The Knights of Grimm - Act 4 - Whispers of Arkhonex

Chapter 59 - The Echoes of Arkhonex

Jaune

Dust hung in the air...

Winter watched as the particles floated and settled upon the old pieces of bronze and gold that scattered the ground. It really did help her see things clearly when it came down to the wealth of her family, and how none of it mattered in the end. It does not matter how much money you have, how much stronger you are – in the end, the dust will settle on what remains just like everywhere else.

Winter sighed, and she walked back over to the others, where she saw Jaune crouched down and looking over a Pure Gold Bowl that was on the floor. He scoffed, shaking his head as he wiped the dust from the stainless gold, seeing his own face in the reflection. "How much do you think this stuff is even worth?" He wondered.

"That bowl? Probably a couple hundred thousand." Winter stated, Jaune shook his head and stood back up.

"And Arkhonex kept it all for themselves... they were worse than the pirates."

"All Politicians are Pirates, they just have the ability to create their own laws to cover their own asses." Yenna scoffed as she walked around the room, Jaune looked at her and then at the bowl, dropping it back on the floor.

"Not like it matters, I doubt Umbra would even care if we used all this to build an army... it won't stop him, will it?" He asked.

"No, it would help us against the Oncoming Shadow, but to kill Vir Nominis Umbra? It's gotta be like the other Higher Demons, something more precise... like a Scalpel." Qrow replied as he kicked a bunch of golden coins across the floor, making them chime and bounce, sliding over to the middle of the marble floor.

"Yeah..." Ruby agreed as she started to run her finger across the blade of her Combat Knife. "... the question is where to cut?"

She turned when she heard the sound of the treasures all crashing to the ground suddenly and very loudly from round the corner. They all spun around and drew their weapons with widened eyes. Nora and Ren staggered in, and Ren chuckled, holding his hands above his head. "We surrender." He joked, in which they all chuckled.

"What was with that crashing about?" Kragen inquired.

"Oh! Just a... Grimm." Nora lied with a big grin, Ruby and Blake glanced at each other and back at the couple. "It was a cup... and I tripped." Nora admitted, in which they both started chuckling at her funny misfortune. Oscar smiled when he saw Ruby smile again, then he turned to see Ozpin standing up. They all looked at the old Knight of Vengeance as he looked around.

"What's the play?" Qrow asked the Professor.

"Yeah? What's next?" Jaune agreed as he rested his hand atop the pommel of Crocea Mors. Ozpin exhaled and he nodded, he pointed to the door across the room, the one of which they had not gone through yet.

"Follow me." Ozpin told them, he walked ahead and they all trailed behind him. Ozpin pushed his hands against the door, opening it up for them all, and they all looked around. There was now a long hallway, the paint had peeled away over time, damp had formed mould in areas of the house, yet it still looked like it was in relatively good condition. Except for the corpse that was leant against the wall, a ripped apart skeleton, the ribs were broken open and his limbs were pulled apart. Dark stains covered the floor and the walls, the stains were blood.

"Grimm?" Jaune assumed as he stared at the old Schnee Guard's Body.

"Yes, the Oncoming Shadow were relentless. Not all of the Schnees managed to escape this place." Ozpin said as he looked around, they turned the corner and Winter stared at the many old paintings on the wall. Some of them had faded from time, the paint would never last as long as a couple thousand years without proper maintenance, yet they could still make out some faces.