Chapter 3: Desecration

-Aiana-

 

That was…so scary… my heart is about to explode… I remember thinking, holding my hand up to my chest even as the cavern continued tremoring under my feet. My body refused to stand from where I fell, the endless shakings of terror making it impossible. Orri had rocketed past so quickly she was just a green blur that made a giant hole in the wall. Even as the dust continued to settle, the boys, impatient, moved into the opening. I couldn’t open my mouth to tell them to stop, but even if I did, they wouldn’t listen. I wondered if they were always as reckless as this before meeting me. Now that they had a personal healer on hands at all times – they could take all the risk they wanted. They worried me to no end, but I couldn’t help them from here. I forced my feet to move and followed them in.

Martin entered first – unless you count Orri, in which case he entered second. Canton followed him, and I followed that blonde hair of his. Dargo held my back, bringing up the torch so we could see around. The darkness fought back valiantly, yet it eventually relented and allowed light inside for the first time in millennia.  

We would like to say our eyes bugged out at what we saw, but it was honestly underwhelming. The room was hardly bigger than the average bedroom and was incredibly dusty, despite being sealed off from the rest of the world. The walls were smooth, almost hand-carved, as compared to the brick-and-mortar the rest of the dungeon was made of. Clearly, this was either built first or simply prioritized. Torchlight only travelled so far, but as for what we could see – the room’s only occupants were four stone tables. Yet as I thought about it for more than a split second, I froze and a scream died in my throat.

 

Wait… no… those are…!

 

“Crypts, huh?” Dargo answered. He wandered inward, holding the torch up with one hand and placing the other on one of the burials. I half expected a rotten elf corpse to pop out, yet thankfully it remained still.

Looking closely, we saw the four tombs, therefore – four bodies laid to rest. There was a distinct edge along each crypt’s top, showing that the heavy slab was resting upon them like lids. I walked towards it as Dargo studied its top and was surprised at the beauty I saw. Pictures of people, animals, tools, plants, stars, battles, and everything in between were etched in as decorations. Despite the beautiful details, I felt uneasy. My mouth moved to ask the group to leave when the dwarf spoke up.

 

“Tell you one thing… I for one, would not be caught dead buried down here,” Dargo laughed loudly, pounding on the crypt.

 

“Don’t… you dwarves…” a strained voice coughed loudly, “live… underground…?”

 

Orri! In the heat of the moment we had all forgotten about her. She laid on the floor in between the first two crypts. Sputtering with her lungs full of dust, she stood slowly, her feet sliding on occasion. She stood erect for a moment before losing her balance and collapsing onto the crypt besides the one Dargo was eyeing. Her breaths were labored and wet and I found my feet running over to her before I even knew I was in motion.

I grabbed Dargo’s torch without asking and held it over the green lady. One hand held her other arm tightly while blood and bruises covered her shoulder where she impacted the door. Sweat flowed like a river down her face, and saliva out of her mouth like a spring. Her eyes were bloodshot – a clear sign of overexertion. Orri’s chest heaved loudly and I could hear her heart working erratically.

“N-no! Orri! Stay still, I need to fix you,” I readied myself to begin healing her. Yet as I tried placing my hand on her arm, she swatted it away.

“Hnng… not this time, not this time… her voice was fading rapidly. She stared up at the ceiling and allowed her breath to slow.

“This can’t wait! Let me help you,” I tried touching her again, but she rolled aside.

“You can’t help me now, little elf… I’m beyond saving… I can feel my ribs splintered… they’ve punctured all my organs and I’m bleeding out quick… everything’s… so cold… I can’t feel anything anymore…” she let her head fall back. I squealed loudly.

“NOOOO! No! No! No!” I began frantically trying to grab her again despite her efforts, yet despite my efforts she kept rolling about. Finally, she took her arm off her injured shoulder and reached towards the sky.

