CHAPTER XV:
Murry set a duffel atop the coffee table, covering the answering machine.
Joyce looked at the large black canvas bag. She grabbed Murry's arm as he attempted to unzip and reveal its contents. "On the table, please. Be careful."
He looked at Jonathan and Will's mother. "Sure." He lifted the bag from the table without care, its contents clanking together, making muffled sounds. Hopper rose from his seat and followed the man to the dining room. The others followed close behind. Everyone allowed Robin and Eleven the closest access to the table. Nancy stood close behind same as Steve. While Mike and Will hovered behind Eleven. Jonathan stood close to Joyce, who was next to Hopper. Murry was flanked by Dustin and Erica. Lucas behind his sister, and Argyle is next to him.
Murry laid the duffel on the table with less force. Hopper did the same with the other.
"Do you have any idea what could be in these," asked Hopper to Robin.
Robin rubbed the back of her neck. "Honest?" Hopper nodded. "Not a clue. It has to be useful, it's what my mom told me to say, but it's also whatever she thought would be useful to us. I mean, you heard her on that tape. She told me she was watching El before she left." Robin eyed Dustin, Lucas, and Erica. Her hands grazed Nancy and Steve to acknowledge them. "So, I told her what happened during spring break." She waited for judgmental looks. None gave her any. Steve squeezed her shoulder. Nancy did the same with her arm. "Whatever's in there she thinks we need because, well … she's not a conventional mom, but she's still a mom, and moms just know what their kids need, yah know."
All the teenagers nodded, understanding exactly where Robin was coming from.
Murry unceremoniously zips the zipper apart. He pulls at the sides. "Is that," he asks aloud to no one.
"I think so…," answers Hopper. He is in awe at the treasure trove in front of them. "They're at least six no seven bricks in there … and you were just tossing the thing around like it was nothing," spoke Hopper, frustrated by the idea that the house could have exploded.
"Hey! I didn't know that… That was in there now, did I," retorts Murry.
Joyce eyed the men. "Really, right now?"
Dustin stepped forward. He grabbed one of the cardboard boxes, pulled the side tab out, and opened the lid. His face lit up like it was Christmas morning. "There can't just be one." He pulled another cardboard box from the opened duffel. He set it on the table. Ignoring the two men, and in true Dustin fashion, he opened the second bag without care. Inside this bag were two more similar cardboard boxes. Scattered about the bag were plastic bags of rubber all-weather antenna and another thin cardboard box. He opened that one, too, revealing multiple wireless circuit boards encased in plastic, an exposed section meant for the rubber all-weather antenna.
"This is all military grade," whispered Dustin aloud. "It's a whole wireless system. We'd have to install it ourselves, but we could have an entire wireless system cover the whole town … it would be harder for anyone to listen in on us if we used these …."
Nancy took one of the identical cardboard boxes. She pulled the tab and opened the top revealing a walkie-talkie antenna like the ones in the plastic bags. The walkie-talkie has a small plastic light protruding from the top. She clicked a switch near it, and the light lit brightly. She quickly turned it off. Included in the box was an ear attachment.
Hopper pulled a short-barrel shotgun from the confines of the second bag. "I'd guess this is for you." He motioned to Nancy.
Nancy's eyes perked at the sight of a proper short-barrel shotgun. "That obvious, huh?"
"I mean, it is your thing now," contributed Steve. Dustin, Robin, Erica, and Lucas chuckled. Mike watched his sister with unease.
-.-.-.-
The Adventurers stand at the door, carved to look like a dragon. The reliefed dragon's head juts its mouth open, revealing the mechanical lock. The Half-Elf Rogue stood before it. She tossed the key up and down, catching it each time it fell back into her palm.
"This had better be worth it," spoke Erica.
She stepped forward. The key slipped into the mouth with ease. The Half-Elf Rogue looked back at the other Rogue. Then to the Ranger, Half-Elf Monk, Sorcerer, the Fighter, the Gnome, the Barbarian, the Elf, the Dwarf, and the Paladin. The lock clicked, then wheezed, but it did nothing.
