Into the Deepcroft - Ch 1
The sky was bright and lit up the tree tops in the shroud. It was relatively peaceful, the forest guards stood alert at their posts and travelers made their way around the Bentbranch Meadows. A short brunette hurried along the road away from town. She held tightly onto her fleece cap, trying to keep it in place a top her head. She had a girly run and nearly fell several times, but she was in a rush. Her leather boots left muddy marks everywhere she stepped. This wasn’t the time to worry about appearances, however.
Zavanis made her way down some rough, cobble stairs. Pieces of the steps had cracked and fallen down the slope. She was rushing to meetup with her new companion, Coco. Prior to their meeting she was at the markets of Gridania looking for potions in bulk. Afraid they would need lots of them she stuffed every bit she could into her brown satchel. He had only briefly mentioned their task. Something she couldn’t completely recall the details, but knew this was important for him. There at the bottom of the slope stood a small lalafellen man in a thin set of armor equipped with a purple sword and wood shield. She smiled, waving happily as she strode up to him.
“Have you been here long?” she questioned, hoping she wasn’t as late as she thought. He shook his head.
“Not at all, thought we might have a problem…” he turned his head at the open entry way of a roofed necropolis. It was a very old place, used long ago to house the bodies of the fallen. It was damp and musty. Beyond the entrance Zav could see the feint shape of walking skeletons, more commonly know as wights. These however carried no weapons and simply lurked around in the darkness. The two stood side by side, both taking note of the situation. Coco seemed a bit concerned and Zav could sense if discomfort. She gave him a simple pat on the head, giving him a slight scare. He glanced up slowly at her. She smiled down at him and turned to face him.
“I think we can sneak around them.” Zavanis pointed slightly around the doorframe at the adjacent wall. There were a few cement caskets that would help put some distance between them and the monsters. “Where we’re going is down there isn’t it?” she could see a feint blue glow from a hanging wall torch down the way. Coco watched for a moment, contemplating the suggestion. A small grin came across his face, crossing his arms and nodding to himself.
“Yes, the entrance to the Deepcroft should be in there. Let’s try it.” They nodded to one another and one by one crept through the doorway and stayed close to the inner wall. The paused for a moment as they both stood near the wall, waiting for their eyes to adjust to the darkness. There was about 5 wights in total, but they seemed uninterested in this side of the room, all wandering around the larger caskets and dim candles opposite them. This was the first in a long time Zav had been so close to danger. She tapped the end of her short cane that was strapped to her back, making sure it was still there. This gave her some comfort, but not much.
Coco tapped her leg bringing her back to the present, he seemed calmer somehow. He gave her a smirk and the continued against the wall. Making their way around the aforementioned cement casket they could see the torchlight from around the bend. As they stepped bits of rubble and dirt tumbled off from above and beside them. For all they knew this place could crumble at any moment. As soon as they got out from behind the huge casket and around a tall pillar Coco ran off towards the light. Zavanis stopped and took one last look at the dark room and back into a run behind him. The wights hadn’t even sensed their presence and continued to lurk and growl at nothingness.
“Zav! This is it! C’mon we gotta hurry!” Coco called from up ahead, standing at a large door with a cracked corner that oozed the light beyond into the dark space. The stopped and said nothing for a time. It was probably a mixture of nervousness and curiosity that came over them. From what Zav could recall, the Gladiator’s guild had intended for this to be one of many hurdles for Coco to overcome. The specifics however were unknown to her. All she knew was he asked for her help and while she hadn’t handled a healing cane in years, she was determined to help him.
Coco crossed his arms again and closed his eyes seemingly deep in thought. Zavanis watched him, curious what he wanted to do. His eyebrows furrowed. His posture tightened. He felt her gaze on him. Coco turned slightly and slowly opened his eyes, looking serious and began to talk.
“Now Zav. If things get rough, I mean really rough, we can run as fast as we can outta here.” He was uncharacteristically serious and unmoving. Zav cocked her head and gave him a confused look. “Really, I mean it. You don’t have to worry about my mission, as long as we’re safe in the end. As long as you’re safe, it’ll be ok.” His face softened and he beamed up at her reassuringly. Though Zavanis had other plans.
“Now don’t think we’re giving up here, there’s two of us, so….” She turned her attention to the big hulking doors, “There’s nothing to worry about. Right?” She returned his smile and crossed her arms similarly, not backing down from their task. The two nodded in agreement and wielded their weapons, preparing themselves for what’s to come.
“Lets do this!”