So far there weren’t any traps for them to deal with as they maneuvered the cave. It went straight for the first part and then angled down subtly. They were going underground. Orion was leading them with Ryza behind them and Gest holding up the rear. Ryza was using her shovel as a makeshift torch, the blade of it illuminating their path.
Orion kept a hand against the wall, tracing it with a heavy finger and making a slight scratching noise. It kept them focused. Illusions were not something they enjoyed being placed under. Rounding another bend in the path, it opened up massively into a sharp triangular room.
Set on an upraised platform was a closed chest. Square with a few latches and locks. The ground was littered with bones. What they all belonged to none of them could guess though there were certainly a large number of human skulls among them. They weren’t the first ones to come through here in search of this chest.
“Got a bad feeling about this,” Ryza said softly and Orion agreed. “You want to investigate first again?”
She smirked as they looked back at her with a dimmed red eye. “Please be my guest and disarm it.”
Ryza nodded and stepped forward tapping her staff to the ground. She could feel the bodies in the ground, sensing each of the skeletons like a loud whisper. She filtered them out as best as she could and sensed around the chest. Almost immediately she jolted back as if she’d been shocked. Gasping she stared at the chest but it looked the same as before but now she had the gaze of both of her companions on her. “Are you okay? Of the chest what do you say?”
“I’m alright Gest. And ye,s the chest is definitely booby trapped. Just trying to sense it made it react.”
Orion stared at it and the residual magic of it lashed out still lingering, “Can you remove it?”
“I should. I’ll need to make some preparations. And I feel as if I try to tamper with it, another trap will spring. And then we’ll all die in some gruesome way”
“So prepare, for when things hit the air,” Gest said and produced his lute and tuning the strings. “Shall we get ready my friend? So that our story may not end.”
Ryza grasped her shovel and spun it around, thrusting the blade into the ground. The spiritual apparition of the bat appeared at her shoulder. The rat looked at it almost pleased and then went back to staring at Ryza. “Alright you two. You know where to go.”
With a twitching nose the rat ran down her arm and hopped off her fingers. It sniffed the ground before scurrying across the cave floor. She shrugged her shoulder and the tiny bat took off and flew in the opposite direction. Watching her two rodents move she crouched and chanted under her breath calling her magic.
The rat scurried over bones and avoiding cracks in the ground. Its tail up and swishing through the air it kept a pair of beady eyes on the chest as it ran. It went over to a mostly intact skeleton in the corner and sniffed at it. Scrabbling up the ribcage it continued to move going within the bones and crossed the collarbone before resting atop its head.
The bat was flapping along going to the far wall and clung to it. It climbed slowly looking over its shoulder. Eventually it found a crook that it could be comfortable in and its entire body glowed to life in a similar fashion as Shriek.
Its eyes glowed brightly and Ryza’s silver eye glowed with it. Pressing her hands together, lines of magic expanded from the two rodents to her and then connected to one another as a triangle within the room. Moving her fingers slowly into various sigils and symbols she pressed her hands together.
The chest started to rumble in the center of the room. Its clacking and shaking echoed throughout the room and after another second she snapped her fingers and the room went still. Several runes flashed to life along the sides of the chest and they glowed an angry red.
Narrowing her eyes, she glared at one of them, her silver eye glowing brighter. The rune shattered immediately but the rest vibrated and the cave rumbled with the force of the magic. And then the blowback hit and she was sent rolling backwards into Orion. Losing concentration her bat faded away and her rat scurried into the ribcage of the skeleton for protection.
The trio stared as a black smog emanated out of the chest. It gathered in a pool and then rose into a shape. A floating cloak with angry white eyes and clawed hands. It floated forward staring at the each of them and then turned back to the chest. “Oh great. An angry specter,” Ryza mumbled.
It whipped it’s arm out and the air slashed at them like blades. Orion stepped in front of Ryza, taking the brunt of the attack, digging into the wood of their body. Whipping their arm forward they fired a bolt of flame that passed through the spector. Glancing at it they drew the other gun and glanced over their shoulder. Before they could shoot another bolt, a wave of wind slammed into them and eviscerated their arm.
