Chapter 5: Part 1 - The Final Round

Flying, Vasha had learnt, wasn't for the faint-hearted. The journey from Rata Sum had started calmly enough; she'd even slept for a time, curled up in a corner with a coil of rope as a pillow. It hadn't lasted. The turbulence hit the moment they started to descend; now Vasha felt like her flesh was going to be shaken off her bones.

"Airships," Haki grumbled, not for the first time. He kept making disparaging remarks about their mode of transport, as if he'd been on a dozen airships before and never found them to his liking. Vasha knew better. She'd watched her fellow Marauders as they'd approached Yinn's ship. She'd seen their eyes widen. She knew they were all astonished to be aboard, just as she was.

"If this thing crashes," Roan growled, "I'm coming back from the Mists just to haunt Yinn."

"He'd deserve it," Vasha said, at which Roan grunted. The airship shook again, almost throwing her into Haki. It felt like they'd been descending for hours. The windows were all covered, meaning there was no way to know where they were, but Vasha couldn't think of a single place in Tyria that would warrant such an approach. Besides the dips and lurches and juddering, they seemed to be flying in circles.

There was a final, bone-shaking jerk – and then stillness. Vasha's head spun; distantly, she could hear something hissing. Figures were clambering to their feet all around the dark cabin, though. Whatever their destination, they appeared to have arrived.

Haki stood, pulling Vasha up with him. A hatch on the far side of the cabin abruptly opened, a rectangle of light flooding across the Valpari family. Vasha found herself studying the back of Jean's head, guilt worming through her stomach. She deserved to have won the last round. She'd saved Jean's life and taken her reward. He'd even agreed with her.

Why, then, was it so damned hard to look at him without flinching?

The Valparis were already leaving the airship. The Nth Degree fell in behind them, chattering amongst themselves. Vasha followed Roan out, a waft of briny air hitting her as the light did. They seemed to be disembarking onto a narrow strip of rock, a cliff on one side and endless ocean in the other.

"You think this round is going to be underwater?" Haki asked. It sounded like a joke, but he couldn't keep the nervousness from his voice.

"No. Look." That was Gull. She was pointing along the ledge to where a number of Yinn's staff waited. They had an extraordinary amount of equipment for such a narrow space, but Vasha recognised some of it as belonging to Yinn's teleportation device.

There was no time for discussion. The airship's engine suddenly roared behind them and there was a thump as the door closed. Vasha looked back in time to see the vehicle ascending rapidly into a washed blue sky. For the first time, she found herself wishing she was back aboard.

There was no time for regret, either. More of Yinn's staff had appeared behind the Marauders and now hustled them forwards. Vasha caught snatches of conversation from the Nth Degree, words like 'short-range' and 'interference'. Asura technology wasn't her speciality, but even a novice engineer could guess at their meaning. Yinn had brought them to this spit of rock because his teleportation device couldn't reach far enough otherwise.

It was only moments before she discovered the truth of her theory. The Valparis had already vanished – as a group, Vasha noted, which meant Yinn wasn't splitting them up this time. The Nth Degree were next, and then the Marauders stepped up to the device. Vasha felt a familiar tugging sensation in the pit of her stomach, followed by a flash of light...

She blinked, then blinked again as sweat trickled into her eyes. She didn't recognise their destination, but it was as hot as a furnace and she thought she could smell sulphur. Were they in Mount Maelstrom, perhaps, or even back in the jungles of Maguuma?

Neither seemed likely. Ahead, the ground sloped up and away from them. Lurid green vegetation covered jagged grey rocks, stretching towards a towering cliff. And overhead... A ceiling? Steam obscured the view, but Vasha was sure she could see glowing plants. It was light, though, so they weren't underground...

"By Raven." Gull had come up beside Vasha. She stood with her hands on her hips, looking genuinely astonished. "Draconis Mons."

The name meant little to Vasha. "Excuse me?"

"This place. It's called Draconis Mons." Gull gestured to the landscape before them. "It's a mountain or a volcano or some such. It rose out of the sea after Primordus... Well, the less said about that, the better. I didn't know anyone outside the Pact was allowed inside. They don't encourage tourists. Yinn must have..."

Vasha was only half listening. One part of Gull's rambling, and one part alone, had sunk in. "We're inside a volcano?" she asked faintly.