The group looked at one another.
A Giant enchanted Rat, its eyes glowing with green magic, meanders out the door to the circular tower. Not a care in the world.
Is going in here necessary? Shouldn't we just continue the other way we need to go?
Yes!
Okay, Okay, let's figure out whatever is down here.
The Barbarian steps forward with a crack of his knuckles. He rests the tips of his fingers atop either side of the dragon relief. The Barbarian pushes forward.
The door slides open without pause. There is a hissing noise and a puff of dust around the door. Indicating that this chamber of the forgotten Stronghold has been sealed for ages. The company steps forward, gradually making its way into the large gallery. Dust, long undisturbed, covers every surface. The air is stale.
Three alcoves are on the north wall and two to the south. Each recess contains a dust-covered stone plinth with a fist-sized translucent globe. The orbs to the north are cracked, void of color, and dark, but the one sphere to the south glows in with a soft blue light. The faint tinkling of music notes ringing from it.
The Elf and Barbarian take hold of the Dwarf, keeping him in place.
Hey!
Give me a Strength Athletics check, Nancy. Steve.
Crit Roll. Fifteen.
"You do remember what happened last time," asked Nancy. The Elf grips the Dwarf hard, and with the help of the Barbarian, the Dwarf is unable to move from his location in the middle of the room.
"I wasn't going to touch anything," grumbles Dustin. The Dwarf huffs, still not moving.
Intrigued by the glow from the sphere, the Paladin steps close, observing the light. Though out the room, the sudden and slow sound of brooding music begins to play.
Wisdom checks, please.
Mike!
Someone roll for me.
Twenty, three, five, six, fourteen, four, twelve, twenty, fourteen, eighteen, sixteen.
The two Rogues, our Barbarian, the Fighter, Sorcerer, Ranger, and Dwarf, stop. Their features become listless as a void cascades across their eyes, and their lips twitch in the slightest of smiles. The music, still brooding, begins to shift in its fluency.
"Smash it," yells Nancy. The Elf attempts to keep the Barbarian and Dwarf in their place. "Smash the damn thing!" The Elf looks at the Paladin.
The Gnome trying to keep hold of the Fighter, Ranger, and Sorcerer. All of whom are entangled in vines that erupt from the floor. The Fighter attempts to break free, the vines growing longer, rapping around his hand, pulling it back to his torso.
Both Rogues are being held down by the Half-Elf Monk.
"What," asks Mike. The Elf motions with her head toward the glowing orb. "Right!" He looks to the globe, his warhammer in hand, and swings. There is an ominous shriek. It lasts a second barely. The orb shatters.
Walking close to the entangled Fighter, Sorcerer, and Ranger. The Gnome eyes his comrades. He sees their eyes return to normal. Their heads shake, returning from the void in which they were lost. He releases his magic, the vines retracting into the floor.
The Elf looks at the Dwarf and Barbarian. She watches the life return to her friends' eyes. "You fight harder next time," says Nancy in a whisper. First, in the Barbarian's ear, she crouches to the Dwarf and says the same. "Don't do that again."
Both Rogues pat their clothes, and they thank the Half-Elf Monk.
-.-.-.-
There is a teetering of books. The tower of encyclopedias next to the Byers' new kitchen door toppled to the ground. Murry hit his toe as he walked into the dining room. "Fucking hell! Do we need these still, Joyce," asked Murry. He set a kitchen scale down on the dining table.
The group turned their attention from the sparse living room. "What's the scale for Bumman," asked Erica. She had to lift her body from the chair to see over the sofa.
Murry looked in the direction of the teenagers. "Bauman," he corrected categorically. "Go back to your paper and pen dragon game." He unzipped one of the Duffels. He waves off the group. Nancy cannot help but laugh at his behavior.
Joyce rolled her eyes at Murry. She handed over a bowl of popcorn to Dustin. She walked over to Murry in a loud whisper that all could hear. "What are you doing with my kitchen scale?"
