Finals are coming up and they're gonna be a little bit of a cakewalk. Most of them are online.
Also I had the wrong chapter name for like a week for some reason. Whoops
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
The group of thieves followed the dim lights in the tunnel leading away from the estate for what seemed like a good few hours, unaware of the bounty now placed on their heads. Cricket was honestly surprised at how far this tunnel went. Whoever the previous owner of the estate was, they were either paranoid...or they had something to hide. If it was paranoia, this tunnel probably led to some kind of panic room or shelter, maybe in case of a massive Grimm attack. If it was something to hide, well, the obvious question is what they were trying to keep secret.
Cinder was less concerned with where exactly this tunnel led and why it was made and more with the necklace she now wore. The entire time they were walking, having slowed from a run when they were sure they were a good enough distance away from the gathering of heartless criminals, the Fall Maiden was examining the gem in the necklace's centerpiece. Even in the dim light of the tunnel, the precious and finely cut stone reflected an almost otherworldly blue shine. She was lagging behind the others ever so slightly, just so they wouldn't stop to ask questions (even if they probably noticed her looking it over).
What do you do? Cinder mentally wondered, If Salem made you and Lemon's interested in you, what could you possibly do? She didn't even realize that the tunnel had come to an end and that the others had stopped in their tracks in amazement. The tunnel opened up to what seemed to be the ruins of some old monument. Although, maybe fortress would be the better word for this place that seemed to be built into one of the peaks that surrounded Kuchinashi. The architecture was ancient, though it still held elements of modern Mistralian designs. Some of the pillars had crumbled, walls had been wrecked and the floor covered in dust and the occasional shard of broken pottery.
"If they had a fortress, why not use that as your base instead of a manor? Much defensible," Cinder hummed. "Maybe age is the problem. Look at this architecture looks like it comes from before even the Great War..."
"Maybe they just didn't know? Besides, not really worried about that right now. Maybe there's an exit around here," Cricket said.
"Hopefully," Tuck muttered to himself as he walked off to search for an exit. The remaining three moved off as well, scattering a little bit to try and find an exit.
"...what's with these holes?" Skywdd asked as he poked his head around a bit of the ruins.
"Huh? What holes?" Cricket said, as she went over towards the would-be "master" lockpick.
Now that Skywdd pointed them out, the other two members of the quartet near him took notice of two holes burrowed into the earth behind one of the broken walls. Cinder bent down and inspected the hole further. The idea of them mining was the first thing to pop into her head, the holes did bear the same ridges one might see in a hole created by an industrial drill, even the depth of the hole seemed to line up. But something seemed off about them, as if they weren't uniform.
"Maybe just some weird natural formation?" Cricket guessed. She honestly had no clue what made these.
"No, these were clearly dug," Cinder countered, "But I think something dug out from underneath the ground. There's a little 'mud tower' around the rim..."
"O...kay, so what could've made these then? If people didn't make 'em," Skywdd asked.
"I'd say Grimm but we don't really have any Grimm in Mistral that leave this kinda mark," Cricket hummed.
Cinder looked at the holes again and narrowed her eyes, knowing exactly what made these. But she knew they weren't native to Mistral and there was no way they just migrated here. Centinels couldn't swim. Cinder's mind jumped to the next obvious thing and it just brought up more questions. Why would someone intentionally bring them here?
"...let's keep moving." Cinder said, moving away from the holes. Normally, she would cover them with her powers, but she couldn't afford to right now. One of the big down sides about keeping all this a secret.
She just had to hope that the Centinels were away from their lair for the moment.
Tuck, meanwhile, was still searching through the ruins, unaware of the others' discovery. Mainly because he'd made one of his own. Deeper into the ruin, he found what, at one point, was some camp. Now it all clicked in his mind. The tunnel had been dug into the mountain, maybe originally for a panic room, but ended up breaking into this place instead. The ones who dug the tunnel must've been quite surprised at the revelation. The Osmosian walked into the tattered remains of the camp, just looking around in curiosity. Supply crates were strewn about all over the ground, along with chairs and various other bits of debris. Some of the tents had been completely wrecked and trampled, but others were still somewhat intact if a little torn.
And in some cases burned.
