“Welcome to Azarim,” Haraz said bowing down slightly as Eloken walked off the ship. “How was your trip?” Haraz asked.
“It was alright,” Eloken said, wiping sweat from his forehead. “The ship was good and the sea was calm, not much more to ask for.”
“Good to hear,” Haraz said flashing a friendly smile.
“The payment is in the Ship. The boys will carry it out and bring it where you want it,” Eloken said and Haraz nodded.
“What do you want to do? I’ve prepared a quick reception for you and your party with the little time I had since two nights ago.” Haraz said.
“Ehh, I told you not to do that…” Eloken retorted. “I want to go straight to the site, but ok we can have a quick breakfast first.” Eloken accepted.
“Very well,” Haraz said. “Follow me.”
They walked the narrow streets of Azarim city Haraz leading the way between the two-story houses made out of yellow stone. The architecture in Azarim was much different than that in Isari, even though the two countries were decently close to each other. All the houses were two to three stories high, built in almost perfect square shape. The rooftops were all flat giving the impression that the houses were suddenly stopped from being completely built and ended abruptly.
As they walked they reached what Eloken assumed was a rich neighborhood of the Azarim City, as the streets were wider, there was no junk on the streets and there was a larger quantity of the soldiers who greeted Haraz as their party passed them.
“There,” Haraz pointed to a house on a hill. “That’s the house you will be staying in. It's not as good as some of your mansions, but should serve the purpose.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Eloken said. “I am not sure we are going to be spending many nights here. It all depends on what we find at the site.” Haraz nodded and led the crew on the short climb toward the isolated house.
“The fucking heat is excruciating,” Dalamir said as he caught up with Eloken. “I don’t think I can breathe normally.”
“Yeah,” Eloken said. “It always takes me some time to get used to the climate here in the desert.”
“There is no way you are not using your magic to help you handle this heat,” Dalamir accused him and Eloken just smiled back.
“Pussy…” Dalamir murmured under his breath.
Reaching the gate, Haraz exchanged a few words in the Azarim language with the guards. They promptly opened the large metallic gates, allowing the crew to enter. Inside, amidst the desert surroundings, was a lush green garden, an oasis nourished by water canals flowing from either side of the yard. Palm trees swayed gently offering patches of shade on the freshly cut grass.
At the heart of the garden lay a magnificent pool of azure blue water and around the pool a canopy stretched supported by elegant pillars providing a cool shaded area. Underneath, a low-set table was adorned with an array of breakfast delicacies, the arrangement too beautiful to disturb.
They settled around the table, the soft cushions providing relief. Haraz, noticing their admiration turned towards Eloken, who spoke first.
“I don’t remember Azarim like this,” Eloken said unable to hide his amusement.
“Well, some really smart people found a way to make a lot of money,” Haraz began, gesturing towards the glistening pool. “What do all you foreigners have in common while you are in Azarim?” Haraz put out the question but answered it himself right away. “You all are burning while you are here, so they found a way to allow you to keep yourself cool and refreshed while here.”
“If you are hot, you can just jump into that pool of fresh cold water and refresh yourself.” He continued, pouring a chilled drink for his guests. “And somehow it worked, people are fascinated by these pools and now they visit Azarim even when they have no work to do here, they just come here to enjoy our land. So we tried to make their stay more and more relaxed in recent years, hence the green garden, rich food tables, and these chilled exotic drinks.” He said pointing to the table.
“So you just jump in the water and what?” Dalamir asked.
“Yes, you just jump in and chill, swim, walk around, have a few drinks eat some fruit, and relax,” Haraz said proudly.
“Hmm,” Dalamir said. “Don’t mind if do then.” He stood up removed his shirt and jumped in.
Dalamir's leap into the pool sent ripples cascading across the azure surface, the water embracing him in a refreshing clasp. He surfaced with a whoop of excitement, the cool water was an instant reprieve from the searing heat.
With a wide grin spreading across his face, Dalamir called out to Eloken and the rest of the group. “Come on, what are you waiting for? This is amazing! Good job Haraz, your people are onto something!”
