Chapter Text
Crowbone walked down the hallway to the Adventure King's treasure room, watching the fish outside the window. The hallway's glass walls — and her enhanced eyesight — let her see every detail of the flourishing coral reef outside the base's walls. Octopi swam amidst the multicoloured coral, their skin warping and changing colour constantly, a few actually latching onto the glass. Shoals of fish swam about the reef, or in some cases, away from predators.
She watched, fascinated, as a couple of blacktips dove in and out of a large school, the cloud of fish dispersing around the marine predators as they ripped parts of it out. Any fish that tried to flee from the school were eaten, or rarely, managed to escape the sharks that herded the rest back into a vaguely ball-shaped form.
Not for the first time, she questioned how the Adventure King had managed to build his base of operations here of all places. And furthermore, how hadn't it been discovered yet? This was prime tourist real estate for Bali, how it wasn't swarming with visitors was beyond her. The current difficulties on travel thanks to the Akhator War definitely contributed, but that was a recent development. Close to a decade of working here, and she'd not seen anybody that Sigurd Bodon hadn't personally invited here. Maybe he owned the area somehow? It was possible, given his vast wealth.
Most likely he'd bought the services of an organization willing to keep quiet about the whole thing. The underworld was full of groups who'd erase projects from their records for the right price.
’Maybe the Architects of Elysium?’ she mused, hand placed on her chin in thought. The group certainly seemed able to create something like this easily. She turned her gaze from the windows as she continued, colourful coral reefs being covered by stone as the base dug into the island's bedrock, the walls becoming flat, white-painted concrete separated by reinforced pillars. It didn't seem... lavish enough for it to be them though. What few projects she'd seen that they'd been rumoured to have made were a tad more extravagant than this.
Shrugging, the half-crow filed the question away. 'Something to ponder later, I suppose.' She had more important things to consider right now. Such as, the fact that the vault door seemed to lack a keyhole.
An immense slab of metal stood ahead of her, the hallway terminating at a truly immense door. One that, for all its size, and no doubt, complexity, seemed to lack somewhere for her to insert the instrument she'd been given on her arrival, and instead featured a metal plate and a keyboard. She stepped closer to read the words etched into the sheet of metal, and paused.
“...Did he seriously lock his vault with a puzzle?” Crowbone asked incredulously. A combination of ancient scripts, no two sentences the same language, stared back at her, telling her that yes, the Adventure King did , in fact secure his treasury with a puzzle. Sure, it was an intelligent way of making a secure puzzle, but anyone skilled enough to get to this point in raiding the base wouldn't be stopped by something as paltry as ancient languages.
'Also, what's the key for, then?' Crowbone wondered. The key she'd hidden in her sleeve was supposed to open the vault, but how was she supposed to use it? 'There's got to be a lock behind this. There's no way he'd actually just leave the security of his vault to a god-damned puzzle.'
Sighing, the half-crow shook her head and stepped forward to read.
It can't be seen, can't be felt,
can't be heard and can't be smelt.
It lies behind stars and under hills,
and empty holes it fills.
It comes first and follows after,
ends life and kills laughter.
What is it?
“Hmm... comes first and follows after? After what?" she sighed. "It has a presence, since it exists in the world, but it doesn't have any physical characteristics. Then how is it supposed to 'end life'?" She closed her eyes, massaging her temple. "...Well, if it can't kill anything, then 'ends life' has to mean it comes after your life has ended. It exists in 'empty holes', 'behind stars' and 'under hills'..." She paused, eyes still closed.
"...Wait. It exists before and after a life exists. So, before and after you close your eyes..." She opened her eyes again and sighed, raising a hand to punch in the answer.
The door beeped twice, and lights behind the keypad shone green, the light spilling out from behind the keys.The panel swung open, revealing a reinforced keyhole. Crowbone snorted, pulling the key out from her sleeve and inserting it. The door let out a loud series of clicks that echoed out through the hallway, and the door let out a low rumble.
The door abruptly began moving on its own, and Crowbone let go of the key as she stepped back, avoiding the slowly-opening door. She stood there for a moment, waiting for it to move a significant amount, but it still just continued inching forward, widening the crack that let her pass into the vault slowly. Sighing, the half-crow tapped her foot on the floor impatiently, waiting another few seconds before folding her wings, pulling the key out of the keyhole and ducking through the space between the door and the wall.
She stepped into the vault, feet landing on a metal platform. She turned away from the door, and her footsteps stuttered as she flinched back, shielding his eyes. Gold was reflective, but she hadn't really considered the fact that she'd be stepping into a ocean of it. The fluorescent lights mounted overhead bathed the room in light, light that made the gold sparkle and shine intensely. 'It looks great, but this is hell on the eyes.' she grumbled.
She shook her head, blinking furiously and letting her eyes adjust and squinted, half-shielding her eyes as she surveyed the room trying to find the Adventure King. There were towers of wooden crates, stacked next to and half-buried in mountains of gold, some spilling out more of the precious metal, while others exposed ancient pottery or armaments, miraculously not broken.Gemstones were equally common here, she noticed. They lined the floors like pebbles in an open field, adding their lustre to the room's shine.
"How on earth is there so much treasure in here?" Crowbone muttered. This had to be worth more than a country's entire economy, even disregarding all the ancient technology, artifacts and ruined constructs. And could you even put a price tag on the legendary artifacts she'd noticed? An ancient artifact that had to be the Chinese Iron Fan was being preserved in a transparent case, and a few meters away, a pair of oversized boots sat next to an oversized bone fishhook. Across the room, however, the half-crow found what she was looking for.
