We were standing at the entryway to a long arched corridor. The space of white stone was small, but manageable for us all. I estimated that it was three meters wide by four meters tall, and above, small unlit sconces hung above us on long chains. Null now stood ahead of us, peering further into the passageway with his light mechadendrite. A few meters down the corridor, I saw a slight distortion in the air ahead of us in the dark, almost like heat rising from hot pavement. After making a curious noise, Null walked further, and after a few paces, he reached the area of distortion, where he paused. He waived behind, beckoning us to follow him.
"Is that dangerous?" I asked the tech-priest as he observed the rippling air. Alberich held up his luminous glaive, adding additional light in this new space. "What is that?"
"Another sort of energy barrier, I think." Null postulated as he reached out with one of his arms and scanned the new obstacle before us with a flick of his wrist. After a quick assessment, he pulled his second left arm back, and turned around to face us. With one of his right hands, he then tapped at something metal in his pocket, and Jiminy emerged with a cheep. The tips of his antennae had been burnt by the electrical flash earlier. "Go," Null instructed his insect drone, pointing his gear staff in the direction of the barrier ahead of us.
Jiminy clambered out of the tech-priest's pocket, and spread his clockwork mantis wings with a metal buzz. The drone slowly flew through the barrier, and then, turned around to face us, his antennae whirling some sort of communication.
"Permeable atmospheric energy barrier. Not trapped. Harmless. Placed here to maintain atmospheric conditions and climate control. Perhaps for the preservation of art or artifacts, but I cannot be certain. The air beyond this energy barrier is breathable and safe. Even the atmosphere is pressurized to sea level. You will all feel a sense of changing pressure as you pass this barrier."
I saw Null walk confidently ahead, his light shining ahead like an anglerfish. He turned around as Jiminy landed on his shoulder and settled himself again in one of the tech-priest's pockets. "It's safe. I sense no more harmful energies out here. The pressure will certainly be more comfortable for you fleshlings as well."
I was next, and passed through the energy barrier, which buzzed uncomfortably across my skin like static. My ears immediately began to hurt as I registered the pressure change, and with a yawn, I equalized them. The status messages on my goggles blinked as they began to recalculate, and after a couple moments, I saw "20% ox, NOR" appear.
"Can I take this off?" I asked Null as I watched the rest of my companions walk through the barrier.
"If you want to take off your mask, you can, but stay close to me in case I register an unexpected change in atmospheric composition. I sense nothing unusual about the air in here. Should be fine," the tech-priest informed us.
I turned off the oxygen flow, and pulled my goggles and mask down to dangle around my neck. It definitely felt good to breathe freely again. I saw my companions do the same thing with their goggles and face scarves, and Alberich was now yawning and flicking his goat ears about to equalize them. We continued on our way.
This corridor was very long, and unlike the outer interior of the pyramid we had been in earlier, the floor had no sand. This place was completely untouched after thousands of years. Above, even the unlit sconces that hung from the ceiling on long chains were devoid of any dust. This place had a haunted feel. Null spooked me when I heard him ask ahead, "What have you foreseen within here in your visions, Scion?"
"The artifact that caused the end of the Independent Empires is broken and inert inside a big room with a domed ceiling. Sebastian put his hands on it, and it shattered under his hands. In that room, there are black crystals on the wall that can affect time. One of them is broken now, so the stasis lock has been lifted."
Null nodded, and we continued on our way. My companions followed at a short distance. I could still feel the residual fear radiating off of everyone from my earlier outburst. I really, really needed to relax here. While I had jokingly thought that everything would be easier if I was a Mary Sue character like the Emperor, the reality of it was actually awful. Any normal person suddenly facing what I was up against would probably have a heart attack. The responsibility and pressure of what I'd be expected to do and accomplish as an Empress figurehead in this cursed universe was not something I was looking forward to. I just wanted to go home. I wanted to visit the Wizard of Molech, and get the fuck out of this reality. That's how the Wizard of Oz worked in the movie, right? Dorothy and her crew went to see the Wizard, and she was able to go home after defeating the Wicked Witch of the West and stealing her broomstick. If my Wicked Witch was that Keeper of Secrets Am'Erika, maybe the worst was over already?
My sense of logic barged in to my optimism like an unwelcome guest. Sebastian in all his power and wisdom had also tried to get out, and in the process of failing to leave, he had also completely failed in his quest to help humanity. This reality had eaten him alive.