Eloken chuckled and waved him off, no time for that in his schedule today. “I’ll pass, we need to eat and be on our way.” Eloken continued. “How far off did you say the site was?” He turned towards Haraz.
“Hour, hour and a half.” He said and Eloken nodded in confirmation.
In the end, he gave in to Dalamir’s insistent calls to jump into the pool and he had to give it to him, that was the right move, the refreshing water got rid of the head in seconds.
A little bit over the hour since they left the mansion they were almost at the site.
“The site is after that dune,” Haraz said. “This is the second out of three locations you provided we dug at and here we hit the jackpot, or at least I hope we did.”
Eloken, squinting against the glare of the sun, felt a surge of excitement pulse through him. "By the description you gave me, that should be it," he replied.
Eloken hit the Drome making it go faster, the rest of the convoy following his lead. Upon reaching the crest, the scene unfolded before them – a large dig site guarded by soldiers from all sides.
“That’s an impressive group of soldiers you’ve got there,” Eloken said gazing in the distance and counting at least a hundred soldiers in full gear.
“Well, thank you,” Haraz said humbly. “I take my jobs seriously. They are for hire, the Asura group, they can be yours if you need them. They are completely loyal to their employer and would do almost anything without any questions, they would guard this dune for a year if you pay them enough.”
“Good, to know,” Eloken said and hurried down the dune.
Once down Eloken greeted the soldiers who saluted in a weird way at him, but he didn’t pay much attention to that and rushed straight to the hole.
The hole was at least ten meters deep and twice as wide and at the bottom of it lay a large stone wall engraved with mysterious symbols none of them could read.
“I had various scholars at the site with me, trusted ones, their discretion paid for, and none of them have ever seen symbols like these,” Haraz said dismounting his Drome and jumping into soft sand that softened his fall.
“It would have been weird if they had,” Eloken said and jumped from his drome in one quick motion, landing with ease and grace that made Haraz a little jealous of him.
“No time to waste,” Eloken said to his team. “Bring only essentials and let’s go. Haraz you can come if you want to, but it’s not necessary.”
“Hmm,” He said contemplating his decision. “All of this has my curiosity piqued, I’ll go with you.”
“Alright,” Eloken said and instinctively checked if his sword was still on his back. “Let’s go.” He said and slid down the hole towards the large stone structure.
Haraz’s men had instructions to not dig anymore after they found the stone, and they listened. The glyphs and the symbols in the middle of the stone were lightly obscured by the sand that the wind had blown at it during the past few days.
“If you don’t mind me asking Eloken what is all of this?” Haraz asked quietly, trying to be respectful.
“You’ll see soon enough,” Eloken said with a grin and gestured toward Utran. “If you’d be kind to remove the sand.”
“Yes, Commander,” Utran said and tapped into his reserve of Pal.
Eloken couldn’t use Pal, and even if he could he wasn’t sure if there was space for it in his reserves, as he could barely hold six sources efficiently. Utran inhaled deeply and the sand around the stone started swirling and rising in the air in a tornado-like motion. Utran sent it out of the pit revealing a stone foundation around what now took a shape of a large stone door inscribed with the mysterious and unknown symbols.
Eloken reached into his backpack and pulled out a stone engraved with similar symbols and pushed it against one of the places in the door where it fit, nothing happened.
“Hmm,” Eloken said touching his chin while the rest of the crew looked in confusion.
Eloken fiddled with the stone taking it out then putting it back in and on the third repeat of the motion the stones started crackling. Eloken moved back and the huge stone door split in two by the middle, moving to both sides and revealing an entrance.
“There we go,” Eloken said unable to hide the excitement.
Eloken stepped through the opening first, followed by his crew, he gave instructions beforehand to Bastian, Nylla, and Dalamir to stay in front and guard the entrance.
As they entered inside, they were greeted by an enveloping darkness only a few steps in.
Haraz followed the crew inside. “Should we go back and grab some torches?” He asked glancing around in the darkness nervously, his voice echoing slightly in the cavernous space.
