Sorry for the long wait. Been busy with other stories. And I ended up rewriting this chapter from the ground up 3 or 4 times. Which I'm not gonna lie, really killed my enthusiasm for continuing. That's kinda the problem with thought dump stories, they're pretty rarely planned out properly.
"Oof! Well, that was certainly an experience." The Elf said as she dusted herself off as she dropped to the ground, her armored heels crushing a pile of ash that had once been a skeleton. "Thank the gods for oil and a fire breathing lizard that can produce flames hot enough to melt bone. I guess it's true what they say, even a broken clock can be right twice a day."
Glancing smugly over her shoulder as the Dragonborn as she was lowered to the floor by the rope around her waist, smirking pointedly at the humiliating position she was forced to keep to let the much lighter rogue lift her, causing said barbarian to snarl, making a rude hand gesture toward the elf.
"Put a sock in it princess, or I'll put one in for you." Yang snarled as her feet touched the ground, letting her stand on her own. "Just because you can cast a little magic doesn't mean shit. I've yet to meet a problem I couldn't solve with my fists." With that, she let out a snort, blowing some steam out of her nostrils to emphasize her point.
Weiss however, remained unintimidated.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" She said in a condescending tone. "Some hillbilly from some no name province outside the main kingdoms wouldn't know much about sophistication or culture, only about to fight her way out of any situation, even if it escalates the situation making it a much bigger issue than if they just stayed out of it."
Bristling at the comment, Yang made an aggressive step towards the Elf, hand fingering the handle of her axe as she went.
Seeing this, Weiss moved her own hand to her rapier, ready to draw it should a fight break out. Or if she chooses to start one.
Fortunately, neither got the opportunity to act on the mutual disdain for each other as the next second, Ruby dropped down to ground level, one hand pressed against her injured stomach stifling the bleeding
"Can you two please cut it out?" She asked as she landed, drawing the attention of both girls off each other and onto her. "Look, I get you two don't like each other but remember, we're currently trapped in an underground castle which was just occupied by an army of skeletons capable of taking out an army. So let's try to get alone until we get out. Then, if we're all still alive, you two can fight out your differences okay? But until then, just try to keep it civil, please."
The wisdom in the fighter's request drew a grunt of acknowledgment out of the other two, which while far from satisfying, was probably all the dark haired girl would get from the two hotheads given they had both made it clear how little they respected her.
Still, she chose to ignore it and press on.
"So, do the doctor's notes say anything on what to do next? I do remember something in there about the chasm below the main castle. Anything about how to proceed or get back?" Ruby asked, turning to Weiss as said girl pulled out the book and began flipping through the pages.
"Yeah, a type of verbal map." The elf replied, her mouth thinning into a tight frown as she read aloud a passage from the old man's notes. "Below the throne room is a great, empty chasm, one that no mortal man could survive. The cult dug this out as an addiction defense and to survive as a staging area for the rest of the construction. Allowing them to store large quantities of building materials for the next defense, the Connection trial."
"Connecting trial? What's that?" Blake asked as she walked over, peering over the elf's shorter shoulder.
"How should I know? This senile old geezer hadn't put a single useful piece of information in this stupid notebook! Look!" Turning the pages back, Weiss held the book up so Blake could get a better look at the previous notes on the castle. Or more specifically, the notes on the throne room itself.
"Hidden within the throne room of the false castle is a hidden staircase that leads to a chasm below. There, hidden behind the sentries that don't sleep, lies the main base of the…Cok…La…Der?" Squinting at the last word, Blake tried a few more times to pronounce the word correctly before the Elf, with a roll of her eyes, cut in.
"Coshlador. That's Dor, as in Door. Not Der." Weiss corrected. "It's the name of an old god, one of the Originators. Creator of destiny and ruler of fate. According to legend, he was the first who willed the lesser gods into being by writing the in the creeds the would become the laws of the world, with the other Originators gods following suit. Most likely the cult took its name because of some misinterpreted prophecy or something."
Pausing here, Weiss frown deepened as she looked down at the book, eyes narrowed as she looked over the passage again.
"Strange." She muttered, drawing Ruby attention, making said girl walk over to see the page herself. "I've never seen this spelling before. Normally, it's spelled Dor, not Der. And what's up with this symbol here? That one makes a K sound, not a Sh one. It's almost like it's been written by some ki-"
"That's because it's not modern common or ancient Elvish. It's Original Script."
Looking up in surprise, Weiss' eyes locked onto the dark hair of Ruby, who was still looking down at the book, eyes narrowed to see in the dark.
"What do you mean it's Original Script?" The Elf demanded, half offended, half amazed. "Ruby, that's a lost language. Not even the greatest libraries in Mistral or Atlas have a complete translation of that writing. Nobody can read that, let alone write it! How can you-?"
"Look here, see this symbol right here?" Ruby absentmindedly pointed to a symbol placed right at the start of the word, seemingly not even noticing her teammates baffledness over her knowledge of lost history. "This one means Light and Darkness, directly translated through anyway, but when used in this context, it translates to the letter S. So in their terminology, the actual pronounced Sochlador. At least according to the Original Ones."
Weiss stared at the human dumbfounded for several seconds, her mouth hanging open in utter disbelief at what the girl had just said.
She could read Original Script? That was impossible! No one knew that language, it was lost during the Burning of the world! No one could decipher it! To even entertain the idea of that happening was absurd! Yet here this little girl was claiming not only to be able to read it off a note from a senile old man, she was explaining it so calmly like she thought this was a normal conversation or something!
No, it was a mistake. Weiss had spent hundreds of years studying the world from her family's library and not one of their books contained any even remotely close to a translation of Original Script. No way this little girl had been able to do what generations of Elfs had failed to accomplish and learn this lost language. After all, to say that would effectively be saying she had done what no one within Atlas' grand archives had, which was impossible as it contained all the hidden knowledge they had gleaned from deep within the Ast-.
"Hey! If you bookworms are done, Look over here!"