"What the hell?" Tuck asked in the dark, as he looked at the tents. "Who was down here? And...where did they go?"
He walked up to one of the tents and pushed aside the ruined cloth to enter. Whoever was here had set up a whole little study for themselves here. There was a dust covered desk with all kinds of books scattered over it and a bed that had been snapped in half. He scanned over the desk until he managed to catch sight of a customized Scroll. This one wasn't the standard white, but instead it had a more pastel blue color.
"Alright, what have we here?" Tuck said, picking up the Scroll. Looked like it still had a charge. "Let's see,." Tuck tapped it and sure enough it lit up.
He saw a few different folders on the home screen of the scroll, along with the name of the Scroll's user in the bottom right. Javi Pastel. Pastel, that name sounded vaguely familiar. Where had he heard it before?
He shook the thoughts off for the moment before his attention went back to the files. "Ruins," "Artifacts," and "Test Findings" were the big three folders that drew Tuck's attention. He hummed in thought for a moment before he clicked on the "Ruins" folder.
"Okay, let's see what's behind door number one," Tuck said, as a few files popped up. Video files, long ones too. There were also some docs here and there that might help fill in more of the blanks.
Tuck clicked one entitled "History of Ruins." Seemed like an easy enough place to start.
A video suddenly filled the screen, showing the camp in its prime. Workers and some archaeologists were moving about the tents and ruins, conversations echoing out through this main chamber.
"This is Javi Pastel's personal video journal. Really just doing these for posterity's sake but on the slim chance something happens I want proof. Because this," the cameraman, Javi, gestured to the ruins, "this is going to be what makes my real legacy. Not just a company. But, heh, I'm uh, I'm getting off track. It's only been about seven or so weeks since the discovery and already we've made incredible progress. From what I've been told this ruin is, well ancient might actually be a weak descriptor, honestly. Considering its architecture resembles some other ancient sites, some of the team think its the tomb of Mistral's first emperor, a myth made real. But I think it's older. Has to be."
Javi then walked through the camp and into the ruins proper, turning on the Scroll's flashlight and shining it on one of the walls. There were images carved into the stone that depicted three people, all clad in what could best be described as noble robes, carrying tribute to a massive, serpent-like dragon.
"This? Best guess about what this is? It's some kind of ancient religious image. The dragon...it's like one from Chinese or Japanese myth. Maybe even an older Sea Feilong? I mean, bit of a stretch, but like I said, just a guess."
Tuck hummed in thought. Alright, so this place was some ruins made to worship some old legend. Legends had a tendency to be true nowadays, a lesson that the Osmosian learned after he saw a kid turn into a monkey that could shoot webs. So, he was a bit more open to believing the more outrageous things.
"Alright, so there's my answer for that." Tuck nodded. "But what happened here?"
Maybe "Test Findings" held the answer? He tapped on that folder and brought up several different smaller videos, each labeled as a test, one through twenty.
"Let's start with number one and work forward. I'll skip some of 'em," Tuck said to himself, pulling himself up a seat. The hell kind of tests and findings did they do?
"Okay," Javi said, setting up his Scroll on a stand as he moved back from it. He was a relatively young man with black hair and gray eyes wearing a suit with a similar pastel blue color like his Scroll.
"This...is going to be the first test of the artifact we've just uncovered. Now, we think it's some kind of ancient Dust weapon. Sort of like Dustweave for clothes, but purely for offense. It's not entirely certain because, well, we can't get a full sample of the Dust. Must've been fully melded in the forging process. Now I probably shouldn't be the one to test this but legacies weren't made by playing it safe," the eccentric continued before he placed a familiar silver gauntlet over his hand.
Tuck raised an eyebrow. Something that mystical must be why Lemon has such a high collection of mystical artifacts. She probably offed the guy and stole this loot for herself.
"Ok and let's see what this...does!" Javi said, holding his hand out...only for nothing to happen. He raised a brow and tried throwing a punch, thinking it was activated a different way. He kept doing various different hand positions, snapping his fingers even, but still nothing happened.
"Okay… Clearly I'm missing something." The collector mused, "We'll call that the test for today. Not...entirely sure what I'm not seeing here." He walked back over to the Scroll, taking the gauntlet off before he turned the device off.
