The tunnel leading into the tomb was large enough for two people to walk side by side. Jad led the way, followed by the six slaves, who held torches above their heads. The three wagon drivers brought up the rear. Luc hadn’t seen where they had gotten the torches. Probably some other Nighthawk secrets, thought Luc.

When Luc caught up to the group, the wagon drivers gave him only a backwards glance before continuing on their way. Assuming that they were okay with him joining their expedition, Luc followed several feet behind the group. After a few minutes of walking, Luc found his vision straying to the walls of the tomb.

Last night, he had been running too fast to see the details of the passages he was running through. However, now he saw that the walls inside the tomb were completely decorated with colorful murals. Well, they were not so colorful now, but Luc could tell from the faded colors that they would’ve made a tremendous sight had they not been weathered by age.

Fifteen minutes into the tomb, Luc was already regretting his decision to enter the tomb again. While it was cooler inside the tomb than out in the beating sun, there was a strange musty odor in the air that made Luc’s mouth twist. It vaguely smelled of rotten eggs combined with human waste. Not that Luc had smelled the combination before.

Jad’s group stopped abruptly, halting in the middle of the passage. Luc, absentminded, nearly ran into the three wagon drivers. Luckily, he managed to grab onto the wall, stopping himself. Luc stood on the tips of his toes, trying to see why they stopped. Unfortunately, with people like the {Swordsman of Wind} and Dante in line, Luc couldn’t see anything.

Near the front of the group, a rumble sounded. Is it actually collapsing this time? Luc fell into a crouch, covering his head with his hands. However, this time, no rubble fell from the roof. Only some dust and smaller rocks fell from the ceiling, clattering to the ground next to him. Luc rose quickly from his crouch, casting a few cursory glances around him to make sure no one had seen him hiding.

“Scared, boy?” asked the slave from Tosa, laughing. “Like father, like son.”

A lash from one of the wagon drivers shut him up.

Luc chose not to respond to the slave, even though his blood boiled from the slave’s words. As a coward, he knew he couldn’t win through direct confrontation. Winning a battle as a coward required patience and waiting for the most opportune moment. That moment had not yet come.

Ahead of him, Luc saw that the group was moving forward once again. But as he followed, he saw them turning to the left instead of continuing down the dark tunnel. Just ahead, there was an opening in the tunnel wall about the size of a modern door. Glancing up as he walked through, Luc saw that there was a thick stone wall that had retracted up to the ceiling. That explained the rumbling he had heard earlier.

Looks like these Nighthawks actually know what they’re doing, thought Luc.

Wandering into the dark chamber, Luc saw that it opened into a larger cavern. The torches were not bright enough to light the entire cavern, as it was as large as, or larger than, the room with the coffin. From the dim light, Luc saw that this chamber was not lined with stone bricks like the rest of the tomb. The ground was flattened dirt, and the walls and ceiling were made of naturally formed rock, much like the sides of a cave.

“Spread out and light the area,” said Jad from the head of the group.

Luc watched the bobbing flames of the torches as the slaves spread out in the cavern. As the torchlight spread throughout the area, Luc’s eyes widened as he saw the glint of metal on the ground next to one of the slaves. The slave knelt down and picked up a golden necklace, turning it over in his hands. Looking up, he opened his mouth to speak.

That’s when a short blade, only a foot in length, burst through the man’s chest. His mouth formed an “o” of surprise. Then he collapsed to his knees, blood bubbling from his mouth.

What in the world?

The slave’s torch hit the ground, flame billowing for a moment before extinguishing. But in that instant, Luc saw a stout, humanoid figure hunched just behind the slave. Only standing around three feet tall, it was diminutive but stocky, bare muscles rippling. Its skin was gray and leathery, colored the same hue as the rock in the cavern. The last thing that Luc noticed before the flame went out was that it had no eyes.

“Cave goblins!” shouted Jad. “Maho!”

One of the wagon drivers, the most plain looking out of the three, hurled a handful of objects into the darkness. A moment later, gemstones burst into blue light, illuminating the entire cavern. Luc blinked his eyes against the sudden brightness, trying to see.

Standing in front of them was a pack of around twenty cave goblins.

Without any further orders given, the three wagon riders burst into action. The {Swordsman of Wind} wagon driver dashed forward with surprising speed for a man of his size. He swept his enormous sword in a wide arc, sending whistling wind rushing towards the group of cave goblins. The wind tore into the cave goblins, lacerating them with its sharp gusts. Dark blood splattered the floor of the cavern, tinted blue by Maho’s gems.

However, only several of the cave goblins fell. The rest of the cave goblins opened their mouths and emitted a horrible screeching sound. Luc grimaced and covered his ears, watching as the cave goblins pulled out slingshots and began firing sharp stones directly at the swordsman’s exposed side.

Is it already over?

The last of the wagon drivers, a thin and frail man who looked like he was on the verge of death, leaped in front of the swordsman, crossing his arms in front of his face. The stones crashed into him, smashing his bones to smithereens with loud cracks.

Wait a second. Luc’s eyes widened. The frail man looked fine. The rocks were the things cracking apart as they struck his skin!

