Life Review Ch. 03

"Awesome. Hiking, Economics, and Government, three of my favorite things," Cassidy muttered dryly.

Denza looked to Shawn before she sighed, and said in a resigned tone, "I want to join the Expeditionary Guild because I need to find my sisters."

Shawn and Cassidy were taken aback. Shawn figured she was talking more to him than Cassidy, the Bond told him she was uncomfortable talking about the subject but felt some level of obligation to tell him.

"What happened to them?" Shawn asked.

Denza locked eyes with him, and he could feel her despair and anger, "They were captured and taken as slaves by the Imperium. Even with Quin's help I could only track them so far. I'm hoping that once I join the guild I can access information I couldn't before, that's why I need to join. Someone took a contract out on the caravan they were traveling with, and I need to find out who."

"That is a pretty good reason to hate Humans," Cassidy admitted.

"Hate runs deep when our races have been shedding each other's blood since before written history," Denza said bitterly.

Cassidy and Shawn had little to add to such a statement, so they chose to let the questions rest for the time being. The air between themselves and the Elf had grown tense and uncomfortable and didn't clear up until their journey ended.

They reached the eastern edge of the forest by nightfall on the third day. The trio quietly made camp with Denza electing to sleep out in the open. Shawn couldn't help but feel sorry for the Elf. He could see how the events over the past few days from her point of view would be pretty dismal. Cassidy agreed with him when he suggested they give her space.

They didn't break camp in the morning, instead deciding to hike the remaining few miles with a light load so they weren't encumbered with extra weight while they ventured into potentially hostile territory. Cassidy convinced Shawn to put on Cadder's armor, despite the fact that it was ill-fitting. The heavy scaled armor slowed him down a small degree, but Cassidy argued it was a small sacrifice to be made.

She herself wore a set of thick leather armor that made her resemble an amorphous brown bundle of hide, seeing how the armor was made for a man a head taller and wider than she was. Denza warned her that her latent energy absorption would be slower, but Cassidy said again the sacrifice was worth the extra protection. The Elf recommended that Cassidy use a staff or wand to cast her magic instead of her bare hands, quoting energy efficiency.

It was a surreal experience for Shawn to listen to a discussion of energy ratios and magic as something akin to a law of science, and not just numbers and statistics on a monitor. There was no '+5 Magic' or even character stats. It reminded him of chemists discussing the energy consumption of a reaction between compounds before and after a catalyst was added into the mix.

Shawn did ask Denza how she knew so much about the use of energy and magic, to which she said it was common knowledge. He shared an incredulous look with Cassidy who just shook her head in amusement.

The sky was overcast when the mountain side came into view. Any trails leading into the range itself had been demolished when a large section of the slope had collapsed and a rocky avalanche buried a good portion of forest under tons of stone. The footing that lead up to the tomb entrance was treacherous and riddled with loose rocks, hidden chasms, and pitfalls that threatened to swallow them whole.

The air seemed to grow frigid the closer they got. Cassidy shivered and rubbed her arms, "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it isn't natural to have such a rapid temperature drop."

"Naturally, no," Denza muttered distractedly. She seemed to grow more skittish the closer they got to the tomb.

The mountainside mausoleum came into view when the temperature had dropped abruptly. Shawn estimated they still have five hundred or so feet left to clamber up the uneven slope to reach it. Much like the Bond had done originally, something nagged at him. When he focused on that feeling, a wave of wrongness washed over him. It wasn't just that the area was colder, but that there was absolutely no life or natural energy left.

"It's like a vacuum," Cassidy said in fascination.

He glanced at her. She was the more magically sensitive of the group if her vocation said anything despite Shawn sharing it, and Denza didn't seem to have noticed the glaring lack of life energy, or any energy for that matter. Something in Shawn's gut told him to leave. This wasn't a place that welcomed intrusions. He needed to turn back now.

Shawn fought back the mounting dread, choosing the focus on their task at hand. They needed Proofs. Denza needed one to further her own goals to find her siblings. Cassidy wanted adventure, and deep down he had to admit he felt a thrill of excitement. He glanced at Cassidy who was staring at the white marble building embedded in the mountain with an almost hungry expression. Their eyes met and she smiled with barely controlled glee.

