by Sean Davies
“She's telling the truth,” Constance said. “I know you don't believe us, but it's been thousands of years since the last time you were powered on, and a lot of crazy stuff has happened to the world. We think the Creator is in the process of resetting Mydia, we need to intervene!”
The hologram paused to ponder. “I have an idea how you can all... prove yourselves. If you're being honest, then it shouldn't be a problem for you to overcome.”
“Yes, thank you for hearing us out!” Constance said, glad the ancient program was finally starting to trust them.
The Archmage female smiled slyly before disappearing, and then the elevator began to plummet down.
The team clung to the lectern and elevator’s detailed silver- and gold-work for dear life, the ocean view becoming an even wider shaft of stone blocks and bronze beams, and they shrieked and yelped as the elevator flew to the side. They were brought into a tiny passageway that nearly touched the edges of the disc they were all riding on, before dropping down even further into the pillar, where they finally came to a halt in a small chamber lit with a calming white light.
An ornate blue and gold archway led into a square room containing a set of bronze doors, and lined with sparkling fountains on either side.
Genevieve took the first steps off the elevator and onto the beige stone floor, before looking to Ricardo for guidance. “Do you think it's safe for us to proceed?”
The adventurer gazed around in awe, clearly captivated by the scenery. “Erm... yes, it should be. I can't see anything obvious. Quoro—what do you think?”
Quoronastra looked pleased that he’d been consulted, but quickly shrugged it off before running his scaly hands around the metallic frame of the archway.
“Seems harmless,” the Dragon confirmed confidently.
“Let's go, then,” Genie said, although she did test the entrance with her unbreakable Katana first.
They walked into the next room, and Quoro checked the bronze doors before pushing them open with ease. Another square room lay ahead of them at the end of a long nondescript corridor, which contained an identical elevator to the one they'd arrived on.
Everyone began to walk forward but Ricardo whistled sharply, causing them to stop on the spot.
“What's up?” Constance asked.
“This ain’t right,” the adventurer said slowly. “Look—what's that all about?” He pointed at a stone grate on the same wall as the door, in the corner of the room.
“It's a grate...?” Genevieve replied, wondering what he was getting at.
“Yes, but there's no reason for it to be there,” Ricardo said, moving over to inspect it. The adventurer attempted to pull it free, but was unable. “Little help here, please?”
Sergeant Winters stomped over to the corner of the room and made short work of the obstacle, thanks to the strength-boosting properties of his power armour.
“Thanks, Matty-boy,” Ricardo said, before getting flat on the ground to peer through the narrow space. “Hmm... it's what I thought.”
Quoronastra sighed impatiently. “Are you going to fill us all in on your little discovery?”
“It leads into the next room—and it's dusty!” Ricardo explained.
“So what?” Constance asked impatiently, eager to move on.
“Have you seen dust anywhere else in this place?” Ricardo asked with a smirk as he got off the floor.
“No, but this pillar is as ancient as the planet itself, isn't it?” Stitches shrugged.
Quoronastra shook his head. “The rogue is right; it was put there on purpose.”
“But why?” Genie asked, unconvinced. “Why would a bit of grime be important?”
“Because no self-loving Archmage would think to crawl through it,” Quoronastra answered.
“My thoughts exactly, dragon-breath!” Ricardo exclaimed. “That holo-babe thinks we’re Archmage bad guys from yesteryear, and she said we're meant to be proving ourselves, right?”
Genevieve nodded in understanding. “So it stands to reason that we’re going through a set of trials to prove we are who we say we are.”
“Great...” Constance sighed, looking into the long, confined crawlspace.
Genevieve walked back over to the main doorway and slowly poked her Katana down the hallway. Nothing happened at first, but as soon as her hand was almost inside, the corridor filled with blinding light and the Vampire Nightclaw retracted her hand with a yelp of shock. Genie's Katana fell to the floor beside her, glowing white from the intense heat.
Valkeria, the green-haired Shaman, doused the weapon with magical water, causing steam to hiss from the blade. “I guess we're crawling, then.”
