A powerful gust of wind whipped Jonas' tunic around as he walked through the tall grass meadow, the smell of spring constant. Bugs buzzed by as continued forward, disturbing them as he reached ahead moving the towering grass stalks to either side. Above the blue sky was filled with puffy white clouds, birds soared past most small but occasionally a large bird off prey would cruise by, searching for a meal in the vast meadow. Jonas stopped, taking a moment to wipe his brow, he had been walking several miles from the path now. Reaching into his satchel which was slung across his body he produced a fragile piece of folded paper. Carefully he opened it reveal the faded ink of an old map, the top of the page read 'Guardia Cathedral Ruins'. Jonas had heard tales from the past about this place, and even more modern ones about it's ruins and the rumors of a secret chamber below the old structure. ” If this map is what it's suppose to be, then today might be the best day of my life. ” Jonas spoke to himself, taking a deep breath of the fresh air before started forward again. In the distance he noticed a few irregular shapes, still far off, but according to his map the fallen debris that remained should be close to the distant shapes, in his mind he determined he had located the ruins. Picking up the pace Jonas trudged through the high grass reaching a large area filled with moss covered stones, he had reached the ruins, now he would just have to align himself correctly and if his map were true he would soon be headed underground.
Jonas exhaled loudly as he pulled himself atop the highest standing pile of stone rubble to give himself the vest vantage point possible of the layout of the ruins. Removing the tattered old map from his satchel once more he opened it and inspected the locations. In the distance what seemed like a foot or two of low standing outer wall could be seen, Jonas figured this to be the back of the structure, as it was said to face south and he was looking almost due north. ” If that's the rear area of the cathedral then the passage way should be somewhere over there. ” He spoke to himself, out stretching his arm and point to a small depression near the back of the structure. Jumping down from his high vantage point Jonas started across the clearing, zigging and zagging to avoid large stones which littered the area. The grass here was high, but not as high as the rest of the meadow, Jonas pondered this thought deciding that it must have to do with the rubble on which the grass of this area grew. Reaching the depression Jonas was sure that he had located the entrance to the labyrinth below, now only needing to figure out how to access it.
Soren finally had the chance to explore the ruined cathedral, and he didn’t intend to allow such an opportunity to pass him by. Once he felt arrived, he had immediately a nearby rock formation to lean against while he began to sketch his view of the cathedral ruins. It was a hobby that he had grown rather proficient in over the years, one that he always put into practice when he found a beautiful vista such as this one. If only to preserve what this place might look like now, for memory’s sake. Just as he was about done a shadow overwhelmed him, blocking the sunlight. Soren slowly rose to his feet, and turned to look up at the source of the shadow. Much as he had expected someone had climbed the formation to survey the area. With a smile he rose to his feet and calmly put away his materials in the small satchel on the back of his right hip, along with his artwork, and called out to the man above. “These ruins are quite the sight, aren’t they?”
Jonas was startled as the voice echoed through the clearing. His head darted around searching for the source of the voice. Moving from the depressed ground he shoved the ancient map into his satchel and started to seek the source, noticing a crimson haired man near the edge of the clearing, the tall meadow grass blowing in the wind behind him. Jonas thought for a moment that he recognized the man, he was older than Jonas but not by much. ” I know you don't I? I believe we've met before in Truce, actually several times though I don't remember your name off hand. ” Jonas began to speak as he started across the clearing, his gait slowing as he neared the other man. ” I'm Jonas, actually I'm pretty sure we lived not far from each other at one time… ” Jonas finished speaking, trailing of at the end as he came to a stop.
As Jonas spoke he knelt down to retrieve his massive katana from the grass at his feet. Soren took hold of it where the sheath met the guard, and lifted the imposing weapon up as he started to rise. Once he was upright again, he offered a knowing smile to the man. “Yes, I believe you’re correct.” Soren replied as he shifted his weight onto his left leg. “we might have, but to be completely honest I couldn’t say.” “My name is Soren,” Soren introduced himself and then turned to face the ruins yet again before continuing to speak. “If you’re here to explore the ruins, do you mind if I accompany you? Places like this fascinate me.” Soren wouldn’t be easily deterred from exploring the ruins of the cathedral, but he would welcome the company. Not only would it make it more enjoyable, but if something were to happen it would be far safer with an ally.