"This is going to be so much fun!" Cassidy crowed, bounding up the foreboding structure.

Denza looked back at Shawn with exasperation, "Is getting killed her goal? We have no idea what's up there!"

Shawn increased his pace and grumbled, "That's Cassidy for you. Caution isn't in her vocabulary. Neither is 'slow down', 'take it easy', or 'that isn't a good idea'."

The Elf watched Cassidy skip by with her mouth open, "That's completely asinine. How has she survived?"

"I ask myself that question every day," Shawn replied.

The context was different, but Cassidy never did things halfway. Once she set her mind to something, she saw it through to the end. One of the most memorable examples was the viral milk jug challenge, to drink a gallon of milk in one hour. How that girl fit an entire gallon of milk in her stomach, the doctors were probably still trying to find out. It was also the day they found out that she had become lactose intolerant. That had been a very uncomfortable time in her life.

Cassidy had disappeared into the mausoleum when Denza and Shawn had reached the top of the landslide. The air of foreboding was stronger but at least the temperature didn't drop anymore. Shawn's breathe misted in the air as he looked around the large atrium.

The six pillars that towered above them seemed to merge seamlessly into connecting arches that met in the center of the ceiling. Below the structural focal point rested a solitary bronze cauldron set into the cracked floor. Six channels were cut into the ground that led to six corresponding statues that were sculpted to resemble a figure in a mask and robe in different poses.

"Do these statues mean anything to you?" Shawn asked Denza.

The Elf looked closely at the one nearest here and shrugged, "I don't know who they are depicting, or what they are doing. Archeology isn't my forte."

"They are representing the six schools of magic," Cassidy said slowly as if she were remembering a long forgotten memory. "Elemental, Alchemical, Arcane, Conjuration, Alteration, and Divine. There are synonyms for each one, but the core concepts are the same. Divine magic doesn't necessarily mean calling upon divinity to cast spells, it's more of how the magic acts upon the different planes."

The words struck a chord of fundamental truth in Shawn's mind. Since Death had given him a second Vocation in Acolyte, he supposed there had been a modicum of knowledge ingrained in him. He had used magic after all. He hopped that if they survived this and found their way to the nearest town he could finally get some explanations to this whole system. Denza could probably explain it to some degree, but she wasn't part of it herself yet.

Shawn took a moment to take in the room. It was old, but he couldn't put a finger on how much since it was open to the elements and he didn't have access to carbon dating. He guessed it was at least a century old and that was just a ballpark hunch. The atrium itself showed signs of being ransacked. Broken pottery littered the floor along with tipped over braziers lying forlornly on their sides. A pile of rubble at the rear of the mausoleum marked a partially collapsed wall that revealed darkness beyond.

Shawn made his way over and stuck his head through the gap in the wall. He could barely make out a set of stairs leading down into the gloom. He turned and called back to the others, "Anyone got a torch or a light of some kind? I found the way down."

"I don't have any. I had no need for any while I was hunting," Denza said.

"Nope, I got nothin'," Cassidy hefted her pack. "It's an old tomb, there has to be something somewhere. If a bunch of Expeditionaries died down there, their stuff should still be here, right? So let's just go find them."

Shawn shook his head. Yes, exploring the ancient tomb in the dark. What a perfect idea. Nothing could possibly go wrong. The stairwell was only wide enough for one person at a time. It was quickly voted that Shawn go first.

"You're the man, and in the heaviest armor. So you should totally go first," Cassidy shooed him along.

"Would this be a good time to submit my complaint on gender equality?" Shawn complained half-heartedly.

"I seem to recall fighting a warrior before, not a coward," Denza remarked dryly. "I had held out hope that I could at least retain a small modicum of dignity by being bound to a powerful man. It seems that isn't the case."

"Et tu, Denza?" Shawn mimed a knife in his heart. The joke didn't translate. At least Cassidy giggled, but Denza just looked confused.

Shawn led the way down. Progress was slow due to the fact that any light that had filtered through from above had been swiftly swallowed by the all-encompassing darkness. Blindly feeling your way down uneven stairs that was slick with an unknown substance was both tricky and completely unnerving. He strained his ears to hear anything in the still quiet air. He could have sworn he heard voices, like the faintest of whispers just at the edge of his hearing. When he quietly whispered to the others if they heard it too, they jumped as if he had shouted.

