Snake woke with the break of dawn.
The raid on the outpost was just what he needed to take an edge off his stress, and settle for a rest in the hollow.
He didn't bother removing any of his equipment, it was hard wearing and he didn't have any spares to change out.
Plus it kept his iDroid ready should someone need to contact him.
First order of business was grabbing something to eat, the work crews rations easier to eat than random lizards or snakes, and check in with Basilisk.
Second was to take over watch, letting Basilisk take his own break.
This was where he found one downside in eating a normal meal rather than whatever the land supplied; it was more awkward to climb while holding onto the tray.
It also earned him something of a look from Basilisk, before seeming to remember he was Snake.
As such, Snake spent the first few minutes of his watch with the tray braced on his legs and climbing rope secured, eating breakfast as he watched the road through his binoculars.
A couple of hours after he'd finished eating, he spotted a patrol heading to the outpost and, after a quick check for anyone else moving, focused on what was going on.
It was a bit far to make out clearly, but Snake could see the moment they sounded the horn, the former leader of the outpost swaying to his feet.
There was some sort of discussion between them, followed by the guys from the jeep jumping out and all of them rushing into the outpost to search.
The more mischievous part of Snake itched to extract the jeep while they were busy, but fortunately it was too far away to indulge.
It was a matter of minutes before they came racing back, piling into the jeep to flee the empty outpost, bringing a smile to Snakes face.
He followed the jeep, making sure they weren't about to stumble onto the archaeologists, before switching back to sweeping the whole area.
He had to wonder what reputation exactly he was building with the soldiers, leaving so many outposts completely cleared out.
]
Alas there was no more entertainment for Snake before his watch ended, aside from a brief moment where he mistook a bird of prey for a distant aircraft until the scope identified it fully.
It was so bad he ended up pulling up music on his iDroid to keep himself awake.
It was still early afternoon when Basilisk took over watch again, and Snake decided to see how the archaeologists were doing.
As it turned out, they were still trying to find a way into the temple.
"It seems to have been sealed up," doctor Nielson explained. "I can't think why they would have built a temple out here, only to seal it up so nobody could enter…"
"It doesn't help that none of the tools we brought with us seem to work on the rock around here," Mitchell added. "Otherwise we could simply cut our way through the walls and into the temple."
"And risk damaging any murals on the walls? Think of the historical findings that could be lost!"
"Can we really lose them if we can't get in, in the first place?"
Snake held up a hand, to forestall the brewing argument. "Have you managed to find where the entrance would be yet? Regardless of how unbreakable the walls might be, that should be more vulnerable right?"
"Over here, but nothing we do works!"
Snake followed the man, to an arch filled by a block of stone.
They was rubble around the site, indicating that something had been in the way, hiding it.
"It was just a boulder," Mitchell defended himself.
"It might not have been! It could have simply been weathered by age, the details lost to time!"
Snake stepped past them, pressing a hand against the slab.
There wasn't any give, and even from this close he couldn't see any gap around the edge to force it open.
"Mind if I try something," he asked them.
The doctor turned from the discussion with his assistant.
"If you want," he shrugged. "I'm not expecting much, I mean we tried everything short of high explosive, and it was only this," he kicked at the rubble, "that anything worked on."
"Funny you should mention high explosive," Snake responded, placing one of his on the slab.
It took them a moment to realise what he was proposing, then there eyes went wide.
"Everyone get clear!"
]
Snake made sure everyone was outside the blast radius before pressing the detonator.
Fire and smoke obscured the arch, hanging in the still air for longer than Snake was used to.
It felt like everyone was holding their breath as they waited for the smoke to clear.
And when it did, it revealed a passageway into the plateau, the arch intact and slab nowhere to be seen.
"Right," the doctor declared with a clap of his hands, "not how I'd have preferred to get in, but we have access to the temple. Me and Mitchell will go first, documenting everything before anyone can disturb it. We'll call for help if we need anything."
