The archives were underneath the spiritual sector of the school with the entrance just south in the school’s small cemetery. No one knew why the only access to the subterranean records were located there but it was long since anyone had discussed moving them. Akuji and D’arcy made their way among the headstones joined by Fyre as they made their way towards their destination. At the very northmost point of the graveyard was a large ancient headstone. The markings had long since been erased due to weather and time but the popular theory was that it belonged to the founder of the school.
In truth, no one might be buried under the marker for the slab of stone hiding another secret. Through the use of a hidden catch, the stone would slide aside to reveal a staircase descending into the darkness.
“You’ve been here before, right, Akuji?” Fyre asked as they took the first few steps into the shadows. “Have any tips on what we can expect down there?”
“I would love to, Fyre..” The devil girl went down the stairs a bit, taking down a torch from the wall. “The only problem is I can’t offer anything. I’ve been down here a few times now… twice it was a library with a spectral librarian, once it was a sprawling office with cubicles as far as I could see, one time it even looked to me like some sort of computer server bank you could look things up on.”
“Well, at least we know what we are in for down there,” D’Arcy said, sarcasm dripping from her words.
“It’s hardly dangerous…” Akuji pulled out a lighter and started flicking the flint trying to light the torch. Fyre let out a small sigh as she held a finger out towards the torch… a small flame jumped from her hand to the torch igniting the torch as the three of them continued down the long winding stairs hewn from the rock.
After several long minutes descending the unremarkable stairs until it opened up into a huge chamber that stretched out into the distance. An immense stone labyrinth spread out far into the distance. Lit braziers hung from the ceiling giving the entire chamber a dim glow. The three of them approached what looked like the entrance to the structure.
“How are we supposed to find anything about the spell in this?”
“No knowledge worth having comes without some kind of risk.” A voice sounded from far above them. A nearby metal pillar reached far up towards the ceiling to where a massive cat lay. It rolled over, head lolling off the edge to look at them upside down. “The knowledge you seek perhaps even more so.”
The three of them looked up at the giant feline that had spoken, tail swishing side to side as it looked down on them with the haughty disinterest seen in all cats.
“Isn’t he supposed to have boots?” D’Arcy whispered, moving around trying to get a better angle to see their addresser.
“I’m afraid that is a totally different cat, my transparent friend…” The cat’s voice was soft and melodious, making the girls feel relaxed in its presence. “Now you are here for information, are you not? Though understanding such as what you seek does not come without some cost.”
“You know what we are here for?” Akuji watched as the cat flexed its claws against the platform it rested on, arching its back in a long stretch.
“Oh my dear devil, we cats know everything… what you know, what you don’t know, and even what you are afraid to learn.”
“What do you mean afraid to learn?” Fyre looked concerned.
“There are always things that people think they want to know but are scared to find out,” The cat snaked down the pillar, contorting its body around in a spiral as it lowered to the ground. “Things like is my partner cheating on me… is the anger in that person’s eyes directed at me? Am I in danger of being eaten by that giant cat?”
“Is that something we need to worry about here?” Akuji asked, her concern obvious in her voice.
“Oh of course not… after the admonishment I got for that one incident I have learned to curb my appetites. Though even I get confused sometimes…” The cat licked its chops very slowly as it met each of the girl’s eyes. “But enough about me… you are here to learn what the Archives are willing to tell you… and to see if you are willing to pay the price.”
“What. Kind of price?” Fyre glared back at him, challenging it to continue his subtle threats.
“Oh I cannot tell you that… that is for the labyrinth to reveal. At the center will be whatever it wishes to share with you about your query… making it there will only occur once it is satisfied that you have given just as much back.” The cat’s melodic voice seemed calming, even with the implied dangers.
“Best of luck ladies…” The cat purred as it rolled over onto its back, legs flailing in the air… its eyes closing as if to sleep. All three of the women just stared at the creature that had, apparently, completed the interaction with them.
Stolen story; please report.
The three women shared a look with each other before stepping cautiously forward towards the entrance. The first passage went on several meters with the odd torch attached to the wall. Moving together down the hall to a T junction at the end.
“We should stick together as long as we can,” Akuji said turning to her companions only to find that they were no longer with her. Where she expected to see her friends instead there was only a blank wall not even the passage she had just walked down.
“Why am I not surprised?”
The devil reported picking a direction at random and headed that way… muttering under her breath with every step. “Because Akuji, if ever things were to be easy there is the smallest chance that someone might actually get some USEFUL INFORMATION out of this place!” Her voice raised to almost screaming levels as she turned another corner.
