“Something like a stone tablet, engraved with what might be words.”
“Engrave with what might be words? Why are you being so vague about this?”
“It is an unknown language. Not the national language of the Kingdom or the Empire, or even the ancient languages around the region. It might not be human language either. But I can read the number 2.0 here.”
“Numbers? Thinking about it with common sense, it should be the year this place was built. But the number is too small.”
“Arche thinks it might be a password for something in the ruins… Well, just keep it in mind.”
“Right, let’s do that.”
After passing through the giant statues and climbing up the long and narrow tilted platform formed by the stone coffin, what they saw was an open entrance.
“The stench of the dead.”
“Ahhh. It is, I smell that often from the thick fogs at Kattse plain.”
Greenham agreed with Hekkeran with a soft voice.
It wasn’t a strong, nauseating stench, but the smell of the undead accompanied by the cold found in the cemetery.
This might be a beautiful cemetery, but there were definitely undead here.
The group steeled themselves and saw a vast space within when they entered. Numerous stone platforms were placed to the left and right, on the other side were the stairs leading down. The door leading down was wide open and an uneasy atmosphere flowed out from within.
“This way.”
With Hekkeran leading the way, Greenham and the others went down the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs was a burial chamber with a door on the other side. Aside from that, no other doors could be seen.
It was narrower than the crypt upstairs, but there was plenty of space. Hekkeran’s team ‘Foresight’, Eruya’s ‘Tenmu’ and Parupatra’s team were all here.
“Well then, what should we do next? Our plan was to spread out and gather information. Any new ideas after having searched the crypts?”
After speaking, Hekkeran glanced at everyone who had gathered.
There didn’t seem to be any more new ideas. Was it greed gleaming off them or merely a reflection of light? It wasn’t clear, but everyone’s eyes were lively. Everyone seemed to be filled with excitement and couldn’t wait to go in the cemetery.
“A suggestion. My team will check for hidden doors and search outside.”
That was their leader’s words, but his members seemed unhappy about it.
It was because of the treasures they saw. They couldn’t agree even if it was the opinion of their well experienced leader. They were probably imagining a mountain of treasure flying away before their eyes.
“What do you say? We did search the surface, but we weren’t that thorough. There’s a chance that one of the smaller crypts has a hidden passage inside, right? Isn’t rest of the cemetery worth surveying?”
“Elder has a point. I heard that even the Sasasharu Ruins, which bards sing of all the time, have a safe passage leading directly to the centre of the ruin just steps away from the entrance.”
“Ah, Greenham. We checked all the way up to this room, but didn’t find any hidden passages.”
“That is why I’m offering to do this. As compensation for my team taking this lesser job, how about giving me a cut of the loot you find on this floorl. Yup, how about ten percent from each team? And tomorrow, let my team be the first ones to search the floor below this one?”
“I have no objection to this proposal.”
The first to speak was Greenham. Hekkeran agreed a moment later.
“Good, we are all agreed then! What about you Uzruth?”
“I’m not comfortable with it, but since it’s just ten percent, so be it.”
The elder simply smiled at his sarcastic voice. In the end, it was Eruya who made a bitter expression after his snide attitude failed to garner any response.
“Ah, Elder. Can I ask you for a favour since you’re going to pass that way. We found a banner made with gold thread in the crypt we searched, but it looked too cumbersome to lug around. Could we trouble you to take it back?”
“I agree with Hekkeran. It might be a hassle, but could you help us out?”
“In that case, take mine too.”
Eruya gestured with his chin to one of the elves, and she took out a large piece of cloth to place it on the ground, all the while staggering under its weight.
“Understood. Aside from these, is there anything else you want me to safekeep or carry back?”
There was no answer to Parupatra’s question.
“Very well! Like I proposed earlier, my team will search the top. Be careful. It’s fine if you leave something valuable for me.”
“Haha, we can leave a couple of monsters for you, but there won’t be a single coin left behind for you.”
After a round of laughter, Hekkeran asked the others: “Shall we go?”
Everyone agreed immediately. They took a step forward. With their eyes shining with greed and anticipation, they took their first step into the unknown ruins—the great underground tomb.
The door opened and there was only one path leading deeper in. As they expected, it was kept clean and tidy.
Things like rust and moss weren’t found on the stone passage, there were some indents on the wall where human shaped figures, wrapped in burial clothing, had been placed. There wasn’t the unique scent of corpse here. Instead, there was a cold air and smell of the undead.
There were flickering bluish white lights on the ceiling a fixed distance from each other. However, since the distance between them was rather large, there was some darkness along the way. The light allowed them to move freely, but was just dim enough that they might miss something. It would feel dangerous if they didn’t have an alternate source of lighting.
“—Rob. Any undead reaction from that corpse?”
“No, nothing.”
Arche thanked Rob and walked towards the corpse in the body bag, cutting open with her knife. After seeing her actions, the other team also sent out one or two members to investigate the corpse inside the body bag.
“...From this height and built, the possibility of this being human is high. A full grown man.”
“It is not wearing clothes, so it is hard to tell what time period this ruins is from.”