As they made their way inside, the door slammed shut behind them, making the room turned pitch black. Then, torches lit in the hallway, illuminating it in blue flames. Nick looked at the torches to see that they were shaped like snakes, flames in their mouths. Nick continued down the hallway, Stella, Mahdi, and Hati following close behind when they reached an open room, where a bunch of white workers was erecting a statue of a woman. They were straining against the ropes as they lifted the head onto the statue.
"Those must be the workers of Prophetia," Stella whispered, peeking out from behind a wall. Nick shook his head and looked at them, seeing chains on their feet.
"They're slaves," He said, looking at the workers when he heard footsteps. He pulled Stella close to him and, ignoring her blush, looked out to see a woman walk into the room. When he saw her, he was shocked.
He was a tall person, almost six feet tall. But this woman was almost nine feet tall. She wore a metal breastplate and leather pants with sandals. She held a golden staff with a sharp end, like a sword, and a green amulet on the top, shaped like a wolf's eye with a silver snake wrapped around it. She had bandages covering her eyes, her blonde hair in a ponytail. She tilted her head directly at the statue and sighed, facepalming.
"Hurry! Before the master approaches," One of the slaves said at the back, directing them when the woman poked him in the back with her staff. He turned around just to see her and she smiled, with no humor.
"No need to worry," She said, making him shake. Her smile disappeared and she tilted her head at the statue, where the slaves stopped working.
"I have given you all you need for success and you still fail me? The statue was supposed to be completed by now," She said. He gulped and started to explain.
"It is a massive task you have set before us. Master, my brothers, they need food and rest," He said when she slammed her staff on the ground, silencing him.
"You. Have not. Been asked to speak!" She yelled and, with a swift spin of her hand, she drove her staff into his head, killing him. She pulled it out and his body dropped to the ground with a thump. She looked at the slaves, who refused to look at her face.
"Who will be next?" She asked before she pointed her staff at one of the slaves, who cowered in her prescience.
"You! You are now in charge of completing the statue," She said and the slave nodded.
"As you wish, master," He said. She tilted her head at the dead body of the slave before tilting her head back at the slave.
"I hope your work is going to be better than your friend here," She mumbled before she walked away, but not before she yelled.
"And someone clean up this mess!" She yelled, walking down another hallway. Nick stuck his head back to see Stella's blushing face. He let go of her and looked at the rest of them, nodding at the other hallway where the woman walked down.
"Hell no! Are you crazy?!" Hati yelled, making everyone cover her mouth. Stella looked at Nick, her blush disappearing.
"Nick, no offense, but there is no way we are taking on a giant woman like that!" She said, Mahdi nodding as well. Nick rolled his eyes and pointed at the hallway.
"Don't you see? We need to see Prophetia and the only way to see her is if we follow that woman," He said when Stella facepalmed.
"That is Prophetia," She said, making Nick looked at the statue, seeing the resemblance.
"Oh," He said, second guessing before he regained his composure.
"I'm going to see her," He said as he walked out making the rest of them look at each other.
"Are you sure we are going to follow him?" Hati asked, looking at Nick's back. Stella looked at him and she nodded, following him. Hati looked at Mahdi, shocked.
"Please tell me you are not going too," She said, when Mahdi nodded.
"I will follow her to the depths of hell," He said and he pulled out his curved blade, walking towards Stella. Hati sighed and walked towards the rest of them, running to catch up to the three of them. They were about to enter the hallway, two knight statues lining the wall, when the heads of them turned to her. They hopped off their pedestals, breaking the floor with their stone feet. They reached into the wall and pulled out stone war hammers, swinging them at Nick. He scattered as the rest of them backed away as the hammers slammed into the ground. Nick threw his Kusari at the first statue, it wrapping around its hammer and he pulled, ripping the hammer out of its hand. He then grabbed the stone hammer and smashed it across the face of the statue, then in the gut, then, he crushed its head with the hammer, breaking it. The second one charged Stella, Hati, and Mahdi, swinging its hammer and Stella cast a spell.
"Crepitus!" She yelled and, right in front of the statue, an explosion shook the front of the statue, making it stumble backward, it dropping its hammer. Mahdi charged the statue and threw his blade, the blade impaling itself in the statue's neck. It grabbed the blade when it ripped it out, throwing it at Hati, it bouncing off of her muzzle and she ran at it on all fours, tackling the statue, knocking it to the ground. She punched it in the face five times before she ripped its arm off, beating its head in with its own arm. After it stopped moving, she stood up and brushed the stone off of her clothes, smiling.
"Well, that was fun," She said and Nick walked over to them as they made their way down the hallway to the door at the end. He pushed it open to reveal Prophetia sitting on a throne made of silver, a woman sitting on her lap, feeding her grapes.
"Please place your offerings at my feet, I will tell if they're worthy," Prophetia said, like she said it a hundred times. He looked at Mahdi, who had Persian coins in his bag and Stella whispered to Nick.
"Let's give her the coins and we'll hear our prophecy," She said, making Nick nod. He turned back to Prophetia and looked at her bandaged eyes.
"I'll give you nothing," He said, watching as Prophetia's eyebrow raised a little.
"You come to seek out the truth, and yet you have nothing to offer? Stupid. Bold, but stupid," She said, smiling. Nick went to walk past her when she grabbed his arm, feeling the chains.
"Although, you have a good reason to seek me with that mark. Leave and come back when you have the appropriate offerings," She said, letting go of his wrist, smiling.
"I came to see you, and that is what I will do," He said, grabbing his Kusaris. She cracked her neck and smiled, gripping her staff.
"Shame. I would've loved to hear your story. Kill him," She said, slamming her staff down. Suddenly, the doors swung open and eight guards with spears walked in, pointing the spears at them. Hati, Stella, and Mahdi gathered in a circle as they approached them. Nick walked up to the guards, pulling out his Kusaris and the guards looked at each other, dropping their spears before running away. Prophetia facepalmed and sighed, pushing the woman off of her.
"I have to find a better slave trader," She mumbled, standing up before she broke her staff in half, teleporting in front of them, the door slamming shut behind her.
"You have sealed your fate," She said, spinning the sword.