Jonas eyed the man as he retrieved his katana from the grass below, it seemed that he was also fond of adventures. Feeling that he would enjoy the company Jonas nodded and motioned for Soren to follow him. Aas he turned and walked away he retrieved the tattered old map from his satchel once more and moved calmly towards the depression he had been inspecting earlier. Upon arrival Jonas unfolded the map and approached Soren. ” I'm sure you have heard the rumors that there is some kind of dungeon located under these ruins. ” Jonas started, the excitement about discovering said labyrnth palpable. ” I acquired this map from an old man not three days ago, a trade of sorts. It's suppose to show the entrance to this dungeon which I have mostly pin-pointed to around this depression. ” He finished waving his free hand around in circles towards the low area of ground. Jonas knew by the looks of it that if there was an entrance here they would likely have to do some digging, and as always on these kind of adventures he had brought a small shovel which was strapped to his back along with his blade. Unclasping the harness Jonas released the shovel and started towards the center of the depression
Soren followed his newfound comrade closely, only a few feet behind, until they came upon a rather conspicuous depression in the ground. When he was sketching the citadel ruins he hadn’t thought much of it, yet now that he was close to it there was no doubt that it didn’t seem to be a natural formation. Jonas soon revealed a tattered old map, and a cursory glance was all that was necessary for him to note the details of it; they were certainly in the correct spot according to the map. Shortly after revealing the map he retrieved a small shovel from his equipment, Soren reached back to scratch the back of his head and began to speak apologetically. “I’m afraid I didn’t quite expect to be digging today. I’d heard rumors of a dungeon beneath here, but I had thought them mere rumors until now.” Soren genuinely felt bad, but after a brief pause was continue speaking. “If at any point you need a rest, however, I would be glad to do my part.”
Jonas was unphased by Soren's remarks about coming shovel-less, in fact he had pretty much assumed that he wouldn't be packing the tools needed to find the entrance, luckily Jonas had come prepared. With his shovel unfolded he shrugged off the statement and walking into the depression he thrust the spade of the shovel down. The spade easily dug into the soft soil, Jonas was somewhat surprised by the, expecting large stones or worse, but the digging seemed to be easy, as if the entrance at some point had been purposely covered with soft soil and left. ” Honestly, I don't think this is going to be as hard as I thought, if I need a break I'll certainly let you know. ” Jonas said as he was digging, casting the loose soil over his shoulder into a pile at the edge of the depressed area. ” So what where you doing out here anyway? I didn't think many people from Truce came to the ruins anymore, although when I was younger I use to sneak out here looking for the fables. ” Said Jonas, his pile growing larger and larger ever minute. Roughly ten minutes passed before Jonas felt a change in the digging. He was a couple feet deep and upon thrusting the spade into the ground he was shocked to hit a hard object, it sounded like metal and the reverberations of the impact hurt his hands. Looking up at Soren his expression changed quickly and his digging speed grew, he had located what looked like a trap door.
Soren merely watched his new ally while he dug, taking careful note of the man’s fervor in the task at hand. Nor did he seem to be discouraged by his lack of ability to assist in the excavation, which made Soren feel a fair amount of respect for him. It was a noteworthy trait to be able to understand, and to accept, a stranger who didn’t seem to contribute much to the group. It wasn’t long before Jonas made an attempt to start a conversation, which prompted Soren to sit down near the dig site and let his katana rest against his shoulder.
“I often visited these ruins myself as a child, truly even in my youth I could never satisfy my curiosity.” Soren replied nostalgically while staring off into the distance. “I was in the midst of sketching a picture when you arrived. It’s a hobby of mine, though it didn’t start out that way.” After that his expression became almost melancholy, but he was quick to turn such thoughts away. Especially once Jonas glanced up at him with an overwhelming excitement on his face. It seemed that that he had managed to uncover the trap door!
Jonas moved swiftly now, digging not only into the dirt around the hidden trap door, but also into his own reserves of will power, he wanted to uncover this ruin. Within minutes the trap door was fully uncovered, it was metal, most likely iron and had a small iron loop fastened into place to open it. Reaching down Jonas clasped the ring, the sweat on his hands making the cool dirty metal slippery as it turned to mud. Pulling hard he lifted the door slightly but the weight was too much and with a loud exhale he dropped it back into place. ” I think I'm going to need your help with this. ” Jonas said as he wiped the mud from his hands, smearing it across his yellow tunic. ” This thing is iron, and the hinges did not feel to responsive, they've probably gotten pretty rusty, since who knows how long it's been buried here. ” Jonas continued as he stepped back slightly and took a seat on the lip of ground around where he was digging, catching his breath and reaching into his satchel to pull out a flask which held water.