Tuck went to the next video, but it was the same as the last. Javi failed to understand how to work the strange and primitive weapon.
"How would you even use a weapon like that?" Tuck asked himself. "Is it like...a projection of Aura?"
His answer came in one of the next videos, Test 6.
Javi was holding a spear like weapon, with sweat beading down his forehead. "A-ah ha!" He laughed. "I figured out how to get this thing working! It works on shaping my Aura...into a weapon, and it takes GREAT concentration!"
Tuck had never really heard of a weapon that relied on Aura like that.
"It's super stressful to maintain...I think it's because..." Javi huffed. "I've never had my Aura worked in such a way!" Javi released the shape of the weapon, and fell to his knees. "Oh, god that hurt..."
To Tuck's knowledge, Cricket had her Aura fully unlocked, so it's possible that she could use the gauntlet too. Might come in handy, actually. He then tapped on one of the later tests.
"This is the third artifact we've found that's still intact in the vaults," Javi opened, already backing away from the recording Scroll. Tuck's eyes were immediately drawn to the necklace around the eccentric's neck.
"Now it was by complete accident that we managed to find out what this does. There is no logical explanation for what it can do. I can only call it magic. I was with some of the men, trying to see if there was another entrance in here because the camp had been dealing with Beowolves the past few days. We found them the pack and I let those more suited to violence take charge. But during the fight, two of the Grimm cornered me and...I just yelled out 'no.' One...one listened. I said 'defend' and the damn thing tore apart the other Beowolf. This...this necklace- I don't know how it works, but...I want to see the limits of it. Because just imagine what this could mean for the world!"
A necklace that could control Grimm? Sounded nigh impossible- no one could control Grimm like they were pets or something. Even with the addition of magic, it still sounded…wrong. Unsettling.
This one wasn't so much a test as it was just a general explanation of the artifact. The second recording, however, was one that actually shone some light on how true its abilities were and it also gave a possible explanation as to the camp's destruction.
As soon the video started, the sound of angry hissing and something clanging against metal echoed out from the Scroll, accompanied by two new voices mixing, mostly just sounds of surprise and concern. Then, as per usual, Javi stepped into view.
"Ok...this may be the dumbest thing I've ever done," Javi admitted.
"YEAH! NO SHIT!" one of the other voices called out.
"Oh be quiet, I'm recording! Like I was saying, I wanted to see if it works on multiple species. Now...being the smart individual I am," the sarcasm was obvious in Javi's words, "I decided 'let's test them on a non-Mistralian Grimm!' So a few thousand burned lien and a few dead smugglers Iater, I am now the proud owner...of a small Centinel hive, smuggled over from Atlas. Caged the lot of them, put them under constant guard and electrified the cages as precautions...but I have to see this. I need to know if it works."
Tuck moved in closer. He watched as Javi focused his Aura into the necklace. The Centinels began to writhe and suffer a bit, letting out ear piercing shrieks. His eyes grew wide as the Centinels shrieks suddenly died down.
"...I think it worked." Javi said, breathless.
The eccentric grabbed the Scroll and moved closer to the Centinel cage as the guards moved back in awe as well. Pointing the camera at the Grimm, Tuck's attention was immediately drawn to the insect-monster's eyes. Instead of the usual hate-filled red and yellow, the Grimm's eyes were now a cool, icy blue.
"It actually worked!" Javi cheered.
Tuck's jaw dropped. "No fucking way."
"I am the first person to EVER tame a Grimm in the modern day!" Javi cheered. "Guys! Holy shit!"
A few people were shocked and stunned in amazement while Javi turned the camera back to the crowd. Tuck enjoyed the moments of celebration.
But then his eyes noticed a familiar face in the crowd.
Sil actually had a brow raised in surprise once he saw the result. He wasn't showing the biggest amount of shock in the crowd, but he was certainly feeling it. That pretty much cemented what happened to Javi, though. Sil informed Lemon about the necklace, she got an interest in it and the only obstacle to getting it was some rich guy who wanted a legacy all his own. Now he was probably forgotten, his remains buried somewhere in these ruins.
