We Start At the End

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No, Claude couldn't laugh. Again she'd nearly fallen and he couldn't have that. He wouldn't admit that his heart had skipped a beat watching her fall again, collapsing awkwardly on the hole at his feet. However, she was soon up again, and the relief he felt substantially calmed his nerves. When she handed him the rope, he awkwardly kept it in the space between them.

"Maybe we keep this out, non?" Chuckling awkwardly, he turned to once more lead the way.

The floor was no more stable ahead of them, and in some places he could see the spikes which might greet them. He scowled at the empty spaces from then on, fearing that they might face them head on at one misstep. Claude had no intention of dying in the tunnels, but the tunnels seemed to have another idea. Something was hidden inside, but he hadn't the slightest idea of what was there in the final room. If there was one, after all.

There had to be.

"Rose!" He exclaimed at the sight of yet another iron door, but this time it was with embellishment. Glorious stones and gems littered the door, dripping gold around their edges. It was almost too much to believe after having come such a short way. Well, Claude thought, they cheated by blowing up the wall. So they were close then, he had to assume.

Right?​
 
This time she kept an eye on where she walked. She were not going to become dinner to a stupid labyrinth like tomb. When Claude shouted in excitement, Rose weren't too thrilled to see another door. But that changed once she saw the jewelry. At least for a few moments.

"Yay, another door." She said sarcastically. "I wonder... Don't it seem a bit fishy how they have decorated this door? It screams 'look inside, I have something valuable'. That in itself screams trap." Rose pointed out, not wanting to do something hasty. But where else should they go if not there?

She looked around a bit before sighing. "I guess we'll have to find a way inside. It would be awful to walk past it just to realize that the treasure actually were in there." She walked closer to the door, careful of any traps that might be there. "Still wish we had explosives." She commented as she stood right in front of the door.

There was no way it wasn't carefully locked. Right? Even if it was a trap they should still make it a bit of a challenge just to trick people that something's there. Right? Guh. She were too nervous about her questions to even touch the door. Anything could make a trap go of at this point.​
 
Claude pressed his hand against the glowing door and regretted it a moment too late. The stone moved beneath his palm and he fell forwards onto a chute. His torch fell at Rose's feet before he went flying down the old tunnel, cobwebs getting stuck in his clothes as well as chunks of rocks slicing his back as he tumbled on, wailing. It was the last thing he expected to find behind the glittering face.

He came to a sudden stop, slamming into a wall with the force of a tank. The man moaned uselessly in the dark, trying desperately to figure out where he was. "Rose!" He called, wondering if she could even hear him. There was no light shining from above, no torch to guide his way although he had one in his pack. His head throbbed in the dark, lighting it was the last thing on his mind, the first being why he felt sick to his stomach as he raised his head.

"Rose?" He called once more. "Can you hear me? Rose!"​
 
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Rose watched Claude disappear into the darkness, leaving his light source behind. "Claude." She exclaimed. What if he died? What if it was a hundred meters free fall and he'd break every bone in his body?

As fast as he disappeared, Rose was already starting to feel around in the dark opening. She could definitely feel some kind of slide. But how far did it go? Well, if he wanted to know then she had to get down there. She picked up the torch and looked around quickly. There was nothing to tie a rope onto. The spike traps were too far back in the tunnel for the rope to reach. She just had to hope that it wasn't too deep and that they could get back up without one.

Then she heard Claude's shouting. "I'm here." She shouted into the darkness.

"Don't worry, I'll be coming down in a minute. Just move away from your landing spot so I don't crash into you." Rose told him before feeling around on the shoot again. She wanted to make it as controlled as possible. Claude had fallen head first, so he might be hurt. She could at least try to make it a comfortable journey.

Then she went off. She kept her feet on the ground in front of her, trying to use them as a break. It had very little affect, but enough for her to get a softer landing.

"You okay?" She asked as she reached the bottom and saw her companion. The torch could have been blown out by the wind during the journey down, but luckily it stayed burning. Though for a little while after landing, it was only half of its usual size.

