Bailey rejoined me, shaking his head. “Aye, that’s a bust.”

“Any clue what I did wrong?” I asked.

Bailey started examining the painting with me. He ran his fingers over the red moon, tracing its grooves. “That moon looks a bit peculiar. The markings are all wrong. If you turned it…about like that…” He rotated the moon’s image roughly thirty degrees. I quickly yanked him back and stood in front of him, bracing for traps. No clicks, no spears. Good.

We moved on to the adamantine image. I explained to Bailey that I’d pressed it seven times last time.

“Try four this time,” Bailey suggested. “There are four altars upstairs, so maybe four’s the magic number.”

Knowing the flame trap was particularly nasty, I told Bailey to stand well back. I slowly pressed the image: one… two… three… four… Nothing. No searing jet of fire.

Okay, my clothes are safe for now…

The last image was the tree. “I pulled it down last time, trying to make it look rooted,” I said to Bailey. “That didn’t work.”

“Hmm. Maybe it’s meant to float?” Bailey mused, stepping back to a safer distance. “Like it should be the last one, and you just...gently ease it down until the door opens."

I carefully pulled the tree image down, centimeter by centimeter. It reached the bottom, and click. The bullets shot out again, adding a few more holes to my already ventilated clothing.

Bailey squinted at the wall painting, then placed his hands on the tree. Before I could stop him, he gripped the edges of the image and pulled it straight out.

The trap didn’t trigger.

“Just didn't seem right, somehow.” Bailey said. “The image...it looks out of place. Like it doesn't belong in this paintin'...or even in this world."

I paused, then glanced up. There it was: an empty slot high on the wall, directly above the mural.

I told Bailey to step back again, then jumped and climbed the wall, being careful not to damage the painting. I carefully placed the tree image into the slot.

Click.

This time, the wall at the end of the hall developed a thin slit.

I snatched Bailey’s device and approached the opening. No alarms blared, and Bailey hurried over. Together, we shoved the section of wall inward and slipped through.

Another long hallway stretched before us, also decorated with wall paintings. These depicted what looked like Tiefling-like ancient Mesoselenians.

“These are supposed to be Mesoselenians?” I asked Bailey.

"No, nothin' I recognize...these folks...I've never seen their like." BBailey stammered, clearly perplexed.

“So, the current Mesoselenians don’t look like these?” I asked, thoroughly confused.

"No...they're much like us, really, 'cept they've got the same dark skin as these folks. But no horns, and their faces are...well, different." Bailey clarified.

As I cautiously stepped into the hallway, the floor tiles remained solid. “Maybe I’m being too paranoid,” I muttered. I took another step, and a volley of bullets whizzed past.

Of course…

I marched ahead of Bailey, acting as a human trap detector. Bailey trailed behind, his device and mask clutched in his hands, carefully following my footsteps.

As we proceeded, I triggered a veritable symphony of traps. They came in all elemental varieties: water, thunder, wind, and fire. I narrowly dodged a jet of flames this time.

I really should have packed more spare clothes…

The painted eyes on the walls followed our every move, sending shivers down our spines.

The end of the hallway quickly approached, revealing another doorway. Thankfully, this one wasn’t locked.

I went through first, with Bailey close behind. We found ourselves in a cavern containing a massive, bizarre machine. And it was still running… cranking and turning with a slow, rhythmic motion.

"It's been runnin' the whole time..." Bailey breathed, his voice filled with awe.

“Any idea what it does?” I asked.

Bailey and I examined the machine closely. It pressed directly against the wall, scraping and pushing. Wires snaked into it from underground, and a thick tube led off somewhere into the depths of the cavern.

"Looks like it's diggin' somethin' off the wall..." Bailey replied.

We followed the tube deeper into the cavern.

Ssss…ssss…SssssSsss

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

The hissing from before intensified tenfold. Bailey and I slowed, and I motioned for him to dim our lights. We peered around the next bend. The tube opened into a larger chamber containing what was once a conveyor belt system, now a rusted, skeletal mess. From the tube’s opening, however, flowed a steady stream of fine, glittering particles that had accumulated into a sizable mound.

A large, golden, slug-like creature was coiled atop the dust pile, surrounded by hundreds, perhaps thousands, of smaller versions, all nestled within and around the glittering heap. Bailey stared, blinked, and rubbed his eyes, as if trying to clear his vision.

"That's more like a Geodyte, a young'un. But that pile of dust over there..." Bailey whispered, his gaze fixed on the mound.

“Why are they all clustered on it?” I asked, squinting. The dust had a distinct orangey-gold, almost copper-like sheen.

"That dust has Adamantine in it. Not much, from what I can see, but there's a bit there." Bailey murmured, pointing towards the pile.

We carefully retreated from the chamber, retracing our steps back to the great hall.

“So, what now? That’s the adamantine source back there, and that machine…it’s been running for who knows how long…” I said to Bailey as we settled down to chew on some more dry meat.

“Aye, that machine's been runnin' for ages, by the looks of it. Must be made of some powerful stuff. Nothin' should last this long, 'specially without any upkeep. Makes you wonder what's keepin' it goin'.” Bailey mused, working his way through a particularly tough piece of meat garnished with a few green caviars.

