Excalibur's Seven - Chapter 27: Chapter 27

WHEN THEY ARRIVED IN the North, the sun was low in the sky, painting the heavy clouds in deep shades of pink. It was the middle of summer, but the ground was covered in heavy snow, icicles hanging from the trees they'd been traveling in for awhile now.
It didn't help that they were walking through tall mountains, far closer to the sky than they would be anywhere else. The North was known for its impossibly high mountains, so high that the snow never melted in some places.
Eurion was perhaps the most miserable, though Giselle was not far behind. She was so used to the hot sands of the Southern Deserts, which reached temperatures hotter than Avalon would ever experience, even on the Summer Solstice.
Kit gave his cloak, providing Eurion with another layer of warmth, though he himself was trying not to let his teeth chatter. She didn't deny his kindness, because she knew him well enough by now to know that he wouldn't take it back if she had a blade to his throat.
"Thank you," she murmured, wrapping the cloak around herself, snuggling closer into Chalice's back. The druid was all bones so there wasn't much warmth there, but Eurion would take what she could get.
By the time the sun was down, the moon was already high above them, pale and bright, reflecting off the white snow and giving them enough light to see where they were going. Morgana would thrive here, she thought. She had a sense their search for the shard would be easier if he were here, but there was nothing they could do about it. They'd have to figure it out alone.
Eurion could feel her eyelids getting heavy when they came across a clearing, and she was jolted awake again by the sight of something other than trees and snow.
Laid out before them, buried in ice, was an old village, abandoned long ago. Rooves were caved in, bones stuck up from the ground, and pieces of debris were strewn about the clearing, bearing witness to a disaster from long ago.
"It looks like an avalanche," she observed, eyes scanning the remains.
"You're correct," Chalice replied, steering the horse around to what was left of a wide wall, which they used as a bridge to get to the other side of the village.
There was more over a small hill. A rock sat in the center of the decay, tall and sturdy and carved with knots. It looked like a marker of some kind.
"They were miners," Chalice said in a somber voice. "The village stood there for several decades without a problem, but an earthquake triggered an avalanche and... well, only one survived. Because he had the shard."
The druid stopped the horse, sliding down from the saddle and landing in the deep snow. They didn't seem to mind how deep it was, even as it reached their knees when they trudged towards the stone.
They took a moment to say a prayer, presumably to honor the dead. Then, their lithe fingers traced over the stone, searching the surface for a clue of some kind. They appeared to find something, returning to the others as soon as they did.
"I know where the tomb is," Chalice announced proudly, pulling themself back up and tugging on the reins.
They led the group through piles of snow and back into the woods where the snow was shallower, heading straight for the tallest peak jutting up before them. It looked like it would be full of valuable minerals and stones, and if Eurion was looking for a place to mine, she would certainly look here first.
They came up upon a clearing near the side of the peak, wooden pillars sticking up and recounting the scene of what used to be a busy mine.
Chalice slid from the horse again, motioning for the others to join. With their bare hands, bright red with cold, they brushed away the snow, exposing a closed off tunnel.
"Are we sure we should be going in here?" Eurion said. "It's probably boarded for a reason."
"It is," said the druid, now kicking at the wood and urging Kit to help. "It's the perfect cover up for a tomb they don't want anyone to raid."
Finally, the frozen wood splintered out before them, creating a hole large enough for even Kit to crawl through. Eurion shivered at the sight of the pitch black it led to.
The druid held up a hand, illuminating the dark as they stepped into the tunnel. "Come on," they whispered. "It's fine, I promise."
Eurion stayed close to Chalice, teeth no longer only chattering from the cold. The dull green light from their palm left an eerie glow on the walls around them as they wandered through the mine. Chalice seemed to know the way already, guiding them confidently through a complex maze of old tunnels that smelled of salt and mildew.
Eurion ran into Chalice's back when the druid stopped suddenly, then stuck out an arm to stop the others. Before them, she could only see one thing. Deep, far, and dark.