Looking up, the three Adventures saw Yang standing at the far wall, hand curled into a fist as she jerked her thumb toward a part of the wall next to her, to which Blake and Weiss could see an archway built into the wall signaling a passageway deeper into this fortress.
"While you three were geeking out over a bunch of mumbo jumbo, I figured one of us should remain useful. So instead of worrying about that word soup, I found us a way forward." She said smugly, a grin plastered to her scaly face. "Not sure what the book is talking about, but I'll bet we'll find out a lot faster by exploring it than reading a dumb book. You know, like a real Adventurer."
Groaning in response, Weiss rolled her eyes before placing both hands on her hips, glaring at the Dragonborn with an irritated expression.
"Seriously? Are you still on that?" She chastised, taking a step toward the blond girl. "You know, I'm getting real sick of your attitude. If you could just stop acting with your ego for one second, maybe we could actually-!"
Weiss came to an abrupt halt when Blake placed her hand on the Elf's shoulder, drawing her attention away from the barbarian and to the rogue.
"Don't. You'll only encourage her." She advised. "Just ignore her for now. Once we get out of here, then hopefully we'll never have to see each other again."
Grumbling at this, Weiss crossed her arms and let out a soft hiss. She knew Blake was right, but that didn't do anything to ease her irritation towards Yang, a sentence all of them could agree with as her constant belittling was getting on all their nerves.
Still, the offer to get this quest over overpowered any desire to get even with someone who clearly didn't care what they thought.
"Touché." The Elf folded her arms and rolled her eyes, begrudgingly biting her tongue as she made herself toward the source of her frustration, grumbling something in a language none of the others could understand, but all understood was an offensive curse.
But as nobody wanted to start yet another fight, no one commented and simply followed her to the Dragonborn, peering into the passageway she had found, the youngest member squinting in the darkness.
"What's down there?" Ruby asked, taking a partial step into the corridor. "It's too dark! I can't see anything."
"It's a normal passageway that turns to the right about twenty feet down." Blake replied instantly as Weiss rolled her eyes at her companion. "Doesn't appear to have any traps but given what we've already seen, I wouldn't put money on anything being safe down here. Probably best if I go first. I can spot any traps of danger ahead and give everyone a heads up before we run into anything."
Her statement was met with unanimous consent as it was common knowledge that Tabaxis were renowned not only for their quick reflexes, but also their keen instincts and almost sixth sense for danger. Something that helped them survive the perilous jungles they called home.
"Oh yeah! The quest to recover the mysterious box continues!" Ruby cheered, throwing her hand up into the air. "Now we can-! Ow!"
Breaking off, Ruby immediately staggered as her hand flew back down to the wound on her stomach, blood already starting to leak out from underneath her armor, her emphasis causing the damage to spread.
"Yeah, no. We need to take care of that first." Blake said, kneeling beside Ruby, setting a first aid down on the ground next to her. "Much as I want to get out of here, we should use this opportunity to heal and rest up. After facing an army of mindless skeletons, who knows what's waiting further in."
"But-!" Ruby began, only to be shut down by Weiss strumming her lute, making a beautiful familiar soft melody that created four orbs of white light which shot out above them, creating a small beacon of light in the otherwise near pitch black chasm.
"Blake's right. We should use this time to treat our injuries." Weiss said, kneeling down and taking off her boot, scowling at the hole punched in her foot from the previous battle. "No telling when we'll get another chance like this. Brute! Keep watch for us. Once I'm done, I'll treat you."
"Don't tell me what to do." Yang grumble quietly, but obeyed anyway, turning toward the entrance to the corridor as she hoisted her axe up in one hand. The wound on her back bothering her too much to let even someone as impatient as her argue the point.
And so, the party adventuring took a bit of a halt, as the team began to rest and treat their wounds. Unaware of just how this one single act, might just end up saving their lives.
A few minutes later.
The party made their way down the dark corridor, their injuries bandaged and cleaned, stopping the bleeding and pain for the most part, letting them move without hindrance as they followed the path toward whatever lay on the other side of this dark tunnel.
They moved in a single file line, with Blake at the head of the group, her cat eyes scanning the darkness as she stayed a few feet ahead of the group. Her skill as a rogue on full display to the next member of the party who followed right behind her, silver rapier drawn to conduct the Dancing Lights that floated around her as she continued the conversation she had begun during their rest stop.
"-are going to explain to me what exactly you were talking about back there." Weiss pressed, her gaze fixed on Ruby who was right behind her as she spoke looking over her shoulder. "I want to know why you claim to know the oldest known texts in existence and where you learned it! Because as I said before, there's no way some little girl from the boonies could know something that our most storied linguist don't!"
Flinching from the elf's harsh tone, Ruby turned away, staring at the wall intently as she walked past it, making a point to avoid eye contact with her companions.
"Will you drop it already? I told you, I found it in a book in my local library. That's it." She said. "I don't remember what it was called, but I remember checking it out regularly when I was young. So that's where I learned it. And don't call Patch the boonies! It's a small island within Vale's territory. We're not some underdeveloped dynasty you find dotting the map. We just can't fund everything a big city can! Like public transport, or our education system, or making free healthcare plans."
"Yes, hence why I called it the boonies." Weiss said with a roll of her eyes. "And while I'd love to ask what kind of greedy, money obsessed, probably senile old Coots can't provide proper free healthcare for their citizens, I'd rather ask how you can learn a long lost language from a book you read repeatedly as a child yet can't remember its title. Just how bad is it on that tiny rock in the middle of nowhere?"
"Hey! Patch is a great place to live!" Ruby shot back, rounding on Weiss as she stomped her foot. "I'm just really bad with names! And besides, it was just some random book sitting on our shelf from my uncle's collection. Why would I bother remembering it when most of his stuff is a bunch of adult filth! I've seen real Katanas before I even understood what they were used for!"