Shawn's heart beat loudly in his ears as if he were walking next to a bass drum in a marching band, he was almost positive the others could hear it as well. After what seemed like hours Shawn finally felt solid, even ground. The passage widened enough for them to stand abreast without any difficulty. They shuffled around in the pitch black hall, trying to find anything they might be able to use to either see or navigate.

"This is the stupidest idea you've ever had," Shawn hissed to where he thought Cassidy was.

"Found it!" Cassidy sang, her sudden loud voice seemed deafening. Fire light flickered as light flooded the hallway they found themselves in. Denza had moved ahead of them, her hand on the wall just before a junction that lead off to either side. Shawn looked back to Cassidy who found a wall sconce with an unlit torch slotted inside. She lifted her hand that was wreathed in flame to touch the oil soaked cloth.

The gears in Shawn's mind were whirring feverishly. He clenched his teeth and struggled to keep his breathing even, "Cassidy."

"See?" She removed her hand from the torch and held it up. "Told ya"

"Could you have lit your hand on fire this entire time?" Shawn asked tightly.

Cassidy blinked. She thought about what he asked and realization dawned on her, "Oh. Oh my. Are we really that stupid?"

Shawn put his face in his hands, "Yes. I think we are."

Bewildered, Denza asked, "What are you talking about?"

Without speaking, Shawn held up a hand and focused on the ember of power inside him. The heat spread to his hand and it burst into flames. Denza looked at him uncomprehendingly for a few moments before she realized what he meant. To his surprise, she keeled over laughed. Her sweet, melodic titer echoed in the hall.

"Gods," Denza clutched her sides. "I never would have considered that."

Cassidy groaned, "Why not? It seems so obvious! Why the fuck would we need a torch if we already could summon fire at will!"

"Most people...don't hold...their spells," Denza gasped. She collapsed onto her knees and was consumed with mirth.

Shawn thought about the implication, "I guess that would make sense. I can feel the spell drawing energy to maintain the flame, so it would be easier to just have a torch."

"Oh, good. I'm not going insane. I always thought of spells as cast and release. I didn't even think about having it be active but not released. That actually physically hurt me with how obvious that was. Like my dad always said, if it were a snake, it would have bit me," Cassidy let the fire around her hand go out. She brought her free hand to her temple and massaged it gingerly.

"Let's agree to never talk about this again," Shawn agreed.

"Oh my," Denza finally recovered herself. "That was too rich."

After the trio had regained their collective composure, Shawn took the lead once more. They agreed to explore the area methodically, starting from the left. They encountered very little except for cracked or rotted wooden doors the lead into completely ransacked rooms. It seems the previous guests had gotten at least that far before dying.

They found a few iron bound wooden doors that showed signs of attempts at forced entry, but had held firm. Cassidy told them to continue on ahead, she was going to try and find something to use as a lockpick. When questioned, she simply said she read a book about it in her spare time and wanted to give it a try.

Shawn and Denza move along and cleared the rest of the first level. They found a long hallway leading to a second set of stairs leading further down into the tomb, and also the remains of previous would be tomb raiders. Shawn thought it prudent to go find Cassidy before they progressed. When they found her she had managed to get one door open. There was nothing in the room except tools that were most likely used in the creation of the tomb itself.

When they returned to the hall leading to the second level, Cassidy pointed out something interesting.

"The corpses were all facing the same way," She walked back to the mouth of the hallway and turned back. "Every single one looks like they were trying to run away or something."

Denza bent down to inspect the dusty skeletons, "Everything of value has already been taken. These are probably remnants of the first forays into the tomb."

"Let's keep our eyes peeled from here on out," Shawn looked grimly at the stairs, "Something killed these poor bastards, and I have a feeling we are about to find out what."

"Oh, Gods rejoice," Denza griped.

"Press forward, fearless leader!" Cassidy chirped, her fist thrust proudly in the air.

The second level was mapped out similarly to the first, except the rooms were sealed with more iron bound wooden doors, very few were open. They were immediately put on alert with the appearance of more corpses. Signs of combat were everywhere: Broken swords, dented shields and armor, and skeletal remains that were completely strewn about.

