For I Am Calm

Chapter 4: Altius

The silence in the basement was almost deafening if it wasn't for the occasional dripping of water that leaked from some pipes on the ceiling. "This is all your fault." Xavier speaks up and angrily points at me. "We would have been fine without a priest but NOoOo." He mocks. Again, not a bloody priest... Annalise scoffs and rolls her eyes. "I'm sorry but who shot that demon? Oh! I remember." She glares at Xavier. They proceed to argue, it feels out of character however if I'm being honest I'm not surprised. I look over at Phylos who seems to be at his wits end and running out of patience. "Will the both of you shut up? This isn't the time to argue." He raises his voice. The two of them instantly go silent and look at him. Phylos stands up and sighs. "I don't know about you guys but I want to leave. And if we're going to leave we have to get our shit together." He sounds stern and takes charge. Something we really need right now. 

We spent what felt like an hour coming up with ideas. Xavier looks around the basement for any signs of an exit that wasn't the trap door. "Nothing." Xavier sighs as he leans on the wall. There HAS to be something... the feeling of dejection starts to settle in. Even more silence follows not long after. "You'd think you'd hear footsteps from above." I accidentally say out loud. Annalise looks at me like she realized something. "You have a point... there's no noise from above." She points out. We take a moment to listen and she's right. Nothing, for the first few moments. Then I could hear a faint ring. I cover my ears to make sure I'm not hearing it in my head but the pitch never changed. "What's the matter?" Phylos notices. I uncover my ears and I turn to him. "Do you hear a ringing noise?" I ask in hopes maybe it's not just me. He shook his head... there's my hopes crushed. It grows dark outside... how long will we be here?

I walk to the back of the basement to look out the small window to see what's going on. As I walk closer I notice the ringing getting louder. I stop for a moment and back up. The ringing grows more faint. Is it playing a game of hot and cold? I proceed to walk forward and change direction every now and then. I get close and the ringing becomes deafening, was something triggering it? I looked at the ground and there was my cross I used to stab Ira'nox to get myself free of its grip. The bottom of it looked like it was covered in a velvet colored substance. I hesitantly picked it up from a clean spot. The moment my hand makes contact, the ringing stops. What do I do with this now... I begin to look around for an answer. In my search I could see a small ray of light emitting from a crack. "Hey guys?" I call the others, they immediately make their way towards me. 

"What's up? Did you find something?" Annalise asks. I show her my cross. Xavier and Phylos back up in disgust. "Demons' blood I'm guessing. But that's not all. Look." I motion to the small ray of light. Annalise gets on her stomach and gets a closer look. "I can feel a breeze." She adds. She picks at the crack until it gives in from a weakened foundation. It reveals a latch. "Does this place go deeper?" Phylos exclaims. "Seems like it but it's better than waiting around for more cultists." Xavier proposes we investigate further, that is why we were sent here. I debate to myself whether or not  I should keep the cross with me. I don't know if touching demons' blood is a good idea so I leave it on a ledge by the only window. When I set it down the ringing came back. I back up and it gets more faint like before. Perhaps it wants me to take it... I decided to use my shirt to wipe the blood off and I put it back in my pocket. "Everyone ready?" Phylos asks. Everyone nods and Xavier pulls on the latch. A wooden hatch uncovers from the dirt and opens to reveal a set of stone stairs. The light filled a part of the basement. 

One by one we go down the stairs, Xavier in the front of the line, Phylos in the back. The temperature got cooler. It felt nicer compared to the hot nights everyone had to get used to. The smell of mildew left the air and it didn't have that ashy smell the outside world typically has. There was a door at the bottom of the staircase. When Xavier opens it, a gust of wind hits all of us. Stepping through the door revealed a huge opening that looked to be located underground... this investigation is going to take longer than I thought.