Soren could only watch as his ally began to dig with an increased fervor, seemingly more determined than ever before to uncover the dungeon. In the midst of the last bit of the excavation Soren shifted into a crouching position for a better view of the trap door as it was unearthed. Once it was uncovered Jonas had been quick to make an attempt to open it, and for a brief moment Soren had thought he might, until he lost his grip and what little progress had been made was lost.
Jonas was quick to request his aid after that, and Soren replied by nodding in affirmation, eager to finally do his part. Soren placed his weapon to rest upon the grass, and moved to stand beside Jonas. “On three we’ll pull together.” Soren declared with a determined expression, and reached down to take hold of his half of the metal ring. “One… two… three!” In unison they pulled upon the metal ring, and the door slowly creaked upon with their combined strength. Soren stumbled back as the door swung open, panting from the effort required to open the trap door. “That was quite heavy, well done.”
The hefty iron trap door was slung backwards and it hit the loose soil with a thud sending an eruption of dirty into the air creating a cloud. Jonas coughed, raising his hand to his mouth as he did so, then opened his eyes and stared into the darkness. The tunnel leading down was illuminated a few feet, as the sun was directly overhead. The shadows climbed down the stone stairway eventually becoming one with the darkness. Jonas turned to Soren, speechless for a moment, amazed that they had uncovered what to people and especially the children of Truce had just been an old wives tale. ” I always knew that it was true, having heard about the fiends who used this Cathedral as a base of operations for their invasion of Guardia back in 600 ad. ” Jonas said out loud, almost speaking to himself but still away of Soren. ” What do you say? Are re going to check it out? There could still be fiends down their, but I kinda doubt it. ” Jonas said as he now faced Soren, excitement in his eyes, the promise of adventure alive and true and sitting right in front of the two of them.
Soren covered his mouth with his left hand, coughing into it fitfully while desperately trying to wave the cloud away with his right. Soon enough the majority of the dirt cloud had settled, and Soren made his way over to Jonas—though he took the opportunity to retrieve his katana from the grass along the way. Sunlight illuminated the entrance to the depths for a few feet, but further in it steadily grew darker until it became pitch black. Soren couldn’t deny a certain trepidation about venturing into this forgotten place, but he was sure that Jonas would continue on with or without him. “I’ve no reason to fear fiends,” Soren replied boldly while staring into the black abyss that awaited them. “I’d wager that the fiends might need fear us.” Soren went quiet for a moment as he considered the options available to them. “I would say we press on, though we had best take care. Fiends or no, there’s likely to be traps meant to deter any intruders… such as ourselves. Shall we enter the belly of the beast, then?”
Jonas nodded and before setting off down the dark stairway he reached into his satchel. First he pulled from it a small lantern, made of bronze with a round glass center where the flame would be kept. Holding it by a brass ring he handed the lantern to Soren and went back into the satchel producing a bunch of phosphorus tipped matches which he had acquired the day before at the Truce market. Striking one of the matches he cupped his hand and moved the brittle flame slowly towards the wick of the lantern setting it alight. ” Okay, I'll take that back and lead the way. Be weary of traps, who knows what those pesky fiends left for us down here… hopefully treasure. ” JJonas smirked as he took the small brass lantern back from Soren, watching the flame refract for a moment before taking the first step downwards. The lantern light bit into the clawing darkness as Jonas descended the stairs. His boots clicked against the stone cut stairs, the noise echoing through the shrouded hallway ahead. The musty smell of centuries of being sealed filled Jonas' nose. He took a deep breath, he loved the smell, it was adventure. As he reached the bottom he found himself in a wide hall, perhaps five meters, the lantern just barely reaching each wall, also cut stone. Cob webs and stale air where all that greeted the two adventurers at the gate of the unknown.
Soren held firmly onto the lantern while Jonas rummaged through his satchel, until finally he retrieved what he had been searching for. Once it was lit he returned it to his friend and they began their journey into the catacombs. While he owned a similar lantern he hadn’t brought it with him, not having expected to explore such a place today. With every step they took the sound of their boots contacting with the cut stone floor echoed throughout the passage. It almost felt as if the stairway itself sought to warn anything that may lurk ahead of their coming. As they continued to descend further into the dark the musty smell of the ancient catacombs grew stronger; it wasn’t an unwelcome scent though, as it was a sign they were likely the first to visit this place since it had been sealed away. Soon they came upon the bottom of the stairway and the path opened into a large hallway, the lantern barely able to reach either side of the walls. Just like the stairway the passage was made of cut stone. Soren took a moment to turn about and take in the details of the place before moving to catch up with Jonas. “This is fantastic—to be the first people in this ancient place in centuries…!”
