The first light of day broke through the thick canopy of trees as the men and women began breaking down their tents and packing everything back up. Marshall was already packed and ready as sleeping seemed to evade him as it so often does. He saw dark clouds in the distance, a storm hinting itself in the air.
Then the rain came hard, the group had gathered their supplies before hand but it still left them drenched. Marshal kept his eyes squared on the area around them, with only moments of peaking at the satellite GPS leading their way. The sounds of the forest still flourished around them, some noises louder then the rain hitting their backs.
The hours passed, the sun moved as the rain came and went again and again through out the day as the dredged through the deep forest. Marshal kept the group moving steady before he noticed something odd. His hand went up to signal the group to slow their speed, his ears picking up a change that never meant a good sign.
" what is it boss, a leopard?" Henry whispered from the middle. The mage was young but had witnessed a few battles by now, making him cautious. Marshall stopped the group completely to focus on listening.
The once loud noises of living creatures was now eerily silent. Even the wind and rain stopped making the movement of the forest around them still. Marshall looked at their GPS before answering. " the forest has gone quiet, let's keep moving" was all he said.
Marshall scrunched his face at the now glitching GPS, the dot they had been following now moving all over the map. This usually meant that there was something not human near by, which now meant that they were close to their goal.
Slowly old stone formations started to make breaks in the trees around them. Some were the walls of fallen homes, while others looked more like fallen temples. The area had no sounds besides the steady footsteps of the team, not even the sounds of birds in the air above or rodents scarring on the ground.
The mossy ruins lead deeper in until the team seemed to come across a stone alter for some nameless animal headed god. Marshall looked over the wolf headed statue, why would an old south American tribe have a wolf deity, there were no wolves located in the rain forest.
The statue laid out a wolf headed woman sitting amongst fruits as she gracefully leans against a stone pillar. A golden bowl sat aged from the lack of offerings, while the entirety of it was framed like an ancient Greek setting. This statue was very out of place for how long it had stood there.
" did the Greeks ever come down here?" Clay asked from the side as he stared in awe at the statue. " no, they did not, well at least from our history, Henry, can you get any magical energy off of this?" Marshal asks the young mage.
He kept himself hooded but moved forward, his deep blue eyes focused on the artifact in front of them. A nervous hand placed itself on the head of the wolf deity, the mage let a fraction of his magic seep toward the statue. With a quick blue spark, he mumbles something uncertain.
" It's a magic tomb, there's multiples types of magic keeping this area hidden." Henry explains as he looks at Marshall. " can you open it?" the question hangs for a moment before a sigh comes from Henry before he turns back to the statue.
Marshal ushers the group back a bit, not sure where the entrance would reveal itself. The group watches Henry as he scans his magic over the ancient statue. Air, death and sealing magic seemed to permeate off the old marble. With a deep breathe Seth let's the blue light of his magic aura entwine with the stale, old magic.
A loud thunk echoes through the area the group stood in, the trees shimmy with the movement before a large marble plate tears through the vines and dirt behind the statue. Marshall held the team steady as the earth shook for a moment, an ancient slab now open.
Henry takes a wobbly step back, " this magic is very old, hopefully theres no traps further ahead." He tries to hide his more weakened state but Marshall could tell it took more out of him then he let on.
The giant marble slab now stands stationary, the silence of the unknown now beckoning the soldiers underground. " stay together, stay alert!" Marshal orders as they all nod and in unison move behind the statue to the wide opening.
Vines thick with age and moss thick with moisture lined the ancient marble slab. The maw of it opened up to stone steps that were cracked and worn from age. The team slowly descended, their boots the only form of noise besides their breathing.
" Lumar" Henry whispered behind the group as he sent balls of light out from his finger tips to guide their way. The sun light dimmed behind them as a straight narrow stone hallway laid itself out ahead.
The stones of the hallway seemed cracked and mossed over from age, water from the latest rain dripped from the stone ceiling. Only the light of Henry's magic kept the team from being buried in utter darkness.
Stone after stone, the team passed until they were so far in, one would find it hard to figure out which way was back and which was forward. Marshall paused the group, a familiar trick fluttering around them
" Henry, get rid of this illusion ward" Marshall ordered as he has noticed elven wards lining the cracked stones the farther they traveled. Their intricate swirls mimicking old languages and glyphs, a truly old find. Blue light seemed to bubble from the middle of the group where Henry was standing, a spell he had used often enough shooting out from his hands.
The sparkling light coats the walls like water before shimmering away the old marks. Cracked walls turned into clean grey marble, the floors no longer wet or mossy, but now clean and shining. Marshall looks at the group as the illusion fades, showing a sealed metal door ahead, the endless hallway no longer visible.
Then something seems to tickle the forefront of his mind, a similar pull he only felt in his sleep. His eyes focused on the shining metal ahead, he moves steadily forward, the group following behind. This pull kept his attention as he looked over the door.
" Elven metal…" Clay spoke first as they stopped their trek. " How did any of this get here, I thought most of the elves lived in their own realm." Another spoke up in awe as others mumbled similar questions to themselves.
Marshall placed a sturdy hand on the door, the cold elven metal was hard to break manually but they had a magic user to take care of things like this. He looked over at the younger man with his cloaked hood still up. With out another word, Henry nodded and moved through the curious crowd.
Same as before, he placed his hand on the solid metal door, the only decoration a simple flower carved into the shining service. " same as before" he half whispered to himself as a trickle of his magic seeps into the surface. There were so many sealing spells between the first door and this one, Henry wondered why the creatures who made this seemed so worried about whatever was down here getting out.