Once again, my predecessors words echoed in my mind. "Don't be like me. Don't let them keep you..."
In response to my ruminating existential anxiety, flashes of my gold halo arced up around my shoulders and neck, causing my hair to stand on end. My head began to hurt. Okay, relax. I have to deal with this. Relax.
You are clearly distressed. Is everything okay? I heard Alberich gently ask in mind from a few steps behind me.
I'm fine; I just need to deal with my problems, I replied, running my hand along the perfectly smooth white stone of the corridor. Null's light mechadendrite and Alberich's glaive kept this passage lit as we all walked deeper into the pyramid, and I definitely felt safer now with Lian around.
After some time, I saw a dark area far ahead where the corridor finally opened into a large space. I felt the strange sensation of being watched fall over me. It was eerie actually being here after having so many premonitions about this very space. I was walking in Sebastian's footsteps.
"Stop," I heard Null gently announce ahead of us. We halted. The tech-priest motioned toward the end of the corridor with his gear staff. I didn't know what he was trying to communicate to us, but then, I saw the tech-priest open up one of his forearms and flick a switch, and begin to quickly type. On the wall, a green projected message appeared.
We are not alone. I can hear the breathing of two individuals ahead of us. Likely human. They are trying to remain silent.
My jaw dropped as I heard Alberich growl beside me. How? This place had been sealed under a stasis lock since the 25th millennium! Both the beastman and Fallen readied their weapons. Null held up a finger, indicating that he wasn't finished. Another message appeared on the wall.
View the area, one of you?The tech-priest pointed at both Alberich and I. The Tzaangor nodded vigorously, and clutched his daemon glaive as he began to concentrate.
After a short time, Alberich opened his eyes. He turned to me, and said in mind. Two women, gold masks, dressed as monks in red and gold, sitting in poses reminiscent of Hindu mystics. It is like this: I received an image of a monk with a gold mask in a lotus pose, eyes closed and breathing deeply.
I mouthed the word "wow" as I recalled what the two priestesses looked like in my visions. Had they really been here this whole time? When Sebastian left, did he shut this museum down and lock it up with these poor women inside as their entire civilization turned to sand? Real dirtbag move there, buddy.
Lian and Null could not hear Alberich, but I now knew that Lian could hear me if I "yelled" at him enough. I shouted psychically at him describing what the beastman had seen. He nodded, and kept his short powersword at the ready.
Words appeared on the wall: Is there danger? I cannot hear telepathy.
Alberich and I looked at each other, and Alberich slowly shook his head, but then shrugged. He mimed a writing motion with his hand. Null understood, and offered me his keyboard arm. I typed out: Two human woman priests, seen in previous vision. Both w gold masks. Don't think danger. The tech-priest's animated eyes displayed a surprised expression.
The words, Alive after all this time? Must be trickery. Always prepare for danger, appeared projected on the wall. I remembered again that Null had hid when we had fought the Screamer monster on Kolch, so he probably meant that we should prepare for danger while he hid. I internally bristled again, which caused my psychic aura to shimmer. Lian took the initiative in walking ahead of us as quietly as he could, his weapon held before him and powered on.
I heard a noise in the direction of the domed room, and I received a mental image of the two women slowly standing from where they sat on cushions beside the remains of the shattered Heart of Worlds which lay in a shallow sand-filled depression a few meters in diameter. The room ahead remained completely lightless. Were they really from the Dark Age of Technology?
What do we do? Lian shouted as loud as he could to me as I saw the two women advance in my mind's eye. Instead of coming down the corridor to meet us, I could actually sense that they had walked to the edges of the round room. One of them touched a panel on the wall, and before I could be afraid that this was going to be a trap that killed us, the small hanging sconces above us burst into life with small flames, and a spicy scent reminiscent of frankincense and myrrh settled in the air. Ahead of us, the chamber also now appeared to be faintly lit. It almost appeared that we were expected. In my mind's eye, I witnessed the women as they walked back to their floor cushions. Despite the illumination, the women remained out of our direct sight. They slightly bowed their masked heads, and slowly lowered themselves to a kneeling position again.
I took Null's arm keyboard, and typed out another message for my companions: They know we're here. Let me try to speak with them. I'll walk ahead. I don't think they're dangerous.