“Thanks, Valk,” Genevieve said as she recovered her Katana. “Yep, looks like we're getting grubby.”
“What do we do about our power armour, Sergeant?” Hector Webb asked.
“Take it off. We'll have to try and drag it through in pieces,” Matthias Winters said unhappily.
“Looks like we might be able to get through in ours,” Kieran said with relief to his dad, Az.
“Good for you,” Licinia grumbled, beginning the arduous task of removing her armour plates.
“At least you lost one arm’s worth of armour in the battle,” Kieran joked.
“Ha-ha,” the blonde trooper retorted dryly.
The team clambered through the dusty tunnel, pushing or dragging their weapons and supplies along with them, and Valkeria was forced to lubricate the walls with water so that Az and Kieran could be pulled through in their ancient enchanted armour. The troopers, despite disassembling their power armour, were unable to squeeze their prominent back and chest plates through the tunnel, and were forced to leave their precious protection behind.
Constance activated the elevator as everyone cleaned themselves up, and the team descended into another similar looking chamber, except this room was bigger and filled with statues.
“Déjà vu,” Joran Ward said, sweeping more dust out of his blue and white hair as he looked around.
“It does look annoyingly familiar, doesn’t it?” Peter the Mage commented, stroking his goatee.
“Yeah, and lackin’ riches,” Till growled.
“How much do you wanna bet those statues come alive and try to kill us?” Charlotte groaned, switching from a rifle to a combat shotgun.
“You’re on—a hundred Imperial Credits?” Leanne said, selecting two powerful magnums.
The two mercenaries shook on their bet before Genevieve waved everyone forward, keeping her keen eyes on the lookout for the slightest shift of movement ahead.
Quoronastra, Ricardo, and Stitches inspected the bronze doors, before pushing with their combined strength. The trio were unable to move them even an inch, so Az, Kieran, Matthias, and Till tried their luck, along with a powerful series of kicks from Genevieve, but the doors remained sealed shut.
“I guess we’re meant to do something in here, then,” Constance said, studying the statues around them for clues.
Some of the finely chiselled people were standing upright and some were sitting down, while a scattered few lay across their stands, clutching their stomachs.
“Are we meant to move them somewhere?” Joran asked, attempting to push one with his back and causing himself a great deal of pain. “Argh, I forgot how weak I am without power armour,” he groaned.
“You are weak with it on, too,” Olishia Rose teased, giving it a go for herself but failing all the same.
Stitches peered down at one of the more unfortunate looking statues, and came up with an idea. “Miss Monica Valkeria, could you try healing this one?”
“Miss Monica, huh?” the Werewolf Shaman chuckled as she joined him. “No one warned me you were such a charmer, Mister Stitches.”
“Careful—he’s got a Needle Maiden girlfriend waiting back home for him,” Connie warned, unwilling to pass up an opportunity to wind her friend up.
“Spensa’s not my girlfriend yet,” Stitches replied embarrassedly.
<
br /> “Yet, hey?” Genevieve laughed. “Do I hear wedding promises in the air?”
“You do,” Ricardo began in a boisterous voice, “but they’re for me and Emileelee, and they’re not so much promises you hear as cries of pure ecstasy…”
“Can you people please focus?!” Sergeant Matthias demanded, killing the cheerful mood instantly.
Genevieve coughed, avoiding Constance’s amused gaze in an attempt to control her giggles. “Yes, you’re right. Please try to heal the statue, Valkeria.”
“Aye aye, captain Nightclaw,” Monica Valkeria smiled.
The green-haired healer performed one of her basic spells on the statue, sprinkling it with droplets of green restorative magic, and to her surprise the stone person slowly stood up straight.
“You owe me some Credits, Char-Char,” Leanne whispered to Charlotte, who looked rather displeased.
“You got the spell copied, Stitches?” Genie asked.
Stitches nodded happily. “Yup, and ready to complete this trial.”
Connie patted her friend on the back. “You’re a fabric genius.”
“Compassion; another trait my despicable former masters lacked. Good thinking, puppet-man,” Quoronastra said proudly.
