This is the 5th chapter. I don't own the series of Helluva Boss or the game of Tomb Raider.
Draconic Fan: Good question, but Dr. Twitman would probably fit right in at the Greed Ring.
Survivors are Born
After the Russians captured Antauri and Lara because of Whitman's stupidity, they're dragging the two somewhere while three imps followed them after Blitzo made a suggestion on follow and kill them. They were now at the campsite, mostly at the ruins, where they noticed some people from Endurance survived from the wreck and left stranded on the island, but being held hostage by the Russians.
"Who are you people?" Lara asked.
"What do you want from us?" Antauri (Carl) adds.
"Silence!" The Russian growled, holding onto Lara and shoves her.
"Lara! Carl!" One of the Endurance crew yelled, starting to stand when the Russian shoulder tackled him back down.
"If they give you any trouble, kill them!" The Russian ordered.
"Don't hurt them...please!" Lara cried with a plea.
"I said, silence, girl!" The Russian said, pushed her into a tree as he began to speak in Russian again, caressed her face and shoulder.
Antauri growls in anger, fully intent to kill him while the three imps thought the same thing when they're watching the Russian planning to do something to her. Lara is starting to get uncomfortable as she's about to move away, but the Russian isn't letting her.
"Let go of her, you son of a bitch! Let go of her!" Antauri (Carl) snapped, turning to the Endurance crew. "Lara, run! All of you, run!"
And they did just that, but one of them was gunned down while the others escaped.
"Oh no! No!" Lara panted.
"Round them! Round them up!" The Russian yelled as they began looking for the survivors.
"Alright, lets give those bitches hell!" Blitzo said, pulling out his pistol. "Spread out and kill them, but the crew of Endurance lives!"
Both Millie and Moxxie replied with a nod as they split up to go after them while saving the Endurance crew. He then wheeled around and backhanded Lara while his friends threw Antauri (Carl) face down to the ground.
"Don't you fucking move! Either of you!" The Russian spat, aimed his gun as he walked away. "Kill them all!"
Antauri and Lara struggled to their feet, quickly ducked behind the wall.
"Don't make a sound." Lara said softly as the white hellhound nodded, didn't need to be told since he already knew and they wait for one of them to pass through the wall.
"Hey, bring up the prisoners!" One of them shouts with an order.
"Yeah, I'm on it!" The other shouts back, walking down to go get them and both Lara and Antauri quietly walks past through him and up the hill while hiding, wait for him to walk away.
"Anything?" He asked.
"I can't find them! They're gone!" He replied when gunshots were heard, which Antauri notices the scent.
"Must be Blitz and the others making quick work on them." Antauri told her quietly while following her and sprint past them when one of them took notice of the Endurance crew.
"Hey, we got a runner in the trap!" He informed when Millie got behind the survivor.
"LEROOOY JEKIIIINS!" The voice of Millie yelled as she decapitated his head with her axe.
"Was that Millie shouting?" Lara questions as she and Antauri hides inside of the ruin.
"Sounds like it, guess she's keeping them busy...And by mean busy, I mean getting those bastards off our asses." Antauri told her.
"What the fuck is going on here?! Where did that voice come from?!" The Russian demands.
"I don't know, but we're losing numbers!" One of them said with panic.
"HEY DIPSHITS! OVER HERE, YOU CHUCKLEFUCKS!?" The voice of Blitzo mocks with a yell, firing his own pistol.
"She's not the only one." Lara said, waiting for them to run.
"Come on, they're going to need some help!" One of them said as they ran to the source of the voice.
"Let's move." Antauri said as he and Lara ran out of the ruin while avoiding the spotlights and the survivors. Blitzo, Millie, and Moxxie are keeping them busy, killing them while having the survivors meeting up with Roth after telling them about their captain. But soon, the Russian noticed the two are missing and he's looking for them.
"Come out! Come out!" The Russian shouts while Moxxie fires his gun at the two and letting Antauri and Lara kept running.
"Quick, hide inside here." Antauri whispered, noticed a small space that's presumably the structure was what was left of a hut.