"You need to be more careful." She scolded him. Then a relieved sigh left her. He seemed to be fine for having fallen head first down a dark tunnel. Hopefully he wouldn't have a concussion or something.​
 
Claude pressed a hand to his head, pulling it away to check for blood. He found an especially large bump just near his left temple, and the sickly sticky feeling of the crimson liquid made him want to retch. There was a large cut there, and it stung after he pulled his hand away, looking at the blood in the torch's light. So much for luck.

"I barely touched it." He grumbled. "I barely-agh."

He pulled a thick scarf from his pack and tied it hard around his head, black hair sticking to the fabric, caked in blood and dirt. In any other circumstance, he would've left to find somewhere to clean it, but their current situation didn't leave much room for evacuation. They were standing at the bottom of a chute with four torches, and no idea where the center room was. At the rate it was going they'd be dead before morning, and that wasn't a reality Claude wanted to face any time soon.

"Now what, now what." Claude cursed loudly and kicked a small rock across the room. At least there had to be an exit, tunnels led away from where they stood, but falling down was never good. There could've been spikes or an endless hole waiting for them, instead they got a little lucky and he only ended up with a scrape on his head and a bruised ego.

He turned to Rose and frowned.

"You could've stayed up there, at least gotten out."​
 
Gotten out without him? She hit him hard on the shoulder.

"Don't talk like that. I'm not going to leave you to die down here." Rose told him angrily. "If you had been impaled on a spike or crushed your head against the wall, then sure. But as long as you're still breathing and can walk, then I'm with you one hundred percent."

She looked towards the slide. Maybe they could climb up, but it was incredibly slippery and very steep. It would have been much easier if they could have a rope to hold onto. But they weren't that lucky. If she had some muscles then maybe she would have been able to hold onto the rope while he climbed up. But as it was now she would just have glided to the edge and fallen down with him, creating a worse situation than they already were in. They just had to find another way out.

"There's a tunnel, so there must be a way out. We'll just have to follow it as we have everywhere else. Eventually we'll find something." Rose then told him, trying to calm them both down a bit.

"Who knows. The treasure might be down here."​
 
Now Claude was rubbing his arm. There seemed to be no end to the pain he caused himself. Whether he was speaking or falling down slides in the middle of some old ruins, it followed him close by. Still, he smiled in appreciation at her declaration not to leave him behind (unless of course he'd died). It made him feel a little better about their situation knowing she'd follow him.

"We'll find some stupid door and another chute." He teased. Be it his head or his spirits, something was making him a little more giddy.

After readjusting himself, checking for other minor scrapes and bruises, Claude felt ready to move on. There was no point staying inside the room with the slide, as they wouldn't be able to climb out without some help from the top. And surely, he had to assume, there was no one coming to help them now. He headed off into the next tunnel, surprised at how maze like it felt now that they were deep inside the ruins. As soon as he made one step forward, several new paths greeted him. To the left, the right, another fork if they continued straight. That was no more comforting than being stuck in the chute.

"I think it's a maze." He announced. "Look at all the choices, ma petit, so many ways to go."

He waved his hand out in front of him lazily. One more path, one more shot, so many ways to die.​
 
"Well, if we can't find our way, then I hope you stay alive for a long time. I'll need something to eat once I start to starve." Rose joked and took up one of the stones lying around.

"Let's mark the ways we've taken so that if we pass it a second time we'll know where not to go." She suggested and made a marking at the tunnel turning left. It took a bit of scratching, but eventually the big white x became clearly visible. "Now when it's marked, we'll have to go in. Otherwise it would be very confusing." She smiled towards Claude and started to walk.

"Does your head feel alright?" She asked on the way. She hadn't gotten the chance to take a good luck before he put the headband on, but she knew that he was bleeding. Maybe he needed to rest for a little while. But considering how lot they were, it could be dangerous to waste time.​
 
"It feels like I rammed it into an ax, it is still bleeding, I can feel it." Claude groaned. "Stop, I need to..."

