Book of Fates ✔

At last

They turned back to the previous hall and took a different route. Soon, the passages became narrower, the ceilings lower. The interior slowly changed, too. Golden symbols and images decorating the walls disappeared, leaving bare stones to stare at. Leir had no clue where they were going, he had lost his way around a long time ago. All he knew was that the air in this part of the temple was even hotter and stuffier. The fomoire felt as drops of sweat were running down his back, making his t-shirt repulsively stick to his skin.

You can't give up, Leir told to himself. Charna was right, he was Kraine's father. And he promised to come back home with The Book of Fates. Or not to come back at all.

The fomoires and Alexander entered a hallway endlessly stretching into the darkness. The only light was coming from the crystal in Leir's hand, and his figure cast a long eerie shadow crawling along the wall.

"Sinister," Nagal said, cocking his head to look through one of the doorways. "I feel like I'm starring in a horror movie here. And have you noticed? There are no cracks or rifts in any of the walls–not including the ones we've caused ourselves, of course. It looks like this place was abandoned just yesterday. Yet, there is no furniture or personal stuff. Could the locals take everything alone with them as they left?"

"If the locals didn't sleep on iron pillows—and I highly doubt that—all the furniture must have rotted away by now." Leir replied, shaking the crystal in his hand in order to prevent it from dying out too soon. "But if you're interested in personal stuff, Nag... Well, you should have looked closer. I've seen a few golden coins and a broken vase somewhere."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Tane exclaimed behind Leir's back and roguishly rubbed his palms together as though getting ready for a mischief. "We're not a charity organization, and that ancient junk is worth a fortune on the black market!"

"Tane, you're one of the best solders of Pateal," Charna said, deliberately ignoring Leir. "And you live in the Palace Square. Why would you need money?"

"Because! Because you can't get chicken nuggets for free, poking a dagger around on Earth."

"I bet you can."

Tane narrowed his eye and glanced at the fomorian in suspicion. "I bet you've tried."

As an answer, Charna shrugged vaguely.

"Gee," Tane mischievously chuckled. "We should do it once together, you and me, we'd—"

"Can you be serious just for a moment?" Nagal roughly pushed Tane aside and strode forward without looking back. Leir pursed his lips, struggling not to laugh at the sight of envious glow in Nagal's eyes. How dared Tane to have fun talking to someone else, right?

"What's the point of being serious?" Tane shouted after Nagal. "Until there's nothing threatening my life at least?"

Finally, they all got to the end of the hallway and found themselves in a tremendous chamber, which crowns of the columns were lost in the blackness. Leir shook the crystal once again, and gasped in astonishment. The walls in here were covered with shelves, where countless gold bars were shining. Reflecting the crystal's light, the bars filled the chamber with warm brightness as if the sun was illuminating the place.

A ringing sound suddenly came from the opposite corner, something made of metal hit the floor.

"What the—" The instincts made Leir reach out for his thigh, where his sword always was hanging. He realized their human guide was nowhere to be found. "Alexander!"

A giant golden goblet rolled over the floor to Leir's feet.

"That'd be enough for the nuggets," Anya's father emerged from behind the column, a heavy gold bar of the size of a tray in his hands.