 

“Momma? Is that you? I can hear your voice, momma… your baby’s coming home, now…” she called to the heavens before squinting for a second, “oh, wait… my momma’s still alive…”

 

“Goddammit tree, stop that shit! The girl’s only trying to help you! She’s worried sick!”

All at once Orri dropped the act and scoffed, “what? I’m just practicing my act. Gotta keep at the top of my game, ya know?” she relaxed herself and sat more comfortably on the crypt. Even as she calmed herself, my pounding heart filled the room. She must have sensed my unease as she took my tiny hands in her own powerful paw and smiled up at me. “I’m fine, dollface, really. I appreciate your concern but really, I’m all good. Sorry for stressing you.”

 

Dollface. It was her nickname for me, with the meaning I was fragile as a porcelain doll.

 

“But… I need to heal you…”

“And lose all my battle scars? Pfft. I’m not losing these babies for just a strained shoulder. But enough about me,” she took her free hand and snapped her fingers in the air twice, “you boys get to popping these bitches open. Don’t make my sacrifice worth nothing.”

“You heard the lady. Dargo, on me,” called Martin. I looked at him, shocked that he was just forgetting about Orri so quickly. Canton took his torch, while Martin and Dargo each grabbed an end of the crypt the dwarf had been expecting up until now. Even with the two muscled men shoving it, it refused to move at first. With extra effort they finally gained ground, shoving it further and further until it simply collapsed to the ground, cracking in half under its own weight. The noise hurt my ears and I cowered. Thankfully Orri was there to reassure me. But after the dust settled, I’ll never forget how Martin looked with that gleam in his eye and a grin ripping his face in half as he stared into the desecrated burial chamber.

 

“Jackpot.”

 

-Canton-

 

Reaching into the desecrated resting place, Martin found a corpse buried in full honorary armor, which was still shiny and clean despite the ages. His hands clutched around the sword on his chest and was pointing to the skeleton’s feet. It seemed to be elven, given the stature, and hell, if the armor were a little bigger I’d be hard-pressed not to take it for myself. Sadly, it was too metallic for my liking; you can’t sneak around with your clothes clanking on each step. Martin reached into the coffin and grabbed a cloth sack which lay next to the skeleton. Even as he raised it up we could all hear that musical clinging, yet the captain couldn’t help himself and whistled loudly when he turned the sack over and a waterfall of gold coins fell into his palm.

“I never cough doubted you Martin,” Orri said from her lying state.

“Please try not to talk!” Aiana tried to silence her.

A huff left my mouth as I turned back to the girls, still with the elf fretting endlessly. The orc would always stress out Aiana, opting for the “natural” healing process rather than take the easy route Aiana provided. According to Orri, it would make her too “clean and unsullied,” therefore all her battle-gained wear would disappear. I think it was just her pride talking. It’ll get her killed one day. Still, the dark elf began bandaging up the orc best as she would allow.

Dargo was humming appreciatively as he reached into the crypt himself, fishing out bag after heavy, clanking bag. I walked over and peered in myself. I studied the armor the corpse wore, but it was nothing I had ever seen before. Leather armor with plate mail seemingly intertwined flawlessly like patchwork. It was remarkable craftsmanship, truly – and I kicked myself for not wanting to take it for myself. Bags of gold lined the body like flowers at a funeral. If all these four caskets contained similar wealth… we probably had a score that would eclipse everything we made in the last two years. I couldn’t help but start thinking wildly about how I’d spend my wealth.

“Break out the sacks, boys and girls, we are leaving none of it behind!” called our enthused captain. I reached into my pouch and fished out the bags we use to carry our spoils – today, their capacities would be tested.

We cleaned out the first crypt, then moved onto the second, then the third, working counterclockwise. Each contained as much wealth as the last, as well as a very unhappy skeleton. The armor was slightly different on each corpse, but they appeared to be of the same civilization. The sacks were full unto bursting with just those three. Hopefully, we encounter no enemies on the way home… our burden would slow us greatly in a fight. Maybe we could just bribe our way through.