Tuck lowered the device, and took a deep breath. Javi's body was probably already disposed of, probably in some nightmarish way. Tuck shoved the Scroll in his pocket. "Might be handy. You never know."
Tuck looked around the camp some more. Maybe there were some other hints around here.
Back with Cinder, Skywdd and Cricket, the trio had moved into one of the more intact ruins, closer to the entrance. In ancient times, this was probably an even more awe-inspiring sight, with warriors standing at attention on either side of the hallway, rugs and resplendent light fixtures hanging above. Now it was just another old pile of stone.
Skywdd and Cricket were really more astounded by this, but Cinder was wary. This whole cave was the perfect environment for Centinels and even here they could probably burrow through the stone walls. She was so focused on taking glances to the ceiling and over to the walls, both perfect ambush sites for the centipede-like Grimm. that she didn't realize that the other two had split off into a side chamber. Cinder didn't even register it since she was in the lead. When she turned around to try and warn about sticking close, she was just met by empty air.
"Huh?" Cinder said, looking around. "Right when I was about- Ugh, where the hell did they-?!"
That's when Cinder heard the sound of something moving in the distance. Cinder's eyes narrowed as she tried to lock onto the sound. Where was it coming from? And why didn't it sound like a Centinel?
She would worry about the others in a moment. This was to her benefit, though, as, with them not here, Cinder was able to properly arm herself now. With a quick use of her powers, she conjured an obsidian bow with an arrow already nocked and ready. The sound got louder and louder, the source getting closer with each passing second. The closer the mystery sound got, the clearer it became. It sounded like...metal clanging? What would be metal down here?
She ignited the tip of her arrow and fired it down into the dark hallway, to see if she could illuminate her potential foe. Her fingers released the bowstring, and she watched the arrow fly before it bounced off something.
The still burning flames at the arrow's tip glowed and reflected off the figure in the hallway, the light giving Cinder a clear view of her enemy, while also giving the foe an ominous aura.
A giant suit of armor.
Cinder summoned up and fired another arrow that barely missed the suit, her shot being rushed a little panicked.
The once pristine armor was now rusted over and dulled, whatever color it once had for its layered armor plating(if it indeed had any to begin with at all)was completely gone thanks to the passage of time. It's right gauntlet was missing, letting some kind of ethereal purple glow seep out from the opening. That same glow shone brightly from behind what seemed to be a sort of samurai-like face mask, wispy strands of smoke seeping out from the exposed upper "face."
"...oh shit," Cinder softly cursed to herself, summoning up a new trio of arrows and letting them fly right at the armor. The guardian didn't even try to dodge, simply positioning itself to tank all three shots. None of them did any damage, the arrows shattering like glass against the plating.
"The hell is this thing?!" Cinder said, knocking she had to shift to some more durable weapons. Her hand pressed against the ground, as she suddenly formed an array of swords and pointed them at the enemy, before watching them soar through the air.
With the rust locking up its joints, the armor slowly reached for a sword still sheathed on its belt. Once again, it didn't care about the blades racing towards it as they just shattered against it like glass. It drew a rusty, long bladed sword, creaking and growing as it made ready to charge this trespasser.
Cinder's eyes narrowed. If I can touch that sword, maybe I can break it apart... Cinder thought.
Her train of thought was interrupted when the ground started to shake from the armor's charge. The metal plates clanged as the relic thundered towards her, ready for a fight. Cinder quickly used her powers and dismissed her bow, reforming it into her usual dual blades. She quickly sidestepped the armor's opening swing, using the change to cut into its sides. If she actually did damage to it was another question as it didn't even react. The living armor simply spun around and creakily started a predictable flurry of slashes, each one being blocked by the glass blades. The rust in this thing's joints was making this fight easy...actually taking it down was another matter though.
Was there an opening in the armor? Maybe she could slip something inside and blow it up from there. Cinder's blades quickly joined to become one huge blade, and it clashed against the massive broadsword. Cinder began to scan for any openings, especially near the joints, seeing she could, maybe literally, disarm this walking scrapheap.
