Relecta's resistance halted, turning into a smile of surprise as she recognized Poduria standing before her. Poduria smirked, her hand covering her mouth, teasing in her eyes.
"Heh… you still have a lot to learn, Relecta. You may be st—"
Before Poduria could finish her sentence, she halted in sudden fright and panic as Lady Roartad lunged at her with a mace.
Poduria narrowly avoided a blow to the face by reflexively creating a water shield, but she still fell from the impact. Shivering in fright, Poduria yelled out, "Wait! Wait! It's me! Poduria!"
Lady Roartad halted her follow-up strike, stepping back with a confused look on her face. Longiseus, with his sword drawn, walked up from behind her, about to speak.
Before any words could be exchanged, a loud thud followed by a scream echoed in the air. Everyone turned in sudden alarm as Lyco, tearing through the roof of the wagon where Alan had been asleep, flew into the air and then crashed to the ground near the bonfire.
Moments later, Alan jumped out of the wagon, creating an even bigger hole in the roof as he landed with his guard up. He saw Lyco on the ground and, with a confused expression, looked around, noticing the tied-up Relecta and the fallen Poduria. Exchanging bewildered glances with Longiseus, Alan asked, "What is going on?"
Before Alan's question could be answered, Father Zeneth came running from the bushes behind Longiseus, followed by Artereia and Orioros. Entering the clearing, Father Zeneth quickly urged toward Longiseus, attempting to clear up the situation. "Master Longiseus, please halt. It was nothing but a prank by these two! I had no part in it."
"Way to turn your back, Father!" Lyco exclaimed, quickly jumping to his feet. He glared at everyone with a prideful tone. "But still, we proved our point."
"What would that be? Apart from almost getting killed for sneaking up?" Longiseus asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm as he disintegrated his sword back into its mark.
"We were trying to tell you… oh wait, sorry Relecta." Poduria began to reply to Longiseus's sarcastic query but suddenly noticed Relecta tied up on the ground, looking at her with pleading eyes. Poduria quickly disintegrated the water shackles from Relecta and helped her up. Continuing, she said, "Yeah… so where was I? Oh right, you did not do right leaving us behind."
"Yeah, tell them, Hon," Lyco continued Poduria's explanation, moving towards Longiseus. He looked into Longiseus's confused gaze and spoke with pride and vigor, "Master Longiseus, did you really think that help from these buffoons would be enough? They can't even save themselves from surprise attacks!" As Lyco exclaimed, he pointed and turned everyone's attention below the wagon, where Armis, Arian, and Aurelia were drinking. They were now trapped and encased within a coffin of rocks, covering their whole bodies, knocked out in drunken slumber.
Lyco's exclamation elicited surprised looks from everyone, which gradually turned into looks of disappointment as Lyco continued, "They may be strong, but they are like spoiled children. They need their parents around to keep them straight, and by parents, I mean us."
"Yeah, I think he got that much, Hon," Poduria remarked, trying to hide the awkwardness of Lyco's words, which was visible in the cringes flushed on everyone's face.
As Lyco moved backward, attempting to maintain his facade of sternness, he suddenly stumbled and fell on Bretren and Leotrus, who were sleeping on the ground. But even his thudding fall didn't wake up the snoring duo. As Lyco stood back up, gazing at the two, he asked Longiseus, "Are they dead?"
Longiseus sighed at Lyco's question, lowering his gaze in disappointment before turning it toward the sleeping Bretren and Leotrus. He replied in a disappointed tone, "No... they… they are just sleeping."
"Quite a hard sleep for someone who is traversing through Relic Castle, isn't it a bit con—" Poduria began remarking on Longiseus's reply, but Lady Roartad cut her off, disintegrating her mace back to her mark with a green hue. She locked her gaze with Poduria, continuing sternly, "Concerning, yes, but there is a reason we are in a party. So we can each rest while others look out for dangers, such as ambushes."
Feeling pressured under Roartad's stern gaze, Poduria gulped as she tried to clarify their intentions once again, "Once again, it was just a prank. We didn't mean any harm. Just a friendly joke, no need for violent reactions."
"Yeah, I am still confused, but Poduria, Lyco, what a surprise, so happy t—"
"Don't you dare happy me, you traitor!" Lyco yelled back at Alan, cutting through his feigned excitement. Alan tried to hide his face as Lyco expressed his anger about being left behind without even a discussion.
With a yell, Lyco shot a pillar of rock from the ground, which stopped inches before Alan's cheek, pressing lightly and muffling Alan's voice as he spoke, "Not me... not me. I was against it from the start. It was all your brother and his brotherly concern for you, man."