The druid pulled something from their pocket, flint and steel, and lit a torch on the wall. Even the torch didn't light the whole room, but the druid had a solution.
A single word in a language Eurion didn't understand passed from their lips, and one by one, torches lit on either side. More and more of the tomb was illuminated, until it reached the end of the room.
In a flash, flames erupted from the base of a massive statue. It was a woman, holding a sword and shield, large wings splaying from her back.
Beneath them was a deep pool of water, but the walls were lined with walkways that led into more tunnels, though Eurion didn't know how well she trusted them.
"So where is the shard?" Eurion asked, looking around at the tomb.
"I have no idea," Chalice said. "It was found here by the miners, though, and it never really left the area. This tomb is old."
"Is he buried here?" Selene suggested. "The man who survived. You said he had the shard."
Chalice's brows furrowed. "Perhaps. Maybe he was buried with it, that's a good point."
"What was his name?"
"Angus Clyde," Chalice answered. "He died half a century ago, so he's probably one of the newest here."
"Let's split up and search, then," Selene suggested, gripping Giselle's hand as though she was claiming her.
Eurion stuck with Chalice, following them to the first tunnel at their right. Kit and Lionel took the next one over, while Giselle and Selene went to the left side.
"These look older," Chalice said as they walked down the corridor. They knew he wouldn't be there, so they went to the next one, but it was the same.
"This one is new," Selene called from the other side. Kit and Lionel also came up empty, so they returned to the girls to search the newer graves.
Eurion didn't think they would get anywhere, until her eyes landed on a grave with no name. "Kit, help me out here," she said, moving away stubborn dirt and rock before gripping the handle of the wooden casket, yanking it way from its spot with Kit's help.
"It is him?" Selene asked, leaving her place to join them.
"I don't know," said Eurion, examining the sides of the casket for a latch. Finally, she found them, opening them up and heaving the lid open.
Dust billowed up and she coughed into her fist, waving it way and cringing at the smell that smacked her in the face.
"That's definitely a corpse," Eurion groaned, looking down at the man's remains. He wore heavy furs and was surrounded in trinkets that likely meant a lot to him in his life.
But there was no trace of the shard.
"Great," she said. "We disturbed his rest for nothing. Wonderful."
Outside the tunnel, the druid was only half-listening to the others. They were more interested in the pull of the statue before them. There was something familiar about it, but they didn't know how.
They went closer, close enough that they could feel the flames at the statue's feet, the heat battering at their ankles. It was a welcome feeling against the freezing chill they'd been traveling through all day.
"Where are you?" they asked to the shard. They studied the statue, until something caught their eye.
The handle of the sword glinted in the flames, unlike the rest of the dark stone of the statue. They couldn't quite touch the statue's hand unless they felt like falling into the murky water below, but they could sense the sparks beneath their fingertips when they reached for it.
"A little help!" they called to the others, who all came scrambling to their side.
"What is it?" Eurion asked with frantic eyes.
The druid reached for the sword again, losing their balance before they could touch it. They didn't think they would've fallen the wrong direction, but Kit caught their waist regardless.
"I think it's in the sword," they said. "The man must've had it put there before he died or something. I just can't reach it."
The druid was the tallest among them, so if they couldn't reach, no one could.
"Can you reach the arm?" Selene suggested.
Chalice got as close as they safely could, reaching for the statue's forearm. They could successfully grab it, but only with one hand.
"Kit, how much do you trust your muscles?" they asked.
"Um... enough, I think. What for?"
The druid situated him right in front of them, then turned around. "Grab me somewhere secure," they said. He wrapped his arms around their waist, adjusting his footing. "Now hold on."
They had to stand on one foot, trusting completely in Kit's strength, but they managed to catch the arm in both hands.
"Someone break it off, and hurry," they instructed. Selene found a sturdy rock from the ground, holding it up to the statue's elbow. Eurion and Giselle offered an extra hand to Kit to keep him steady.
"Ready?" Selene asked.
"Just do it."