Scanning over the relic, her eyes soon found what seemed to be an old war scar, a large gash, maybe torn into the armor from a Grimm or a stronger weapon. The specifics didn't matter though, she had her opening. She tried to shove the armor's blade arm aside with her own sword, knock it off balance and get a good swing in, only for the golem to keep its footing and slam its heavy helmet into Cinder's head to counter.
Cinder managed to catch the giant's head in her palm and frowned. "Pathetic." She hissed, disdain dripping from her lips. Her hand lit up as she conjured up an explosion to knock the helmet of the specter off.
The armor bent back from the hit, its head engulfed in smoke and fire. The helmet of the armor clattered to the floor a good few feet away from the Maiden. She smirked a little to herself, figuring that was the end of the fight.
But the armor must not have gotten the memo as, in a quick swipe, Cinder felt the blade impact and sent her skidding back. The smoke cleared around the armor's head, showing a stream of purple energy softly rising out of the neck.
"You cannot be serious right now," Cinder growled to herself, "What else could go wrong here?"
"Did you hear something?" Skywdd asked, looking over a bookshelf in another room.
"You mean that giant boom that could probably be heard all the way outside?" Cricket asked.
Cinder rushed forward, and launched a gatling of attacks, throwing out knives, swords, anything that could hurt or slow down this beast of metal. She wanted it to just die! It was like fighting Tennyson...all over again.
Cinder's eyes lit up as she remembered the sheer annoyance of that new armor Tennyson wielded. His silent rage was not what she needed right now. She hoped her mockery back then would make him imbalanced but she was denied that vindication. And now that she was fighting another annoying suit of armor...
It just fueled the fire.
That memory of Tennyson, that's all she needed to end this. The headless armor rushed through the barrage of blades, each one shattering against the metal plates. The relic's arm was reared back with the blade dragging along the ground behind it. Once it was close enough, it took a swing aimed right at Cinder's neck; it wanted this over just as much as her. The blade swung out and made impact, only for Cinder to grip the blade tighter, using her now unbandaged Grimm arm. If the armor still had a helmet, or even a means to emote, it would be very concerning right now. Cinder smirked as her hand, and the metal of the weapon, started to glow.
"Burst." Cinder commanded.
And so, the armor did. It exploded with ease into a super heated mess of melting slag. Cinder's rage was a powerful force, a flame best not to be trifled with. Cinder held the smoldering remains of the blade, before she dropped it on the ground.
"Like I said earlier. Pathetic," she huffed.
The pieces of the relic clanged to the ground, letting Cinder sigh in relief. If the first explosion wasn't enough to draw attention, this was one definitely was. The maiden quickly made sure to hide any trace of her powers, hoping that the trio would buy that she used her Semblance to destroy the armor. It seemed plausible enough, after all; superheat the metal and watch it melt.
"This way!" Skwydd said, as Cinder quickly wrapped her arm back up with the bandages. She flung herself on the ground, and laid there, pretending like she had been ambushed somehow.
Soon, Skwydd and Cricket rounded the corner and found Cinder in her act. Tuck probably wasn't too far behind either if the Maiden had to guess.
"Amber!" Cricket called out and raced towards the downed maiden.
"I'm fine. Just...whatever that was got a lucky shot in. Managed to jumped me," Cinder said, feigning a bit of concern herself.
"And you...blew it up?" Skwydd asked.
"Yep. Metal and my Semblance. You saw how doorknobs react; now turn the temperature much higher."
"Glad it was handy here." Skwydd said. "Is Tuck with you?"
"No," Cinder said. "I thought he caught up with you two. Wherever the hell you wandered off to."
"Just looking around the place. Wait, but if he's no-...oh shit," Cricket cursed, looking around behind them.
"We gotta find him. With the luck we've had so far today, I doubt we're the only ones that heard that blast," the cricket Faunus said, helping Cinder backup.
"And maybe the Wave's figured out he's the mole by now. What could be better ?" Skywdd said with a sarcastic eye roll "Come on!"
The trio rushed off, uncertain of Tuck's whereabouts or his well-being.
Tuck was racing back towards the ruin after hearing the explosions, the resounding booms echoing through the whole cavern. The hell did the others get into now?!
Of course, he wasn't the only one to hear the explosions. The ground started to subtly shake as three other creatures were drawn to the sound.
