56 The Treasury
Axel and Ronan used both their hands to pull on the large handles on each of the heavy doors to open. Luckily, there was no noise from swinging them open. All eyes widened from the magnificence of such a sight before them. Piles of gold and jewels were scattered inside the room.
Cilv and Evanna approached cautiously, while Evanna's eyes were on the small carving of Muranthian writing on the inside of the door; Cilv eyed the treasure and licked her lips.
Her observation skills, it seemed, weren't very present at that moment. As she took her first step into the room, Evanna immediately yanked her back just in time for two spears to fly across the room.
Cilv gasped and looked at Evanna wide-eyed.
"* Your first step will be your last. Cast your eyes on the treasure you may only see but never touch. *" Evanna spoke in the elven tongue before repeating it so the remaining group may know its meaning.
"It has traps set up in there?" Axel asked in his gruff voice.
"So it seems," Evanna replied drily.
"Your first step will be your last.. How do we get in there?" Ronan asked.
"WE aren't going in there. Raven and I will go in there." Cilv snapped; her mood had dropped after nearly dying by the hands of the elves and their stupid traps.
Evanna sighed after seeing Ger ready to protest; she cut them all of, "We do not have time for any arguments. Cilv and I will go in there. You need to keep watch."
The guys set up a perimeter on her command, keeping on the lookout while the girls searched for the gem. Ger watched one corridor, holding his bow ready in his hands, while Axel scanned another hall opposite to him, and Ronan stayed in between them both. If anything were to go wrong, he was their last defence before the girls.
"Do you think that was their only spears?" Cilv whispered as she eyed the walls.
"No," Evanna drawled, "but look at the floor. There are patterns, symbols."
Cilv glanced down and scrutinised the floor; Evanna was correct, but it would take them ages to map out what may or may not set off a trap. Before she could raise her concerns or provide an idea, Evanna beat her to it, "I think we need to just bolt to the middle of the pile of treasure. It will take too long if we try to guess what does what."
"Are you insane!?" Ronan whisper-shouted from behind them.
Evanna turned around and arched her perfectly shaped eyebrow, "You ask me this now? As we steal from the Flori?"
Ronan shook his head in exasperation, "No, no, you are right. I should have asked that ages ago. Do what you think is best."
"I didn't say it was a great idea, but at the moment, it is our only idea.. Unless Cilv, you have anything to contribute?" Evanna asked in her hushed tone.
Cilv shook her head. As the pair prepared to take another step, Ronan stopped them again, "Wait! It said your first 'step' will be your last.. what if you didn't walk or run in there.."
Cilv and Evanna looked at him in shock before turning around and observing the room again. The spears set off from earlier were now lodged into the golden walls, and on the sides of those walls was the occasional torch. While Cilv calculated the possibility of not touching the ground, Evanna pulled out her pocket watch.
They had already been forty minutes, ten minutes longer than last time. It wasn't bad, but it caused the tight knot of apprehension in her stomach to tighten even more. Cilv raised her hands forward, past the door, and waved; nothing happened. She leaned in further and placed it on the side of the wall; again, nothing happened.
"Roach is right. We just need to use the wall and land on the treasure. It's still risky, but it's better than just charging in here," Cilv looked back at the princess, who by now had joined her on the opposite wall.
The pair scaled the area before clinging onto the wall and holding onto the first torch. They balanced themselves, their feet against the wall while clinging onto the torch. Nothing happened.
Cilv used her claws as an extra means of grip, along with her fingerless gloves, whereas Evanna solely relied on the gloves and managing between her upper body strength and balance. Evanna side stepped, keeping the soles of her feet on the wall, her body at an angle before reaching out to the next torch; Cilv was doing the same.
They continued their slow movements, crawling across the wall like a spider, or in Evanna's case, clutching on. Once the pair made it to a spear each, they tested their weight on it and let themselves hang before pulling themselves up, so they balanced on top of it.
The pair looked at each other from across the golden room.
"On 3?" Evanna asked; Cilv nodded her head.
"1..2..3!"
At the same time, they took a step forwards and jumped; Cilv forward somersaulted while Evanna side somersaulted and landed on the big pile of gold in the middle of the room. Their boots caused a loud clinking sound as some coins began to tumble down the stack and land on the floor or roll off to the side. The pair tensed, waiting to be impaled by a spear, but nothing happened.
"We were either fortunate, or it will only set off at a certain weight distribution.." Evanna murmured in thought. But she shook her head, now was not the time to think about the mechanics of a trap. They needed to find the gem, and from how much there was in the room, it would take a while. There were so many gems sending sparkles of light across the room.
They rummaged and rummaged through the piles. Evanna was now at one end of the room, her feet still planted on top of golden coins while Cilv was at the other. Evanna noticed a few times, Cilv placing some smaller jewels in her pockets.
The princess shook her head with a small smile. She, of course, was not a thief, and although they were in the middle of stealing from the Flori, it didn't mean she liked it. However, she did agree to Cilv's terms in the first place.
