Page 36 of Cursed By Gold

Finally, with one last desperate push, we drive the remaining tentacles back into the pool. The water roils violently before settling into an eerie calm once more. We stand there, breathing heavily, the adrenaline still coursing through our veins.

"That was too close," Rose mutters, her voice shaky. She wipes the foul liquid off her clothes, her eyes wide with lingering fear.

I nod, still gripping my dagger tightly. "Yeah, I don't think that was the welcoming committee."

She laughs, a sound that cuts through the tension. "Let's get out of here before something else decides to say hello."

"Come on," I say, holding out a hand. "We've got to find another artifact and get out of here before this place kills us."

Time moves oddly when there’s no sky to help track it. Eventually we stumble through a passageway that opens into a vast chamber filled with tombs lining the walls as far as we can see. The room is large; even from where I stand, I can see the walls disappearing into darkness. The silence is overwhelming. Not even our footfalls make noise as they scrape across the floor. We move in the pit of a tomb, lost to time and surrounded by the nobles and heroes of the past.

Rose and I walk slowly through the room, on high alert for any traps or dangers. After several minutes with no sign of artifacts, I sigh in frustration. "What are we looking for?"

She shakes her head. "No clue. Something will reveal itself, I'm sure. Mine was fairly obvious in its room."

We fall into silence once more, scanning the chamber for any hint of what secret lies within.

Suddenly, a hooded figure comes crashing toward us, desperate footsteps echoing off the stone walls. Behind them, a horde of animated skeletons gives chase, claws scraping against the floor.

Rose moves to hide behind a sarcophagus while I grab a staff from a tomb, having long lost mine while trying to save myself from the many other things wanting to kill us in here. I lunge forward to strike at the skeletons as the hooded figure races past us. Smashing their hollow skulls and shattered ribcages fills me with an energy I didn't expect as I send bones clattering to the floor

Always unable to stay out of a good fight, Rose comes out of hiding to join the fray, flinging daggers with deadly accuracy into skeleton eye sockets and between vertebrae. Finally, the last skeleton falls and the hooded figure turns to face us, hood falling back to reveal Darius' face. He breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you, my friends."

Rose speaks first. "What were those things?"

Darius shrugs helplessly. "Guardians, I suppose. Dead but not dead." He eyes the staff in my hand. "Where did you find that?"

I glance down at the intricately carved staff. "I didn't. It was here." As I speak, runes appear along the staff, glowing with a warm light.

Darius gasps. "That staff belonged to the high priest of Halisar!"

I glance down at the staff glowing in my hand, recognizing the symbol of the God of Thieves carved in the wood. Of course now is when the God of Thieves would decide to claim me. Right when I need to keep those skills a secret.

“Seems sort of ridiculous that a high priest of the God of Thieves would have a staff. Why not a dagger or bow? What thief carries around a staff? It would just get in the way.” Rose scoffs.

Darius speaks urgently. "The artifacts choose their owners. The staff has deemed you worthy."

Reluctantly, I tighten my grip on the staff. The wood feels warm, accepting my touch. How am I going to explain this?

Rose's eyes flicker towards me, a silent warning conveyed in her gaze. I know exactly what she is thinking because I am thinking the same thing myself.

"Have you found your artifact?" I ask.

Darius pulls a lute from his back. "It called to me, as a bard's instrument would."

Rose and I exchange a glance, curiosity and suspicion mingling.

Darius seems not to notice. "It's time we find the exit," he says confidently, taking the lead.

Rose falls into step beside me. "Can we trust him?" she whispers.

I watch Darius wander ahead, strumming his lute. "For now," I reply quietly. "But we both know better than to trust anyone."

Rose nods. "Very true."

Our partnership remains fragile, built on mutual gain and necessity rather than full truth or trust. But for now, it will have to suffice

Two Suspects

---