"Yeah! We missed you so much, Master!" Relecta added, draping her arms around Poduria's neck lovingly, trying to convey how much she missed her mentor.
"Yeah, Poduria!" Alan, noticing Lyco's attention diverted to Relecta and Poduria, moved aside from the rock pillar and walked toward Poduria. He grabbed her hand, surprising her, and continued, "We missed you so much. You know, like right now we could use your help. Orioros!" Alan turned his gaze toward Orioros and Artereia. "How far are we with the experimentation?"
Artereia and Orioros, still watching the ongoing banter with stunned gazes, suddenly jumped back into the moment as Alan addressed Orioros. Reacting to Alan's question, Orioros presented a couple of vials, each with a different hue, to Alan. "Till now, I have these solutions that need your testing."
"Nice," Alan replied, turning his gaze to the puzzled Poduria. He smiled at her and began leading her toward the wagon with him. "Come on, Poduria. You can help us make the perfect version of these solutions."
"Hey?!! Where are you taking my wife?!" Lyco retorted on Alan's actions as he followed Poduria, Relecta, and Alan, trailed by Artereia and Orioros, toward the wagon where Alan had been asleep previously.
After their departure, Lady Roartad, Longiseus, and Father Zeneth exchanged confused glances. Each of them sighed before taking a seat on the ground near the fire. Longiseus turned his gaze to Father Zeneth as he inquired, "So, Father, everything went alright at the Cathedral?"
"Yes. I brought blessings from the Higher Gods and the Almighty Pope. Not much happened at the Cathedral; the Pilgrim month is coming to an end, and everyone has begun to leave. And one more thing…"
Father Zeneth's tone shifted from stern to apologetic as he continued, "I was unable to dispatch the message you asked me to send. I had planned a roundabout before coming here, but those two… they…" As Father Zeneth returned the envelope given to him by Longiseus, he glanced at Lyco and Poduria, unable to articulate the reason why he had let the two take charge.
He trailed off, but Longiseus took the letter from his hand and passed it to Lady Roartad before replying, "Don't worry, Father. I understand. I had expected something like this to happen, but not in this manner. Whatever is done is done. Perhaps it was the will of Lord Roiran and the Almighty Pope. Whatever it may be, we will not falter from our path. At the first ray of dawn, we will cross the gate and begin our journey towards our goal. With the blessings from Roiran and the Higher Gods, I am sure we will emerge victorious."
"Well said, my liege," Father Zeneth replied to Longiseus's words of hope as all three of them gazed toward the silhouette of the gate, glowing in the moonlight.
"Okay, now as I slowly stir the honey inside the vial, Master Orioros, you conjure embers for the flame below it, okay?" Poduria instructed. The group sat under the fresh rays of dawn, anticipation in their eyes and care in their hands. Orioros, using his wielding abilities, ignited small embers below the vial held by Poduria with tongs meant for cooking.
As the honey inside the vial began to simmer, Poduria signaled to Alan and Relecta, who sat ready, waiting for her gesture. Upon receiving it and exchanging nods, Alan quickly crushed the leaves in his hand while Relecta manifested small tendrils of water. The water mixed with the powdered leaves in Alan's hand, and at Relecta's command, the mixture levitated from Alan's hand and gently seeped into the vial of simmering Favua honey.
As soon as the mixture touched the honey, Poduria began swirling the vial rapidly, gesturing for Orioros to halt the embers. After a few good swirls, the brownish-gold hue of the mixture transformed into the emerald green of the leaves mixed in it. When smoke began to emit from the vial, Poduria quickly turned it toward Artereia, who stood ready with a cork in her hand. At Poduria's gesture, Artereia swiftly placed the cork on the vial.
After a moment of silence, the whole group collectively sighed, the glimmer of success shining in their sleepless eyes. Poduria placed the vial in a box with nine others containing the same liquid. As soon as she covered the box, tying it securely with a rope, she turned and saw the faces of her friends shining with smiles. Reflecting their emotions, Poduria beamed back, and the group jumped together in joy, ending up in a group hug with a unison cheer: "YEAH!!! We did it!!!"
The cheer woke Lyco, who was sleeping beside the wagon, as well as the trio hung beneath it. Aurelia, Armis, and Arian opened their eyes, fluttering with confusion and dizziness. They looked around at each other's faces, then at the ground below. Sudden realization dawned on them, quickly turning into shock as they began yelling in unison, "What the hell?!! What is going on?!!"
