"Ughhh," I felt like absolute shit. Admittedly, it was my own fault for getting shitfaced the night prior.
To be fair, after the whole debacle with the baron. Bjorn was in an excitable mood. He had the brilliant idea to challenge us to a drinking game. My competitive nature would not allow me to back down. I won, of course, but at the cost of a shitty morning.
The glare of the sun breaking through the window was blinding. Forcing my eyes to adjust, making the pounding in my skull feel louder. Controlling a little bit of prana, I purged my system of the alcohol. And within fifteen minutes, the hangover was but a distant memory. Feeling rejuvenated and ready for the day, I left the small room I rented for the night. Descending down the stairs, I saw the rest of my party members sitting around a table eating breakfast. Bjorn the bastard looked perfectly fine as he ate a helping of boar meat stew with stale bread. I don't know what is going on with the genetics of these frontier families. But the amount of alcohol this specimen of a man drank the night prior, only to look completely fine, was baffling.
The only reason I was fine was because I cheated with magic. I knew for a fact this bastard did not have access to that. His earth magic had no effect that would justify this, so it was purely genetic. I shot a glare at the happy-go-lucky bastard before taking a seat. They greeted me half-heartedly before going back to their meal. Feeling quite ravenous, I dug into the food with renewed vigor. "So what information did you manage to gather last night?" I looked directly at Magnus as I said this.
He was the type of person to value information and stratagems. So while we were getting shit faced, he was gaining more information on the tomb itself. "Well, that depends on what you want to hear. I can tell you about the first few rooms. The enemies found inside them. But in general, not much is known."
I smiled brightly at his response, a feeling of pride bubbling in my chest. "Well done, Magnus. Please proceed." I brought the broth-dipped bread to my mouth, taking a bite as I listened.
"I'd rather we talk about this while on the way." His eyes trailed across the room in a suggestive manner. I understood what he meant, even the walls have ears. Drinking the last of my broth, I got up from my seat and made my way to the door. "The layout of the first four rooms follows the theme of a puzzle room. How it all functions is still unknown, but from what I've heard, there are strange magical symbols everywhere inside. So in the first two rooms, you can find common skeletons. After that, you start encountering ghouls. The problem comes in after room five when you start encountering bone knights." The amount of information he managed to gather in a single night was astonishing.
"Then let's stop wasting time; this tomb isn't going to clear itself." I smacked Magnus on the shoulder when walking past. The rest of my party followed closely behind.
We did not have to look hard to find the tomb itself. All we had to do was follow the stream of adventurers exiting the village. After a short five-minute walk through a sparse forest. We arrived at a clearly excavated clearing with a large hole descending downwards. The dirt was loose and slightly wet. In front of the hole stood an official holding a clipboard and a strange stone with peculiar glowing symbols. Jurgen noticing my confused stare, leaned close and whispered. "Thats a truth stone, a product of Dwarven Runemancy." He did not go into detail as the name itself was descriptive enough. What confused me was the blatant use of Dwarven creations. I thought they had been wiped out. What is their magic doing here in the hands of an official?
We waited patiently in line for our turn enter. All the while, I was observing the process intently. The adventurers would approach the official and tell their name and allegiance. The stone would either glow green for truth or red for a lie. My guess was that it was to stop whatever was found inside from falling into outsiders' hands. When it was our turn, I was the first to approach. The official was in his mid-fifties, wearing the colors of the imperial army. His graying hair was tied into a ponytail at the back of his head, highlighting his receding hairline. "Name and allegiance." his tone and eyes portrayed his boredom. Probably having done this hundreds of times.
"Drakkus El Drakkar, Allegiance to the Aldren Kingdom." I opted to use the name of the elven kingdom as opposed to the human kingdom. There was no particular reason to do this besides instinct. The official looked at me sceptically for using the surname of both the elven royalty and the human royalty, but when the stone glowed green, his eyes widened.
"A…Apologies for not recognising you, Prince Drakkus." The official stuttered with a deep bow.
"Enough of this, can my party and I go through now?" I know that it's shameless to use my status to my advantage like this. But I was itching for battle after three long months of semi-peace. I heard murmurs from the crowd behind me. It's no surprise, as this may very well be the first time they saw royalty. The empire was a large place after all.
"Of course, my lord, right this way." The official stepped to the side, allowing us to pass down to the excavated tomb below.
"Well, that was convenient," Bjorn said as we descended down the hole.
"Yeah, well, don't get used to it. Once we join the first legion, we're going to be soldiers like everyone else. My father is not a fan of people giving his sons preferential treatment. In his own words, that has to be earned." I just shrugged at him, having said my piece.
When I finally laid eyes on the tomb, I was enraptured. The entire entrance was made of basalt, the dark igneous rock was highlighted by the glowing grey sigils scattered in a pattern across the open door. Giving the door an ethereal, almost inhuman look. No wonder the dark ages was called the age of magic. If this were just the door, then how would the inside look? Stepping through the massive doors, I felt the unmistakable shift of space mana. Meaning we had been teleported somewhere. Looking around, this was easy to believe because the sheer size of the room we found ourselves in could not possibly have been hidden under the shallow soil we crossed to get here. The roof alone was twelve feet tall. Almost double Jurgen's height.
The room was filled with large basalt pillars. Different sigils were carved on each pillar individually. Looking closely, they looked oddly familiar. It was unlike the dwarven runes. But more so, it looked like elvish script, just far older. Like the pillar closest to us, the rune looked reminiscent of the word Gha, which translates to torch or fire depending on use. My observation was cut short by a rattling sound. Like bones clicking against the floor.
"Skeleton to the left!" Magnus yelled, but Bjorn was already moving. His warhammer was brought down onto the skull of the skeleton. Earth magic empowered his blow, pulverizing the skull to dust with a single swing.