Chapter 16: Chapter 15: Marastruck [4]

Chapter 15: Marastruck [2]

Maruhn.

The name Maru pondered for a few minutes too long. She laid down gracefully on a large rock nearby, looking up at the bright blue skies with a few clouds passing overhead.

“He knows old Arcanian?” she thought to herself, “just how old is Manho..?”

Their battle would replay in her head over and over like a movie. There was something peculiar about their fight – something she couldn’t articulate, like there was a third person present during that entire fight.

“It felt like I had two pairs of eyes… Two minds…”

She had plenty of questions, a few for herself and plenty regarding Manho. She still wanted to know if he was the one who wrote that journal, or if it was someone else that he happened to know. His age and knowledge definitely made him one of the candidates, but there was nothing to confirm it. His attitude and the way he carried himself was different from how the person described their actions in the journal. It just wasn’t adding up.

“Maybe I could ask Yuri about it when we get back.”

“Hello? Hello hello? Terra to Maru!” Francis towers over her, waving his hand in front of her face to get her attention.

“Huh?” She blinks a few times, not realizing she zoned out so quickly. “Oh my bad. I was just thinking about stuff.”

“Well you can think about it in a little bit, right now we have a mission to do. Come on, we’re heading up the mountain now.”

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Over the course of about half an hour, the trio ascends the Mountain through the pathway they took last time. Although the sun was up and gleaming gracefully in the skies, Maru and Francis brought their coats, the chilling breeze still caused their bodies to shiver and shrivel.

Their gear is hefty. Large leather backpacks with thick straps that grip their shoulders tightly; various compartments stuffed with a myriad of different utility items like lanterns, some rope, a compass, and emergency gear in case things take a turn for the worst. Majority of it was some of Maru’s old climbing gear, with a few things she borrowed from her father. She even managed to jam her staff into her backpack – although it was awkwardly sticking out.

Tianyu, insisting he didn’t need any gear, was the one to lead the group through the path. Maru stayed closed behind him, keeping an eye out for any hazards and general dangers along the way.

Francis struggled to keep up – having the shortest end of the stick out of the three. Maru may have been carrying hefty gear, but she had experience climbing mountains and knew how to conserve her energy. While Tianyu wasn’t an experienced mountain climber like Maru, there wasn’t any luggage slowing him down.

Francis, on the other hand, knew nothing about climbing mountains, and it felt like he was carrying oversized cargo on his shoulders.

“I don’t see how you do it girl,” Francis wheezed, “hauling all this stuff up shaky terrain for half an hour. Do we even need half of this? I don’t think we’re going to be in there for more than a few hours, and that's the worst case scenario – so did we need to pack so much food?”

“Uhh – yes?” Maru asked rhetorically while glancing back at Francis. “Majority of the things I pack are for emergencies only. I would be fine with just a regular climbing axe and a lantern, but it’s a good idea to be prepared! If something goes wrong, we could be stuck inside the mountain for days. If that does happen, then you’ll be glad we packed food.”

“She has a point,” Tianyu added, “it’s best to adhere to her advice. Maru is the experienced one here after all, so I will trust her actions.”

“That’s easy for you to say, Tianyu, you’re not carrying anything!”

Tianyu chuckles quietly. “That’s because I don’t need anything. My Magic is a perfect substitute for most of the gear I would traditionally need for climbing. My ‘sixth sense’ can mimic the effectiveness of a compass or lantern all on its own, and I can change the properties of the water I create to mirror a rope or climbing axe.”

“Woah,” Maru exclaimed, “you can do all that with just your Magic? That’s so cool! Would I be able to do that with mine?”

“Of course,” Tianyu responded, “anything is possible with Magic, so long as you have a willingness to learn. It might be more difficult for particular Magic types, but it’s still possible nonetheless.”

“Aye, you’ll need to teach me how to do that when we finish this mission, Tianyu – would come in handy for fishing too.”

“I’d be delighted to.”

The small talk subsides, and the group continues making their way up the mountain. After a few more minutes, they finally arrive at the familiar cavity in the side of the rocky giant, the lower half of the entrance shrouded in a thick layer of snow.

“Here we are,” Tianyu said, looking over his shoulder at the others. “Is everyone ready?”

“I’ve still got this eerie feeling…” Maru thought to herself, “Just looking at the entrance gives me chills.”

Despite the chill that ran down her spine, Maru nodded. “Ready.”

“Always,” Francis said confidently, resting his palm on the handle of his sabre.

Maru and Francis grab their lanterns, taking the lead ahead of Tianyu as they walk into the cave, following the singular pathway as they did before. They come across a few forks in the pathway, taking some familiar and unfamiliar turns here and there.

Overall, the environment was similar to their last visit. Even with the lanterns, their vision was shallow and hazy, an eerie mist shrouding most of their vision. They could only see about a foot in front of them.

