Nightshade

kelli - danger close

Kelli clambered up the rope, finding handholds relatively easily so far,  though as an experienced rock climber, this was just another day for him. He looked up for the next handhold,  taking a breath.  Uriel,  next to him,  was having an unfairly easy time,  his supernatural strength making it even easier to climb,  his slender hands finding purchase in places even Kelli wouldn't risk. He looked over at Luka,  whose neck and face was drenched in sweat.  It was clear that despite his training over the last year,  Rock climbing was out of his purview. He slipped a peg out of his belt and planted it in a convenient little crevice,  giving it a few exploratory tugs to ensure it would bear weight before clipping his carabiner to it. He continued to climb slowly upwards,  careful to adjust his weight between legs and arms when needed. He loved this.  The danger,  the life it filled him with. The winds blew hard and cold,  like icy knives against his skin.  But it was all just a part of the thrill.  He made sure to shake his hands occasionally,  ensuring the cold wouldn't make his muscles lock up.  They were about halfway up the near vertical cliff face,  and he eyed a worrisome bit up higher,  a shelf that projected outwards,  he thanked the gods that the angels were here to carry Luka and hera past that.  Him, uriel,  and probably Shavronne wouldn't have it easy,  but they were all capable enough climbers that the horizontal hang should be possible for them.  The angels had flown up top, waiting for them. He got to the shelf and looked over at shavronne,  who had pressed a button on his belt to Flag the angels to carry the two physically weaker members of his party. They came down and carried them off and up, with what appeared to be quite a bit of effort,  and then he looked back at his task,  taking a breath before finding the next handholds. This part was all about the strength in your fingers and core,  your entire weight being hung from there. He accidentally glanced down,  dizzying fear roiling in his gut as he eyed the couple hundred foot drop.  He rallied his strength and finished crossing,  uriel had beat him up over the edge,  and Shavronne followed a moment later.  They all lay at the top,  heaving for breath,  the adrenaline leaving their bodies weak and shaky. Kelli sat up first,  brushing himself off and moving away from the edge,  the others soon following suit. He looked up at the beautiful temple that lay before him,  towering above him. He grinned "this is fucking crazy" he looked over at Luka,  who was similarly in awe of the majestic structure. Shavronne and the angels walked around the flattened area around the temple cautiously, checking for traps or pitfalls or the like.  They cleared the area,  then eri spoke up "Let us go,  there isn't any time to lose." Kelli eyed the storefront, which no longer was very far away at all.  For better or worse,  they would most likely be stuck in the temple for at least a few hours waiting for that storm to pass. They hurried inside as quickly as they could while still watching for traps. Kelli got a bit ahead of the others,  fascinated by an ancient carving of a heroic looking figure,  easily double even Shavronne or eri's height. He took out his phone and took a selfie in front of it,  as Shavronne and the others began to continue on. Kelli had a double take as he noticed something off about the picture.  The statues sword was two different colors,  the base and middle length being the same dark grey stone,  but the tip glinted with silvery color! He called out to the others, and Shavronne had them wait as Luka came over with jophiel. "What is it Kelli?" Kelli pointed to the statues tip "look,  up there,  at the top. The sword! It's a different color,  isn't that what we're searching for?" Just then,  uriel called out, and soon after,  hera did too. The temple was devoid of anything but three statues,  each of a different figure,  holding a sword with a slightly different tip, they soon found out.  They gathered in front of the frontmost statue, trying to divine which was the correct one,  surely there was a trap laid for whichever ones weren't the real blade.  "Even my divining skill cannot tell which blade is the True one, unfortunately." Eri said, frowning. Kelli spoke up "well it's probably tied in to which of these figures was the original owner,  right?" Luka smiled "yeah,  that must be it!" "That sounds very likely,  but it could also be the opposite,  the blade in the hands of the most recent bearer. Who... I happen to know.  Or at least I did. When he was alive." Jophiel said,  looking a bit wistful. "Roland, a holy officer of the king Charlemagne. She was lovely.  A truly righteous soul who hid her true identity to serve the king she loved." "But that leaves the question of who the other two were? One is a blacksmith it looks like,  and the other is what appears to be a soldier from Greece,  or some adjacent land." Shavronne said,  crossing his arms.  "The blade was said to be passed to many a bearer,  but the Smith stayed the same in near every legend,  a man named Wayland the Smith. Said to be the greatest Smith in all history, he forged the sword for Charlemagne,  who gave it to Roland.  The middle bearer must be from some other legend..." Luka perked up "wait! I read somewhere that Hector of Troy was the true original wielder of the sword!" Shavronne sighed.  "I think we'd better search the temple, try to find more clues as to which the temples designers considered the original owner to be. We will split up into two groups.  Firstly,  Luka, hera, eri, and kelli.  Secondly,  myself,  uriel,  and the other two angels." They each agreed,  some more enthusiastic about the plan than others,  and they began to search deeper into the temple.