“This… this is why people hate magic… not because they are jealous or making things too easy… because you can use it to do such wonderful things but all this effort and energy instead goes into ridiculous traps that turn people into frogs or other unnecessary nonsense…”
Her muttered rant continued as she stalked her way through the hallways…
* * *
D’Arcy felt like she had been walking for hours… she couldn’t tell how long it had been since she lost track of the others but she kept going. The walls had long since fallen away leaving her in a snow-covered forest that tugged at the back of her mind with a familiar sensation… like she had been here before. The trees cleared out and she saw a castle in the distance and she remembered.
She was back somehow… back to the castle she had been stationed at just before she had been killed. Everything looked brand new, not the ruins she knew stood where the castle had been the last time she had looked. The dress of the people milling about was what she had remembered from when she was alive also. Had the Archives sent her back somehow?
She walked into the bustling marketplace, the scents and sounds that she had long since forgotten brought back memories she had long since forgotten. No one met her eyes as she moved around the people, she looked down at herself and only saw the usual spectral form she always wore.
“Okay… so still dead… but back over two thousand years?” D’Arcy saw some decorations hanging off the booths and windows of the castle. She recognized the decor quickly… it was celebrating a festival that had happened just days before she had been killed. Was that why she was here? Did the Archives want to show her something about her death?
Another knight she recognized from her time alive, Franco, moved through the crowds. He seemed in a hurry as he rushed his way to the entrance to the castle proper. Curious, she followed after him inside. He ran up the stairs inside, armor clanking with each step as he ascended to the top of the building. She remembered exactly where he was going… the guard captain, the only person the knights answered to besides the lord of the castle had his audience chambers up there.
She followed Franco up to the familiar sight she had seen dozens of times. Captain Glass, huddled over a short table covered in maps and papers. She crept into the room, moving quietly and deliberately. No one had shown any signs of seeing or even hearing her but she couldn’t take that chance.
“You called me, sir?” Franco said, winded from the long climb in his armor, a slight bead of sweat running down his forehead.
“It’s the Green lad… he’s getting much too close to finding out the truth about his father and we cannot allow that.” The Captain moved a few pieces of wood around on the map in front of him. The Viking invaders were gaining ground every day and would reach their position sooner rather than later.
“He’s a good knight, sir… it will be a shame to lose him, we will miss his blade when the Heathen army reaches us.”
“Can’t be helped, if she continues then none of us will be safe.” He met Franco’s gaze unblinkingly, his older eyes conveying his sincerity. “Make sure he doesn’t get any closer and make sure it looks like a mistake.”
D’arcy fumed from behind Franco… he was who killed her? Not just a fellow knight but one she actually had trusted. She drew the blade at her side, the tip of her sword shaking as the adrenaline coursed through her body. She knew all this time her father had been innocent and these two had killed her just to keep her from finding out.
She stared at Franco’s back, it would be so easy to plunge her sword into his back… but even now she couldn’t act in such a dishonorable way. Not that her blade would do anything more than pass harmlessly through him… she sighed, the tip of her sword dipping once more.
“Turn around and face me, Franco!” She called at the man’s back. He didn’t give any indication of hearing her. She knew though, in the present both of these men were long dead so any chance she would have to face them was now. She raised her blade again, pointing it threateningly at his back.
“Turn around, Franco! It is time you answered for… what… you are about. To do?” What was she thinking? This wasn’t even real… any chance she had to change anything was ages past. They had killed her father… and her… and would never face even the smallest amount of responsibility for their actions.
No… no, she was here for a reason. If this wasn’t it, then what would the point of being here even be? She needed to do something while she was here. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and focused herself before once more pointing her sword at Franco’s back.
“That is enough… you will hear me, Franco, and see me… you will turn and face me.” Franco’s head moved, cocking his ears as if hearing something.
“Did you hear something, sir?” Franco looked around, staring right through where D’arcy stood.
“Hear me, Franco… and see me…”
Franco’s eyes went wide in surprise as suddenly he looked straight at her.
“Who are you? Women aren’t allowed up here!”
“You know me, Franco…” She pointed her blade at his face. “Look carefully.”
“Knight… Green? This can’t be possible…” Franco pulled his own sword out. “Traitor! You have violated everything the knights stand for!”
“Kill her, you fool!” Yelled Captain Glass.
Falco swung his blade at her and she moved to block, his sword stopping dead in its tracks where it met hers. She had done it, she didn’t know how but she had made contact with the physical world again. She didn’t take time to dwell on it and she cut back at him, their weapons meeting back and forth in quick succession. The clash of metal meeting metal echoed in the small room as they battled.
“You are going to pay for your crimes…” D’arcy called out, striking at him as her rage built. It wasn’t long until Franco lay at her feet, disarmed at at her mercy. “This is for my father…”