Forbidden Land

by Mane-Shaker

13 Home Defence

"Armory, eh?" Pinkamena stretched her legs and arms while sitting on the dwarf sized bed. "I like the sound of that."

"Can't wait to see these historic relics." Mane commented with a smirk. "Seems It's on a corridor close to the entrance."

"Let's go." Pinkamena got up, opened the door and got paralyzed by something. "Er... Mane..?"

"Yes?" He answered while picking his backpack from the floor.

"Was there a skeleton in the corridor before we entered..?" She asked in a trembling voice.

Shaker took a look over her shoulder, and there was indeed the skeleton of a dwarf pony, sitting against the door of another bedroom, with a rusty helmet and ragged old cloths of leather, staring at them with those empty eye sockets. They remained in silence without knowing what to say while Pinkamena slowly reached to a flintlock pistol in her waist.

"Don't..." Mane whispered.

"Why?" She whispered back.

"This is like a giant graveyard. The place is indeed haunted, and we should not disturb the dead."

"I agree... for now..." She muttered while putting her weapon back in the holster.

Suddenly, the skeleton raised a bone hand making both Mane and Pinkamena launch a short scream of the scare. The bony hand closed except one finger, and pointed to the main corridor.

"Is he... t-talking to us..?" Pinkamena started to tremble.

"I-I think he wants us o-out of here." Mane whispered in some fear.

They obeyed the dead dwarf and slowly stepped out while It's head slowly followed their moves, making the scene even more disturbing. After leaving the corridor, noises were heard. Mane pointed his magic light and they saw the skeleton crawling It's way in to the bedroom they were at. Pinkamena focused her eyes for a bit.

"His legs are broken." She whispered in suspense.

The bedroom door got closed shut with a loud noise echoing through that part of the fort. They were immobilized by what they witnessed, as if their bodies were tied by cold chains of steel, while losing their strength. Mane snapped out after a while and touched Pinkamena's shoulder.

"Let's... keep moving." He suggested in a low voice close to her ears.

"Yeah..." She whispered back.

They walked down the main corridor, and the light coming from the outside seemed week. It was the end of the day and night was coming. They had to stay inside or else the rabid pack of elephants would find them probably. After roaming around and checking rooms either empty or with destroyed furniture, or sometimes a skeleton who seemed It would come back to life any moment, making them step away. The exploring duo found the barracks with broken beds, armor stands and weapon racks, all filled with rusty equipment.
Following the instructions of the translated diaries of Mane's notebook, they found the armory. And to be expected, everything there was worn out by time and climate's conditions of moist and heat.

"Smells like rust." Pinkamena snarled.

"You don't say..." Mane sighed. "This feels oddly familiar."

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"Your basement when I got there the first time. Death, rust, rotten body stench." Mane giggled. "Maybe you're the one who has a bit of dwarf pony blood in you."

"That's mean!" She pouted while grabbing an ancient war axe. "Look at this." She smiled. "They had skill in making these."

"Talented blacksmiths was part of their culture." Mane grabbed a spear, which the wood broke making It's end fall in the floor with a tingling noise. I was about to pick It up when something next to It in his magic light caught his attention. "What do we have here..."

"What?"

"A crossbow! They were the inventors of these after all!" Mane admired the old range weapon on his hands. The string was non existent and the silver of the arch in It's end was still shining, reminding him silver rusts very slowly. "What an amazing civilization..." He sighed in happiness.

"I thought you meant this." Pinkamena waved something in front of him. "You got work to do, crystal brains..." She giggled.

"How do you keep finding these?" Mane asked with his eyes following the rusty iron book.

"If I know what I'm looking for, I eventually find It." She laughed with pride.

"Give It to me then." Mane ordered while putting the crossbow back in the floor.

After the magic translation, he closed the old book and gave It to Diane.

"Put It where you found It. We are not here to plunder after what we experienced in the bedrooms." Mane ordered again in a serious tone.

"You read my mind..." She looked at him with some suspense. "I'll keep a lookout to the entrance." She grabbed both her pistols, making sure the gunpowder and the iron bullets were inside. She pulled the pistol's hammer behind with her thumb and kept the index fingers vertical to the triggers.

"I'll read again then." Mane sighed after watching her getting ready for a fight if It was necessary.