Seth Chapter 80

Chapter 80

Seth was the first to venture into the dungeon. Tall golden statues surrounded the chamber and it was as big as the one with the wrath in it. The statues were of Rackus situated on top of a platform as he raised the Weather Staff in the air.

On the walls, murals were made of Rackus leading the guardians and carriers against an army of humans, elves and beastman. He looked like a heroic warrior, surrounded by holy light while the army was deliberately made to resemble evils going by their fierce expressions, crooked nose and the literal name of the mural which was “Stormweaver Taking on Army of Darkness”.

His eyes stayed on it for a second more as he noticed scratch marks on various places. Maybe signs of battle? He wasn't sure, but most likely.

A door seemed to be on the back of the room, leading outside the room. A familiar pattern which meant this wasn't the end of the tunnels.

His eyes stayed on the murals and the door briefly before going back to the skeletons that were on the ground.

He picked up a broken bone and flapped it a bit before looking back to his party, “Any idea what happened here?”

“A battle,” Log muttered.

Zara looked back at him with a mocking grin. “We all know a battle happened here, but who defeated these skeletons. There's no one in the ruins other than us.”

“Yes, why is it empty? Did whoever killed them left?”

“Maybe the skeletons got bored and killed each other. They are here for a hundred years. If I was locked in a room for that long, I would go insane too,” Zacky said, getting another mocking look from Zara and Xarth.

Rebecca tugged at Seth's arms before frowning. “If it was any other species of monsters, then sure. That could have been a possibility, but skeletons are undead and undead aren't sentient. They work on fixed commands and from what we know of the Stormweaver, he developed them himself to protect the place. So, it's unlikely that they would do anything. The battle is also recent going by the marks on the walls.”

She pointed at the walls and everyone looked at it. Walking through the chamber, all of them looked around.

“Try to search the chamber. See if you find any clues on what might have happened here,” Seth commanded and everyone nodded.

He walked up to a pile of skeletons who were sprawled on top of each other. Squatting down, he carefully looked at each of them.

One of them had their arms forcefully pulled out. Another had it's skull crushed by something and the other two seemed to have been stabbed by something. Probably a sword.

Were they dealing with a swordsman? He couldn't be sure since a mage could have conjured up projectiles with the same effect. Moreover, the skeletons used sharp weapons, so they could be used against them too.

“I don't feel good here,” he muttered to himself, looking up at the ceiling. It was a big room, over 40 feet tall and made in a way that building the statues wouldn't be a problem. After all, the doors weren't big enough for them to be carried in until someone teleported them here.

Anything could happen in a fantasy world after all.

As he kept looking around, Seth couldn't escape the feeling that someone or something was watching him. It felt like there was a target on his back. He hadn't felt like that yesterday even though he was at unease with the lesser abyssal horrors appearing outside the ruins.

Though, now—

“I found someone!”

The shout from Zacky took his attention. He was standing in a corner looking behind a statue where a few skeleton warriors laid. He seemed to be grabbing at something as everyone walked towards him.

“What is it?” Xarth grunted, in his baritone voice.

“A human,” he replied. “He seems to be injured. Quick, help him pull him out from under the statue. His leg seemed to have stuck.”

Seth and Xarth moved around, finally noticing an old man under the skeleton bodies. He looked to be in his late 50s with wrinkles covering his pale skin and round face. He had long white hair reaching his neck and wasn't wearing any armour. Just a plain white shirt.

His leg seemed to be stuck behind the statue as he grumbled in pain.

“Please save… me!” The old man said in a barely audible voice. He was speaking in Fernian Script, even if the accent seemed a bit foreign. “My leg hurts.”

“Wait! We are getting you out of there,” Xarth spoke, looking at Seth and Zacky before his eyes looked at the statue. It was one of the medium sized ones in the chamber, around 20 feet tall. “Can you help me move it a bit?”

“Sure.”

Although Seth didn't have a class that was Strength based, it was still a stat that had grown quite a lot since he came to this world. It might be a bit of a strain, but he would be able to move it.

Gripping onto the edge of the statue, he nodded at Xarth who returned the gesture before they both started to pull it, trying to move just enough for Zacky to be able to pull the old man's leg from under it.

The statue was fixed onto the place and their muscles strained, but it didn't seem to budge. Xarth made an inaudible noise as his arms suddenly bulged, a blue aura covered him and the next moment, the statue moved.

Taking the opportunity, Seth put in more effort, gritting his teeth as he pulled the statue. Log came in to help him and he gave him space. With the two of them, it was easy to match the strength of Xarth and like that, the statue moved to a considerable distance.

“I did it!” Zacky shouted out as Seth saw the old man's leg coming out from behind the statue.

He immediately stopped pulling it and pushed the statue to its place. It shook a bit before calming down and Seth took a sigh of relief.

“T-thank you for saving me. I-I would have died here if you hadn't come to rescue me,” the old man said, looking down at his legs. His pants were torn at places and bruises were evident at the place where it had got stuck. “My name is Alvert. Seriously, thank you. You all are my saviours.”

Alvert looked at all of them with tears in his eyes. Seth took another look at him and he looked sickly. At first, he thought it was just his face, but his whole body was as thin as a stick and he didn't seem to have eaten anything for a long time.

He wondered what an old man like him was even doing here.

Before he could ask, Rebecca spoke, “Can I ask a few questions?”

“Y-yes, you can.”

“What are you doing in these ruins? And what happened at this place?”

Alvert lowered his face, not looking into the eyes of anyone. Seconds passed by as everyone waited for an answer. Suddenly, his shoulders shook and more tears sprang out of his eyes.

