Our sentry turned back toward us, stating, "no weapons are allowed past this point." He pointed to a series of carved cubby holes behind the guards, "hand your weapons to the guards and they will store them until it is time for your weapons to be returned."
"We will not walk into a den of chimeras without any manner of defending ourselves." Helia protested. Aeolus and Azure's grips tightened on their sword pommels as they nodded.
The sentry let out another hiss, slow and angry. "You must. Only our guards have weapons past this point. So long as you stay near me, you will not be attacked."
"And what happens to us if one of you comes at us with their claws, eh? Ya expect us just to let you slit our throats?"
"You can keep your shields and your armor. But you will not have your answers if you do not leave your weapons."
Sera gently patted Helia on the shoulder, turning to face our group. "I don't like it either. But we need answers. Besides," she said, eyes aflame, "we're not completely defenseless."
Helia gave an irritated sigh, then returned her sword to its scabbard. "Fine." She turned to face the guards. "But if anything happens to us or our weapons, I will claim your lives as forfeit."
Just as irritated, Azure and Aeolus followed suit, their eyes promising pain to anyone who dared mess with them. Slightly nervous, a guard leaned his spear against the wall and accepted their weapons, gently placing them into the cubbies before the other guard finally let us pass. The sentry picked up a torch left in another set of carved cubbies and lit it before leading us down the tunnel. As the most defenseless person here and the most likely to die if we were attacked anyway, I went first, followed by Sera, Helia, Aeolus, Azure, and Sky. We walked for a time down a narrow hallway, the carved walls close enough that if I extended my arms, I could touch both walls.
The cave path was frequently intersected by offshoot tunnels or caverns of various sizes, each of which appeared to be hand-carved and, if populated, were lit by torchlight. Visually, it reminded me a lot of Derinkuyu, though likely on a much smaller scale. I couldn't see the full extent of how large the underground city was, but our path was relatively large and seemed unending. All of the chimeras we passed were the human-dragon types described in Sky's scroll of notes. The vast majority appeared to be in their late teens and early twenties, though of various sizes, skin colors, scale colors, and horn types. They eyed us as we passed, visibly ready and willing to tear us to shreds if we stepped out of place.
Sera, Aeolus, and Sky cooly ignored them; Helia and Azure returned their threatening glances. I found myself walking as close behind the sentry as I could without treading on his heel, despite my better judgment.
His pace rapidly slowed, causing me to nearly stumble into his back. The path before us split into a T-shape, a faint glow from the left-hand path, darkness looming from the right. We took the left-hand path, walking towards its warm glow, and were nearly blinded as we turned the corner. Afraid I'd stumble into and be killed by our irritated sentry, I stopped, giving my eyes time to adjust to the influx of light. Slowly, I began to make out feathered wings from the source of the light, followed by a human-like body shape. Once my eyes fully adjusted, I realized the obvious– in front of us was a human-phoenix chimera. Her radiating light was harsh and bright in the darkness, and, coupled with the wings at her back, she nearly had an angelic appearance. She had separate arms, rather than the typical wings only of a bird, the bottom half twisting into bird legs. Her torso was perhaps the most human part of her, though it was challenging to say as she dressed in a simple robe. The front of her face was mostly skin-covered human, with small, soft feathers surrounding the face and descending down the neckline and underneath her robe. Her eyes were light with a warm and kind fire, reminding me of the warmth Sera's eyes usually contained and contrasted greatly with the other chimeras we'd encountered. Instantly, I felt myself relax under their comforting warmth, and I respectfully entered the room, trying and failing not to stare. Her gaze landed on me, and she smiled warmly, eyes crinkling with mirth.
Those kind crinkles ironed out as her gaze landed on the rest of our group, scattered behind me.
She turned cooly towards the unnamed sentry. "Augustus, why have you brought humans here? Royalty, no less." Her voice and expression had been drained of warmth, disdain dripping from every word.
To his credit, while Augustus was surprised some of our group was royalty, he made a commendable effort to recover and quickly defended his actions, stating, "They bear important news." He gestured at Sera, "tell her what you told me."
Sera obliged, and the phoenix-chimera leaned forward in contemplation. Once Sera was finished, the phoenix-chimera leaned back, tapping her fingers on her hips as she thought.
She sighed. "You were right to bring them here. Thank you, Augustus," He nodded in a slight bow. "Very well. Before I give you the answers you seek, I have a few questions of my own. But first," she said, clapping her hands, "introductions. I am Aquila, the leader of this tribe. Augustus is one of our sentries." She stopped, waiting patiently for us to introduce ourselves.
She didn't have to wait long. "As you know, I am Sera, Princess of the Phoenix kingdom. This is my guard, Helia." She gestured towards each person as she spoke, "Aeolus, Prince of the Dragon Kingdom, his guard, Azure, the Royal Mage, Sky, and a foreign noble, Hayden." I gave an acknowledging nod. Aquila's eyes lingered on me briefly, and I shifted underneath her burning gaze.
Aquila was not one to linger on pleasantries, starting a rapid-fire exchange of questions and answers, and my head switched between the two speakers as if I were watching a volleyball match. "How long have the disappearances been occurring?"
Sera frowned, thinking. "Around six months ago."
"Are the disappearances from here or from other cities as well."
"I am unsure. Our only real lead was here. However, the rumor was not specific."
"What about the attacks? How long have they been going on?"
"For about a year, I believe."
"Have they been in the city, or just the farms?"
"I was attacked in the city, but no one in the city was forthcoming on knowledge regarding the attacks or the disappearances," Sera said. Sky and I exchanged glances, remembering how threatening certain group members could appear to outsiders.
Aquila crossed her arms, eyes drifting off in thought. "I believe I understand what is going on." She finally answered, dropping her arms. "However, before I tell you, I have one condition for you." At our suspicious glances, she elaborated, "A simple task. I want you, Sera and Aeolus, to bless our newest chimera. The rest of you can go along if you so wish."
"That's it?" Aeolus asked, speaking for the first time.
Aquila nodded. "That's it."
Still suspicious, Aeolus continued, "And then you'll tell us what you know?"
"I give you my word," she said, motioning toward Augustus, " Augustus will show you the way."
He grimaced, fangs glinting as they reflected her light. "Milady, I'm not sure-"
With a firm, calm voice, leaving no room for argument, she interrupted him, "Augustus."
Still clearly unhappy, he bowed to her. "...Yes, Milady." He bowed, then gestured for us to follow him back through the winding cave. While the others stayed silent and unsure, an unusual status for them to be sure, I approached Augustus with newfound confidence. The chimeras, if they'd been so inclined, had had more than enough chances to attack us already; this made me reasonably sure they wouldn't bother now of all times.
My curiosity got the best of me, and I asked him why Aquila appeared to be the only Human-Phoenix chimera.
"There are only a handful of wild Phoenixes to start. A couple died in the experiments and a few more to your friends the last few years." Augustus said, spitting the word 'friends' like it was poison.
I thanked him, then kept my mouth shut for the rest of the walk, unwilling to draw his ire. The others didn't bother talking to him, only making hushed conversation with each other. If Augustus heard them, which I'm sure he did, he kept quiet.