Treasures of the Deep - First Expedition

There was very little in the depths of the River, it seemed. Most of any foul spirits around Anton had been dispatched or had seemed to learn now to stray to close to the golden man now rummaging around the bottom of the riverbed, as his search went rather unmolested. Slow-going still, but that was to be expected. He was searching the entirety of the river bed by hand, and through a rather stiff suit, underwater. Archer wasn't sure how "rough an idea" of the locations of these objects Chaldea had, but he had come prepared for the long haul.

Fortunately, that did not seem to be necessary, as Anton waved his first find at him through the murkey depths.

"Congratulations on finding the first object Master. Now we can proceed to--"

Archer had little time to celebrate Anton's discovery due to the sudden influx of a massive number of spirits flooding out of the river, no pun intended. Well, maybe a little intended. Cursing under his breath, he leaped down from the top of the pillar he stood upon to somewhere closer to three quarters of the way up, hiding in the shadow of the massive structure. He suppressed his presence as much as he could, drawing upon some of the skills granted to him by his knowledge as a Guru, but outside of the Assassin class he could only hope for so much.

The spirits seemed to be scattering aimlessly, or at least randomly, so hopefully he could avoid drawing any attention by simply waiting where he was. They did not seem to be originating from where the other object they were searching for was supposed to be, so there was no need to take dire action against them. Like the ghouls from before; If avoiding them could be achieved, it was the preferred solution. Especially against so many shades. Ghouls could be dispatched without end without much worry, but the spirits in such numbers could easily overwhelm and kill Archer if he was not careful. Were he to engage them he would almost undoubtedly need to use a Noble Phantasm to clear them out and protect Anton simultaneously, and avoiding that would be preferable.

Making sure he could still keep an eye on Anton from his lower, more hidden perch, Archer glanced downwards to take note of the current progress of the ghouls, remembering they even existed. A horde of them conglomerated at the bottom of the pillar, but they seemed to just stare about aimlessly at the moment, pawing at the edges of the pillar but filled with uncertainty. It seems they had lost sight of the Archer too once his covering fire had ceased and he had taken to the shadows, but they still lingered about, looking around aimlessly for some sign of the servant. A brave few might even begin the climb, but their progress was slow and lingering. Still not an immediate concern.

"Master, there is a massive horde of spirits exiting the River, roughly two kilometers away. They do not seem to be hostile as of yet, nor do they seem to be in our path. But remain vigilant."

Hopefully at least some of his words made it through. This whole inability to communicate was certainly going to make things more complicated.

Realizing Anton's path would take him underneath the bridge long before he communicated such, Ashwatthama was faced with somewhat of an awkward situation. From his hidden, elevated perch he could not cover beneath the bridge. Which meant he had to move to a new one, as even a single moment without cover could prove fatal for Anton, an unacceptable possibility. By extension, Archer now had to deal with all the ghouls lurking beneath him so he could safely move to another perch, which had the additional complication of all the spirits currently sailing through the air noticing him.

Well, once more into the breach, as that strange western saying goes.

Springing out of his hiding place, Archer let loose a torrent of arrows into the ghouls below, raining death upon them while they were still somewhat unaware. Clustered as they were, they were fairly easy targets, and many were caught in the shambles of each others bodies as they fell helplessly. Many more however, still remained, and now were fixated on the Archer above them. They began a mad climp up the pillar, scurrying over one another in their race towards their probably destruction. Practically lining themselves up for him, it was like shooting fish in a barrel to pierce the ghouls and send them tumbling to their dooms on the bridge below. Given a few minutes he might easily eliminate them all in such a manner.

However, he didn't have that kind of time. Even now, Anton approached the bridge's blind spot and the spirits randomly dashing about overheard seemed to notice something was amiss.

Deciding his time was about up, Archer leaped off the pillar, landing just to the side of the horde of ghouls who quickly shambled after him. Darting away from them, he quickly moved to the side of the bridge and off the edge. Scaling down the side of the edge of the bridge, he made his way onto some of the supports making up the underside of the bridge. A precarious position even for him, as the water below him was almost surely fatal, or at the very least extremely damaging to him. What made it worse was the fact that the ghouls seemed to be shambling off the edge after him-- With many falling off the bridge into the darkness of the river below.

