THIRTY-SIX: TREASURE ROOM

  “How does it feel?” Cassius asked as Valeria walked back from the stone. The older legionnaire stretched her arms up above her head, cracking her neck side to side as she smiled widely.

  “[Regenerate] is worth every missing piece of gold I will never see. Had a knot in my back for the last decade that has finally given way,” Valeria said with a laugh. It was like a decade had been erased from her, strands of gray that had been in the stubble along the side of her head darkened before his eyes. Lines around her eyes faded away as the older woman de-aged in seconds.

  “Are you two ready?” Vira asked from near the vault door, perched against it as she waited. She’d absorbed her skills, [Regenerate] and [Imbue] while Valeria had ascended to the next tier.

  “Those dungeon swords, where are they? If we are to face something stronger than the undead, I wish for the best steel I can hold,” Valeria said, still riding high on the euphoria of her blessings.

  “There, next to Titus’ armor,” Vira said. Cassius noted that she had already strapped her own blade on, the distinctive handle apparent as she stood waiting.

  “I will warn you, if you are more familiar with the gladius, then use that. A longer blade is different,” Vira said. Cassius paused mid step, aware of what she was speaking of. The way Leto had fought had been strange to him, an overwhelming blend of precision and technique. How he had been taught to fight with the gladius usually resolved to stabbing whatever had pressed against his shield.

  “Valeria, let us stick with our blades for now. Shield to shield we shall fight like legionnaires,” Cassius said. The older woman paused and nodded, her own thoughts having run parallel to Cassius’.

  “Then prepare yourself. I do not know what waits for us, but it shall be strong,” Vira drew her own sword and waited as Cassius and Valeria grabbed their shields and Valeria her spear. After a moment the other legionnaire bent down and pulled the tattered remnant of the superbia.

  “It will feel good to battle beneath the aegis of this,” Valeria said, offering Cassius the old superbia.

  “What am I to use to wield it?” Cassius complained, but he still took the thin fabric, dirt and oil meshed so well with the fabric that it had become slick.

  “Grab your broken spear,” Valeria ordered. In no time she had affixed the superbia to the end of the shattered haft.

  “Just plant it in the ground before we do battle,” Valeria said, looking with pride toward the superbia. Cassius had not long been in the legions, but the training camps had done well to instill the pride of the legions in him and with that came the respect of the regalia. The standards, superbia, and Baton of Command. Each of them were legion specific and held the pride of the legion or its cohorts.

  To stand beneath the tattered remnants of the original legion, of the legio primus, was an honor to Cassius. He couldn’t imagine what it felt like for Valeria who had spent her adult life in the legion.

  “Now we are ready,” Valeria said, grim determination in her voice as she rose and walked toward the treasure room door. Vira gave them one look and nodded her head as they stacked outside of the wide door.

  “Be ready,” the noblewoman warned as she turned the final row of tiles until they connected properly. The wall burned white-blue for a moment before cracking down the middle, sounding as if glass had shattered. It swung open from the middle on hinges that were invisible, revealing the treasure room in all its glory.

  Cassius' breath caught as he looked at the massive scale of the room, shocked dumb. A running creek cut across the center of the room, trickling away under rocks to somewhere unseen. Trees lined the bank, heavy with pomegranate and apples, while bushes ran along the ground, berries ripe and heavy on their vines. Rocks lined the room, hundreds of them from the size of his fist to the size of a horse, but arranged in a way that calmed him to simply look at.

  “By the godsI have never seen a room so rich,” Vira mumbled as they stumbled into the room. Cassius could admire the beauty of the room, the powerful nature of it already assaulting him with a heady perfume, but he kept his eyes alert with [Hunter’s Sight] as he searched for the protector.

  “I see no guardian here,” Valeria said, shifting nervously as the tension ramped up as they looked. Vira grunted, but said nothing as they reached the stream and looked at the crystal clear water. It shimmered and danced in sunlight that emerged from a cavern ceiling. His skill gave him the impression of the water not being a threat, no sense of warning coming from it, but rather one of interest.

  “The water is special,” Cassius said, not knowing any other way to describe how his skill was interacting with it.

  “Mana infused. It will be potent like everything else here. First the guardian,” Vira said, turning her head to look at them. Her eyes widened in shock and Cassius spun on instinct, breaking away from Valeria as he did so.

  The sound of heavy fabric flapping in the wind stopped him, drawing his eyes upward to the superbia attached to his broken spear. His own blessings had betrayed him, the increase in strength making the sudden appearance of a fully restored superbia negligible.

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  When they had entered the dungeon and the room itself, the tattered remnants had been nothing more than rags. Golden light poured out of the fabric now, filling the air with motes of light as it grew before his eye.

  Long it was, spilling down lazily from his inadequate staff, moving slowly as Cassius turned. It was a crimson background, royal as any blood held by man. The white headed bird was perched there, golden bolts in its claws, beak open in a shriek of defiance. In the old tongue the words Primo Legio were written in bold black lettering.

  “So he found another group to brave this place?” A voice called out behind them. Cassius cursed and spun again, feeling like a top loosed by an errant child.

  Across the stream from them stood a legionnaire. He wore armor similar but dated to what Cassius and Valeria wore and had the look of someone from the south-east of the peninsula, amber skinned with black hair and eyes, there was a wiry toughness to the man that put Cassius on edge instantly.

  “Legionnaires this time? How strange. Brother, sister, I regret this,” the unknown legionnaire said.

  “Then do not draw your blade, brother,” Valeria called out fast as Cassius locked shields with her, planting the superbia in the stony ground with a single thrust as he drew his gladius.

