Ainsley sat up. The doctor and the girl who had saved his life were going on about opening the next chest. "Maybe we shouldn't," he said, his voice wobbling a bit. "I don't think we can afford another injury. How are we supposed to know how to 'sensibly' open these things without putting another one of us at risk?"
And then he glanced over at the man who had been hit by the darts earlier.
...May had been telling him stories. Stories about heroes who went on epic quests and were rewarded for their bravery. She wasn't talking about the heroes from ancient mythology - she was talking about the kids at the camp she had spent years at.
Raptor wasn't feeling brave. He wasn't feeling like much of a hero, either. But the longer he thought on it, the more certain he was of what his role was supposed to be right now. He had a suit of obsidian armor on. He had a potion in his bag that could only heal him. And if they needed bandages, he even had a cloth they could rip apart.
Raptor sighed.
And then he walked over to the padlocked chest near the statue.
"You should save those robes," Raptor said, his voice quiet. "They must have been put there for a reason. We might need them later."
He glanced at the doctor.
"...I should do it," he said. "I should open the chest. I have the protection of my armor and a potion that can heal me if I get hurt."
Grateful that Raptor was willing to open it, Elias limped to his side. "I can flip it open from the side with this." He held up his cane. "All you need to do is break the lock." He gave a hopeful smile.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Aumrauth rolled his eyes. Everyone was making such a big deal about opening chests.
"Could be a whole different kind of booby trap," he said, wandering over with a graceful, carefree stride. "Listen, if you're all too scared to open it, let me." He put his hand on his chest and smiled while he tilted his head forward. "Raptor you can be a meat shield later, I'm sure. If something shoots out of here, I'll be fine."
It was a stretch of the truth. It would still hurt, but he wouldn't die from it, probably. He would come back either way, but his body would regenerate. Even though he didn't have his magic, he at least had one thing going for him.
Well, there was that, and his beauty, but none of the others seemed to care about that. Their loss.
"Though I'd love it if you broke the lock for me, sweetie," he said, looking up at Raptor, batting his eyes.
Mel wanted to be over at the shiny new chest to see whatever new mystery was inside, but since Eira pointed out that the robes could be used as bandages and Mel was standing right next to the poor injured man, she felt obligated to do something here. She sighed, knowing that if Alan were here, he'd be proud that she pushed down her impulses and apathy to help someone out.
Mel quickly went through the pile of robes to find the the thinnest one to tear, which happened to be one of the fanciest-looking one since it was made out of a white satin and chiffon fabric. This would be worth a fortune in the Sector, so it killed her a little inside to destroy it, but the trivialities of her homeworld was probably the least of anyone's worries right now.
"Here, you can use this to wrap your wound," she said after tearing up some scraggly pieces and tying them together. It wasn't as pretty as normal gauze, but it would still be able to provide protection to a wound while also somewhat compressing it.
Raptor stiffened when the man approached. He went even more still when he heard the tearing sound behind him. Did no one listen to what he had said? He was starting to suspect that he would spend the entire time he was stuck with this group warning them of something that could easily be avoided - only for them to ignore his advice and suffer for it later on.
He groaned.
And then he narrowed his eyes at the man with his hand on the chest.
"I'm not scared," he said. "I was being cautious. There's a difference, even if you can't see it."
He walked over to the chest and looked right at the man.
"You could get hurt," he said, just a foot away from him a most. "I'm the one who should open the chest."
He glanced at the lock.
"...And despite what everyone seems to think," he added, "I can't break the lock. I don't have that kind of strength."
So Raptor was useless, was what he was saying. Aumrauth looked up at him with puppy eyes that turned sour, and he sighed. "Then what are you good for?" he muttered, bending down by the lock.
He pulled out a knife from his robes - but seemingly out of nowhere - and looked at the lock. He was glad his knife was slim, and the lock was large, because he was able to fit the tip of it inside to pick at it.
"Just another man in armor. No magic. No strength. Just enough common sense so that you're not dead yet, I guess. Not that it matters. I mean, you wouldn't know this, because you're a little dull, and you've probably never touched the river in your life, but if I get hit, I'll recover. If you get hit, at best, you'll just get a dent in your armor, and an ugly bruise. At worst, your armor gets split through and becomes your metal death cage. But me? If I get cut, I still bleed, but it'll never kill me for good. All you mortals think your bravery is doing people good in the world, and sure, pair it with some caution and you feel real smart, but when you have the option? Leave these things to the professionals."
The lock clicked open. His mouth spread into a devilish smile.
Eira's eyes widened at Amurath's speech. An immortal. He was an immortal.
She didn't know quite what he meant by 'the river. Maybe he was referring to one of those running through the underlayers. Those were probably involved in some kind of magic or ritual. Either the one that made him immortal or some kind of power source for him.
Regardless, immortality was a tricky game. Anyone who had it wasn't likely to have gotten it through noble means, just, statistically.
Ainsley wrapped the cloth around his wound. A vague thought about the piece of clothing it came from crossed his mind, but he quickly determined stanching his wound was more important. They could figure out the rest later.
He grimaced at the red stain on his white shirt. That's never going to come out... With a sigh he put the shirt back on and slowly rose to his feet. The armoured man, Raptor, and the man with grey-ish skin were squabbling over one of the locked chests.
Before he was able to take a step, the lock clicked open. Shit. "Hey! " he exclaimed. "Don't open it yet." Ainsley's hand drifted to his wound with a frown. "Who knows what's in there."
Eira watched the wounded man rise, ready to grab him at any second. They would likely both fall over, after the stunt she pulled, but he really didn't look good.
Subtly, she inched closer to him and offered him an arm to lean on if he needed it.
Elias's eyes lit up as the lock clicked, and he stepped to the side. "I'll open it slowly," he told them, extending his cane toward the lid. "Clear out from in front of it and have your weapons ready."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ainsley gladly took the girl's silent offer, leaning gently on her shoulder. "Thank you, for...whatever it was you did. I don't know if I would have made it."
He looked up. The doctor was pointing his cane at the chest, telling the others to move back and arm themselves. He pulled a dagger out of his bag, wincing. Ainsley was too weak to fight well, but if something dangerous flew out of the chest he wanted to be able to defend himself and his companions the best he could.
Nikolai frowned doubtfully, but kept to himself for a bit. He was skeptical of the choice to open another chest, after what had just happened. They’d already had a near-death experience, and he would like it if those were less common in the future.
What should I do to help out?
The young man looked around at everyone. He was feeling too timid to actually ask someone what he should do. But he hoped that they all knew he was there for them, and ready to do whatever he could to keep them all safe.
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.
Mel craned her neck to see what could be in this new chest and then nodded when the doc instructed them to go around it. It would be pretty disastrous if it was another poisoned trap. She crumpled some robes into a ball before sticking it in her bag, then went off to stand by the side of the chest where she could still get a decent view.
Dr. Archer told them to get their weapons ready, but she didn't exactly have a tangible weapon. Still, she stood with her feet spread apart and her arms poised, patiently waiting for the chest to be opened.