They saw the familiar purple banners hoisted on wooden poles and nailed into the rocky sides of the cave. The golden eye etched into the golden star stares back at them. Maru was reluctant to look at it – it made it feel like something was watching her.

They arrive at a wooden door, detached from its hinges and the wood peeling and rotten. The door was barely kept intact by a few planks, distinct claw marks leaving holes throughout. It was the same door that led to the ritual room where they first saw Gon and Deva.

“I think this is a good place to start,” Maru whispered, “they were definitely doing something here last time.”

She glances over at the others for their confirmation. They nod in agreement as Francis tightly grips the handle of his sword, preparing for anything.

There was no handle, so Maru gently grasped the side of the door and pulled it away. As it opens, it completely detaches from the hinges, collapsing onto the ground in front of them with a hollow thud.

They step over the collapsed door, walking inside the supposed ‘ritual room.’ Maru immediately covers her mouth and nose as they are all overwhelmed with the stench of rotting flesh. The room was cold and dark, piles of fish bones lined up in the furthest corner with stains of dried blood still on them.

There was a large cage nearby, its bars ripped open by something with large claws, with some fish bones sitting inside. Beside the cage was a lantern, producing a dim light through its foggy glass. On the other side of the cage, there were the remains of an empty bucket, torn apart ruthlessly.

“God, this stinks,” Francis muttered, pinching his nose closed as he took his hand off of his sword. “It baffles me how they just sit in this… stench.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Tianyu, lifting up part of his robe to cover his mouth and nose, took a few steps ahead of them towards the middle of the room. He looked down, noticing the rough drawing of a large Magic Circle on the floor. It was rough and colorless, likely just a template used to guide the creation of the actual Magic Circle.

Cold water would drip down onto his head from the ceiling above. Tianyu looks up, though it is too dark for him to see anything.

“This is the ritual room, for sure,” Maru whispers.

“Take a mental note of whatever you can.” Tianyu said, “We’re going to have to put the pieces of the puzzle together ourselves.”

The three of them take a moment to walk and look around the room, examining the cage, ritual circle, bones, and more.

Maru notices something sparkling on the ground. She places her lantern down beside it and crouches down, picking up a small translucent crystal on the floor. Through her peripheral vision, she can see that these rocks were scattered across the floor like food crumbs.

“Arcanium…” she whispers. “Guys, come look at this.”

Tianyu and Francis rush over, taking a look at the tiny fragments of Arcanium.

“So they are holding Arcanium,” Francis mutters, “not to say I didn’t believe Yuri – just had to see it for myself.”

“Arcanium isn’t normally in small specks like this though. They probably had a whole crystal and shattered it…”

“There’s a trail,” Tianyu points towards a line of Arcanium crystals, leading back out through the doorway they entered from. “It’s the biggest lead we have so far, though we must tread carefully if we follow it.”

“I’d rather not search the room full of decaying flesh, so…” Maru glances around the room one last time, making sure she didn’t miss any other important details. The putrid stench of rotten flesh, however, made her eyes water.

“Let’s just hurry up…”

They scurried out of the room, pulling the cloth away from their mouths and noses to inhale the fresh air outside the room. It wasn’t overwhelmingly pleasant, but almost anything is better than the smell of dead flesh.

Maru walked ahead of the group, holding her lantern out while following the trail of Arcanium crumbs. The group was led down a series of various twists and turns, the passageway becoming narrower as the minutes passed. Eventually, the ceiling became too low for them to stand upright, forcing them to crouch as they inched forward. The pathway only became more cold and wet, water dripping down from the low ceiling above and onto their heads.

Eventually, they had to start crawling on all fours – with the exception of Tianyu. He instead creates a small platform of water that levitates gracefully over the floor, laying down on his stomach as it carries him through the confined path.

“Maybe we should’ve stayed in that creepy room,” Francis muttered, “we’re getting nowhere right now.”

Maru sighs, realizing that Francis was probably right. “Yeah, this is leading nowhere.”

“No, keep going,” Tianyu interjected, “I feel something up ahead.”

They move forward at Tianyu’s request, but Maru’s lantern is starting to run out of fuel. The light inside would dim and flicker occasionally, and she was too cramped to turn around and grab Francis’ lantern.

Something caught her attention up ahead. At the end of the narrow passageway, she saw an exit. A small hole, but slightly bigger than the space they were crawling through now. On the other side she could see a red light radiating through.

“I see something!” She exclaimed, frantically crawling forward ahead of the other two to reach the hole.

Once she reaches the end, her eyes widen as she gazes at a ginormous room. In the middle of it is a red crystal in the shape of a triangular prism, lodged into the rocky floor. The light from the crystal would fade in and out, pulsating as if it were breathing and beating like a heart. Wooden fencing stands firmly around it, tall enough to block the average person from getting too close. Its light is bright enough to illuminate the entire area.

There were wooden crates and barrels scattered all across the room.