Shawn poked his head into one of the open rooms. He found a skeleton in torn, stained white robes huddled a corner. Upon closer inspection he found a bloodstained book written in a language that resembled latin and some sort of rosary like necklace around its neck.

He showed the book to Denza who leafed through its faded pages. She said it was an old religious text used by the churches of the God-Emperor, so it was worth very little and was complete garbage. Shawn was impressed by how little respect she had for this ruler. Shawn added this factoid to the growing list of topics that needed to be investigated.

Before they pressed on Shawn found a rolled up piece of paper that was partially hidden between the wall and a broken dilapidated cabinet, he unfurled it to see the words were written in a similar language. The letters began to swim before his eyes and he was suddenly looking at modern English. A small ping in his mind alerted him to a new discovery.

Shawn focused on his internal menu. In the top right corner, a box with flashing edges told him that he had discovered the written Imperial language. He acknowledged the notification and it minimized into a new tab simply labeled as 'Languages & Dialects'.

He wondered if it was more delayed onset knowledge he had ingrained in his mind, or if it was due to something else like the Bond with Denza since she could read and understand the language. He sighed. Another question to add to the list. When he read the scroll, it turned out to be some sort of contract.

"Is this what the Expeditionary Guild contracts look like?" Shawn showed the paper to Denza.

She gave it a cursory glance and nodded, "Yeah, it seems like an expedition contract. Look, here it states the purpose, to explore the tomb and recover any treasure or magical items that might be hidden. Then down at the bottom it states the reward, thirty-five percent of any wealth retrieved. You can see why no master level expeditionary would bother with it, they don't even get a cut of any magical items retrieved."

"Sounds like the person who put out the contract is a bit too greedy. If no one of the appropriate rank has come to fulfil the contract, then that means that whoever took it out hasn't changed the rate," Cassidy studied the paper, "Or they have, and no one ever made it back."

"That doesn't make me feel any better about what we'll possibly be facing," Shawn frowned.

"Hush. Don't worry your pretty little head, let me worry about the baddies," Cassidy winked.

The area didn't have much else to offer except for more locked doors. Cassidy had tried to unlock a few, but each door proved to be too resilient to her efforts. The door the she did manage to unlock was what appeared to a pantry of some kind that housed all manner of dried herbs, roots, and jars of strange liquids and pickled animal parts.

Cassidy looked down at her sorry looking makeshift lock picking tools and muttered under her breath to Shawn as she walked past him, "We need a rogue, Shawn."

He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, let me just open my friends list and call my buddy." Death did say Shawn could contact him, but it was supposed to just be for advice. That being said, he still didn't know how.

Cassidy had taken the lead, her impatience putting a distance between them. They had almost made it to the stairs leading down to the third level when Cassidy's foot stepped onto a slightly raised tile on the floor. Purple light flooded the hall and strange symbols etched themselves into the stone around the tile. The air grew colder, their breath now resembling billowing clouds of steam. They heard clacking and scraping echoing from behind them.

"Oops," Cassidy squeaked.

"What did I tell you?" Shawn snapped in exasperation.

The clacking grew louder as skeletons lurched forward from the corridors, strange purple light filling their eyes resembling will-o-the-wisps and seemed to be held together by nearly invisible purple threads. Shawn could quickly count ten skeletons, but there was still more rattling coming from the other halls. Just how many people died here? Shawn began to step forward to meet the coming threat when Cassidy called out to him.

"Shawn, fight them in this hall. They are stuck with coming three at a time and large weapons aren't effective in narrow spaces, just watch out for spears," Cassidy had pulled her wand from her belt. The action would be comical if not for the rapidly expanding orb of fire gathering at its tip.

Denza drew her bow and snapped off a few ineffectual shots before putting her bow away with a growl of frustration. She drew her sword and dagger, settling into a defensive stance. The advancing horde of skeletons crammed themselves into the hall like a cresting wave of bones. The glowing eyes of the undead in the lead immediately snapped to Shawn and Denza. With a burst of speed they broke into a sprint and lunged with their clawed hands. Shawn cursed his luck that they weren't the slow, shambling kind of dead that were popular in horror movies.