He groaned audibly and sat down past the first white mark. The room was spinning as much as he hated to admit it, and going on without a bit of rest would be impossible. After meeting the ground, sitting in pain, he raised a hand to press his scarf further against his head. The blood had seeped through the fabric and trickled onto his hand.

All in all, a terrible sign.

"My head." He sighed. "I cannot, I cannot go further not yet."

Claude stomped his foot in anger. His head began to throb the more irritated he got, which wasn't helping the situation at hand. He waved her on. Rose could explore the maze, right? Come back and find him. Like it or not, that was the idea he had, albeit not a very good one. What was he supposed to do.​
 
Rose sighed frustrated. This was bad. They had to get going. Both of them. But there wasn't much they could do. If Claude couldn't move, then he couldn't. She couldn't carry him, and he wouldn't stop for small problems.

She opened her bag and took out the water. "Here, drink." She told him. They should probably save as much as possible in case they would be trapped for a while, but it would be good for his body when he was hurt.

"Rest here while I check some of the tunnels, if I find something I'll come get you. If you're not up to it at that point, then we'll just rest for the night and see how you feel tomorrow. How does that sound?" If he weren't good enough to walk the next day, then she might actually have to leave him. Even though it hurt just to think the thought, she knew that it was better than to let both of them die down there. If she found a way out, then she could come back with help as long as she marked all the paths. Hopefully they would be back before it was too late.

She forced herself to stop thinking like that. Claude would be alright, he just needed some minutes of rest. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." She warned him before wandering off. The torch wouldn't last for much more than an hour, so she would have to be back before then. She carefully marked every turn she took, making sure so she wouldn't become completely lost.

There weren't many traps down there, and those she stumbled upon had either stopped working or was very easily avoidable. That didn't make her less careful though. Especially after a spike almost impaled her foot. Luckily it only got the edge of her shoe. Sure, it wasn't too nice with a hole letting in small stones into her shoe, but it was better than loosing her foot.

Rose thought about turning back just as she found a big door with weird inscriptions. "I wonder what's in there." She mumbled and poked the door. Nothing happened. She pushed it a little, nothing. Okay, so maybe it didn't have a trap like the other one. She pushed on it harder and she felt how it started to open. Good, that meant it probably lead somewhere. Maybe it even was a treasure room.

She wouldn't explore it now though. She had found something and she wanted to see it together with her companion. Doing things alone wasn't as exciting. Plus, her light was running out. So she hurried back.

"Claude. I think I found something. A big door with something written on it. I think we should check it out." She started as she came close to the place her companion should be sitting, or laying at. The light had still not fallen on him.​
 
Claude waited. Then some more. He clutched his head and waited, sat on the floor waiting, hummed and sang to himself while he waited.

It was boring.

He found a soft spot on the floor to lay on, keeping his head turned so the dirt wouldn't touch his wound. It was selfish of him to send her on, he knew that. Because laying there in the dirt was far easier than having to explore the tunnels and find certain death. Maybe she'd found herself a new trap, a new problem. Gods he was getting impatient, but he felt so woozy. Falling asleep was easy. He drifted off laying on the ground with his head throbbing in pain.

"Clau....big door with...." He heard Rose's voice call out to him.

Falling asleep was easy, and waking back up was hard. Her light found him on the ground, disgruntled after the short bit of slumber he'd caught. His eyes drooped, and he found that sitting up was impossible with the state he was in. The water Rose had given him lay unused, he'd completely forgotten about it. He reached out tentatively to grab it, and took a long swig from the container.

"We'll..." He gasped. "Tomorrow, please."

Just a little more sleep.​
 
Rose found him almost passed out on the ground. He seemed like a little kid. A very big little kid with a bleeding head. "Tomorrow." She said and sat down. He needed the rest. She blew out the torch and laid down nearby her companion.

