Chapter 3
"You think this guy has some leftover coin?" A faint distant voice of a man asked.
Allendis was getting annoyed. It felt like he did nothing but sleep. Even when he awoke at the Argontale Chamber, there was nothing he could truly do.
Was it all a dream? But if so, was he alive if he had no chance of surviving a gaping hole in his abdomen.
"Check his bag. He's gotta have some Scints on him!" Another man's voice said, this time it was much louder. Much more grating.
He could smell the dampness and rot in the air. He felt like he was drowning without ever being submerged underwater. The ground he lay on was muddy. Their voices echoed through the walls, making them louder than they appear.
Drip. Plop
Am I in a cave? Allendis thought.
At first, his body barely regained any strength. His mind was awake but his body was asleep.
He felt rough hands tracing all over his body–mainly his trousers then his bag looking for valuables.
"Hey, Hop! I found something."
Allendis heard the other man spit–hard. At least, it didn't land on his face.
"The hell is that?"
A hand grabbed towards his right waist, pulling out his pistol out of its holster.
"A firearm! I knew this merc had something valuable!" Hop exclaimed.
The other man chuckled.
"Looks like a fresh corpse. No damage either."
There was a pause. The only thing he could hear was their breathing and Hop's giddy voice.
Allendis tried to put some strength into his limbs and surprisingly, he managed to get his finger to twitch.
"Twerf, hand me the knife. I wanna see if his organs are still ripe."
Gut me open a second time, why don't you? I'll be the first person to be gutted twice.
Shink!
Allendis heard a sharp object being drawn, likely the knife. He had to do something quick.
Luckily for him, his body was finally waking up. His eyes opened slowly only to see that he was indeed in a cavern. Stones protruded out the ceiling with water dripping slowly, letting it fall to the stony and muddied ground.
Allendis caught a glimpse of two men on both of his sides. One was broad-shouldered who reeked of an unpleasant odor.
The other was a skinny man with a stubble on his face. All bones and skin. He almost pitied the man, if he didn't see the knife in his hand.
They looked utterly disgusting. In all his senses he could take.
Allendis felt the blade coming close.
"Let's see what we got here—?!"
Crack!
Hop was cut off by a strong knee to the face. Allendis kicked the man while he was laying down. He saw the broad-shouldered man being startled, before Allendis punched him with his right fist, knocking him down flat.
It gave him time to stand. He could feel that he was fully refreshed. He felt new.
And he was ready to go.
"Dammit! You're alive? Those corpse snatchers have one job!"
The twig of a man yelled out, nursing his cracked nose. Blood dripped down to his hand.
"Twerf! Get him!"
Allendis saw the large man rushed at him with both arms ready to hold him down.
He met the man halfway and punched him directly in the face. Unlike the twig, Twerf was more resilient to damage.
It doesn't mean that he was immune to it.
Crack!
"Argh!" The broad man screamed. It was a bit muffled. He didn't give the large man any time to recover as Allendis charged right at him and kneed him to the face, knocking Twerf out cold.
Allendis probably should've held back against them. But he wanted to hurt someone. To blow off his anger for dying a few moments ago.
Breaking someone's teeth did the job quite nicely.
He made quick work of them. He looked over his body to confirm his suspicions. His body was completely healed. Even his own equipment was with him.
Whatever I was chosen for, really saved me from my death. Allendis thought.
Perhaps it was more akin to a resurrection? Regardless, Allendis was glad that he had everything on him.
He turned his attention to the lanky man. Hop was it? He honestly did not care for their names.
Allendis drew his sword from his scabbard and let the blade hang low, scraping it to the stone, letting it echo through their ears as he slowly approached Hop.
Hop backed away, eyes jumping from fear as he had his ass kissing the ground.
"W-wait! Please spare me! Goddess, please!"
Fear could be heard in his voice. Good. That means he would be capable of answering his questions.
Allendis pointed his sword to Hop's neck. Sweat and blood dripped down his blade.
"Where am I?"
It was a question that he was tired of asking. Yet, it was still important for him to know nonetheless.
"W-we're at Grassdig! It's a dumping ground for corpses!"
Allendis looked around and he found Hop's words were true. It was dark but he could tell there was a pile of rotting corpses at the end of the cave, some were scattered like trash.
"So you're gravediggers?"
Allendis hated these types of people. Killing someone was one thing, desecrating others' corpses was another.
"J-just some stuff that nobody bothers with! You know, c-coins, blades—"
"And organs."
Allendis finished as he pressed his blade against Hop's cheeks, causing his skin to redden. Any more and he would leave a nasty gash.
Hop laughed nervously. His jaw trembled.
