After 2 days, the knight finds himself leaving the gates of a fortified district where he had been held until this point. A heavy metal collar is strapped to his neck.
He gives the guards manning the gate a cheerful wave and heads towards the city hall again to meet with Ayla, as instructed by her a day before. People, who before seemed to pay him no mind, now act explicitly wary around him as he casually trots down the streets. “Never thought that my skin would attract less glances than a collar around my neck”, he mumbles to himself. He begins to accept the fact that the multitude of racial, ethnic and cultural diversity has also clearly left an accepting impact on the city's people for anyone abnormal looking like himself with his mixed black-white skin and heritage. Something also starts becoming more worrisome as he notices not all the people act equally around him anymore. The poorer-looking folk of the working class, farmers, millers, miners and messengers, seem to move out of the way and act generally wary. Those of the martial class, guards, soldiers and other armed men and women tend to watch him carefully, with their gaze lingering on him until out of view. The professional workers, blacksmiths, butchers, brewers, leatherworkers, masons ect… and the lesser nobility all act just as before, unbothered, uninterested and normal. The lowest of the low, beggars, prostitutes and entertainers all scramble as soon as he gets anywhere close to them, running into diverging streets or sheltering behind people, crates or anything they can find.
Owin becomes increasingly uncomfortable at the reactions, at one point he looks at an older begging woman, causing her to tremble and stagger, when Owin tries to raise his hands in a peaceful gesture, the simple act of moving causes the woman to scream and bolt into a sprint, running away as fast as possible. From that point on, he avoids eye contact or any sudden movements around the poorer folk. “I guess they understand I'm a criminal with this collar… but why are the poor especially scared? Because I'm armed?”
When he reaches the city hall, it looks just as busy as the first time he and Nialuc visited. Owin spots Ayla just outside the main entrance, to his surprise with Nialuc. He slowly makes his way over, they turn to see his approach up the stairs, both smiling. Owin waves, returning the cheery expression.
“Good to see you actually came” Ayla comments first.
“Of course, why wouldn’t I?”
“You’d be surprised how many people fail the easiest first test” Nialuc chimes in.
“Test?”
“You’re officially on enforced civil duty now, future boy,” Ayla says, “Whenever we give first offenders this opportunity, their first task is always to show up to an assigned location to test if we can trust them”
“And people just… run away?”
“1 in every 3 do”
“How disrespectful”
“Eh, they pay for it very quickly after the fact,” Nailuc adds again with a smirk.
Owin turns his head in confusion, “Have any ever managed to get away like that?”
“Of course not. The collars are strapped with 3 different contingency measures”
“They are?”
Nialuc makes a gesture at Owin to touch the back of his neck. When Owin mimics, he feels three unmistakable things poking out of the back of the collar which he hadn’t noticed before.
“Three gems,” Ayla explains, “three colourful shards pointing out the back, a red, yellow and orange. Red, provided any attempt to remove the collar is detected or you attack any citizen, shocks you. Yellow is a tracker which shows us a dot on one of our maps in the guardhouse and orange sends out a distress call back to us when any of the three stop working and whenever you leave or enter the city”
“Mighty diligent. How do you afford this kind of control?” Owin asks curiously.
“We only have about 200 of these collars in total. Public safety is one of our largest concerns so we get a lot of state funding. Usually, the people wearing them also provide labour so they eventually pay for themselves.”
“You said that if I attack a citizen I get shocked. How does that work?”
“Every citizen is provided a free blessing of vitality in the churches once a month which last about that long. The gem reacts to anyone with such a blessing”
“What does it take to become a citizen?”
Aylas expression turns slightly at all the questions, but answers, “In normal cases, you must’ve lived in the city for 5 years, provide service to the city, either through a stable job or civil service and be part of a social bracket that pays a citizen tax.”
“Mhh.. Now it makes sense”
“What does?”
“N-Never mind. So why was I called here exactly?”
Nialuc takes his turn to answer, “You’re now on enforced civil duty, as the captain said. So you’ve been tasked with your first assignment. Though because of your abnormal strength and skill, and because of the decisions of the people who can tell me what to do, I’ve been assigned to be your babysitter.”
