Volanta

When Oliver heard gunfire, his first thought went to Pippa. He couldn’t see straight and his head was throbbing with pain, and most of his energy was being put towards holding Rena. He looked up and was surprised and relieved to find that Pippa hadn’t been shot. She was the one who shot. Peter was still on the ground and the catacombs were falling apart around him. The stone in Peter’s hand rolled away, but Oliver had his hands too full to grab it.

“Pippa, get the heart!” Oliver shouted, dodging some falling stones.

Pippa dropped the gun and ran to grab the stone, gasping when an entire skeleton fell out from the wall and landed on her. She shook it off and ran to the pillar, shoving the heart back where it was supposed to be. Suddenly, everything paused. Literally. Oliver looked over and saw a falling stone hovering in midair, as if gravity no longer existed. He looked down and saw Rena groan softly in pain, but at least she’d stirred a little bit and he could know she was alive. Pippa stared at the floating rocks, eyes wide and hands trembling from the excitement and terror of it all.

Oliver looked up at it. Everything was peaceful for a moment, but Rena was still weak. The stone wasn’t glowing anymore, either. Pippa moved towards Oliver, grabbing his arm and looking around at everything. Her hands were clenched so tightly around his sleeve, he thought she might tear it.

“Did I kill Peter?” she asked him.

Oliver looked over, hearing Peter groan softly and hold his bleeding knee.

“No,” Oliver assured her. “He’s probably just in shock. It looks like you just got him in the leg. Right in the knee. It looks like our gallant hero has exaggerated his stories a little bit, and he can’t handle a little pain.”

“The heart… look at it,” Pippa said, pointing to it.

The stone was glowing unusually brightly now. Oliver heard rumbling in the walls of the catacomb, and the floating rocks began to move back up to where they were meant to be. Still, the rumbling in the walls was threatening. Rena suddenly woke up and gasped, eyes shooting wide open. The color of her eyes were not quite as bright as they were before, but she struggled to catch her breath, looking up at Oliver when she noticed he was holding her. He helped her back on her feet, and she looked around.

“We must leave,” she said. “Quickly. While the heart was returned, its home now senses us as a threat. It will try to destroy us.”

“Are you okay to run?” Oliver asked her.

“Me? Always,” Rena said. “Just make sure you are ‘okay to run’, Teyrik.”

She took Pippa’s arm and started to go as the rumbling walls got more threatening, and Oliver felt as if the whole thing was going to cave in on him. He looked down at where Peter had managed to prop himself up, watching them with a glare.

“Oliver, come on!” Pippa called. “What are you waiting for?”

“You guys go, I’ll catch up.”

“Oliver!”

“Go, Pippa!”

Pippa was reluctant, but Rena tugged her along. Oliver looked up as stones started falling around him again, seemingly with added force. Made to kill. He dodged another rock as he made his way to where Peter was, kneeling down by him. God, he hated him.

“You’re going to die in here,” Peter growled.

“Give me your arm,” Oliver said, ignoring the statement.

“What?” Peter frowned.

“Now, Peter,” Oliver ordered, glaring at him. “Unless you want to stick around here.”

A rock landed dangerously close to Peter’s head, and he did as Oliver asked, slinging his arm around Oliver and letting him help him up. Oliver mostly carried Peter as they limped their way out of the caverns. Stones fell all around them with force, then rose back into place in the ceiling and fell again. The catacombs weren’t falling apart. Like Rena said, it was fighting back. It didn’t help that Oliver had Peter, the main threat, hanging off of him. Peter cried out in pain and stopped, nearly falling over had Oliver not caught him.

“I can’t walk,” Peter said.

“Why do you always make things difficult for me?” Oliver snapped. “I swear, if this doesn’t get me into heaven, nothing will.”

He ignored Peter’s protest when Oliver suddenly picked him up and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

“Christ, Lambert!” Peter groaned. “Watch the knee! Your girlfriend shot me!”

“Shut the hell up, I’m saving your life!” Oliver yelled, with a harsh tone that surprised both of them.

He started off running as fast as he could, dodging stones left and right, and soon saw the light of day up ahead. The stones crumbled faster and faster, until he could feel it right on his heels. He was almost sure they were going to get crushed. He shoved Peter off him and out the entrance, diving out himself right before the entrance to the catacombs crumbled in on itself. The entrance was blocked, and the heart was safe.

“Oliver!”

Pippa ran over, falling on her knees next to Oliver and pushing his hair back out of his face where he was lying on the ground, trying to catch his breath.

“You saved Peter, too,” she remarked.

“I… hate… him…,” Oliver panted. “But… I’m not… heartless…”

“That’s alright, because I am.”

Pippa and Oliver looked up, seeing several Volantian warriors running to them, led by Rena. Fenro was the one who’d spoken, a sadistic grin on his face as he looked at Peter. Peter’s face twisted with terror as Fenro approached him, flanked by several other burly warriors. They grabbed him by his injuries, dragging him away as he screamed in pain.

Pippa helped Oliver up, and it was only then that he realized how much pain he was in. Peter had done quite a bit of damage on him, especially when he’d slammed his head into the wall. Oliver stumbled slightly and Pippa caught him, steadying him again.

“Our healers can take him,” Rena said, making Pippa hand Oliver over to a couple women who helped him stand.

They guided him away, and that was the last Oliver saw Pippa for three days. The healers did the best they could with him, and all of his cuts and bruises were gone when they were done. He still had a mild concussion, but that he could deal with on his own. They had a guide to take them back to the prepared ship, and Oliver had plenty of time to rest on the journey home. Of the crew, only Captain Sorenson and three other members of the crew remained. It was remarkable how no one else was deemed “worthy of survival” by the island. Before they left, they were all brought before the queen, who stared at them for a few uncomfortable minutes before saying anything. Mostly at Pippa and Oliver.

“So,” she said finally, “How many days does it take for a few strange outsiders to destroy an entire ancient civilization?”

Pippa and Oliver looked down in shame. He could feel Queen Nthuri’s eyes burning holes into them.

“But you managed to save it, as well.”

Oliver looked up, seeing that the queen was smiling.

“I cannot let this go without some form of action,” she announced, clasping her hands together. “Normally, you would all suffer the same fate as dear Peter. However, you have proven to be an ally to us in a time where evil threatened our people. For this, we release you to return home safely, with no storms in your way.”

“Thank you, your highness,” Pippa said, as they all bowed before her.

“On one condition,” Queen Nthuri added. “When you return to your home, you will not speak of this place. The journal of Roland Fishweiler, as well as the rest of your notes, have been confiscated. You are to return to your home and claim that you have seen nothing, and a land too dangerous to visit. We will know if you lie. And if you betray us, you will be punished.”

“Understood,” Oliver said.

“Alright,” Queen Nthuri said. “I bid you goodbye, and I wish you a pleasant trip to your homes.”

They all bowed again, and were guided out of the temple by the same Volantian guards that brought them there. Oliver tried his best not to train himself, but noticed Pippa lingering a little bit behind the rest of the group, holding Jasper to her chest and petting his head. Oliver slowed down a bit, but she didn’t seem entirely eager to walk beside him. He couldn’t imagine why. He could only hope it was the excitement of the last few days that made her so distant from him.