-- Emilio---
Emilio groaned, his ears ringing as the dust settled around him. Flat on his stomach, the world spun. Had it worked? He couldn't sense Markos or the demons. He pushed from the ground, his armor felt misshapen and heavy as he regained his feet, pulling his rifle from the stone floor. Everything ached. He looked up at the darkness above the hole, the ropes dangled loosely, waiting for them to climb back up.
Why didn't he sense Markos? He turned towards the tunnel peering into more darkness. He reached into a pouch at his hip and produced a light sphere. He released it into air and saw a wall of collapsed rock. Emilio walked to the wall in disbelief.
No.
"Markos!" He touched the debris and tried to search for the spark that was Markos in the cavern beyond. It had been so easy before. "Markos! Can you hear me?" He yelled, hearing his voice echo around him. His hand closest into a fist.
Markos couldn't be dead. Not over this. No way.
"Come on! It's... it's just a little bit of rock! Answer me!" Emilio slammed his armored fist into the boulder as he heard no answer and sensed nothing beyond.
"You're friend is dead." A voice whispered to Emilio.
"No, he's not!" Emilio growled, punching the wall again. "MARKOS!"
Memories of all the years they trained together at the manor came flooding back. The summer before Markos left with Caelyn they'd climbed onto the roof of the manor at the widow's walk. The entire domain stretched out before them as the stars glittered like diamonds above them. A warm summer wind carried with it the scent of flowers, pine, and hickory smoke from the village. Markos's eyes were fixed on the steaking lights of shooting stars across the rich velvet of the sky.
Emilio loved being on the roof. It was a sense of freedom that only came on a hunt. It was only them and the wind. Everything that troubled them or required their attention was below. The world seemed so small despite its vastness. He longed for the day he'd march across the lands with his father's banners to see the rest of what Drassin had to offer. He sat up, hugging his left leg to his chest as Markos laid on his back, staring skyward. It was one of the few moments that they could just be without the expectations of lord and servant.
"Are you going to miss these nights?" Emilio asked curiously. Markos turned his head slightly to look at him.
"The view only gets better the higher up you go in the mountains." Markos commented mysteriously.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Emilio poked Markos in his shoulder, with a confused tilt of his head. "What's that have to do with this?"
"The higher you go, the better your perspective. You can see the path you took to reach your destination, even if it ends up becoming smaller in comparison." Markos replied with a thoughtful smile, his gold eyes glowing red in the moonlight for a moment like a cat.
"So, is that a yes? You won't be here anymore because you'll be so far above?" Emilio scratched a bug bite on his arm as he looked at Markos with some confusion.
Markos chuckled. "Yes. This is my home and I'll miss these days."
"Geesh, that's all you had to say." Emilio frowned. "You're starting to talk like the priests. Cryptic answers to simple questions."
"I'm not going to be here with your forever." Markos watched Emilio's expression with a soft smile. "What will do once I'm gone?"
"Without you, I won't need to hold back my skills! I'll be the best templar there ever was!" Emilio declared with a grin. "I'll pass you in swordsmanship and horsemanship! You'll see!"
"Oh yeah? What stops you from doing that when I'm here? Do I have to be gone for you to be your best?" There was something in Markos's voice that made Emilio pause. Was there something that was holding him back?
Sir Emilio de Arand screamed in inarticulate rage at the wall that blocked off the tunnel. His best friend was trapped inside of that cave with demons, likely severely injured. He had to do something. He fought back tears of frustration as he felt a sharp pain in his knuckles. He pulled his hand back and saw the metal of his gauntlet was deformed and bleeding. "F*ck."
Emilio reached out with his senses once more, probing the cave for any sign of Markos. Markos had told him it was possible to hide so perhaps, Markos was hiding and couldn't respond. His ears and head hurt from the effort. Alone in the cave with only one way out, Emilio made a decision. He pulled off his helmet and stared at the boulder. There was a crack and bloody indent in the stone. He took a deep breath, and coughed damp dust.
His head throbbed less and he felt clearer. He looked upward for that bolt of lightning to strike him down for removing his helmet or some sign of movement that showed that a Whisperer had come to clean up the mess. There was nothing beyond sky and shadowy boughs. Emilio paced, considering his options. He could leave and try to get help. If Markos was trapped and injured, then he was less likely to survive if he was not extracted soon. He reached out with his senses and noticed a flicker in the cavern on the other side of the barrier. It was weak but it was there.
"Markos?" Emilio's heart raced as he probed the sensation, trying to identify it.
The fragment from his memory came back, echoing softly in Markos's voice. "What stops you?"
The spark was familiar, it was dim but it was Markos. A chill went through Emilio, was his friend dying?
No.
Emilio dropped his helmet and placed both of his hands against the indent on the wall. Hadn't the Fleur talked about templars that could invoke the blessings of Teiwaz to accomplish impossible feats? It was just a rock. He could move it.
"Markos, hold on, I'm coming!" Emilio's hands trembled as he pressed against the wall. He said a quiet prayer. "Please god, let this work. Let me save my friend." He wasn't sure what to do. He grit his teeth and shoved against the rock. He strained to move it to no avail.
Emilio cursed. He couldn't give up. Markos was in danger. He knew how dangerous the plan was when he agreed to it but Emilio couldn't just leave him trapped down here.
"Leave him." A voice hissed. Emilio swatted the air by his head.
"Shut up." Emilio growled. Pushing the boulder was a no go. But he had dented it. He picked up his helmet and looked at the indent. It'd be like hitting a hammer against a wall. It was better than his fists but he's helmet would be useless afterwards. "This is a bad idea, but, let's do it, Markos."
He idly remembered what the elf had said before she buried him in rock and dirt. How had it felt? He needed that sort of power right now. He pushed his energy down into his hand clutching his helmet. As he swung the helm as hard he could into the wall. "Hesperus answer my call! Deny what Mara has not claimed."
The air trembled and smelled of lightning as the metal struck stone. The boulder before him crumbled revealing a path into the darkness and the torn cloak of a familiar set of armor. Emilio cast the helmet aside and rushed into the new opening. "Markos?!"
Markos wheezed inside his helmet, turning his head slightly as his back pressed against the remaining stone barrier. "We've had better ideas," he weakly joked, struggling up to his feet. "Let's not do that one again."
Beyond Markos, was another wall of debris and rock. His friend had been trapped in between blocked passages with no way out. Emilio grabbed Markos by the arm and guided him out. "Let's just get home."
"Always removing your helmet, what are we going to do with you?"
Emilio smiled despite himself. "Whatever. Let's try to get you out."