A New Dawn 110 A request that can't be refused

Indeed, whether it was the mercenaries or the adventurers, both were employed with special rules concerning the loot found. During the initial contract, some exceptions could be made, like them getting everything or nothing, depending on the nature of the task. If it was to gather a specific material or kill a certain monster, besides the target, they could keep everything they earned.

In this case, for exploring a certain area, the general consensus was that half of the resources they could earn from killing monsters would be their, in exchange for everything found belonging to the employer. After all, the later provided the location, the transport and a fixed reward. Based on this, the percentage could change based on who was recruited and who was the recruiter.

The only few times where either the adventurers or the mercenaries could earn everything was when nations or powers rivaling them decided to use them as bait. It was the same thing that happened when several attempts were made at conquering the wild and uncharted mountains between Massalia and Avenio. This also happened a few times, when the two nations tried to enter the fallen Kingdom of Pankow. Of course, after all those years, not even the most greedy and desperate fighter dared to accept such a task.

So, when a random lord began handing them promises of wealth, one after the other, even the dumbest member of that expedition could understand that something was wrong. Therefore, contrary to his expectations, instead of rushing inside like mad wolves, the mercenaries quickly ran away and joined the adventurers. The servant of the House Blackwood was fuming in the inside, who told him that only by waving gold, every mercenary was ready to give up their lives?

"I know we have our differences and will probably not be friends anytime soon. But, why did the magician left in a hurry when he arrived here?" The de-facto leader of the mercenaries proposed a temporary peace among the two groups because he wasn't willing to die so soon. Especially when they won't even know how they died.

Kozak looked at his friends, and when he saw them nodding their heads, he agreed to the demand. "You remember the fact that the drivers were there before us? Apparently, they used a magic device to break the barrier surrounding this place. Because of this, that meant that whatever magic was inside, it might still be active. As for why he was so scared, it's the Dark Gods we are talking about ..."

The berserker purposely finished his sentence that way, making the mercenaries think about it themselves. "The 10th Circle." In less than a second, someone blurted those words loudly, but afterward, quickly put his hands in front of his mouth. He looked at the terrifying entrance, fearing that by saying it, he would be cursed. Even if his reaction was a bit extreme, the rest was not really any better.

"Hehehe, the entire world and 13 Heroes only managed to barely beat them, but we are asked to potentially enter their hidden base? Us? Hehehe" The representant of the mercenaries drily laughed at that notion. Even the adventurers in front of him were only the best in this region, not in the entire country. Fundamentally, they were strong and skilled enough to maybe survive, but that was it. Thinking about the line, he turned to look at the servant that was visibly angry.

Everyone followed his gaze, and soon, the only civilian present felt goosebumps when so many were looking at him with hatred. Sneaking a peek at the guards nearby, he convinced himself that he was not afraid of those he recruited. But as the menacing group began to walk toward him, his apprehension turned into real fright. If he wasn't so absolutely certain that the fake guards that accompanied him could handle those lawless bastards, he would have already started to run.

"What is it? Do you want to breach the contract? If you do that, I will make sure that everyone will learn that, you hear me, your reputation will be blargh!!!" Kozak grabbed him by the throat and raised him in the air. The frail servant violently began to kick with his legs, searching the ground under him. After being shaken a few times by the tall adventurer, he stood still.

The rest were all pointing their weapons at the drivers that were nearby. The latter hadn't moved at all when they saw the entire thing happened, but that didn't mean that they were not ready to fight. Even if it was five against nearly thirty, it didn't seem that they will be on the losing side. Being stuck in a standoff like that, everyone listened carefully the exchange between the two men.

"I will ask you questions. If you answer truthfully, I will put you on the ground and you will not feel any pain. If you don't, you will beg me to stop. Understood?"

"bwarg-yesh-blarg"

"Great."

Pouf

The servant fell on his back and began to massage his throat. Red marks could be seen on all his neck, proof that Kozak didn't go easy on him. The moment he got up, he almost began to order the guards to attack them but stopped when being stared by the berserker. Feeling someone two heads taller looking at him, he knew he would not be able to escape him. Feeling shame for the first time since he had promoted to this position, he still harbored a polite smile, hiding his heinous thoughts beyond a mask.

"Did you knew that magic will still be active inside this tomb?"

"No ... I mean, yes, yes." He tried to lie, but seeing the two huge hands heading for his throat, he could only submit for the time being. The mercenaries were now looking disdainfully at the one that was supposed to supervise them.

"Did you enter the tomb?"

"No, or at least, I don't know about that. But the barrier was still up this morning." Since it was useless to try to fool them on such obvious facts, the servant could only say the truth on some subjects.

"Who is behind Lord Blackwood?"

The moment the berserker finished his sentence, the guards that were only on alert immediately put their hands on their weapons. As for the servant, he turned extremely pale, visibly scared to the bone. Even after a few seconds, it was obvious he would rather die than say it loudly.

"Who used Lord Blackwood to investigate this tomb?"

"You know very well I won't answer you! So fuck off and go back to your miserable dirty hole that is your home!" Never once he looked at Kozak while swearing. Obtaining the answer he wanted, the later knocked out the frail servant with one punch. Afterward, he joined the rest of the adventurers in front of the guards. His initial assumption that they were part of the troops under the orders of that lord was apparently false. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been fear in the eyes of the man he just hit.