We all looked at each other, and Alberich nodded in agreement. Null didn't seem too convinced, but wasn't screaming warnings at me. Lian turned to me, placed his fist to his heart, and bowed his head in understanding as he let me walk ahead. I waved my arm as an indication that I should be followed.
Calm down, calm down, I thought, still grinding my teeth. A migraine now threatened to surface. I was trying to dim my Corona, but I was so upset from all my recent trauma that it wasn't obeying. Faint shimmering gold that resembled that of a mirage rose irregularly from my shoulders, neck, and head. I turned around as we walked to see if my companions were following, and on Null's reflective metal gear staff, I caught a glimpse of my reflection. My eyes were actually slightly luminescent right now along with my halo. My expression was troubled, and anxious sweat was beading across my forehead. I turned away, and continued walking ahead. Maybe having a little of this gold halo up would be good for influencing strangers?
We came to the threshold of the domed room after a short tense walk. I walked out ahead of my companions, and I was finally able to physically see this mysterious chamber.
The two women with the gold masks were currently kneeling before us on their cushions beside a wide, sand-filled depression in the very center of this wide space. They did not move as we stepped inside. This room was perfectly round, about ten meters in diameter. Above on the concave ceiling, I saw representations of angelic figures, each with gold halos and holding various objects, like swords, lutes, and hourglasses. It reminded me of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and was quite beautiful. Black crystals that resembled thickly-spined sea urchins hung at regular intervals of about a meter apart on a plain white wall that ringed this space. The perimeter wall was about as tall as I was, and each crystal that hung was wrapped with strange metal wires. Each black stone was marked with an indecipherable gold rune that hung below like a pendant on a chain. From here, I could see that one of the crystals was missing on the far wall, and that its remains were scattered into black dust on the floor below where it would've hung.
The two women remained perfectly still. They wore elaborate gold masks with three eyes, just like my vision. The masks were finely sculpted into a stylized androgynous face with full lips and almond-shaped eye openings. The third eye on both masks resembled a vertical pinched ellipse. The women were clothed in modest red silks embellished with strange gold runic embroidery around each hemline, and while their attire suggested formality, they both appeared to be very lean and very strong, almost like gymnasts. They both wore thin sandals, and their hands were adorned with plain wide metal rings on each finger above the first knuckle. They stood beside the depression in the room which was partially filled with black sand. In the sand, I could now clearly see the pieces of the dead and blackened Heart of Worlds sitting as a brutal testament to Sebastian's failure.
My companions walked into the room, each of them cautiously holding their weapons, and looking to me to give them orders.
"Hello?" I cleared my throat and straightened up. "Uh, we come in peace."
As I cautiously walked further inside, the two masked women relaxed their poses. Their movements were smooth and graceful, like dancers. They stood. Close up, I could see that each had very pale skin. Each wore a ponytail fastened with a metal cuff atop each of their heads in a topknot, and they had long downy white hair that spilled to their shoulders.
"Well met, fair ladies. We mean you no harm," Null spoke up next to me. The women did not speak, but they did both turn to me when Null spoke to them. The tech-priest tried again, and said what appeared to be the same thing in a handful of different languages, along with one that seemed to also be sign language. The masked women did not respond to any of his words. If these women were actually from the Dark Age of Technology, it did make sense that they wouldn't be able to understand our speech.
After his attempts at communication in at least ten languages, Null turned to me with a confused shrug. Then, instead of speaking, the woman on the left began to move her hands in a series of elaborate gestures. Lian tensed beside me, but when he saw that I was still relaxed, he lowered his guard. This looked like sign language. Were they deaf? Right after the first woman made her series of gestures, the second began a similar motion. After a short series of of motions with her arms and hands, the second woman relaxed, and they both briefly kneeled again.
"Sign language?" Alberich asked audibly. "I do not understand them."
"Neither I," Lian said. He had not sheathed his short sword, but he didn't look like he was ready for a fight anymore.
Null studied the women as they stood again. "Correct. A method of somatic communication using elaborate hand and arm motions. I am unfamiliar with this dialect, but such communication usually has a pattern, and can be studied."
Maybe I could psychically communicate with them, I wondered. I took a breath, and tried to send over a greeting of, We come in peace. We mean you no harm.
