The Distinguished Mr. Rose Chapter 98: Chapter 97: Under Arid Skies

Read chapter 98 of The Distinguished Mr. Rose by QuiteTheSlacker on NovelPedia.

Chapter 97: Under Arid Skies Now, Lucius had initially planned to slow their fall by buying everyone a parachute from the shop. Much to his surprise, however, his fellows had no idea how to put them on, and the adrenaline of plummeting to their soon-to-be demise didn’t help much to calm their shaky hands. Fortunately, Miss Rhodes managed to wake from her blackout and quickly wove a large silk veil that wrapped around them and daintily floated in the air. The players descended into the large pit for some time, but even this murky darkness had to have a bottom. And so it was that the party of seven finally landed on solid ground. Barely a sliver of light reached them in the depths; and it would have ordinarily been difficult to see even an arm’s length in front of them… were it not for a separate source. Flowers. There were flowers of glowing white scattered about the former lake’s base, forming a soft meadow that gently illuminated the surroundings. Lucius was quite intrigued by them—how was it that such beauties could bloom in this chasm without light? Perhaps they received their energy from what laid below rather than above. The flowers weren’t the main star of this land, however. The players huddled together and gawked in awe, for all around them were the remains of what appeared to be an ancient ruin: dilapidated columns, sandy bricks, and engravings only the Saracens’ ancestors could have inscribed. This was a decrepit place, yet beautifully haunting all the same. It told of a rich history now lost to the annals of time. “Huh, so this dig was hidin’ beneath the city all this time?” Marco said, inspecting the structures. Harper reached toward one of the columns, only for it to turn to dust at the slightest touch. “Has to be at least a few hundred years old. Why’d they want to drop Roland here? I doubt a guy like him would die from something like a fall.” The others were just as confused. If the Saracens really wanted Sir Roland dead, they would have simply united their forces and trapped him in the city. There was no need for such an elaborate ruse… unless they were confident that someone, or something, in this pit could do their dirty work for them. Lucius’s suspicions were soon proven correct. The white flowers grew sparse the deeper into the ruin they stepped, and while there was still yet no sign of Roland or the other Peers, the party did come upon a startling discovery. There, latching onto a pillar like an invasive parasite, were the corrupted traces of the demons. Something sinister lurked in this fallen domain. >[Main Quest: Locate and Obtain the Second Fragment]< Your travels with Sir Roland have brought you to the resting grounds of the Saracens’ once mighty emirate, a sanctum of the desert people’s ancestors and a holy site that should have never been disturbed. Yet, something terrible has taken root in these ruins. A clue to obtaining the Demon King’s second fragment lies hidden within, but beware… you are not the only ones lingering in these bygone halls. Eliminate your enemies, retrieve the fragment, and a path to escape this pit might just reveal itself. Success: 1500 Cosmic Coins, + 5 unallocated stat points, and a Failure Protection Card. Failure: Death. The players looked amongst themselves, confirming the message window’s contents. It was all but certain now of what they would soon face. The Saracens weren’t their only enemy here. Miss Enapay was the first to speak, saying, “I do not like our chances. Even with the Franks’ expedition, we barely escaped alive procuring the first fragment. We must find the other Peers before we begin the search.” Everyone agreed with her, and so the party raised up their weapons and carefully delved farther into the sanctum. They tried to look for any traces of the Peers, but all they found was more rubble and debris. Scarcely a sound traveled through the air save for their nervous steps. It was after an hour of searching that the players began to notice something strange