I sat beside the bonfire for some time, staring into the middle of the pool, wondering how to get to it... I couldn’t open it if there was water on top of it... Was that even the reason? It could be activated from inside, which meant I had to wait! I looked around, suddenly wondering where Chiron was. He had been sitting next to me for some time, but I think he had slunk off to go exploring... Or to cause trouble. I could hear some scratching and scrabbling nearby, but the glare from the fire made it hard to see. Standing up, I moved away, and saw Chiron standing on a small incline a little way from the tent, digging at the ground with keen interest. What was it now? Going over to him, I looked down at where he was digging; it was just sand...
I stood there watching him for awhile, wondering what had caught his attention, but I just assumed he was digging them for the sake of digging! I went to go back to the bonfire when he stopped digging and began barking at me. Turning around, I knew he had found something, but at the time I thought it was nothing of significance to me. Going up to him, I looked down and saw coal... So what? Coal... Wait a minute... Coal! Coal was often predominantly found underground! I rushed back to the tent and took the pickaxe from my bag. Chiron became all excited and kept dashing back and forth between the tent and the small coal deposit. I began mining it, and within a few moments, I had exposed more coal beneath the initial layer. Was this just coal, or was it the actual place I was looking for? After a few moments more, I had exposed more coal, and had made a small hole to the same level as the surrounding area. Some sand began to pile into the hole, and I had to push it aside, and scoop it out with my hands. Eventually I ran out of coal to mine, and my heart sank... Now what? Looking around, I thought that there could be more coal still around, and began pushing large mounds of sand aside. On the right side I found another coal deposit, but within a few hits of the pickaxe, I noticed something odd; the pieces of coal were falling into a small recess beneath it. What was this? Continuing to dig, I eventually unearthed a small hole full of coal. Removing the lumps, I eventually found a small wooden stick buried into the ground... What was this? Tugging on it to see what it was, instead of coming away, it shifted towards me, and I heard a horrid scraping sound, followed by splashing and sloshing from behind me. Turning around, I looked into the pool. What the...? Had I just done that? Had I found the lever?
Where there had been water, now stood a small sand walkway that had pushed itself upwards from the floor below. A small amount of sand also formed a circle around the centre of the pool where the hatch had been, and the water had drained from within. Could this be it? Going over to the tent, I put the pickaxe back in the bag, slung it over my shoulder and readied an arrow with the bow. I didn’t know what to expect. This could still be a HoN Co. trap... Anything was possible. I made my way across the surprisingly stable sand walkway into the centre of the pool, and tried the hatch. It swung open easily with no effort. What would I find below?
I descended the wooden ladder into the tunnel below, passing torches – the source of the light – as I went. I got to the bottom and felt a large heat source to my left. Turning in that direction, I noticed something unexpected; a lava pit! Well, it was more of a lava channel barring access to something over the other side. Wait a minute... There was someone there! I crept closer and saw that a man standing in green armour carrying a sword stood behind a stone barricade. He glared at me, his eyes the only visible part of his face. I called out to him, unsure as to any other viable course of action: “Hello? Who are you?”. I felt kind of stupid after I said it, but I compounded that feeling by then stating: “My name’s Syeonyx!”! Despite the distance, I saw him nod, and before my eyes, the lava parted in the middle! I stared in disbelief! A wide sand pathway had arisen from beneath the lava! Was I expected to cross that? Looking back at the figure, I heard him utter a single word:
“Come”
I doubted this was anything to do with HoN Co. ... This was the L7!
I crossed the sand bridge over the lava, and as I set foot on the stone slabs on the other side, the sand began to sink back beneath the lava. Looking forward now, the figure was still there, sword held ready. The figure boomed a command that caught me a little off guard:
“Prove to me you are the one named ‘Syeonyx’!”
I stood there for a moment, a little dumbfounded, but eventually I dove into the bag and took out my diary and the notes THEROS had sent me. He then spoke again
“This does not prove your identity! Show me proof!”
I stood there, wondering what more I could use to prove who I was... Then it struck me. The S stone! Putting the papers and diary back into the bag, I carefully removed the pouch and slipped the stone from within onto my hand. The figure’s eyes looked at the stone and nodded.
“Good.”
The barricade he stood behind disappeared into the floor and ceiling, and he stepped forward taking the stone and pouch from me:
“I will take it from here! Come, you must meet the other five. They have been dying to meet you!”
