Maruyama Kugane - The Invaders of the Large Tomb

It was an impeccable piece of jewelry. It seemed to be a simple gold necklace at first glance, but on close inspection, the chains had fine engravings on it.

“...A conservative estimate would be one hundred gold coins. With the right buyer, one hundred fifty would be possible.”

The reaction to the thief’s appraisals were different. Some of them whistled while others smiled.

One common point was the joy and flames of greed burning in their eyes.

“Just the half we can get will be a bonus of fifty gold. Ten gold each, that’s a scary amount of additional payout.”

“That is really… Maybe these ruins are a treasure trove.”

“Incredible. This is so incredibly amazing.”

“Really. It would be a pity to just leave the treasure here. Let’s put it to good use.”

As he spoke, the wizard picked out a ring with a large ruby on it and kissed the gemstone.

“That’s huge—”

The priest stuck his hands in, picking up the coins and letting it slip through his fingers.

The crisp sound of gold coins clinking against each other were heard.

“I have never seen such gold coins before. Which time period and country are they from?”

Using his knife to lightly nick the surface of the gold coin, the thief said with a sigh:

“This is pure gold. Just the weight is double the norm, the value would probably be higher, considering the aesthetic value.”

“This is really—Kukuku…”

Laughter leaked out from the group who couldn’t help smiling.

Just dividing the loot here would not be a small amount.

“All of you, thank your gods later. Let’s take what we can and head to the main objective. Our share will be taken if we are late.”

“—Ho!”

Greenham received a spirited reply, filled with excitement and fervour.

Part 4

The grand mausoleum was situated at the centre of the ruin. Giant statues of warriors that looked as if they would come alive at any moment surrounded the grand crypt like knights defending their king. Hekkeran hid himself at the feet of the warrior statue that was staring in the direction of one of the smaller crypts.

After a short while, Hekkeran noticed five men running from the smaller crypt. They moved fast yet still managed to conceal themselves Hekkeran watched paranoidly for anyone that might be spying on them or anything strange happening. Finally, after confirming the group coming this way was fine, Hekkeran sighed in relief.

He signalled by peeking out of the shadow of the giant statue and Greenham rushed over after noticing him.

“You sure are late Greenham.”

“Thank you for waiting for us this long.”

“We didn’t decide on the time to meet up so it’s fine. Instead, let’s change the location and then decide what to do next.”

Hekkeran crouched and lead the way cautiously.

A few steps later, Greenham asked.

“Just want to ask, did your team discover any treasure?”

Unable to hide his excitement and remembering how he had felt, his mouth curved into a smile and said:

“Of course, a motherload. Elder said the same thing.”

“You all as well, huh. Coming to this cemetery was the right move.”

“That’s true. I am grateful to the great men buried here.”

“Hmm. That might be so, but since we found so many treasures, should we consider the possibility that there might be nothing where the master of this tomb is buried??”

“Well, I bet there would be even more.”

“Hmm—how much are you betting?”

“Great. I will find more later and I can get a decent sum from you, too. This is the best. Ah, the problem is we would both be betting on the same thing.”

Both men didn’t make a sound as the corner of their mouth rose into a smile.

“That’s true. By the way, what is that?”

In front of Greenham, besides the feet of a giant statue, was something like a stone tablet.

“That?”

Hekkeran didn’t stop, while giving Greenham his answer. The words written on it were something the first three teams that arrived before him had never seen before. They held on to the faint hope that Greenham’s team might know about it.

“Something like a stone tablet, engraved with what might be words.”

“Engrave with what might be words? Why are you being so vague about this?”

“It is an unknown language. Not the national language of the Kingdom or the Empire, or even the ancient languages around the region. It might not be human language either. But I can read the number 2.0 here.”

“Numbers? Thinking about it with common sense, it should be the year this place was built. But the number is too small.”

“Arche thinks it might be a password for something in the ruins… Well, just keep it in mind.”

“Right, let’s do that.”

After passing through the giant statues and climbing up the long and narrow tilted platform formed by the stone coffin, what they saw was an open entrance.

“The stench of the dead.”

“Ahhh. It is, I smell that often from the thick fogs at Kattse plain.”

Greenham agreed with Hekkeran with a soft voice.

It wasn’t a strong, nauseating stench, but the smell of the undead accompanied by the cold found in the cemetery.

This might be a beautiful cemetery, but there were definitely undead here.

The group steeled themselves and saw a vast space within when they entered. Numerous stone platforms were placed to the left and right, on the other side were the stairs leading down. The door leading down was wide open and an uneasy atmosphere flowed out from within.

“This way.”

With Hekkeran leading the way, Greenham and the others went down the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs was a burial chamber with a door on the other side. Aside from that, no other doors could be seen.

It was narrower than the crypt upstairs, but there was plenty of space. Hekkeran’s team ‘Foresight’, Eruya’s ‘Tenmu’ and Parupatra’s team were all here.

“Well then, what should we do next? Our plan was to spread out and gather information. Any new ideas after having searched the crypts?”

After speaking, Hekkeran glanced at everyone who had gathered.

There didn’t seem to be any more new ideas. Was it greed gleaming off them or merely a reflection of light? It wasn’t clear, but everyone’s eyes were lively. Everyone seemed to be filled with excitement and couldn’t wait to go in the cemetery.

“A suggestion. My team will check for hidden doors and search outside.”

That was their leader’s words, but his members seemed unhappy about it.

It was because of the treasures they saw. They couldn’t agree even if it was the opinion of their well experienced leader. They were probably imagining a mountain of treasure flying away before their eyes.

“What do you say? We did search the surface, but we weren’t that thorough. There’s a chance that one of the smaller crypts has a hidden passage inside, right? Isn’t rest of the cemetery worth surveying?”

“Elder has a point. I heard that even the Sasasharu Ruins, which bards sing of all the time, have a safe passage leading directly to the centre of the ruin just steps away from the entrance.”

“Ah, Greenham. We checked all the way up to this room, but didn’t find any hidden passages.”

“That is why I’m offering to do this. As compensation for my team taking this lesser job, how about giving me a cut of the loot you find on this floorl. Yup, how about ten percent from each team? And tomorrow, let my team be the first ones to search the floor below this one?”

“I have no objection to this proposal.”

The first to speak was Greenham. Hekkeran agreed a moment later.

“Good, we are all agreed then! What about you Uzruth?”