The Twice-Enchanted Blade: Final part

During the next day, preparations were made for the opening of the tomb. The three guardians were informed of the validity of our success, we recuperated for a while longer, and a ceremony was held at sunset.

We sailed once again to the small island. Pyres were burning, drums were blaring, and the old men were sitting in the same place, as if they hadn’t moved since our last visit. Once again, after we stood in front of them, they broke into a chant.

“Challenger, you have proven your worth”.

“You have proven beyond doubt the skill, the wits, the courage, and the power of those who found it fit to follow you”.

“Enter now, and claim your prize”.

The chant then turned into a magic chant, their voices turning into a low-pitched, low hum, and a wondrous thing happened. Orion’s statue started lifting his sword, and it wasn’t a mere mechanism. It looked as if the stone itself had turned to flesh, moving with lifelike fluidity, raising the blade above its head and revealing an entrance to the tomb.

There was one remaining complication, which was that only one claimant would be allowed into the tomb. After brief deliberation, we settled on Rhombus.

“You’re Manean nobility, after all”, I said, “It seems appropriate”.

He wasn’t one to complain about this honor, so he walked into the tomb. He returned scarcely two minutes later, with the Twice-Enchanted Blade in his hand.

“That was refreshingly anticlimactic”, he said, “Just a straight corridor, then a burial chamber. Simple marble sarcophagus. No treasure to speak of, except for the sword”.

It was a beautiful weapon, untouched by the passage of time. The hilt was made out of ivory, with the pommel covered in bronze and decorated with several precious stones. Meanwhile, the guard was shaped like a pterodactyl, similar to the one depicted on the Manean flag. It was a large, two-handed weapon, though surprisingly light, and, true to its name, two sets of enchantments could be seen along the blade.

“Why don’t you test it out?” suggested Spiridon, “See what it does before we hand it to the King”.

“Don’t mind if I do”, agreed Rhombus enthusiastically, moving to an isolated part of the shore. The historical accounts did mention, quite often, King Orion smiting this or that enemy with the sword’s awesome power, but what said power entailed was never specified.

Rhobus charged the first enchantment, releasing a powerful gust of wind. He then repeated the same with the second, and the blade became engulfed in pale energy, effectively increasing in size. The young noble swung at a nearby tree, chopping it down effortlessly.

“It’s a fearsome weapon”, he remarked, “It thirsts for power. Makes it hard to control the output, it will try to drain your entire energy reserves with each swing. It’s definitely not a weapon for the unskilled”.

A few days later, we began our journey back. We made another stop at the Igla mountain, where Civet interviewed the old hermit. If the reader is interested in details of these talks, I suggest picking up his book On Pre-Cataclysm Cultures of the Southern Continent.

This visit came with an unexpected bonus. The ancient man mentioned that biclops scouts knew of passages through the mountains, towards the desert, and he could convince them to lead us. We jumped at the opportunity, overjoyed at the prospect of shortening the dreadful trek through the inhospitable wasteland. They led us through mountain passages, and eventually we ended up in the sand desert, completely skipping the glass part.

Since we avoided the most unpleasant part of the return journey, we continued in high spirits. We made our way back to Maximillian’s tower, now completely deserted. Iocasta and Civet wend back to the ashes of the library and pilfer the contents of the safe, which survived the fire mostly intact.

We continued our way back towards the river, where we waited for four days until our barge arrived. The trip continued down the river, past the succubus den. When the barge first returned to Bataya, they reported our encounter to the authorities, and an investigation was soon launched. It turned out to be a fairly new phenomenon – the southern merchants mentioned their colleagues were more likely to disappear without a trace than usual over the past three months. A military expedition was launched, landing at the abandoned temple during the day and slaughtering the remaining creatures while they slept.

The investigation continued, determined to discover the origin of these monsters. They were eventually linked to a ship bound from the Grand Duchy of Lhedine, which ran ashore west of S’urchin, and was found curiously bereft of human life, or even any remains for that matter. There was a string of sightings of pale strangers in the night, as well as disappearances, in various communities, moving further and further south. It was concluded that, for reasons we will never know, the monsters took over the ship and then travelled upriver until they found a suitable base of operations.

There is no need to go into excessive detail about the rest of the journey. In Zh’el-Ezniq, we made another stop to visit the Emir, who wished to hear of our exploits. From there, we continued north, getting back to our ship in S’Urchin and returning to Manea.

This expedition was considered the Royal Treasure Hunters’ biggest triumph so far. An artefact symbolizing the height of Manean power was back in its possession, and it was bound to be beneficial for morale in the trying times ahead.

News of our arrival preceded us, and we were greeted as heroes upon entering the city. Crowds of people gathered in the wide marble streets – it reminded me of the reception the army got upon my first entry into Hieropolys – and the King, followed by his royal guard, went out of the palace to meet us halfway. Rhombus then dismounted, walked towards the King, and got on one knee, presenting the monarch with the Twice-Enchanted Blade. King Philoctetes then raised the sword above his head, to the cheering of the nearby crowd.