"Wait, I'm not letting you head down without me or Basilisk," Snake interrupted. "We don't know if there's any dangers down there."
Doctor Nielson just laughed.
"Relax, this isn't Raiders of the Lost Arc! People don't fill temples or tombs with traps, it's perfectly safe."
"Unless someone found another way in," Snake pointed out, getting the gist of his words if not the precise reference. Some kind of book or movie? Whatever 'Raiders' was he didn't have the time or inclination to catch up on that aspect of popular media.
"Fine, just don't touch anything! I don't want any of the history destroyed by a heavy handed mercenary."
Snake rolled his eye.
"Fine. Are you ready to start moving?"
]
"These mosaics are fascinating," Mitchell commented as they headed down the passage, running his torch over the walls. "It looks like this is supposed to be the story of the Mara, but there are all sorts of differences to the official mythology… Doctor Nielson, do you think this could be from some splinter group of Buddhists? It could explain why they hid this place away so thoroughly."
"If it's so different from the myth, what makes you think it's the Mara?"
Mitchell didn't give a verbal response, and Snake glanced back to see him highlighting a specific area of the mural, before he turned back to the passage ahead.
"Okay, labeling it with the name does give some evidence for your theory…"
"Hold," Snake snapped.
"What do you… oh."
Clearly visible in Snakes torchlight was a rusty suit of armour on the floor.
One still containing a skeleton.
Snake crouched short of the remains, poking it gently with his rifle.
The pieces of armour separated, spilling dust and bones onto the floor.
"No snakes or scorpions," Snake commented. "What's this?"
A reflection of light had caught his eye, and brought the tip of his gun through to pick it up.
It looked like a small model of a shield, with a pearl at its heart and a chain to let it be worn as a necklace.
"How curious," Nielson commented. "I wonder how he got in."
"Do you recognise the design?"
"No, but the medieval period isn't exactly my area of expertise. Hold on, I have some bags for samples…"
Snake kept the necklace, the amulet, in the air why Nielson dug into his supplies, and looked over the rest of the passage.
There wasn't any immediate sign of anything that could have killed the knight, nor of any type of fight.
It could have been some kind of venomous creature that got to him, but something was making Snake uneasy.
"Here, drop it in."
Snake let the amulet drop into the bag, and made a decision.
"We're heading back," he declared as he stood up.
"But we've barely started to explore, and there aren't any real dangers in temples like this."
"Something killed him," Snake pointed out. "By the looks of it, he may have come through the same entrance as us, despite the entrance being sealed, so we already have multiple points of uncertainty. And in my experience, uncertainties get people killed. For all we know at the moment, these murals could tell us exactly what's going on, or at least give clues towards the dangers in here."
"You are no archaeologist," Nielson sniffed. "Why would they place traps and then warn people? I mean, why would Buddhists place traps in their temples in the first place?"
"Why would they hide and seal away a temple so thoroughly and then leave a map? We don't know what's going on, all we know for sure is that someone died in here. And I have no intention of any of us joining him. Now, we are heading back, and if you don't start moving soon, you won't get the chance to record the murals."
Nielson froze for a monent, clearly debating whether it was worth arguing with Snake, before turning around, stowing the finds bag and getting out a camera.
Their pace on the way out was slightly faster than on the way in, even with the archeologists pausing to document the murals properly, and the whole time something was making Snakes palms itch.
There was something wrong.
They were still too far to see the lights ahead when his radio crackled to life.
"...ake, are y… me? Come in…"
Snake motioned for the pair to hold position as he went ahead to get a better signal.
"Snake here, signals not the best. What's happening?"
"Thank goodness. Resistance Basilisk reported approaching contacts, then went silent. We've been trying to contact you since."
Snake felt his blood freeze.
There was something deadly within the temple, and hostiles outside.
Whatever he decided, the archaeologists would be in danger.
"Prepare a team. I'm going in."
AN: What's this I see? The actual plot approaching?