Next to a small collection of remarkably well-preserved chariots, there lay a massive piece of inscribed sandstone. She couldn't read the language from where she was, but that wasn't what had piqued her interest. What did, was the collection of books and scrolls stacked next to it, along with the man lying on top of a nearby stone fist the size of a bus.
Crowbone stepped forward, letting herself tip off the platform headfirst before spreading her wings and gliding over. The half-crow could have used the ladder attached to the platform, by she didn't need it when she could just fly over. The man gave no indication that he'd noticed or heard her, continuing to read whatever book he had in his hand, except for the near-undetectable shift in his posture.
She landed within arm's reach of him, gracefully touching down as the man shut his book and tilted his head to look at her.
“Lord Bodon.” Crowbone bowed respectfully. “I assume you have a task for me?”
“Straight to business as always.” Sigurd Bodon grinned. “I do. Here.” A plastic bag was thrown at her, which she caught between two fingers. Curious, she looked down at it, and froze.
I am the god of war.
"This is..." She breathed out, eyes still desperately locked onto the parchment.
“As promised.” He replied, his smirk audible. “Found it in some ancient scrolls back in the day. Go on, read it it won't magically flake away once you do.”
I am the god of war.
I – – blessing of light
receiv – – – shower of light will – –
The unworthy shall be as beasts.
Seek out the holy water – –
– nd become half-man – –
Search for other blessed ones
– – – – – – – – – – – – –
Feed on each other's
flesh and even blood. – – – –
The victor shall – – – – – –
complete the final evolution.
...It really was genuine, then. Years of searching, working for this man, and now it was here, in her grasp. Forcing herself to tear her eyes off the scrap of ancient paper, she looked Sigurd in the eyes and nodded sharply. "Your terms, Adventure King?"
At that, he smiled widely. The man leaned to his left, opening up a steel case. "Tell me, Miss Crowbone," he said, gesturing to its contents, "do you know what these are?"
The objects in question were a trio of neon green orbs, each radiating a soft green light. Shattered arms of what looked like a Rutherford atomic model orbited sluggishly around a black core, which raised some... interesting implications if her suspicions on their identity were correct.
They felt... familiar, somehow. She could feel some weak echo that called home to her from the orbs, though it was severely muted. It was... alien, somewhat, though. More of a second home, or a duty that called to her. She'd only seen something give off anything resembling that feeling before; Sigurd Bodon's prized daggers. A pair of bone-white daggers, made from some odd material that just screamed wrong to her. She'd only seen them a few times, and she'd never actually seen them spill blood. Almost like he was saving them to use on something.
Whatever the mystery was with those daggers though, it would have to wait.
“Are those perhaps the Star Seeds you were talking about last week?"
The man let out a bark of laughter, turning back to close the case. "They are indeed! and they're also why I'm concluding this contract of ours early. Your job is to find me information. If you find anything about the Star Seeds when you're out in the world, tell me about it. You're free to do whatever you want, and this is my only condition."
Crowbone nodded in agreement. The man definitely wasn't about to argue about this, and really, they both knew she wouldn't. What were the odds she'd run into classified Union documents anyway? She paused, thinking it over for a second. 'Probably higher than most people, honestly.' the half-crow concluded.
“And how am I supposed to contact you?”
“Take this.” Sigurd pulled something out of his coat and tossed it at her. “It’s a crystal ball, like in the Arthurian legends. Just concentrate on it, and it’ll connect to this one here,” he said, gesturing to an identical copy of the iridescent orb she’d caught.
Crowbone remained silent, looking down at the orb. It shimmered for a moment, before an image of the Adventure King’s face formed in its shimmering depths. She nodded in appreciation, meeting his eyes. “Thank you, Lord Bodon.”
“Ha! No need for that, Miss Crowbone.” The old man shook his head. “Just make sure to hold up your end of the bargain,” he continued lazily, "Or else I don't think you'll enjoy needing a reminder." He fixed her with a piercing stare as he said that, making her flinch back as her body tensed up involuntarily. The purple of his eyes deepened, endless voids staring right through her.
She nodded, not trusting herself to reply without her voice shaking, and she stumbled as she caught herself, the storm of pressure abruptly dissipating as Sigurd put his friendly facade back on. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding as she collected herself.
“Now then, I do have one last thing to tell you, if you’d care to hear it.” His voice shook Crowbone out of her daze, and she almost flinched back in surprise.
“... What is it?" she questioned, after a moment.
“Oh, nothing much really. Just some Union secrets.” Sigurd smiled brightly, this one a far cry from the one he showed off a few moments before.
“One of my informants’ plants was promoted recently, and they got their hands on some very interesting information .” He winked conspiratorially. “Did you know that No. 2 Fenrir has quite a few wolf-related powers? The documents even suggest he can turn into one! Sounds rather interesting , wouldn’t you say?”
Crowbone paused, considering the statement before replying. “I suppose it is. You want me to start there, don’t you?” It made sense, after all. She'd probably be forced to rifle through sensitive Union documents to find info on the No. 2 Adventurer, so both of them could get what they wanted.
“And what if I do?”
The half-crow sighed, shrugging. “Well, I suppose there are worse leads to start off on.”