They quickly ran into it and squeezed inside, carefully not to move or make too much noise. They can hear them looking for survivors while getting killed by three imps, but the Russian speaks in his language while walking past them. He then quietly walks back to the hut to see Lara and Antauri hiding.
"Out!" The Russian barked, pointing his gun at them while speaking in his language.
They eased out of hiding and the Russian grabbed Lara.
"I always find them..." The Russian said, caressed Lara's side.
It made Antauri's blood boil, but Lara kneed him in the groin and went to run, but the Russian seized her arm and pulled her back while getting her close. Speaking in Russian while sniffing him, Lara bites him in the ear and pulls it out, making him scream in pain while stumbled back. Lara charged in and knocked a pistol out of his hands, with her hands came free. Antauri freed him as he charged in and intercepted him so that Lara could get the gun while he and the Russian struggled in the dirt. The Russian had the white hellhound pinned, but Antauri had him locked with a Kimura and broke his arm which made him scream in pain when Lara came back with a gun.
Antauri then delivers a punch to the jaw and blocks that hook, counter by kneed him in the stomach and kicked him in the face. The Russian is stumbling a bit, but before Lara could attempt to help, the gun in her hand discharged, shot the Russian right in the eye and he collapsed down to the ground. He gasped and choked for a moment before he breathed his last breath.
Lara collapsed nearby, coughing and sobbing hysterically. She just killed a man, a human being, dead at her hands just like that. Antauri got to his feet with his own gun and a bow and quiver full of arrows.
"Lara, I know you're shocked, but we have to keep moving. We're still not safe." Antauri said with compassion, gently laying his hand on her shoulder.
Composing herself, she stood and grabs her pistol and her bow from her adopted brother. Nodding to Antauri, they pressed on. Both Antauri and Lara ran through the cliff, hearing the voices from the survivors panicked and getting killed by three imps. They then ran through the bridge and up the stairs while hearing one of the voices.
"Stay back! I'll shoot!" One of the Endurance crew warns.
"Relax, bitch! We're only after assholes like them, now move it and get out of this shithole!" The voice of Blitzo retorted while the Endurance crew doesn't need to be told twice, running as Antauri and Lara ran up to the imp. "Oh, you guys made it."
"With all that screaming going on, figured it's you guys." Antauri said with a smirk, but Lara screamed in pain when her arm is grazed by a flame arrow. "Lara!"
Antauri grabs hold of her, which made them hide next to the crates when the survivors took notice.
"Got another one!" One of them said, using a flashlight to find them. "They went down over there."
"Are they dead?" The other asks while Lara quickly grabs a spare mag as she loads her gun.
"I don't know..."
"Hey, outsiders! We know you're here! There's nowhere to run!"
"That's what you think." Antauri muttered quietly as they quickly stood up, aiming their firearms and fire at the two. "Let's get out of here."
They nodded in agreement, looting off the dead men which they're able to find some bullets and arrows along with some parts they need to salvage. Blitzo lets out a whistle, calling Millie and Moxxie since they're still busy looking for survivors, kill them, and saving the Endurance crew. Lara used her prying axe, destroying the lock as they open the door.
"Kill them! Burn them out!"
"You're gonna die in there!"
The archers fired their arrows at the door, burning it along with the ruin. Lara quickly kicked the wooden barricade repeatedly and destroyed it, then they went through the hole as they pressed on. They jumped over while running through the burned ruins, but heard a voice.
"I don't hear anyone...what do you think?"
"They're probably dead."
"Keep looking...check the other huts!"
"Hey! Hey, you find any more down there?!"
"No, nothing, but keep an eye out! The fires may send a few your way!"
While they hide behind the wooden cart, Lara grabs her bow and aim at the survivor, silently killed him right at the neck as he then fell over to the ground.
"Nice shot." Blitzo said, impressed as they then ran to the dead body, grabbing the arrows and something to salvage.