Tuck didn't hear their movements- he was so focused on the others that he tuned out the weird noises around him. He only realized the creatures...after they burst from the ground. Centinels, the same ones from the videos, he presumed, but there were only three of them. But they all seemed very upset.
The centipede hissed, snapping their mandibles as their telltale green acid dripped from their maws. With their prey surrounded, one of the Centinels reared back and tried to bite Tuck, only for him to dodge out of the way. He quickly used his powers to wrap a bandage around that one Grimm, only for one of the remaining two to use its acid to burn through the bandage in an instant.
"Okay, great," Tuck frowned. "But...wonder if that acid can hurt them as well."
Tuck quickly shot out his bandages and wrapped them around one of the Centinels. He quickly began to thrash it around, as it frothed and screeched like a rabid animal.
The Centinel's dripping acid went flying as it was thrashed around, landing on the carapace of one of its hunting mates, only for the acid to just slide off harmlessly.
"Right. Really should've seen that coming," Tuck admitted.
Tuck wrapped some of his bandages around his hand- maybe layering his body and strengthening his blows was a way to go. Tuck ran at the first Centinel, and punched it in its jaw, forcing it to retreat back underground. Another Centinel tried to bite at him from behind, but he quickly used his bandages to lift himself up to the ceiling.
"Close one," the Osmosian muttered.
The Centinel he punched burrowed through the ground and up into the ceiling to cut him off. It screeched at him and fired off two globs of searing acid, cutting the bandages and sending Tuck plummeting back to the ground. He quickly used another bandage to slow his descent and swung himself to the ground, rolling from the impact. Before he could fully get back to his feet, however, the other two centipede Grimm rushed him in unison before intertwining with each other and spiraling at the Osmosian like a living drill.
Tuck wrapped his bandages around two nearby rocks, both as big as bowling balls, and flung them at the crawling Grimm. Going for the rocks was a good choice as, despite that armor being able to repel the acid, it didn't seem to be very durable. The attack left the two crumpled on the ground.
"Ha!" Tuck grinned. "Super effective!"
That triumph was soon overshadowed when he felt the ground shake again. More Centinels? How many did Pastel bring over?! Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately), it wasn't more Centinels that Tuck had grabbed the attention of. The first dim glow of the Grimms' tails confirmed that. Burrowing up from under the ground was a swarm of baby Deathstalkers, each one about the size of a large dog.
"Shit, must've just been spawned or something," Tuck frowned, as he latched onto the ceiling with his bandages. "Maybe it's time I made a good old tactical retreat."
With no real way to reach him, some of the Deathstalkers just snapped their pincers in frustration, seeing their prey but unable to do anything. Others simply started skittering into the ruins.
Right towards the others.
"And now my retreat has turned into 'seeing where the hell' they're going." Tuck said, as he maneuvered himself above the ground.
Cinder and the others were making their way back through the ruins, hoping to try and retrace their steps and regroup with Tuck, wherever he was. As they quickly made their way back through the ancient halls, Cricket was the first to hear it.
"Do you guys hear that?" Cricket asked, pulling the group to a stop.
"Hear what?" Cinder asked.
"Sounds like...oh shit." The Faunus didn't even need to finish the sentence. By the time she had gotten to that point, the skittering could be heard by Skywdd and Cinder clearly now. The first young Deathstalker rounded the corner and snapped its claws at them before racing towards them. One small Deathstalker against the three of them sounded like pretty good odds. until three more rounded the corner shortly after the first one began its charge.
"The hell-!?" Skywdd yelled.
"Deathstalkers!" Cinder growled. "Get back!"
"No need to tell us twice!" Cricket said, grabbing the both of them and jumping backwards.
The trio barely avoided one of the younger Grimm's tails, letting the sting impale the stone floor instead. The stinger didn't really penetrate the stonework, though, so the Deathstalker was free to join the other members of the swarm and chase after the group. Skywdd tried to cover their tracks by using his ink to make a smokescreen for them, but the scorpions weren't going to lose them that easily as they just skittered through the inky cloud.
"What the hell are they all doing down here!?" Cinder yelled. "They're not native to this region."
"Y-yeah, actually. What the hell are they doing in Mistral?" Skwydd asked.