"I thought you said it was a library book." Yang chimed in, hands tucked behind her head as her attention was now on Ruby same as Weiss, neither noticing Blake stiffen slightly as she led the party, a slight blush on her face. "And are you seriously saying you actually cared enough to learn a language as a kid? That's so impressive I'm having a hard time believing it. Back when I was a kid, I spent my days running around outside. Hunting and fishing with my dad not reading some stuffy book about a long gone civilization."
"Not sure if I'd count that as normal, but the point still stands." Weiss pressed. "You don't strike me as the kind of kid who had educational quotas to meet while growing up, so you'll have to forgive me for not really believing you actually found a language book interesting enough to take the time to learn it. Besides, how could you even tell it was a different language when it uses symbols similar to common? Sounds to me like there's more to this story than you're letting on."
Groaning in frustration, Ruby dropped her head, her lies not doing a thing for her case. Why'd she have to open her big mouth? She should have just stayed quiet and let them figure out that journal on their own instead of drawing attention to herself. Now she was stuck on a subject she couldn't seem to shake no matter how hard she tried.
Luckily for her, the situation resolved itself in the form of Blake, suddenly stopping in her tracks, raising one hand up, indicating for them to do the same.
"What's up? Why are we stopping?" The elf asked immediately, coming to a complete stop in the narrow hallway, the girl standing on her toes to try to see around the taller Tabaxi, who stood stock still, her ears flicking to the side as she listened intently to something.
"Blake?" Ruby asked, poking out from behind Weiss, looking at the Rogue with concern. "What's wrong? You hear something? What's it sound like? Is it an enemy coming or some kind of trap We've set off? What-?"
"Shush!" Blake hissed suddenly, shooting the girl a hard look before closing her eyes, ears opening fully as she went back to listening, face scrunched up in concentration as Ruby fell silent, turning back down the hall they had just come down and squinting into the darkness.
And as she did this, another voice quickly joined in the conversation.
"Hey! What's going on?" Weiss snapped, eyes narrowed in irritation. "Don't just leave us in the dark about what's happening. Tell us what you're-!" But the Elf suddenly broke off as her own ears flicked up, eyes going wide as she spun around and looked back down the passageway they had just come from, mouth hanging open as her jaw quivered slightly.
"Is that-?" Weiss began, only to be cut off by Blake opening her eyes and stood up straighter.
"Yeah, sounds like it." The rogue replied, taking a step back, a bead of nervous sweat running down her face, drawing the attention of the two party members without Darkvision.
"Umm, hello? Want to clue us in on what you're talking about?" Yang asked, shifting her axe on her shoulder. "Look, I get you rogues like acting all dark and mysterious, and the princess over there just needs to feel superior, but can you just say it? I'm kinda getting sick of cryptic talk and vague hints. Just clue me in on what's going on and cut all the theatrics, okay?"
With that, Yang looked expectantly at the bard and rogue, tapping her foot impatiently.
However, her response came not from either the Elf or the Tabaxi, instead coming from the human as she too took a step back as she spotted movement in the darkness behind them.
"Run." Ruby murmured, drawing all eyes to her before shifting up to what she was looking at, prompting the girl to repeat herself once again, this time much louder. "Run!"
And the team didn't need telling twice as they all immediately turned and ran, pelting down the hallway as behind them, the countless figures of the skeleton army that had just defeated came charging back toward them, their bodies still reforming from a ghostly white aura that seemed to emanate from all of them, seemingly just dropping the pieces fully attached onto their bodies as they ran or crawled after them.
"A regeneration spell that came passively restore bones? How is that possible?!" Weiss screamed as she ran, looking back over her shoulder at the undead army chasing them.
"Does it really matter?!" Blake yelled back as she ducked and weaved through the narrow corridor, still leading the team. "I think we've already established that this cult is insanely powerful and very protective of their secrets! Right now, we need to focus on escaping them!"
"Hey princess." Yang yelled as she sprinted. "Can't you, I don't know, cast a purge undead spell or something! I mean, isn't that what magic users do?! Use their power for really niche situations like this and stuff?!"
"Do I look like a holy warrior to you?!" Weiss snapped back, glaring over her shoulder at the Dragonborn. "For the record, just because I use magic doesn't mean I know every spell in existence! And even if I did, I couldn't cast them unless I somehow pledged myself to every deity and mastered the art of pleasing them all! Something even an Elf isn't going to be able to do!" Huffing at their teammate's stupidity, Weiss rolled her eyes as she shot back in her usual sharp tone.
"What about you?" She demanded in an accusing tone. "Why haven't you vaporized them yet?! You've been doing that since the battle started, why can't you do it again? This is a narrow hallway! I bet you could get them all at once right now!"
At this, Yang let out a groan, pointedly rolling her eyes at the Elf.
"FYI, that's not how breath attacks work!" She yelled back, her voice carrying a shortness to it not lost on any of them. "I'm fire resistant, not fire proof! Every time I use it, I send burning hot flames through my throat. I can't use it too much in one day or risk scolding myself. So duh I can't just fire that attack round Willy nily! Don't ask stupidity questions on stuff you clearly don't know anything about!"
"Look who's talking!"
"Hey guys? Can we table this discussion for later?!" Ruby cut in, as she pelted down the hall, she had easily overtaken both Weiss and (with a bit more effort.) Blake, putting her in the front of the team as they ran. "Look up ahead! I see a light! We're reaching the end of the tunnel!"
This revelation brought an end to the Elf and Dragonborn's bickering, making the two look up and see indeed, the narrow tunnel was ending and while they couldn't see what was in the room before them they could see light a warm orange glow coming from it, so bright it was blinding as sunlight.
"Great! We can bottleneck these things up there!" Cried Blake, drawing her twine blades as she ran. "I think I can even hear gears turning from there! If we're lucky, there might be a door we can drop on them! Either way, let's hurry and find something to barricade the door w-!"
But that was as far as she got as she and Ruby broke through the door frame and into the small room. Where they both immediately were forced to throw themselves to the side to dodge a blade that was swung right at their heads.
"Ahh!"
"Gah!"
