Pandora Unchained B1C38: Exploring the Tomb

The entrance to the tomb was made of fine marble and carved with wavy blue-green patterns. Sorin was struck by a suffocating sensation as soon as he entered, reminiscent of being forced underwater with no air in sight. The feeling faded a few seconds, but the dread of almost drowning and the reverence it instilled remained.

So this is the power of a god, thought Sorin, tightening his fingers over his mithril dagger and tensing up for inevitable combat.

"What a massive tomb," Lawrence said as he and his companion rogue, Warren, led their group deeper into the tomb. "There's about fifty of us entering all at once, but we're still not cramped for space. Gareth might even get to shoot arrows time! Whoever made this place was rich."

"More like influential," said Sorin as his eyes wandered over the carved patterns on the walls. "These patterns are usually seen on tombs of great religious significance. Specifically, whoever commissioned the tomb must have been a descendent of the ancient god, Poseidon."

Stephan gave Sorin a sidelong glance. "I'd expect this much from my own family or from Daphne, perhaps, but never from someone from the Kepler Clan."

Sorin shrugged. "I've always found history to be interesting. I made a point of reading up on it during my spare time. Whatever fragments we had, at least."

Records of the Divine Era were rare. Only a few scattered texts remained as poor of godly existences. The countless myths they had sired or encouraged were lost to time, with only a handful of prominent names remaining.

"I never did pay attention in class," said Stephan. "Was Poseidon the leader, or was he the promiscuous one?"

"Poseidon was extremely promiscuous," Daphne cut in. "So much so that it's leaked over into modern literature." She cleared her throat. "Not that I read too much of that sort of nonsense."

Sorin gave her a strange look but nodded. "Word has it that he had over a hundred mortal offspring. As a result, modern fiction tends to invent characters and claim they're Poseidon's descendants. Or the product of humans and animals after divine intervention. Regardless, it remains that tombs with Poseidon's blessing are the most common, thereby solidifying Poseidon's reputation as a divine breeding horse."

"There are corpses up ahead," said Lawrence. "I'll go check it out." He and Warren, the second rogue in their combined team, shot off towards the front with the remaining rogues. They returned a minute later with additional information. "They're undead, by the looks of it. The teams that went in before us made quick work of them. Oh, and we found about five of the adventurers that were killed upon entering. Their belongings have already been looted."

"Have they?" said Stephan with a trace of viciousness. "It seems some people aren't respecting the rules when it comes to slain adventurers' belongings. We'll see if they keep up this foolishness when I make my report to the guild." A group of ten adventurers approached from the side just then. "Hello, Barbara. How can I be of assistance?"

"No need to be so distant, Stephan," said Barbara. "The other captains and I were just discussing potentially increasing our pace. Since other teams have already gone ahead, most of the dangers in the tomb would have already been tripped by them."

"Proceed if you wish," said Stephan indifferently. "We'll maintain our cautious pace. You never know what kind of traps might have been – "A sharp scream suddenly cut through the tunnels, interrupting him. "As I was saying, you never know what traps might have been missed. Lawrence? Warren?"

"We'll go check it out," said Lawrence, dragging Warren along with him.

Their team and the other five teams that had entered with them bunched up before a large pit that had collapsed just ahead. "Seems these two rogues weren't very good at their jobs," commented Team Oasis's leader, Nale. The swordsman was a very cynical person, Sorin had discovered during their few interactions. He didn't like him one bit. "How exactly did they even pass the guild's assessment if they couldn't sense a simple pit trap?"

"There's no need to use such sharp words, Nale," said Hellen, their life mage, before Stephan could scold him. "This place is old. There were probably issues with the traps. Things that made them difficult to notice."

Indeed, it took a team of nearly 15 rogues around 20 minutes to finally figure out the mechanism for the trap. It was so badly corroded that the first few people who'd traveled over it had broken off layers of rust instead of activating it.

"Us rogues have all agreed that we can probably expect more things like this going forward," said Lawrence upon his return. "No one wants to take the lead, so we've agreed to a rotation between traps. The frontmost teams will be migrating to the back after every exposure. This corridor is big, so we'll travel two teams wide to make sure nothing is missed and secure our retreat."

The death of two rogues increased the vigilance of the entire raiding party. Sorin's team was placed in the middle alongside Barbara's team, while Orpheus' team took point along with one of the lesser-known teams.