They then scrambled to the wall, climbing up and Blitzo opens the box to reload some ammo while saving it for Moxxie. Lara starts first by jumping off the wooden platform and grabs hold of wooden beam, starts moving while Antauri and Blitzo followed her, wasting no time on climbing up. Millie quickly turns and readied her axe when she saw Lara, Antauri, and Blitzo running to them.
"Where's Mox? Isn't he with you?" Blitzo questions.
"He's up there." Millie answered, points at the ladder. "We killed them while I stayed behind to keep an eye on things."
"And the crew of Endurance? Are they?" Lara asks hopefully.
"Don't worry, they made it out of the old ruins. They're meeting with Roth at the camp." Millie assures her. "Some didn't make it."
Lara nods with an understanding, but Antauri knows that she was still struggling some with the fact that she killed several people, including the Russian. She would need a lot of support getting past it. They then began to climb up the ladder to catch up with Moxxie, with Mille on Lara's back and Blitzo on Antauri's back, but the sound of the radio was heard.
"Antauri, Lara, are you there?"
"Yes!" Lara gasped.
"Still here." Antauri said calmly.
"I can see smoke from the old ruins. Are you both okay?"
"Oh, god...Roth, we're in trouble. They're killing people." Lara said with a tremble in her voice.
"What? Who?"
"Survivors like us, but only they stayed longer. Whoever they are, they're killing people left and right. We don't know why." Antauri added, sounded troubled.
"We had to kill some of them. We had no choice." Lara said, nearly broke.
"That can't have been easy."
"It's scary just how easy it was." Lara said.
Antauri, Blitzo, and Millie said nothing since they've been killing people for living, but only those who commit a sin as they meet up with Moxxie. Moxxie was about to speak when Millie and Blitzo gestured him to be quiet.
"You've got to warn the others, Roth." Lara said which her voice brought him back to the moment.
"Don't worry about them right now. You and Antauri just do whatever it takes to get to me, Lara."
"We'll try." Lara replied.
"We will. Keep your head down until we get there, Roth." Antauri adds as the radio is cut off.
"Roth?" Moxxie asks.
"Yeah, he's still waiting for us. But these chucklefucks are meeting to his location and we still need to take care of those dick-headed assholes." Blitzo answered as Moxxie hands her something to salvage.
"Thanks, but I just a moment to think clearly." Lara said.
"There's a campsite over there. I'll show you." Moxxie told her as they followed him to camp, then decided to take a break. "Um...I know this is a bad time, but I was able to find something and...I don't think you're going to like it."
Antauri then noticed a diary as he takes it and reads it, noticed that it's Mathias' diary, the same man that Sam is with him. He was reading about Mathias being stranded on Yamatai for years, maybe even longer. Meaning that Mathias and his group were trying to escape twice and resulted in a failure, because two of them are killed and the third is heavily wounded while most of them are panicking. It then noticed that Mathias has a plan that doesn't involved them...only himself.
"Did you find out about something?" Blitzo asks.
"Yeah, but this is Mathias' diary." Antauri explains, which earned Lara's attention. "And from what I'm reading, he's been onto this island longer than any of us."
"Was this the same man who's with Sam?" Lara asks surprisingly, salvaging the bow while Millie helps her.
"Yeah, and apparently, he was trying those methods, and the storms is preventing them from leaving. He still has plans, but only for him and not the others." Antauri explains. "And as far as I know, those survivors we've encountered are beyond help. I'm afraid Mathias is the same way."
"Shit, are you saying he's bat-shit insane like those guys?" Blitzo asks, earned a nod from him.
"But we don't know that!" Lara protests.
"And we don't know him, yet." Antauri remarked. "Come on, we have to keep going."
They then head out and try to find a way to get out, but they're feeling the small blizzard coming as they duck down when they're hearing voices coming from the two guards.
"Just got word from the west beach. Looks like a smaller group escaped into the lower forest."
"Maybe we get a hunting party down there."
"No, Father Mathias went himself. Told us to stay out."
"What...why?"
"I don't know...maybe another girl for the ritual."
The three imps widen their eyes, realizing that Mathias is looking for a woman for the ascension ceremony to bring back Himiko. Antauri noticed the expressions in their faces, which reads everything while putting two and two together.