"C-come on! We didn't know y-you're alive! Can you let us go?"
No he wouldn't. At least, not yet. There was something off. To him, dying was only a few moments ago, maybe an hour at most. But it was impossible for him to go from the battlefield to this…dingy cavern.
Allendis' mind raced through every scenario he could think of. Did time pass through differently in the Argontale Chamber? Who dumped him here? The only person he could think of was…
Halbin…Did Halbin really dump him here in this cave? No, he knew that Halbin wasn't the type of man to just leave his body in a ditch.
He did go back to save his dying body.
Virion's words rang through his mind.
Enjoy the new road ahead.
Allendis did not like his words. It sounded like letting a wild animal free into the wild. Was the old man playing him?
For now, he would deal with graverobbers. Answers could be found once he's done.
"Tell me where the exit is." A cold voice echoed through the cave. Unflinching and low.
Hop quickly pointed past him. His fingers were equally as lanky like sticks shaking under the wind.
"There's the stairs! It'll lead you out of this dump!"
Allendis looked over quickly and saw a flight of wide stairs made out of stone. Cracked all over but he could tell that it was well made. It's a shame that all that was left of it was mud and blood.
The stairs seemed to lead into a more polished room. A hall of sorts.
"So will you—?!"
Gurg-glop.
Allendis ran his sword through Hop's neck. The scavenger's eyes widened. His pupils became small like marbles. Erratically moving around, hopelessly trying to find a way out.
Killing came naturally to him, but it doesn't mean that he enjoyed it.
Yet, Allendis was a petty sort of man. He refused to jeopardize his own survival.
Allendis saw Hop's head limp following his body. His eyes stopped moving.
He could feel that there was no life in him left. There was no need to dwell in this place further.
Before I forget…
Allendis walked over towards the broad man. He saw his pistol on the ground where Twerf dropped it.
He picked up his gun and traced his fingers on it. There was no damage. Not even the wood was rotten. It was as if it was brand new.
Everything on him was. His usual gear was intact and functional. He remembered that his gun misfired during the battle on Midstorm Castle. He had to abandon it when they escaped.
Is the Argontale Chamber capable of healing all my injuries? Allendis thought.
If so, perhaps they could also help him restock on items too. It was the only explanation he could think of on why he had his gun in both the chamber and this corpse dumpster.
He placed the gun on his holster and walked towards the steps. It was time to leave this godforsaken graveyard.
Allendis walked up the steps that lead into a large hallway. Surprisingly, the stone walls and floors were well-maintained. The only thing lighting up the path were the torches that hung on the wall.
Maybe these graverobbers just turned this place for their business.
Because it didn't feel like a dumpster. It reminded him of a castle or something more underground.
At the end of the hallway, he saw a large metal door. There were no hinges, but there was a lever right beside it on the wall.
Allendis quickly moved towards the lever, his sword still in his hand.
Mechanisms? That means it was probably funded by a nobleman.
Usually, structures like these were simple by design. Keys and locks were common for doors. Anything more than that probably meant that this place was hiding something.
For now, he didn't care much for their tastes, he just wanted to get out. So he pulled down the lever and the door raised from the ground.
Beyond the door he saw an altar of some sort. In the middle of the room, was a circular altar that was surrounded by thin pillars. Sitting on top of the room was…
Nothing. It was empty. It seemed like whoever's been using this place already took whatever was left of this place.
Allendis moved around the room and into the second flight of stairs. He saw that it was much steeper than before.
Why do I feel like I've been in too many rooms like this?
Still, he took one step despite his behest. Steps that felt heavier as the higher he went. There was no need to be discouraged, he just needed to take it slow.
His patience was rewarded when he finally reached the top of the stairs.
There was another metal door that outsized him. However, at the bottom right of it was a huge hole that let light pass through.
So the sun is already up? At least I won't have to stumble in the dark.
Allendis knelt down and tried to crawl out of it. He was lucky that he wasn't big enough to pose a problem.
Light hit his face. Warm yet slightly harsh. It was something he longed for. And he wasn't going to complain.
He crawled out inch by inch until he felt a patch of grass onwards.
When he finally got out. He finally let the sun drown him in light. He stood up and closed his eyes.
Allendis smiled. He missed this.
When he opened his eyes, he was on an unfamiliar land. Vast as he could see with green touching every corner. He could see the trees beyond covering the land.
He was elevated from the vast lands as the building he was on stood solitary.
The vastness of Eddan is hard for him to comprehend. The continent of dangers and truths did not favor him in the slightest.
Allendis did not know where to go but he did know where to start.
He had to find Halbin. He was the only compass he had towards the truth.
"Time to head north as the Lombardians say."