It hung limply for a moment and they stared at the gun suddenly very useless. “Give it to me,” Ryza said quickly holding her hand out to them and then got impatient. “Hurry before it attacks again!”
Flipping it around they tossed the golden gun while the other crawled across their chest and rested on their shoulder. She chanted quickly and the barrel of the weapon glowed. She turned it in her hand and narrowed her eyes before firing a bullet of pure magic.
This time it made contact and it shrieked in pain. “Good. Use it now. What is that other one?”
“A parting gift from another world,” they said as the gun rested on their shoulder.
The specter was ready to attack again but music filled the cave, slow warbling tones. Both looked over at Gest as he played, the lute pointed at the spirit. It raised its hands to attack but it was moving in slow motion.
“I would suggest that you make haste. This specter will soon turn my spells to waste.”
“Give me your shovel,” Orion said quickly.
“My what?” Ryza asked crossly and grasped the tool tightly with almost rabid eyes.
“I have a plan and that is our best weapon against that thing!” they shouted quickly. “Now hand it over or we’re going to get killed!”
She stared at her shovel like it was her child and glanced at them. Then the specter shrieked. “Fine,” she handed it over as its runes glowed to life. “Don’t break it,” she said raising the gun and taking aim again.
“I’ll do my best,” Twirling it in their hand they charged at the specter. It finally managed to finish its swing and they were barely able to avoid that swift attack.
They got within striking distance and swung, cutting a wound open on the specter’s chest. It hissed sucking Orion forward like a vacuum of power. It then jerked its arm forward and grabbed Orion by the throat lifting them off the ground. Choking back a shout they looked back and saw Gest collapsed on his knee, his lute gashed and strings cut.
Looking back at the specter Orion was thrown against the wall and slumped backwards. Floating forward the specter raised its hand, flicking a finger lifting the construct off the ground by an invisible hand. Hissing from a mouthless face it raised another hand and shoved its hand through Orion’s chest.
But this was far from a killing blow. Noting that they still drew breath the specter was confused but hissed and drew its hand back. Before it could strike several gunshots rang out near them but the specter was in one piece. “You missed necromancer!” Orion shouted.
“I wasn’t aiming at it,” Ryza hissed.
Ghostly white spirits manifested from the air, eyes a glow and screeching. They struck the specters back slashing at it with sharp fingers. More attacked and latched onto its other limbs and Orion fell to the ground in a heap.
Grunting and using the shovel to get to their feet again Orion watched the spirits continue the onslaught. The specter slashed and scattered them but they kept reforming and attacking again.
Orion didn’t need another chance and turned the shovel in their hand. Lunging forward they thrust it through the specter’s chest. It shrieked staring at them through the onslaught of the spirits. The other wordly gun at their shoulder turned, focused and fired a ballista bolt through its head. Stepping back slowly Orion watched the specter wobble and then fade away. The spirits hovered around it, staring at the residual dust of the specter before turning to mist.
Orion looked over at Ryza and she lowered the gun groaning. The runes that were etched into the shovel were glowing on her arms and face. Taking a deep breath she shuddered and the runes faded as her silver eye turned to its usual light. She slumped backwards to a sitting position and looked at the gun. “This thing’s weird.”
“Despite the cost all hope is not lost,” Gest said picking up the lute. Slumping his shoulder’s, he plucked a few more strings but the noise was almost tortured and he set it down on the ground with a dull clunk.
“Sorry Gest,” Ryza said softly and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at her and simply shook his head.
“It was just a simple tool. To be overly attached would make me a fool. I can get another instrument but losing a companion would be to my detriment.”
“I’ll buy you a new one,” Orion grunted and tapped the shovel against the ground. Ryza hastily took it back when offered, cradling it close to her chest. “Was that the only thing protecting this chest?”
She stared at the chest and closed her eye letting the silver one appraise the magics again. After a few moments she finally nodded and handed the gun back to them. “Yes, all the excess enchantments have fallen off it. It’s safe to open.”
Crouching she held out her hand and a few moments passed before the rat scurried over and up her arm. It rested on her shoulders and she scratched its fury head. “Hello little one. I’m glad that you are safe.”
