After leaving the waterfall, they followed a path that took them away from the mountains and to the plains in the east that led to the coast. Erik called the area 'The Emerald Coast', and Raeyla could understand its namesake. Between the mountains and the small beaches stood a wide and expansive field, covered in vibrant green grass and plants. Raeyla admired the view but she agreed with Erik and Halden that it caused discomfort. They were still too close to Heliodor to take the chance in relaxing and being caught.
They agreed to make their way quickly across the field toward the Kingsbarrow, an easy monument to locate given its size. Stone pillars with Heliodor's flags lined a dirt path that led into a rock face, one that did little to hide the massive stone pyramid structure. The group had expected to have to sneak around guards but found that there were none down on the ground. They cautiously and silently climbed the stairs, hoping not to alert any guards who might be within the structure.
They certainly hadn't expected to find several dead guards just inside the entrance.
"Are they ok?" Halden asked, not wanting to accept what he was seeing as Raeyla and Erik moved to check the guards for pulses, only to confirm that they were corpses.
"They're gone, Halden'' Raeyla mumbled after they checked the last fallen soldier, watching as the young Luminary's eyes widened. He walked away from the bodies, leaned against the wall, and slid down to sit on the ground, putting his head in his hands.
Erik, still inspecting one of the bodies, spoke "These wounds… It could be monsters."
Raeyla nodded, her mind racing with possibilities. "We should be careful, they might still be here."
"I… I can't do this," Halden spoke from behind them, his voice barely above a whisper.
The duo turned to look at him, still against the wall far from the bodies, seeming to struggle with his breathing. It worried Raeyla.
She approached the boy, her eyes soft as she tried to console him. "Halden, it's ok. You don't have to come with us. We can get the orb and meet you outside."
Her words snapped something in the boy, and he looked up suddenly at the duo and spoke desperately, "I want to come with you."
Erik walked up next to his partner and gave her a questioning look, "How is your arm? Can you shoot?" he asked. Raeyla tested her injured arm. She was left-handed, and so she only needed enough strength to hold the bow with her right.
"I'll manage," she said with certainty, causing Erik to glance down at her arm momentarily before turning to refocus on Halden.
"Alright, but stay behind us. We don't know what's down there." Erik finally said, earning a nod from Halden. He then looked back to Raeyla and spoke, "We're running the old strat."
Raeyla's mind flicked to what Erik meant and nodded in response. The old strat is what they used two years ago when Derk was still accompanying them in caves and other dangerous places looking for loot.
She took a moment to survey the room, her eyes scanning every detail. The chamber was vast, with towering stone pillars reaching up to the ceiling. Torches lined the walls, casting shadows across the stone floor. At the far end of the room stood a massive statue of a two-headed eagle, its wings spread wide. One talon gripped a sword, while the other sat on a giant green orb. Behind the sword, an ax and a torch were crossed at its feet.
As she examined the base of the statue, Raeyla noticed a passageway in the ground behind it. "There's a way down here," she said to the boys.
They descended cautiously, the stone steps echoing their footsteps. The flickering torchlight revealed a series of narrow, winding stone corridors. In the distance, the group could hear the sounds of monsters ahead.
The hallways were constricted, adding to their anxiety. "Stay close," Erik whispered from his position in front of the group. Raeyla nodded, her bow ready in her hands, while Halden followed closely behind him, clutching his sword tightly.
They moved as silently as they could, checking each room they passed to ensure there were no hidden threats. Raeyla's senses were heightened from the fear of being caught off guard. She knew they had to remain vigilant, especially with Halden vulnerable behind her.
Occasionally, they were forced to engage with monsters. Around one corner, Erik used his daggers to quickly take down one monster while Raeyla shot another before it could alert the others.
In another instance, Erik entered a room only to find three monsters waiting. A pair of smog monsters and a little devil. Raeyla, remembering the scratch from a similar creature days earlier, quickly shot down the devil before turning her attention to the smogs. Their smoky forms made it difficult to pinpoint their weak spots, requiring all of her and Erik's concentration.
