Chapter 97: Tomb raider squad.

Chapter 97: Tomb raider squad."We were kicked out of the fortress." Arax continued his brother’s story, "When the caretaker came over to take a look at our results, he deemed us unfit for the vanguard ... no idea what that means ..."

’It means all of you were a reckless bunch!’ Lee thought to himself, but didn’t say it out loud. It was not wise to play with the feelings of a person who effortlessly swung sword larger than him as if it was a toothpick.

"Anyway. We were still young when we formed the squad. All four hundred and twelve of us. We named it Good Brothers." Arax said, but then his voice grew heavier, "In the following years few of us fell ... but we were strong while keeping together. And people respected us. We earned the divine contribution and one after another our brothers got their sparks ... it was great. Until that special conquest."

He fell silent, but the pause was too long for a proper dramatic effect. Lee though he was done with his story and started working on the next rabbit, when Arax spoke again.

"It was a fiery place." He said, "You know, me and Thorax, we like when it’s hot and dry. But that world was unbearable. And the beasts were terrifying."

"We killed quite a few, though." Thorax said.

"Mhm. We got some decent fire sparks." Arax agreed, "But the big one turned out to be a monster ... a fire breathing monster."

"It was bigger than a warehouse!" Thorax said, spreading his arms as if he could show the size of the beast.

"No, it was bigger." Arax shook his head, "And it’s scales were hard, and we barely could damage it."

"But we killed it!" Thorax said, not sounding very happy, and Arax immediately explained why.

"Ye, but everyone died. The beast killed everyone but a couple dozen people. Imagine, barely two dozen people survived the conquest."



"But it could fly and breathe fire." Thorax said with a sigh.

"Wait, wait!" Lee interrupted, "The beast was huge, it breather fire, was covered in scales and could fly?"

If it wasn’t the story of their four hundred mates dying, he would’ve called bullshit. Dragons were mythological creatures from fairy tales one told children! Of course, so were the superhumans, but still, it sounded like a fantasy.

"There were no more gathering or special conquests for almost five years." Arax continued, "Only recruitments ..."

"After that tragedy Lunax made the rule of only the strongest people going in special conquests." Thorax explained.

"I saw the spark from that beast in the treasure vault, you know?" Arax said to his brother, "It was still there!"

"How do you know it was that one?" Thorax asked, "Everyone knows sparks die out with time."

"Coulax said it had some kind of special container." Arax shrugged.

"You didn’t tell me the head caretaker took you to the vault back then!" Thorax said.

"It’s no big deal. It was him and two more. They all had to be there to get in. God’s vault is special, you know." Arax said.

"Tell me more about the vault!" Lee grew curious.

"Don’t worry, you’ll see it soon enough." Arax grinned, and his good mood returned, "We only need a bit more divine contribution."

Unfortunately, no matter how hard Lee tried, Arax was not willing to tell details about Lunax storage, but it was good to know there was one, packed with the so called divine items that were gifted to common people if they had been worthy enough. Of course, Lee didn’t need weapons or armor, but it was fun to think about getting in there.

Unfortunately, the task at hand was to get in the tomb behind the village, and the next morning Lee laid out the plan to the squad. It was not a good plan per se, but it was all they got.

With the first morning light, they rushed back to the lake. At first the two devils were confused, but when Lee explained the plan, they almost left him and went directly to the village to fight their way in. In the end Lee thought of a most important job for them to do to calm them down, and it actually had the opposite effect. The two were ready to carry the rest only to get to the lake sooner.



***

"Why do I have to strip?" Jiraxa asked again, and for the third time Lee patiently explained.

"It’s to attract the attention of those on the top of the cliff." He said, "You’ll get to the rock in the middle of the lake and make sure the guys on the top look at you, and not me or Mirax climbing the cliff wall."

"But how do I make them look at me?" Her bright scales were turning increasingly crimson, and the two devils felt their heart rate accelerate at the sight.

"I don’t know ... dance?" Lee said, "Can you dance?"

"What?" The Jiraxa’s answer gave him a bit of a headache, but he showed a couple of moves of twisting and turning and decided it should suffice. He looked clumsy, and when Jiraxa tried to imitate him, she looked even more so, but it was the only weapon they got.

’Don’t blame me! I have no choice!’ Lee inwardly thought, glancing at the mark on his right palm, and sighed.

If Lisa was here, she would’ve been a much better teacher. Her dance moves were graceful and passionate – any man went crazy looking at her. She used to dance only for him, though, but it was a long time ago.

Meanwhile Jiraxa paddled over to the rock and got out, looking like an abandoned puppy after a rainstorm. But then she began to drop the wet clothes, and it looked like the hearts of both brothers might jump out of their chests.

"Wooaaa!" They gasped at the same time, seeing her take off the last piece of clothing.

The guys on the top of the waterfall probably had a similar reaction, except they were much further away. Still, Jiraxa starting to show her clumsy and hesitant moves certainly drew everyone’s attention.

"Alright! For this mission we’ll be a Tomb raider squad!" Lee said. It was hard for him to hide the excitement – it has been a long time since he had done something like this.

"I like the name Good Brothers better!" Mirax said, tilting his head.

"What? Fine, we’ll be good brothers who raid tombs!" Lee said, rushing forth, "Let’s go! You two, don’t forget to guard her!"

This was the most important job the two devils had, and it was the only way Lee could think of to keep them away from the village.



This was not Lee’s first time climbing, but not having a safety rope was kind of reckless. Fortunately he had Mirax.

Turns out the guy’s unnaturally long extremities, besides being useful for running and tree climbing, could turn him into something like a spider-man. He nimbly scaled the wall, pulled Lee up a yard, and then repeated. It was a shame they didn’t have a long rope, otherwise Lee would’ve let him climb alone and then pull up the rest.

The cliff on the left side of the waterfall was smooth, without cracks and protrusions. It was impossible to get up there, and that left Lee and Mirax with the only option to go up the right side. They would have to somehow sneak past the guards on top of the cliff, but that was the problem Lee decided to solve when the time came.

Preferably until the nightfall they would hide behind the statue, or maybe inside its wings, and then stealthily slip in the cave under the cover of darkness.

The plan was ruined, though, when they were two thirds to the top. Or maybe the problem of hiding was solved – depends on the perspective.

"Something’s burning up there!" Lee heard Arax’s shout.

"And the guards ran away too!" Thorax added.

"Slivax has made a move!" Lee immediately realized, and said to Mirax, "Let’s go! Just don’t loose focus!"

There was an argument they didn’t hear from so far away.

"Why did you have to mention the guards?" Arax was angry at his brother.

"But they did run away!" Thorax said.

"Yes, but look! She is dressing up again!" Arax hissed, "When will we find another lake with an island for her to dance again?"