We considered our options. First, we could backtrack to the city and search for another way out—the safest bet. Unless, of course, the Kavriades were still out there hunting us, and considering the green caviar Bailey had on his meat, that would be a problem.

Second, we could attempt to sneak past the Geodytes and their Adamantine dust pile, continuing our search for an exit within the cavern. This was significantly riskier, given that Geodytes were apparently capable of using magic.

Our third option was for Bailey to stay put while I dealt with the Geodytes, then return for him. This, however, meant I’d be forced to slay a bunch of creatures for no real reason.

After careful consideration, Bailey and I agreed on the second option. If we didn’t disturb the nesting area, the Geodytes probably wouldn’t attack.

After a good rest, we geared up and headed back to the dust pile nesting area. We crouched low, carefully circling the mound. We were almost around it when… “Achoo!” Bailey sneezed.

Of course…

The massive slug noticed us, but instead of attacking, it just stared, guarding the pile like a dragon its hoard. We slowly backed away, keeping our distance until we’d made it almost all the way around. That's when I slipped, stumbling a couple of steps closer to the slug. I thought I was in the clear, but then my hair flared up again!

Oh… this isn’t going to end well…

The iridescent strands plunged into the adamantine dust pile. Within seconds, the pile’s sheen vanished.

I expected to be pulled into the upper dimension, but this time, I felt an aura forming around me, and time seemed to slow. A deafening screech pierced our eardrums.

“Run!” I yelled, grabbing Bailey’s arm, but it was too late. The massive slug was joined by a horde of smaller ones, effectively surrounding us.

Many of the surrounding slugs began to glow, then abruptly turned brown and dropped lifelessly, followed by a sudden gust of wind. The gust intensified into a whirlwind swirling around us.

"What do we do now...?" Bailey’s voice trembled slightly as he nervously waved his gun around, unsure what to shoot. Another batch of slugs glowed, then met the same fate.

The aura around me started to warm. I instantly grabbed Bailey and shoved him out of the wind’s circle. The moment he was clear, flames erupted from thin air, engulfing me in a fiery tornado.

The aura around me concentrated around my still-glowing, iridescent hair. The aura felt strange, like it had become a part of me. Senses traveled along my hair, as if it had become a new limb.

That’s new… I gotta do something! Or Bailey’s toast! Literally!

I thought back to the time my hair transformed into the sea serpent. As I did, the iridescent strands, as if under my direct command, twisted and wrapped around my entire body this time, transforming me into the serpentine form.

My vision snapped into the sea serpent's body, as if it were my own. With fragments of the serpent’s reawakened memories swirling within me, I wrestled control of the colossal form.

This body wasn’t built for land travel, but I managed a swift tail swipe, shattering the fire tornado’s hold. Bailey stared at my iridescent form, jaw agape—again.

He’ll get used to it… eventually.

With another deafening screech, thousands of the small slugs lit up like living Christmas lights. I scooped up Bailey in my mouth—"swallowed" him, technically—and held him gently inside, before lumbering deeper into the cavern as quickly as I could.

A massive lightning bolt instantly pursued us, but I pressed on, unfazed. The gargantuan slug, however, moved with shocking speed, once more blocking our path.

I rammed my head into it, slamming it against the cavern wall. The impact shook the entire cavern. The slug squished, then rebounded, sending me staggering. It shrieked again, its voice echoing through the tunnels.

I swung my tail, smashing it against the rocks above the slug. Jagged shards rained down, piercing the creature. Many of the smaller slugs were crushed in the rockfall.

Swarms of the remaining slugs swarmed over the larger one, glowing and pulsing, channeling various elemental attacks into the broken rocks, shattering them further. They then began sealing the large slug’s wounds, rapidly healing it.

I turned and bolted deeper into the cavern before it could fully recover. A large underground river appeared before us, flowing into a partially submerged tunnel. Luck, it seems, was finally on my side!

Without hesitation, I plunged into the water. The slug pursued us to the riverbank, screeching in frustration, before halting at the water’s edge. In a final, desperate attempt, another massive bolt of lightning streaked after us. It fried many of the smaller creatures in the water. Fortunately, we emerged unscathed.

I swam with surprising ease, keeping my head—and Bailey within—above the surface as much as possible. I didn’t stop until we reached solid ground.

With the echoes of the slug's screech still ringing in our ears, I scrambled onto the shore. The moment we were both on dry land, my sea serpent form dissolved, and my hair returned to its usual long, silver strands.

Bailey and I collapsed onto the ground, side by side. We exchanged a look.

Laughter erupted from both of us, echoing through the cavern.

"By the stars, that was incredible! I didn't think we'd make it through!" Bailey whooped, his face alight. "Never had such a wild day in all my life! That was fantastic!"

“Yeah, I thought you were a goner for a second there,” I replied, grinning. “Thankfully, everything worked out!”

Bailey immediately peppered me with questions. "What in the world was that?! Did you always know you could do that?! What was that thing?!..."

“All I can tell you is that it was a massive stroke of luck. I have no idea how this… hair of mine works. Trust me, if I knew, I’d tell you,” I assured him.

"You're tellin' me you don't know?! Bailey sat up, incredulous. “After all that carryin' on, you don't even know how to control it?!"

“Nope!”

"Well, I'll be…" Bailey chuckled, then flopped back down, still grinning.