As Erik rolled away from an attack, Raeyla took the opportunity to target one of the smog monsters' cores, eliminating it. She aimed for the second, but the sound of clanking metal made her spin around. An eggsoskeleton, a metallic, egg-shaped creature with spindly legs, had jumped up to attack. She wouldn't have time to dodge.
"No!" Halden's voice shot from her right just before the egg-like monster was tossed across the room. He had saved her.
She kept her bow ready, looking between the remaining monsters. When she confirmed that the eggsoskeleton was dead, she shifted her aim to shoot the last smog. As her arrow struck it, Erik seized the moment to deliver the final blow.
"You ok, Rae?" Erik asked as soon as the monsters were confirmed to no longer be a threat.
"Yeah. Thank you, Halden. You really helped. Are you ok?" she replied, reassuring Erik while expressing her concern for Halden.
He nodded, determination in his voice despite the slight tremor in his hands. "I can fight, I don't want anyone else to get hurt."
From then on, Halden took the front alongside Erik, allowing Raeyla to cover their backs. They moved cautiously through each hallway, with Erik leading quietly, giving a signal to the duo when he either found a way through or when they had to engage with the monsters.
Eventually, they reached a large room. At the back, two substantial platforms flanked a set of large metal doors.
"That's gotta be it," Erik said, a bit of excitement in his tone as he hurried to the door. Raeyla and Halden followed close behind as he pushed the doors open to claim his prize.
The room beyond was expansive, with stone steps at the far end leading to a well-lit platform. On the pedestal atop the platform sat the precious red orb that Erik and Raeyla had stolen from the King a year ago.
Raeyla's eyes were drawn to the ruby-red glow of the orb, recalling its weight. However, her attention quickly shifted to the two large griffins surrounding it.
The griffins had their backs to the trio, revealing pale green bodies and light blue wings in the firelight. Their focus was on the orb.
The griffin on the left cackled to his partner, "Like taking candy from a baby! This is going to get us into his good books, I just know it! We're sure to get a big reward!"
Raeyla raised her bow, preparing for a fight. "We should-" she began to whisper, but Erik interrupted, charging forward and shattering any hope of a surprise attack.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing? That orb belongs to us! Get your filthy hands off it!" He shouted, and the griffins quickly turned to face them.
"Oh? Well come and get it." The griffin on the right challenged before lunging forward toward the group, his twin following close behind.
Erik reacted first, drawing his daggers and positioning himself in front of Raeyla. Halden gripped his sword tightly in his hands as he moved to Erik's side. Raeyla took a few steps back, notching an arrow and waiting for an opportunity to shoot.
The griffin on the right reached them first, slashing at Erik with its sharp talons. He dodged quickly, rolling to the side and slashing at the griffin's wing. As the griffin roared in pain, Raeyla took advantage of the opening and released an arrow. It flew through the room and embedded itself in the griffin's shoulder. At the realization it had been shot, it turned its attention toward Raeyla. Erik noticed this quickly and aimed another strike at the monster. As the griffin dodged his attack, Erik grinned in response, "Don't forget about me."
The second griffin charged at Halden, who braced himself and met its attack head-on. As the griffin flew by, the boy countered with a slash of his sword to its leg. The griffin growled, more annoyed than hurt, and launched itself into the air to dive at him.
"Halden, duck!" Raeyla called out, firing another arrow. The luminary dropped to the ground just as her arrow flew over, striking the griffin in the chest and knocking it off course and to the ground.
The girl looked over to the first griffin, who had been distracted at the sight of its comrade hitting the floor. When noticing the arrow in his partner's chest, he turned to look at the archer of the group once again, giving Erik the opportunity he needed. With a series of quick strikes to the griffins vital points, he was able to deliver a fatal blow to its throat. The first griffin collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
"One down!" Erik shouted, turning to face the remaining griffin. He inched to stand next to Halden as the monster recovered, standing back on its feet before taking flight once more. Raeyla noticed that Erik leaned over and whispered something to Halden, earning a nod in response before they both focused on the enemy at hand.
