A pair of newly minted monster hunters walked down a dirt road, the taller of the two absentmindedly tugged and adjusted her new set of furry vambraces that covered her forearm and the back of her hands. The smaller than average one on the other hand jumped, leapt, twisted and flipped around showing off every stich and sinew of her new spiffy travelling outfit gratefully donated by the McDale’s. The fledgling monster hunters had returned to the McDale household, the Duvolf hung over Valerie’s shoulder and dripping viscera all the way home. Dale’s wife Sue greeted the pair with the tightest, warmest and most motherly of embraces either had ever experienced. Which was also sadly their first motherly embrace but it did set quite the bar. While Dale was a short, reserved man his wife was anything but, the very definition of a mama bear sans fur and talons. She exuded a mother’s love and considered the two new arrivals as members of the family showering them with frankly an obscene amount of doting and attention. The newest McDale “Daughters” were understandably uncomfortable but thankful for the treatment, hearty meals and warm bed. The luxurious accommodations might have led to the two in to staying permanently as the towns defenders, but they were forced to disappoint. They had a long journey to nowhere in particular and couldn’t trade one dead end home for another.
They tried to get away as soon as possible claiming they needed to find a tanner who could work the Duvolf pelt into something both could use. Coincidentally, Dale Junior was such a tanner and readily offered his services free of charge to the women that avenged his brother. Miraculously, Tucker was alive but unresponsive, he had lost too much blood and would need time to recover his strength. The McDale’s were simply thankful their boy was alive and no one else would suffer the beast’s hunger. After being coerced into spending more than a few nights lodging at the McDale residence, the pair made their goodbyes and set off. Dale tried to offer his services to cart the young ladies where they needed to get to but they themselves didn’t know what the road ahead entailed and wanted to try their hand at being independent whenever they could. Setting down the opposite road they came in from Samantha and Valerie waved goodbye to the village they forgot to learn the name of and looked to new horizons.
“Swish, swish.”
Which brings us back to the long march along the dirt road Samantha used as her own runway strutting this way and that. Dale Junior was an artist among farm hands and when given the sizable task of treating the Duvolf pelt he truly showed his skill. For Samantha he re-sowed many of the loosely stitched cloth fragments that made up her cloak while replacing some with scraps he had on hand. The revitalized cloak was then made even more ragged with excess monster furs draped on top. It didn’t matter if you were the greatest artist in the world if your tools weren’t up for the task and dividing the Duvolf pelt was no easy feat.
“Why didn’t you just get a new one? A cloak I mean.”
Valerie asked the jolly shadow user. Junior did originally offer to replace the cloak outright but Samantha was too attached to the garment to give it up.
“I like mine, Papa made it and now Junior added to it, so it’s got history. It’s like a memento of our journey. Maybe I can keep adding to it? Could I make it outrageously long?”
Barring the dreams of a mile long cape, Samantha’s statement was the most insightful thing Valerie ever heard her say and probably the only insightful statement she would ever make. Apart from the touch ups to her cloak, she was also gifted a new outfit that originally belonged to Tucker’s wife when she was a girl. It was an altogether garish cream dress with bright yellow sunflowers dotted across it. Junior worked his magic and turned the flowing garment into a pant suit cut and stitched to Samantha’s proportions. Daniel also contributed passing on old work boots from when he was a boy that fit Samantha like a dream. The combination of a child’s dress, man’s boots, raggedy cloak and the fur mantle made her quite the fashion disaster but more importantly it was comfortable and warm.
Looking at the shower of gifts and rewards Samantha received you would think she dealt the final blow to the monster. Valerie didn’t mind however as she requested quality over quantity receiving a pair of fur coated arm, leg and chest armour from the monsters hide. Due to the pelts tough skin, Junior could only work a small part into usable armour although what he did make was still far better than the nothing the huntress had before. Being able to use a Duvolf’s sturdy pelt for ready defence would prove lifesaving. If she’d been kitted out like this during the fight she might have been able to occupy one head and focus attacks on the other or discover its weakness sooner. Valerie couldn’t help but play the fight back time and again analysing each and every error she made.
“I should have been better.”
