Responses:
To Scrat: I will try to go into abilities more in later chapters.
To silverrowan: I'll try to make further chaps longer but this particular chapter is somewhat shorter than the others.
To all reviewers: Thanksvery much for reading!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 7
Warriors of Stone
"Do you even know how it works?"
Marik shot Bakura a stony glare. "Like you, I have been doing such things all my life. And I know far more lore on such matters than you."
His long fingers traced the runes etched in the stone in a complicated pattern, then the letters began to glow and a slab of the red-brown rock slid into the wall. The assassin gave the thief a triumphant look before proceeding into the darkness.
Raising his hand, he concentrated and a globe of light flickered into existence. The passage was narrow and they fell into a single file with Marik in the lead followed by Malik, Yugi, Ryou, and Yami with Bakura bringing up the rear. The mage light penetrated the gloom better than any ordinary lamp.
A ways farther in, the tunnel opened out into a wide, sweeping hall and they all sucked in their breath, staring in something akin to awe. Images covered the walls, ceiling, and floor in tones so brilliant they appeared to have been painted mere hours ago. They showed great ladies, pharaohs, cats, deities, and various creatures of strange origin, all as elegantly done as the work in a royal tomb.
From that point on, even as the passage narrowed once more, the smooth stone was covered in pictures.
"What are these?" Yugi asked, fascinated. "It's almost like their describing a story."
"They do," Malik stated, a somewhat crooked smile twisting his mouth. "If I'm reading it aright, it's the imprisonment of these divine creatures we're after. Apparently, they reeked pure havoc." An almost wicked grin crossed his face.
Speaking of havoc, "Yami? Will you teach me how to fight?"
The pharaoh was surprised. "Of course, Yugi. But why ever would you want to learn such a thing?"
The boy shrugged, looking down at his feet. "I don't like being helpless. Like when the werewolves attacked, all I could do was run. And I'd only be a burden to you all if I couldn't even defend myself a little."
Yami chuckled, motioning for him to fall back and walk beside him. "Magical power can be divided into six major categories, then each of these can be divided ino numerous others. The general types are fire, water, earth, air, light, and darkness . . ."
As they walked, Yami explained briefly about each type of spell and continued into simple shielding and illusions.
"Quiet," Marik hissed suddenly. "Yami, would you come up here for a moment?"
In silence, Yami made his way to the front of the procession. Marik pointed to a series of glyphs that rain vertically along the rock to form an arch, cutting the paintings in half.
"It's a warning," he said quietly.
Yami examined the runes and nodded his agreement. The column of dark script seemed to glisten wetly in the light.
Marik dabbed at the marks with his index finger and it came away stained. He sniffed it and wiped it on his robes. "Blood."
Ryou shivered. "Are you sure?"
"I've seen blood shed plenty a time in my life," the assassin replied with a grim smile. "I recognize blood when I see it."
"Please proceed," Bakura muttered, eyes darting nervously, searching the darkness all around the circle of light in which they stood. "I don't like this.
No one spoke as they continued. All of a sudden, their circle of light felt very small and the blackness around them felt very, very, dark. The fear they had not felt before now crept into the air, emphasized by the way they kept glancing behind them and peering forward into the shadows.
Finally, the oppressive darkness gave way to a dimly lit cavern at least a hundred feet high and twice that in length. Standing to either side, heads reaching nearly to the ceiling were around a dozen statues of huge warriors. Armor covered their massive forms and spears were held in each of their huge hands while an axe was hung on a stone strap across their broad backs. Peeking out from slits in their granite helmets were the faces and eyes of animals.
They all held their breaths as they stepped inside. A long moment passed and Yugi let out his breath in a very audible sigh.
Bakura snorted, walking straight up to one of the statues and tapping one of the claws on its bootless feet. "I can't believe I was actually afraid something would happen. Warning, hah."
Marik cleared his throat and pointed behind him.
Bakura turned, eyes widening, just in time to dive away as the axe came swinging down.
The ground shook as the stone blade crashed into it, leaving a sizable dent with cracks running off to the side. The statue straightened and stepped forward, the earth trembling with every step.
"Actually thought something would happen, did you?" Malik panted, throwing himself back to avoid being flattened by an immense, clawed paw as the other statues began to come to life. "Well, I'd say you were right before you changed your mind."
"There's a door," Yami interjected. "At the far end."
"Yeah," the white-blonde teen retorted. "And there's a giant, sword- swinging freak right in front of it."