Their cries echoed out through the hall, alerting Weiss and Yang as they threw themselves out of the way, Blade landing with a roll onto her feet without a scratch, Ruby face planting with a deep cut on her cheek.
Coming to a stop at the entrance, Weiss and Yang had just enough time to confirm the two were safe before they cast their gaze to the scene in front of them, their mouths falling open as they stared at what could only be described as an obstacle course.
The entire room, from one end to the other, was littered with deadly traps and machines clearly designed to rip apart anyone who tried to cross.
The light they had seen from the hallway was from a series of flamethrowers set up all over the room, from walls to the ceiling, some spurting out flames out of barely visible holes in a constant stream, others only a few seconds. Meanwhile, what looked like a track ran across the floor in one, continuous, unending sequence the ran in tandem with the flames, only crossing over the flamethrowers only where it would comprise them and only at times when the things set up on said tracks wouldn't end up getting burned.
And what was on these tracks? Well, the best way to describe them were the training dolls used in Mistral martial arts, the ones with multiple limbs to practice both striking and blocking and were very useful in training.
However, these were a step up from the ones used in practice. Firstly, unlike the ones from Mistral, these were made of metal instead of wood, and instead of harmless stumps, they were fitted with steel blades on each point of their segmented bodies, which we're all spinning so the blades could swing wildly around, giving them the ability to take not only someone's head off, but any part of their body as they were attached to every segment and each one was spinning ensuing that getting close was suicide!
Strangely enough, these murder drones had been placed and measured with the utmost care, each one set just the right distance apart to ensure they never collided while still leaving less than a second for anyone to dive between them, effectively ensuring that moving between was near impossible.
However, the last and arguably most cruel part of the room was at the very end of the room, behind a sealed metal cage that had descended from the ceiling was a large double door. One that could get them to safety if they could find a way past all the traps that littered the room. Effectively taunting them to go and get to it.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Yang cried, taking a step back as she stared at the room, the cacophony of noise from all the machines nearly drowning her out. "What kind of cult has the money to build all this!? This is just ridiculous! I don't think the kingdom of Vale could afford something like this! Where did they even get these kinds of-?!"
But that was as far as the barbarian got, as the next second the sound of scraping, clawing feet from behind them drew their attention, making them turn back toward the hallway.
"Oh great." Weiss snarled, taking a step back into the room, drawing her rapier. "We're caught between a rock and a hard place! We need to get out of here now! Anyone have any amazing or powerful secrets from their origin stories we could use? I'm open to suggestions."
"Yeah, I got nothing." Yang replied, drawing her axe. "I've got maybe one more breath attack before I'm spent! And something tells me one isn't going to be enough."
Seeing the hopelessness of the situation, Ruby slowly got to her feet, glancing behind her at the corridor, and while she couldn't see or hear the skeletons, she knew they were coming.
"No choice! We're gonna have to run it!" She cried, then without a second hesitation, ran full sprint towards the obstacle course with a yell.
Turning towards the fighter, Blake's eyes went wide as she saw Ruby leap over one of the machines as it came her way, landing in the space between them before darting to the side before the next one could get to her, pelting straight toward one of the flamethrower spurting from the ground.
But what the Tabaxi's much sharper eyes could see that Ruby hadn't, was the very subtle discoloring on the set of tiles just before the flamethrower, indicating to the rogue something the fighter hadn't caught onto yet.
"Ruby, wait!" Blake screamed, and not a moment too soon. For as Ruby stepped onto that square of the floor, it suddenly opened up revealing a pit with sharp spikes below, nearly dropping Ruby onto them where another skeleton already lay.
"Wha!" Fortunately, Blake's warning hadn't fallen on deaf ears, as while she was taken by surprise, Ruby reacted fast enough to rip her scythe from her back and dug it into the wall, stopping her from falling to certain death with only a squeak from the girl as she dangled perclariusly over the pit.
Seeing this, Blake quickly rushed over to the younger girl, dodging around the machine as well before reaching the pit, lowering a rope to try and pull her back up, calling to the rest of her party for help.
Unfortunately, while they did hear her, they weren't exactly in a position to answer the call. For right at that moment, the skeletons rounded the corner of the corridor and began charging at the two adventurers.
"Watch out. Here they come." Weiss breathed. They both knew going in for a meele was suicide. Fortunately, they had other options.
Raising her blade in front of her, Weiss swished it around like a baton, directing it towards the advancing arm after drawing a circle in front of herself.
Immediately, a purple circle of magic energy appeared before her, releasing a power shockwave of electricity that raced toward the skeletons, knocking away any who got too close as lightning danced alongside them, burning them with the heat it generated.
At the same time, Yang pulled out a bomb from her back, lighting the fuse with a snort from her nostrils before rolling it along the ground into the mass of bones being hung up at Weiss spell, exploding in a massive shower of bone and dust that rained down on the survivors!
"Yeah! How do you like that!?" Yang yelled triumphantly, pulling out another bomb and doing the same thing as before, with similar results. "Not so tough are you? Is that the best you can do?!"
Despite that last word being a jest, Yang still found herself very much regretting asking as when the smoke cleared, her throat going dry as she saw that same blue aura descending upon the skeletons, reforming their bodies even from the dust that had been reduced to.
"Oh come on! You've got to be kidding me!" Yang cried in exasperation, throwing her hands into the air. "What the hell do we have to do to get these things to stay down?!"
"If I knew that, I would have done it by now!" Weiss yelled back, stepping forward as one of the skeletons pushed through her Thunderwave and ran at her, blade held high above its head. "But as it stands right now, we need to keep them away from-!"
But that was a far as she got as the next second, the undead leapt at her, arms open as it tries to grab the Elf, exploding in a burst of white flames as the girl swung at it, throwing the bard back, breaking her concentration as she was sent sailing through the air with a scream, landing back in the trap room next to Ruby and Blake.
"Weiss!" The three party members cried, the two closest rushing to her side and helping her up as at the hallway, the spell fell apart, opening the way for the rest of the army as they charged forward, forcing the Dragonborn to change tactics.
