"Borgis?" Izik yelped. "What are you doing here?!"

  "Hello there, young ones." Borgis huffed as he raised his hand in salutation. "I am Borgis the Golem, pleased to meet you."

  Everyone dreaded the size of Borgis at the table. Even the big Pin looked like an average sized man when standing next to Borgis. With a sweat on their brows, each of them gave their names to Borgis who snatched a chair from an empty table and sat next to Izik.

  "S-should we explain this again to Mr. Borgis?" Ari said with her head down, sweating.

  "No need, young Ari." Borgis crossed his arms. "I have heard enough about this. You need warriors for an expedition, correct?"

  "Well, yeah," Azeri replied. "But this is more than just an expedition. We're talking about a hidden tomb for someone who came close to being a god."

  "That information is plenty enough, young Azeri." Borgis stroked his blond beard. "I have seen unspeakable nightmares as a warrior for the Bullhart tribe and a golden knight for Abrahymia. Izik can attest to that."

  "Yeah," Izik sighed. "If you thought I was a good pick for this expedition, then Borgis is an overkill."

  Borgis flexed his arms, rivers of veins flowed through the terrains that are his muscles. "Worry not. I will be your hammer and shield!"

  "Great." Azeri sighed. "The whole gang is here."

  "Guys," Radich whispered, pointing discreetly at the four drunken men next to the group. "Should we worry if they were listening or not?"

  The group looked at the men hugging each other snoring with empty mugs in their arms.

  "I don't think they'd pose any problem for us…" Azeri sighed.

  "Okay, them." Izik stood up. "Let's finish this then."

  "Let the exploration of the hidden tomb of Gula the Starved commence!" Radich jumped out of his seat.

  "Hmph." Pin nodded in agreement and stood up.

  The rest stood up as they headed out the door while Azeri threw a bag of coins to the bartender. "Appreciate it as always, Macdew." She said as she headed with the rest.

  Under the starlit night, the party of six walked on the outskirts of the town of Beelan. Azeri guided the group as she followed the notes on her grandfather's book of records. The journal had led them to a small forest sitting on the edge of town and the Beel castle.

  "Well," Azeri stopped in her tracks and looked ahead/. "It should be somewhere over here. It says the tomb is hidden next to a crescent-shaped stone and a tree that erected like fire."

  Ari pointed at a stone on her left, "That's the crescent-shaped stone." and I guess that's the fire tree?"

  "And I guess that's the fire tree?" Radich pointed at a tree that stood out among the rest, with branches sprawling like wildfire. "Is it just me, or is it moving?"

  "Why would it have these things in particular?" Izik asked, scratching his head.

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  "The crescent stone represent the moon, worshipped by the elves," Ari said as she adjusted her glasses. "While the fire tree represents the Great One Fackel, who is worshipped for giving humans fire. It is an ancient one worshipped by the kingdom of Asidonia."

  "Oh, okay." Izik nodded.

  "Now comes your turn, Izik." Azeri walked towards Izik.

  "What should I do?"

  "W-well," Ari smiled awkwardly as she looked at Izik. "We need your blood for this one."

  "My what?" Retreated Izik.

  "Don't worry, your highness," Azeri scoffed at Izik. "We just need a royal's blood to act as key to the tomb."

  "The old ones are brutal," Borgis huffed.

  "Too scared of a wee cut, prince?" Radich smirked.

  Pin smacked Radich's head. "It is okay, Izik. As soon as we open the gate, Ari can heal you."

  "Y-yes," Ari smiled and blushed. "I know a little bit of healing spells, so don't worry, Izik."

  "A small cut never killed a man, Izik," Borgis gave a thumb's up." Except my good friend Drogon, who died from an infection after he was cut on the battlefield…"

  "Okay, okay," Izik sighed as he unsheathed his dagger and placed the edge on the palm of his hand.

  "You also need recite this!" Azeri quickly interjected as she showed him a text on the notebook.

  "By the light of the crescent moon and the scorch of the fire that made man," Izik squinted as he said what he read. "I command these gates to open to me," Izik stopped as the text in front of him ended.

  "Your name and kingdom!" Ari said hurriedly.

  "Izik Abrahym, the third prince of Abrahymia."

  "Your blood, you idiot!" Azeri yelled.

  Izik moved the daggering, slashing his palm. He groaned a bit as blood trickled to the ground.

  "What now?" Borgis stroked his beard.

  "I don't know," Izik scowled. "I did everything like you said!"

  "Maybe he's not a royal after all." Radich crossed his arms. "Maybe he has been lying to us all-"

  Pin placed his hand on Radich's mouth as he widened his eyes on Izik's bloody hand. The blood started floating upwards instead of dripping down.

  "Whoa!" Izik stared at his hand, blood flowing even faster than before. "What is happening?!"

  "It should take a few moments!" Ari replied, her eyes shimmering with excitement.

  The blood was amalgamated into a single mass that slowly convulsed in shape. After it had gotten to the size of a head, the blood had formed into a runic shape. The crescent stone glowed dark blue and the tree shone like fire itself. The earth shook as what seem like a large gate opened from the land itself between the two glowing objects, revealing a staircase that led below the ground.

  Radich removed Pin's hand from his mouth, "that was intense…" Radich said quietly.

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  "Let me help you," Ari said as she grabbed Izik's wounded hand. Her hands were engulfed with green aura as Izik's wound closed in mere seconds.

  "Thank you…" Izik stared at his arm.

  "I've never seen you use your esper, Ari/." Radich exclaimed. "Can you heal anything."

  "Not anything," Ari exhaled. "It depends on the wound itself, and I'm not an adept on it, but I come from a family of clerics."

  "Some people act too hasty when they have healers on their side…" Borgis sighed. "I've seen too many think they are invincible only to fall for their deaths in battle."

  Izik remembered the Battle of Attrival, the many corpses under the feet of monsters as clerics struggled to save them.

  "Let's get going, shall we?" Azeri walked towards the staircase on the ground, and everyone followed suit.

  The descend was not long, and the party was met with a long corridor lit with torches attached to the granite walls.

  "What are these engravings?" Izik touched the wall as he walked along the corridor.

  "They're Elvish runic spells, most likely made as a protection for the crypt." Ari said as she gazed on the walls.

  "From what?" Borgis asked.

  "I don’t know." Ari replied.

  As the party walked, they started hearing faint moans ahead of them.

  "W-what is that?" Ari shook.

  "I don't know," Azeri squinted. "But I think we're about to find out."

  The moans, mixed with loud groans became louder and louder as the group walked further along the corridors of the crypt. As they had crossed a corner, the party was met with an unknown creature.

  "Eek!" Radich shrieked.

  "What is that thing?!" Azeri gasped.

  A large body of mutilated flesh stood, banging on the wall. It let out distorted loud groans as it kept on banging. It rotated to towards the party of six, its face was inhuman. Eyes were where the mouth should have, and it had no nose. Its body looked twisted and mangled like a wet towel being drained of water.

  "Stand aside, young ones," Borgis stood in front of the group, as the creature approached them.