He pulled multiple paper-wrapped bricks from the bag, placing one on the scale and the others in a pile. "Just because it says it's military-grade does not mean it is military-grade." He watched the scale read a little over a pound. He set the brick on the opposite side of the scale. Murry placed another on the scale. It read the same number. He put that one on top of the other and continued to do the same. Hopper was sitting at the dining table, making notes in shorthand about the sensors and wireless antennas.
"You will not blow up my kitchen scale, Murry," states Joyce.
He continues his weighing each brick the same weight as the last. "I wasn't planning on it."
Joyce turned her attention back to the teens. "I called all of your parents. You can stay past dinner." She was looking at Robin, not Nancy or Mike. "Karen said your mother called. She will be away a bit longer, and you are welcome to stay with them for as long as you need." Joyce watched Robin nod.
Robin surveyed everyone, "continue?"
"Please," they all say.
-.-.-.-
Our Adventurers enter the large chamber, and like the room before, dust fills the hall like a layer of gray snow. At the northern end of the section stands a ten-foot-tall sculpture of a coiled dragon carved from white-veined black marble. The Half-Elf Rogue steps to the statue.
"All that work for this. What are we supposed to do with a ten-foot statue of a dragon," huffs Erica? The Half-Elf Rogue feels jilted.
There is a sudden shift in the air. A voice carries it sounds rough as it begins to speak. "We come at night without being fetched. We disappear by date without being stolen. What are we?"
The Dwarf and Elf begin mumbling the riddle to themselves. "We come at night without being fetched. We disappear by the day without being stolen. What are we," started Nancy and ended Dustin.
Silence.
"Stars," answers Eleven. The Rogue spoke to the open space.
There is a click at the west wall.
The Gnome holds out his hands. They glow their green glow as he begins to detect the magic. A door begins to radiate a faint aura and opens of its own accord pivoting into the new room.
The party cautiously walks into the new long hall. Once all are inside, the door snaps shut, locking them in.
Seriously! Again!
Come on!
The hall consists of six recesses, three lining from the north and three lining from the south. Each alcove, excluding the one furthest to the south, houses a humanoid figure carved from the same white-veined black marble. The formations resemble tall elves in plated armor. A stone archway to the west is at the end of the long hall. It opens into an expansive room with a greenish-light glow. The closer the Adventurers walk to the arch, the more visible a dark pit comes into view.
"Over here," says Jonathan. With two fingers, the Fighter points in the direction of disturbed dust. There are small tracks near the southwest recess. The tracks are covered in dust, less thick than the rest of the room.
The Ranger makes his way to the Fighter. He crouches to observe the tracks closer as he touches the newer dust pit. "Look right there," says Lucas to the Fighter. The Ranger uses his ring finger to point out the claw marks against the stone. The Ranger also motions that the marks move west towards the pit and then disappear.
The Barbarian strolls over to the edge of the pit. It's only ten feet deep. "That looks simple enough," says Steve. The Barbarian begins to stretch his arms and crack his neck.
The Gnome whispers to the Dwarf, who nods, and the Dwarf whispers to the Elf. The Elf steps close to the Barbarian, and with two hands, she takes hold of his greataxe, keeping him in place. "I don't think so. We've had enough random accidents," states Nancy.
Strolling along the southern wall admiring the marble statues, the Half-Elf Rogue sees an indentation in the wall.
Across the way, a sound can be heard in the rafters. The light the Sorcerer ignited to see his surroundings alerted something.
The Gnome strolls up to all his companions. Finger to his lips. "Shh…," says Argyle. He pushes the long sleeves down and cracks his knuckles. The Gnome has what looks like ash in the palm of his hand. He blows it toward the others, stepping into the cloud himself, and everyone is shrouded in a veil of shadows.
There are scurried clicks as whatever was hiding inside the pit has emerged, trying to find where the light disappeared. The Quasit comes dangerously close to everyone. What little light radiates around the room shows a green humanoid creature falling no more than two feet. It has a barbed tail and horns. Its claws on both its feet and hands glisten. The Quasit continues to chatter.