Pulling another bomb from her bag, Yang let the fuse and throw it up into the ceiling, detonating it causing the entire area to collapse, creating a wall of rubble that blocked the path as she dove out of the way, charging into the trap room where she quickly ran over to the rest of her team.
"That's not gonna hold them for long!" She yelled, skidding to a halt next to her team, axe in hand as she looked back at the entrance, the explosions from the skeletons already sending some rubble flying back into the room. "We need to get out of here now! Please tell me you have a plan to get to the other side!"
"Easier said than done." The Tabaxi replied, her eyes scanning the room as Ruby helped Weiss into a sitting position. "These traps seem to be running on some kind of pattern that I can't deduce. Meaning we'd have to use reflexes to get through. And while I can make it, I don't think the rest of you can. So unless there's a convenient off switch on the other side, we're in seriously hot wat-!"
"It's a melody."
Immediately the two older Adventurers broke off, turning to face the Elf and human, the former had her eyes closed, hands cupped to her ears as she listened intently.
"The melody, can't you hear it? Each click of a gear, each burst of flame, it's all a pattern of sounds that repeat in a melody of machines. Each one perfectly timed with the others." Weiss explained as she sat up, eyes fixed on the obstacle course, ears flicking to a for as she watched the dolls run along the track, blades humming as a jet of fire was shot out right after it.
Turning, her teammates watched the obstacle course with the Elf, their eyes darting from one deadly trap to the next, trying to see what the Elf saw.
Well, most of them.
"Okay, it's going in a pattern. So what?" Yang asked, looking at the bard. "That doesn't really help our situation in the slightest. So unless you know a spell that can freeze time for everyone but us, I don't see how-."
"If we time our movements with the song, we should be able to get through with minimal problems. That what it means you brute." Weiss cut in, her sharp voice filled with irritation. "As long as we stay in tune with the rhythm of the gears, we should be able to predict the next danger as we cross. Something that-!"
"Yeah, one little problem with your plan." Yang cut in. "I don't have any musical talent. And I'm guessing Ruby is in the same boat. No way are we going to be able to figure out how to get through one sound alone. That would be suicide."
"But, maybe we don't have too."
Immediately all eyes turned to Ruby as her head shot up, breakthrough silver eyes staring down at her teammate. "Weiss, do you think you could destroy or disable the traps as you go, letting me and Yang get through? It doesn't have to be long, just enough time for us to get through. And if you can, I bet Yang and I could force open the metal gate and get us on the other side of that door! Do you think you can-?"
"Of course I can, you dolt!" Weiss cut in hotly. "And for your information I've already memorized the tune! I'm ready to go whenever that brute wants to deflate that oversized head of her's long enough to-!"
Before the Elf could finish, a loud bang echoed through the room as rocks and debris rained down from the entrance as the skeleton broke through the barrier sealing the room shut.
"Aw shit! To late!" Yang cried, spinning around readying her axe. "Hey princess! Take the other to the door and get it open! I'll stay here and cover you guys until it's done. Just make it fast so I don't end up lizard sushi!""
With that, the barbarian took a step toward the skeletons as they clawed their way through the doorway, getting stuck on one another in their haste to chase down the intruders.
But before she could get within attacking range, a hand shot out, blocking her path, a short sword already clutched in its hand.
"I'll be the distraction." Blake said as she pulled her second blade from her back. "You go with the others and get that gate opened. I'll join you on the other side when you're done."
"You sure?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow at her feline companion. "Don't rogues usually have a tough time against large numbers and direct fights? Your kind likes to sneak around and attack from the back. Both of which are kinda hard to do when you're forced to hold the line."
Looking back at the scaly barbarian, the Tabaxi calmly shifted her gaze back over to the skeletons, many now tumbling out of the doorway and charging toward the Adventurers.
"Out of everyone here, I'm the only other person who can make it to the door besides Weiss. Therefore, it makes the most sense for me to stay on this side and hold them off." She explained. "On top of that, you're the strongest here. Meaning you'll be able to get the gate open faster than me and Ruby combined. So I'll be here for less time and take less damage. And besides…"
Crouching down, the rogue calmly reached up, pulling a hood out of a hidden compartment on her collar, hiding her ears and eyes from sight as it cast her face into shadow. Her nose being the only thing visible as it poked out from under the hood.
"I know my way around a fight."
With that, the Tabaxi ran toward the skeletons, meeting them halfway where, before they could explode, she lashed out with her foot, knocking one back into the others, getting them out of range of the blast as they tumbled over themselves, landing in a heap of bones as Blake leapt back, landing a few feet away both sword positioned perpendicularly to her face, her eyes closed as she began murmuring some words in ancient elfish that one Weiss could understand.
The next second, her form began to shimmer, shifting and weaving slightly as a purple light emanated from her body as if she was a Changling shifted forms. Then, before her companion's eyes, the rogue split into four, each one spreading out before they began darting around the room, each one moving in sync with the others as they quickly surrendered the skeletons.
"Okay. What was that?" Yang asked dumbly, staring at the rouge mouth hanging open. "Am I seeing things or did she just copy herself like she's a ninja?"
"It's called Mirror Illusion." Weiss replied, a hint of repressed surprise and admiration in her voice as she pulled her lute from her bag. "It's a powerful spell that can create up to four illusionary clones. Though I've never seen a rogue use it, let alone to such a high mastery. Either way, I need you to shut up and let me concentrate. No matter how skilled the user is, that spell only lasts a minute, and once it's gone, if we're not waiting on the other side of that gate, we're all dead!"
With that, Weiss closed her eyes, ignoring the Dragonborn's wolf whistle as she continued to stared at the Tabaxi, her relaxing into a more soft expression as she tucked her instrument under her arm, strumming the chords as she softly, absentmindedly, joined in the music.