"We'll know more by tonight."
"It was a blood bath down there."
"Vladimir's in charge. What did you expect? He loves killing."
"Vladimir? That explains it." Antauri muttered quietly, now knowing the Russians name.
"What's Father Mathias have to say about that?"
"Not a damned thing. The Russians have been with him forever. He trusts them."
"So...that means they can break the rules?"
"They make the rules, brother. Just follow along and keep your head down."
"Oh, fuck that." Blitzo snarled, as he and Antauri fired their guns, killing the two guards. "Hell yeah, just like old times."
They then spread out to find something that can help, mostly salvage materials, and treasure maps. They regroup, kept on moving by scrambling up the wall and through the small hole that leads inside of the ruin. They then heard some more voices.
"They're in here somewhere. Find them."
"Capture or kill?"
"Kill them. They're too much trouble."
Spotting the lantern hanging above the debris blocking their path, Lara drew back on her bow. Antauri shot a questioning look while the three imps did the same which Lara signaled them to be quiet. She shot the lantern, which in turn to set the blockade in front of them ablaze.
"What was that?!"
"Quiet! Quiet!"
After the blockade burned away, they quietly continued into the temple.
"You two, check that side."
"Got it."
Antauri took out the guard by snapping his neck and quietly drag the body to them.
"Stealth kills only for now." Antauri quietly suggested. "We don't want to draw too much attention."
They nodded with an understanding before they proceeded.
"Keep looking! They've gotta be around here somewhere!"
Millie throws her knife right at the other in the head, killed him. They then continued to sprint quietly.
"You find anything on that side?"
"No, not a damned thing!"
"Whoa!"
"Hey, watch it..."
"How far down does it go?"
"All the way to the sea caves."
"Damn. Maybe they fell?"
"No, I don't think so."
They then hide behind the crates, trying not to draw too much attention. Lara made her first silent kill, firing her arrow at the guard above them in the head. Millie throws her knife at the second guard in the head, and Moxxie uses his silencer to kill the third guard. They moved forward carefully, nearly heading an exit until..."
"There they are!"
"Shit!" Antauri and Blitzo cursed when they heard a voice coming from a few levels from them before the flaming arrows came flying.
Antauri pushed Lara down to avoid them being hit while Moxxie and Blitzo fires their guns at them, killing them.
"Down below...get them!"
"Hahah, I'm gonna burn them outta there!"
"What the hell are you doing? You'll burn the whole place down!"
Antauri then fires the molotov, causing the flames to burn the pyromanic as he screams in pain, killed. The place begins to fall apart.
"MOVE!" Antauri yelled as they began to race out of the burning building with the fire spreading rapidly. They ran, jumping the gaps while desperately trying to stay out of the fire's reach. Finally, they reached the zipline. Antauri took the axe over the zipline and Millie grabs onto his back while Lara did the same and Moxxie grabs on her back, and Blitzo used his leather belt as they ziplined to safety.
"That was too close." Blitzo said with a pant.
"Yeah, let's get out of here." Antauri agrees, but Moxxie found something.
"Guys, I found a journal." Moxxie called them as he extends it.
"We'll look into it later, but we still have to meet up with Roth." Lara suggests which Moxxie nods with an agreement.
Millie however, has other ideas as she heads the other direction which made them confused, decided to stay and wait for her. After a few minutes, Millie came back and able to find two artifacts and some materials.
"I found these, something for your weapons. And these two fans." Millie said, extends two Japanese fans and the materials.
"Okay, nice one Mills, but we have to get moving because we're gonna be doing some rock climbing." Blitzo told her in annoyance, thrust his thumb at the cliffside that's at the top of the stairs. They were able to get to the cliffside.
"We can do this." Lara whispered.
The gap was tight, but big enough for them to wedge in and scoot upwards. Lara went first while Antauri and the three imps double checked, making sure that no one was following them, then starts climbing up. At the top, they found a collapsing but enclosed tunnel.
"Lara, wait a minute." Antauri grunted, seizing her arm to prevent her from going too far ahead.
