We waited and waited until it was time to get some sleep after Ari spent her time melting the ice and we listened to the radio, not really knowing what we could do to assist Ari, except offer words of encouragement since we knew little magic. It was then I woke up to crunch of snow being close. I got up and grabbed my pistol, dragging myself out and pointing it at where the sound was coming from, only to see Irene and then letting out a sigh, then asking, "What took you so long?"
"Scouted where that truck was. It was about ten miles out from our position and they set up a camp underneath some barrow, but it wasn't marked as one that had an artifact."
"It's bloody two in the morning, Aunty Irene... get some sleep will ya?" I grumbled before going back to bed.
I woke up crawling out the tent and then I looked about to see the growl of massive bombers overhead and small boats coming up the fjords filled with Isles troopers and with that, Ari, Harry and Irene were out the tents and watching above and below. I ask, "Surely the Kingdoms' troops wouldn't come this swiftly."
"They did..." Irene commented
Then I saw those orcs from the truck coming for us as they shouted in orc, "Gro'az uruk naz Colgaaaa!"
I scrambled for my gun, trying to shoot them down, but only it ending with a sword being rammed through my chest as I watched Ari being stripped of her clothes, Aunty Irene being violently stabbed after fighting off a few and Harold fleeing from the bloody scene, then being shot down.
It felt like everything was in slow motion; I watched on in horror and giving pained dying shouts and breathes as the sword got removed from me, laying on the cold floor, painfully clutching the cold snow then seeing the winged goddess of war, Asinia spear and slay all the orcs before she carried my dying body on her shoulder with Irene's into the heavens and into the Afterlife.
I screamed while clutching where I got stabbed before Ari came running in and then asking, "What's wrong?" She looked distressed and then pulling my hand away and then seeing there was no stab wound and then asking me, "Post Trauma?"
"N-no... something worse... I don't want to talk about it, Ari..." I said in pants before Ari hugged me tight to her body as I cried, squeezing her and not letting her go, that nightmare being too much for my mind to handle and my emotions feeling out of control as Harry and Irene peeked in.
Harry then asking curiously, "Are you alright, lad?
"I'm alright..." I muttered as I tried to calm myself from the horror of the nightmare that was so vivid and real that my body gave me a phantom pain, which bolted from the body.
I then got up and then got my boots and jacket on before sighing and then Ari asked, "You sure that you don't want to talk about it?"
"No... I'm fine... honestly. I really don't want to talk about it." I declared strictly, leaving my tent and then checking my watch before saying, "We have work to do."
Everybody nods as we get into our harnesses and put our equipment on, making a move for the edge of the cliff, roping ourselves up and climbing down onto the outcropping and looking at the cave that Ari opened.
Ari then mentioned to us, "I found out the reason why you two couldn't crack open the ice with your picks. Turns out there was a magical barrier that I had to break open by using the same spell that I used to part the river when Joseph and I escaped from the orcs hunting us down when we were still in the army."
Then I sparked on to something "Much like when Aeryhn parted the Gessian sea to show her the strength of her magic in the armour."
"Then we must be at her tomb even though the great stonework and such has eroded and got knocked away." Harold said rather excitedly as he then turned to us while walking.
We switched the torches on the strap of our small backpacks and went further into the cave. The cave walls had patterns, getting more intricate as we went further into the cave, before meeting this immense, untouched iron door—two ancient torches still alight and I said, "It's a tad odd that the torches are still light after two thousand years of this tomb laying dormant."
"Apparently some people or the dead relight the torches as a sign of respect to the ancestors. Happens usually once every ten years." Irene says.
"Bit like how we celebrate Restarin every year during Sun's Dusk?" Ari asked
"Aye, they celebrate that but they also make sure some tomb entrances are well lit so it scares away evil spirits." Irene added.
We then came to hauling open the massive heavy iron doors that haven't got opened in probably two thousand years. A rush of warm air hit us and the scent of musty wet moss, dust and damp stone hit us as we opened to see a massive feasting hall, abandoned but well-lit, as there are plates and cutlery that looked untouched; bookcases made from the same material as the door.
Helmets and swords from an era long gone, left on the tables with all sorts of old coinage. It was amazing, but frightening how well preserved everything is, although layered with dust. I gave a few coughs as we searched, looked around and readied our rifles, taking the safety off. You never knew what was around the next corner. I fought many a creature in the many campaigns I have been in and the undead was rarely one.
Harold looked fascinated and studied the sculpted murals on the walls and the statues of the ancient heroes but in the dead centre stood the marble statue of Aeryhn herself in her armour, holding a ball of flame in one hand and water in the other, the paint slightly worn and faded but I could imagine what it looked like with the colours.
This statue alone is a testament to what the heroine was and how much influence she had. Aunty Irene then joined me as we looked at the statue. It was huge: a towering fourteen-foot-high statue, with plates of gold on the armour and the pipes and blue flames in glass balls on the chest, shoulder and thigh armour but the one thing out of all that captured my eye was the glowing blue eyes inside the golden helmet, staring down at us as we looked up.
The feasting hall was truly a sight to behold. To think nobody has seen this hall in years was something special.