"We can figure that out later!" Cricket called out. Another Deathstalker was close enough to where it tried to grab the Faunus by the ankles, only for it to miss when she leapt into the air.
"Shit!" Cinder frowned. At times like this, she wished she could use her powers ever so subtly to give them an upperhand. But, doing so would also reveal her power and make the others question her.
Decisions, decisions.
It was around then Cinder was broken free from her mental debate on her powers to see Cricket and Skywdd rounding a corner. She followed them and, as they ran, she started to see some familiar sights, rooms they'd passed on their way in, even some of the dead-ends they ran into earlier. Good, they probably managed to loop around somehow and were now headed back to the entrance. Maybe Tuck could collapse the doorway on top of the scorpion Grimm if they found him outside.
How lucky would it be if he was just, right there at the entrance to these old ruins? Odds of that happening were small, honestly. They didn't even know where he was. For all Cinder knew, Tuck had been overwhelmed by the Grimm. Younger Deathstalkers just loved the swarming tactic.
"Guys! Can you hear me?!" came a familiar voice, shouted down into the ruins.
"Guess not," Cinder thought to herself as she and the others just made a mad dash for the entrance, the young Deathstalkers still skittering after them.
"Sometimes I WISH we carried weapons!" Skwydd yelled, as he tried to create another thick smog of ink to blind the Deathstalkers, but that had no effect.
"We can think up weapon ideas later!" Cricket yelled as she ran out of the ruins. Cinder looked back at the skittering horde behind her, then towards the other members of the trio. In the chaos, they weren't paying attention to her, just running for their lives.
Good.
With a quick flick of her hand, she summoned up three small glass daggers and threw them into the stone, the clinks overshadowed by the overwhelming skittering. The daggers started to subtly glow and hiss as Cinder went to catch up with the others.
As Cinder began to pick up her pace, the others decided to speed up too. The skittering horde, which they dare not look at, was probably closing in on them right this very moment. Cinder just needed to get them a good distance away!
Once they were, Cinder willed the daggers to reach their breaking point and detonate. With three small, but well-placed explosions, the archway that led into the ancient fortress came crumbling down. Stone debris rained down on and even crushed one or two of the scorpion Grimm before they could leave the doorway in pursuit of the four.
"Woah…lucky break," Tuck said, slowing his run. "Glad that happened."
"Maybe we got a guardian angel or something…" Cricket joked.
"Sure. Guardian angel," Cinder sighed, looking back at the ruins as she slowed her pace as well. If it were an adult behind that rubble, she'd still be running.
Skywdd, meanwhile, was about to say something as well but then he heard something, like metal scraping against stone.
"Uh, guys. I think we woke something else up," Skywdd chimed in.
"Always something worse isn't there?" Cricket added.
"Whatever artifacts these guys were messing with..." Cinder huffed. "They're resilient. I know that for a fact. We can't out pace them, and overpowering them is hard. If they're in a large group..."
"Wait, the artifacts?" Tuck asked, "What else did they find down here?!"
As if answering his question, the scraping sound that Skywdd got louder and louder, drawing the group's attention to another one of the ruin's entrances. A large, gauntleted hand gripped the side of the doorway, ducking as it exited the old fortress. It was another suit of armor, like the one that Cinder had obliterated before, but with its helmet already missing and both arms intact.
The Maiden cursed under her breath, which was drowned out by both the closer scraping sound of the armor dragging a massive maul behind it and a cacophony of other scrapes further in that same building.
"Know what, tell us what you mean by that later! RUN!" Cricket yelled.
Cinder WISHED she could use her powers right now, her maiden abilities would've decimated all of those golems in a second. But, given the peanut gallery was with her, Cinder just scowled.
"Let's just get the hell out of here!" Cinder agreed.
"Already on it!" Skywdd said, making a bolt away from the ruins, followed by Tuck and Cricket. Cinder took one last glance at the living armor, a second appearing behind the first, before she too started running. Even if they had no idea where an exit would be in this cave, it was better than dealing with golems. The first golem did notice them before they ran though, and began to follow after them, lifting its weapon off the ground and grabbing the maul with both hands.