We surrounded the last crypt, the one Orri rested upon. She stood slowly, using myself and Aiana as crutches, Dargo and Martin being too eager to bust open the last treasure chest to help. The loud boom of the lid hit the ground at the same time Orri did, spurting a bit of blood from her mouth as she slammed back into the floor. She would never admit it, but I heard something within her crack.

“Orri!!” cried our healer. The orc grinned with blood coating her lips. Teasing Aiana was practically a pastime for her, but deep down we all knew how much Orri carried about the little elf. She never had children of her own, and oftentimes we would find her mothering Aiana whenever the opportunity arose. The muscled monster would easily take an arrow for her – then still refuse treatment.

We all peered in the crypt, save the two women. It was the same as the others – enough gold for the entire band to live on for months was in this one alone, not even calculating the other three. Dargo and Martin cleaned it out like professional graverobbers, ensuring every piece of gold was safely stored. Hell, the greedy bastards even scanned every inch of the resting place, even turning the skeleton left and right to check for loose currency underneath. The three of us men were busy counting out the pieces and failing to hold back our excitement when the orc made a noise.

 

“Hmm…”

“What is it?” asked the elf.

“Is there something cough in the back there?” she said, pointing her green finger towards the back of the chamber. It wobbled a bit in the air as her breathing was still ragged. Aiana and I squinted but we were unable to see what the orc had seen.

“I don’t see anything,” Aiana replied, even holding the torch up for assistance. “What is it?”

Orri grunted, holding her bandaged shoulder, “dunno, too dark for me to make heads or tails of it, and I can’t quite walk yet. Go check it out for me, dollface.”

The elf stood there momentarily, rubbing her feet together with uncertainty. Orri glanced at me and I glanced at her, and we both knew the elf was too scared to move forward on her own. So it came as a surprise to Aiana when a hand graced her back and pushed her onward into the darkness. She reluctantly wandered forward, her green dress shining under the torch she held. I smiled a bit – Orri was mothering her again, encouraging her along so the elf would grow a little.

She looked up at me now, motioning forward to protect the elf’s back, so I went ahead. The chamber did not continue for much longer, but we were unable to see the back of it until we brought torches into its recesses. Much like the rest of the room, it was rather plain except for two unlit sconces on the walls. Aiana fidgeted for a moment, expecting someone to jump out of the darkness at any moment. She hurriedly lit the scones with her torch so the room became far more lit than before. It was only now she and I noticed the plain lectern that was place up to the wall between the two sconces.

At first, there appeared to be nothing on it, yet as we leaned in we could see it was far too dusty to even tell. Aiana filled her lungs and puffed as best she could, blowing away the dust to the point I had to cough it back out. As the dust settled, a strange circular object materialized seemingly out of thin air on the lectern.

“What is this…?” Aiana asked with apprehension, placing her hand out. A chill went up my spine like a draft, and something inside me said to stop her, but it was too late. She grasped the thin item and pulled it up, a metal clanking sound filled the room. As the chain dangled in her hand, it spun slowly so we could both see its details.

Although still a bit dirty it was evidently some sort of necklace. The long chain was made of innumerable precious metals, with a golden ornament banding it together for the user to wear. As we inspected it, its composition became obvious and immediately familiar. It was a circle, with lines perfectly bisecting it and each other.

 

“That same symbol…” Aiana spoke for both of us. It was the same marking as on this chamber’s door.

 

As it came back into importance, I once again had to rack my brain for what it might be. A religious sect? Some ritualistic artifacts? Or maybe even a symbol of fraternity. Regardless, it was clearly expensive to be set on its own. Aiana continued to study the item in her hands, small as it was, it was also extremely plain. Shiny despite the dirt and dust, yet I could tell it would clean up nicely. It glimmered a bit under our torches as Aiana played with it.

Martin suddenly appeared behind us, placing a hand on myself and Aiana’s shoulders, interested in what we were doing. I slowly turned to look at him, but the elf just froze there, a scream lodged in her throat and eyes bugged out.

