It was a dark night and a boy was strolling through a forest route with a dagger in his right and after a few steps went into the forest.
He didn't bother to look around him and continued to stare at the ground with dull heavy eyes until he came to a stop in front of a hill.
With a little bit hesitation he continued further until his legs couldn't carry him anymore and then he turned around to see just how far he had went.
" This should be far enough." He mumbled, turning around.
He looked up and saw a gentle sloped hill which he proceeded towards and after a long walk he finally arrived at the end of it.
He slowly looked down at the steep slope at the end of the hill and thought, " no one will be able to find me here before a beast devours me."
Without hesitation he turned his back towards the end of the hill and stabbed himself with the dagger.
" This is nothing compared to the pain I've made everybody else feel." He thought as blood slowly filled his mouth, " I'm sorry Evelyn... for causing you this much pain."
While he was still in thought, he continued to step further backwards and it wasn't long before his leg slipped and he went falling.
In his very last moments, the only thing he could think of was what led to that very moment.
*****
Inside a very dimly lit room, filled with smoke and the wavering scent of alcohol, seven men were scattered around smoking pipes and drinking beer.
The room had nothing inside it but a couch and a small round table, two of the men were sitting on the table, three others were sitting on the couch and the other two were leaning on the wall.
The door to the room flung open and a man wearing a black shirt, coated with a black jacket and thick black trousers came in with a backpack above his shoulder.
He had black hair that was gelled backward, a pair of sunglasses that were covering his eyes, a wavy nose that slightly pointed downwards, thin pink lips, a fair white skin complexion, was about one hundred and seventy-nine centimeters tall, and a fairly muscular body.
" Get ready guys, cause our next job might just be our toughest one yet." He said, dropping the bag on the floor.
" Hey yo, I hope the bucks will be worth the hassle 'cause I won't take rubbish from anyone after I'm done running my legs off." One of the men sitting sitting on the center of the couch said, taking a puff of his cigarette.
" I'll explain when I'm back, for now I'll go prepare for our transport to the Azureth catacombs." He said, immediately leaving the room.
One of the men who was leaning on the wall had a packet of cigarettes by his side but it was sealed and he was only drinking his bottle of beer.
He was younger than the rest of the other men in the room and he would constantly cough violently because of the pipe smoke that had completely enveloped the room.
His eyes were slightly bloodshot red and he was turned towards the ground, the guy next to him took another puff of his own pipe before quickly stuffing it into the boy's mouth.
The boy quickly brought out the cigarette from his mouth and just as he opened his mouth wide to cough a great amount of smoke escaped from his mouth.
The guy who stuffed the cigarette into his mouth immediately took it from his hand and as he patted his back said, " I know you're new here, but you'll need this if you're going to stay as long we have in this business."
The boy managed to regain his breath and slowly turned his gaze towards him before he replied, " I think I'm fine with what I have."
" Ok dude, if you say so." He said, taking another puff of the pipe, " but you can come to me when you start wanting some more of it."
With the presence of the room now too much for him to handle he quickly stood up and approached the door while he coughed violently.
He opened the door as fast as he could and let out a huge sigh of relief the moment the cool air pierced his long tortured nostrils.
Finally, he could breathe freely once again and it was a feeling that would never get old for him, he slowly walked over to the balcony and looked down at the large kingdom.
" Azurelia? I thought that place is highly known for being sacred with the dead, getting into their catacomb will be tough."
****
A week later and they were now standing on plain grasslands, Harry, the youngest looked further up ahead and could see a large rusty gate with many symbols engraved on it.
It was dark and the cries of dead people could be heard in the cold and yet the presence of his accomplices was what kept him standing on his feet.
They were standing behind a tree and two men dressed in red shirts with badges on their chest and black trousers were lying on the floor, behind them.
They all slowly approached the door, taking each fast and carefully, they wanted to get the job as soon as possible and at the same time, they didn't want to draw the attention of anyone or anything.
" I'll unlock the gate, you guys stand guard and make sure no one comes by and sees us." Their boss ordered with a whisper.
As the boy proceeded to the side of the cave, he noticed that the cave sloped the further he looked at it from the side.
" If that's the case then it probably goes further below, there's really much to imagine about how big this catacomb actually is, but this really leaves us at a disadvantage if we're to get caught." He thought, turning his gaze to his left.
Since there was nothing there worth his attention, he continued further up the side of the cave, and after a while, his eyes widened and he slowly stepped towards a crack that was on the cave walls.
As he reached out for the edges of the crack, the dust from the cave immediately coated his hands and with a slight rub of the dust with his thumb, he turned around and went to inform the others of his new observations.
When he came to the beginning of the cave he saw a man standing there with a sword in his hands and he immediately turned towards and asked, "What the hell are you doing here, aren't you supposed to be seeing to the other end of the outer cave walls?"
" Well there were a few new things I just found out," he said, walking past the man, " turns out, some raiders managed to get here before us."
The man instantly turned his gaze toward the same direction where the boy had just come from but the light from the illuminating moon could only take his sight so far.
The boy immediately turned to his left and when the boss caught sight of him, he looked at him with a rather strange look on his face.
The boy recognizing the gaze, immediately used the back of his left palm to knock on the cave walls, he then formed a scissors with the same hand and using his long finger, went straight through the scissors.
The man's eyes widened the moment he saw the sign but he was already done unlocking the old rusted, large door and was slowly opening it in order to prevent the screeching noises from attracting attention.
As the huge doors were opened another member of their gang approached them with a torch but it wasn't lit yet.
" I know what you mean boy, but it might be dangerous to go in through the same route as them." The man said, grabbing the torch and immediately lit it.
Harry stared blankly at the glowing yellow flames, by this time every other member of their group had already joined with them but they had their backs facing the both of them to allow them to stand guard in case anyone was to approach them.
A few of them also had torches with them and they slowly entered the catacomb, Dave's eyes slowly followed everywhere the boss's torch went and it was a hell of a sight for him.
There were many strange paintings and unreadable chants written on the cave walls, the floor was dusty and rough and the sound of crickets could be heard clearly in the room. Everything about the place felt lifeless and the only life that inhabited the place were the insects that had scurried away the moment they had entered.
The place was completely dark so his gaze was only limited to the reach of the glow from the flaming torches.
" If the map is right, then Queen Azurelia's tomb should be just up ahead, her tombstone has the carving of her on it." The boss said as they approached a line of stairs that went further down the cave.
They proceeded down the stairs while cautiously looking around the place so as to prevent any unexpected encounters.
Halfway down the stairs, a skeleton figure with deep dark eyes came running straight towards them and just when it was a foot away, it was instantly sliced in half and Harry could be seen sheathing his sword.
" An undead? But how did a necromancer get in here?" They all gasped.
The question still ravaged their minds but they still continued down the stairs nevertheless, it was a long journey but they finally stood in front of it.
Their eyes widened at the marvelous drawing of a very beautiful woman on a large boulder that stood against an entrance.
Without further ado they got into action and pushed the huge boulder out of the way, with their last obstruction now eliminated their gazes were left fixed on the gold coffin lying on the pavement a few meters away from them.
Four of them, including Harry and the boss went inside the tomb room and just a few feet away, the three of them stopped leaving the boss to venture further toward the coffin.
When he came to the coffin, he slowly rubbed his hand and the moment he tried to push open the coffin, a strange invincible force was sent across the room and every single one of them, including the others outside went crashing to the ground.