War of Emperium

Ephimeral Night 2

A yellowed human skeleton was sitting down, leaning against the cave wall. Patches of blonde hair still clung to the cranium. The skeleton still had its Priest outfit and the Cross hanging from its neck. The empty sockets that once held eyes were looking straight at Nerva.

"Isidore" said Nerva. Tears finally spilled from his eyes. "Isidore, I'm back"

Sobbing, Nerva ran toward the skeleton and enfolded it with his arms. He cried like he never cried before, spitting his heart out on the bony remains of his best friend and party leader. It seemed just like yesterday, when he and Isidore were the only ones left alive.

Isidore lost too much blood and Mana and knew he was never going to make it back to Izlude, but Nerva persisted and fought their way out. Finally, when they were just steps away from the exit, Isidore gave up. He'd blessed Nerva with his final Angelus and died. Nerva cried until he fell asleep, and when he woke up he stared into the faces of the Pronteran soldiers.

"Nerva?"

He gave a start and looked around. Everyone was there, looking at him with doleful eyes. Theodoric was blowing hard into a handkerchief. He stood up and wiped his eyes quickly.

"I'm fine." He managed to choke out. "I'm fine, just a little bad"

"You okay, cowboy?" Sibyl asked. "If you can't bear to be in this place just tell us."

"No, I'm fine, really." Nerva said. He returned to Isidore and removed the Cross from his skeleton. "Just a bit depressed." He pocketed the cross.

"Bugger, is that Bishop Isidore Crane?" Altair asked.

"Yeah." Nerva answered. "Isidore Crane of Prontera. The famous "Bad Priest"."

"Bugger" Altair spoke, eyes still wide as plates.

Nerva raised an eyebrow. "You know him?"

Altair nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, of course. He rescued me from Ants Hell when I was still a little boy. He was an Acolyte then. An Acolyte with three nasty piercings on the eyebrow and on his tongue."

Wealthow laughed softly. "He transformed me into a Priest a week before Swastika journeyed here and met their end."

"Wow. So you have a lot in common, like, sharing a linked past." Sibyl whistled. "Neat."

Wealthow, Nerva and Altair looked at her so severely that she shut up.

"Let's go." Nerva spoke. "It's no use anyway. We cant bring the dead back to life."

"We must split in groups." Wealthow told them all. "Altair and I will go with one another. We will check the eastern network. Sibyl and Theodoric, you two go north. Nerva and Signy, you two will check the western parts. Is that okay?"

"How about for an emergency?" Nerva demanded. "What if one of us needs help?"

"Yeah, bugger, you cant activate flares here." Altair shrugged.

"There wont be any problem." Wealthow insisted. "We will all be okay."

"Do you understand that you are committing the same fatal mistake that Isidore did?" Nerva said sharply, his yellow eyes boring into the priestesss. "He also split us in groups like this, and I was the only one who got out alive."

An eerie silence fell among them. Signy shot a look at Nerva. With her keen Hunters ears she could hear the frantic beating of his heart.

"Nerva" Wealthow began, but she was cut off.

"Rule number 1, Priestess." Nerva spoke urgently. "Never, ever split your party into small groups."

"But how else can we investigate if we all go in the same place?" Sibyl inquired.

"I believe we will all be safe." Wealthow said in a final sort of voice. "The plan will proceed as I have mentioned."

"Fine." Nerva bit his lip. "And I wont be setting up candles for you if you die, mark my words."

With a swish of his cloak he started to walk away, Signy following his wake.

"But if truth be told I think you should have listened to him, Wealthow." Theodoric whispered. "Especially after all that has happened here, it is very dangerous to split usand in groups of two, too."

But he said that so quietly that Wealthow didnt hear. Sibyl had to poke him in the cheek to shake him out of his trance and proceed on their way.

"SIGNY!!!"

Nerva watched in trepidation as the Bigfoot blasted Signy from her feet with one swipe of its enormous paws. Signy crashed into a nearby pile of rocks and fainted at once, blood trickling down her forehead. It had been two hours since theyve split from the main group, and they were so unlucky to have come across this Bigfoot that they smelt earlier.