Strena Quester Part Four

 The Painting

They all looked up at a large box. It was jet black, just like the rest of the walls of the chamber, almost like it was made of black glass and the whole room was littered by those glowing mushrooms. The box itself was black metal and covered with many black precious crystals and gemstones. In the centre was a padlock, also black.

“Tell me-”

Cerpheres darted to the lock and looked in the hole. He looked around the box.

“What? Can’t pick it?”

“Nope! That’s a trick lock…” He purred, more to himself.

“And how do you know?”

“There’s something wrong with the inside. It seems to be riddled with spikes, I assume that they have many nasty little things hidden in them to kill us. Also, by the size of the lock, it seems to be a holder of something, it could be something very, very nasty for us naughty lot!”

“And what will help open it?”

“I dunno. Do you have an idea, my dear?”

Strena looked around.

“Not on the box. Also I don’t think that this is the chest we’re looking for.”

He looked at her pleasantly surprised. Then he relaxed and smiled.

“And how would you know that?”

She pointed at the lid and the box.

“There’s no gap between the bottom of the rest of the box and the chest seems to be fused to the altar that it’s on. And, as it’s made of the same thing as the rest of the temple, then that must mean that the chest is part of the floor.”

His eyes widened and his face went red.

“How old are you Strena?”

“Fourteen now. I think.”

His smile relaxed.

“I can not wait to see what you’re like as an adult. You’ll be quite the great woman!”

“Cerpheres!”

“What? So where do you think the collection is?”

“Well what do we know about the pharaoh that lies here?”

His eyes narrowed.

“I don’t follow, sorry.” He purred light-heartedly.

“Beetles. He, as the rest of the pharaohs, liked the whole lot that they knew of! So-”

“We look for something with a beetle!”

“Exactly!”

So they all looked for a beetle and Cerpheres found a small black box covered in obsidian and onyx beetles. He gave it to Chashathrophogh. He gave it to Strena. She looked at the beetles. She saw a beetle keyhole and the beetle at the top. She pressed it in and the beetle to the right popped open and he pulled it out. She saw the teeth and pressed it into the chest and it opened the box, revealing a collection of beetles made of many colourful crystals and gemstones. On the wings was the face of a beautiful woman.

Then the two men looked in.

“So, he did do it…”

“What?”

“That is Alkhara, the Pharaoh’s favourite wife after giving him many, many sons and few daughters and died giving birth to his last son. So, he burnt her body and turned her ashes-” he pulled out an especially beautiful diamond one. “into a precious stone the shape of a beetle.”

He sighed.

“So romantic!”

“Right, now that we have the collection, will we be getting out of here?”

“Yes.”

So they all looked around to see a doorway. It was to the left. They walked up to it, only to see a suit of armour land in front of them. It lit up green and the bones were almost as new as if the man had recently died with his bones cleaned. It had an axe in his hands.

“Now what?”

“We find the pentagram that keeps it animated.”

That was when Zaryb ran at it and threw a group of tiny daggers at the armour. Then, as it turned to him, Bash drew her bow and set the tip alight and fired. This did nothing but make the helmet look at her. She drew the bow again and hit the head. Then she crouched and hit it again pushing the helmet off. This revealed the pentagram. This gave Zaryb the opening that he needed. 

Soon it collapsed and the doors opened. They walked on to see a mummy with a curved sword. 

Quickly Strena rushed to it. She drove Darkector down knowing that she had to get to the pentagram. So she flicked Orion up and cut the bandages in half. This revealed that it was not there. So she blocked strike after strike, cutting a bandage here and there, keeping an eye out for the pentagram. She quickly spotted that it was not on the head.

Then Chashathrophogh came up next to her as she struck strike after strike. He reached out his hand to his chest and sent a blast of magic to the chest plate. Soon it fell. The doors opened and they walked on.

This time they were greeted by one that Cerpheres looked at and sent a blast all over the bones and it too was on the floor. Then he pouted.

“That was far too easy!” He complained as the doors opened.

They walked out of the doors and they were out.

“Now what?”

Leonardo walked to the front and brought out a canvas.

“Now I paint!”

“Fine!”

“If you must insist!”

They all stood in front of the Temple Of The Pharaoh as he quickly painted the scene. 

Soon they walked on and sold it to a Bounty Hunter’s tavern, where, after five hundred years, it would be seen by the prince born out of wedlock Ryo Kizaru and a familiar woman to the painting…(but that is for a different story of a different time…)