Eloken shook his head, only some of the light that broke through the entrance showing his confident smile playing on his lips, “There is no need for that my friend, we have magic now!” He turned to another crew member, a young man named Lorian, and nodded, “Lorian, would you do the honors.”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Of course, Founder Eloken,” Lorian said stepping forward and extending his arm out in front of him. He closed his eyes concentrating, he was still fairly new to the academy, and soon after a faint light began to emanate from his open palm. The light grew brighter and brighter, forming into a brilliant orb of white radiant energy. With a graceful movement, Lorian sent the orb floating ahead of them, illuminating the path forward. He then conjured another orb of light and sent it floating toward the back, ensuring that the crew had light coming from both directions.
The light from Lorian’s spell revealed that despite its daunting entrance, the inside of the tomb was surprisingly spacious. The hallway was wide enough for three people to walk next to each other with ease. The light spheres almost touched the surprisingly high ceiling, even with his hands lifted Eloken, who was above average height himself, could not touch the ceiling. The walls on both sides were constructed from small blocks of yellowish stone, fitted together with remarkable precision. The light revealed intricate carvings and similar symbols to the ones on the door all across the walls spreading towards the ceiling that had more paintings than carvings on it. “Woah,” Haraz exclaimed in excitement, both to Lorien’s spell and Tomb's design. “How long does that light last?” “Depends on how much source Lorian had invested,” Eloken said. “But usually around ten to fifteen minutes.”
Light Spell [https://i.ibb.co/F5k4ZRX/DALL-E-2024-01-31-08-54-00-A-young-wizard-named-Lorian-in-a-dark-ancient-tomb-standing-with-his-arm.png]
Haraz nodded and continued to follow intricate patterns across the tomb’s walls. “Let’s go,” Eloken said gesturing the crew forward.
A short walk later they found themselves at the crossroads, a hallway split into three more same-sized paths. Eloken took the book out of his backpack and once again stepped right below Lorien’s light to better see the writings. Haraz tried to sneak a peak into this mysterious book but the script didn’t seem familiar to him.
“This way,” Eloken said pointing to the right hallway before closing the book and returning it to his backpack.“
“What exactly are we looking for?” Haraz asked nervously.
“You’ll know it when you see it.” Eloken quickly responded and started leading the way.
The hallway continued deeper into the tomb and Lorien had to recast his spell since his light started to fade away. And there it was, deeper into a tomb in the distance a faint glow could be seen. The hallway seemed to end in a room but it was still hard to see from the distance.
“That should be it,” Eloken said.
He hurried his steps almost turning into light jogging, the rest of the crew picking up after him, Lorien had to guide his light at the front faster to keep up with Eloken. As they came closer it was evident that the hallway was ending in a square room, the faint blueish glow coming from the right side of it.
“What the hell is that?” Haraz seemed the only one willing to ask Eloken questions everyone was thinking.
At the right side of the room, hovering almost half a meter off the ground was a bluish anomaly that immediately drew their eyes. It was ethereal and mesmerizing in its appearance, resembling a flame in its undulating movements but devoided of any heat. The edges of this mysterious object were in vibrant blue colors, shifting and dancing freely, gradually softening to a paler hue towards the center.
The closer they got, the they were more mesmerized by the object. Its edges flickered like the tips of flames seemingly hypnotizing everyone in the room. The center of this object was almost translucent, giving fleeting glimpses into something. Looking more carefully the crew could make out a room.
The other room was lavishly decorated, a stark contrast to the room they were standing in. Ancient vases, their surfaces designed with patterns and symbols similar to the ones that could be seen in Elokens' book, lined the walls. Furniture, rich in craftsmanship and in a style that didn’t fit anything from this continent was scattered throughout the room.
The group stood in awe, taking in the sights, first of the object then the image in the middle of it. Lorien with a mix of curiosity and caution edged his spell closer to the object.
Haraz, his eyes wide with wonder and a hint of uncertainty, turned to Eloken. “Is this what you were expecting to find?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper, as if afraid to disturb the serenity of the moment. “What even is that?”
Eloken who kept his cool up until now seemed to be equally captivated by the sight. “Yes, but it looks nothing like I’ve expected. This… this is a portal, a spell we only theorized up until now that would allow people to traverse large distances within seconds.”
“Eloken,” Haraz said with a caution in his voice. “This doesn’t feel right.”