“Babysitter?” Owin repeats, slightly embarrassed
“He means Guardian” Ayla interjects, but Nialuc repeats, “I mean Babysitter and you will henceforth call me your babysitter.”
“Nialuc-”
“Ayla, he is going to be sleeping in my home, eating, walking, working and living with me under my supervision. That’s bad enough, so just give me this.”
Ayla rolls her eyes as Owins begin to widen, “I'm going to what now?”
“Yes.. as per the Vemots family's request.”
“But wouldn’t it be easier and cheaper for you if you just kept me locked up and had Nialuc do all the work I'm supposed to do? Since he’s much better at it alone”
“Yes and no. We hope that you can eventually prove yourself to be trustworthy enough to the point that you’ll be allowed to work alone and originally Nialuc wasn’t supposed to be your guardian-”
“Babysitter” Nialuc corrects.
“Sigh… Babysitter, until he volunteered.”
“Only on behalf of the Vemots request!” Nialuc adds.
“And they are…?” Owin asks.
“My family. So I don't have a choice but to babysit you.”
“Hm… well isn't that nice”
“Nothing is stopping me from punching you. Remember that” Nialuc threatens out of annoyance already. Owin tugs at the collar, slightly uncomfortable.
“Wearing this does make me feel a little like a slave though…”
Both Ayla and Nialuc turn to Owin with surprised looks.
“Slave? God… that's a little harsh” Ayla speaks up.
“Um.. why exactly? Do you not have slaves in the past?”
The pair look at each other, considering the knight's thoughts.
“Slaves are present but not here exactly,” Nialuc says lightly.
“Slavery is one of the harshest punishments, doled out less often than death or life imprisonment. It's seen as the worst experience and given only to those who deserve a life of torture as punishment. People lose their mortal rights and are sent away to the league who use them as they see fit.”
“... So slavery is only punishment here?”
“Well. Here it is. In some places more devious and simple-minded, slavery is enforced on those who are of the lower classes or captured enemies. But that is a bit rarer.”
“... I see” Owin looks down, slightly ashamed at his uneducated comment.
“I wasn’t aware, my apologies. Slavery is a bit less.. Justified where I come from. A bit more common”
After a moment of awkward silence, Nialuc snaps his fingers triumphantly, “Well… Isn't that nice, you learned something”
Owins head snaps back up to the lacer in shock at his use of the phrase. “How dare you use my own spells against me!” He yells with a cheeky smile.
“Alright. If you are both done dicking around, you’ve got an assignment to complete.” Ayla commands their attention.
Both the lancer and the knight perk up and quiet down.
“Great. North West of Emba, there is the city of Abkbir. It's a quickly growing city with a recent rise in population. The new Evilian dynasty has also recently become officiated into the Ogninan league and are the new rulers of Abkbir. They have been making efforts with us to connect with us via trade agreements and a political or militant pact but our diplomats have been struggling to get there. On the dirt road, the only one that connects our two cities, there is an old abandoned village and a large mansion which has not been touched for many years. People used to be able to pass through it without any problems but recently there have been monsters or some other violent beings attacking passersby in the area. We need you to go investigate it and hopefully take down whatever it is that’s been terrorising the area.”
“Sounds familiar. Of course, rest easy knowing we will fulfil this quest and make sure no more innocence be harmed in their wake!” Owin commends with his hand on his heart, his other placed on the handle of his blade.
Ayla admires the knight's enthusiasm while Nialuc rolls his eyes at the presentation.
“Alright let's go then. We’ll be back in a day or two”
“Don’t be so sure, the last quest I went on like this I was sent almost 600 years in the past.” Owin comments, which Nialuc simply ignores, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him along.
As they get out of earshot of the captain, Nialuc lets go of the knight, walking together side by side. “I'm surprised you didn’t ask how long your service will take”
“...Right, that would’ve been smart. Got kinda caught up in the moment”
“It’ll take until you’ve repaid for whatever damages you caused. The state counts your questions and missions as saved funds on actual paid labour. So it would be wise of you to give it your 100%”
Owin smirks, “I always give my 100 anyways. But I'll be sure to bump it up to 110%”
They exit the city with only a minor break at the wall, with the guards needing to check back with the guardhouse via crystal ball if the shards sent back the appropriate signal when Owin crossed the border. With that squared away, they began their slow trek down the uneven messy path. Nialuc carries with him a backpack filled with supplies and money, mostly for Owin.