When the griffin realized that he was now fighting three opponents alone, he let out a roar and spread his wings out wide, preparing for an attack.
"Now!" Erik yelled, He and Halden charged at the griffin in unison, their weapons drawn as they approached the giant bird. Halden raised his sword to attack and Raeyla noticed that Erik vanished from view.
Raeyla took her bow and watched carefully for Halden's sword. When the tip of his blade started to come down, she released her arrow. It shot through the air and flew over Halden's sword before striking the griffins shoulder. Halden's sword shortly after slashed across the griffin's stomach and Raeyla could see Erik behind the griffin's form, daggers in both hands. The griffin let out one final cry before collapsing to the ground.
Breathing heavily, the two boys stood victoriously over the fallen griffin. They shared a small glance before Halden spoke, "Is everyone ok?" scanning everyone for injuries.
Raeyla gave him a reassuring smile, "I'm fine. Good job!"
Erik took one last look at the griffins, "Amateurs! They were no match for us. But who the hell were they? And what did they want with the orb?" he said as he shifted his sight to the prize that sat at the top of the stairs.
Raeyla thought carefully about the griffins when they entered the room, "They said that getting the orb would get them in 'his good books'," she recalled to the group.
Halden's brow creased and he questioned her, "His good books? Who were they talking about?"
No one could offer an explanation, and after a moment, Erik walked up the steps and took a long look at the orb. Raeyla walked up to join him when he started speaking, "Well, whatever. It's back with its rightful owners now. About time too."
As the cyan-haired man picked up the orb, the item's red hue glowed within his female partner's eyes. The orb was beautiful, but brought up a string of memories. She spoke quietly to Erik, "You know, after they threw us in jail. I thought I'd never see this again."
Erik agreed and responded, "But here we are holding it. Come on, time to go."
The pair went back down the stairs to meet with Halden, who was watching them quietly from the stone floor. When they approached him, Erik spoke, "Right. We've done what I came to do. We should head east and check out that Door to Departure place your grandpa mentioned."
Halden nodded, a determined look on his face. "Ok," he replied, turning to lead the thieving duo out of the Kingsbarrow.
The walk out of the pyramid was tense and quiet, with the group carefully avoiding any further monster encounters. Once they emerged into the fresh air, a sense of relief washed over them, though they remained focused on their task. They knew the Door of Departure was to the east, but the exact location was still a mystery. After exploring the coast for a few hours, they found a fisherman standing on a pier and decided to ask for directions.
"Excuse me. We're looking for the Door of Departure. It's supposed to be in the eastern part of the Emerald Coast, but we're having trouble finding it. Do you know where it is?" Halden asked meekly as he approached the burly fisherman. Raeyla and Erik stood slightly behind him, their eyes scanning the horizon and the surrounding area, wary of any danger.
The fisherman, though imposing in stature, spoke in a kind voice, "The Door of Departure? Well, I couldn't be certain, but there's an old building out east of here with a big set of doors on it. That might be what you're looking for."
Halden smiled gratefully, "We'll have a look. Thank you for your help!" He turned back to his team, eager to get moving, "Let's go!" he said, his enthusiasm infectious.
As they walked, Raeyla felt a mix of concern and hope. The proximity to Heliodor was still worrying, but they had a lead now. She glanced at Erik, who seemed deep in thought, and then at Halden, whose resolve had strengthened since the battle with the griffins.
"We need to keep our eyes peeled," Erik said, breaking the silence. "We're still too close to Heliodor for comfort."
Raeyla nodded in agreement. "We'll keep a low profile and move quickly," she added.
Halden, sensing the seriousness in their tones, matched their pace. "There's a treeline up ahead, let's look there" he suggested.
The patch of trees was thin, and the trio split to search for a way through, agreeing to not escape each other's sight. Before long, Raeyla heard the crashing waves in the distance and moved forward. She could feel the wind picking up through the trees and hopped over the trees to see what was on the other side.