“Don’t worry,” Eloken said smirking again. “You can stay and wait here, I’ll be just a second and we can leave this tomb, and your job is done.”
Haraz reluctantly shook his head in agreement as Eloken gave orders to his crew, he ordered his students to stay behind in this room with Haraz he would be entering the room beyond alone. He then reached behind his head for his sword, “You should never be too careful,” Eloken said pulling out this sword.
Eloken had an unconventional way of carrying his sword, a lot of warriors did not approve of it, but Eloken was adamant that this was the best and easiest way for him to carry the heavy Imperial Sword, a relic he kept after his victory over Imperial Knights in Honorable combat over a year ago.
To accommodate this unconventional style, Eloken had commissioned a tailor to craft a specialized backpack-like harness. The design was ingeniously simple yet effective, allowing him to bear the weight of the massive sword without hindrance to his movements when using some of his abilities. The sword itself was positioned perfectly straight along his back, its formidable blade sheathed in a robust scabbard that was secured to the harness. The hilt of the large sword protruded just above his head, a constant reminder of the weapon’s presence.
“There goes nothing,” Eloken said and approached the portal.
As he came closer to the dancing anomaly, the air around him seemed to pulse with unseen energy, like the very fabric of reality was rippling and warping. His heart hammered in his chest, not from fear or uncertainty, but from the thrill of the unknown and that his quest had finally begun. With a deep breath, he stepped through the portal, the sensation akin to plunging into cool water. There was a brief moment of disorientation, a sense of being pulled away from time and space itself before he found himself standing in the room beyond. He waved at his companions who stayed in the tomb, and they returned the wave.
The walls of the room were lined with shelves filled with ancient tomes and artifacts, their surfaces full of dust. The air was thick with the scent of old parchment and something Eloken couldn’t place in his mind, some scent that felt familiar yet so foreign. He put his sword back in its holster deeming the chamber safe.
In the center of the room stood a chest, its surface carved with the same symbols that decorated the book and the tomb. Eloken approached slowly, his finger tracing the cold golden carvings and with a gentle push, the lid of the chest cracked open, revealing its contents. Inside lay an object wrapped in a cloth of deepest midnight blue, embroidered with threads of silver and gold. Carefully, he unwrapped the object to reveal it was a piece of metal adorned with purple and golden designs.
A small smile formed at the edge of his lips as he wrapped the object back in the cloth and put it away in his backpack, this was one of the things he was looking for. He stood up and continued to explore the room, moments later his gaze fell upon a small cabinet, and opening the first drawer he found a pile of parchments tucked away in the corner. He picked them up, recognizing the script and the size of the paper as same as his tome, they were the missing pages that would help him continue the quest.
With the piece of metal wrapped in the cloth and missing pages safely secured, Eloken took another look around the chamber, it was full of golden ornaments, there were true riches here that his academy could use to help with its funding, but he would have to get back to this, there was no time to carry these things now. Also as this chamber was fascinating, he had a feeling it was not meant for him or anyone else to linger.
As soon as Eloken passed back through the portal carrying the loot he came for, an inhumane screech echoed through the hallways of the tomb. Moments later a shadow appeared at the bottom of the hallway leading towards the room they were in. Lorien quickly sent one of his glowing spheres in its direction.
The light revealed a creature that bore a vague resemblance to a human, but its grotesque features and inhumane screech it let out dispelled any notion of its humanity. Its skin was unnaturally brown with white cracks all over it, reminiscent of mummified flash left to wither for centuries. The stench that quickly filled the room was overwhelming.
“What the hell is that,” Haraz asked horror etched on his face.
“No idea,” Eloken said taking a step forward. “Stay behind me,” Eloken said drawing his sword.
“Lorien give me more light,” The student was visibly shaken by the appearance of the creatures but obliged and created several more spheres sending them around the tomb.
