Chapter Twelve: Chapel

We followed the trail down the middle path of the tunnel leading further and deeper into the cave underground. I was able to get a hint of confirmation on where exactly we were.

The glowing gemstones were a big giveaway already bus tumbled into an underground mine.

Further into the path we followed, laid across its ground were rail tracks leading to who knows where further down the tunnel.

Leaving the wide expanse cave illuminated by stars of crystals behind, our diving continued. Our path was still littered dimly with some more of the glowing gems protruding from the walls along.

Considering their numbers, the gems in this path of the tunnel were excavated leaving only a relatively smaller few to light up our way, just barely.

At some point, faint cracks of light appeared along the walls on both sides. The cracks continued to spread the deeper we went. Soon the walls were covered in a net of illuminated cracks spreading and reaching even the ceiling.

The cracks at first gave off a calm gentle light blue glow which later got deeper and more defined the further we went. The lights of the cracks were now a pristine dark purple. With a net of cracks this wide, we were provided another option for a light source during our venture down the tunnel.

The glowing cracks spread so beautifully like pulsating veins of light.

'it's pretty. There must be a considerable amount of glowing gemstone behind the surface then?'

We made a few turns following the direction of the tunnels and finally spotted a light at the far end of it. The closer we got, the brighter the light shone. We were approaching the end of the tunnel.

'Normally I would say, ‘don’t go into the light’ but what use would that be now?'

With the idea of a possible end in sight, the party hastened their steps and quickly rushed for the light.

And the sight before us simply stole the breath out of our lungs.

It was a chapel.

A massive underground chapel. The ruin of a chapel to be precise.

The ceiling of the chapel hung high above us. Colorful glass mosaics and murals hung over its ancient walls in order as if telling a story.

The expanse of the ruined chapel was littered with massive rocks, boulders, and fallen pillars of incredible length.

Half the rows of stone chairs were crushed and destroyed, some under the weight of the boulders while others probably withered away over time.

The walls and remaining barely standing chairs were covered partially in moss and coiled around in adventurous roots and vines.

There was a translucent gentle blue light gently drowning the whole chapel in a pale cool glow. Rays of what looked like sunlight broke through the glass-like material of the mosaic murals adding to the mystifying atmosphere and swell view of the chapel.

Glowing gemstones sticking and popping out the walls every here and there. Gentle spores flowing and glowing all around.

Further, at the opposite end of the chapel, there was a particular part of the old ruin which stood out and was separated from the rest of the chapel. The altar looked finely carved out of stone by an artisan greatly obsessed with perfection.

Strangely enough, it looked like the only part of the tattered and withered ruin that looked the least ruined and preserved than any other part of the chapel. The only stand-out impurity would be the big, massive boulder at the back of the altar.

At the center of the altar, there was a tall stone slab carved into a rectangular shape. It stood fixed at the epicenter of the nearly unruined part of the chapel like an altar table.

A small flight of stairs separated the altar from the rest of the chapel, lifting it slightly above the leveled ground.

At the wall further at the back of the chapel, a strange symbol was massively spread and engraved across the wall, covering about a third of the wall.

The symbol was that of a massive sun with exactly eight rays sticking out of it and spreading far across the wall. The rays were exactly what covered a vast majority of the wall. The eight rays broke past another layer of a circle, piercing through it like needles making the symbol resemble a sun gleaming in another sun – a much bigger one.

But what truly made these symbols unsettling, was the engraving of a massive eye in the very middle of the smaller circle within the bigger one where the eight rays sprouted from. Another was the rays themselves.

At first glance, the symbol resembled a sun in another sun and an eye glaring from the very middle. But upon closer and careful look, the rays sticking out gave the symbol a much different meaning. It was like...an eight-pointed star.

The party and I all took in this sight speechlessly from the edge of the tunnel. But we're brought back to earth by the approaching sounds of voices.

Almost at the same time, the words left my lips:

"Shh. Hide!"

We jumped out the edge of the tunnel and quickly crawled underneath one of the fallen pillars in front of us, making our way to a ruined stone bench that we used as cover and hid behind.

Within those seconds, the vague voices drew nearer and soon grew clear.

“What do you mean they got away?!” a loud hoarse voice trembled angrily against the walls of the ruined chapel. And it didn't sound the least pleased. The masculinity in the voice betrayed the owner's gender.

Just then another voice resounded, this time with a visible shudder laced in it.

“But boss, it was his fault! He was supposed to be watching them but fell asleep instead.” The second voice belonged to another man.

The voices and footsteps soon reached the altar of the chapel judging from the sound of course.

“Haw?! Well, that’s only because you were napping first!” a thinner unsettling voice said, shuddering as well. The third voice belonged to another man also

“Well, even if I did, shouldn’t you have kept better watch on them for both of us? But, no. you just had to fall asleep as well. How incompetent!” the thicker voice, the second man bellowed at the third.

“You bastard, don’t you dare shift all the blame on me. You are equally at fault. Why would you be napping in the first place?!” the third voice retorts sharply.