"Make that two," Yugi corrected.
"Let's make a break for it," Ryou suggested. "The longer we stand around chatting, the more active these things get."
"Agreed."
Yami drew his sword with a soft incantation. "I doubt ordinary weapons will phase them." He pointed to a symbol carved on the wall. "That rune cancels out defensive magic."
"There's another one carved on the floor beneath us that cancels out attack spells," Bakura added. "Lucky for us, it's been broken. And some time ago by the looks of it."
"Yeah, lucky us."
Malik yelped as an unexpected sweep of an axe handle sent him sprawling and the blade came chopping down toward his head.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Seto Kaiba."
Seto looked back sharply, blue eyes flashing. "And you are?"
A man stepped from a side alley, dressed in the mismatched, slightly rough-edged clothing of a bandit. One eye was covered by a black patch and a red bandana was tied around his head. "You know he's not dead."
Seto's opinion of the man dropped immediately and he sneered. "So what?"
The man's single eye narrowed accusingly. "His Majesty will kill you when he finds out."
Seto's mouth twitched derisively. " 'If' he finds out. And of couse, you aren't going to tell him.Are you?"
He saw the other's jaw clench angrily, yet there was an air of triumph when he spoke. "Pegasus is the king now. There's no place for 'dear Prince Yami' anymore. Tell him that if you see him, traitor."
Seto spun, his hand glowing in an orb of blue-white power and eyes blazing with fury, backing him against the wall. "Traitor? You dare call me a traitor? Look at yourself! Everyone in the castle! All so disgustingly 'loyal', so thirsty for power and position. The moment the crown exchanges hands, they're groveling and pleading their undying faith. And you call me a traitor!"
There was a satisfying spark of fear in the man's eyes now.
"Listen, and listen well. I am the High Priest. Never forget that point, filthy scum. I will always hold more power than people like you. Choose your enemies wisely. One word to Pegasus and I'll feed you to my dragons alive."
The glow brightened. "Understand?"
The man gritted his teeth but nodded.
"Good."
The glow faded and Seto deliberately turned his back. It would be dark by the time he reached the tomb.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The final blow never came.
One violet eye opened a slit to see the gleaming axe head millimeters from his nose. Crabbing out from beneath the weapon, which looked even more lethal from such intimate distances, he scrambled to his feet.
"What happened?" Ryou asked, confused.
About thirty seconds ago, everything had stopped. The statues stood still now, motionless, caught in whatever pose they had been doing only thirty seconds before. And the rapid darkening of the room around him was absolutely no comfort.
~ Turn back. ~
The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once, booming in their ears and whispering in their minds.
"Who's there?" Yami demanded.
The voice did not answer. Instead, it repeated what it had said before. ~ Turn back. ~
"We refuse."
There was a pause. ~ State your name. ~
"My name is Yami. And my companions are Yugi, Ryou, Malik, Bakura, and Marik."
~ Why have you come? ~
"To seek the power to save my kingdom."
~ Will you vow that your reason is true? ~
"Yes."
~ Then step forward to face your Judgment. ~
"Are you mad, Pharaoh!" Bakura hissed as Yami made to step forward. "These-things-try to kill us and you volunteer to let them try again at the first chance they offer?! You're free to risk your neck all you want, but the rest of us have our lives to think about!"
Yugi jumped as a deep, ear-splitting laugh rung around them, vibrating in their bones.
~ Calm yourself. All of you will face the judgment of the power in this place. If your hearts proves true and your purpose just, you will be allowed to proceed. ~
"Why should we trust you?" Marik countered. "We don't know anything about you. You at least know our names. You could start by explaining who you are!"
~ I am a mere defense, a mechanism set to judge those who attempt to control the power ordained forbidden by the gods. I am a mere memory, a whisper from the past sent forth to test you and all those who have come before or may come after. ~
A circle of light flowed around their feet. ~ Mayhaps you will be the ones to pass the Trials. ~
Yugi shut his eyes against the intensifying brilliance, but strangely, it did not hurt as he had expected. There was a feeling like being-not quite physical, then darkness.
The door at the far end now stood open.
"Come on," Ryou urged, steering a dazed Yugi forward by the shoulders. "Let's go before It changes its mind."
But as he reached the doorway, the small boy could not resist turning to look back.
There was no sign that anything had happened. The cracks in the ground had vanished and their attackers were back where they had been, standing on either side of the vast hall, as still and silent as statues.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
To Scrat: I will try to go into abilities more in later chapters.