I felt a pain in my temple as I tried to do this, and knew intuitively that they would not be receptive to telepathy. Lian had at least a tiny shred of psychic acumen, so I could hear him if he concentrated his mental voice, but these women had no such potential. Language was definitely going to be an obstacle here.
The woman on the right of the blackened sand pit began signing again, and I could now tell that they knew we could not understand them. I hoped that they weren't deaf. The left woman turned to her companion, and made a brief cutting motion with her hand, which cause her to still. This "speaking" woman turned toward me, and motioned for me to come closer to her. Cautiously, I did so. As I came near, I looked down at the broken Heart of Worlds. From here, I could see the imprint of where a hand had touched it, and even a char of burnt flesh. Everything that I had witnessed in my visions had happened apparently, including Sebastian's burnt hands.
Now that I was very close to the woman, I could see that behind her three-eyed mask she had pinkish eyes. She studied me for a few moments. Satisfied with something, the stranger crossed her arms across her chest, and bowed deeply to me. From behind her mask, I could see that she was smiling. After that, she pointed two fingers to her head, and then, pointed them to me.
"Me?" I asked.
She pointed at me again, and then, slowly raised her arm to point upward and behind me toward the curved ceiling. I followed where she indicated and once again, something incredible assailed my senses.
My Corona instantly brightened further as I saw that the concave ceiling above the doorway was painted with two special figures that I hadn't seen yet. To the left of the door, a familiar man in white silk robes and long dark hair in a messy ponytail held a sword at his side. His eyes were bright gold, and a shining halo surrounded him in a nimbus. His expression was poignantly sad, as if the gold laurels around his ears were a weighty crown. This was Sebastian, and it perfectly encapsulated the somber expression I had seen him wear before. This mural depicted the lost Traveler as a depressed young guy, and wasn't idealized in the least, even with all the gold. In his other hand, he held a long gold thread which threaded off to the right, away from him.
To my right was the real horror show.
It was me. My painted image was wearing the dark trousers and the same dirty military shirt I was currently wearing. My hair was long, wild, and streaked with white as my expression was also similarly upset. My gas mask and my goggles hung around my neck. In one of my hands, I held a pair of very long shears that were drawn cutting the same gold cord that Sebastian held. My eyes had also been painted gold, and my halo was as bright as the man beside me. The only thing that was different from how I looked right now was that I was wearing a wreath of golden laurels around my ears.
I pulled my silver scissors out of my front shirt pocket and examined them, which caused the woman ahead of me to flinch, and bow repeatedly, her eyes dampened with emotional tears. The shears that I held in the mural were longer, sharper, and it almost seemed as if they were glowing. I really had to figure out what these mysterious scissors could do. So far, I knew that they could channel psychic energy by how they were able to help kill the Screamer on Kolch, but that was all I knew. If I got a pair of scissors instead of huge flaming sword as my weapon, I'd be pissed. Not like I knew how to use a sword, anyway.
Between the two figures painted above, an eagle made entirely out of gold with three eyes stood with its wings spread, with each wing behind both individuals. That definitely looked like an organic version of the Divine Retribution.
I hadn't been paying attention to what my companions were up to, but I noticed that the other woman was signing again, and I heard Null make affirmative noises as he stood watching. "I see. Yes..." he said, nodding.
"Do you understand them at all...?" I asked, trailing off as I was still amazed at the murals. I was aware that Lian was now kneeling a short distance to my left, his head bowed heavily. He was murmuring prayers in a language I did not understand. Alberich, off to my right, was thoughtfully studied the ceiling murals as he leaned on his glowing glaive.
"I can make out a few words," Null responded to my question.
The signing woman he stood next to pointed to the male mural and back to me. She made a sign resembling an "X" with the index and middle fingers of her two hands pointed downward with interlocking thumbs. I watched as Null nodded. Afterward, she pointed at me again, and then to the female mural. She made a similar sign, but this time, it was pointed upwards, palms out.
"I see," Null said, putting a metal hand thoughtfully on his chin. He then slowly kneeled down to observe the broken Heart of Worlds inside the sand pit. I saw one of his whip mechadendrites rope around and gently tap the relic. The women both appeared uncomfortable as they watched the the tech-priest. At least she didn't seem to be too freaked out by Null's inhuman mechanical body. Null turned to us again and stood up. "My companions, if I observe the signed speech of these women, I can decipher their language, given enough time. They are not deaf, so they can hear us, if not understand us. I know enough as a starting point now."