“Kinda crazy to me how advanced the magecraft, administration and architecture is within the cities. Comparing that with what's outside the walls is like day and night.” Owin comments.
“Isolation has proven to be the most profitable venture for these people. War and conflict comes from communication and connections. With only the bare minimum of relations and diplomacy to keep people fed and cities supplied, individual growth is promoted”
“What happens when a centralised state forms where all that is provided under one large crown?”
“It already exists. The Kingdom of the Grey crown. It’s terrible”
“How so?”
“Here, most cities just agree to be part of a common nation, the Ongninan league. It's only meant for defence and nothing else. The grey crown is like that but each city is meant to contribute taxes, men, supplies and so on, to the king's coffers. It's always a political nightmare over there with internal conflict and mistrust everywhere. So much so that the crown struggles to exert any outward influence or force even with its massive size, riches and military strength. It only survives due to the strength of the crown and those who wear it.”
“Odd. I guess it's a whole different cultural ideology in these times. Chivalry, Nationalism and all the ‘modern’ ideas of my time will change it all eventually.”
“How is your… world… comparably?”
“Odd as well. People seem richer in my world but there's more slavery and racism. There's less… smart… use of magic but much more powerful individual magicians and warriors. It's like, the common people are richer but dumber. The individuals are stronger but dumber and the difference in wealth is both larger and dumber.”
“Seems pretty dumb”
“Dumb it is.”
“Any idea how it happened?”
“I wasn’t very interested in history during my studies. I was entered into a more religious, diplomatic and chivalrous direction”
“Diplomatic?! It doesn't show.”
“I was the worst of my class.”
“Expected.”
“Rude”
Owin glances down at the lancer's outfit. It's no longer the ripped, burned and the damaged piece it was a few days ago. It's been sown together with patches of blue silk and leather, all of which are just slightly the wrong shade of blue.
“I didn’t know you sowed.”
“I don’t. My friend did it for me.”
“A friend?”
“A Vemot”
“I thought they were your family?”
“I treat them as my family. Like they treat me. I don't actually have a biological family”
“Makes sense. You’ve been alive forrr… how many years?”
“Too many”
“So. What is your family name? If not Nialuc Vemot.”
“That’s something I don't need to tell you.”
“Whatttt cmon. I told you my name”
“Your first name. I also don't know your family name”
“Well I'm the only one with… that name… yeah so like you probably”
“Wonderful”
“... wanna trade?”
“Nope”
“Nmnnmmn… fine.”
The sun begins to reach its peak past morning.
“And.. Did you ever go to school?”
“Education wasn’t really a concept when I was born”
“But you learned something from someone surely”
“...I guess.”
“Cmon. Tell me something. No way a man who’s lived centuries gives worse stories than me.”
“I don't remember all too much.”
“That’s a lie”
Nialuc raises an eyebrow at the confident knight.
“I can tell you have a great memory. Don’t try to fake it”
“Mhm. Well I guess I have some vague memories of learning sailing from my father”
“Sailing huh? So you were born on the coast then?”
“...I guess”
“Stop saying that and just say yes god be damned.”
“Alright. Yes, I was.”
“Cool. What about fighting? You must’ve had some great master teach you all that”
“... I did. Skaha.”
“Oh Skaha! I remember Ayla talking about her. She said you were working with her or something?”
“Did she now?”
“Yeah. She also told me about your history with the Kenku guy”
“Kani. So, do you finally agree with me?”
“Nope. I mean, I get it your point, But I still think he should be given a chance. He’s so young and misguided”
“Ugh…” Nialuc groans, facepalming. “You knights and your ‘infinite wisdom’ ”
“Just sayin. Back to Skaha though. She sounds cool. Is she also super old? She’s still alive today right?”
“Not still. But alive, yes. And she is also very cool, yes.” Nialuc stares up into the sky with an unusual frown.
