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Leonard Diary
So this is one of the places our forefarthers took there last stance. I wonder what would have happened to us if they actually suceeded, would it have been a better or a worse live.
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I looked at my pocket-watch, around an hour had passed since the fight, and I was already felling allot better.
I was definitely not suited for this kind of combat, with a bullet count of 109 I had 15 and a half full magazine.
Looking around I could see that Leonard had already explored most of the cave, the child had just stayed beside me. We would need to give a name to himself.
„Found anything interesting jet?"
He sat besides me.
„The remains laying around here, are from some kind of battlefield, and the human Empire definitely took part in it."smiling slightly he continued " and because of the location, I can only guess that it happened in the later years of the great war, so we could even find some interesting things."
Sanding up and stretching my stiff body, I looked around myself, all that I could glean from the bones was desperation, whoever fought on the defenders side was loosing badly. Like a last desperate stand, jet futile in the end.
"Whatever there may have been at some point was already taken, with the defenders losing and the entrance not concealed at all, you should not get your hopes up. Rather how about your magic?"
Leonardo too stood up again, raised the lantern and walked into the darkness clearly signalling me to follow him.
"I am all out, I cant cast the curse for even a second longer. But waiting would be in vain as it takes some time to regenerate my magic, we should just keep moving. I am quite certain that there are no more dangers, and there is something interesting anyway."
It was dangerous, we were far from our peak condition, I am unsure if I can even run and we are both tired, but maybe because of overconfidence or just the trust in my education and tools I still followed. Some day this attitude would bring me in trouble.
But apparently not this time. As we walked through the darkness we soon arrived at a broken down door, thousand long since dead man with red armour and weapons littered across the floor. Sadly the weapons long lost they're functionality, maybe by the wear of time or some strange magic.
Walking through the broken door we arrived at a giant dome overgrown with wildlife and lit up by the soft glow of a strange moss. The dome itself was probably once a big cave, and later carved out further by its inhabitants. Inside the walls were arched doors windows and decorative carvings, the structures reaching almost all the way towards the celling. This was a once lived in city wholly underground. It was certainly astonishing.
But on a second glance, the place showed its history and age. Allot of the walkways were broken, the doorways lacking any doors, and everything was covered in plants. And although I could not see any corpse there were obvious traces of battle present, holes and craters formed by the impact of spells were all over the place.
The child was just quietly standing there in awe, ever since the fight with the bone serpent he had been awfully quiet, but now I could hear a gasp escaping his lips. So the shock did not break him at least.
Looking at Leonard I could see melancholia, sadness?
"Follow me"
We started walking towards one of the doorways, I did not know why or where we were going, but I knew that the atmosphere was not suited to ask questions.
Then going through ways halls and tunnels we progressed forward, some where big enough to fit hundred of people through while others were small and cramped. While we were walking it became more and more apparent that my previous assumption was correct, even some of the statues were broken down and taken away, much less anything else. And while I was interested in the murals and wall paintings, they would only serve as a history lesson, for which I had no time.
The only thing that was seriously strange was the lack of any animal, and apart from the bone snake we encountered, we found nothing at all.
It was also interesting to see the child being able to keep up with us, he had an almost inhuman stamina.
Finally after walking for almost two hours, we arrived at an particular mural. It depicted a moonset, as strange as that may seem. Why strange? Well all over the city were the depictions of Hero's, epic battles and rulers. This almost sad piece of art did not fit within the setting.
Although I could not feel even the slightest presence of magic, I ws sure there was something interesting in there.
Suddenly Leonard took out a hammer ad chisel and began to deconstruct the wall. Shocked I just stood there and watched as it was already too late.
A ten minutes later he uncovered a mettle plate around fifty times fifty centimetres big. On it were strange rune like figures engraved.
"what is that, how do you even know where to find it?"
It was certainly suspicious, if it were any other person, I would have already suspected them of having some utterly motives, but Leonard was different, he was under contract.
"That is a map, it depicts hidden locations, places where either knowledge or wealth was stored. The empire knew of its demise, and everything that was not necessary right at the moment was hidden away in the cave system. Much was discovered, but there still are unmensurable amounts of surprises, the empire was rich. These tablets were hidden away, so that descendant of the empire could use these things to later rebuild the empire. Obviously in vain."
That was certainly interesting, maybe we could even gain something big. But rather than some elusive treasure we could may or may not attain, I was far more interested in the metal this plate was made out of. I have never seen such a material before ,even in the vast database of earth. Maybe it was a mixture of metals we have yet to find, but that seemed unlikely. Maybe it was even a totally new material unseen before, the possibility's.
But it was not the time now to worry about any of this, we would have to go back or they might presume us dead.
The way back was shorter, and overall uneventfully. I was quit sad that we had to leave such an interesting place behind, but I would surly come back.
It was already mid way into the day, when we left the dark tunnels and were greeted by the cold and serene moonlight.
"crack"
The burned grass and pile ash that remained of the monsters corpses where the only thing still speaking of the events that unfolded at this place. In a few years nobody would remember this small tribe ever again.
I looked at the child that stood next to me and gave him a contract I had prepared during our breaks. The contract was different than the one I formed with Leonard. This one was more akin a recruitment, he would hear to me as his leader, and I would provide him with everything he needed. The termination requirement was also different than Leonard's, It would be entirely my decision.
I may seem harsh, as he was still only a child, but that was the only choice I could make to keep both my friend, me and my dream alive and make the investment I would need to put in him count.
I showed him the bottom of the contract where there was my signature, although he could not write, almost anything would work, as long as it was a concision action and made within the intention of permanently binding oneself to what was written on the parchment.
Maybe he understood my gestures, or it was his instincts that warned him, but I think he understood the gravity of the decision he was forced to make. A few seconds we stood there silent like this, until he finally took the contract out of my hand, bit into his finger and left a print with his right thumb.
And that was the moment his story begun.