To silverrowan: I'll try to make further chaps longer but this particular chapter is somewhat shorter than the others.
To all reviewers: Thanksvery much for reading!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Chapter 7
Warriors of Stone
"Do you even know how it works?"
Marik shot Bakura a stony glare. "Like you, I have been doing such things all my life. And I know far more lore on such matters than you."
His long fingers traced the runes etched in the stone in a complicated pattern, then the letters began to glow and a slab of the red-brown rock slid into the wall. The assassin gave the thief a triumphant look before proceeding into the darkness.
Raising his hand, he concentrated and a globe of light flickered into existence. The passage was narrow and they fell into a single file with Marik in the lead followed by Malik, Yugi, Ryou, and Yami with Bakura bringing up the rear. The mage light penetrated the gloom better than any ordinary lamp.
A ways farther in, the tunnel opened out into a wide, sweeping hall and they all sucked in their breath, staring in something akin to awe. Images covered the walls, ceiling, and floor in tones so brilliant they appeared to have been painted mere hours ago. They showed great ladies, pharaohs, cats, deities, and various creatures of strange origin, all as elegantly done as the work in a royal tomb.
From that point on, even as the passage narrowed once more, the smooth stone was covered in pictures.
"What are these?" Yugi asked, fascinated. "It's almost like their describing a story."
"They do," Malik stated, a somewhat crooked smile twisting his mouth. "If I'm reading it aright, it's the imprisonment of these divine creatures we're after. Apparently, they reeked pure havoc." An almost wicked grin crossed his face.
Speaking of havoc, "Yami? Will you teach me how to fight?"
The pharaoh was surprised. "Of course, Yugi. But why ever would you want to learn such a thing?"
The boy shrugged, looking down at his feet. "I don't like being helpless. Like when the werewolves attacked, all I could do was run. And I'd only be a burden to you all if I couldn't even defend myself a little."
Yami chuckled, motioning for him to fall back and walk beside him. "Magical power can be divided into six major categories, then each of these can be divided ino numerous others. The general types are fire, water, earth, air, light, and darkness . . ."
As they walked, Yami explained briefly about each type of spell and continued into simple shielding and illusions.
"Quiet," Marik hissed suddenly. "Yami, would you come up here for a moment?"
In silence, Yami made his way to the front of the procession. Marik pointed to a series of glyphs that rain vertically along the rock to form an arch, cutting the paintings in half.
"It's a warning," he said quietly.
Yami examined the runes and nodded his agreement. The column of dark script seemed to glisten wetly in the light.
Marik dabbed at the marks with his index finger and it came away stained. He sniffed it and wiped it on his robes. "Blood."
Ryou shivered. "Are you sure?"
"I've seen blood shed plenty a time in my life," the assassin replied with a grim smile. "I recognize blood when I see it."
"Please proceed," Bakura muttered, eyes darting nervously, searching the darkness all around the circle of light in which they stood. "I don't like this.
No one spoke as they continued. All of a sudden, their circle of light felt very small and the blackness around them felt very, very, dark. The fear they had not felt before now crept into the air, emphasized by the way they kept glancing behind them and peering forward into the shadows.
Finally, the oppressive darkness gave way to a dimly lit cavern at least a hundred feet high and twice that in length. Standing to either side, heads reaching nearly to the ceiling were around a dozen statues of huge warriors. Armor covered their massive forms and spears were held in each of their huge hands while an axe was hung on a stone strap across their broad backs. Peeking out from slits in their granite helmets were the faces and eyes of animals.
They all held their breaths as they stepped inside. A long moment passed and Yugi let out his breath in a very audible sigh.
Bakura snorted, walking straight up to one of the statues and tapping one of the claws on its bootless feet. "I can't believe I was actually afraid something would happen. Warning, hah."
Marik cleared his throat and pointed behind him.
Bakura turned, eyes widening, just in time to dive away as the axe came swinging down.
The ground shook as the stone blade crashed into it, leaving a sizable dent with cracks running off to the side. The statue straightened and stepped forward, the earth trembling with every step.
"Actually thought something would happen, did you?" Malik panted, throwing himself back to avoid being flattened by an immense, clawed paw as the other statues began to come to life. "Well, I'd say you were right before you changed your mind."
"There's a door," Yami interjected. "At the far end."
"Yeah," the white-blonde teen retorted. "And there's a giant, sword- swinging freak right in front of it."