“Old friends?”
“You could say that.”
“So she’s not that old, but was alive when you were born and is also alive today”
“Yes”
“How does that work”
“I'm not interested in talking about it.”
“Why are you such a clenched-up guy? Tryna be all ‘mr.Mysterious’.”
“Maybe focus on the task at hand”
“Not much to do other than walking”
“It’s probably not like in your world, but the wildlands here are dangerous. Anything or anyone could jump at you at any moment. A journey without protections is madness and sleeping outside of a city or village is a death sentence.”
“Sounds dangerous. But I have nothing to worry about with my babysitter watching over me right?”
Nialuc squints down at Owin. “Did you really just say that?”
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“Well you told me to”
“I regret this. This was supposed to embarrass you.”
“With no one but you around, what is there to be ashamed of?”
“I’ve… made a terrible mistake”
“That you have. And I’m never going to shut up about it now that you’re stuck with me.”
“... please Owin… tell me more about that education of yours…”
“Oh my, I'm glad you’re suddenly so interested! So I also took this course in medicine on my way West and without a doubt the other coursemates there were easily the smartest and most respectful folk I've ever had a class with. When I was studying religion everyone was so pompous and self-sure, and I'M saying that, can you believe it? Then the Diplomacy class was just a bunch of rich people who thought they were so smart, and they were, which just made everything worse. Chivalry was easily the most enjoyable class but I didn’t really want to actually be friends with anyone there. They were all so… self-centred and focused on women and honour while also not interested in following the moral code. Bummed me out when they all managed to get a girl to go to balls with and I had to go alone. But then again I saw them all at a reunion a year later and they were all either alone or with new women already! I gotta say, that made my day, I laugh about that to this day…… and then…… there was also…… after that……”
Owin continues to yap on for the next few hours.
The two had to take several stops along the way to let Owin rest before night finally fell. Even still, they’ve made good progress and begin walking off the dirt path into the woods far enough to be out of view of it.
“I get we have to be off the path to set up camp but aren’t wild creatures going to be more threatening here as well?”
“See, that's the neat thing, we only need to hide from magic users and humans.”
“... How come?”
Nialuc walks behind a tree with a particularly large trunk and kneels down, digging into the ground with his hands. Owin watches curiously but lost. The lancer continues until he gets a small hole, roughly deep enough for his hand to fit in. He reaches in his bag and pulls out a blue cube made of some sort of glass, with metal surrounding the corners, also roughly the size of his hand. He buries the cube and dumps just enough earth over it to cover it, then pokes his finger in to make contact with the cube. Finally, he reaches out his hand to Owin. Unsure, but even more curious, he accepts and grips Nialucs palm.
“Enter,” Nialuc says. Owin sees a dim light penetrating the thin layer of dirt, and then they both vanish. Owin is flashed with a blinding blue light. After a second of blinking, he orientates himself. The two are suddenly in a small blue room made of glass, the outside looking like some sort of mystical blue void. Inside there are four sleeping bags with pillows and blindfolds as well as a table in the middle with four cups of fresh-smelling tea.
“What… is this? A pocket dimension?”
“Pretty much. We’re inside the cube. To get us out we’d need to willingly leave or be forced out by magic. While its occupied, the cube is almost unbreakable.”
“So.. you just bury it to hide it and we get to rest here with no issues?”
“It's the safest way. Other methods exist as well but anything less thought out than this is dangerous, even for people like you”
“And you?”
“Are you kidding? I dont even need sleep.”
“So you’re just gonna watch me all night?”
“Pff, no. I’m still gonna sleep, but I dont need to. It's refreshing”
Nialuc dumps his bag on an unoccupied sleeping bag and gets comfortable, taking one cup from the table.
“What kinda tea is it?”
“Green leaf tea”
“Ugh… I wish it were black tea.”
Nialuc scoffs, almost spilling his drink. “Excuse me? Black tea?”
“It's way better. Green is so bland”
“What the hell is black tea?”
“... Black tea isn't a thing? But it comes from the same plant, right? camellia sinensis”
“Yes. But I’ve never heard of black tea.”