She abruptly stated reprimanding herself. She imagined all the ways it could have turned out for the better and how it could have gone horribly wrong. The sticking point was always Samantha, if she hadn’t gotten involved and left it up to Valerie or if she had intervened earlier then one or both of them might be dead. The beast was stronger than Valerie gave it credit for especially when she ignored what her own aspect told her about the monster’s advantages. If Samantha joined in at the same time, the beast may have wizened up to their slapdash tactics and decided to run forcing the two to chase it down and turn the fight to its favour. Though they communicated little and fought on instinct, the pair ultimately won but it was anything but a clean fight and came down to luck. Valerie let out a groan imagining her uncle and the field day he would have lecturing the two on all of their many faults. Hubris, a lack of foresight, no coordination to name just a few of their glaring mistakes.
“There’s always next time.”
Samantha cut into Valerie’s brooding and brought her back to reality. The huntress glanced up from the road to look at Samantha still twirling around like the prettiest princess at the ball. She was right, dwelling on what might have happened wasn’t helping, planning for the future however would.
“From now on we need to be better. We can’t just wing everything and hope we get lucky. We’re going to start running drills and forming combat strategies that we can easily call out. Okay?”
Samantha stopped in the middle of the road set her posture as straight as an arrow and saluted.
“Aye Aye captain.”
She said cockily and with a goofy grin on her face. Valerie rolled her eyes and kept walking, try as she might that girl was always a few cards short of a deck. The two marched on for most of the day, taking occasional breaks and chewing on provisions gifted by the thankful McDale family. While resting they talked about plans and code phrases each could recognise with the huntress offering helpful suggestions and Samantha was there too. During one such break Valerie sat against a tree with her eyes closed trying to formulate strategies or formations that would make best use of both their talents. Her comrade in arms meanwhile practiced her acrobatics, leaping from tree branch to tree branch without losing her balance or relying on shadows to steady herself. The rhythmic sound of creaking bark slowly lulled the group strategist and she soon fell asleep her head leaning on the rugged tree. She wasn’t sure how long she slept only that a few hours passed until she was roused from slumber by Samantha calling out from the distance.
“Val! Val! Val! Val! Val! Val! Val! Val! Val! Val! Val! Val! I found something neat!”
Valerie groggily opened her eyes to stare at the fast-talking alarm hung upside down from a tree branch. Forcing herself back to her feet, she speed walked towards Samantha if only to stop her from shouting out their position.
“What?! What is it?! What did you find?
Valerie rudely demanded her annoyance at being awoken evident to anyone but Samantha.
“It’s a big thing, it’s white all over and it has this place that’s making this sound, and I think I heard a whisper saying something, but it was really quiet, and I wanted to find you because it’s *really* weird.”
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The excited girl replied in a hurry before sucking in a deep exhausted breath. The fight against the Duvolf was the most fun thing they had done so far but Samantha felt she barely did anything except restrain the hound. This thing however, while she couldn’t put her finger on it, she had a feeling it was oodles of fun. Valerie meanwhile tried her utmost to care but, like a Pomeranian in a tallest dog contest, came up short. Pinching the bridge of her nose she waved for Samantha to take them back to the white thing.
“Oh you’re going to love this!”
She flipped back onto the branch and raced ahead, leaping from tree to tree constantly beckoning Valerie who followed at a resigned pace. They trekked some distance from the road until finally coming upon the white thing Samantha found. In the midst of the lush green forest a perfectly round patch of bone white grass swayed in the afternoons gentle breeze. It was like a spot on a canvas the artist forgot to colour. The branches and leaves that hung over the blank patch lost all colour too while the tree they were connected to remained unaffected just outside the area of effect. In the centre of the white circle was a marble arch that extended out of the earth at a steep angle, the effect making it appear like the entrance to a mausoleum buried into the ground or sunk into a bog. Valerie’s mouth hung upon when she caught sight of a butterfly flitter into the circle, turn completely white and then fall limply to the earth.
“It can’t be. Is that… a temple?”