You are reading story Object of Desire at novel35.com

 

“Hey, nice find, Aiana. It’s a cute necklace, you should keep it,” he said in one long breath, patting her on the shoulder a few times before walking from whence he came. I looked over my shoulder as he walked away, pleased with himself. He was trying to reward Aiana for exploring, even if it was just a few feet deeper than the rest of us.

 

“C-cute…” the elf mustered. I looked at her, her breathing a little heavier than it was before. “C-cute… c-c-ute… she continued muttering under her breath. Even a blind man could see how she felt about the captain, and I smiled at her innocence. However, Martin seems to be incredibly blind… or just dense. Both, if I am being honest.

“It really is cute,” I added, patting her shoulder as well, “it’ll look good on you,” I complimented and wandered away. She did not move for a few moments, and then carefully placed the necklace around her collarbone, ensuring the symbol on the front gleamed atop her green robes. She twirled it between her fingers once more before coming back to the group, a smile across her cheeks.

 

-Dargo-

 

“You’re being so mean, stump!” the overgrown creature whined. She pouted to my face like a child being scolded by her father. I didn’t buy it for a second.

“For the last time – I’m telling you not to put that shite in my stew, woman,” my voice bristled. She leaned back with her arms crossed over her chest and huffed at me. Yet she seemed to think about it for a minute and rolled her eyes around.

“Woman, huh? Better than a tree, I guess.”

I grumbled again as Orri tried again to toy with the stew I was brewing for the group. It was the dead of night now, having emerged from the dungeon about an hour after busting open those treasure chests. We had been lucky, placing markers on the way in so we could find our way out. Had we not, we would likely have been walking in circles all night long. Passing piles and mountains of dead rat certainly wasn’t enjoyable, to say the least. But hell, we just held bags of coin to our faces and used the metallic scent to keep ourselves from vomiting.

By the time we had reached the surface it was clearly too late to bother trying to head back to town at this hour. The moonlight overhead was comforting enough, and we decided it best to simply set up camp. Martin and Canton were setting up some cots and tents while I was in charge of brewing up stew for dinner. It smelled heavenly, vapors rising out of it like a smokestack and filling the air. My belly, along with everyone else’s nearby, rumbled loudly as we smelled it eagerly. What I was less eager about was the tree, who kept trying to sprinkle some of her orc spices in the stew when I wasn’t looking. Clearly, annoying me was her only current responsibility.

As the stew boiled I turned my attention to Aiana, who was sitting nearby on a log in front of the fire I was using to brew. She was taking her time going through all the bags of loot and evenly distributing them in a five-way split. Not that I don’t trust my bandmates and not that they don’t trust me, but given the opportunity, we all knew a few extra coins would accidentally end up in the bag of whoever was counting them out. But with the elf, she was too good of a soul to try and cheat us out. Aiana finished counting out someone’s portion of the takings and turned her hand over to dump the valuables into a bag. Yet in the cloudless night, some of the moonlight overhead was caught on those coins as they fell, illuminating her face in a way I hadn’t thought possible.

 

I blinked a few times, feeling a strange sensation as I watched her. The elf’s movements seemed slow, as if my eyes sped up to catch every detail of how she moved. The moonlight glided through her hair as if passing through a tree canopy. Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle wildly, adding to the powerful picture glittering across her face. The edges of her face were highlighted as if purposefully sculpted, then outlined even further as if a painter were accenting them. Even her lips looked unusually plush and sweet as candy, her white teeth in a joyous smile behind them.

Even as the coins fell and the light faded, I couldn’t bring myself to stop staring, even as my mouth fell. From here, I could nearly taste her scent over the stew boiling before me.

I was able to snap to my senses and shook my head, and a weight seemed to be lifted off me.

That was, until, she looked up at me, a gigantic, warm smile across her face. That weight was back on me, bearing down until it was inside me. My breathing slowed and I could hear my own heart pounding in my chest. Aiana tilted her head, allowing the cloud atop her to fall a bit. I couldn’t look away. I couldn’t think. Had she always been this beautiful? I felt disgusted at myself for having such a shoddy appearance before her.