I followed the figure down an elaborate set of marble and stone checkered steps, through a large, open passage. The walls were absent of any decoration aside from the marble and stone construction; no paintings, images, notes, papers or even dirt and dust! It was immaculate in every sense of the word! Eventually, the passage opened into a giant room which split off into three directions; to the left, right and straight ahead. In the centre of the room stood seven chairs and a table, with four figures seated around it. They all looked my way, and stood up, before descending the small steps. I stopped a little short of the steps, but the figure in green continued walking towards another figure dressed in red. He took the centre of the stage, and stood there whilst the green figure whispered into his ear, before turning and standing off to the left. The figure in the centre began to speak with a slightly deeper voice than that of the figure in green:
“It is good to finally meet with you Syeonyx. We have heard of you heroic deeds you have performed unquestioningly for us. You were right to make the decisions you did. Your successful campaign to destroy the current portals you have discovered have put us at a position where not meeting you would have been impossible! You have discovered us, through the help of THEROS here, and have performed the tasks asked of you, regardless of the dangers. We owe you a great debt! We have also learnt you have discovered the fate of one our brothers, Jonas McElderry. He suffered at the hands of HoN Co. and the figure, but was able to safeguard the Solus stone until it was able to be retrieved. Am I right in thinking you have brought it with you?”
The green figure moved back to the red figure and placed the pouch into his outstretched hand.
“Excellent! We have a large task complete thanks to you, but we still have a huge task ahead of us. What you have done so far has merely slowed them down. We need to lead a final assault against the remaining positions to remove their threat altogether. But enough about all of this, we haven’t introduced ourselves. I am Colus, the head brother of the Lone 7!”
The figure in green stepped forward:
“I am THEROS. I am the cartographer of the Lone 7, and have been the one keeping in contact with you.”
The from left to right, the remaining three stepped forward and stated their name and position within the L7:
“I am UOPETA, the scout of the Lone 7. I have been tracking you in secret every moment you ever left the house of Jonas McElderry.”
“I am AMPHIS, the curator of the Lone 7. I document all scientific and intel-related documents for future use. I am almost always in the library.”
“I am THEXIS, head of communications, intelligence and reconnaissance. It’s my job to keep everyone informed.”
From left to right, I remembered them by the coloured armour they wore: THEROS wore green, UOPETA wore blue, COLUS wore red, AMPHIS wore gold and THEXIS wore purple. COLUS stepped forward again:
“There is a sixth, but he is currently engrossed in scientific study. He is named ‘OROTHO’ and is most recognisable; he is the only one to not wear a head mask or helm. We so rarely remove our armour as we never know when we will need it. Only when we are missing parts of our armour may you truly relax! Our base is secure and heavily guarded. We have numerous hidden passageways and tunnels that allow us entrance and exit into the main atrium, before you. The entire place is also rigged with dynamite; if we come under heavy attack and are forced to retreat, we have the option to destroy the entire base, along with all intel and data inside.”
THEROS stepped forward and began to speak:
“We know this is a lot to take in right now, and we will give you ample time to catch up. For now, we will retrieve Chiron and your equipment from the surface. No doubt your companion is pining for you, and your equipment may draw unwanted attention! For now, we will allow you to rest in the quarters of our late brother SERVERE, whom you knew as Jonas McElderry. We will prepare a meal for you and your wolf if you request it, and leave you to grasp the situation alone. This is for the best as any interference may confuse you further. We will see you in the morning, Syeonyx!"
They all bowed to me and then went their separate ways; COLUS and THEXIS went around the table and straight ahead, UOPETA began to go back towards the entrance whilst AMPHIS turned to the left and headed down a separate passage. THEROS remained and showed me down the right tunnel which had a sign posted saying "QUARTERS & MESS HALL". A large barricade stood in our way, but THEROS pulled a small lever on the wall and each section withdrew back into hidden notches set into the surrounding stone and marble. The way it was done, you couldn't even tell there was a hidden door there! THEROS showed me past a large marble table, and an intricate kitchen into a room. It had a sign posted above it saying "SERVERE" and looked like it hadn't been used in awhile. There was a bed, some chests and bookshelves scattered around.
"I hope you are comfortable here. We all mourn the passing of our brother SERVERE, but we believe you will serve as a great brother in his stead. I will bring you refreshments and allow you to come to terms with what you have experienced recently. You will need the time."
THEROS left the room, leaving me alone. What would I do now? A few moments later, UOPETA returned along with Chiron and my tent.
"You have a strong and willful wolf there! It reminds me of ours. You will meet him in the morning. Doubtless you have met him already!"
UOPETA then left the room. Chiron bounded at me, barking, and tail wagging. He seemed truly happy! I didn't know how to feel...
THEROS brought me a wonderful meal! Steak, with a variety of vegetables and some strange flat bread! Chiron was given something similar with less vegetables. They also had access to wine and beer! How did they manage that? I was having trouble growing wheat, let alone a wide variety of vegetables and other crops! It was delicious! Afterwards, Chiron immediately curled into a ball and went promptly to sleep. I sat on the edge of the bed, trying to mull it all over... What was the next step...? Could I trust them? I had hundreds more questions swirling inside my head, but I was far too tired to worry about them now! I lay back on the most comfortable bed I had slept on in days, and sat there for some time. I just hoped it seemed clearer in the morning...
Syeonyx signing off
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