Between Stitches and Valkeria, the statues in the room were soon ‘healed’, and the bronze doors swung open into the next elevator room. After a quick sword-test from Genevieve, the expedition team moved through to the elevator and rode it down into another familiar looking chamber.
“Fuck me, seriously? Another one?!” Kyle the ranger complained.
“Yeah, but look where this one leads!” Till roared excitedly.
The adjacent room was massive and filled with fancy cases overflowing with precious metals, jewellery, and gemstones, while armour and weapon stands lined the walls, displaying the finest armaments and protective items that the group had ever seen.
“Dad, Kyle—that gear is such an upgrade to what we’ve got!” Kieran gasped.
“Hey, leave some for the people who lost their kit!” Hector yelled, pushing to the front of the group.
“Hold on. Hold on,” Ricardo intervened, holding his arms out and blocking the doorway. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but this is definitely one of those ‘too good to be true’ situations right here.”
“He's right,” Sergeant Matthias warned. “The doors to the next elevator are wide open, too. It's a blatant trap.”
“But lookin’ won't hurt, now, will it?” Till Vanderborg growled as he barged past Ricardo. “And I bet it won't be a problem as long as we don't take it forward,” he added, giving the adventurer a cunning look.
“Fine, but make sure none of it goes into the next corridor!” Genevieve ordered, as all but a few members of the team rushed inside.
“This seems really dumb,” Constance said disapprovingly, before a stand of brilliantly dazzling earrings caught her eye. “But then, maybe a quick look won't hold us up too much...”
Connie took Genevieve’s hand, and they began ‘window shopping’ around the tantalising displays.
“Let's see if they can overcome the trial of greed, Stitches, my friend,” Quoronastra sighed.
“I think those rings over there by the bows are enchanted,” the Alt replied, pointing them out to the Dragon.
“So they are, so they are...” Quoronastra mused. “A small browse shouldn't hurt, I suppose. Let's go!”
Sergeant Winters groaned and entered last, but even his attention was snagged by a rack of archaic energy weapons.
Till waited until Ricardo was by himself before creeping up to him.
“Here's the plan,” the sly Werewolf muttered. “I'm going to make sure this lot are distracted—then I'm gonna knock out the Book Wielder and nick her book. You fill ya pockets, and we'll piss off back the way we came.”
Ricardo looked around at the group, frowning. “I think we can actually do this—”
“Course we can, it's gonna be a piece of cake,” Till interrupted.
The adventurer shook his head. “No, I mean I think we can beat this place.”
Till Vanderborg scoffed. “Don't get soft on me, Stern.”
“Why don't you stick this out and take what you want after we've finished?” Ricardo challenged.
“‘Cause it's only gonna get harder, and I can't spend shit if I'm dead. Be ready to leg it, or stay in this room to rot,” Till snarled before slinking off.
Ricardo clenched his jaw, worried about what the Werewolf would try next, and whether he should indeed take the chance to cut and run, before finding his resolve and putting his faith in Constance and the others (surprising himself in the process). “Maybe we should make a move?” he suggested loudly to the group, unwilling to witness any more ‘accidents’.
“In a sec,” Genevieve called, admiring a delicate blood-red necklace.
Till casually walked along, briefly checking that no one was looking his way before snagging an ammo bag and potion case that Joran and Licinia had temporarily abandoned. Feigning interest in some gems, the Werewolf began to sift through a pile of sapphires as he surreptitiously eyed the rest of the team. Till quickly and quietly began swapping a few potions for the precious gems, squeezing them into the freed spaces and slipping a few in the bottom of the duffle bag underneath the ammunition clips. He hastily covered the Alchemical vials he’d left behind with a layer of sapphires, and headed for the corridor.
Till faked a nasty, phlegmy cough to draw attention to himself. “What’s the fucking point in lookin’ if we can’t take it with us?” he grumbled.
“What are you carrying?” Sergeant Winters asked sternly.
Till stifled a smile. “Just some of the kit. Thought I’d make myself useful…”
Matthias stormed up to the Werewolf and snatched both the case and the ammo bag from his rough hands. “I think these would be safer in my hands, thank you.”
