A World With/Out Home

Chapter 30: The world that we built on. (Part 1)

"You mean the same Sleeping God from your story?" Melissa asked.

"I think so," Kyle walked to the curved wall and looking closer noticed the small marks dug into the stone. With a brush of his hand the lingering dust fell away and showed hundreds upon thousands of tiny lines. They sat uneven but squished together as if counting and as he stepped back, it soon became apparent that the entire bottom section of the dome was littered with the marks.

Filled with anxious curiosity Kyle quickly stepped across the room and inspected the floors. Again the same lines dug into the tiling, almost impossible to see even without the dust. It wasn't just lines however as every so often a particular tile would be drawn with figures of strange humanoid creatures. The artistic nature was crude and unbalanced, but somehow filled with a delicate care and love.

"Kyle," Lillia called out to him tapping his shoulder as he knelt above the tiles. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," he stood up and brushed his pants.

"Let's keep moving," Reina gestured for them to follow as she stood by the other exit with Melissa. "We can investigate once we're done."

The exit led to another staircase and as they ascended once again the architecture around them changed in reverse to what it had before. The decorative stone became simple rock wall and the stairs they had taken faded to barely even divots. Then all at once the stairs ended and the group came face to face with a stone brick wall.

"On the plus side this looks familiar," Melissa prodded the wall.

Reina agreed, "It's the same brick as the temple." She checked her scanner. "This is somewhere beneath the church reliquary. Only the higher members of the church are allowed in this area."

"We isn't that a shame," Lillia stepped forward and placing her palm against the wall sent a solid thud through it. The bricks visibly loosened as the mortar holding it together cracked. Piece by piece Lillia pulled away the wall until a hole capable of letting them through formed.

Kyle stepped through first without being asked, his hand ready on the hilt of his sword. The room on the other side was a small storage room filled with boxes of different sizes, most of which appeared to be empty. A single door led the way out.

"It's clear," Kyle said simply and helped the others through the hole. Once everyone was through, Lillia sealed it shut.

"From here on be as silent as you can," Reina whispered. "And at all times be ready to fight. You know your roles."

Melissa gave a salute and pulling a dagger from seemingly nowhere moved to the head of their party. Her senses were exceptionally sharp from years of training in her previous work and detecting the presence of others was her speciality. With the door picked and unlocked, Melissa moved through, signalling when the others were to follow. The passages from here were harder to track as there were many other doors and paths to split from. Reina's scanner however made it easier to navigate despite the unknown territory.

A sudden twitch gave away Melissa's intention even before her signal. The next room was occupied. Kyle closed his eyes and focused his hearing. The shuffle of papers, objects being moved and then the casual chatter of people.

"I still can't believe that they hid all this from everyone," a female voice spoke mildly annoyed. "If the church had even shared half this research we could be a full decade ahead in our own!"