They cracked open the door and a layer of dust fell upon them. Even the wraiths and spirits that flocked the sky like swarms of undead locusts avoided this place. Simply calling the mausoleum inhospitable to trespassers was more than an understatement; it was closer to a malicious inaccuracy. Lines of arrays were scored into the walls, creating patterns that were traps in and of themself, but also obscured the exits for the mechanical traps that had been set into the walls. Upon the floor were tiles embossed with the six symbols of the clans, one after the other. The teardrop, the eye, the star, the crown, the sword, and finally the old symbol of Hephaistia, the furnace.
From the entrance the tunnel it seemed like it stretched on into infinity, but all of them knew that it was an impossibility for it to stretch so far. True warping of space was something that was detectable by anyone who knew what they were looking for, and both Yveth and Dayel knew exactly what markers to keep their eyes on, however the telltale flickering and slight imbalance of the inner ear were nonexistent. What they were seeing was still within the corpseplane, but the question they were now left with answering was whether the sight before them was the truth, a Hephaistian trick or some kind of Caesar clan illusion.
They stood on the threshold of the hallways for over an hour before Yveth finally made her move. “Ayven,” she said, pointing at the young man beside her. “Step forwards and take...” her finger swung across the crowd, “Gahad with you. If he makes it with you then you are to return and we can begin ferrying people through. But as it stand I think you might be the only person who can get through here safely."
“Yes ma’am!” Ayven nodded and began working his way forwards, carefully watching the walls as he moved in tandem with his companion. The Book of Creation was being held out in his hands like a protective talisman, in the hope that the presence of the Book would mitigate the chance of traps being sprung. Their eyes darted left and right as the walls clicked and clacked with every step.
While watching the two soldiers move forwards Dayel smiled at Yveth. She was learning, and applying what she learned with a speed that he had never seen in someone before. It filled him with pride to know that he had even managed to teach his princess anything, let alone that she was growing into a leader he could admire before his very eyes. Since their time within the first tomb that held a key Dayel had watched Yveth bond with the group that she had created. She learned about them, their names, lives and dreams, all so she had a firm grasp on how to drive them. He knew that it was a false companionship, none were as inherently devoted to the woman as he was, but it was a companionship that fostered camaraderie nonetheless.
The group waited as Ayven and Gahad moved on until almost ten minutes of careful walking later they simply disappeared from sight. Immediately Dayel glanced at Yveth, but there was a smile on the gaunt woman’s pierced face. “Are they alive?” he asked, leaning forwards slightly.
“They are, Gahad’s lifebone is still intact.” She pointed towards the chain of bones that hung on her waist, one for each member of the crew bar Dayel and Ayven, and Dayel nodded. Dayel’s lifebone was already pierced into Yveth’s body, and Ayven’s had collapsed the moment the man had gained control over his Book of Creation. Nobody really understood why, but they accepted it was part of the power that he now wielded with nervous delight.
The group waited for ten minutes before Ayven came back through. He looked slightly confused on his return journey, strolling back and glancing at the entire path without rest. “I... I think we missed something,” he said as he reached the group.
“Why? Were there traps? Was it missing?” asked Dayel. “Did we get beaten to the punch?”
“No... not at all. Everything was too easy. It was like this was left here on purpose for someone to find or something. In comparison to the trap laden mess that was that ruin we found this is, well, empty.”
“So the hammer wasn’t there?”
“That hammer, the key... it’s here alright. I didn’t grab it, but I can if you want me to bring it back. I’ll just walk back in and get it.”
“So how rigorous with the tests were you?” Yveth gave Ayven a stern glare as she asked, “You were only in there for ten minutes, so how do you know for sure there’s nothing in there?”
“Ten minutes? We spent a day in that room, testing out every single thing we could think of. The last thing we had to test was what happened when Gahad stayed inside and I went out...” he glanced back at the empty corridor, before looking at Dayel and Yveth and swallowing.
As a unit, the twenty people that made up Yveth’s team moved forwards, making sure to keep exactly in step with Ayven the entire time. Pace after pace they glanced around, making sure that nothing had changed simply because of the volume of people walking with Ayven, but as they made their way down the hall and were unimpeded by anything they began to relax. It was only when Dayel and Yveth felt their pulses quicken that they told the group to go on guard. They had entered the distorted region of time.
After another ten minutes they finally saw the end of the tunnel. It popped up before them as if it had always been there, and at the edge they could see Gahad, asleep against the wall. They moved into the room and shook the man awake before looking around the room and assessing their situation. The time within this room ran at almost a hundred and fifty times faster than normal, so they had to be careful not to trap themselves within it.
Yveth sat down on the lip into the middle of the room, looking at the little hammer that sat on the pedestal there. She could tell that any trap related to the crypt would be connected to them actually taking something off the pedestal, but she did not see any way of diffusing it. It was simply impossible for her to brute-force her way through this, unlike the last trap, as it was not meant to kill them with weight. Instead she quickly came to the conclusion that if she took the hammer without preparing or scouting the room properly they would be trapped inside and age themselves to death.
Because of the nature of Kimbramancy, Avalonians were incredibly gifted when it came to bone and blood magic, as well as augury, but their grasp on ephemeral aspects of reality other than potential were sorely lacking. As such, Yveth was stumped. She could detect the trap was there, but the key was in the heart of the trap and if she took it, the trap would shut around them. It was a devious trick directed at Avalon specifically and she could not help but be both angered and impressed by it. Knowing all this she sat before the plinth sourly, her goal tantalisingly close but lethally out of reach.
Like this, the group stayed within the room for a week. They were not trapped inside, but they could not leave without the little hammer that taunted them simply by existing. Test after test they tried, concept after concept they planned and debated, but nothing came to fruition. Through their tests they discovered that the room was simply impossible to leave as long as the hammer was off the pedestal, but if it was on the pedestal then the room was open. Unfortunately this was only true for the key, if anything else was on the pedestal then the trap would spring once more, locking the testers inside. Ayven even went as far as making a replica to replace it with, but that was treated exactly the same as when he had used a shoe. Eventually Yveth ended back where she started - sitting at the base of the plinth, staring at her white whale.
Another day went by, and as it was coming to midday they all felt a tremor. It was small at first, but gradually it grew until it was nearly impossible for anyone but Yveth and Dayel to stand. Accompanying the tremors was a weight beyond words, it was like the air itself was rejecting their very existence. Even Yveth and Dayel buckled under the weight of that, but it persisted until the the entire group of Avalonians could barely think, let alone breathe. The weaker piercings within the skin of everyone in the room began to shatter, unable to keep up with the energy required to simply keep their wearers alive.
Did we spend too long here? Is this a trap within a trap? Yveth was aghast as she watched the proud sons of Avalon that travelled with her faint one after the other until finally it was just her and Dayel left awake. As she began to black out she heard a ripping sound and felt the very nature of time around her twist and shatter inexplicably, but she could not spare it a second though.
Then as suddenly as it had started it disappeared. The weight, the rejection was gone. Yveth got to her feet and pulled Dayel up by the arm before they shakily held each other for support. Staring into each other's eyes, neither man nor woman could hide the abject terror that they had just experienced from a completely unknown source, however as seconds became minutes they did not feel it come back. Their tribulation seemed to be over.
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