“Like you’re one to talk, you fell asleep on duty, too. So don’t give me all that.” The second voice retorts as well. A strange conversation unfolded from the altar.

“You bastard!” the third voice scowled.

“What was that? You tryna pick a fight, baldy?” the second voice bites back.

“Wh… you’re bald too, idiot.”

“What was that, scar face? I didn’t get that, you mind speaking up? You want a piece of me?”

“Who are you calling a freak, you inflated dwarf?” third voice. And then finally…

“That’s ENOUGH out of the both of you!!” the hoarse voice from earlier trembled with authority and heavy anger, putting an immediate stop to the bickering between the other two men. His voice resounded throughout the chapel, leaving nothing but silence in its path and sending a shudder down my spine.

This was no time to be eavesdropping on some suspicious fellows...

“You two are FOOLS! Incompetent FOOLS!! Because of your incompetence, they got away!” the snarly voice continued.

I slowly rose to get a look at what was happening and saw three men standing at the altar. Two out of three of them were bald with one having three long scars running down his face. From the argument I had, I’d say voice three belonged to him.

He had an oblong-shaped head and wore animal hide, with a sword hanging down his waist. So far, he was the tallest among the three.

The other bald guy was a head if not two, shorter than the other. He also had more weight out of the three. Just like the other, he wore animal hide and had a big club in one hand. He had the biggest head. I guess that’s voice two.

And as for the third man in the group, he was covered in an ominous pitch-black cloak and wore a hood that covered his entire face. I wasn’t able to get a good look at him because of the hood.

He was shorter than the rest and seemed to be slouching down a bit. His back shot out like a hump and his neck seemed to have been dug deep into his shoulders. He kept limping as he walked.

“I’m surrounded by incompetent fools all around!” the hooded man growled.

“Whatever. Get back and watch the others. If any more should get away, I’ll make you regret being born into this world.” The hooded man threatened. Just before he turned around to leave, he said in a flat monotonous but stern tone:

"We begin at full moon." The words sounded ain but held an ominous foreboding meaning I failed to decipher.

The way he said that added to the shudder down my back. Peeping from slightly over the stone bench, I observed the two men cringe slightly.

“Y-yes, boss.” One of them squeaked and both were about to exit.

Carefully, anxiously and patiently, I waited for the three figures of the men to leave the way they came.

With a small restrained sigh, I fucked back down and said to the gang:

"Th–they're gone now..."

The others slumped down with sighs of relief escaping their lips. The whole tension of getting caught had been evenly shared and distributed between the whole party. Each of us feeling the full brunt squarely.

"We...we should get out of here. Now." Glancing at Don with a very meaningful look, Leon said sternly as if gritting his teeth.

Don simply nodded, either finding it unnecessary to use actual words or just tongue-tied. Regardless, sweat trickled down his face in beads.

"But we still have to find Muffin. We can't just leave without him...!" Lia leaned forward and whispered with slight uncertainty.

We still haven't found the damn dog. But I'd say we have a much better chance once we're out. This whole temple, as truly alluring as it is, is equally very unsettling.

Nothing to mention the three suspicious characters that showed up...

Almond as if reading my mind or sharing the same thoughts, Leon gently whispered back at Lia;

"We have to get out of here first. We'll find Muffin once we're out."

Lia bobbed her lips up and down for a moment, as if reluctant to say something then just simply nodded. Her face was full of uncertainty.

Just then, the voice of one of the bald men from before reached my ears.

I carefully raised my head slightly over the stone bench and took a look back at the altar. It was empty, with only the visible shadow of one of the men dancing against its wall in the light. The shadow wasn't exactly coming closer or heading further away and just remaining there. Which meant, the men had not fully left. We had to be careful how we left then.

I opened my eyes slightly, and without need for much straining, managed to grasp a few words from the men.

"Hey, fatty, you have seen one of the hounds? I can't find Bitty and it's time for their dinner."

"Of course, I haven't. You're the one in charge of the hounds. Do a better job handling your task you incompetent dimwit. And who're you calling fat?!?!"

And the voices slowly faded away along with the lingering shadows.

I breathed a slightly restrained sigh and slowly said without turnips back and still keeping my eyes on the shadow:

"Looks like they're leaving for real now..."

However, no response came. Instead, a part of my neck was smeared by a slight heat. At first, I thought maybe it was Don breathing heavily against the back of my neck, but then I heard growling...

Feeling my body slowly stifle in place a little, with trembling eyes, and stiff movement, I forced my head to gently turn back.

A very strong sense of foreboding pulled over, gripping my heart.

And in the next moment, I nearly had a heart attack...

I stared silently, eye to eye with the blackened depths of the eyes of the beast staring back into mine.

I reflexively clasped my mouth shut restarting the heavy urge to scream my lungs out in fear.

'Fuck. Fuck. Fuck...'

And in a strained and tiny voice coming from my side, I heard someone say:

"A–a Blackhound...!"

And the bestial dog simply growled back