It took her some hours to fall asleep, but eventually she did. In her dreams she could see a weird statue with glowing red eyes. It called out to her. "Take me. Take me." Over and over again it called for her. It felt wrong, but she couldn't resist the small voice in her head. Reaching out for the totem, she heard her heartbeat going faster. This was it. What they had been searching for. Or was it? It must be. She just knew it. Her hand touched it and suddenly she felt something shooting through her body.

Rose sat straight up, startled by the end of her dream. Wait... Dream? Had she been dreaming? She couldn't even remember. There was something she had forgotten for sure, but she weren't sure what. It felt as if she were forgetting a warning or something like that. It was probably nothing, it must be the dark that made her paranoid.

Claude did not seem to be moving around yet, and considering she didn't know how long they had been sleeping, she decided to just sleep a bit longer. Claude was the one whom was hurt, so it was probably best to just let him decide when it was time to get moving. She laid down again and waited for signs of life from him, eventually though she fell asleep again. It must still have been pretty early morning, otherwise she wouldn't have fallen asleep so easily. Though the dark might be affecting her a bit.​
 
Unlike Rose, Claude didn't dream. He woke from time to time, only to groan and roll over again. Each time he woke, his head felt a little more numb than the last time, but he felt so heavy. That was probably the blood loss setting in. After having enough of this, he sat up and leaned against the wall instead. That took more effort than he thought. What little blood was already in his head rushed down through his body and he instantly blacked out. Cue a few more hours of sleep, and he was hardly sure what day it was after that.

"I'm up." He sighed into the darkness. Gods he hated the dark.

Fumbling uselessly with his foot, he searched for his companion. He kicked her on accident and apologized to the shadow forming in front of him. There was no light, but he felt better adjusted to the dark after being trapped in it for a while.

"Rose?"​
 
Rose heard his words, but didn't respond at first. Then she felt something kicking her and came to life. At least a little bit.

"I'up... Cau ont kick i." And so the morning slurs started. She sat up, knowing she wouldn't last long if she kept lying down, and searched for the flint stone in her bag. "Wai asec." She told him, probably not making much sense. Clapping the stones together, the torch was soon lit. Though in maybe ten minutes they would have to change it for one of their other torches. But considering how few they had, it was still better to make sure they used every last bit of them.

She yawned as the light started to give her some brain power. "How are you feeling? Is your head okay?" She asked him before another yawn came. They would have to start moving, if he wasn't fine so far she would either have to leave him or he would have to push himself. They would both starve down there if they stayed for too long.​
 
"This'll just have to do." He grunted. "No use staying here until I bleed out. I look good though, no?"

Now that Claude was back in his usual character, it was clear he was feeling better. The scarf wrapped around his head still yielded the same bloody crust it did when she left him there on the ground. Although now that he was alert, he took the wrap from his head to adjust what showed. Instead of leaving i covered in dried blood, Claude adjusted it so a new patch of cloth touched the wound. He looked like a gypsy, the way it hung down all ragged at his side.

"What did you find, surely something more interesting than this place?"

He peered down into the halls, eyeing up new white marks along the stone walls where she'd walked. Which path was the safest? Had she hurt herself in any way? At a glance nothing seemed to suggest she was in major pain, and she certainly hadn't said anything unusual in her morning haze. He smiled at her articulation and poor pronunciation, that was typical of his sleepy head.​
 
Rose took a close look at him, making sure that it wasn't bleeding and that he still had some blood in his veins. Well, his skin had color and he talked alright. He didn't seem tired, and when he took off the scarf, the blood seemed to have stopped.

"Aj aj aj. Let's hope money can fix it, I wouldn't want to live with that face for the rest of my life." She replied teasingly. He definitely looked good enough for a bit of morning bullying, especially after he kicked her. Sometimes childish revenge was necessary to continue a healthy companionship.

"I found a door further down, very easily opened. I didn't have time to go in though as I wanted to get back before mister torch would take his last breath." Rose informed him, which reminded her of picking up the other torch. They would have to switch them very soon, so she wanted to be ready for it. "The door had some strange inscriptions on it, so I'm assuming it was used for something."

