Kellen followed Axus to the barracks of the Thunder Legion. This legion has roughly fifty men in total, so it was quite large and grand. It was located practically in the core of the empire, right beside the senate building. In which, the Roman officials and Legionnaires would hold meetings to decide the fate of the empire and the few remaining kingdoms surrounding it.
The Thunder Barracks had a golden owl that held a silver lightning bolt in its beak situated atop a spire. The building itself wasn't very tall, with only two floors that were used very efficiently to house the Legion's members and equipment. As Kellen followed Axus into the building they passed the four stone columns that stood erect in its entrance, holding the slanted tile roof above their heads.
"This is your new home." Announced Axus while gesturing to the interior of the barracks.
Kellen gaped in amazement at the interior. There were weapons of all kinds lining its walls, although Kellen noticed that spears made up the majority of them.
'I imagine that the influence of our Legionnaire here probably has something to do with all the spears.' Chuckled Kellen to himself as he followed Axus further into the barracks. There were a few soldiers of the regiment busily tending to the weapons and completing various other tasks.
"Daren!" Shouted Axus as they made it to the center of the building.
From a desk with large bookshelves encompassing it, a brown haired head with a few strands of gray beginning to appear in its mess raised from its work.
"Yes Sir!" Replied the stressed looking man.
"I thought I told you that we would probably be having a new recruit coming around here soon." Said Axus as he walked over to the desk and tore the bronze spectacles off of the man's face.
"I know, I know, but it's been nothing but chaos around here since you ran off to the academy for a while." Complained Daren, who rubbed his eyes that had dark circles beginning to form underneath them.
"Kellen, this is our lousy lieutenant, Daren." Introduced Axus.
"Pleasure to meet you sir!" Replied Kellen while bowing his head in respect.
"Ah, he reminds me of a certain someone… Where did you find this most recent runt?" Commented Daren while he inspected the new recruit with interest.
"Just another stray that Strom picked up." Stated Axus while shrugging his small shoulders.
"Oh! Strom found him? How's that brat doing nowadays? He never stops by to say hello anymore." Grumbled Daren.
Axus walked over and strongly slapped the slumping man's back, causing Daren to reveal a forced smile.
"I mean… It's great to have you aboard, recruit!" He said through clenched teeth.
"Uh, likewise…" Answered Kellen.
"That's better." Said Axus before walking over to the desk with papers scattered over its surface.
"So did we get any more intel on the artifacts, or did the last bastard we have locked up kill himself too?" Emotionlessly asked Axus while studying the papers.
"Right, as you guessed, he died last night in the cell. However, the letters we sent out to the city-state kings finally arrived last night, and from them, I was able to locate the possible whereabouts of a few remaining artifacts." Answered Daren while pointing out a few letters in the mess of papers.
"Good. What about the last artifact we have locked up after the break-in?" Questioned Axus while looking back up from the papers.
"It is still in our possession. Although… Something weird has been happening with it lately." Replied Daren with uneasiness in his voice.
"What kind of weird things?" Asked Axus with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, the strange gem that they all have has begun to… pulse." Described Daren with difficulty finding the right words.
"What do you mean pulse?" Asked Axus.
"It's probably better if you just take a look for yourself." replied Daren as he escorted Axus to the barrack's vault.
"Oh, Kellen, you tag along with us as well." Instructed Axus.
Daren stopped and turned back to the legionnaire in surprise.
"Really? Should we really be letting a new recruit in on this?" Questioned Daren, as he snatched the bronze spectacles back from Axus's hand.
"He's already fought against some of those rats from the Order. Actually, I've personally gauged his strength already, and I can guarantee his capabilities." Replied Axus while pushing Daren's lower back, causing the lieutenant to stumble forward.
"That's not what I'm saying you idiot." Complained Daren as he proceeded to lead the group.
"Well, I don't really care what it is you are talking about if it isn't about this artifact." Stated Axus as he smacked the lieutenant with the butt of his spear.
"Don't worry, I can keep a secret. Besides, Strom has already told me a lot about the situation with the cult." Reassured Kellen as they walked.
The group stopped before a large steel door. It had a thick metal handle and a very large round keyhole beneath it. Kellen was confused when he saw the large keyhole and wondered how massive the key to open the vault must be.
However, he felt stupid after seeing the legionnaire swing the golden spear off of his back and thrust it into the hole. Axus twisted the spear slightly before letting go of it, because the lock mechanism began to turn the spear on its own. Some clicking noises echoed from within the door before ending with a final click and the door swinging open.
Inside the vault there were multiple pedestals, most of which were empty, minus the one in the middle. On top of this pedestal stood a brooch with a shining red and black gemstone situated in its center.
The strange gem was emitting an ominous red glow that pulsed while the three men entered the vault. Kellen felt a sudden attraction to the glowing stone as they approached the pedestal.
"See what I'm talking about." Said Daren while gesturing towards the brooch.
Axus stood on the tip of his toes and peered over the lip of the pedestal in order to see the pulsating brooch.
"Damn, Daren. Couldn't we have gotten some shorter fucking pedestals?" angrily asked the frustrated legionnaire.
Daren shrugged while holding back the urge to laugh.
"Anyways, how long has it been doing this?" Asked Axus.
"Eh, I'd say roughly since about the time you went off to the academy." Replied Daren while trying to remember what time the phenomenon began.
"And have you discovered anything else unusual regarding this thing since then?" Questioned Axus while poking the pulsing red veins of the jet black gem.
"Well, not since looking at it now. It wasn't pulsing this crazily until both of you showed up." Pointed out Daren.
Kellen tried to resist the urge to walk over and snatch the brooch. Ever since he had stepped foot into this vault, it was like the gem was calling out to his entire being. His blood felt hot and his heartbeat picked up as he stared at the familiar gem.
Without realizing it, he reflexively raised his hand towards the brooch from behind Axus, who now had the brooch in his hand to inspect it more closely.
"Yeah, this is some crazy shit." Stated Axus while nodding before tossing the brooch over to Daren.
Daren carefully caught the brooch before shooting an annoyed glare back at his careless superior.
"Yeah, no kidding. Can we not throw this strange throbbing artifact across the room though? Who knows what this thing can do." Daren angrily replied while taking a closer look at it himself.
"Whatever, what do you think, Kellen?" Asked Axus, who turned to Kellen, who was still entranced by the brooch.
"Hey! Kellen!" Shouted Axus while nudging the entranced kid.
Kellen came back to his senses after the shout and contact. He struggled to remove his sight off of the brooch, but finally managed to when Axus stepped between him and the artifact.
"You good?" Asked Axus, but without any concern present in his expression.
"Yeah, I just got lost in thought." Replied Kellen.