She was not a particular religious person; she believed in the Divine and would never denigrate them but also wouldn’t sit and pray daily to them either. Her uncle however was faithful and knew his fair share about holy sites and magical locations, although his lessons were always how best to avoid them. Temples were, by his definition, shortcuts, places that held power or objects that could turn a farm hand to an all-powerful dictator. He cautioned against approaching them whenever possible, the price for entering such a domain was never worth the trouble. It could be exacted immediately or months and years down the line, but a price must be paid, nevertheless. Samantha had also been taught this same lesson, but knowing to avoid a temple and realizing you found one were two different things.
“Check me out! Ooooooh”
She said jumping between the white patch and the rest of the forest, turning stark white then back to normal in the process. Valerie wondered idly how Samantha wasn’t aware they stood a stones throw away from a temple.
“Wait… how do I know?”
She had never seen a temple before and her uncle said they could take on any number of forms, so how did Valerie know this was actually a temple? Curious, she tentatively reached her hand towards the domain and watched in awe as all the colour drained from her fingers stopping just at the elbow. Yanking her hand back caused the colour to quickly return as did her mana. She didn’t realise it was being drained away; the effect was so gradual she could have walked around the temple completely oblivious until she fell over dead. Samantha didn’t seem to notice, crab walking in and out of the domain still playing around with the colourless effect.
“Typical caster types.”
Compared to Valerie, Samantha had a wealth of mana at her beck and call meaning she could probably live in the temples domain and never notice a difference. If the huntress wanted to step into this place proper, she would have maybe an hour to raid its depths for whatever power, weapons or other riches it had to offer. It wasn’t a long time but, if she found whatever artifact lay at the bottom of the holy sight the draining effect would probably end. Or she might become stronger than the temple and resist its mana sapping qualities out right. Who knows, maybe she was already able to fight off the feeling and could freely explore the temple for as long as she wants. Finding and taking the gift this place brought would be a simple matter at that point, perhaps even finding more treasures inside. Who ever said their had to be one benefit to these temples? She might find a hoard of armaments and armour that would serve her well on her journey, each one making her leagues stronger than before. Taking down a Duvolf by herself would be child's play at that point, she could be unstoppable. She could be so much more than she already was. She could-
“Pretty neat right? This thing’s making so much noise like…”
Valerie painfully twisted her gaze away from the temple to look at Samantha failing to imitate the sounds the holy place made. What did she think she was doing? Didn’t she see how close Valerie was to her deserved prize? The rage and bitterness filling the huntress evaporated and was replaced by horror upon realizing she was half way into the temples domain. The illustrious alabaster arch was only a few paces away, so close, so tantalizingly near. Just one more step couldn’t hurt right?
“AAAGH! Get out of my head!”
Valerie screamed out clutching at her scalp. This was bad, very bad, she needed to get out of here before she got any closer to that thing. That wonderful, beautiful-
“Shut up, shut up, shut up shut up, shut up!”
It crawled through her mind enticing her forward with all sorts of promises, whispering sweet nothings into her ear.
“S-Samantha! You need to-“
Valerie stopped, she tried to yell for help or to get Samantha to run away, but her voice and words were not her own anymore. She wanted to curse out Samantha, sending her away so she could claim the power all for herself. She wanted to scream at her to leave and never come back, that she was useless and a waste of space. That she should have never shown up at her uncle doorstep and died in the mine with her parents. Valerie was filled with regret for words she never said nor thought of but now ran rampant in her mind. Her body too screamed at her to just walk those short few steps closer, to descend into the temple proper and accept what she was owed. Only the faintest flicker of doubt kept her from moving forward or speaking another word but it was slowly withering from the onslaught of sensations demanding she walk forward. With her last remaining will power, she extended a shaking hand to her pocket and fished out a throwing knife. Gripping the blade tight, Valerie clenched her teeth and stabbed herself in the leg. The sudden rush of pain broke her from the temples grasp and she fled as fast as she could crossing the domains boundary and continuing on as far as her legs could take her.
Samantha ceased making the loud obnoxious noises that bordered on obscene and watched her travel buddy sprint away. Was she that bad? Maybe Valerie just really had to ‘go’ and couldn’t hold it any longer. Shrugging of the concern Samantha looked back to the glimmering archway that whispered and beckoned her closer. She wasn’t exactly gung-ho to enter another pit after spending the majority of her life in the mine. That being said, she was absolutely sure she would escape to fulfil her vision so why not experience something new? Stepping casually onto the marble stone, she descended a sleek and inviting set of stairs while a pair of double doors silently closed behind her.
