The two hulking adventurers hauled the massive boulder out of the way of the tomb doorway, using their enormous sizes to their advantage. Sliding the stone to the side, grating it against the rocky ground, they let go of the large oblong boulder, letting it roll violently to its side, crashing through tangled tree roots and vines. The hallway took a left turn almost immediately past the entrance, and as the two stepped into the tomb, their eyes were drawn to distinctly black lettering written on the wall. Scorch marks surrounded the words, almost as if the whole message had been burned into the stone itself. The message read: “Even when the village’s most dangerous felon was his best friend, Arthur MacArthy never stopped protecting his people. He deserves to be left in peace. -Liam Hines”
Mu and Sheila stared at the message with gaping mouths. They were looking at a message created by the most legendary hero and villain the continent had ever seen. Liam Hines’ name was infamous around the world, and his story had been passed down for centuries. In one of the final battles toting the Hines name, Duilcron’s wielder turned against his friend Art, and his home of the Elder Village. Liam was seen as vicious, and unkempt in that final attack on the Elder Village, for reasons entirely unknown to even the closest of kin to him. After Liam had so aggressively killing his friend Art, Mu thought to himself, Why would he come to this place and leave such respectful words?
Mu looked at the handle protruding over his shoulder of the sword that started this all, while a somewhat familiar, yet still unknown darkness scratched away at the back of his mind. He looked back at the stone wall and reached out to touch the lettering, slowly running his fingers along each word individually.
“Let’s keep moving,” he finally muttered, still deep in thought.
“Yes! For our jester! That’s what I’m talking about!” Sheila proclaimed, excited for the chance to fight. “I’ve been nice and patient about you feeling up the wall, but it’s been long enough!”
Sheila drew her sword valiantly, pointing it down the hallway. Striking a heroic pose, the tall woman stood still, waiting for any kind of a reaction out of her warrior companion. When she saw that she would get none, after a big huff, she began marching down the hallway towards a lit torch at the end of the tunnel. Mu stared at the writing as if his eyes were fixed in place, until Sheila’s calls broke him from something of a trance. He looked down at the ground, blinking and rubbing his eyes from disorientation. Without looking back at the message, the large warrior turned to follow his companion.
Mu continued to try and re-orient himself after seeing the ancient message, but he found himself in some sort of daze as he followed Sheila down twisting corridors and half collapsed tunnels. Meanwhile, his thoughts circled around the old sword sheathed on his back. This must be some sort of trick from the sword, Mu thought. He deeply wanted to just be rid of the weapon, and as he thought to himself, he also took the time to fully condemn the Icarian King for fooling him into carrying such a burden.
Mu walked full speed into Sheila’s back as she stopped short in a small doorway. Even at his large size, Mu almost bounced back off of her, as she held her ground entirely.
“Quit zonin’ out and pay attention, damn it!” she whispered after pulling him in close by the scruff. The Shandarian woman pulled Mu along behind her as she crouched down behind a small chunk of the ceiling that had crumbled. Looking out over the boulder, Sheila leaned closer to Mu again, and even quieter than before, whispered through the widest of grins, “I just saw something up ahead…I’d say it’s about time for the fun to start!”