Ghouls [https://i.ibb.co/fx0qYRg/DALL-E-2024-01-31-09-05-48-Several-ghoul-like-creatures-each-about-the-height-of-an-average-human-in.png]
Eloken, clutching his sword, got down into a fighting stance as he slowly approached the creatures that were moving slowly toward him. More and more creatures were filling the hallway they were. Eloken drew upon Vis and did a quick spell to enchant his speed and strength, not knowing the extent of the creature's powers, he didn’t want to risk anything. The stench was almost unbearable, Eloken felt like gagging and throwing up but managed to compose himself.
With the first creature at the swinging distance of his sword, Eloken charged it with caution and swung his sword. The creature was slow to react as it was slow to move and Eloken managed to hit it in the stomach area, cutting into the creature's flash, brown blood spilling at the tombs' yellowish walls shone by the light from Lorien’s spell.
Eloken took a step back, anticipating the creature would react to the slash, but just continued its steady, menacing advance, seemingly unaffected by the gaping wound. Eloken assessed the situation, he read about some of the creatures like this in Isari myths but seeing one in person and not reacting to an open wound was startling.
With a swift motion, he attacked again severing one of its arms. The creature’s arm dropped to the ground with a thud, yet it continued to lumber toward him, its remaining arm swinging wildly with a guttural growl emanating from its throat.
Eloken’s eyes narrowed, his mind racing looking for a solution, as the creatures that filled the hallway in front of them were pushing him back towards the chamber with the teleport in it. The creature’s indifference to pain or injury was alarming, so without waiting any further he took a step back, adjusting his stance and grip on his sword, and prepared for another strike. This time, he aimed for the creature’s neck.
As he struck, the creature’s head was cleanly severed, toppling to the ground in front of Eloken. For a moment, it seemed like the creature would continue a headless advance, but to Eloken’s relief, the headless body stopped moving a few steps after it and fell to the ground, its companions stepping over its unmoving body.
He glanced back at his crew in the chamber behind him, his expression grim but resolute. “Be ready, and aim for the head,” he called out and the rest of them drew their swords.
As the creatures slowly advanced at them, Eloken and his crew braced themselves the narrow hallways became a battleground, the air thick with tension and the stench on the creatures. Eloken took the lead, his sword moving in swift, precise motions enchanted by his Vis, each strike aimed at the creatures’ neck, the only effective of killing the creatures they discovered so far.
Utran wielded his axe with brute strength provided by his own Vis and in combination with his Pal which he used to wield the sand that was lying on the ground to slow down the creatures he managed to efficiently kill one after another creature.
Kaelena and Lorian stood side by side and used their spears to keep the creatures at bay, they didn’t have Vis nor Vit at their disposal, so Eloken instructed them to be extra careful and stay at the back of the chamber, only attack creatures that get pass him and Utran.
With the glimpse Eloken caught Haraz fighting fiercely with his machete, his old associate was not the most experienced in combat, but fought valiantly. His swings were less refined even than Eloken’s students but he fought with raw instinct to survive.
The battle was intense; the sounds of clashing metal, guttural growls, and the shouts of the crew filled the air. The crew got into the rhythm of killing the creatures, but their numbers didn’t seem to dwindle as more and more of the creatures entered the tomb’s hallways and the chamber itself.
In the heat of the battle, a moment of distraction proved costly for Lorian as he was scratched by one of the creatures. The claw tore through his clothing, leaving a deep gash on his arm. Second later Lorian managed to take down the creatures with a powerful thrust of his spear, but the damage was done.
Moments after the scratch, a disturbing transformation began to take over Lorain. He stumbled back, dropping his spear as a pained groan escaped his lips. His eyes suddenly turned a deep, abyssal black, void of any humanity almost instantly. The transformation was rapid and horrifying as he let out an inhuman growl, echoing the creatures they were fighting.
“Lorian!” Kaelena cried out, her voice filled with fear. The crew’s attention was momentarily shifted to their companion, their formation and stances breaking as they witnessed the transformation.
Eloken, realizing what happened, acted swiftly. “Form a tight circle, don’t break the formation,” he commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos as he walked towards Lorian to check on his student.
“What do we do? We can’t just…” Utran started but trailed off as Lorian, now with claws instead at the end of his arms, slashed at Eloken and the lights from his spell went off, leaving the chamber and the tomb in almost complete dark, only slightly lit by the faint glow of the teleport in the chamber.