“I-I can tell you everything, but I don't know if you would believe me. I was captured by the Stormweaver a long time ago. I was just a child back then, and he made me his slave. I lived my whole life in the temple even after the Stormweaver's death.”

Seth blinked his eyes at that. The rest of them had the same expressions on their faces. He had been living here for decades?

Alvert continued as Seth tried to comprehend his words, “I wasn't able to get out because of the guards and lived off the rations that was left, but they slowly started to end. So, I had no choice, but to venture outside my safe cabin. The guardians and skeletons would attack me when they saw me, but I somehow made my way through them. I knew how to manoeuvre through the temple. Like that, I walked into this chamber.”

“What happened here?” Xarth asked, his eyes moving to the skeletons.

“I don't know. The skeletons were already fighting with each other when I got here. I hid behind the statue as the skeletons saw me. I was able to protect myself as they killed each other, but my leg got stuck. It was until you all came here and rescued me. I owe you all my life,” Alvert finished his story and looked up at all of them.

“You have no clue why they were fighting?”

“No, if there was anything I knew, I would have told you. I really don't know why they were fighting among each other.”

They all looked at each other, but Log was the first one to move to pull up the old man. Patting his clothes for dust, he said, “Sounds pretty tough. You haven't seen the sun since you were a child?”

Alvert shook his head, visibly hesitant. “No, I haven't. I have lived just like a prisoner.”

“We will get you out of here, man. Don't worry about it.”

“Really? Oh lord, you all… are really sent by god's themselves.”

As the conversation went on, Seth kept his mouth shut. He had an inkling there was something wrong. Even if he believed Alvert's story, it didn't make sense that the skeletons had started fighting among each other.

What led to that? Even if he asked Alvert, he doubt he was going to get an answer.

“By the way, can I ask what are you all doing here? I doubt it's to rescue an old man like me.” Alvert asked, looking at all of them.

Log began to answer immediately, taken in by the story. “We are all here to search for artifacts, particularly the Weather Staff.”

“Log!” Zara raised her voice at him, glaring. “What are—”

“If you all are after the Weather Staff, I can lead you to it,” Alvert said, interrupting. “I know every area of this place.”

“Will you?” Rebecca asked.

“It's the least I can do for my saviours. I will do so if you promise me that you would get me out of here as soon as we find the Weather Staff.”

Xarth gave a sidelong look to his party, but nodded. “If you can get us to the Weather Staff, you have my word.”

Alvert bowed and thanked them again before pointing at the door to the far off wall.

“We need to go from there,” he said, but then looked at the statues. His eyes hung on them for a while. “Before that, I believe you all would want to look at the chest that had been hidden in this room. In my time, adventurers were always after big chests, I don't think that has changed.”

“Chests?” Zara raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, they are just behind the statues. Stormweaver loved to hide things behind his statues. I'm sure of it. Let's go.”

He started limping towards the nearest statue. It didn't feel like an easy job, but the old man pushed as he showed the party around.

Seth followed him too, but his mind raced, trying to figure out if there was anything more to this story. He knew there was, but he wasn't able to pinpoint what.

Suddenly, he thought back to the incident with Maria, the burnt village and how her story had turned out to be false as she showed her true self as a void spectre.

He identified the man just in the case.

Alvert - Level 9

It didn't show anything, but what the old man had told them. Still, Seth wasn't convinced.

Frowning, he took another look at the chamber. The dead body of the skeletons, the statues, the tall ceiling and…

Wait!

“Stop everyone!”

He shouted out, making everyone halt. Alvert was halfway to the statue when he turned back, his wrinkles straining.

“What happened, Seth?” Rebecca asked, walking towards him.

“Get away from Alvert right now! He's lying to all of us.”

“What?” Log asked. He was standing right behind him and took a look at him before turning towards Seth. “What are you babbling about?”

“Just get away,” he said. “It's all a trap.”

“W-what are you saying? I haven't lied to you all. P-please believe me,” he coughed as he spoke, looking at everyone with a pleading look.

Seth snorted. “If that's the case, then why was the door to this room opened when we walked in? Are you going to say that the skeletons opened it as they were fighting or was it the wind? Moreover, you are at Rank 1. How were you able to make your way through the golems and skeletons?”

“I-I have grown here. I know the place.”

“The door lock themselves as soon as someone steps in. Until you a map of a hidden path with no monsters which is unlikely, your words make zero sense.”

“I-I'm not a liar! Please believe me!” He shouted out, looking at Log and Xarth specifically. “I’m just a victim of the Stormweaver, a slave who requests your help, not a liar who is trying to deceive you.”

He fell on the ground, holding his legs and looked at everyone with tears in his eyes. He took deep breaths and looked every piece of miserable as he begged everyone to believe him.

Seth sighed, looking at his party members and seeing their faces scrunched up in confusion and bewilderment. Other than Rebecca, all of them seemed to be in two minds.

“Seth, we can discuss it. Alvert doesn't seem to be an enemy,” Xarth turned towards him and said. “Like you said, his barely Rank 1.”

Log and Zara seemed to nod while Zacky looked to be in two minds as his eyes alternated between Alvert and him.

“Are you sure of it?” Seth asked.

“Obviously,” he replied. “My Identify skill is never wrong. He's Level 9.”

“If that's truly the case, then a Level 9 weak slave would not be able to handle this attack, right?” Seth asked, smirking and conjuring up two blades in the air next to him.

Their tips glinted with a purple aura and before anyone could object, the blades shot up towards Alvert as the old man gasped.