“Its pretty simple, you first harvest it, let them wither a bit, roll them out, then leave them out in the air and they turn black”
“Leave them out in the air? Nonono excuse you?”
“Well that makes them black. And better tea.”
“Pff. Nonsense”
“Have you ever tried it? I bet not”
“But somebody must’ve. Clearly that somebody thought it was terrible, otherwise it would be an option”
“You’re very sure for the fact that in my time it's the most popular type of tea”
“... your world is dumb anyway, like you said”
“The people are dumb. Not the tea”
“Still dumb”
“Well if you want to be a child about it. First thing I’ll do once I'm a free man again, is invent black tea.”
“What about going back home?”
“It can wait, the world needs to experience the grace of black tea”
Nialuc shrugs dismissively and Owin forces himself to drink the green tea.
The next morning, Owin is shaken awake by Nialuc, bright and early. To his joy, with a cup of milk this time instead of tea. With Nialuc's command of “Exit” to the cube, they reappear outside, packing the cube up and marching on. For a while, the day brightens more and more with the sun's further rise. Though about an hour in, slowly and without reason, the light around them dims and fades, step by step. They look around but dont slow down, nodding at each other, both aware of the ominous change. The further they walk, the less sunlight there is. In front of them in the distance there is an unmoving thick fog with a large silhouette of a massive house, surely the mansion they’re looking for. The density of the forest withers away as a more open field takes its place. Its openness is starkly contrasted by the large amount of cut-down trees and fog, making both movement and sight difficult. The further they walk, the more silhouettes appear. An entire small village surrounds them, but it is abandoned, and decayed with some wooden houses demolished or collapsed in on themselves. There are valuables, like books, clothes, toys, and silverware scattered across the empty paths. It's not a big place but clearly used to house a tight community. The outline of the mansion is always present further away beyond the village. Owin questions how it was the first thing they saw, yet the furthest away. Nialuc decides that illusion magic is at hand, but when he tries to listen to any aura or sense anything in the area, there is only silence.
“Owin, stay close to me okay? This feels more dangerous than I expected”
“How can you tell? Other than the creepy and frankly sad implications”
“I can’t sense any auras or magic, but my instinct is telling me to be cautious”
“Right. I'll head that warning”
They look inside some of the still standing structures but everything is either smashed, crushed or empty. The only sounds are their footsteps on the creaking wood, the rustling of the leaves under their boots or the rough scratching of gravel as they pace on the path. Everything looks gray, drained of colour. Occasionally the hooting of an owl, squawking of a crow or squeaking of a rat breaks the silence, but only for a moment.
They leave the last building of the empty village and take the dirt path across the now hilly terrain towards the mansion. As it finally comes into proper view, it looks no better than the village. Decayed, barely standing and almost like it's been eaten away by time. It's a massive house nonetheless, easily four stories not including a possible attic in the tall roof or any basements. Covering the stretch of 2200 meters wide and 1000 meters long. A truly huge construction. Certainly impressing Owin. More interesting to Nialuc are the ominous and constant holes in the ground and mainly in the dirt path. Holes that go so deep neither can see where they lead and are roughly 4 meters in diameter.
Owin walks around the holes, not giving it much thought. Nialuc slows down, thinking to himself about what could’ve caused them. They wouldn’t be too unusual if they weren’t so deep. They can’t be man-made… Or if they are, what’s their purpose?
Nialuc goes through the list of nearby wildlife and beasts he knows of in his head. Nothing native to these forests could cause this.
“Hey, you coming?” Owin yells through the fog, barely visible as he’s just about halfway through the hilly field to the mansion. Nialuc steps carefully, pondering further and shouting to Owin, “Slow down, dont be so hastey!”
Earth magic maybe… but why. I still dont sense anything, no aura. But I feel something in my bones. We’re definitely not alone. But is it in the mansion or out here?
Nialuc freezes, planting his feet firmly on the floor. He feels something under his legs. A shaking. Owin watches from a distance, confused at his sudden stop.
“Nialuc?”
The lancer kneels down, first placing his palm on the ground, then lowers his head to it, placing his ear to the dirt. The knight scratches his head, watching the lancer inspect the ground. “Feel something?” He asks distractedly.
