The Old Crew pt. 3

“Tarmen, you’re going to have to kill that rat before I do. IF that map isn’t a fake, then I’m killing him myself!”

Tarmen looked up from the parchment he was trying to decipher as he walked, any chance of a joke long gone once they had realized their situation. Like Mira noted, either the map Mathias had given him was a fake, or he had made it himself and sucked.
It didn’t make sense to him, since usually he was given a copy of the other gang's routes. From what he was seeing, there wasn’t any defining feature to note where it was, nor was it close to anywhere they had been. Just a random X.
Sighing deeply at the thought of losing such a valuable informant, he debated letting the gang have their fun with him first. Would somewhat make up for a lost haul, but not by much. Dropping his gaze to the mud beneath him, he shook his head to agree.

“Fine by me, but I want to be sure he is cheatin’ us. You know these finds, they always pop out of nowhere after the first group leaves. We ain’t makin’ that mistake.”

Mira glared hard at her boss before turning back to the low brush grabbing her legs. Her shortsword and building frustration made quick work of it, continuing the path they had been making for several hours now.
After several minutes, they stopped as Tarmen gave out a quick chirping whistle. To anyone not in their crew, it would sound close to one of the small songbirds of the canopy above them. They stood still as they waited, sharing a brief look of concern when several more minutes of silence followed.
Finally a faint whistle could be heard to the north of them, followed by a separate call to the northwest.
With a head count and status check, Mira looked to her boss.

“No one is seeing anything boss. Time to admit Mathias got too ballsy this time and get rid of him before he tries to stab us in the back for real.”

Feeling the cooling air around him as evening set in properly, Tarmen agreed. They could make it back in the night and find that little shit while he slept.
Preparing to call the others, the two snapped northwest as a low whoop called out. A second longer one followed after a pause, bringing Tarmen and Mira into a run to find them. While not sold that this was what they were looking for, Tarmen still gave his partner a greedy grin as they followed the call.

The first signs of hope were stones. Any Kru’ll diver knew it was usually a good sign, as it could lead to grander structures.
From what he was seeing, Tarmen guessed they were passing a wall of sorts. Maybe a fort of yore, now buried under vines and rot to be picked over. He had often imagined what these places could have once been, wondering if they fought as hard as their descendants to survive here or had a firm grip over their domain.
He hid these thoughts from the others, noting early on that most around him simply didn’t care about the past, just what riches they could grab. Not that he blamed them, as he often had the same sentiment before his crew became more successful. Now he usually held back such fantasies for when he was marking a map, as it gave him the time and focus to fully immerse himself. A few times, mostly when younger, he had even imagined himself among the long dead. Would he even fit in? Would he even want to live in such a place? Had he grown up in the past, would he still be as he was now?

These kinds of thoughts were a part of his current doubt. They had become more frequent when he joined the crew on runs, giving him an itch that bothered him for weeks after. Still, he couldn’t help thinking, which given what that often led to here, was yet another reason he was considering leaving. It was going to get him killed one day.

“Boss! Stop!”

So lost in thought was Tarmen, that he barely heard Mira’s holler. If it wasn’t for her sudden yank on the back of his shoulder, he would have missed the others entirely.

“Don’t start thinking of the loot till we actually get it, eh boss?”

Steading himself and catching his breath, Tarmen lowered his head at hearing his own lesson used against him. He might as well retire, knowing that he would never live this down otherwise. He pushed Mira’s shoulder playfully as he moved to get a head count.

“Just seein’ if you would actually stop me or let me get lost and be rid of me. Now, we have everyone here?”

A quick look around from the group confirmed they hadn’t lost anyone, letting their attention fall on Mataz, the one who had alerted them to a find.
While he required his team to carry their own essentials, most of the supplies had recently fallen to the shorter woman that led them towards her find. Wide and built, she was easily the strongest of their number and proved it by being the unofficial crew packmule. Tarmen could swear she had the blood of the jungle demons in her veins, having hired her after a particularly lively brawl, and she proved it every time they braved the jungle depths by hauling the heavier supplies and still keeping up.
Despite her more manly appearance though, her voice was smooth and lyrical. Tarmen was always amazed that such a brute could sound so serene, especially when cursing your bloodline in a drunken fury. Luckily right now, Mataz was both sober and excited as she guided them through the ruins.

“Lu’nep and I found a fancy cave moronaways. He stayed behind while I hollered outathere to lead ya’ll in.”

She enthusiastically waved them to follow, bringing the crew to a section of the ruins that still held some semblance of the buildings they once were. Tarmen could almost envision them as houses, maybe a market of sorts even.
The speculation couldn’t last long, everyone’s attention being quickly drawn to a massive maw into the earth. Mataz couldn’t hold back her enthusiasm upon seeing the others reaction.

“Canno say if it’s a temple or what, but it sure looks important, eh? Pay up Traps!”

His second wore a skewed visage, the distaste in losing their bet plain as day as he tossed her a small pouch. Tarmen had luckily refrained, too divided to make a choice and given his earlier doubt was glad he didn’t. He patted Traps on the shoulder, giving some teasing comfort for his loss, then took the lead as he examined the cave mouth.
Pillars had once outlined the entrance, now appearing more like jagged tusks, and most of the relief above them was now hidden by vines and moss. Some hard work had gone into this place, giving Tarmen an excited itch inside of him.
Hearing some of the talk continuing behind him, he joined their concerns.

“You said Lu’nep waited here? Did he have any rope with him, maybe he went ahead?”

“Ye, told him to sit tight while I called. He had a shor length, but no enough for serious diving.”

Tarmen quickled whistled out, hoping the newbie had gone off to piss or something. The response came quick and close, straight from the cave.

“Down here! Thought to scout ahead, see for any traps and such.”

Tarmen shook his head, approving of the boy's gusto, but not of his idiocy. One of the basics was to stick together, something he thought drilled into the younger boy’s head already.
A lecture for later, now they needed to get to work. He turned towards the others, gathering a length of rope from his side as the others did the same.

“Alright, for most of us, business as usual. Traps, looks like someone wants your spot already, so once we’re down you get to work. Mataz, we’ll find a spot for most of the supplies to hide in the cave mouth, better you stay light here. Since our recruit decided it necessary, I’ll remind you lot again. Stick together, I don’t want your greed gettin’ me killed.”

Some light chuckles followed his little rundown as the crew became a machine, meticulous and efficient from experience. Tarmen could consider himself proud of what they had become, but figured telling them would make them high off their own piss more than they were.
In only a half hour they were prepared, ropes ready to ride down to Lu’pen and whatever lay hidden.
Tarmen gave the nod, then began his descent.