"Who ar..."

"Why couldn't you just obediently go in and do what someone asked you to do? Stop asking questions and do that." The harsh voice of one of the guard cut short the attempt of dialogue between the two sides. "Anyway, why am I even talking to you, Delanda!" Even if neither the mercenaries or the adventurers understood the last word, they quickly saw what it brought upon them.

Surrounding them, numerous silhouettes covered in dark clothes were aiming at them with crossbows and bows. Prior to this, not even one of them managed to spot even a trace of their presence. "Let me go, I am a mage of ... Oh." The previous group of adventurers that tried to flee was caught and brought here as well. Seeing this, everyone could only have dark faces, because it meant only death or success.

"See, now, would kindly enter this tomb and explore it?" Even if the guard tried to speak nicely, his contempt was clearly audible. Threatened by so many weapons, there were no chances for them to escape. But as the adventurers began to walk with the mercenaries inside the tomb, he fake guard stopped them.

"Not so fast, the mercenaries go in first. In two hours, they will be able to leave and have to bring something out. Then, it will be the turn of the adventurers. I don't want for you to be all killed on the first day." The hateful glares he received brushed on his uniform like it was nothing. Resigned to their fates, the mercenaries approached once more the door, looking at it like it was the grim reaper itself.

Rumble rumble CLONK

Without even touching it, the huge gate opened itself on a dark hole where no light could enter. Even the dark shadows were truly shocked by that, but, in his outfit of a guard, the one responsible for this entire thing still gave the order. The elected leader of all the mercenaries could only take the first step, disappearing from the outside after walking for a few seconds. The rest followed after him, not daring to be separated.

Contrarily to what they guessed, they entered a superbly decorated room, illuminated by bright flames. The only singularity was the fact that those flames were levitating near the walls and were not supported by anything. But after looking at it a few additional seconds, they noticed the support a few centimeters under it. Even when they tried to approach it, they could only stare at the empty space between the light and the support.

As for trying to take it off the wall, the room was huge. Like the gate outside, it would take nearly three humans standing on the shoulders of the one under it to touch the ceiling. And the flames were clearly out of reach. Besides the weird torches, or that was how they called it, the room was actually quite empty. Statues like the one found outside were present, always as terrifying. There were a dozen of those, and the pressure they brought on the mind of the mercenaries was extremely important.

It was only the first room, but no one dared to go beyond the middle of it. Knowing that they had to bring back something, they looked around and saw the two passages on the other side of the place. But without a light in them, only darkness could be seen. Following their thoughts, they could only do two things. Trying to break one of those magical torches or grab the weapon out of the hands of a statue. Because, even if the floor was graved with beautiful drawing and visibly impressive events, that was after all only stone. They did not hope that someone as brutal as their kidnapper would be touched by it.

Klik Klak Klok Klic

The sounds of bones moving resonated in the vast room. Thinking the worst, everyone got ready to fight, only to see a few skeletons clumsily approach them. They were dispatched in the blink of an eye, only creating even more confusion. Was that all this tomb had, or something more powerful was hiding deeper inside the lair? They were, after all, in the very entrance, it was not unheard that sometimes, it was the least protected area.

Not forgetting the real threat in the outside, they helped each other at reaching a sufficient height to grab one of those flames. Because of this location, they were extremely careful and that saved one of them from a grave injury or maybe even worst. The thief that was raised several meters away from the grounds by his friends first wanted to touch the metallic support. Renouncing at the last second at this idea, he used a random expendable dagger to touch it.

The liquid metal that was formed the moment his dagger had contact with the support was barely dodged by those under him. Unfortunately, that made the thief fall head on the ground and he got the breath cut. Because it was not the first time he fell, he managed to avoid any injuries. Helping him at getting up, they could only look at the wall, regretting the missing opportunity.

Because they couldn't even make a dent on it before losing their weapons, they could only switch their target. Encircling a statue, those with hammers began to hit the terrifying demon it represented. However, after only one swing, they were all paralyzed by fear, their muscles froze. They sought shelter in the middle of the room, the place the farther away from any of those nightmares.

Even after cheering them up and comforting them, none wanted to hit the statue even one more time. A few others took their places but suffered the same fate. Like that, they were facing a huge dilemma. Continuing a bit the exploration and face something worst that was basically normal things, or try to plead their cause.

In the end, they spent the remaining of their time inside the room at debating what part of the wall they were meant to present. If some of the scenes they were seeing made sense, most were so strange they could not find the beginning or the end. For example, one one, a huge ball was getting fractured under some sort of ray, from the outside of the picture. What kind of magic could accomplish such a thing? What was the ray, what was the ball?

After reaching an agreement, they put their eyes on something that could potentially interest someone. It represented two demons similar to the one represented by the statues. Both were gravely injured, but one looked like he was turning into something else. From his missing arm, something else was growing and the pig head was no longer recognizable. The other demon looked pained by that sight and was trying to prevent it. As for what lead to this, they couldn't find the reason.

The moment they left the tomb, they saw the darkening face of the guards. Seeing so many mercenaries carrying such a large stone, every gaze was on what was sculpted on it. "Are you fucking kidding me? You spent 2 hours, and all you picked up was a fucking stone? Did you thought I would not kill you myself if you don't do what I said?"

Chapter end