"Make that two," Yugi corrected.
"Let's make a break for it," Ryou suggested. "The longer we stand around chatting, the more active these things get."
"Agreed."
Yami drew his sword with a soft incantation. "I doubt ordinary weapons will phase them." He pointed to a symbol carved on the wall. "That rune cancels out defensive magic."
"There's another one carved on the floor beneath us that cancels out attack spells," Bakura added. "Lucky for us, it's been broken. And some time ago by the looks of it."
"Yeah, lucky us."
Malik yelped as an unexpected sweep of an axe handle sent him sprawling and the blade came chopping down toward his head.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Seto Kaiba."
Seto looked back sharply, blue eyes flashing. "And you are?"
A man stepped from a side alley, dressed in the mismatched, slightly rough-edged clothing of a bandit. One eye was covered by a black patch and a red bandana was tied around his head. "You know he's not dead."
Seto's opinion of the man dropped immediately and he sneered. "So what?"
The man's single eye narrowed accusingly. "His Majesty will kill you when he finds out."
Seto's mouth twitched derisively. " 'If' he finds out. And of couse, you aren't going to tell him.Are you?"
He saw the other's jaw clench angrily, yet there was an air of triumph when he spoke. "Pegasus is the king now. There's no place for 'dear Prince Yami' anymore. Tell him that if you see him, traitor."
Seto spun, his hand glowing in an orb of blue-white power and eyes blazing with fury, backing him against the wall. "Traitor? You dare call me a traitor? Look at yourself! Everyone in the castle! All so disgustingly 'loyal', so thirsty for power and position. The moment the crown exchanges hands, they're groveling and pleading their undying faith. And you call me a traitor!"
There was a satisfying spark of fear in the man's eyes now.
"Listen, and listen well. I am the High Priest. Never forget that point, filthy scum. I will always hold more power than people like you. Choose your enemies wisely. One word to Pegasus and I'll feed you to my dragons alive."
The glow brightened. "Understand?"
The man gritted his teeth but nodded.
"Good."
The glow faded and Seto deliberately turned his back. It would be dark by the time he reached the tomb.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The final blow never came.
One violet eye opened a slit to see the gleaming axe head millimeters from his nose. Crabbing out from beneath the weapon, which looked even more lethal from such intimate distances, he scrambled to his feet.
"What happened?" Ryou asked, confused.
About thirty seconds ago, everything had stopped. The statues stood still now, motionless, caught in whatever pose they had been doing only thirty seconds before. And the rapid darkening of the room around him was absolutely no comfort.
~ Turn back. ~
The voice came from everywhere and nowhere at once, booming in their ears and whispering in their minds.
"Who's there?" Yami demanded.
The voice did not answer. Instead, it repeated what it had said before. ~ Turn back. ~
"We refuse."
There was a pause. ~ State your name. ~
"My name is Yami. And my companions are Yugi, Ryou, Malik, Bakura, and Marik."
~ Why have you come? ~
"To seek the power to save my kingdom."
~ Will you vow that your reason is true? ~
"Yes."
~ Then step forward to face your Judgment. ~
"Are you mad, Pharaoh!" Bakura hissed as Yami made to step forward. "These-things-try to kill us and you volunteer to let them try again at the first chance they offer?! You're free to risk your neck all you want, but the rest of us have our lives to think about!"
Yugi jumped as a deep, ear-splitting laugh rung around them, vibrating in their bones.
~ Calm yourself. All of you will face the judgment of the power in this place. If your hearts proves true and your purpose just, you will be allowed to proceed. ~
"Why should we trust you?" Marik countered. "We don't know anything about you. You at least know our names. You could start by explaining who you are!"
~ I am a mere defense, a mechanism set to judge those who attempt to control the power ordained forbidden by the gods. I am a mere memory, a whisper from the past sent forth to test you and all those who have come before or may come after. ~
A circle of light flowed around their feet. ~ Mayhaps you will be the ones to pass the Trials. ~
Yugi shut his eyes against the intensifying brilliance, but strangely, it did not hurt as he had expected. There was a feeling like being-not quite physical, then darkness.
The door at the far end now stood open.
"Come on," Ryou urged, steering a dazed Yugi forward by the shoulders. "Let's go before It changes its mind."
But as he reached the doorway, the small boy could not resist turning to look back.
There was no sign that anything had happened. The cracks in the ground had vanished and their attackers were back where they had been, standing on either side of the vast hall, as still and silent as statues.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*