Five minutes later, Orpheus's team discovered a group of corpses along with a trap. After disabling the trap, it was up to Sorin's team and Barabara's team to take point.

"Everyone, be vigilant," said Stephan, shifting into bear form. "Collin, you're the secondary tank. Take the back. Nale, Sorin, attack anything that gets past me. Daphne, keep fire in your hands. Lise and Gareth, get ready to shoot when you get a chance. Hellen, conserve your energy for critical cases. Sorin will collaborate with you after combat if there are significant injuries."

"With all due respect, Stephan, there are about eight teams worth of adventurers that have already gone through this place before us," said Nale. "There's no need for such caution."

"Nale," said Stephan. "It seems we've gotten off to a bad start."

"How so?" asked Nale.

"For starters, when we agreed to team up, we also agreed that I would be in command," said Stephan. "But I find you resisting my very reasonable commands. Tell me, will you fall in line, or will you force my team to turn back instead?"

"There's no need," said Nale, stiffly. He drew his sword and adopted a two-handed fighting stance. "Let's hope all these preparations are a waste of time."

"Indeed," said Stephan. "Lawrence? Warren? Sweep the area ahead and keep an eye on the walls."

Sorin continued to inspect the walls as they advanced. There were depictions of heroic figures lost to time and memory, as well as vicious monsters that had lost their luster with the emergence of the Seven Evils and their demons.

He paid special attention to the guardian gods of Pandora. Each god had a domain they governed, and these domains were far more complex than those controlled by the Seven Evils and their nemesis, Hope. These gods had complex relations with mortals, monsters, and beasts, giving rise to countless myths, of which only a minority had been recovered to date. Of these gods, Sorin only recognized a dozen and a half despite his well-read and studious nature.

There was Zeus and the other Twelve Olympians. There was Hades, King of the Underworld, and his queen, Persephone. There was Gaia, Goddess of the Earth, and Helios, God of the Sun. And finally, there was the god Sorin's family had once worshiped, Asclepius, the God of Medicine and Healing.

How ironic it is that the Kepler Clan curses serpents and shun poison, thought Sorin bitterly. His family had once been proud of its mastery over poison and their ability to wield it in the name of healing and medicine. But at some point, one of their cultivation techniques had mysteriously vanished, forcing them to turn to life cultivation. Eventually, not wanting to be outshone by anyone else, they forced those who cultivated poison outside of the medical profession under the pretense of public protection.

Sorin only realized his distracted state when he bumped into Stephan, who'd stopped the group abruptly. Lawrence and Warren had stopped a short distance ahead.

"What's the matter?" Stephan asked the two rogues.

"We're not sure," said Lawrence. "We feel something's off, but don't know from where it's coming from."

"It's like there's danger everywhere," Warren added. "It happened just a few seconds ago."

"Daphne?" asked Stephan. The mage was already pulsing with mana as she performed a scan of the passage.

"I can't find anything," said Daphne once the glow faded. "What about you, Seffias?"

"Nothing on my end!" called out a mage on Barbara's team.

"Is there a problem?" Barbara asked, walking over.

"We're not sure," said Stephan. "But our rogues think something is up."

"Our rogue has also been feeling uneasy," said Barabara. "But he doesn't think it's a trap."

"Well, I'm not taking any chances," said Stephan. "Let's stop and try to figure this out. Take a break while all the rogues take a look."

"Get off your high horse, Stephan," said Orpheus, stomping over. "We already took risks identifying a trap, and now that you've gotten to your first trap, you want to stop?"

"I'm not going to risk my team's lives over a bit of expediency," said Stephan stiffly.

"What's the risk?" said Orpheus. "Worst case, it's a pit trap. If you're quick enough, they aren't a problem. Here, I'll show you."

"Don't!" said Stephan, but it was too late. Orpheus had already run forward. He passed the supposed danger zone without a hitch, then turned around and grinned. "See? Nothing to worry about." It was then that the floor rumbled. The ground beneath Lawrence and Warren burst open, along with the wall just beside Sorin. Corpses emerged from these entrances, putrid and hungry, and attacked their six groups from all sides.

"Zombies!" shouted Stephan, who was still in his bear form. "Sorin and Nale, protect the others. Collin, stand your ground in case any of them circle past us!" He then roared and smashed two corpses apart with a Lunisolar Paw before biting down on another corpse with his teeth.