Chapter 665: Tombs (2/2)
“There are a lot of sapient creatures hiding within the northern lands,” Pierce said. “Let’s hope they’re weaker than us.”
“We negotiate if they have a key,” Ilea said.
“Ah yes, the holy Lilith. What if they decided four hundred years ago that the key is the very embodiment of their god?” she asked.
Ilea tilted her head back a little, glancing at the woman. “Then we borrow their god for a little while.”
“How considerate,” Pierce said. “Praise be Lilith, the merciful.”
“No signs of anything living?” Ilea asked instead.
“Quiet. Empty,” Pierce answered.
“Weird,” Ilea said. “There’s an entrance coming up,” she added as they rounded a corner, coming towards a few old sets of stairs leading up to a rather large stone double door.
“Feynor,” Pierce said immediately.
“How… ah, yes,” Ilea said, looking at the carvings in the stone. Front and center was a prominent four legged winged being flying upwards, smaller horned distinctly Feynor creatures knelt near the bottom of the carving while kneeling in prayer.
She couldn’t see any living creatures within, no light coming through the doors either. Nor were there any enchantments or traps preventing entry.
“Let’s see what this is about then,” she said and opened the gates.
The air inside was stuffy, with a faint hint of death. Ilea stepped inside, ready to be assaulted by whatever necrotic abomination claimed this place as their own but nothing came rushing at the intruder.
Beyond the entrance lay a small stone platform with a dark abyss beyond, a suspension bridge made of metal and wood led into the darkness about fifty meters away, Ilea already seeing the pyramid like stone buildings hanging from the cavern ceiling like carved stalactites. Only few windows adorned the structures, their barren forms desolate and imposing in the lightless cavern.
“Feynor alright,” Pierce whispered and glanced down.
“Death in the air,” Verena added.
“Can’t feel anything. Undead have mana too,” Pierce informed.
“This place creeps me out, let’s get the key and fuck off. No unnecessary teleports,” Ilea said and flew to the other side, carefully inspecting the air through her dominion, just in case there were any auras or enchantments in the way.
The others followed behind, the group silently landing on the other side and coming up to an open entrance into the connected structures. “Why build like this?” Ilea asked, stepping inside as she inspected the walls. There were a few defensive runes in place but none were active. Dust covered the floor but she couldn’t find the source of the smell.
“Creatures in caves rarely fly,” Verena said.
I guess Hallowfort was built high up too, she thought, impressed with the architecture. The inside seemed rather simple, but comfortable, granted with the hearths burning and other light sources present, coupled with the smell of food and sounds of people. As it was, it reminded more of a tomb than anything else.
But they had yet to find the dead.
Ilea led the group deeper into the structures, the combined size of the buildings enough to house enough people for a small city. They had built vertical more so than horizontal, to make the most of the space they had down in this natural cavern. Ilea wondered if they carved the pyramids into the ceiling or if they somehow added the stone with magic. Their weapons and spells didn’t seem behind anything else she had seen, the warriors who came for Catelyn more than capable.
She did think it a little weird that a group of beings worshiping dragons built their settlement so far below the earth. Might just be my false expectations. Audur lived underground after all, she mused, the locator leading them into a temple of sorts, various shrines depicting winged creatures of various sizes and distinct qualities. Ilea checked to see if she could recognize the Guardian of the West in any of the pieces but failed to find her.
The locator pointed at a large wooden chest sitting in front of a dragon coated in silver.
Ilea went over and opened the container, finding a few silver coins of various make, a few chunks of unrefined silver ore, and the pyramid like Taleen Key. “It’s here. I suggest I take it and we teleport out immediately.”
“We could loot the place, there’s plenty of treasure still around,” Pierce said.
Ilea sighed. It was tempting, but after her experience in the Izculen dungeon, she felt a little uneasy.
“They just left all this here?” Feyrair asked. “Their dragon gods are what they care about. I don’t think they would just leave these relics behind for no reason.”
“They’re stupid idiots. Maybe some kind of mind magic creature walked in and ate them all? Maybe they formed a new belief system and decided to move out? We can only waste time guessing, or get started looting,” Pierce mused, yet not having touched anything so far.
[The Stonehammer Key – Ancient Quality]
Ilea grabbed the key and stored it, waiting to see if something would happen. No enchantments came to life, no monster came to get them. “Alright, let’s see what we can get. But we stay together at all times, and everyone, communicate if you perceive even a sliver of something suspicious.”
“Not scared you’ll offend any dragons?” Verena asked as Ilea started looking through the various chests and cabinets.
“I already have one who wants to kill me for little reason. Why not add a few more?” she asked. Bunch of oversized drakes anyway.
Feyrair hissed joyously as he looked at the beings. He stopped near one of the meticulously crafted statues and grinned broadly, his hand raised before a beam of white flame burned through the length of the dragon, its head falling to the stone floor with a thud.
“What’s that about?” Pierce asked.
“Garonoth,” the elf hissed. “Next time we meet, I will win.”
“If he’s anywhere near Audur, you’re gonna have a bad time,” Ilea mused, leaving most of the clutter behind, focusing on gold alone, finding about a hundred and fifty pieces in total, distributed into various plates, chests, ornaments, and ceremonial armor.
She grabbed a dragon like helmet and put it on. “Hmm.”
“Very stylish,” Pierce said, grabbing one herself. “Might get a few looks at the next ball I won’t go to.”
“They’d ask about which esteemed smith made it,” Ilea murmured.
“You. Yes. Me, they’d ask what creature I slaughtered to get the skull,” the woman said.
“How did you get such a wonderful reputation?” Ilea asked.
“They don’t mean it in an admiring way,” she mused, making the helmet vanish. “These are made for rituals alone, barely worth looking at.”
“Might seriously wear it to a ball,” she murmured. “But I guess I can just replicate it with my ash.”
“Not that color,” the woman said and walked away, checking the sheathed swords fastened to the propped up armor.
“Treasury somewhere?” Verena asked.
Ilea shook her head lightly. “Not in the vicinity. I guess this is it, if they have one. Very central too.”
“I suppose,” the Elder said. “Shame they don’t like painting.”
“Some of the doors have nice carvings,” Ilea said, pointing at one of the exits.
The Elder considered before she walked over and ripped the thing off its hinges. She held the thick wooden door with both arms and smiled. “A souvenir at least.”
Ilea watched her hack away the sides until she could store it.
She sent out a few ashen birds, a little inspired by her recent dragon encounter. They would return to her if they found anything worth checking out.
When the ash had circled around the set of structures, Ilea motioned to the others. “We’re done here,” she said and spread her wings, flying towards the exit. The others followed without complaint, Ilea looking down into the abyss as she passed the suspension bridge. Nothing showed up to interrupt or attack her, which only made the slight feeling of unease worse.
She held her breath until they reached the exit again, leaving the mountain tunnels in exchange for the northern surface. Ilea didn’t feel like dallying in the area, checking her surroundings for anything suspicious but failing to perceive anything. She looked at the locator which pointed northwest, collected her allies and flew off towards the next target.