Maybe if Cinder was subtle enough, she could trick the group into thinking this place was 'enchanted,' she could lie and say that some spirit haunted this place, act shocked like the rest of the group. She just needed to be discreet.
For now, though, she ran. The ever-increasing amount of damaged armors continued their chase, faster than the one that Cinder had dealt with, miraculously, but not fast enough to truly catch up.
Cinder knew she had to strike now- the wind started to blow hard, like a tornado had spawned in the room. The winds started to slow down the armors, thankfully.
The winds buffeted the armors, some even needing to jab their blades into the ground to avoid being blown back. It slowed them, yes, but it did not deter them. The good news was that really, all Cinder needed to do was slow them. None of them had anything with range like a crossbow.
"You guys happen to see anything that looks like an exit?" Skywdd called out.
"Oh yeah, like we know what that'd look like down here!" Cricket yelled back, but she was still scanning around the cave for anything that might offer the slimmest hope of escape.
Cinder looked around. If they couldn't find an exit, then she'd make one of her own. They weren't paying attention because of the storm and golems, so what harm could one lightning strike do?
She looked over to the nearest wall as her eyes flared with Maiden energy. Sparks flew between her fingers before she let that energy free as a massive lightning bolt, crashing through the wall and making the opening that everyone was desperately searching for. Rock clattered against the cavern floor, the sound of the debris landing drowned out by the wind.
"Over here!" Cinder called out before making a break for the exit the group's "guardian angel" had provided.
"Right! Come on!" Tuck said, as the others quickly parkoured their way out. Cinder turned around and quickly unleashed some small flames at the Golems, a VERY risky move, but still, they deserved it.
The golems at the front were singed from the flames, their arms and chests scorching under the heat, but any damage dealt to them was just superficial. Even if some of their plates had melted from the fire, they kept up their pursuit like nothing had happened.
Cinder jumped out of there, and was very relieved to have some form of actual light on her body. Cinder re-grouped with others, who were more than relieved to be on the surface.
"Note to self. Steal some swords or something as well," Cricket groaned.
"We really should. Just for the Grimm," Skywdd sighed in relief.
Cinder let out her own sigh of relief, thankful to put the armors behind her. She had to admit, though, she was curious about what Tuck said before this whole chase started, something about the relics. She could ask when they were back in the city, though. She looked around the surroundings, checking for a safe route they could take back.
"So, which way?" Cricket asked, looking around. "I bet those guys are probably still searching the mansion for us..."
"Probably...and if they don't find us there, well, I doubt they'll just give up," Cinder began, "Might need to lay low for a while." The Maiden gave one last look around before finding a suitable route that could probably lead them back to civilization.
"Alright. Lead the way, then." Tuck said. Why did Amber feel off to him, all of a sudden? There was something new about her, like a spark had been reignited.
Cinder nodded and led them through the mountain. For the most part, the several hour long journey was mostly uneventful, not even the slightest hint of Grimm. A little surprising, but welcome nonetheless. Soon, though, all of them started to feel the wear of exhaustion. The auction itself was late into the night and by now, the sun had already risen into the sky. If Cinder had to guess, it was maybe...10 or 11 in the morning?
"Maybe we should rest." Skwydd said. "Let's sneak by the town at night. We'd just need a good place to hide..."
"And one of us should stand guard. Just in case." Cinder said.
"I could take the first shift," Tuck suggested.
"If you want," Cinder groaned, moving around and cracking some of her bones. "Ow..."
"Yeah, you definitely need some rest," Tuck said, moving ahead a bit to try and find a good place to hide away until night.
The group eventually found comfort in a nearby shelter, built probably a few years ago by some kids camping. From where they were in the woods, it was dense enough to the point they wouldn't be noticed.
"That'll do," Tuck smirked, leading the group to the shelter. Cinder, Cricket and Skywdd all managed to get somewhat comfortable here after looking for supplies they could use on the trip back. The place was a little rundown, sure, but it'd work. Tuck, meanwhile, found a good place to watch for anyone nearby or approaching this old shelter.
Cinder groaned, as she closed her eyes. Oddly enough, this kind of brought her back.
It'd been a long while since she had to camp out in the wilderness like this…