“May I request your friends name? It seems to have much fame,” he said and Ryza smiled and raised her shoulder. The rat looked at Gest sniffing at the air before settling down against her.
“His name is Shriek. Not very creative but it fit him when we first met.”
“Well hello Shriek, luck to all things that you seek,” he bowed and Ryza gently scratched the rats head and the pair followed Orion to the chest itself. The ground was scorched from where the specter initially formed. Orion touched the latches of the chest and managed to flip it open without much effort.
Within it was another note book, marked like the one they’d found before. There was a ring within it this time, silver band with a black rock. Orion picked up the notebook and Ryza picked up the ring. It was cool to the touch, cooler than just metal. The rock gleamed as she looked at it but what magic she felt within it was weak.
Producing the amulet from before she held them near one another and that was when she felt a little bit of a spark. Like being next to one another ignited the latent magic within them. It still wasn’t much but there was some level of life there and that got her excited. Smiling she put the amulet back and slid the ring onto her finger.
“What’s in the notebook? Another ledger?”
“No, it seems to be a diary? Or something similar to one,” Orion mumbled.. “It’s initialed with a symbol. Like a modified ouroboros.”
“Of all the problems that could have arose, are you sure it’s an ouroboros?” Gest asked carefully and Orion glanced his way.
“I thought you might have been one of them,” they said looking up from the diary. “But the real question is why don’t you have a troupe?”
“My cast was wiped out,” he bowed his head. “And now a new one I wish to scout.”
“Pity. We’re far from what you would call home.”
“What are you talking about?” Ryza asked carefully. “What is Gest apart of?”
“A sect of assassins. They served the Queen of Cerise as an extension of her arm. Well at least they did. Now that she’s gone he’s just a wandering fool with no master. An accident or a lack of foresight who knows. But why he took your job, who knows,” they shrugged their mechanical shoulders. “The rhyming thing is probably just some strange quirk of his.”
“A quirk of times long past,” he turned and faced Orion. “But speak ill of my Queen and it will be your last.”
Orion and the jester stared and this was the first time that Ryza truly felt that threat that the jester potentially posed. But the tension evaporated as soon as it was created and he bowed stepping back. Orion scoffed and lowered their gun, putting it back in its holster.
She walked over and peaked over Orion’s shoulder to see the writing and the symbol itself. She stared at it long and hard and took a step back holding her hand against her eye.
“What’s wrong?” Orion asked tensing as if there was another trap to be dealt with.
“That symbol,” she said softly catching her breath and scowling hard. “It’s the symbol of an old necromancer. The leader of a death cult that my father escaped from with me when I was a child.”
Orion’s eye narrowed, “Great, where is he? Where can we find him.”
“She. My mother. And I don’t know. The cults leader isn’t someone I keep tabs on. Let alone search for. But I know someone who probably knows.”
“Who’s that?” Orion asked slowly.
She frowned harder there, showing pain in her eyes but also something bordering on an anger that neither of her companions had seen in the necromancer. “My brother.”
“Your expression seems gross, therefore I take it you and he are not very close.”
“We grew up estranged. I think he dislikes me greatly. Can’t say I love him all that much either.”
“So where is this brother of yours then?” Orion asked kicking through the remains of the skeletons. “If this symbols anything to go off he’s mixed in with some bad people.”
“I don’t know. If I had to guess he would be in Noria.”
Orion sighed. “Wonderful.”
“Considering our motley crew, it’s better than earning the Sanctums due.”
“You’re not wrong,” Orion maneuvered around the cave until they were at the entrance again. “But Noria won’t exactly welcome strangers with open arms. If we’re going to Noria we’re going to need real horses this time around.”
“Indeed,” Gest said. “And for I, an instrument is a need.”
“So horses and another lute for our jester,” Ryza said as Orion passed her the notebook. “You know I still can’t pay you two right?”
Gest laughed bowing his head, “Since meeting you I cannot lament. Adventure this time is enough payment.”
“Let’s get moving before he rhymes again,” Orion muttered leaving the cave.
Ryza followed the hulking construct and Gest brought up the rear pulling his harmonica out again.
The Harlequin Library 