She was greeted with a gorgeous view of the far ocean below a massive clifface. The wind swept up from the water and over the field of grass, creating a serene and peaceful sight. Raeyla slowly walked up the hill and through the wild flowers toward the edge of the cliff, looking down to see how far they were up from the ocean.
The height was dizzying and she almost didn't hear Erik coming up from behind her, "We're pretty high up, no jumping off this cliff ok?" He joked, earning a small laugh from Halden who had also come to stand by the duo.
"Is that the door?" Halden asked and the two looked to see what he was referring to.
At the edge of the cliff, was a large stone building, two large doors with the indentation of a large blue diamond in the center of the closed doors.
"Sure looks like it. Let's hurry." Erik said before turning and moving toward the building. Raeyla and Halden followed close behind, the wind moving their hair as they walked up the hill and away from the shelter of the trees.
They made it about three quarters of the way to the building when a noise could be heard in the distance behind them. A distant noise of horse hoofs and the clanking of metal armor.
Raeyla felt her breath hitch in her throat as she realized that they had been found.
Hendrik's voice boomed across the field, making the trio turn to face the noise and accept their reality, "Did you really think you would escape me, Darkspawn?".
"They found us!" Halden despaired, staring at the knight who was surrounded by another four guards, all ready to drag them back to the city. Erik only looked at them for a moment before he shuffled closer to Halden, his hand slipping into Halden's bag with ease before pulling out the blue stone.
He twisted his wrist and held it out toward Raeyla, who had been standing behind Halden. He spoke in a low voice so that only the three of them could hear "get to the door Rae" he said.
The girl looked at Erik and understood, if that stone could open the door, someone had to get to it fast, and who better than the ranged fighter. She reached forward and took the stone from her friend's hand and held onto it tightly.
She didn't wait for any further instruction and instead turned on her heel and sprinted as fast as she could toward the Door of Departure. She didn't look back when she heard Hendrik shouting "Fire!" or when the bolts shot past her body. Instead, Raeyla focused everything on getting to the door. She was comforted by hearing Erik shout, "Run! Now!"
As she reached the steps of the stone building, the stone started to glow blue, and without hesitating, she placed it in the indentation that sat in the middle of the doors.
As soon as the stone was locked in place, the doors began to open. That was when she heard Hendrik shout once more, "Now! Seize him!".
Raeyla turned quickly and saw what had occurred. Halden had fallen, she wasn't sure how it happened, but Erik had turned around quickly to help. Raeyla wasted no time in removing the bow from her back and aiming at the approaching soldiers.
One of the soldiers weren't able to dodge her arrow in time and shouted as it lodged deep within his shoulder. It was a short-lived victory as the rest of the soldiers, and Hendrik, had been alerted to her attacks and began to target her. She continued to fire arrows, aiming for the legs of their horses as Erik and Halden recovered and continued their run toward the door.
Her arms shook as bolts from the remaining soldiers and Hendrik struck the ground near her, and she thanked Yggdrasil that they didn't have better aim. As the distance between her and the boys finally closed fully, she had to jump to the left to avoid one of their luckier shots.
The boys quickly made it to the stairs and ran past her into the now open chamber within the building, "Raeyla come on!" Halden shouted and she immediately fell back, her bow still drawn and ready to shoot. Erik reached forward as she stepped back, grabbing the blue stone and causing the doors to slowly close.
"You shall not escape me Darkspawn!" Hendrik shouted, aiming his crossbow directly at the trio. He released the trigger, and the bolt flew swiftly through the air. Raeyla realized too late that it was aimed at her.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the bolt closed in. She could see with clarity that it was headed straight for her left eye. In that brief moment, a vivid image flashed in her mind: sitting in her cell, looking at Erik through the hole in the stone wall, talking about all the things they'd do when they escaped. She inwardly laughed, never imagining they'd be running for their lives like this so soon.
But fate intervened. Just as the bolt was about to strike, the doors pinched closed, blocking the deadly projectile. The sudden darkness was followed by a blinding blue light that engulfed their vision.
She had escaped death. Barely.