The lantern's fight against the darkness was futile Jonas thought as he tried to look past the sphere of radiance that they had been allowed, knowing the only was was to continue in farther. The feeling of surprise was bubbling inside on Jonas, the allure of the unknown a temptation he could never vanquish. ” No kidding, just think it's been four hundred years since Magus and his fiends were using this place as a foothold in Guardia, I heard stories that Crono himself helped clear this place when he visited that time. It must have been amazing! ” Jonas carried on in reply, his voice bellowing through the hallway, a strong indication that it was a lengthy one. ” Come on, let's see what we can find. ” He finished speaking, motioning for Soren to follow. Jonas stepped forward, the familiar echo of his boots leading them like a rhythmic drum. As the light danced across the hallways stone cut walls, wooden door came into view on the right. Jonas stopped, gazing at the old aged plank of hard dark wood, a small brass pull ring firmly bolted to it. Looking at Soren he shrugged, as if to give the young man the option of opening it or heading on.
Soren maintained a watchful eye in search of anything that might clue them further in on the events that had transpired here. With the small domain the lantern allowed them though it was near impossible to tell whether or not they had missed anything of importance. Before long Jonas started to speak, explaining the history of this place with an avid fascination in his voice. Soren smiled softly at his friend, genuinely amazed at how animated he could be when it came to the topic of Crono’s adventures. “They must have had quite the adventure here, then.” Soren replied as his eyes drifted about the darkened hallway. For some time they continued further down the passage, the only sound that of their boots rhythmically striking the stone floor. Soren soon caught sight of something on their right, and as they came closer it was revealed to be a wooden door. In comparison to the rest of the hallway it stood out like a sore thumb, which made him feel rather uneasy about opening it. Soren continued to eye the door for several moments, giving it some thought before reaching out for the brass ring. They had come down here to explore this ancient place, and if they balked at every turn they would be better off turning back the way they had come.
The door opened with a loud squeak which echoed down the dark passage way. Dry air hit Jonas in the face, though it was cool. The musty smell was stronger, bottled up in the little room for centuries. Holding the lantern in front of him Jonas stepped forward, the light pushing back the darkness of the room. The room was small, maybe twelve by twelve feet square, the light was enough to illuminate the entire space, though the upper and lower corners were still quite dark. Against the far wall was a stack of badly aged wooden crates and barrels, all of which looked like if you touched them they would disintegrate into dust. The floor was covered with a bright red rug, it's color still strong as no sunlight was ever present to fade it. To the right a stack of chewed up sacks lay, whatever had been in them in the past long gone now. ” Looks like this was food storage or something, probably cause it was so close to the door.. who would want to carry a bunch of crates much farther than that? ” Jonas said as he stepped into the room farther, squatting to check out the patters that were sewn into the rug, golden as bright as the red itself. ” I've seen rugs like these before in Guardia Castle. ” Jonas spoke, remembering as a child when he had been allowed to tour the palace, the day his fascination with adventure began.
Soren was quite relieved to find that there was nothing awaiting them on the other side; in fact it would seem that the room hadn’t been in use for a very long time. At one point it had been a storage room, most likely for food if the chewed up sacks were any indicator… though the food supplies had long since been devoured by something—a thought that made a shiver run up his spine. Was it possible that fiends might still lurk in the depths of this place? “It would seem my concern was needless,” Soren stated with a minor laugh, stepping into the room and observing the rug that Jonas spoke of. “it’s quite impressive.” he noted as he bent down and reached out for it, running his fingers through the coarse fibers. “I’m not sure that we’ll find much of interest in here though. Should we move on?”
Jonas stood from his squat, nodding towards Soren who had been quick to point out there likely wasn't anything much more interesting than the rug in this room. The lantern held out he moved back through the doorway into the seemingly endless passage. Being mindful as he walked Jonas could tell by the sound of their footsteps that they were nearing the end of the passage, as it seemed the echo was growing in size. ” I think we've been heading down at a slight slope, I only just noticed but from the sound I would say the room ahead is pretty large, likely very tall. ” Jonas said, stopping so that he could see Soren in the lantern light as he spoke. ” If there is anything down here, it would have likely heard us coming by now. ” He finished, starting to walk forward again. The passage way opened into a large chamber, large enough that the lantern light could not reach all of it in any direction but down. Jonas noted the same crimson red rugs with gold stitching here, ahead he could see a gothic looking stairway that led up, to where he could only guess. The stairs were fitted in the same fabric, which also seemed to run to both their left and right. The room was not as musty as the others, Jonas wondered if there was some sort of air ventilation here, or perhaps it was just the high ceilings. ” Which way to you want to go? ”Jonas asked.
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