Gravity Falls: Illuminatus

Chapter 6: The Eye Of Destiny

"Look, all I'm saying is that there was no way he could have had a full house!" Stan said as he and Ford made their way through a series of catacombs. The air was damp and musty, and the only source of light was the lamp that Ford was carrying.

"And you know that because...?" Asked Ford.

"Because I was stacking the cards!" Said Stan.

"So you essentially got out-cheated, by the Pope nonetheless," said Ford, chuckling.

"And yet I was the one to get banned for punching a cheater," Stan complained. "How is that justice?"

"Hold up, Eight-Ball," Said Ford, stopping. He lifted his lantern to reveal a large antechamber with a giant mosaic carved into the wall on the far-end of the room. It was adorned with a large triangular image with a large centered eye, representing Bill Cipher. Above the image of Cipher was a large salamander-like creature, which the shamans appeared to be worshiping, as it was devouring the image of Cipher.

Beneath the mosaic was a large sarcophagus, carved out of stone and intricately adorned. This struck Ford as odd, because Vikings were not known for such funerals, mostly burials at sea and stone ships. To see a large sarcophagus like this one in a seidhr temple was a very rare find.

Ford approached it cautiously, keeping an eye out for any traps along the way. Fortunately, there were none, and he was able to make it to the sarcophagus and gestured for Stan to follow him. Ford examined the sarcophagus carefully, attempting to read the glyphs carved into the surface.

"Can you read it?" Asked Stan.

"It's in an ancient Nordic language," said Ford. "I think I can just make out what it means." He dragged his finger over the glyphs as he read. "'Behold the final testament of Bjorn the Wise....the Eye of Destiny resides within. Beware, traveler, for as it bringeth salvation, so too may it bring destruction.'"

"That's not ominous at all," said Stan, rolling his eyes.

"We've come too far to turn back," said Ford.He pulled out a small device that looked like a calculator with a larger screen attached to it. It was beeping as he waved it over the sarcophagus.

"What kind of doowacky is that?" Asked Stan.

"Think of it as a geiger counter for chaos energy," said Ford. "Chaos energy is used in magical rituals. I'm checking to see if there are any spells protecting this sarcophagus...yep, looks like a warding spell. Should be easy enough to bypass."

Ford took out one of his journals from his satchel and started perusing through it. After a minute, he found what he was looking for, and once again went into his satchel and retrieved what looked like a small olive branch and some herbs.

"What are you doing?" Asked Stan.

"It's a cancellation spell," said Ford. "It should remove the warding spell and allow us to access the sarcophagus." He paused, pondering for a moment. "I feel torn regarding this course of action. Under normal circumstances, this would be a tremendous archeological find. But in this situation, I feel little more than a grave robber."

"Well, it's for a good cause, right?" Said Stan. "It gets easier after the first time."

"What?"

"Nothing," said Stan quickly. "Just do your thing, Sixer."

Ford began to lay the herbs around the sarcophagus and lit the branch with a lighter. He waved the branch over the runes and began to chant. The runes started to glow with an eerie green hue. Stan could feel the very hairs on his shoulders standing on end. After Ford finished his chant, the glow around the runes dissipated, and the sarcophagus lay silent.