Panicked and confused, Aurelia's gaze turned toward Lyco, who was half asleep and had just begun walking toward Poduria's group. Still in a state of shock, Aurelia called out to Lyco, "Hey! Twerp!" Lyco remained unresponsive, almost passing the trio in his grogginess. Ignoring Aurelia's call once again, now laced with frustration and accusations, she yelled, "Hey, Dwarf! Did you do this? Get back here and—"
Before Aurelia could finish, she noticed a green hue glowing beside her. Turning her head, she saw Armis with a resolved look on his face. Grunting, Armis called forth his armor, breaking the rock coffin encasing them but exploding half the cart in the process. The trio was launched into the air by the sudden explosion, startling the lacerpull tied to it, which panicked and dashed toward the celebrating group of Alan, catching them by surprise with its shriek.
Seeing the impending danger, Poduria, Relecta, Orioros, Artereia, and Alan all jumped into action, keeping their guards up. Before the confrontation could occur, Longiseus quickly leapt in front of the lacerpull, causing it to stop abruptly. Bretren, from the side, pulled its reins with strength, preventing it from crashing into the ground or Longiseus. The lacerpull calmed down, as did the group, when Longiseus approached it, patting it gently to ease its nerves.
The silence didn't last long. Just awakened by the sudden events, Lyco approached Longiseus, about to remark on something when suddenly Arian, falling from the air, crashed down on his brother with a loud thud. This was followed by another thud as Armis, in his armor, and Aurelia, scooped up in his arms, landed on the ground. The impact caused Leotrus to lose his mug filled with tea, prompting him to glare at Armis in anger.
As everyone remained silent, letting the sudden commotion sink in, Lyco's groan of pain broke the silence. He pushed Arian off him, stood up, and staggered, complaining, "What the hell?!! Why would you do that f—"
"No!!! Why would you do that for?!! You twerp!!" Arian yelled back, his glare filled with frustration. Startled at first but not backing down, Lyco matched Arian's gaze, arguing back with equal intensity, "Because you left us back there, you moron!"
"It was for your own safety, y—"
"Don't teach me about my safety! I know how to take care of myself and my wife! I don't need your help, y—"
—-thud!!—
"You twerp, how dare you sneak up on me!!" Aurelia exclaimed, kicking Lyco in the back and jumping into the brothers' banter. Meanwhile, Armis began receiving a scolding from Leotrus for spilling his tea.
Longiseus and Alan's group sighed in disappointment at the early morning chaos. Longiseus gestured for Bretren to take the lacerpull back, then turned towards Alan, his expression shifting to one of anticipation tinged with excitement. "So, is it done?"
"Oh yeah! You bet!" Alan replied with excitement, eliciting smiles of victory from the others. Poduria picked up the box filled with vials of emerald liquid and presented it to Longiseus with pride. His eyes widened in excitement as Alan continued, "With all of our help, we managed to prepare a potion made from those leaves. Though slightly lesser in effect, it has very few side effects."
"How do you know? Have you tested it?" Longiseus asked, picking up one of the vials and examining the emerald liquid shining in the sunlight.
"Oh yes," Alan began, "it's what kept us going all night. Though we only took around a drop, it provided us with the energy to work all night preparing more vials. So far, apart from..." Alan took a big yawn, emphasizing his point, "the only side effect we've experienced is heavy weariness. It took time to affect me, but the rest experienced it after three hours of consumption, so..."
Alan gave Longiseus a hint, prompting him to finish the explanation. "We would have three hours after its use."
"Correct!" Alan said as Poduria put the box back in the wagon. Taking another yawn, Alan looked at Longiseus, who, picking up on the hint, began instructing the group sternly.
"Well, we still have around thirty minutes before we march towards the gate. You can rest till then while I..." Longiseus paused, glancing at the other group bickering like children. He sighed and continued, "...get them ready for departure."
"Don't worry, commander, we'll help," Poduria offered, walking ahead with Relecta and Artereia. They approached the bantering group, separating their fights and disciplining them like guardians. Longiseus, Alan, and Orioros laughed at the scene. Father Zeneth and Lady Roartad appeared from the side, and Father Zeneth spoke in a calm tone.
"Morning prayer is done, Master Longiseus. We can start whenever you want."
Longiseus nodded, replying, "Very well, Father. Let's just clear our camp, then we'll head towards the gate."
Longiseus exchanged nods with Alan before leading Lady Roartad, Orioros, and Father Zeneth towards the first wagon. Alan climbed into the last one for some much-needed rest.
After nearly an hour of cleaning, preparations, and rest, the Crimson Army and Team Goliath, along with Father Zeneth, stood before the enormous gate leading to Floor 49.
Longiseus, standing at the forefront beside Alan and Armis, nodded to Father Zeneth, who was positioned just inches from the gate. At Longiseus's gesture, Father Zeneth closed his eyes and, turning towards the gate, began chanting prayers in a low voice while holding his staff with both hands.