 

Suddenly, she then put on a pained expression that, for whatever reason, almost caused me to rush over to her and comfort her in my arms. She pointed in my direction, but the name on her lips sadly wasn’t mine. “Orri!” she cried out, quicker than an arrow but softer than a pillow as it barreled down my eardrums.

 

I looked at the orc, and in her hand was a small wooden box she was using to heavily disperse orc spices into the stew. She smiled coyly at me.

“Dammit!”

 

-Canton-

 

“Hey…Canton?” whispered our captain. For effect, he even nudged me despite how I was clearly sitting next to him at the fire. “Does she seem… different, to you?”

I tilted my head left to face Martin. The fire before us, leftover from when Dargo was cooking, still burned brightly, warming us in the cold night. Orri had finally gotten off her ass from annoying the dwarf and had broken down a few trees for us to use as benches. It was a trademark of ours, leaving behind these little campsites in the woods for other bands to discover or, on occasion we would revisit them. Across the way, Dargo and Orri were both snoring loudly in their separate tents. Their rivalry was so deep that both claimed the other snored in the night, while not themselves. But we knew the truth.

“Is who different?” I whispered back, matching Martin’s own volume. We both still had the bowls of stew in our hands, but they had been empty for a while. I realized the captain was not looking at me. Following his gaze as stealthily as possible, I followed his vision until I saw what he was staring at.

Aiana was still awake, maybe a dozen feet away and staring deeply into the fire. The flames danced across her dark skin, reflecting on her white hair in addition. Sparks even seemed to travel along the goldleaf in her dress. Her eyes were wide, as if staring into the sun.

At first, she seemed as normal as ever. Yet upon closer inspection, something did strike me like a bat to the face.

Her skin seemed glittery despite the dull, chocolatey color. The world around her moved more slowly, as if her presence had a calming effect. Every twitch of her eyes and hands were noticeable, as were the breaths coming in and out of her nose. She would shift on her log occasionally, and I couldn’t help but picture her limbs moving under her dress. Even that new necklace which hung around her neck glimmered, as if it were glowing softly. I tried to breathe, but it came out as barely a shudder.

“Now that you mention it,” I began, “there is something different about… her,” I struggled to even say her name, as if my lips were unworthy to speak it. “There seems to be some kind of… aura… rolling off her.”

“Yeah…” Martin agreed, nearly exhaling the word, rather than speaking it.

Despite the low volume of both our voices, Aiana must have gotten the feeling that someone was watching her, and she looked in our direction. Despite her neck turning at normal velocity, every second was stretched into eternity before my eyes. Martin and I tried to turn away as we were caught staring, yet were immediately captivated and pulled in as she looked.

 

She blinked, then smiled.

 

The warmest, most inviting smile I had ever seen. Immediately I felt too hot in my armor. My own mother used to smile at me like that, and I felt right as rain. All at once I was that little boy again, not a care in the world except to be the center of my mother’s attention as she loved me with all her heart. But it was nothing compared to what I felt now. It magnetized me. I could not look away from those perfectly white teeth surrounded by her lips soft red lips.

“Goodnight, guys,” she cut through the silence heavily. Even with just two words, they resonated in my head. She stood and went away to her own tent, and I felt pained watching her go. Despite it, there was a rewarding ping inside of me from being noticed by her. After she had gone, Martin and I seemed to return to our senses slowly. We both exhaled loudly, almost as if we forgot how to breathe. Looking at each other momentarily, our eyes betrayed that we were both thinking the same thing. A mental signal passed between us not to question anything. We both retired.

 

-Orri-

 

Something was off with stump. Hell, the whole team, really.