"Mirror, tell me something." She sang softly, the lute matching the rhythm of her voice. A soft light starting to shine from her body, bathing her companions in various shades of light blues and whites, highlighting her beautiful light skin that seemed to shift and glow alongside her music, turning dark blue like the midnight sky, with twinkles of light making her look like she had her own personal solar system painted on her skin, with her hair forming a steaming river of northern lights, each strand glowing shades of teal and blue, waving around with the power of her magic as if it were alive. All this created a sight that once again took the breath away from the human girl as she sat and stared.
"Tell me, who's the loneliest of all?"
And just like that, the spell was almost immediately broken. Shattered by the passion and poise carried by the Elf's voice, hitting Ruby like a ton of bricks. The way she sang that line, the feelings behind it, that weren't just some lyrics to tug at the heartstrings, it felt raw, personal. Like the young woman had been singing from her heart, opening herself up in her own unique way. Those the fighter had no idea why.
But before she could dwell on that, the Elf rose to her feet, raising her blade high over her head, tip pointed at the obstacle course, her eyes still closed as she listened carefully to each click of the gears and every hiss of flames, formulating her plan.
"Stay right behind me." Weiss ordered, still not opening her eyes. "You are to go not a moment before me, not a second after I move. If you do, it'll throw everything out of rhythm and we'll all die. Follow my lead, stay close, and make sure to watch my back. Because once those skeletons try to interrupt, it's up to you to drive them off, understand? Remember, I go down, we all do."
With that, the Elf raised herself to her toes, crossing her legs like a ballerina as she took a deep breath. Then, with a flick of her wrist, she shot forward toward the obstacle course, immediately prompting Ruby to grab Yang by her arm and practically drag her after he bard until she took her eyes off the Tabaxi long enough to realize what was happening.
But Weiss didn't wait or even open her eyes to check on them, simply shooting towards the first obstacle, a doll with spinning blades that she quickly slid in front of.
As the blades spun toward her, Weiss, with practiced ease, parring the blades that would have struck her before lunging forward, driving her silver rapier into the space between two of its body segments, bringing one to a complete stop as the air filled with a horrible screeching sound.
But this didn't dissuade the Elf in the slightest. With a flick of her wrist and a raise in her voice, she released a bright blue light from the top of her sword, immediately causing ice to form on the machine, stopping all the segments at one, bring it to a stop as ripped her blade out, leg lashing out and kicking the now frozen body, shattering it instantly as she twirled as effortlessly as if she were performing on a stage instead of in battle.
"Mirror, tell me something. Tell me, who's the loneliest of all?"
Moving with the same effortless energy, Weiss immediately leapt like a ballerina toward the next obstacle, dodging around one of the dolls by pausing before twirling past it, right into the jaws of the flamethrower's range, where sparks were visible as it prepared to blast the elf away.
However, drawing a circle in the air with her sword, she released another spell, her voice triggering an con of blue energy to shot from the tip of her blade, freezing the device shut, stopping the flames from shooting forth, letting her leap away and onto the next trap, her voice never once losing pace of slowing as she moved on.
"Fear of what's inside me. Tell me, can a heart be turned to stone?"
Landing in front of another obstacle, two dolls crossing in front of each other, Weiss landed in the middle of them, swing her blade across the ground, sending that same blue energy out to freeze the tracks a little easy down the line before straightening up, launching a series of precise jabs as she danced around the spinning blades, the Elf managing to slow it just enough before she leapt into the air, doing a periet as at the same time, the other doll hit the iced up track, completing derailing itself and crashing into its partner, knocking them both over as the bard landed, practically skating across the ground as she moved on without a second's glance, her voice reach a fever pitch as she found herself in the next area.
"Mirror mirror, what's behind you?" She sang, dodging around a doll, jabbing it in the stand, knocking it over before jumping on top of the flamethrower, driving her blade into it, deactivating the mechanism inside it. Then, with the same elegance and poise, moving as if for an audience, she leapt off, legs spread wide, blade pointed dramatically toward her next opponent, another doll who she quickly disabled with a series of sharp jabs to the head, knocking it back on its stand, the blades racking against the floor where they snapped off.
"Save me from the things I can't see! I can keep it from the world. Why won't you let me hide from me?"
Each note energized the Elf, letting her take apart each and every obstacle in her path, completely destroying them with not only her natural grace and precision, but also power she didn't seem to have before, all while moving as if she was in a performance, her attacks fast and light as she dodged around any attack with an natural air that almost made it look like it was staged.
But as she watched and listened, Ruby knew this was not play. And as hyped as she got watching the elf systematically destroy the obstacle course, she did feel a sad tug in her chest as she listened to her song, something she didn't think she could ever feel towards the bossy girl. After all, who knew the prickly, white haired beauty had such sadness behind her harsh words.
"Mirror, mirror, tell me something. Who's the loneliest of all?" She sang, slashing apart the last of dolls before charging for the gate, dodging around a pit that opened up before her, not touching a single one of the blades from a doll that skated by, its blades spinning wildly around as the bard effortlessly avoided it, landing right before the gate.
However, right as she approached the gate, a grate above the Elf opened up, revealing a carved, stone dragon's head sticking out of the ceiling, its mouth already ablaze with flames as it prepared to shot its deadly fire down upon the unsuspecting bard as she activated a secret trap, one not held in the rhythm of the other machinery which caught both human and Dragonborn off guard.
Moving as fast as she could, Ruby opened her mouth to yell a warning to her elven companion despite knowing that by the time she reacted it would be too late. The flames were just too close to Weiss and the flamethrowers were just too fast. No way any of them but Blake could react in time to dodge such a deadly sneak attack!
However, before she could even start taking her breath, Weiss' head snapped up, looking straight at the dragon's head as if she knew it was there. Instantly, she swung her rapier in a circle above her, casting that same ice spell as she leapt up, sword pointed right for the statue's head as a jet of flames gushed down towards her, meeting her head on completely engulfing her in white hot flames, ensuring there would be nothing but charred bones left.
But as the hot fire met the cold magic, instead of one winning over the other, the ray of freezing cold instead caved in at the top, creating a dome that acted as a shield for the Elf as she flew upwards, protected from the heat that was the stone monster's only real defense!