Longiseus followed Father Zeneth's lead, closing his eyes in respect, and soon the others did the same. After a minute or so of hums and chanting, Father Zeneth cast a glow of light over the group, blessing their upcoming journey. He then stepped aside, making way for Bretren. With a sigh, Bretren placed both hands on the gate and, with all his strength, began to push.
As moments of struggle passed, everyone watched with bated breath, clenching their fists in anticipation. The enormous slab of rock began to shake, raising hopes of the gate opening. However, those hopes turned to apprehension when, instead of opening, the gate began to crack. The fissures grew larger and deeper as Bretren continued to exert his strength.
Sensing potential danger, Longiseus quickly commanded, "Bretren, retreat!"
But when Bretren heard Longiseus's command and jumped back, it was too late. Everyone watched in shock as the slab of rock shattered into debris before their eyes, revealing another door. This door, made of hard wood, was overrun by foliage and algae. In the middle of the gate, etchings were partially hidden by grass and damp leaves.
Surprise and apprehension filled the air as Father Zeneth cautiously made his way through the debris. He scanned the words etched upon the wooden planks of the newly revealed door. After a moment of pondering, sudden realization dawned upon him. He quickly turned towards Longiseus and the others, who waited in anticipation, and called out urgently, "Master Longiseus! These are inscriptions in the ancient language of Pompeii!"
His announcement snapped everyone back to attention. They all approached quickly, their faces filled with confusion and curiosity as they gazed upon the obscured text. As Alan tried to remove the plants and leaves growing over the gate, Longiseus swiftly halted him.
"Wait!" Longiseus commanded, using his hand to gesture everyone to back up. He then called out, "Orioros!"
Orioros stepped forward and, with a loud grunt, conjured flames over the foliage covering the inscription, burning it to ashes with thick smoke.
After the smoke cleared and the leaves turned to a pile of ashes on the ground, Orioros stepped back, making way for Longiseus, Alan, and Father Zeneth.
Everyone gathered around, trying to read the words carved on the panels of old wood, attempting to decipher their hidden meaning. Despite their efforts, everyone failed except Father Zeneth.
After a moment of mumbling under his breath, Father Zeneth collected everyone's attention and began to speak:
"Intra cave, cave, nam regressus nullum,
Sed tantum progrediens ad summum.
Clauduntur post tergum in auroque lumine,
Ingressu exspectato.
Exitus hic ex peccatorum turrim
Est cum rege verae divinitatis.
Sacrificium et mors, it's no jest,
Per gradus omnes, exige divina rest."
"What was that?!" Armis exclaimed, his confusion evident after hearing the words spoken by Father Zeneth, which sounded like a jumble of rhymes to his ears.
"It's an ancient language, Pompeity," Lyco replied, his attention still fixed on the inscription.
"But what does it mean? What does it say, Father Zeneth?" Alan asked urgently, concern evident in his voice as he turned towards Father Zeneth, whose expression had shifted into one of grim apprehension.
Shivers escaped from his body as he remained locked on the words etched on the wood, his eyes now filled with visible fear. Sweat trickled down his temple as he took a step back, almost slipping on a rock. Bretren caught him, nudging him to sit down, and offered a sack of water. Father Zeneth took it with shaking hands and quickly took a long sip, water trickling from the sides of his mouth before he returned the sack.
The air crackled with tension, and visible apprehension etched on the faces of all who witnessed Father Zeneth's bated breath.
Longiseus sat before him, placing a concerned hand on his, and asked, "Is everything all right, Father? What did it say? What did you read that frightened you?"
"It's true!" Father Zeneth burst forth, his fear erupting from his mouth in a yell that sent waves of shock and concern through everyone. "It's true, my liege. The prophecy told the truth—death! The inscriptions warns us of death!"
"What do you mean, Father?!" Alan burst forth from the group, his voice tinged with concern and a hint of fear as he sat beside Longiseus, looking straight at Father Zeneth's cowering eyes.
Upon Alan's words, Father Zeneth began rising, staggering. He took Longiseus's hand for support, then moved back towards the gate, gazing again at the inscription as he began deciphering the language of the past to everyone.
"'Enter… beware… for there is no return,
But onward strides for thee must yearn.
The gates… behind with golden light,
Seal upon entry! before thy sight.'
Each word sent shivers through the bodies of everyone who heard them, spoken in Father Zeneth's shivering, frightful tone. Widening eyes and dried mouths marked each person's reaction as Father Zeneth continued, "Escape lies not… in mortal scheme,
But with the king! in divine dream!
Sacrifice… and death… at each turn,
For divine encounter, ye must yearn."
"Divine encounter?"
"King?"
"Gates sealed?"