Luckily, they were several dozen yards out of Anton's path, so the sudden downpour of ghouls into the river shouldn't directly impede or threaten him. Kind of an unfortunate consequence he really should have seen coming though. Wincing slightly, as the loud noise of a veritable herd of the undead splashing into the waiting depths below, Archer figured it might be best to inform Anton of what the hell was going on.

"Master, I have found a spot to cover you from. The noise you're probably hearing is a rather large group of ghouls falling into the river. Stay your current course and they should not be an issue; We are well out of your way. I will notify you if anything changes."

Taking as steady a position as he could on the rusted supports, Archer kept his eyes on Anton while only peripherally keeping track of his surroundings. Unfortunately for Archer, the bridge obscured from his view a large number of spirits who were being drawn by the incredible noise the falling ghouls were making, and now moved down through the bridge to investigate. Well, he'd find out when they get there.

Archer's footing became unsteady as the bridge itself heaved and shook alongside the rumbling in the river below. Suddenly wishing he'd found himself a sturdier perch, he was almost knocked clear off as a spectral claw swung into his field of view with just enough time for him to evade, firing a reactionary shot at the shade only half-way emerged from the bridge above him and dispersing it into a fine black mist. A mist accompanied by many other dark shadows above him, as a veritable horde of shades began to manifest around him, suddenly becoming aware of his presence.

"We certainly do."

It was the only response he managed to get out before flinging himself to work dispatching the spirits, trying desperately to remove them before they managed to draw near him. A futile struggle, as he managed to pierce only a few with his arrows before they drew so close that he had to bound to another low-hanging support of the bridge, balancing himself as quickly as possible before resuming. This pattern continued as more and more shades seemed to pour forth from the bridge above.

With little time to register the happenings going on beneath him, Ashwatthama found himself nearly cornered by the shades as he was pushed further and further back toward the edge of the bridge. Soon he would have to either climb his way back onto the upper portion of the bridge, or jump. At this rate however, he was being of little use to Anton, covering only his own back. He could either prolong his stay on watch, or actually cover his master, so the choice was obvious.

"I may be forced away momentarily master. Please hurry past the bridge, I will do what I can to assist you."

Turning away from the Shades closing in towards him, Archer fired a hail of arrows into the two erupting objects far behind Anton. He wasn't sure what effect they'd have, but if nothing else any physical threats emerging from them would be hampered. He couldn't quite make out what they were through the dimness of the River, and so could only hope his cover would provide some assistance.

Moving further away from the Shades, he moved his attention towards the area directly in front of Anton. Firing at anything that he could even conceive as a threat around Anton, he hoped his master would take the queue and book it past the mud as best he could before it was too late. If the hectic pour of threats continued, Ashwatthama might have no choice but to unleash a Noble Phantasm.

"...Roger that. Be safe."

Ashwatthama regretfully turned away from Anton, refocusing on the threats converging around him. Best to get this done quickly; Who knows how long Anton would be safe on his own, down in the depths of the river. Grimacing slightly, Ashwatthama bounded to the edge of the bridge, quickly making his way to the upper side of it, darting past the shades around him. Even as he made his way topside, the shades emerged from the ground of the bridge to meet him, merely moving up through the physical structure to intercept him. Fortunately his footing was better and he was prepared for the shades this time, so many of them were dispatched before they even finished making their way up out of the structure.

By the time the rest made their way up, Ashwatthama would be halfway down the bridge, leaping past the swarm of ghouls that lingered from his earlier entrance onto the bridge. Least of his problems at the moment.

Turning around, Ashwatthama briefly considered blowing the bridge apart with the Brahmastra, but decided against it. He wasn't sure Anton was far enough away from the bridge to not be caught in the explosion or collapse of the structure. It was too risky. Which meant meticulously picking off each shade as they lunged after him. Even now he had to swivel to avoid pursuing blasts of energy, fired out by the shades blindly as they swarmed after him. He returned fire, dispatching a number of them and causing the others to scatter, desperate to avoid his hail of arrows. They seemed more cautious now, as their numbers thinned, skirting the edge of his vision and lurking in shadows to try to approach him unseen.

Having bought himself some time, his attention was drawn by a flash of light beneath the river. Anton had used a spell.

"Master, are you alright?"

Darting up the side of the nearby building, he scanned the water for his master, hoping to Vishnu above Anton had not been harmed during his lapse of attention.