 

It was morning now, after we had slept off our huge dungeon raid, our sacks quaking with wealth with each step. Aiana had sorted it perfectly and without favoritism. Martin took no additional share as captain, as always. If nothing else, that human was certainly humble, and that trait spread to the rest of us. An orc band was always so annoying, brash and loud like me, for sure – but always squabbling, arguing, and ready to stab each other in the back for an extra coin whenever the opportunity arose. Brothership be damned, they were ready to turn on each other at the drop of a hat. The group surrounding me now was the best family I could ever have, without actually being related to them.

Mentally calculating the value of the gold, I could live off it for six months, at least. I wondered if I could convince the rest of the team to go with me. We could run off, visit some hot springs in the mountains or head out to a beach country like Herton or something. As much fun as we have, and without a set schedule or goals, running around mindlessly gets a bit tiresome. We all needed a break, as much as they didn’t see it as such.

 

But I felt like I could not get through to them right now.

 

Walking at a brisk pace, we were proceeding along the path we had taken to get into the forest the previous day on our way back into town for recovery. Birds chirped and wind blew, but the team itself was strangely quiet, a far cry from our joking aura we all put off yesterday. As I stood behind everyone, I could sense unease in the air. Most of them even had their heads scanning the floor or glancing off into the woods. My eyes scanned as well but I saw nothing. Behind us there was nothing, also. No one spoke. No one joked. No one commented on anything at all, as if a deafening silence were pulled over us.

The situation was unbearable. I hate silence. I hate, hate it. I need things to happen. I need to either entertain or be entertained at all times. Seeing everyone silent as death made me squirm mentally, even making my movements uneven as I jittered. I had to do something, I had to make something happen or else I would explode from the lack of activity. I decided on an old favorite and stepped on Dargo’s heel with a scoff, ready for him to insult me.

 

He stopped for a moment, recovering from almost faceplanting the ground, but then kept walking, not even affording to look at me.

 

I was stunned, oh hell, I was shocked, so much so that I halted my pace, my mouth agape with surprise. My eyeballs darted around again, scanning each tree, leaf, and blade of grass for what was stalking us. My heart pounded and the blade on my back itched. There had to be something watching us and no one told me about it. I glanced around faster and faster yet was distraught when I found nothing. My fists balled in frustration at not being able to locate it. My head was spinning so fast my ponytail whapped my each time I turned.

Where? Where? Where? Where? My mind raced and my eyes watered. I hated this.

“Are… you okay, Orri?” called the velvety-sweet voice of Aiana. I had been so caught up with my own fervor that I neglected to notice she had stopped in place, staring up at me with concern. Those big, beautiful blue eyes of her flowed with magic, humming softly as a fire to curl up beside. Immediately, whatever threat was stalking us was cast out of my mind as comfort enveloped me. The way her mouth moved, especially how my name must have tasted on her lips, made my legs weak. I was enchanted. I must have looked like a wide-eyed doe as I studied her. Her skin looked delicious, edible as the chocolate it resembled. Her eyes looked like the most refreshing water on earth. The concern for me across her face melted my heart. Saliva wet my fangs as I tried to produce words.

“I… I… yes… I am fine…” was all I could get out, my body awash with heat. I smacked my head with my solid palm to clear myself before I could walk again. Something about the elf was affecting me, and I had to get her out of my vision. Even as I passed her and her eyes were still on me, I refused to look despite her pull. We continued to walk in solemn silence. I slowly realized everyone else in the band was also trying to avoid looking at her, but my head being higher than everyone else’s, I could see them stealing occasional glances.

They all seemed to sense the alluring pull the dark elf was giving off. I followed their lead but walked faster as to take point of the herd. Martin, and more importantly Aiana, were now behind me, so I leaned up and looked ahead. By this point we had been walking for hours and were about at the end of our journey. As we crested one final hill, the city appeared in the valley below like a lighthouse in the darkness of day.

To be continued.

You can find story with these keywords: Object of Desire, Read Object of Desire, Object of Desire novel, Object of Desire book, Object of Desire story, Object of Desire full, Object of Desire Latest Chapter