  “I have no choice. It forces me to move against my desires. It keeps me from finding my rest.” Steel rasped out as the ancient legionnaire drew his blade, a gladius similar to what Cassius wielded, but slightly longer.

  “What does?” Valeria asked. Cassius looked around to see what it could be that was animating the old spirit or trapping him.

  “In the rocks by the wall. This place is a trap to harvest souls who fall here,” the legionnaire said, voice still casual as he began to walk toward them.

  “Cassius, he is strong, I can feel it,” Vira said nervously, shifting her weight back and forth as her sword came up into guard position.

  “I regret this brother, but I must know your name before I send you to the next world,” Cassius said, voice strong even as he felt a tremble of fear. [Hunter’s Sight] screamed at him that the old legionnaire was a deadly threat, a chill in his spine that spoke of running.

  “I am Zhang Wei, Tribune of the Legio Primus, child of the First People,” the old legionnaire said as he splashed into the stream. The water rose to his thighs, slowing him down and Cassius knew that was their chance.

  “Now!” Cassius commanded. Golden light flowed around him, spiraled around Valeria as her spear lance forward cloaked in rad mana. Golden motes infused the spear, producing a powerful light as the spear cut across the distance in a heartbeat, faster than Cassius had ever seen [Thrust] move before. Power roared off the attack as Valeria roared, her voice shaking the air.

  Zhang Wei, Tribune of the Legio Primius, simply swatted the attack away with the flat of his blade. Mana discharged in a flash of light and the crack of thunder. A rock exploded across the room, showering the area with debris.

  “You are skilled and powerful, sister. Glory to the legions!” Zhang Wei said, raising his sandaled foot and kicking Cassius’ shield.

  [Reinforce] activated before the old man’s foot connected, but even with the power of the skill, wood broke apart as Cassius was thrown backwards, crashing across the ground.

  He rolled to a stop, letting go of the busted fragments of his tower shield as he rose to his feet on shaky knees. The gladius was in his hand in a moment as he started back toward the fight.

  Valeria’s shield had been split down the middle with a single downward attack, the woman’s mangled hand held to her chest as she screamed in a mix of rage and pain, stabbing at Zhang Wei as the tribune weaved around her attacks as if they were from a child.

  Vira attacked at the same time, her blade glowing with power as she smashed into him. Corona of light erupted from their clash and the tribune grunted in annoyance as Valeria used the distraction to stab him in the stomach.

  Cassius was there a moment later, stabbing at the man’s throat while Vira held his blade locked. Zhang Wei moved in a blur of speed, slicing apart the spear a foot down from the spear head, slapping Vira in the chest, spinning and blocking Cassius’ attack, all in one smooth motion.

  “If it was not for that infernal trap, I would be free to rest. Alas, you must die by my hand,” Zhang Wei said, eyes dull as he launched a blistering series of attacks at Cassius. Blood flowed as he failed to block them, his gladius chipping even with [Reinforce] protecting it. [Regenerate] began to stitch him back together as he backpedaled, noticing faint gold light sitting atop of his body.

  In the heat of the fight he couldn’t tell for sure, but he felt that the light was helping him, easing the strain of his skills as he fought to stay alive for even a moment longer.

  “Truly. A. Pity. That. I. Am. Trapped. By. That. Damned. Trap!” Zhang Wei punctuated with a particularly powerful overhand blow. Cassius raised his gladius to block it and watched in horror as the tribune’s blade glowed with energy and sheared straight through his reinforced sword.

  He threw himself to the side, rolling on his shoulder to evade the falling blade. Cassius sprang to his feet as the tribune whirled on him, anger beginning to fill the other man’s face. Finally his words connected to Cassius and he belted out orders without thought.

  “Valeria, into the rocks! Destroy the trap that binds him! Vira, to me!” Cassius turned back to see the tribune give him the faintest of smiles as he paused. A tendon popped in Zhang Wei’s neck, a vein throbbed on his forehead and one of his dark eyes began to cloud with blood as he held himself there.

  “This world. It is not what we thought. The First People lied to us.” Blood ran out of the tribune’s mouth as he spoke, the strain of fighting against his commands evident.

  “Good she is here, we can proceed,” Zhang Wei said, starting forward again. All the signs of tension dissolved again as he stopped speaking and continued his attack.

  “Cassius, here,” Vira shouted, tossing him her sword. He caught it with more grace than he expected, the long blade unfamiliar in his hand as he raised it in time to stop Zhang Wei’s next blow. Steel rang on steel as for the first time Cassius’ blade didn’t chip or crack under the strain. [Reinforce] ran through the blade in a way it hadn’t his gladius or shield, coating it perfectly as the tribune lazily attacked him.

  Vira had grabbed the splintered spear and whirled it like a quarterstaff as she advanced. In that moment her bravery shone, going against the ancient legionnaire. Zhang Wei bent and flowed like a reed, dodging or blocking both their attacks. Each time he countered it pushed them both to their limits, blood flowing hot as their armor was torn asunder with every strike. Without [Regenerate] they’d have both died a dozen times over in that vicious back and forth.

  Cassius was forced to admit that Zhang Wei fought lazily, bored, wanting to fail, and even then it was all they could do to restrain him. It boiled his blood, made him gnash his teeth as he bit off screams of pain as his flesh knitted itself back together.

  How long they did this playacting, Cassius didn’t know. It wasn’t long, for even not trying, Zhang Wei should have killed them a dozen times over and they grew closer and closer to death with every passing moment. Finally, Valeria’s voice rang out over the sounds of fighting.

  “It is done!”