With a vicious swing, Selene slammed the rock against the statue. It cracked, but didn't break. With another swing it cracked again, and another, and another. Chalice could hear Kit grunt behind them. Finally, Selene swung one more time, successfully breaking the heavy arm from the statue.
The weight came crashing down on Chalice's wrists, but just before they dropped it, they were pulled back onto the ledge, bringing the statue's arm, which gripped at the sword, onto the ground with them.
Selene laughed victoriously, helping Chalice and Kit up from the ground where they laid. The druid ignore the pain, picking up a smaller rock and walking up to the sword. They slammed at the stone handle, chipping away at it slowly, before the shard started to show.
They were sweating by the time they managed to pry the shard from the stone, hands cut and bleeding, but their proud grin showed how little they cared.
"We got it," they said, holding it up like a trophy.
Eurion and Kit had the same idea, throwing their arms around the druid.
"That's all very touching, but we should probably leave," Selene said.
"Right," Kit muttered, letting the druid go. He gripped Lionel's hand again, and Chalice took the lead once more, heading back for the entrance of the tomb. They took a torch off of the wall, using it to light the way through the mine.
Their relief was soon replaced by dread when the ground began to shake beneath their feet, sand falling from the ceiling of the tunnel above them.
"Did we wake up another statue this time?" Kit asked.
"Fat chance," said Selene. "Either way, we need to get out before this collapses."
The six of them took off into a sprint, making haste for the exit in a panic. They were followed by a loud crashing sound, the sound of something collapsing behind them. It compelled them faster until they reached the final tunnel.
Chalice thought they would make it, but then a zipping sound was followed by a small cry from Lionel's lips.
"No!" Kit screamed, catching the boy before he fell. Chalice turned to see him, touching a spot on the boy's chest, blooming with crimson.
"He got hit, there's arrows in the walls," Selene said. Right on cue, an arrow shot in front of Chalice's face, barely missing, then another a few feet away. They started slow, but they were getting faster now, like it took a moment for the mechanisms to catch on.
"Won't they run out eventually? We can just wait them out," Eurion reasoned.
Another tunnel collapsed in the distance, and more pebbles fell from the ceiling.
"There's no time," Chalice said. "We have to find another way to get through."
Kit took his sword, stepping close to the arrows and swinging upwards, knocking several from the air. It didn't take out nearly enough, though.
"There's a pattern," Chalice said after examining the arrows. "It's an effective one, but they're machines. They still have to ready up an arrow, so we have a few moments between each hole."
The druid took a deep breath, waiting for the moment to step forward. Two arrows zipped past either side of them, but they were unharmed.
Another tunnel collapsed, closer now, and they stepped through more arrows, then more, until they reached the other side.
"Giselle and Lionel, you're both small, go together. Move exactly when I tell you, do you understand?" they shouted across the cave.
Giselle's eyes were wide with fear, and Lionel was crying, clutching at his chest.
Chalice watched the arrows, waiting until the right moment. "Now!" they said, and the two stepped forward right before more zipped past them. An arrow got stuck in Giselle's skirt, but they made it.
"Now!" they cried again, and they stepped even closer. This time Lionel stumbled, narrowly missing another projectile. But they made it.
They were on Chalice's side after what felt like an eternity, as safe as they could be.
Eurion was next. She quick enough on her feet that Chalice hardly worried about her, and she got to the other end safely.
Another tunnel collapsed, sending dust flying into the tunnel and obscuring the druid's vision. All at once, several arrows stopped flying, but there were still too many to play it safe.
"I can't see!" Chalice cried. They did their best to explain the pattern over the loud rumbling, and after several terrifying moments, Selene was on the other side, an arrow lodged in her calf though she was otherwise okay.
Now it was only Kit stuck on the other side. The tunnel was collapsing behind him, getting closer, but Chalice could no longer be heard over the sound. He was on his own.
They could faintly see as the prince raised his arms to the sides of his head for protection before he ran straight through the tunnel like a madman.