. "I'll leave that to you for now, sorry."
"Yes, I'll take care of everything," Shashi promised as he made his way over the cache, but paused by his brother's side to check in on him first.
He placed his hands on Kamali's shoulders and leaned forward slightly to look into his eyes. He seemed to ask his brother something softly, to which Kamali nodded his head and whispered something else in return. Whatever he said seemed to reassure Shashi as his shoulders sagged slightly and he nodded his head.
"Ashton, can you take him to his room?" Fiorello ordered more than requested. "It would be best if he's in a comfortable environment."
Ashton honestly didn't need to be told, it seemed. "Sure," he uttered before he abruptly leaned forward to slip an arm behind Drayce's legs and swept him up into his arms.
Drayce's head spun slightly by the sudden movement and change in position. "H-hey!" he uttered before he sighed through a pout. "It's only an injured foot."
"A foot you need to walk on," Ashton returned with a protective and rather parental frown on his lips. "Now don't make this more difficult than it needs to be."
"I'll be good," Drayce said meekly as he sunk back and allowed Ashton to carry him without fuss. Instead he rested an arm around Ashton's shoulders, to which he promptly looked over to try to catch Zohar's attention.
"Zohar, feel free to poke around the documents, too," he said with a smile. "It was because of you we were able to find them, after all."
Zohar looked mildly confused and somewhat reluctant. "We'll see," he said before Ashton carried Drayce up the stairs and out of Zohar's line of sight.