And as Weiss flew upwards, Ruby saw through wide eyes the girl plunged her blade straight into the statue, the silver weapon piercing straight through it right between the eyes, the metal tip striking the point where the combustion between the flames and the ignition, creating a chain reaction that caused the whole statue to blow up, sending sparks and rocks rained down bringing the two Adventurers to a halt, unable to get close without risking getting hit by debris.
But even with all the destruction around her, Ruby didn't take her eyes off Weiss, watching her land, the glow of her magic now mixing with the sparks that rained down around her, giving her the appearance of an almost saint like aura as the red contrasted with the blue and white, creating a piece reminiscent of an abstract painting, one that amplified the beauty of the one standing in the center of it.
And as she straightened back up, Ruby heard the last verse of Weiss' song leave her lips, the notes vastly different from the high beats and fast pace of the rest of the piece, coming out slower, more softly, almost like a sung whisper, (if that made any sense.) yet still packed with her full raw emotions. Something that, to Ruby at the very least, made this mysterious Elf both somehow more beautiful and tragic at the same time.
"I'm the longest…of all."
And with that, her spell broke, skin returning to its normal pale hue, the white and blue lights fading away, her hair returning to white as it fell back onto her shoulders as she straighter up, the soft expression once again returning to it hard, set one, leaving her with no trace of the incredible magic she had just displayed. Or the gentle ernesty her song had expressed.
As she approached, Ruby was unsure of what to say. Should she address what she had just seen? Would the Elf find that offensive? No, surely not. After all, she had just been singing her heart out. Surely she wasn't so rude as to snap at someone for simply taking note of the emotions within her-.
"Hey! Quit doodling! Hurry up and get over here!"
Snapping back to reality, Ruby was greeted by the sour face of Weiss glaring daggers at her, immediately making her realize she was spacing out and prompting her to hurry to the Elf's side, right behind the Dragonborn as they stood next to the cage, the human quickly dismissing those thoughts from her head. This wasn't the time or place for a heartfelt conversation about music. Right now they had a job to do, and they had to do it!
Taking her place alongside her companions, Ruby, Weiss and Yang seized the gate, each one taking various positions to allow them to lift the heavy metal contraption.
"Okay? On three." Yang cried. "One, two, three!"
Acting immediately the three began to pull on the gate, trying to lift it up as they threw their whole weight against it, trying to raise it just enough to squeeze under and escape the onslaught of death!
However, despite pulling with all their might, the gate refused to budge, not even raising an inch as the three struggled against it, their arms and backs straining as they tugged with everything they had.
"It's-! To-! Heavy!" Ruby gasped, face scrunched up as she tried to lift the metal gate. "This-it-seal-or-something?! This-! Is ridiculous!" The young girl stumbled back as her hands slipped off the metal, falling to her butt where she was quickly joined by the elf, Yang being the only one to keep her grip.
"We have to try!" The Dragonborn bellowed, still pulling despite being alone. "If we don't, we're all dead! So stop trying whining and pull like your life depends on it. Because it literally does!" Despite her stating the truth, Yang's words did little to change the fact the gate must weigh damn near a ton, rendering any attempt to breach it with raw strength useless, something the two smaller Adventurers realized simultaneously.
Taking a step back, Weiss drew her sword, leveling it at the gate. "Yang, step back. I'm gonna freeze it so you can blast straight through!" She called, drawing a circle in the air with her blade, releasing that same blue energy that shot from the tip of her rapier, hitting the bars head on as said companion quickly sidestepped the attack.
However, instead of freezing it like before, the ray of frost bounced off that bars, redirecting back toward the caster at an alarming speed, just barely giving the Elf enough time to dodge, the attack scraping her ear before slamming into the far wall, freezing it solid!
"What?" Weiss breathed, eyes wide. "What just happened?" Her confusion was clear in her voice as she stared in disbelief at the bars. "Metal that reflects magic? That's impossible! What in the world are we dealing with?!"
"Obsidian Safrana. A specialty of the Original ones." Ruby murmured, more to herself than anyone. "A special type of magic made from obsidian glass and a mix of three different rare metals. It creates a unique metal that not only resists most elements, but also reflects any spell cast on or within them. A valuable and powerful resource that was lost with them."
Glancing over at the human, Weiss narrowed her eyes, still not quite believing her claims, but stopping herself from pushing the point. Now wasn't the time for a debate like that.
"So how do we get through it?" She asked hotly. "If this really is Obsidian Safrana, then even if we could turn intangible or something, we'd be turned back to normal the moment we touched the bars. Same with any other spell we cast on the stone connection to it. Vertically trapping us here permanently."
Ruby nodded slowly, still not taking her eyes off the bars as something in the back of her head started to itch. Something about this just felt wrong. What kind of cult had access to this much Original One's secrets? She knew that despite their ruins being scattered across Remnant, most people couldn't crack the secrets behind their culture or their disappearance. Yet somehow, this one ruin had more usable artifacts than most other kingdoms despite only being a forgotten cult. So how had they gotten their hands on all of it and figured out how to use it so effectively?
I mean, even her mother, who had dedicated her life to studying them, had only scratched the surface when she had gone miss-.
Boom!
A sudden explosion rocked the room, snapping Ruby back to reality where she and her companions turned towards the sound, finding Blake running full pelt towards them, the army of skeletons right behind her, no sign of her illusions anywhere in the room!
"Oh shit!" Yang said, taking a step back as she stared at the incoming horde. "We're out of time! We need to go now!" With that, she spun around, grabbing the base of the gate and pulling it with all her might!
"What are you doing?!" Weiss snapped, rounding on the Dragonborn. "We already tried that! You aren't going to be able to lift that by yourself! We need to find another way ou-!"
"I've got this!" Yang cut in, not looking up at Weiss as she focused on the gate, embers seeming to emanate from her body. "You two buy me some time! I'll get this gate open once and for all! Trust me!"
