The Search for Knowledge: New Beginnings

Chapter 37

They all faced the portal, silent and unmoving. Something ethereal held them in place, stopped them from leaving. They had left something in the dungeon after all, someone, and had no way to retrieve him. Feera broke the silence with a quiet sob, at some point she had teared up at the thought of leaving her comrade behind.

"We aren't just going to leave him behind, are we?" Toley finally spoke, timidly, as if voicing his question out loud would make it a reality. "He's the only reason we made it through any of this. Sure, we weren't able to get the dragonoid kid, but we still cleared a dungeon."

His words were only met with several minutes of uncomfortable silence as even Sheeron seemed uncomfortable leaving the body behind. Until Kara spoke, "You're right, Toley." She turned to face him, a cold pain on her face as she held back her emotion with every ounce of her being, "However, that's how life is when you do this sort of work. Sometimes you go in and you don't come out." She glanced over the room, there was no entrance or exit other than the portal, "There's no way for us to get him. Let's go, if we hurry we might be able to at least finish the job I accepted with him."

The words struck them all like a whip, Feera especially who had begun crying a bit harder as she ran through the portal. Toley quickly followed her after giving Kara a look of sympathy. Sheeron, however, lagged behind long enough to say a few words in response to her.

"I didn't like him, but he was a fine man. We'll do right by him by finishing his last job. Afterwards, you should give up this research adventure and hire a group to do it." He approached the portal to leave, "You don't have the heart for constant loss, Princess." He said in a cold tone as he exited the room.

It didn't take Kara long after they had all left to collapse onto the floor crying, sobbing into her hands. She knew she didn't have long before they'd start to wonder, but she didn't care. Not right now. No, right now all she cared about was that she had lost Rox. She just wanted a minute, just one minute, to grieve for him without someone trying to kill her or having to pass a test of some kind.

As she took her minute, she heard light footsteps of someone walking on stone behind her, like that of a child. As she was about to snap at, who she assumed to be Feera or Toley, the person spoke.

"I Believe We Warned You Not To Leave Anything Here." She whirled to face the God of Time standing behind her, "It Would Be A Shame If My Child's Body Were Destroyed." He said as she noticed that Rox's cadaver was on the ground next to him. All superficial wounds were gone, but his body was still and cold. Clearly still dead, but it seemed that Aevum had healed the wounds left on Rox's body.

"Thank you." Kara said with tears in her eyes.

"It Is The Least I Can Do For My First Born Son. Please Take Good Care Of His Body, Do Not Bury Him, His Body Will Not Decay, Bring Him With You Back To Town And Let Him Have Peace." He instructed her as his body began to disappear, like sand blowing away from his feet up to his head. His voice became more of an echo as more of him was gone until there was nothing left, leaving only Kara alone with Rox's body.

She didn't fully understand his instructions, but she understood that she had to take Rox with her back to town and lay him to rest there, at least. It made sense in a way, to let him rest in the town he had been a guard of.

She lifted him up over her shoulder, a bit awkward because of the size difference, but her mana-enhanced body made it possible. Once she felt comfortable walking with his weight over her, she went through the portal. It was as if stepping through a doorway, she was suddenly outside. The entrance to the dungeon had already disappeared and the only things remaining were the two statues outside, marking where the entrance used to be. It didn't take long for the others to question what she had carried out.

"What did you find to bring out of ther-- Wait! Is that Rox!?" Toley spoke and realized first. Feera interrupted her crying to run up to the body and check. After lifting his head and looking at his face, feeling his cold, she seemed saddened once again but brightened up and nodded at Toley with a smile.

"Good." Sheeron said, taking Rox from Kara to carry him. She seemed upset, but didn't complain. "At least we won't have to leave a warrior's body to rot. Shall we bury him here?"

"Actually," Kara answered, "the God of Time said we shouldn't bury him and that we should lay him to rest in Fira. He also said the body would not decay."

Sheeron looked over the body a second time and shrugged, "Far be it for me to argue with a primordial god. The city of Fira it is, then." He paused, then continued, "You all should go find Chiron and retrieve the kid. Even with Fira they couldn't have gotten far. Something tells me it won't be hard to convince her to give you the hostage."

"No! I'm going with you" Kara immediately argued.

"Go finish Rox's last job and catch up with me. I doubt I'll travel faster than you three while carrying him. Do not let this chance slip by, don't let him have died in vain on this mission." Sheeron sounded stern, close to anger, his respect for a fallen warrior currently winning over his professionalism as her bodyguard. He looked at Toley, "I'm trusting you to make sure she's safe. I was less-than-respectful to this man while he was alive, let me bear his weight taking him to his resting place.

Toley nodded and made way for his master to pass. Kara and Feera both wanted to argue, but Sheeron was right. They could not let Chiron get away now, they might never be able to find him again if they let him go now.

"I'll track him, you two keep your guards up as we travel in case they lay an ambush. I don't know if I'll be able to detect a trap by that woman with my skills." Feera said, a shade falling over her eyes as she entered a far more business-like mode. Like the eyes of an assassin, she only saw her target starting from that moment.

Wordlessly, the other two followed her with their weapons drawn as Feera began her process of tracking down Rox's killer and Chiron. Under her breath, she spoke words only she could hear, "I'm going to make her pay for you, Rox."