“Suit ya-self,” Till shrugged, putting on a blasé look before wandering towards Constance’s direction.
“Come on, Till’s right,” the Sergeant announced. “There’s no point in teasing ourselves with these wonders. Not until we’re on our way back, at least,” he added, eyeing up the ancient Archmage guns again.
The team grudgingly left the marvellous displays alone and shuffled towards the exit, but something caught Olishia Rose’s eye and she took Hector by the hand, pulling him to another display.
“What is it?” Hector asked.
“Sapphires, Webby—they are my favourites!” the pink-haired trooper chimed in her sweet Tropican accent. “Look at the size of them, some are as big as my fist!”
“Very nice. Maybe someday I’ll get you some—from a place that won’t vaporise us for taking them,” the Justiciar said, putting his arm around her shoulder.
Genevieve stuck her sword through the doorway and confirmed that it was safe, before shouting back to the wayward troopers, “Hey, you guys coming?”
“Yes, right away, Genevieve,” Olishia replied reluctantly, giving the heaped pile of blue gems one last stroke. “Wait—what is this?” she asked Hector, pointing out a glass bottle of blue liquid nestled amongst the stones.
The thin hairs on Hector’s round head prickled, “Shit, that’s one of ours!” he shouted, quickly realising that something foul was unfolding.
“Wait, wait!” Olishia cried urgently to the team, coming to the same conclusion as her lover. “Someone has gems!”
The expedition team froze in their tracks, and Genevieve yanked Constance out of the corridor’s entrance before she could pass through, but Sergeant Winters, Licinia, and Joran were already inside.
Confident that his own case contained no contraband, Matthias Winters looked from person to person, wondering who the culprit was, before his eyes settled on Till’s smiling face and he realised that he’d been played.
“Run!” the Sergeant screamed, pushing Licinia and Joran forward with all his might.
Licinia flung herself free of the arched doorway, a
nd Joran was hot on her tail, but the corridor flashed with burning white light and both he and the Sergeant were reduced to nothing.
Olishia, Hector, and Licinia screamed in grief-stricken rage, while the rest of the group gasped at the passageway in shock as they processed what had just happened. Constance didn’t even notice that her book had been gently prised from her loose grip.
“How…?” Genevieve asked, utterly horrified.
“Looks like Sergeant Strict wasn’t as straight-laced as he made out,” Till replied, filling his pockets with treasure before backing towards the chamber’s entrance with Connie’s book under his bulky arm. “Right, Ricardo? You saw him, didn’t ya?”
The adventurer’s eye twitched as he faced down the Werewolf, who was gesturing for him to follow, but all he could do was shake his head slightly. The adventurer had faced accidental deaths in the field before, but he’d never witnessed it in such a calculated and deliberate manner, especially not for a few handfuls of treasure, no matter how priceless.
Ricardo’s awkward silence went unnoticed for the most part, but the remaining troopers had already correctly assumed that the pious and dutiful Sergeant wouldn’t have faltered in the face of some gemstones, and took the sly Werewolf’s finger-pointing as an all-out admission of guilt. Licinia wiped the streaming tears from her blue eyes and ran towards Till in unfettered fury, causing Olishia and Hector to follow suit.
The blonde trooper raised her rifle like a club, ready to strike and subdue the murderous Werewolf, but before anyone could intervene Till drew a combat knife and stuck it into her forehead.
Hector’s jaw dropped, and in the split second of hesitation Till grabbed both sides of his head, dropping Constance’s book in the process, and snapped his neck.
Olishia went berserk and opened fire, shrieking in grief and rage as she shot at him, but Till lunged to the side before closing the gap. He grabbed her rifle and sent a shockwave of lightning into the air to knock back Genevieve, who had been attempting to glide towards him with her inhuman speed, before executing the Tropican trooper with three shots to the head.
“It was self-defence!” the crafty Werewolf shouted quickly, dropping the rifle inoffensively to the floor as Genevieve closed in on him again, her blade pointing towards his neck.