It was then they heard gunfire not too far away but still at a distance. The three imps hides in the shadows, Antauri pulls out his gun while Lara held an arrow to her bow.
"Aggh! Get back!" The voice of Roth yelled which both Lara and Antauri recognizes that voice.
"Roth!?" Lara said, taking off at a run with Antauri turned into a hellhound while following behind her.
"Go on, get out of here! Go on!" Roth yelled, shooting some of the wolves.
"Roth!" Antauri yelled as Roth collapsed after the last wolf went down.
"Roth, we're coming!" Lara cried as they sprinted over to Roth, where she fell to her knees beside him. "Thank God you're alive."
"That God's got nothing to do with it. It's good to see you too, girl." Roth grunts in pain, then glances at the white hellhound. "And you, Antauri. Thanks for looking out for her."
"Always what brother does best, Roth." Antauri answered Lara gave him a tired, relieved smile.
Roth grunted in pain as Lara inspected his leg which was injured.
"Sorry. They did a real number on your leg." Lara said, tried to bandage his leg.
"Nah. Looks worse than it is." Roth said.
"You don't have to lie to us, Roth. Those wolves did a number on you." Antauri remarked, kneeling down to inspect the injury as well. "Did the crew get to your camp?"
"Yeah, they're heading at the shore like I instructed." Roth answered with a nod.
"But what about the others? Have you heard from any of them?" Lara asks.
"Nothing." Roth replied, shaking his head as he uses the boulder he'd been leaned against, struggled to stand.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Lara asks with panic.
"You need to stay off that leg, Roth." Antauri adds, taking Roth's arm.
"The wolves took my food pack. The transmitter from the lifeboat's in it." Roth told them. "If we don't get that back, we're not getting off this bloody island."
"Yeah, but you need...you need bandages, morphine, antiseptic..." Lara protested with a bit of stutter.
"Also in the pack." Roth cuts her off.
"Shit." Antauri groaned.
"Exactly." Roth agreed, then he held his arm out to Lara. "Come here...come on."
Lara slung his arm around her shoulders while Antauri held him up on the other side under his arm. They hadn't gotten three steps when Roth collapsed.
"Oh, don't do this to me, you Northen bastard." Lara whispered, near tears again.
"We got to get the pack." Antauri told her, whistling as the three imps came out of the shadows while ran to them. "We need you guys keep him company while we get the food pack."
Millie then looks at Roth, noticed a wounded leg.
"He's got quite a wolf bite, and he's burning up." Millie said after checking him by placing her hand on his forehead.
"So, the fuck is he? Some 'Roth' guy?" Blitzo asks, crossed his arms as Antauri and Lara nods.
"His names Conrad Roth, he's our guardian and a foster father ever since Richard died years ago. And he's the captain of the Endurance ship." Antauri told him which made the three imps began to understand, remembered about Roth taking care of them. "Let's get him comfortable by the camp he sets up and go after the pack before he gets worse."
"Okay, okay, okay." Lara said, regained her composure.
Together, they pulled Roth over to the camp. Antauri looked up the cliffs as the wolf's howl broke the stillness of the area. He located the wolf high up on the cliffside and Lara noticed wolf tracks while the white hellhound caught the scent.
"Probably where they took the food pack." Antauri said to her, who nodded an agreement.
"We need to hurry. Roth needs medical attention." Lara stated softly.
"Guys, be careful." Millie said as they nodded as the two set out to find a way up to the pack by going through the ruined village.
Lara side-noted that the ruins they passed through were from the Kamakura Period.
"These ruins...Kamakura Period...Was all this part of Yamatai?" Lara questions with wonder.
"Possibly, but not this one." Antauri said when he showed her a whiskey flask. "This is dated back in the 40s. This belongs to a Marine."
"Either they're on the island by force, or just an advance party?" Lara questions, inspecting and noticed the marks from the back. "Do these marks represent friends lost or enemies killed? Either way, he needed a drink."