She started walking. Lucky she had thought of marking the way, otherwise she might not have found it again. On the other hand, she would probably not have found her way back to Claude in that case, so it would just have been stupid to have walked away without some kind of safety procation.​
 
"My face is as wonderful as the setting sun in the summer mornings of..." He grumbled on and on, talking about his jaw and the color of his amber eyes before trailing off. His face would not be insulted to early in the morning, but it was nice to have some humor back into their conversations instead of death, doom, and possibly starvation and pitch black fear.

She led the way back to this new door. Always a new door, never something useful behind it. He traced the edges, looking for some sort of note which might say 'hey, the treasure is in here' but nothing so lucky would happen to the pair. Not down in the deep where the dead sat quiet and the air was rich with decay. No, nothing like that at all would ever happen to them. Thieves didn't have that kind of luck.

"Ladies first." He sneered, holding out an arm so she might take the first step. "After all, you did find the door, it'd be a shame if there were another chute behind it. My head can only take so much before, well, I'd like to be intact for the rest of this endeavor."​
 
"Sacrificing the woman. So gentlemanly of you." Rose smiled at him while switching torches in what seemed to be the last second. Just as the second one was lit, the first one faded out completely.

She walked up to the door, not as careful as the day before, and pushed it open fully. Then she felt inside with her left foot, both for traps and another slide. "I think it's safe." She confirmed and stepped in fully, then letting the light fall as far in as it could.

The walls were filled with weird inscriptions which they probably wouldn't be able to translate. The floor had a straight path and on the side laid heaps of gold and silver, much like in the earlier tunnels but to a slightly bigger extent. "Wohoo, more gold. I start to wonder why they didn't just build a gold temple instead. Then no one would have been able to take it away from them no matter how hard they tried. Not if it was as big as this place."​
 
Claude stepped up to the transcriptions, trying to examine them best he could in the light. There was nothing overly significant in their array, nothing he could read anyways. The warnings, or descriptions fell on blind eyes. The gold however, caught his full attention, and when he was bored with the symbols he was shifting his hands through the heaping mound of precious metals.

"They certainly liked their gold." He commented. "But I'd like to know what they value over that."

The totem they were looking for, this thing, it must have been more valuable to them if the point of this maze was to keep it hidden. What was it though? He wanted to find it and get this blasted ruin experience behind him already, it had been days since delving into the inner depths of the catacombs, and they were no closer to the center than before. Now, they had to find a way out as well, the original iron door was sealed tight behind them. So many things to do, with so little torchlight left.

"Come on, if that is all that is inside, we need to find the center. Fast."

He wasn't fond of the idea of running out of torches so early on. They had four left, minus the one which was burning in Rose's hand. Claude felt his pack for the awkward handles of the torches for a bit of reassurance, sighing gratefully once he found them poking his back. Something so annoying was so relieving. He adjusted so they stayed off his spine and stuck his hand into the pile of gold. At least if they'd move on, he'd have a little souvenir from their time in the room.​
 
Rose sighed. Why couldn't they just find that damn item already? "Maybe they just say that there's a bigger treasure down here, but in reality it's just a rumor so people will walk around and die before finding it, thus leaving the gold where it is." She pointed out. It wasn't completely impossible. That would be a very effective way of getting people to keep their hands of without them even realizing it. No one had seen that treasure, still everyone thought it existed and ignored to gold just for it. There was something fishy about that.

"Doors, doors and more doors. Which way now?" She asked as they walked forward. There were doors to their right and their left. She guessed there would be one in front of them too once they've walked far enough. Would the maze ever end?

Suddenly her feet came to a drastic halt. "Did you hear that Claude?" She asked perplexed by what she had just heard. She knew it couldn't have been Claude, because it came from in front of them. She had been sure that someone had whispered something, though it was impossible to hear the words. Usually she didn't let the dark get to her, but maybe she had been down there a bit too long for her mind to handle it. It was definitely bad if she started hearing voices that didn't exist. Though there was a slight possibility that someone else had found their way down there.​
 
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