11
The Warden's Crypt (1)
The next day, we set out, navigating to a place in the beast lands just south of the warp gate.
Our rendezvous point was an area situated just near the ridge of a cliff, mostly untouched snow packing together tightly around it, save for a pair of footsteps that led further in.
Caelora walked to my left as Seraphina and Ignis marched to my right, the latter's focus seemingly elsewhere as his sharp eyes wandered.
Eventually, we arrived at our destination, the bulk of our journey having been spent in silence and reflective thought.
The walls of the cliff opened into a dark and wide, crescent hole, looking more like the gaping maw of some alien-like creature than it did the entrance to a dungeon—though, to be fair, it wasn't like I had much experience with being around any said areas, so.
Ahead of us, a small group of people could be seen waiting near a signpost marker.
A tall man with short platinum blonde hair and a rather lean physique, evident despite the full plate of silver and dark gray armor, leaned against a rather massive boulder, conversing openly with a woman casually pressing her weight against a tree.
She wore an intricate bow around her body, as well as had dark red hair that was braided back to keep from bouncing in the wind, occasionally flashing a smile at the man she was talking to.
…And of course, not too far from them, looking utterly uninterested was the boy we met from the day prior, thankfully missing his lackey crew (of two).
No, it would be more accurate to say that we already met him before, as he was the reason we'd made that rule to not linger for very long when choosing quests.
Him and Ignis had caused a commotion the first time they met… It was only natural, considering their clashing personalities.
Despite how Ivignes' may seem, he was a rather mature guy, but even he had his limits. From then on, we silently agreed to not feed into any person's ego in such a way that could cause a scene, so as to not make trouble for us.
Me? I merely made a petty comment the other day about not knowing him because he called Seraphina a dog…
Honestly, I couldn't stand the guy—but unfortunately enough, he was skilled.
I'm just hoping we can get this over with.
As frustrating as he is, it'd be foolish to skip out on such a potential boon simply because I found him intolerable.
After this, we would never have to see each other again. No amount of eris could make me tackle a job with him again.
I sighed, refocusing my attention.
We finished our approach right around that time, and the members seemed to catch on to us.
The tall man was the first to straighten as we arrived, grinning.
I stepped forward, meeting him.
"Unfamiliar faces. You all must be the final members of our cohort. It's great to meet you three…. four. My name is Aswalo, and I'm the vanguard, as well as organizer of this team. B+ rank adventurer with a speciality for earth magic," he said, sticking his hand out. "I appreciate you all for taking up the quest."
Our hands met in a firm clasp.
"It's no big deal, we're just here to do our job. My name is Crownless. I'm a B-minus-rank conjurer with specialties in water and fire magic. Conjurer, though I prefer to fight up close. This is Seraphina, my bond. It's nice to meet you."
"Caelora. B-minus-rank, single speciality in my inherited divergent art: It allows me to manipulate a liquid into a rigid shape at will. Conjurer. I prefer a more supportive role."
"Name's Ivignes. Same rank as the others, with a single speciality in fire magic. Enhancer. The heart of the battlefield is where I belong."
Aswalo smirked as his eyes traced our figures, giving a nod of approval.
Spinning on his heel, he shot a glance to the auburn-haired woman who stood not too far from us all.
"Looks like we got some natural talents, haha. Can you believe it? Guess it was the right choice to let fate choose our final members! But you know, it's odd though… I feel like I've seen them all somewhere…"
"That's because you have, genius," she chuckled, folding her arms as she approached.
"Those three are the group with all the buzz recently: The Lost."
"Wait—really?! These guys? Well, I don't doubt it, but… to think they really are this young. Times really have changed, huh?"
"Exactly. If you don't start keeping up, then at this rate, you'll be heading for an early retirement. Your worst nightmare."
"Never gonna let that go, huh?" Aswalo paused, looking genuinely torn. Eventually, he sighed. "I suppose I'll just have to make a better effort from now on, then. In any case, let's finish the introductions. This lovely woman here is—"
"Romaniel Udecere Inclensa III… But that's a mouthful, so just call me Rome or Romei," she finished.
"I'm the designated emitter of the group. With me watching your back, you can go all out without any restraint—just don't go getting yourself killed. There's a fine line. Make no mistake, if your heart stops beating, there's no amount of healing in the world that'll save you. I'll be doing my absolute best to stop it from getting to that point, though."
"Well, that's certainly a way to introduce yourself… Don't scare the lads off now. That brings our final member. Last, but certainly not least, is our fellow over there. You may know him already as the Third Son of House Leoldhaert, Evrenn."
He gestured in the direction of the blonde-haired boy leaning against a rock, looking uninterested and above everything else. Evrenn spared a glance, scoffing.
"Great. Now that the mongrels are here, how about we spend less time gossiping like school girls, and instead take on the dungeon that I was specifically called here to complete?
The fact that such ruffians—alongside a mere mutt—were allowed to participate in the same quest as I is an insult to my name, if ever there was one."
At his side stood his dark crimson staff, unwrapped with any sort of protection for the harshest effects of the cold.
His hand reached for it, fingers gripping it tightly before the round orange gem positioned at its peak—surrounded by intricate metalwork—flashed a brighter hue for just a second.
A wave of heat lightly swept over us, and I suddenly realized why his staff had no protective wrappings.
"Still as cheery as ever," Caelora deadpanned from my side, as Aswalo rubbed the back of his neck.
"Please, don't mind him. He can be a bit… much sometimes, but he's a valuable comrade. Despite his young looks, Evrenn here is actually quite skilled. It's the reason I requested for him."