Nialuc tenses. He springs to his feet and runs at Owin at full speed, yelling at him, “MOVE!”
A loud growl echoes from one of the holes next to Owin with a puff of smoke coming out of it. The ground shakes violently out of nowhere, making the unprepared knight stumble. Nialuc leaps at the knight, tackling him as a giant green worm, pours out of the hole vertically upwards and slams down into the spot the knight was standing in, smashing through the ground and digging downwards until its tail emerges and slips back into the ground in the newly dug hole. Nialuc looks back quickly to observe its form. Exactly 5 meters in diameter, a hard green wave-like shell, its front just one huge gaping mouth with sharp needle-like teeth on all slides, with no apparent eyes, nose or ears.
“What the hell was that?!” Owin and Nialuc get up quickly, the lacer immediately pulling his spear from his back while the knight simply gazes.
“A Vulcan Worm. It shouldn’t be here. It's incredibly dangerous for you, get into the mansion”
“What? But isn't this supposed to be my job?”
“I'm telling you it's dangerous, GO!”
“Are you underestimating me aga-”
The lancer turns around to glare at the knight in anger. “Babysitter says GO!”
The Worm thrusts its head out of one of the holes behind the now-turned lancer, this time its gaping mouth pointed at the pair, its body slamming into the ground as it flops down, breathing smoke and growling.
Nialuc only gets a moment to turn around before from the worms bottomless mouth a sparking flame appears, which explodes into a massive beam of fire at the two heroes. Owin grips his hand which quickly glows, summoning his blue barrier. Nialuc turns back to the knight and covers him with his own body as the cascade of flames fumes across the dirt and go straight through the circular barrier, engulfing both of them in a blazing fire. The beam continues on, about to hit the mansion, when shadows from the ground rise around the building, turning into physical matter, forming like a shield to block the flames, dissipating them.
The Worm stops its flaming attack, sucking in air to breathe. Owin sweats and trembles slightly as he realizes he’s not severely harmed, only light burns on his arms and legs. He can feel Nialuc still clinging to him, covering him. He quickly backs away, checking on his partner. Nialucs entire back, the back of his arms and legs and a portion of his hair have turned black and red or been burned to a crisp. “Ngh..” he groans slightly. Not a reaction Owin expected. “Nialuc! I’ll heal you! Just-”
The lancer pushes the knight away. “I'm fine, go to the mansion. Stop being a baby and go”
“O-okay” Owin rushes off toward the building as Nialuc slowly turns around to face the Vulcan Worm. “I just got my bodysuit fixed. You burn pretty cold for a Vulcan Worm”
The Beast growls lightly, then starts rapidly wiggling, storming towards the lancer by ploughing along the ground.
“Not scared? Fine”
Nialuc runs at it as the earth shakes, keeping his balance. Right as they meet, the Worm's front pushes into the air, making its head lift into the air, ready to crash down onto the lancer. Its mouth slams into the ground, with the lancer jumping vertically to dodge. Nialuc lands on its head and lifts his spear, thrusting it down at its shell. Instead of smashing through or even cracking it, the spear is deflected and the recoil courses through the lancer's arms and chest. “J-Jeez your armour is tougher than I remember.”
The Worm begins to bury into the ground, the lancer running along its length, looking for a weak spot. But when he reaches its tail with nothing spotted, he grabs onto its tip and holds on for dear life as the worm descends into the earth, both going underground.
Owin reaches the Mansion, glancing back, there's only fog, but he leaves his faith with Nialuc and slowly walks up the front steps to the massive gate-like door. Yet as he reaches out to touch it, the shadows morph from the ground like a wall. “...huh? Shadow magic?... Sigh, I’ve had enough of this creepy dark magic stuff…”
The knight reaches out to touch the dark mass. It feels like a wall made of glass, smooth but clearly a little dense. He pulls his hand back but the shadows stick to his fingers like goo. “..What?”
Before Owin can react, it morphs into a hand and grips onto his tightly.
“Not this agai-agh!”