Sighing, the Half-Elf Rogue throws her two daggers toward the Quasit.
The Quasit begins to laugh. It sways in front of the veil. "Hide all you want. Jot know, Jot know you there," the creature giggles, its teeth chatter, and its voice squeaks with every word. It laughs again, "You broke the binding. The watch is over. The dragonpriest is over!" There is a shimmer around the Quasit, and it appears from nowhere, having gone invisible.
The Gnome releases the veil, and everyone becomes visible again.
The Barbarian sighs, and he rests against the indentation. A door opens.
"Is this a good idea," asked Mike. The Paladin was weary like all his companions.
"What other option do we have," asked Nancy. The party file in through the secret door one by one.
Violet marble tiles cover the entire room, though all are tracked or broken, revealing rough-hewn stone beneath. Brackets are attached to the walls at each corner. One holds a torch burning a greenish flame. The light source from the other room.
A marble sarcophagus, easily nine feet long, lies in the center of the room. The coffin is carved with more dragon imagery, and the head of the tomb resembles a dragon's head. Rusty iron clasps firmly lock the lid down. The coffin begins to shake. A gruff growl can be heard from the inside.
The lid bursts open. Two large hands grip its side. It lifts itself out. The Failed Dragonpriest reveals himself as an odd amalgamation of Elf and troll. This is not natural but self-inflicted magic.
The Half-Elf Monk maneuvers around the Dragonpriest. She hits it directly with her quarterstaff. An arrow flies from the Elf's longbow piercing the Dragonpriest's shoulder flank. The Paladin maneuvers around its legs, taking the javelin from his back. He flings it into the Dragonpriest's other shoulder from behind. Short sword in hand, the Fighter lunges at the Dragonpriest. He guts it from behind. His shortsword barely sticks out through its stomach.
The Dragonpriest falls forward. Motionless, it is dead.
The Half-Elf Rogue walks up to the sarcophagus. "Let me tell you. This had better be worth it," states Erica. "You better believe that 'queen' and I will have words if none of this pans out." She begins searching the coffin.
Written in Draconic on the tomb, the Sorcerer reads aloud a story about an elven dragonpriest that delved into the magic that the dragon cult deemed profane—he permanently transformed himself into the odd hybrid the companions just fought. For this crime, the cult entombed him alive. Though the honor of his high station remains, he cannot do anything other than attack those who reach the room.
When removing his sword, javelin, and arrow from the corps, the Fighter sees an ornate ceremonial dagger on him, two silver rings, and a silver amulet. He removes all four items placing them in his pact to be sold and money divided within the group later.
The Half-Elf Rogue is inside the coffin, and like before, the Barbarian and Dwarf are catching the coins flying. This time the Barbarian catches four discarded scrolls.
Off in the distance, a door can be heard reopening.
-.-.-.-
Robin clapped her hands together. "I think that's a good stopping point, yeah?"
Everyone rose from their spots around the coffee table. They stretched. The teenagers looked at one another, waiting for someone to speak.
"I got an idea of what to do next while we were playing," states Robin.
Will rubs at his neck. "In the game?"
"No," Robin shakes her head. "With that." She points to the adults around the dining table. "We'll need to meet at the library sometime this week. I mean, the library hasn't steered us wrong yet. I think it best we go analog until we know exactly what we want to do down there again."
There were nods of agreement from those here in Hawkins during spring break. The others look at Robin, uncertainty in their gaze.
...
Nancy parked the station wagon close to the library entrance. She, along with Robin, Dustin, and Mike. A parking space down a truck stopped, and Will, Jonathan, and Argyle exited, walking over to the others.
"So what's the plan," asked Dustin.
Robin pulled a five from her pocket. Steve gave it to her the other day at work. "We are making copies. A lot of copies." Her hand was on the library door. Robin opened the door wide. She stepped aside for Nancy without a second thought, allowing everyone in before her.
"Copies, why would we need copies," asked Mike, Will agreed.
Dustin paused. "Ohh… of course copies!"
"Shh," said a voice harshly from the checkout desk.