Gull didn't reply. Vasha could see the truth of it, though. She could see the way the cliffs appeared to narrow as they rose. She could see rocky ledges above and boiling sea below. She could see light, but not the sun or sky. No wonder there had been so much turbulence as the airship descended, and then interference affecting Yinn's teleportation device.

And finally, Vasha understood her map.

She resisted the urge to pull it out of her pocket for further study. The circles and spirals made sense now, though. They indicated vertical space, as well as horizontal. She just needed time to decipher it properly.

Time she wasn't likely to get. The other teams were already assembling a short distance away, in front of Yinn's golem with the platform on the top. Vasha couldn't imagine what a feat it must have been to fly the golem here, then get it through the teleportation device, but she couldn't deny how impressive it was. Yinn himself stood on the platform, resting on his cane – and this time, he had company.

Even at a distance, Vasha didn't like the look of the guards protecting him. There were two of them, a charr and a norn, the biggest individuals she'd ever seen. They stood to either side of the golem, bristling with weapons – except, as she got closer, Vasha revised her estimate of them. Not just guards. Mercenaries.

Was this because of Marissa? Had Yinn decided he needed better protection? Vasha would have said that was the reason for the mercenaries' presence, if they hadn't been grinning like they knew something no-one else did.

"Welcome, competitors." Yinn's amplified voice boomed across the shoreline, loud enough to make the ground shake. Vasha found herself glancing up, wondering how stable the cavern roof was. "Welcome to the final round of Yinn's Carnival of Delight, Wonder and Potential Reward."

Gull gave a soft snort. Vasha found herself grimacing. She'd forgotten the ridiculous name Yinn had attached to his game. There hadn't been much delight or wonder to be found in it so far. As for reward... That remained to be seen.

"This final round is very simple and will no doubt be familiar to you," Yinn went on. "You will be required to collect keys, which will enable you to unlock the game's ultimate prize. Some of these keys will be hidden in the environment around you. Others... will not."

Meaning they were supposed to fight the other teams for them, just like in the first round. Vasha found her gaze drifting to the Valparis, who stood to one side. Yinn would almost certainly have made sure only one team could win.

"It will not have escaped your notice that only three teams remain," Yinn said, gesturing with his cane. "I would like to extend my compliments to the Nth Degree, the Nageling Marauders, and the Valpari family for making it this far."

Did he twitch, just a little, as he said 'Valpari'? Vasha could imagine Marissa's smile without seeing it.

"However, given the grandness of this setting, you will forgive me for wishing to make things more challenging – to ensure the best team wins. To that end, I have invited a number of other individuals to join us for this round. Rest assured, they will not be eligible for the grand prize. Otherwise, however, you should expect their full participation."

A few paces in front of Vasha, Roan and Haki were talking in low voices. She didn't need to hear their words to know how tense they were. It was all too clear how this round was going to play out. Yinn would fill the volcano with mercenaries, all competing for his keys, and watch as the original competitors were picked off one by one. The perfect entertainment for his clients, no doubt.

Well, not if she could help it. She hadn't come all this way to lose to that flea-bitten charr or that thick-skulled norn, no matter how wide their grins were.

Yinn brought his cane down with a crack, as loud as a pistol shot. When everyone was looking his way, he said, "I'm sure, whatever the circumstances, you will all endeavour to keep this round... interesting. But this is where I leave you. No more rules, no more instructions. The grand prize awaits."

There was utter silence as Yinn descended from his golem. It continued as he strode away through the undergrowth, the golem lumbering after him. Vasha found herself glancing nervously between the other teams – and the mercenaries who still watched them. Yinn had never started a round like this before, with them all eyeing one another as enemies.

"Do we have our key already?" Gull asked.

Roan nodded. "Some snotty little asura gave it to me on the airship. Remind me never to travel on one of those things again. If I hadn't been on the verge of heaving my guts up, I might have seen who got the others."

"It has to be one per team," Vasha said, "if we trust Yinn to be honest with us."

There was an answering snort from both the charr and the two norn. Vasha didn't blame them.

"I don't think I should get the map out until we're well away from the others," she went on.

Roan shook his head. "Don't bother. We don't need a map."

"What?" Surprise made Vasha sharp. All that fighting inside Death's Anthem... Roan thought that had been for nothing?

He pointed with one claw, towards the glowing ceiling above their heads. "We're at the bottom. The prize has got to be at the top. That's all we need to know."