The arm pulls him into the wall, taking him through it into a void of nothingness. His eardrums go numb, no noise of anything around him, not even being able to hear his own breathing or heartbeat. The void wraps around him like a familiar gooey slime he’s felt before.
God damnit I’ve had enough of this!
He thinks, his mouth unable to move. He feels the ground beneath him vanish, unsure if it disappeared or if he was just lifted from it. There is no air, sound, or vision. Pure nothingness excluding him. The darkness restrains him firmly, slowly tightening around his limbs, more and more until his bones start to crack. He tries to groan in pain but his voice is gone. He isn’t even sure anymore if his eyes are open or closed. He tries to think but his thoughts turn to things he doesn't want to imagine. I need to get out of-... I-... I dont belong here… I should die… yes… I should.. Die.. I should… I…
He snaps back into himself for a split second as the familiar feeling makes him remember the swamp and himself. Fuck this. I Should Live!
With what strength he has left, he tightens his fist, blue aura radiating from it. The Blue round barrier explodes from his body in all directions, surrounding him and breaking the darkness off him. He falls onto a crooked wooden floor and his senses slowly return as he gulps and gasps. “Agh… damn… that was even worse than the first time…”
He struggles to his feet, looking around the void shivers. It moves back and forth like an endless wave as if he were thousands of meters down in the deep ocean of black. Owin can’t quite put his finger on it, but he feels the darkness reacting. It feels, scared. Seeing nothing beyond his little bubble, he decides to close his eyes for a moment to recuperate. Then he begins to hear it. Not in his ears, but in his mind, his very being. The sound of water dripping. A constant shrill chirping of a little bird, not one he recognizes but it sounds similar to a robin. Finally a distorted sound of what could only be some sort of stringed instrument, but not only one. More like multiple in a single echo. The noise shifts like the waves of darkness, the feeling of fear and retreat portrayed in the creepy ambience that fills his mind.
What is this… It's not actual noise, it's like I'm feeling it directly in my head. But my barrier should be blocking any sort of magical influence like this. Unless… it's not simple magic but something else.
He opens his eyes again, deciding to ignore the sounds for now. Taking slow steps, the void is pushed back and fills any place that isn't within his bubble. Slowly he explores the first floor, following any walls he can reach and observing any furniture or objects he comes across, though its mostly barren.
The Worm comes barreling out of one of its dugouts, this time it weaves itself out fully onto the surface, pulling its entire body out. It feels Nialuc on its tail and as it emerges from the hole, it flings is tail in the air, swinging it back and forth, Nialuc holding on by the skin of his teeth. Its body is easily the length of a city street and it coils itself up like a snake. Seeing Nialucs resistance, it slams its tail into the ground, Nialucs torso and legs hitting the ground with bone-shattering force. “Kgha-Fuck!” He gasps as blood spurts from his mouth. His grip stays true but weakens. One last time the Vulcan Worm whips its tail in the air, this time the lancer's fingers slip off the beast's shell and is sent careening into the air, spinning wildly. The Worm wriggles across the ground as the lancer flails, helplessly falling to the ground right where the Beast positions itself to chop down on him. He descends, the Beats raises its mouth up high and chomps right at Nialuc is within its range.
The lancer spreads out his arms and legs and stops the Worms jaws from crushing him. His hands grip onto the sharp teeth, pushing against them while his feet are both penetrated but only to the point where his skin refuses to stretch any further. “AGGH! Shit that's sharp!”
His spear falls into its mouth, disappearing in its bottomless throat. He struggles to resist the force of its jaws, his knees bucking and his arms almost giving in. “You sure are one strong bastard… You might not be so hot but you’re definitely fucking tough!”
The Beast growls, pressing down harder.
Nialuc struggles to get his words out. But smirks. “Guess I can’t take you so lightly can I?” He chuckles. A fire sparks from within its mouth. “...Shit”
A burst of fire cascades out of its mouth, hitting the lancer stuck between its teeth at point-blank range at his front side. The lancer clenches his teeth not to scream as the flames incinerate him, his skin burning and melting off. He closes his eyes and lets go, pushing himself into the flames and into the Beast's mouth, allowing it to swallow him.