Lao Ru noticed Tepo’s mood. The veteran felt a bit weird, but he decided to change the topic:

“Have you found something new in the meantime?”

“Oh. Yeah, I did. Here, you can take a look.”

With those words Tepo pulled out some papers from his storage bag. He had already preselected those, leaving out some key information.

Lao Ru scanned them quickly. He was surprised to learn about the Sun’s Punishment. Lao De on the other hand only took a quick glance before ignoring those papers. Just let his brother deal with this technical stuff.

“So, what did you have in mind?”, asked Lao Ru the Web’s member before him.

“I hoped we could use the weapon to get rid of the beasts in the way towards the statue. Since the Ahiluscendum isn’t mentioned in those notes, we can only hope that it is close to the statue. If it’s just randomly somewhere in the dungeon it will be impossible to find.”

“Mhm. I agree.”

“Good. Should we check the power room first?”

Seeing Lao Ru nod, Tepo turned around. He went back the same path. A bolt of lightning flashed. Lao De skipped the narrow part of the tuneel. Since he was even burlier than his brother the warrior wouldn’t fit through a path specifically built for a petite woman.

Tepo wasn’t surprised. He took the lead. Soon the three men entered the deepest room again.

All three men showed solemn faces as they realized that two keystones were missing.

“Well. There goes our weapon.”, joked Lao De.

“We might still find those keystones. From the notes we finally know where the emperor’s room is after all.”

“You’re right, Lao Ru. Let’s search the emperor’s bedroom. We might get lucky.”

The brothers nodded upon hearing Tepo’s suggestion.

With the information from those notes the trio went upstairs. They passed a short hallway before Tepo opened another door with his silver ring.

Suddenly a shocking scene fell into the three men’s eyes. They emerged from a movable mirror, their view directed at an enormous, luxurious bed.

Two people were sleeping on the mattress, which was ripped open in some places. The trio immediately noticed that these people would never wake up again.

Their skin was dry and leathery. Only a few strands of white hair clung to their heads. Their bodies were shriveled up, eyes apparently dug out.

The bed looked as if a fight had taken place. It was scratched and cracked, a huge blanket lying on the floor, the pillows ripped apart.

A big circle drawn from blood filled with archaic symbols surrounded the two corpses. The blood still had a strange, lively color to it. On a first look one might confuse it with petals of roses.

On the top of the bed a luxurious crown stood out. It was golden, inlaid with all kinds of valuable gems. It radiated a majestic aura which formed an eerie contrast to the scene on the bed.

Tepo’s couldn’t stop his body from trembling. His breathing quickened as images flashed in his mind. The scene reminded him too much of rituals held by outsiders!

“Hey. You! Are you ok?”

Only after a few seconds a deafening voice managed to shake Tepo’s brain awake.

“Are you good?”, asked Lao De again.

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“Yes… yes.”, answered Tepo hastily. “Just overwhelmed…”

The two brothers looked at Tepo strangely. It can’t be that the young warrior couldn’t stand the sight of blood, right? How could he be a warrior like this?

While Tepo had to do his best to stabilize his mind, the brothers already began to scan the room. They expertly analyzed the corpses as they searched for any signs of the keystones.

Finally, Tepo got himself under control again. This was the first time he found something which reminded him of ‘outsiders’ in his new life.

Although a bloody ritual within a dungeon was no evidence of their existence, a chill settled in Tepo’s bones, nonetheless.

However, when his eyes roamed the walls, his suspicion diminished somewhat. Letters were drawn all over the walls. Not even closets or mirrors were spared.

The sun has set…

Now it looks more like the act of a single crazy person. Maybe the emperor really went insane…

Tepo remembered the rumor he read about in the housekeeper’s diary. In the end the emperor wasn’t able to cope with his falling empire and went insane.

As different theories clashed in his mind Tepo also began to examine the corpses.

It’s hard to tell but the female has a lot of wounds on her skin. What has this poor maid experienced before her death? Both corpses are entirely drained of blood.

Suddenly an excited voice sounded in the room:

“Found something!”

