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Save for the harsh sound of Misty scraping moss from the stone church walls, silence descends over your little shelter. Outside, you can hear the distant sounds of men at work as they attack the soil with their picks and shovels. You wonder about the fury that drives them. What else is there to find out there, what fresh mysteries are waiting to be discovered?
But then, perhaps you’re not better. After all, Misty is still scraping away at the moss as if all the secrets of the universe might be hidden beneath. Leaving her to her work, you move out to the doorway and sit beside Cato on a low, broken wall. He flinches a little as you approach, his hand automatically reaching for the long dagger sheathed at his hip. When he realises this, he draws his hand back and attempts a thin, humourless smile.
“...I think I owe you an apology,” Cato says after a long silence.
“For what?” you ask, glancing around in surprise before letting out a bitter laugh. “For this?” you continue, gesturing back towards the dig site, “This is nothing, Cato.”
“Really?” he murmurs, studying you closely.
“Consider yourself forgiven,” you assure him, although with a trace of uneasiness. There’s a feverish light in his eyes, almost a kind of desperation. Whether it’s born of guilt or insecurity or whatever else, your words soothe it somewhat. “Anyway, that’s not important now,” you add, hoping to move the conversation along, “Right now, we need to… good grief, that noise is annoying. Misty!”
“What?” she shouts back, “I’m WORKING.”
Marching back into the ruined church’s main chamber, you gesture furiously at the mossy walls. While you will admit that there are some elegant engravings there, they don’t show anything beyond decorative swirls.
“You never know,” Misty answers your unspoken question, a pout on her face, “All the secrets of the universe might be hidden beneath that! Yes, the odds of that are fairly low, but-”
“Wait,” Cato interrupts, moving to join you and holding up a hand. Miraculously, Misty does actually fall silent and listen. Outside, you can hear raised voices coming from the dig site – and even without making out the exact words, there’s no mistaking the fury and anger in them.
-
The sudden storm of violence has already passed by the time you arrive back at the dig site. The workers mill about in a sullen crowd, a few of them nursing bloodied noses or bruised faces. Steiner stands at a careful distance, looking exasperated by the display. You glance around, but Lucian is nowhere to be seen. “What happened here?” you ask, fixing Steiner with a firm look.
“Just a little spot of trouble, nothing to worry yourself with,” the older man replies, “Your boss wanted a few volunteers to help move the statue, and some of the men got a little… enthusiastic. That’s all.”
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