"What is there left to do here? You need these black crystals, don't you?" Alberich said, pointing at the spiny artifacts lining the room with Valkyrie. He began to walk around the perimeter of the wide room, tapping his polearm against the white floor.
"Yes, we do. I'm going to see if I can tease a makeshift stealth field out of them when we return to our vessel. I am a genius, so I think I can do it," Null replied, still thoughtfully observing the masked women as they signed between themselves. "I will collect the stones, I don't sense any danger with that. No more power flows through. In addition, I will suggest that we collect these women as well, as they are a time capsule to this ancient lost civilization. We may have much to learn from them, as it appears that they had a very special visitor right before their doom, and that they remained locked behind a stasis field all this time. Incredible! Once again, fate has led us right to where we need to be."
As the tech-priest said that, I heard a vaguely malevolent psychic giggle echo around me, and my skin grew cold. I knew who that was, and sighed.
With some merry, but nervous humming, Null removed large bag from inside his now scorched red robe. I recognized the same sack that I had seen 77-X carry the Necron energy crystal away from the Nome King's Tomb on Kolch. He walked over to where one of the black stones hung on the wall, and began tinkering with them.
Lian was now standing from his prayers, and was now slowly making his way over to where I stood adjacent to the sand-filled depression in the center of the room. The woman beside me recoiled from him, obviously intimidated. She placed her ringed hands at the gap between her gold mask and her face. The other woman walked over to join her where she stood. The Fallen, in response to her fear, paused and placed his sword back inside his boot compartment. "They seem to be frightened of me."
"They probably haven't seen anything like you before. They're from the 25th millennium. Under a stasis lock all this time," I responded, holding my hand out palm up in a gesture of peace between the women and Lian.
"No luck communicating with them?"
"No. I can't even speak with them psychically."
"Why do they wear the masks?" Lian asked.
"Don't know," I replied as I listened to Null crack a crystal off the wall. Alberich was asking the tech-priest some questions, which was clearly irritating him. "Maybe a ritual thing unique to their old culture?"
I pointed at one of the women as I waited for Null to plunder the room. While they weren't deaf, I wondered if they could speak. "Hello," I said. "Uh, talk?" With my hand, I mimed a speaking motion like I was holding a sock puppet before touching my face.
One of the women nodded, but then, pointed at her throat. She then shook her head. I did not know what this meant. Maybe they were mute?
"Masks?" I asked. I pointed at the golden masks the women wore, and mimed removing it.
The two women looked at each other slowly. Finally, one peered at me, mimed removing her own mask, and mimed drawing a tear down her face. She then reached up, and mimed a weeping motion.
"They don't want to take the masks off?" Lian guessed.
"I think so," I answered. I was suddenly very curious as to why they were wearing these elaborate facial coverings. Communication would be easier if we could see their expressions. "Mask?" I asked again, and again mimed removing a mask from my own face.
The women once again looked at each other, and began a short signing conversation. One of them finally and very reluctantly nodded. Behind me, Null was on to his fourth black crystal. I could hear Alberich complaining that he had a bad feeling about something.
One woman reached up to her face with two hands, and gingerly unhooked her mask with a small *click*. Immediately, a sense of revulsion washed over me. Time seemed to slow as the strange woman lowered her mask, and as I retched, I reflexively backed up. Behind me, I heard Alberich howl in pain as he dropped Valkyrie to the floor with a loud clang, and next to me, Lian also stepped back, and his hand went to his short sword again.
"Ah! A pariah!" Null called out as he himself seemed to struggle. "She is a powerful Blank, Scion! Make them suppress their field!"
"Lian, don't!" I said to the Fallen as he began to step forward with his weapon. "...don't!" He stopped, but did not relax.
Expending a great deal of willpower, I forced myself to stand tall as I observed the Blank, my soul roaring in objection to her existence. Without her mask, the strange woman was soft featured, around 30 years old, with wise pink eyes and very pale white skin. She appeared impassive as she held her gold mask, watching the chaos around her. Her features definitely resembled that of an albino woman.
Despite feeling like someone had punched me in the stomach and hit me on the head with a hammer, I was actually doing a lot better than my companions, even as I stood right next to a full-fledged Blank. Alberich was now whimpering on the floor, completely incapacitated, and even Null appeared to be having problems with his balance as he leaned against the wall. Lian stood near me as he forcefully composed himself.