Lao Ru and Tepo turned towards Lao De. The burly man held a piece of recording metal in his hand. An image was projected in the air.

Lao Ru spoke up in a mocking tone:

“Can’t you hold it in until we return home? This really isn’t the time for fun!”

Lao De only rolled his eyes, not deigning to comment. But Tepo had a strange expression as well while studying the image.

A naked woman could be seen. She was petite with pale skin and voluminous brown hair. She took on a tempting posture, sitting on the bed. Her young body was tinged in a mysterious light emitted by the crystal she was wearing on a golden necklace.

Tepo kept his composure despite standing right next to this person’s corpse now.

“Alright, well done brother.”, admitted Lao Ru as he put away his joking smile.

“So, the emperor gifted the keystone to his lover. But where is it now?”

This question left the three men stumped. They had already searched most of the bedroom. The necklace couldn’t be hidden under the floor or behind walls, could it?

Still, Lao Ru sent out his ghosts, scouring the entire room. Tepo didn’t understand how this ability worked yet but he was surprised to see Lao Ru summon five ghosts out of nowhere.

But even with those illusionary helpers the trio ended up empty handed. They furrowed their brows as they contemplated further options.

“Could the necklace be in the maid’s room?”, asked Lao De the others.

“No. I already searched it thoroughly. Even a ghost searched it. The maid’s room should have no surprises left.”, answered Tepo.

“Maybe the necklace was taken by others?”, shared Lao Ru his thoughts.

At the same time Lao De had another suggestion:

“I would’ve sold it if I were in her position.”

Suddenly Tepo’s eyes lit up. An idea came to his mind as he listened to the brothers.

“I might know someone who has a motive to steal from the maid!”

“Really?”

“You do?”

“Yes. The housekeeper. Although she might not admit it, but from the undertone in her diary she was jealous of the maid. I wouldn’t be surprised if she stole the necklace!”

“Well. That’s the best guess we have so far.”, spoke Lao Ru without much enthusiasm.

“It’s worth a try.”, agreed Lao De, as he unceremoniously pocketed the crown. This valuable trinket shouldn’t rot in a dungeon after all.

Subsequently the three men left the room again. They didn’t think that the emperor’s bedroom hid any more secrets.

Soon the trio returned to the servant quarters, entering the housekeeper’s room. But a quick search proved fruitless. The room wasn’t big and had no hidden compartments.

“Now we’re back to square one.”, complained Lao De. The warrior was growing impatient. He doubted if this treasure hunt was worth the effort. After all they didn’t even have a clue about the second missing keystone.

Meanwhile Tepo was set on finding the necklace. His instincts told him he was on the right track. He was only missing something…

Suddenly Tepo gazed past the door, looking through a window outside. His eyes lit up.

“I have an idea!”

Even Lao Ru sighed faintly as he encouraged Tepo:

“Ok let’s hear it. We can give it one last try.”

“Just hear me out.”, spoke Tepo, a smug smile on his face. “Wouldn’t the shining crystal attract a lot of attention? How can the housekeeper hide it within her room?”

“Hmm, makes sense.”, admitted Lao De.

“But where else could it be? Don’t tell us we have to search the whole palace again!”

“Not within the palace, but outside!”

Lao Ru’s eyebrow rose as he looked at Tepo’s hand. The young man held a recording metal. The image of a mature woman sitting on a bench was projected from it.

Nodding, Lao Ru was prepared to entertain Tepo’s idea. Meanwhile his brother only glanced at their young ally. He was too disinterested, letting others do the thinking.

“Let’s try to find the right spot outside.”

Agreeing with Tepo’s suggestion, Lao Ru took the lead. Tepo hurried up as Lao De trotted behind them.

A short while later the trio stood in front of the palace’s main gate. Angry growls could be heard, sending shivers down their spine.

Not far away another chunk of the mountain had been destroyed. Obviously, the beast attacked the soldiers as they left the palace.

But no corpses could be seen. The armies had their own tricks. Even the beast seemed to be disheartened as it had stopped attacking the energy barrier.