Rook attempted to escape from the clutches of the Coatl’s tail, but the grip was too strong. The four monsters slithered down the dark dungeon stairs.
“So…” Said Rook, “Are we heading down here for the water reserve? Is that what’s going on?”
The Coatl hissed at the rook.
“Admittedly, I never earned my Small Talk badge.” Said Rook.
As they approached, torches lit themselves. It was a large room with an intricate circular disk on the ground and three giant stone slabs with writing on each of them. There were giant statues of Coatl in different positions against the wall. In front of the statues were pools of water. There was a large, open double door to a different room.
The Coatl tossed Rook the rest of the way down the stairs. He rolled until he landed on the ground and collided with the stone slab.
The three coatl pointed their spears at Rook, and one of them finally spoke.
“You read. Yes?”
Rook breathed deeply, trying to collect his breath, “At an advanced level, I’m told.”
“You read?” Asked the snakeman again.
“I read,” Rook said.
The snake that had trapped him pointed at the stone tablet, “Read.”
Rook picked himself up and looked at the tablets.
“This one, the singular strikes that made up the level. It’s Coati. Your people’s language.” He moved to the slab in the center. The language was made up of circles with different shapes inside them. “This one is written in a language I’ve never heard of. Probably lost to time. But this next one is written in Umbral. The language of Darksiders. This one I could read.”
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“You read only one?”
“I might only need to. These are likely just different translations of the same thing. Likely for different travelers. I’m guessing that this center stone belongs to the people who set this up.”
“Read.” The Coatl said this as he squeezed his grip on the sealhorn, who let out a squeal of pain.
“I’ll read! Just let him down.” He pointed at the seal. The Coatl did not let him down. Instead, he gripped tighter, “Read.”
“Alright!” Rook said. Alright! Your friend doesn’t look okay at all. I could use my health potion in my bag if you let me g-”
“Read.” Said the one in the middle who carried the injured teammate.
“Okay!” Rook turned to the big stone slab. His mind started translating the Umbral text.
He couldn’t help but glance down, where he saw the circular stone disc they were all standing on top of. It had different creatures doing a host of actions like running, jumping, and hunting. They circled the outside stone. Within the inside circle were different monsters. He looked up at the umbral text.
“It’s… much older Umbral. I won’t be able to translate it as well. ‘Hear ye, Thoust who cometh. A warning, well as beckon.’ It’s trying to tell us that this is a warning but also a challenge. To come and leave at our own peril. ‘Let ye who cometh your blood turn to venom. Your mind to snakes. Let your water begin the trial. Let the victor the spoils’
As Rook continued to read the tablet. The Coatl attempted to listen. The one with the wound on his neck was failing at staving off the bleeding. He covered his hand wound, but the blood dripped out of his hands and leaked down his body. He attempted to find a bench to sit down. He released himself from his teammate, but as he took a few slithers forward, he fell. His blood leaked onto the engraving of a snake with five heads.
As the blood leaked into the stone engraving, the grooves that the blood ran through began to glow.
The words on the stone slab began to jiggle. Rook watched as they pulled together and reformulated.
Rook looked confused before he saw the fallen snake.
“I think what’s about to happen was triggered by your friend.”
The doors above closed swiftly. The torches surrounding them turned green. When Rook looked back at the stone tablet, the words had formed again. To his best translation in olden umbral, he saw that it said:
Trial Start.
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