Rouges hand wandered towards the hilt of the dagger hidden inside his cloak. Unus threw him an inconspicuous glance and shook his head.
The foremost guard lowered his spear a little. »Identify yourself,« he demanded.
»We are adventurers searching for the city of Atlantis,« Rouge explained. »We used a map that led us to...« The guard interrupted him. »You will not reach your destination, adventurer. I admire that you made it this far, but you will not pass any further. For millenia no outsider has entered the city. Arrest them.«
Before any of them could react, the other two guards in the back muttered a few words, accompanied by signing with one hand. Within the blink of an eye, Unus's hands felt as heavy as rocks. He tried moving a finger, but nothing happened. It was as if the signal from his brain was blocked off from entering his hands. Rouges hand slipped from his pocket, letting the dagger fall to the bronze cobblestone. The first guard picked it up and gave the other two a nod with his head. With the guards hands on their backs, the trio was led deeper into the interwoven alleys of El Dorado.
»You can't do this,« Rouge barked. »We have done nothing that warrants an arrest.«
The guardsman scoffed. »Unauthorized intrusion, carrying a weapon within city limits, and the map had been stolen a few months ago. You can consider yourselves lucky that we'll only wipe your memories.«
Annus made a vague, very much protesting noise. »You can't do that! We came here to look for help, and that is how you treat us?«
Rogue nodded. »That is no way to treat someone in need of aid. These men are basically refugees. Atlantis is their only hope to return to their world.«
The guards looked at each other. Neither of them seemed to know how to handle the way this situation was developed. After all, it had just gone from a 'yet another group of adventurers' thing to a 'people that may or may not be from another world asking Atlantis for help' thing. Which was a thing they had most definitely not been prepared for.
The leader of the group was the first one to speak up again. »I see,« the guardsman said. It sounded as if his throat had become coarse all of sudden. »Follow us.« They adjusted their pace and changed their path, back to more brightly lit streets. They did not have the decency to give them back control of their hands, however.
After what felt like an eternity, they arrived at the bottom of the temple. Unus looked at the stairs with a mixture of many different emotions. Excitement was not one of them. It had been early evening when they found the cavern, which meant it must be the middle of the night by now. But alas, the fabled city of Atlantis,in all it's technological advancedness, did not have the foresight to install elevators in its outpost.
His legs were screaming fire when they arrived at the top. At this point, he was happy about the support the guards hand on his back provided. A small structure made up the top of the temple; not much bigger than a mausoleum, but guarded by two more people and ornate, heavy golden doors.
The guardsman, who seemed to have a higher rank of sorts, exchanged a few words with the two gatekeepers. They spoke in a language Unus did not understand, and judging by the look on his face, neither did Rogue.
The doors opened without a single sound, smooth like waves pulling back from the shore.
A silhouette stepped into the doorframe. The orange golden light of the unflickering flames next to the entrance revealed an eerily familiar face. Unus could've sworn he knew the men from somewhere. But at the same time, he was sure that he had seen neither him not his elegant robes before. The fabric looked like silk, and he wasn't sure whether it was black or white; it seemed to change with every fold and wrinkle.
»It's been a long time since we had visitors.« His voice was warm and calm, just listening to it felt reassuring. »I am Norbert Moses. Would you mind telling me your names, travellers?«
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In Memoriam - An Unus Annus Fanfiction
Fanfiction365 days. Unus and Annus have one year left until their death. Trapped in strange machine, relentlessly hunted by Blank and Dark, a fight against the clock begins. Will they be able to find their way out, or will their story be lost in the sands of...