"Okay, I get it now, I get it," I said breathlessly. "Blanks. You must be a Blank." I mimed a request for the woman to put her mask back on, which she did. "Blank," I said, as I pointed to them. They did not respond, but as soon as her mask was back on, I began to feel better. Wow, being near a Blank was really terrible! I was really going to need to toughen up, I thought, since the Emperor in the lore never had much of a problem being around Blanks like the Sisters of Silence.
Wait a moment. "Hey, Null?" I asked, turning around, still catching my breath.
"Mmm?" the tech-priest replied as he shook himself back to functionality. Null wasn't even a psyker at all and he had been affected. These women were dangerous!
"Are the Sisters of Silence still around? What were they like? Were they this bad to be near?"
"The Sisters of Silence were functionally disbanded many thousands of years ago, and as far as I know, they no longer exist in an organized fashion aside from small conclaves scattered about the Imperium. They were a powerful all-female order of psychic pariahs that had taken a vow of silence. Their sacred mission was to fight the tide of Chaos. Their order predates the Horus Heresy, and they were founded by the Emperor Himself. These women here cannot be a part of their order." Null trotted over to where I stood with Lian and the two women, leaving Alberich to struggle alone on the floor. He held the bag with the crystals as it jangled in one hand, and his staff in another. "These women are quite powerful, it appears." Null reached out with one of his mechadendrites to touch one of them on her metal topknot. She didn't appear to appreciate that, and cringed away.
We were probably freaking them out. They couldn't understand a word we were saying, and they likely didn't know that their entire civilization had transfigured into lifeless cursed dust smeared across a thousand light years of space. It would probably be tough for them to see what had happened outside, and probably even tougher to hop on the Divine Retribution and leave with creepy strangers. Unless they wanted to die, they actually had to come with us, and we had to be less rude to make this easier.
"Hey, Null, chill out, okay? Stop messing with them," I instructed the tech-priest to stop harassing the Blanks.
"What? 'Chill out?'" he said, appearing offended that I had told him not to prod at the women like they were Necron artifacts.
"Could you just stop bothering them and go and check on Alberich for me? He's still on the floor." I pointed at the Tzaangor who had pulled himself up into a sitting position, and was now massaging his temples.
"Fine," he said with a short huff. "I will study these Blanks later. For now, we should think about how we will convince them to come with us."
"I don't think that will be a problem," Lian said, pointing at the likeness above us as Null stepped back over to Alberich. He ignored the floundering beastman, and began pulling another black crystal off the wall. "Through all the strange prophetic art in this place, and now this ceiling painting, it is clear that they recognize an Inheritor before them. The resemblance is uncanny, even down to the addition of these scissors instead of sword."
"Mein Gott," I heard a German voice finally moan into the room. "What was that, Erika?" Alberich was now on his feet again. From here, I could see that he actually had a trickle of blood pooling from one of his eyes. "What is a 'Blank'?"
I pointed at the two women, who stood uncomfortably as we spoke in words they could not understand. "These two women are Blanks. They have negative psychic presences, no souls. They even have a disruptive field around them that can mess up psykers like us."
Valkyrie tells me they are dangerous. Do we still intend to take them with us? If our spaceship is psychic, would they interfere with its functionality? I heard the Tzaangor ask hesitantly as he wiped a bloody tear from his face with one of his sleeves. It appeared that he had burst a blood vessel in his left eye.
We're taking them with us. If we don't take them with us, they'll be stuck here, so it's the right thing to do. I think they think I'm a prophet, too. I pointed to the mural again. Alberich turned to regard the ceiling, and I noticed that he was gripping Valkyrie tightly.
Valkyrie agrees, and says to bring them. It says they are witch hunters, and already sworn to you, and that they shunned the last person to come through here. I do not know what that means.
I know what that means, I said heavily in mind to the beastman, but did not elaborate. My visions concerning this space and what Sebastian had done seemed to be pretty close to reality. In my vision, it appeared that the women had shunned the lost Traveler. Maybe they already knew what happened to everyone outside? It still didn't make sense why they had been locked behind that stasis field, and why Sebastian had stranded them here. Did he actually punish these Blanks for their shunning, or was I missing something?