Ruby, glancing at the gate, was understandably doubtful. But using half a second to survey the room, she saw no other choice. Whipping her crossbow off her back, she fired an arrow into the skeletons' horde as they chased Blake through the obstacle course, knocking one into the pit below it.
Scowling at the turn of events, Weiss also leveled her rapier at the army, casting firing another ray of frost at the advancing enemies, slowing several down letting the Tabaxi get some space between herself and them. Unfortunately, this was only a temporary victory as any destroyed skeletons were simply wrapped in the blue aura, returning them to their original state.
As the two rained down fire, Yang continued to struggle with the gate.
The metal was hard and sharp, the pointed bottom digging into her hands, drawing blood from them as she felt her back straining as she fought against the incredible weight, her body screaming in protest as it popped and shifted under the immense strain she was putting it through, her back threatening to blow out.
But despite this, she felt a smirk spread across her face, her scaly mouth stretching as she fought to lift it. How many times had she been in this situation? Fighting desperately for her life with all the odds stacked against her? How many narrow escapes from the laws had she been through only to land herself in this position? Sure, some might have called her foolish, but she knew the truth. She might have been raised to be a thief, to be a killer, to be her mother's fall back, but at the end of the day, she was her father's daughter, not her mother's.
And while the black scales that dotted her back would never disappear, her mane of golden hair covered them, making it impossible to see even without her shirt covering them. The main reason why she had grown her hair out in the first place.
But now, she had left that life behind, permanently. Her life was her alone now. And she refused to let her grand adventure end before it had even begun!
"Aaaahhhhhh!"
Immediately, Yang's body let out beautiful golden light, completely wrapping her in its rays, making her shine like the sun as her hair ignited, dancing in the light like it was on fire! The air around her grew so hot, the stone at her feet began to melt!
Raising her head, her eyes turned red as she let out a roar, seizing the gate with both hands as she threw her head back, pulling on it with all her might, her golden scales glowing with light that burned beneath them, lighting them up as shadows danced across their surfaces, looking almost like her skin below them were on fire as she pounded the ground with her tail, crushing the stone beneath them with each powerful slam.
And then, as her companions turned to see what was happening behind them, there was a deafening scream of metal scraping against metal, the hum of gears being forced to turn against their will, the gate began to slid open, lifting off the ground with the raw strength of the dragon born!
"No way." Weiss breathed out, her eyes wide, mouthing hanging opened in awe as she watched the lone barbarian lift the massive, heavy metal gate. "That's impossible. How are you-?"
"Worry about that later!" Yang cut in, beads of sweat forming on her brow as her muscles strained, quickly evaporating as her entire body glowed with her fire. "Hurry up and go!"
Snapping out of their daze, the two smaller Adventurers moved quickly, ducking under the gate as Yang slowly lifted it hight, eventually managing to get it to shoulder highest where she carefully maneuvered her body to the other side while keeping the gate held aloft, placing it on her shoulders to ease some of the strain.
Now, with three of the party safe, they all turned back toward their last member as she raced towards them, the skeletons right behind her and closing fast!
"Hurry!" Yang yelled as Ruby and Weiss unleashed a barrage of ranged attacks, cutting down the ones that got too close and giving the Tabaxi a fighting chance even as the skeletons nipped at her heels.
Reaching the final straightaway, Blake broke out into a full on sprint, running full pelt toward them trying to put as much distance between herself and the undead following, reaching out towards Yang's outstretched hand and, after diving over a pit, grasping it.
Acting immediately, Yang threw herself back, pulling the rogue back as she tumbled away from the gate, letting the heavy metal drop, sealing the party inside a protective sphere that the skeletons couldn't reach. Something they found out when one reached out, hand passing through the bars to try and grab the Adventurers, only to be turned to dust as the magic repelling metal sapped it of its undead status returning it to a normal corpse which turned to ash before their very eyes.
"Hell yeah! Take that!" Yang gloated, jumping to her feet with a whoop. "Not so tough now are you, you bunch of cheaters!"
Walking over to the bars where the skeletons amassed, the Dragonborn began making faces at them as she continued to taunt them, childishly sticking her snout right up to the bars without going through.
"Oh come now you brute. Will you please act your age." Weiss said with a sigh as she watched the barbarians' antics. "There undead who are here to serve a single purpose. They can't understand you or even have a will to be upset. What you're doing is just tempting fate."
Turning back to face her companions, Yang cockily grinned at them, leaning back against the metal as she spoke.
"Yeah well, it made me feel better." She said, smirking. "These guys are a pain in the ass and I think I'm more than a little justified in taking out my frustrations on them. Besides, what are they going to do? We're safe behind this anti-magic thingy and they can't touch us if they wanted too." She jerked her finger at the loitering skeletons as she added that last part, her voice practically laughing as she spoke.
However, behind the blond Dragonborn, something was happening that she hadn't noticed.
While it was true they couldn't pass through the bars, they also knew it only stopped magic. And so began preparing something that the bars couldn't stop.
And as Yang saw her teammates take a step back, their horrified faces illuminated by the pale, ghostly glow, she turned around and saw what it was they were so concerned about.
The skeletons' bodies, much like Yang's or Weiss' had been wrapped in an otherworldly light that intensified as they all activated the magic within them, preparing themselves to make the ultimate sacrifice to complete their mission and stop the intruders. And while some might argue their plan was poor, seeing their enemies' faces fall would have been worth it if they had emotions to feel.
"Oh fu-." Was as far as Yang got, before the skeletons simultaneously detonated in a huge explosion of ghostly pale light.
Free advice for anyone planning to dnd story, don't start with a dungeon crawler!
At first, I thought it would be a good way to show off each character's strengths, but I quickly found making it interesting is a pain! And it takes for ever to finish!
Seriously, I've got at least another 3 chapters before the arc is finished. And this is supposed to be a thought dump! How am I supposed to throw up my garbage ideas when I'm stuck on the same arc for 7 chapters!?
Anyway, thanks for coming to my Ted talk and I'll see you in another 6 months when I post the next chapter. Bye!