Antauri agreed with her about that, because mostly soldiers would need a good drink during times of war. They then continued a bit of searching through the village, which the white hellhound noticed an ancient scroll and decided to look into it later. They then got out of the village, ran through the ledge and jumps over to the old American plane which made them lose their grip when it tilted. They climbed up and starts running but quickly stops when lightning strikes the tree. They continued on climbing through the rocks and ran onto the top of the plane as they then leap on the gap. They reached the cave where the food pack should be found inside. Lara lights the torch and leading the way, with Antauri following behind her with his gun drawn and nearby. They can see a wolf running into the shadows, but they continued to venture further deep into the cave when the found the food pack. Antauri took the transmitter and handed Lara the medical supplies.
"Okay, got to get this back to Roth." Lara said, pocketing the pack.
They started back to the exit, but only halfway there when the wolf attacked them, grasping Antauri's calf in its fangs.
"Argh!" Antauri grunts.
"Antauri!" Lara cried with worry.
"Fucking mutt! Get...the hell...off of me!" Antauri growled, kicking the wolf.
The wolf released him briefly, but came at him again. While Antauri held it at bay with his free arm, he brings out his claws and digs the wolf at the jugular and pulls it out, then impales it right in the skull. The wolf then collapses down, dead on top of him. Panting heavily, Antauri pushes the dead wolf and got to his feet.
"That was close...fucking asshole." Antauri said.
"Are you alright?" Lara asks, earned a nod from him.
"My pants are thick enough it wasn't able to bite through. I'll be fine." Antauri replied. "Let's go, Roth may not have much time."
The mention of Roth spurred her back in a hurry. They quickly scaled their way down using the roofs, wrecks, potentially fatal jump down to the ruin village. Running back to camp, they were relieved to find Roth was hanging in there.
"Did you get it?" Millie asks, earned a nod from them as Lara reached for the medical supplies while fallen beside him.
"Right. Let's get you patched up." Lara said, sat off to the side as she worked while the others take turns to keep watched.
Sometime later, Roth woke up and sat upright with a groan.
"Roth!" Lara exclaims with a whisper.
"Easy there, you're still not in the best condition to move around too much." Antauri adds.
Lara helped him scoot around to lean against some barrels and sat next to him, with the white hellhound a few feet away along with the three imps. Roth studied his bandaged leg.
"It's not bad...where does a young lady like you learn to do a thing like that?" Roth asks which made Lara let out a breathy laugh while Antauri and the imps chuckled.
"I was wondering the same thing." Antauri commented.
"Late shift at the Nine Bells." Lara answered them both. "A wolf's got nothing on a broken bottle."
"Hey, you both got it." Roth said, pointing at the transmitter. "Nice work."
He then noticed the three imps next to the white hellhound.
"So, you're those three imps Antauri told me about." Roth said which left the three surprised. "Don't worry, I didn't tell a soul to anyone. And I doubt there's single one who'd believe it since Antauri told me and Lara about himself."
"Well, that saves us the trouble." Blitzo said. "Anyway, he told you about the names, right?"
"Yeah, you're Blitz. The lass over is Millie and that scrawny lad is Moxxie." Roth answered. "He told me about your line of work and you became his guardians."
"Well, he got those parts right." Millie said with a shrug. "Guess he told you everything?"
Roth and Lara nodded.
"But the reason we're here is because we're helping you guys out by finding the others and get you guys out of this hellhole. Not to mention we have to take down those dipshits along the way." Blitzo explains.
"Though, we were able to find something that'll be useful." Moxxie added, handing the artifacts and a journal to them as Lara and Antauri inspects them.
"That's a Green Silked Fan. Could've been used by a villager or a noble, maybe." Lara said, then looks at the other Japanese fan. "The other is a Gunbai War Fan...used by samurai to relay orders to their soldiers to battle. Pretty solid. Must be made of stained cypress."
Roth chuckled at that, looking at the other artifacts. Antauri goes over the journal Moxxie found, which happens to be a Russian named Nikolai who wrote a diary. Apparently, Nikolai is one of the survivors who tried to escape, but Mathias seem to know him and told him about Yamatai while killing those who defied him and offered him to join which he accepts. He then looks at the scroll he managed to find, which it's about a Chinese ambassador visiting to the court of the Sun Queen, but more like spying on her in order to assess the strength of her armies...yet underestimating her.