"Of course, copies," repeated Dustin in a whisper.
The woman at the desks stood. She looked over the party. "IDs, please." Robin, Nancy, Dustin, and Mike produced their Hawkins High IDs. The woman eyed Will, Jonathan, and Argyle.
"They're with us. Visiting from out of town," smiled Nancy.
The woman eyes the group scanning the IDs placed in front of her. She paused at Robin, looked up at her, then back down at the ID.
"Is there a problem," asked Robin.
She held the ID close and shifted her glasses. "Are you Beatrix Buckley's daughter?"
Robin looked at Nancy and then back at the woman. "Yes…" she answered carefully.
"Your mother said you and a friend might be by. Something about an end-of-the-year school project. Wanted to make sure you had access to the whole library." The woman placed a neon green dot sticker on both their IDs. "Show you're ID with this sticker, and until the end of the year, you have full access to the library." She handed the IDs back to the four Hawkins High students.
Robin created a short melody with her knuckles on the wood. "Does this include the map archive down in the basement?"
"She asked to give you access to everything. But you have to pay for whatever copies you make."
...
Down in the basement, the group sat at a large wood table. Nancy had a notepad. "All right, what's the plan? Tell us the crazy idea, Robin."
Robin smiled. "I think Dustin figured it out. Well, some of it, but like I've said. We need to be smarter this time. We need to go analog." She has one foot on the floor, her knee resting in the uncomfortable wooden chair as she leans over the table, hands out close to Nancy's, not touching.
Dustin genuinely looked insulted at the idea. "We are not wasting that equipment your mom got us."
She waved a hand at Dustin. "That's not what I meant. We can't have certain individuals knowing we are doing the Upside-Down, right…."
Will moved in his chair, looking at Robin better. "You mean El and me." Jonathan perked at this. He was standing close to a chalkboard. "We can't go down there with you, not yet anyways, or he might know somethings going on," finished Will.
"Bingo," stated Robin. "So, we analog. We'll have to go in blind." She motioned to Will. "When it comes to you and El, but…" she gestured to the wall of maps in cubbies. Maps hanging from oddly clipped hangers.
"But we map out our routes, like with Starburst," spoke Dustin.
Mike simply stayed quiet. Nancy watched him eye Robin. She remembered that face. It was the same face he gave Max when everyone tried to include her in the group. When would he learn?
"What do we need to do," asked Jonathan. Argyle bobbed his body back and forth in the agreement.
Robin looked at Nancy. "What was the date in your journal when we were in your house down there," she asked.
Mike shifted in his chair. "You went to our house down there," asked Mike.
"I told you, Mike, we did a lot while you were gone." Nancy focused back on Robin. "November 6th, 1983." Robin took the pencil from the table and wrote the date on the pad in front of Nancy.
The boys waited for Nancy to react. She did nothing.
"The date the lab was built," suggested Robin. She looked at everyone.
"I know the year 1953," answered Dustin. Nancy wrote the date down. "When Vecna killed his family?" Dustin contributed.
"1959," answered Nancy. She jotted the date under the other two.
Will tapped his finger on the wood. "When the 'Earthquake' took place."
Robin looked to Jonathan and Argyle. "Look for the blueprints and/or city planning maps for the neighborhood of those dates. Anything that is dated close and before the dates are written" They nodded and began scanning the cubby holes. "Same with the lab," she looked at Dustin and Mike, who nodded and started looking in the cubbies and racks. Robin grabbed at Nancy's hand, stopping her from writing. "Of course!" The boys stopped and looked in her direction. "What didn't he show you? Henry, when he made you see all that… What didn't he show you?"
Nancy stared at Robin's hand wrapped around hers, lost in thought. "He didn't show me… Pennhurst! We need to look up Pennhurst." Nancy pulled her hand from Robin's grasp and began looking for Pennhurst's blueprints during the suggested dates.
Robin looked at Will. "You and I can figure out if they actually have anything on file with the city planning right before and right after the 'earthquake.'" Will nodded, and they got to work.