Evanna sighed and sat on the only desk in the room; it was covered in jewels and certainly was a sight. She brushed her hand down one of the legs in awe and disgust; it was an ugly thing. The princess looked up to see Cilv also sat down on a large golden chest.
"It's not in here," Evanna announced; her figure was slouched slightly, feeling disheartened. All of this was for nothing.
"It has to be. Your scroll was legit.." Cilv trailed off while her eyes scanned the room.
Yes, it was..
Evanna's brows creased together. It is a healing gem.. would they leave such an item, an item that they kept buried under myth, in such a spot. Shaking her head, she realised, if it was her gemstone, she would keep it close at all times, or at the very least, a secret hiding spot.. in her closet. Evanna's eyes widened, which Cilv caught onto immediately.
Without another word, Evanna jumped across the gold, using the force behind her to land barely outside the door on her tiptoes. Just as she was about to lose her balance and fall back, a pair of strong arms caught her and brought her forwards.
"Thank you," Evanna muttered, looking at Ronan and blushing after seeing their close proximity.
Stepping away from him, she took a sidestep away and bolted towards Axel, away from Ger.
"Where are you going!?" Axel whisper-shouted.
"I'll be right back!" Evanna sprinted around a corner, out of sight.
Once she was around the corner, she slowed her steps and breathing. Evanna knew the gem had to be in the king's chamber, and although they had not quite seen his room on their reconnaissance, they knew where his wing was, or so they presumed. The celebration was as far away as possible, which helped the princess sneak around unnoticed.
There were a few servants, but they too were enjoying their own festivities and each other's company while slouching against the walls. Evanna halted a few times when she saw the occasional couple passionately kissing against the wall or flirting with one another. When she finally made it to the stairs to the floor his chambers would be at, she took her steps two at a time, happily getting away from the servants.
Now, she was solely relying on her senses; otherwise, she would not have been so bold as to open the door without checking her surroundings nor tiptoeing into the bed-chamber. In the darkened room, she could already tell how luxurious it was, but she did not stop to register its beauty. She had a job to do.
Her senses were on overload earlier when they were crossing the bridge, going to the treasury and as she ran past the servants. But now, it seemed they and herself were calm. Her motivation made her zone into what needed to be done and worry later.
After rummaging through chests of drawers and a wardrobe, along with checking under the bed and various other spots, Evanna came up empty-handed, and it seemed the room she was in was not the kings' chambers. Searching the wardrobes taught her that. So, she moved onto the next room and the next. This was not part of the plan, but she was not about to give up on finding that gemstone. Her mother needed it, and that was what kept pushing her forwards.
**
At the outskirts of the palace, the elven prince and his men arrived. After losing the trail of the humans earlier in the day, his rage was unrelenting and to help him cool off, they pursued the other trespassers in the West of Direwood. They were quick and easy to find; unlike Evanna's group of merry men, this group of bandits were not so bright. The prince took a lot of pleasure in taking their lives.
Now, they approached the bridge, at a time he knew his father would be displeased with. After all, the celebration was 'for the people', but he knew the king wanted to set him up with a bride. He could only imagine how many father's brought their daughters, ripe and ready for the picking. The prince clicked his tongue at the thought, none of them would interest him, and the night would be a bore.
The prince stopped at the outpost, his eyes narrowed a fraction, yet the rest of his face was impassive. Ahead of the small group, he could see the bridge unguarded. He unsheathed his swords from behind his back and started off at a jog towards the bridge entrance. Some of his men went ahead of him to scout the area before running across the long bridge. They stopped again once they were past the statues.
"If those guards are drunk, not following orders or slacking off… Then they will receive 100 lashes each," The prince's voice was low and aloof as his eyes scanned their surroundings.
On his words, his men dispersed to search for the guards.
**
Cilv continued to search the treasury, and for once, was overcome with how much there was to search through. She couldn't even take a third of it back; if she could come back, she would, but after this little trip, the chances were nought out of one hundred. This was their only chance; after, their security would be amplified.
The shapeshifter lifted a ruby the size of her hand, inspecting it before sighing and throwing it into the pile of gold. With her back turned, she heard the jewel clink on the ground. Her eyes widened, and she looked around, immediately backflipping off her pile and landing in a squatted position on a small treasure chest. Another spear wobbled in the wall above her.
"Are you okay!?" Ronan peeped his head through the door.
"Yeah," She breathed, wide-eyed.
**
Evanna approached another chamber and already saw the difference between the ones she entered and the grand doors before her now. She cursed under her breath for wasting precious time going through the others. They were all so uniquely luxurious that it was hard to tell if she was in the king's chambers or not. Their rooms were equal to her own.
But now, as Evanna slipped through the door quietly, she saw a magnificent difference.
It must be nice living as an elf..
Closing the door behind her with a small audible 'click', Evanna noticed a pair of muddy boots to the side of the room, where it left a trail of mud.
Her eyes widened, was the king in his chamber!?