“Woah,” Maru muttered, peeking her head out the hole and looking down to see if it was safe to jump.

She grabs her climbing axe from the side of her backpack, jumping down and lodging the ax into the rock when she falls halfway down to catch herself. Pulling the axe out of the rock, she falls all the way down to the floor and lands firmly on both feet.

Francis and Tianyu follow behind her, jumping straight out of the hole and landing on their feet.

She looks at them, raising an eyebrow. “How did you not break your legs..?”

“Magic,” they said in unison.

“Right, forgot I had that.”

They all stare at the massive crystal together, the three of them sharing a similar feeling. It felt as if the crystal was subconsciously beckoning them closer with a finger. Maru couldn’t take her eyes off of it, her gaze fixated on her own reflection in the side of the crystal.

“Is this what you were feeling, Tianyu?” Francis asked.

“Yes.”

Francis expected him to elaborate on what it was, but Tianyu didn’t say anything else, likely because he didn’t know anything himself. Instead, they all stood still in collective silence before Francis decided to speak up again.

“Let’s take a look around, be careful though. We don’t know what this thing is or what it can do.”

The group splits, each of them moving to a different side of the room to examine every nook and cranny they could find. Maru rushed over to the area with the most crates and barrels, figuring that taking a look inside them is a good start.

She takes the top off of one of the barrels, peering inside to find it filled with old watermelons.

“Bleh.”

Closing it, she moves over to another barrel and looks inside. This time it was stuffed with bloody bones. She quickly covers it back up, covering her mouth to stop herself from vomiting.

“Eugh.”

Food, bones, flesh, and even entire bodies; almost every container she looked in was filled to the brim with something peculiar. It made sense as to why – it was pretty obvious they were sacrificing things and people. Maru noticed that there was surprisingly no Arcanium stored anywhere.

“It’s probably in some super secret place,” she thought. She wondered if the massive crystal in the middle of the room had anything to do with it though.

As she takes a look inside one last crate, she finds it mostly empty.

“Huh?” She whispered, reaching her hand inside and moving it around to see if she could feel anything. Maru grabs a piece of paper from inside the crate, pulling it out and dusting it off.

Pathways and labels were scribbled onto the paper, with a legend in the top right corner to explain the labels. The language wasn’t Arcanian, however, so Maru couldn’t read it.

“Come look at this!” She called out to the others.

Tianyu and Francis run over, looking over her shoulder at the paper.

“It’s a map,” Maru muttered.

“No shit,” Francis added somewhat sarcastically, “this is a great find – what language is that though?”

“Let me take a closer look.” Tianyu holds his hand out, gesturing for Maru to give him the map. She hands it to him gently.

“This is old Arcanian,” he said, “but even I don’t recognize some of these words. It also seems like this map is part of a bigger one. Notice that some of these pathways go all the way to the end of the page and just get cut-off.”

He holds the map out for them, pointing to the edges of the page. The drawn pathways continue into nothingness with no proper labels at the end of the page. Not only that, but the paper was torn at its ends.

“This was the only map you found, Maru?”

“Yes, the rest of the crate was empty.”

“If we find the rest of the map, this could be extremely beneficial to Reoh and Yuri. Let’s look around a bit more and-”

The sound of something rummaging through nearby barrels and boxes causes Tianyu to instantly fall silent. He immediately looks over at Maru and Francis, his expression reading: “was that one of you?” worryingly.

The two of them shake their heads aggressively as they start to look around the room for signs of someone else.

From across the room, a barrel is tossing high into the air and collides with the ceiling, shattering into wooden pieces as dead fish fall from above and splatter onto the ground. A silhouette steps into the light and the trio turn their heads to gaze.

A tall woman with lengthy white hair, cyan blue eyes, and deer-like horns rushed towards the pile of dead fish on the ground. She reaches for one, violently tearing into it with her sharp canine teeth, the blood from the fish staining her pearly white robe.

“What the…” Maru whispered, her mouth left slightly agape. Elafi was an odd combination of things Maru has seen before – but she wasn’t sure how to react to the amalgamation that stood before her.

Elafi hadn’t noticed them yet, but her elk-like ears would suddenly perk up from under her hair once Maru spoke.

Like a hunter, her blue eyes pierce through the darkness and quickly shift over towards where the trio was standing. They could hear a low-pitched growl coming from Elafi as she stood up straight, dropping the dead fish from her bloody hands. While flashing her sharp teeth, her round pupils turn into slits. Black triangular markings suddenly appear beneath her eyes and her sclera flashes between shades of black and white.

Slowly, she starts to walk toward them, snarling viciously as the ground beneath her would crack and rumble with every step.

“She doesn’t look too friendly,” Francis joked, drawing his sword and holding it tightly with both hands. Maru stands beside him, reaching into her backpack and pulling out her staff.

“Be careful,” Tianyu whispered, “we don’t know if she’s one of them, or one of their victims.”