The ring was far more complex than any he’d seen so far. Some symbols he recognized anyway. He couldn’t see all of them at once, they disappeared just out of his grasp, back into the shadows. From the curvature, he assumed, they might circle the beds of dirt in the centre of the room.
ground symbol [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/629717366275702784/1028655985696440490/pic0.png]
It seemed to be four clauses - not separate, all consisting of similar shapes. It was one symbol in particular that excited him. He forgot to breathe for a second.
Image of floor with special symbol [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/629717366275702784/1028651529353306182/pic2.png]
The short man placed his lantern on the floor and kneeled down. He ripped the journal out of his bag, and started copying it down - careful to match each stroke. It was almost symmetrical. A circle, almost like a half moon, vertical lines, 7 spikes in the middle, 4 spikes around it. 6 X's marked below it. He traced his gloved fingers over the grooves in the ground that spelled out the symbol. A dark brown dust clung to his glove. He pulled down his mask and smelled it. The distinct metallic smell made him recoil with disgust. He shook his glove out away from himself and placed the mask back over his face.
The large man kneeled down close to him and whispered, "Found something?"
"Yes, actually." the short man answered, "Something very good. I've not seen these symbols before. It could be a breakthrough for my alchemy."
Even through the goggles the short man wore, the large man could see how wide-eyed his companion was. He put a hand on the short man's shoulder. "Good." He stood to leave the short man alone with his work, and as he turned away he heard the short man say, presumably to the symbols themselves, "Now what exactly do you want to tell me, hm?"
The large man could hear the smile through his voice. He finished off the statement with a breathy chuckle.
Vertical lines separated four phrases from touching. The circles marked the origin of the spell. The symbols around the circle specified the location, the alchemist thought. A common way to determine places for teleportation - as common as they come in lost arts.
He checked his maps. He followed down the lines. Maybe it was a portal? But if anything, it'd be close by - that made no sense. They could just walk. Maybe to make sure nothing could come here?
Maybe it's this circle specifically?
It wasn't to leave. It was to keep them safe. Safe from... the rot.
It was odd. Such a complicated symbol for something so simple. Daios had to think of stories he'd been told as a child. When Proznia still was a neighbour to the rest of the world. When deities roamed the wastes rather than monsters. And when there was something other than night… When the darkness and cold passed regularly.
The stories told too of a monster beyond the snow. A beast of many heads, a rotten monster of a god.
The rot. The sick. Arratoria, king of disease, ruler of the rot.
He copied down the complicated symbol carefully.
They returned to the surface. In the short time spent in the tomb, they forgot about the push and pull of the wind - but the wind didn't seem to care about this. The alchemist leaned against it when walking. He tugged at the larger man's sleeve and when he turned, whispered to him, "We should look for a clearing. I'll bring us back to Zerwa."
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"Why not straight to the order?"
"I... Hm. You know." He hummed, avoiding the gaze of his companion.
"I don't."
"I just… Haven't yet figured out how to do the teleportation without taking all the snow with me…" he mumbled, crossing his arms and looking anywhere but the large man's face. His eyes fell on the hinge of the lantern. Still, he felt the gaze of the large man burn on his face.
A moment passed and silence spread between the two.
"Daios."
"I..." Daios stopped, a frustrated sigh escaping him, grasping at straws, "wanna see the trains anyway! I've not been on the trains for so long!" Daios declared, a faux confidence shivering through his voice, then turning his back on his companion and wandering off.
The large man sighed, "Fine." he said and followed the alchemist.
They walked away from the ghost town. Daios for once went first, waving his lantern around, skipping a little each step. In his mind, he repeated the phrases he'd read earlier. The larger man walked behind him, watching the edge of the light. His eyes swept over the dense forest area. Snow clung to the sides of the trees even. Sometimes he did miss the soft, broad-leaved trees of his homeland. He imagined how nice it would have been for a younger Daios to play in the soft leaves if fall had ever come.
The line of evergreen trees opened up for Daios and he walked into an open area. The black sky above and the white snow below. The alchemist made sure to not disturb the snow where he wanted to make his circle - and so he hopped into the centre of his envisioned alchemy-circle. He took a blackened stick of wood out of his bag, singed at the end with his beloved lighter, and began to draw into the snow.
The large man stayed behind. He watched the alchemist for just a moment. So far everything was peaceful on their trip, but in the back of his mind there nagged an anxiety. He shifted from one foot to the other and looked around. The noise his boot made on the snow felt off in itself, as if he was an intruder in the territory of someone else. He was unable to tell whether it was just anxiety, or whether it was his magic kicking in and alerting him of future conflict. He wondered still, until his question was answered - by that all too familiar crunch in the snow and breathing that sounded like it might be from a living thing.
He saw it, lurking behind Daios. The alchemist was deep in thought, glancing between his page and the snow, and didn't notice it. It stood over him, hulking over the smaller alchemist. And so the large man rushed in, he made sure not to step on the intricate circle, but rather run around it, his sword drawn immediately.
This, Daios noticed right away. With a squeak, he stumbled, almost destroying his own work. He watched for just a second as the larger man rushed to the beast and knocked it back with his sword.
It was a beautiful sight. All the beasts were. The black liquid, shimmering as he thought a night sky should, dripped from it onto the snow. The hunger, the corruption, the consumption. It burned through the snow.
The beast appeared as a marionette. It hardly moved like a living thing, it hardly moved as something with its own will. Its limbs creaked, its bones refusing the motion. It breathed like it didn't need air, but remembered the rhythm from long ago. It moved on four limbs - hard to say if they all were legs. And now its gnashing teeth latched onto the sword of the large man.
Daios' hand itched toward the small knife on his inside pocket. Instead, he focused on his page and on the circle. He continued his work with a shaky hand and quickened breath.
The large man tried to shake the beast off of his claymore. Its claws reached for him, almost touching his face. He kicked it, felt bones crack against his boots. He struck down, his sword connected with its body. He heard the splashing of its blood against his glove, but didn't feel it against his skin. The sword broke through its ribs. The cracking noise ran through the clearing, Daios felt it shudder down his spine. But he was done, almost. He pulled at the larger man's arm.
As Daios placed the last line, reality shifted around them, the larger man fell into the circle. With its gaping ribcage, the beast gathered itself up and jumped at them. Its claw grazed the edge of the circle, and on the other side - a well lit area with the stench of smoke in the air - the cut-off claw fell into the snow alongside the warrior and the alchemist.
Snow with symbols [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/629717366275702784/1028646482661875722/pic3.png]