The room, now that the giant bulk of the snake was not hiding it, was full of debris. Sebastian barked a laugh from the swamp cavern and choose to stay there in the mud. But Edwin was certain that something was hiding in this chamber and so, he began shifting through the ruble.
He first searched where the snake had been coiled and saw a painted arrow on the tiles. Following the direction towards which it was pointing, Edwin came to a hanging chain that was made of copper and seemed to be broken at the end.
There was a pile of rubble bigger than the rest in the room, and Edwin looked up to see a hole in the roof. Shifting through the debris was hard, most of them were sharp rocks and pieces of wood with sharp, uneven edges, but Edwin finally found something at the bottom.
A key, in the shape of a palm. It had no rust on it, and it was made from steel. Careful not to trip on the debris, he scanned the room for something else that might interest him, but, when he couldn’t find anything, he returned to Sebastian.
“Look what I found,” Edwin handed the vampire the key and watched as Sebastian began to examine it.
“Well, the stairs don’t need a key, so it is probably for a door further in. Good job, Eddy,” Edwin recognized an olive branch when he saw one. He was oh so tired of the silence. Besides, Sebastian had a point and had not meant his words in bad faith.
“Seb, I hope we don’t slip and fall down those slimy stairs,” Sebastian grinned and handed Edwin back the key, who pocketed it. They went to the stairs and Sebastian went down first.
Edwin shuddered at all the diseases that could be lurking in the slime of the stairs, and added descending them as the next stupidest thing he had done recently.
With each step he took, he clung to the moss-covered walls and wondered how the dungeon core got so much water in a desert, even a cold one. Everything was covered in sand outside. So, how was it possible? His foot slipped on the slime, and he was just about to descend even faster, when Sebastian grabbed him and broke his fall.
Edwin saw that the vampire was clutching at a root that was protruding from the wall and was breathing heavily.
“Do you have any idea how far down these stairs go? Quit daydreaming and pay attention!” Snapped Sebastian as Edwin was attempting to get back his footing.
“I was just thinking. Sorry,” Sebastian had a point again, so Edwin decided not to argue. When he got a good grip on the wall again and his feel were planted on the step, Sebastian let him go, and he turned around carefully and continued to lead him down, further into the darkness.
“How can we see in this place?” This has been bugging Edwin for quite a while and so, after five solid minutes, he knew, he counted the seconds, of silence he asked the question.
“What did I say about daydreaming? What if another snake comes from down there, or above? Stay vigilant. Can’t believe you bested me,” now, Edwin got a bit insulted.
“My skills as a necromancer are not to be questioned…”
“How did you get so good so fast?” Edwin bumped into Sebastian’s back and realized that the vampire had stopped and was now turning to face him. Edwin took a step backwards, careful not to slip, and clutched at the wall.
“What do you mean?” Sebastian looked at him as if he was hiding something, before moving his face closer to Edwin’s own. He stared at Edwin for a while before backing away.
“What color were your eyes before you became a vampire?” The question caught Edwin unawares. What did it matter?
“When I was born, they were blue. When I became Harika’s champion, they became ember. Now…”
“I asked you about before, not now,” there was a certain annoyance in Sebastian’s tone that put Edwin on edge. “So blue to ember…ember. What was the significance of ember in Harika’s cult?”
“Sebastian, I haven’t made any deals apart to the one for my soul, if this is what you are implying with your questions.”
“You mean, you were not aware that you made one?” Correct him Sebastian. Edwin scoffed at him.
“Harika works only with consent,” that was what her priests preached. Why would they lie?
“Does she? Then why are vampires the way we are? Why do we have to kill our sires to not be cursed? And even then, we still need blood,” two fingers pressed underneath Edwin’s chin and lifted it up, moving it left to right.
“Stop it!” Edwin swatted the offending hand. “Or would you like to see my teeth too?”
The way Sebastian had just treated him reminded Edwin of the few times he had been to the slave market. Slavery was frowned upon in Duria, but it was not outlawed. The rich had slaves, and they did what Sebastian just did before buying. That, and they checked their teeth for some reason.
“I would, actually. Say, ah!” Edwin rolled his eyes, but opened his mouth. Sebastian poked his new fangs and ended up cutting himself on the sharp edge. It took all of Edwin’s self-control not to clam his mouth shut and finally have his fill of blood.
“You have wonderful teeth…for a Lich. Fernand would have been poisoned by your blood, if you hadn’t killed him. How many more times will you “die” I wonder?” Edwin looked at Sebastian incredulously.
There couldn’t be a Lich without a phylactery, even though there could be necromancers with phylacteries that weren’t a Lich. What Sebastian was implying was unheard of.
“I don’t have the desire to eat souls,” Edwin began to shake his head. Sebastian had it wrong. He was sure of it.
“That is because you have never tried one. The next snake we encounter better end up with its soul down your gullet,” and with that, Sebastian turned around and left a perplexed Edwin to clutch at the wall as if his world was falling apart. And maybe, it was.