"Anything?" Blitzo inquires.
"Well, the first one Moxxie found is Nikolai's diary, which happens to be Russian like his dead friend, Vladimir." Antauri told them. "We met him after he ambushed us. It's not good intentions and costed him to be dead."
Roth nods with an understanding as the white hellhound continued.
"Anyway, like Vladimir, he's one of the survivors. And Mathias somehow know the names and where they were from while telling them about Yamatai. He offered them a choice, which we know how it goes for what we saw. Nikolai is the only one accepts his offer." Antauri continued. "Also, I found the scroll, which happens to be the Chinese Ambassador sent by the Imperial Lord to see Himiko. More like spying in order to assess the strength of her army, but it didn't go well because Himiko did the same thing."
They then started to get the ideas about that. Lara then changes the subject.
"So, I assume the plan is to take that up the radio tower?" Lara questioned him.
"That should give us the best shot of broadcasting a strong signal in every direction." Roth answered, but adds. "Look, Lara. You too, Antauri. We need to send out that SOS and I'm not climbing any time soon."
"Yeah, I was afraid you were going to say that." Lara groaned a bit.
"You can do it, Lara. After all, you're a Croft." Roth assures her.
"I don't think I'm that kind of Croft." Lara replied, shaking her head slightly.
"Sure you are." Antauri cuts in for Roth. "You just don't know it yet."
Roth nodded with an agreement and hand them two pick axes for rock climbing. Lara looked up at the distant tower then back to Roth.
"Well, let's hope I'm a fast learner, then." Lara said, grabbed an axe and went to stand when Roth grabbed her wrist.
"Just be careful, both of you." Roth said quietly.
"And don't worry, we'll keep him company." Blitzo assures them with a smile. "Just don't die, you hear."
Antauri and Lara nods as they starts running.
That's it for the chapter. Alright, here's more which happens to be a diary between Mathias and Nikolai, and the scroll about the Chinese Ambassador.
Stranded
25 July 1982
Days have passed since the plane crashed. For a second time, we attempted to escaped by boat...with disastrous results. I knew it would happen. Just like the first time, the calm sea turned hostile with no explanation. The moment we made for open water, the winds picked up followed by...an impossible wave. Like a child's toy, our lifeboat was smashed violently into the rocky shore. Now, two more lie dead. And another is wounded beyond help. The others are starting to panic...and they're looking to me for a plan. I do have one, but it doesn't include them. They are weak and stupid...a liability in this place. I suggested they make another attempt to leave, but I won't join them. To do so would be suicide. This is clear to me now.
Salvation
When we washed up on this rock, the rain and wind pounded us for days. We couldn't build shelter or forage for food...Christ, we couldn't even move. It was like some enormous hand was holding us down. Just as the storm was finally breaking, Father Mathias came to us. He was calm and soft-spoken. He seemed to know us...our names, where we were from. He spoke to us in our native language. And we listened. And as we listened, he told us the truth of this island. He offered us a choice: salvation or death. Some chose to defy him. And without hesitation, he killed them then and there. Father Mathias didn't seem malicious or angry, just calm and decisive. As I stood there in the sand, wet with the blood of my comrades, I knew I could never refuse him.
Ambassador: First Impression
After a fortnight I was at last granted an audience with her majesty, Himiko of Yamatai. I must confess, she is unlike any woman I have ever encountered. Beautiful, yet inscrutable; calculating, even. She surrounds herself with her Priestesses of the Sun. No men attend her, save the general of her armies. When I met her alone, I came to realize that she is not at all when she seems. I was sent by my lord to spy on her...to assess the strength of her armies. But now I feel she is the one assessing me. My lord has perhaps underestimated the threat of Yamatai. Though I cannot gauge the true strength of her Stormguard, I cannot deny a powerful feeling that the Sun Queen should not be trifled with.