She walked through a long and tall white corridor that tilted at an incline forcing her to keep one hand leaned against the wall lest she fall over. The hallway extended on for seemingly forever with no end in sight nor a beginning as the stairs disappeared the second they left the shadow users sight. Without a worry in the world, she shrugged and simply kept walking knowing she must surely come to an exit eventually. She walked for what felt like hours but was really minutes with nary a change in direction nor to her surroundings.
“I wish Val was here.”
She sighed to herself. She should have waited for Valerie to come back and the two could have gone in together, travelling with a buddy was always more entertaining than travelling with whispery voices in a bleak, featureless and boring hallway. At least there was light, the walls strangely illuminated allowing her to see every single corner of the hall. Oddly the only shadow around was her own that, despite whatever direction she faced, was always behind her. After trekking for what felt like days on end, that once again was actually minutes, Samantha came to a wide-open expanse. It was a circular room that shared the same alabaster walls and floor as the hallway. The ceiling however looked to be made of unmoving clouds that let little rays of sunlight in to brighten up the room. Where the sun came from who could say, she was most definitely still underground. Crossing the boundary into the room she heard a whoosh sound and turned to see the hallway was gone replaced with the same walls that now encircled her.
With no way out the only thing to do was explore. She dragged her hand against the stone feeling its warm and comfortably smooth texture while circling the rooms perimeter. After reaching halfway along the wall she found a brass plaque of some kind embedded into the stone. It featured many lines and squiggles that would have enraptured Samantha due to their uniformity and form if it wasn’t so alien to behold. Tearing her gaze from the plaque, she noticed a slight change to the room. Where once had been barren and empty nothingness there was now a series of chains that dangled from the ceiling. Upon closer inspection she realized the chains actually extended from the ground, little slots or holes dotted across the floor from which the many links rose up into the distant ceiling above. There were around ten to twenty chains in total, for some reason, Samantha couldn’t make heads or tails on the exact number as it changed every time she tried to count them.
Approaching one such chain brought on a sense of nostalgia as it reminded her of one of the bindings they used in the mine given its old and rusty appearance. Other chains appeared to be new, perhaps recently forged or made for designer purposes with glittering gold and perfectly shiny silver. One looked to be a series of hooks welded together in a long line. Another appeared to be the claws of a crab each pinching onto the arm of another to create a network of links. One chain was forged from many wires looping and interconnecting creating a solid single piece with no obvious beginning or end. There was glass, wood, ceramic, and even a chain made from intestines. There was also a rope, not gnarled or knotted just a simple rope, pretty boring all things considered. None of the chains swayed or rattled in place, pulled taut they looked like they held the sky and the earth together.
Samantha looked up trying to find what they were attached to, but the clouds were too thick to make anything out. She grabbed onto the first chain deciding to just go up and have a look herself. Gripping both hands onto the line she began to climb and then promptly fell smacking against the smooth marble floor. Rising back to her feet, Samantha delivered a quick kick to the chain before moving on searching for one with bigger links she could use as a footholds. She lightly grazed a different chain as she walked stopping dead when a sudden and violent rumble shook the room. A metallic screech forced Samantha to cover her ears yet the sound pierced through to her soul. After a few seconds the screech subsided however the room had grown substantially darker which was not a problem for this shadow user or so she though. Glancing up to the ceiling revealed the clouds had all cleared away exposing a wriggling mass of chains that undulated and coiled around one another. Before she could react, loops of the chains descended from above and captured Samantha dragging her up towards the roof. Slamming hard against the many strings of metal she was encircled on all sides, binding every appendage as well as wrapping tightly around her head and neck. She tried to break free only to feel the tethers grow tighter and choke some of the air out of her lungs. Against all her instincts, she forced herself to become completely still as she dangled helplessly with nothing she could do but stare down at the ground.
“Whoops”
The girl muffled out from under her prison of chains.