Taking a step forward, he rolled his shoulder, longsword and shield materializing from a faint whirlwind of sparks.
"Alright, team! I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I'm sure getting excited. I'm a bit sad to be solo tanking, but if we have the chance to make a discovery of the decade, then there's no better team I'd ask for. If everybody is ready, then let's officially start our quest to subjugate the dungeon!"
With that, our quest officially began.
***
Gentle light spilled in from the open double doors, lighting up our immediate surroundings, and giving way to a wide platform that overlooked a small drop.
From there, we were met with a stairway leading much deeper into the crypt, spiraling down gently, rocks giving way to dark, worn-out stone.
There was a brief step-down before your feet met the platform, which caught me so off guard on its own that my heart dropped when I reached it. I quickly found my footing though, giving a quick look around in case anyone witnessed the spectacle—thankfully no one did. Or they were just pretending not to…
Seraphina softly nudged my leg with her snout, lupine eyes regarding me with curiosity and I brushed a hand against her fur, reassuringly.
'It was just a slip up, don't worry,' I sent to her. 'I'm fine.' She didn't seem too convinced, though.
Inhaling a particularly deep breath, I recalled my life up until now.
Just a slip up… just a slip up. Things'll be fine. I worked hard to be here—we all did. Just trust in my instincts and skills that I've honed this far, and it'll turn out okay. Nothing to be on edge about.
Taking a few steps forward, I reclaimed my position in our formation.
"Looks like a pretty long descent. I'll take point—everyone else, fall in line. We do this slow and measured," Aswalo stated just a few steps ahead of us. "Evrenn, can you get us some light? My illumination artifact doesn't seem strong enough to properly work all the way down there."
"And waste my precious mana? Tch. I think not. Let's just get this over with already—what are you scared of?" Evrenn shot back, rolling his eyes.
There was a slight pause in Aswalo's stride as he turned to regard the boy, doing nothing more than that. And after an intense stare-off, Evrenn's staff flared with magic, filling the wide space with brighter light. "Thank you," he said belatedly. "Don't get used to it."
We soon found ourselves snaking down the rail-less stone steps with a particularly eerie emptiness visible in the direct center of, with no sort of embellishment or signal of anything below.
Just vast, pitch-black darkness.
Reaching in a small bag strapped to her back, Rome pulled out some type of tiny ball that emitted a weak light.
Waving it around seemed to liven it before she let it go, and we as a group watched it plummet unceremoniously down the hole between the flights of stairs, light undulating the shadows as it reached deeper and deeper into the abyss.
There was silence for quite a while, before… *Ting* The faintest of sounds chimed.
It finally seemed to have reached the end. She whistled, shaking her head. "We're in for a long journey…"
That, we were.
The air seemed to cool even further with each step we took, the outside world receding into a mere memory.
I wasn't sure how long it had been by now, but somewhere along the way, torches aligned on the walls—which I hadn't noticed before—were set aflame, their fiery hues painting everything blue.
When we reached the end, I was expecting to hear the crunch of glass underneath a booth—whether it be mine, Ignis, or Aswalo's—from the device Rome dropped much earlier, but was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong.
In fact, the little guy met us there in perfect shape, oddly enough, light still relatively bright, though too weak to illuminate much more than our immediate surroundings.
"It… actually survived?" Caelora seemed to mirror my own thoughts as she regarded Romei with intent, who had just bent over to retrieve it, revealing a very… well-shapen figure, courtesy of her light armor.
…Focus, idiot.
"Ah, this little guy? Haha, pretty interesting right?" She chuckled, brandishing it.
"Some sort of recent creation that's been selling in stores now, though it ain't much popular. Darn handy, though. Apparently, some new uprising genius made it. I've got more to spare, if you're interested? I have a habit of buying niche things."
"...After this, perhaps."
"Hehe. Alright then, just let me know."
The space just after the stairway led into a rock floor that connected to a wide tunnel that stretched further in before dipping down.
A series of alcoves were dotted along the edges of the walls, each too vast for the light to penetrate.
The air here was still, the only noise being the sound of our boots. Yet still, there was a foreboding lull, a silent nagging that threatened to only get worse as time passed.
I gripped the smooth hilt of my unsheathed sword as we advanced, more of a reflex than anything.
The flickering blues of the torches cast warped shadows that stretched and shrank with each step.
And for a while there was nothing—just the steady pacing, echoes of our footfalls, and the occasional grunt of… dissatisfaction?—from Ignis.
Eventually, we left the chamber immediate of the stairway, stepping into the tunnel.
It was the same thing, though. Nothing seemed to change for a long time.
"Feel's too quiet," Ignis commented from my right.
"Some dungeons are like that," Caelora countered. "It just means that they're more likely to be holding secrets that even the world itself has decided to forget. Stuff that humans would be better off leaving alone."
Her words, reflective as they were of her previous discontent with our agreement for this quest, struck something within me, and I briefly pondered about the adventuring system as a whole.
Now that I think about it… Why is our group so small?
If this is supposed to be some potentially super important mining spot, then why were only six people allowed?
Perhaps there is some type of team in reserve, or something?
Seeing as Aswalo is our leader and raid organizer, maybe he might know somet—
At almost the same time that this thought finished, Seraphina's ears suddenly perked up and she came to a halt, looking around. I mirrored her. "Hold on guys, Seraphina has something."
Romei also stopped in her tracks, casting glances toward the alcoves. A tense look befell her expression, and we all paused to watch.
There was nothing for a while, until…
"...Looks like Fireboy is a jinx," she said. Movement broke out from there.
***