The Cursekeeper

The Vault

Song is, "Flower Maiden" by Artur Dzivia.

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Arthur and Cyan had a stare down, his blueish green eyes glaring into Cyan's.  People were silent as they watched the men remain immobile.  Arthur felt his finger squeeze the trigger slightly, itching to kill this man if he made any sudden movements.  Snow flakes started to fall from the sky in small clumps, some of them settling gently on Arthur's jacket and hat.  Suddenly Cyan laughed and shook his head.

"Put the gun down, I'm not trying to start a fight," he said.

Arthur grunted before putting the hammer in place and holstering his gun.  "Miss Maxine, are you the archeologist?" Arthur asked.

"Yes?" Maxine replied.

"Do you know what's in the vault?"

"No, but..." she suddenly looked at Lugh, Sir Jack, O'Callaghan and Lilly, gasping.  "Holy shit!"

"What?" Arthur asked, looking at the woman as she fumbled with her black strapped bag.

"One moment," she said, digging into her bag before pulling out a book and opening it, browsing quickly through the pages before stopping.  Her eyes widened like saucers as she read, her mouth moving slowly.  "By four they will come the day of the Griffin God, riding upon Death and War.  They shall smite the evil and wicked with their blessed weapons, and they shall bring prosperity and salvation to the innocent and righteous."  Arthur blinked a few times in shock as the woman kept reading.  "They wear false faces but I name them Courage, Justice, Redemption and Honor, and they are my Four Horsemen."

Arthur gulped as O'Callaghan, Sir Jack and Lugh came running up, looking at the book.  "We're actually part of a prophecy?  Ha!" Lugh barked with laughter.  "I'll be damned!"

O'Callaghan pointed at the page.  "Look, there's Lilly and Holly," she said.  "And the riders are us.  But...we're supposed to have two more mounts according to this."

As the rest of the group fussed over the book, Cyan joining them, Arthur looked at the vault door with determination.  "Who is your creator?" he asked the eye.

"The Goddess of Evolution," the voice replied.

Arthur frowned.  "Oh."

"Who's the Goddess of Evolution?" Lugh asked.  When the eye didn't respond, Lugh came up to it.  "Hey, I asked ya a question!"

"It may only respond to Lord Morgan and...it's creator," Darrach said uncomfortably. 

"Oh.  Huh.  So it's an actual vault.  How did Lilly learn tah make one?" Lugh asked.

Arthur cleared his throat.  "Aren't vaults machines?"

Lugh shook his head.  "Uh, no, actually.  They are personal rooms sealed by incantations spoken by the one who owns the vault."  He pointed at the big eye.  "This is...very advanced technology."  Lugh paused suddenly before glancing at Maxine.  "How old did ya say this ruin was, Miss Maxine?"

"I didn't say exactly how old it was, but my research says this particular ruin is...pfft, at least three hundred years old."

Lugh gulped.  "Oh dear."  He glanced at the eye again, then his eyes slowly went wide before he looked at Arthur suspiciously.  "Care tah tell me how Lilly managed tah acquire the skills tah build a feckin' Atlantean machine?"

Jack perked his head up, staring at Lugh.  "Lugh, that is not a question ya want answered," he explained in a low whisper.

"But-"