The swordsman, now recovered from his initial attack, burst out from behind the frail man, sending another wave of sharp wind hurtling into the cave goblins. From what Luc knew about skills, active skills like the swordsman’s [Wind Slash] required a huge amount of energy, often needing a brief cooldown period before being able to be used again. By having someone like the frail man, who could block all attacks while the swordsman recharged, the two seemed like a perfect team.

“Beautiful, is it not?” asked Jad, who had wandered over to Luc’s side. “I thought the same when I first met them.”

Luc watched as the swordsman and the frail man dashed into the midst of the cave goblins. Their synergy showed even stronger in close quarters. The frail man defended the swordsman’s weak spots, notably his back and non-sword side. Not having to worry about defense, the swordsman could unleash fearsome combo attacks, tearing the cave goblins to shreds.

“All three of them are brothers,” said Jad. “Maho, Sor, and Sheel. You can probably tell who they are by their names. Sor is the {Swordsman of Wind}. Sheel’s Bloodline is [Body of Stone]. He can harden any part of his skin to the same hardness of rock.”

Luc glanced at the last brother, Maho, who sat on the ground cross legged with his eyes closed. “What does the last brother do? Pray for success?”

“Ha!” said Jad, chuckling. “Maho is actually the most important of the three. Watch Sor and Sheel carefully. Do you notice anything?”

Luc squinted, watching the two massacre the cave goblins. As he watched them, he noticed that they glowed with a faint blue light. The same blue light that shone from the gems that Maho had thrown.

“Maho’s Bloodline is [Gemweaver],” said Jad. “He uses gemstones as a medium to cast magic. By having Sor and Sheel swallow gemstones, Maho can power them up nearly tenfold.”

Sor swung his mighty sword one last time and cut the last cave goblin clean in two. The goblin’s blood sprayed across the ground and the cavern went quiet from the goblin screeches. Slowly, the blue light from Maho’s gems faded and the cavern returned to darkness.

“Casting that much magic is very taxing,” said Jad. “That is why we still use torches, if you were curious.”

“Ah,” said Luc, who was most definitely not curious. The awe of seeing the three wagon driver brothers in action had faded, and Luc was now cognizant of the putrid stench of the dead goblins. Seeing their bodies on the ground, piled up and slick with dark blood, made Luc’s stomach turn. Remembering the death of the slave made it even worse. He turned away before he could empty his breakfast on the floor.

“Cave goblins are known to guard treasures in tombs,” said Jad. He raised his voice. “We will search the cavern for any treasures before continuing!”

Treasure? Luc raised his head, suddenly feeling much better.

“You can keep anything you find,” said Jad, as if he was reading Luc’s mind. “My token of appreciation for leading me to this tomb.”

Snickering to himself, Luc prowled along the sides of the cavern, staying as far away from the dead bodies as possible. He checked the nooks and crannies along the stony wall, but he couldn’t find anything. Scowling, he strayed further and further into the depths of the cavern. He stayed within the torchlight but far enough away to be able to hide anything of value that he found. Not that he found anything, of course.

Something underneath Luc’s food crumbled. He collapsed onto his hands and knees, gripping at the rocky floor beneath him. Glancing over his shoulder, he shuddered as he saw an enormous gaping black pit. In the darkness of the cavern, he hadn’t seen that he was standing at the edge of a cliff overlooking an endless fall. Having never been good with heights, Luc scampered back several feet, clutching the wall of the cavern for safety.

“A little bit of a fall scare you?” said a voice from behind Luc. The slave from Tosa walked over to Luc’s side, lighting up the surrounding area. Even with the light, Luc couldn’t see the bottom of the pit.

“What did you mean earlier?” asked Luc, cutting straight to the chase. “About my mother.”

“You’re still going on about this heir of Tosa thing, eh?” said the slave, chuckling. “You don’t have to tell lies to me. Not down here.”

Luc scowled. “I’m not lying, peasant.”

There was a pause.

“You’re right,” said the slave. “No one else would talk like that besides the brainless scum of that worm called the Lord of Tosa.”

“What did you say?” said Luc, face twisting into a snarl. “If you were ever loyal to Tosa, you would - ”

The slave spun around, swinging his shovel at Luc’s face. In the darkness, the attack was so quick and abrupt that Luc had no time to react. All he could do was squeeze his eyes shut and pray that it was all a dream.

The shovel smashed into the cavern’s wall inches away from Luc’s head, spraying pebbles everywhere. Luc opened his eyes, trying to keep his legs from shaking. His heart thudded against his chest, and his breath came in short, ragged bursts.

“Loyal?” said the slave, voice deathly quiet. “Don’t you dare speak to me about loyalty. You and your father know nothing about loyalty.”

With that, the slave yanked his shovel out the side of the cavern and walked out onto the small ledge overlooking the giant pit. As Luc stared at the slave’s back, something began burning inside of him. An internal conflagration of rage and anger. Throughout his life, he’d been angry and upset at things, but those things were usually related to drinking, gambling, and women. No one had ever dared insult him, let alone his father. And for some reason, that made Luc’s anger blaze all the stronger.

This man knows nothing about me or my father. If he ever was a citizen of Tosa, this is treason. And as the current heir of Tosa, I must do what is necessary for the sake of my home.

As a coward, he knew he couldn’t win through direct confrontation. Winning a battle as a coward required patience and waiting for the most opportune moment. That opportune moment had finally come.

Luc took two steps forward and shoved the slave in the back.