"Okay, everyone," I said as I watched Null pull another crystal off the wall. He was about halfway finished. "After Null is done collecting these crystals, we're going to scout around the museum some more until that storm passes above us. We're taking these ladies..." I motioned to the women. "...with us." I mimed with my hands a crude depiction of a bird flying away, and pointed at the painting of the three-eyed eagle above.
The women began to sign amongst themselves again, and both turned to me. They nodded and bowed at me again. I hoped they knew what I was talking about. One of them pointed at me with two fingers once again, and back to herself. She then turned around, and faced the far side of the wall, directly opposite of the entryway we had come from. Both she and her companion walked around the sand pit, and to a blank space between two black crystals. Null happened to be there, tearing another stone off the wall. He briefly looked at the two women, and went about continuing to plunder.
The Blanks simultaneously touched the wall, and knocked a pattern against it with their ringed fingers. Before us, a crack miraculously appeared in the featureless white space before them. A short archway revealed itself with the sound of grinding stone. A secret door! This was something new that I hadn't seen before. "Hey, guys! Check it out! Secret room! I didn't see this in my vision. This is new to me!"
Behind me, I heard Lian and Alberich walking toward me, and Null was still lightly swearing as he jiggled with a particularly difficult crystal that wouldn't release from the walls. "Blasted thing..." I heard him muttering, his eyes a stormy dark grey. With another snap, the stone released just as my companions arrived nearby. I peered through the entryway without stepping through it, and saw that it was lit with a warm orange light that suggested a campfire. The Blanks stood inside, waiting for us ahead of what appeared to be a very large, and very long mural painted on an area of wall so large that I could not see it in its entirety from here.. One woman's eyes were damp, and she appeared to be nearly overwhelmed in emotion as the other signed a few words to her.
Like any good Dungeons and Dragons dungeon crawl, we needed someone to check for traps. Both Alberich and Lian stood beside me, peering ahead, and soon as he was done storing the black crystal, Null joined us in eyeing the secret door. "Any traps in here? Is it safe?" I asked.
"They have sworn themselves to you," Alberich replied before Null could do anything. "You can trust them."
That's great and all, German bird guy, but I really don't trust the source where you got that information. This was still Tzeentch we were talking about, and while he was helpful now, he was still the one who was notorious for screwing people over in this universe for his own enjoyment. I couldn't just be reckless like I was with the eagle door constantly, as this would put my companions in danger. "Just let Null double check, alright?"
Null wordlessly opened one of his wrists again, and bathed the archway and a short distance inside the new space with a green light as he scanned for danger. After a few moments, he answered my concerns with a "I see no overt traps or danger from here. It appears to be another large room filled with more art. Should be intriguing, considering your record with recognizing things from your universe in this museum."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking," I said, trying to lighten up. "I wonder what else they have? We still haven't even seen the rest of the museum."
Null walked ahead through the door, needing to slightly duck to get his height through. He looked around, and said, "Another large and magnificent mural. Quite beautiful! I will take pict caps of this one."
I watched Alberich duck through the door as he held his daemon glaive, and I started to admit to myself that this was still pretty exciting. I wondered what other weird stuff from my universe this ancient civilization somehow possessed. Maybe these people had box sets of Warhammer 40k miniatures, and that's where Sebastian got his Space Marine inspiration from? I laughed, and then immediately felt bad. The concept of the Emperor just being some random lost English guy from a universe that was similar to mine (if not the same one) was both funny and very sad. I had always read that he was the product of thousands of psykers committing suicide, or maybe a perpetual. Or maybe Emps just lied about everything?
"Erika, come in here! The mural is beautiful!" Alberich turned around and called through the open entryway. "There are more figures that resemble you and the other man in the round room. Come and see!"
"Do you want me to go first, or should I be last to guard your back," Lian asked beside me. He was going to have to duck to get through this small opening.
"I'll go through now. Just follow behind me," I replied. I didn't need to keep worrying about everything causing me an existential crisis here. That would get me nowhere.
I realized I was holding my breath when I stepped through the secret door, and when I saw the new mural inside, I was awestruck once again.
"It seems our common understanding of history may need some revision," Null quietly said, holding his light mechadendrite up to further illuminate a majestic five meter tall mural of a long line of figures, each with bright halos, fiery eyes, and gold laurels around their ears. "The title, 'Inheritor' may indeed have an explanation now."