We emerged from the forest with a canyon ahead of us, a dark scar in the moonlight that looked as uninviting as it always had. From one end of the canyon to the other there was no life to be found. Not even insects bothered with it, as though driven away by something within.
As we approached the canyon part of the ground lifted up as someone emerged from the dirt. All three of us went on alert, prepared in case it was a shifter ambush.
“Calm down, it’s me,” Adam called out, his one hand lifted up as though to ward off any potential attack.
Adam was draped in a blanket that he had covered with dirt and pebbles to help blend in with the ground. He had taken some mud and covered his face to help darken his skin and diffuse his scent.. After he’d revealed himself he took the blanket off and started to roll it up, though not before he shook loose the dirt and rocks that had been on it.
“Nice to see you again, Isa,” Adam told her while he worked on the blanket, “is that Viva’s mask?”
“Adam! You’re thinner,” Isa said with a wide smile.
Adam gave a small grin in response to Isa, and then he motioned to the canyon. “Follow me, walk where I walk. Giln and I laid some traps.”
He led us down a small path, the incline steeper than what I remembered from my last time here. Adam pointed out a few marks on the ground at random intervals to let us know where the traps were. I had a smidgen of temptation to step on one to see what kind of traps shifters would use.
“What if they fly in?” I wondered aloud.
“Ain’t going to happen,” Isa responded, “flying is a big pain so most shifters don’t bother learning.”
“So that’s why…”
“What?” Lance stepped up close to me to avoid one of the mine locations.
“Nothing,” I said as I turned my face away from him, “just muttering to myself.”
“Over here,” Adam called from ahead as he pointed at a cluster of boulders, “I left your clothing here, Giln’s up ahead with the girls.”
Once I reached the boulders I grabbed my bag and started to put my clothes back on. “Are Kuzu and Lisa alright?”
“They’re fine, though your daughter won’t stay quiet.”
“She’s young.”
“All we need to do is get her to the portal, right?” I inquired of the brothers as I slipped my sword belt on.
“Yes, Giln will escort her back to Viva.” Adam motioned down the canyon. “Shall we proceed?”
“Viva,” Isa gave a derisive snort before she strode ahead of us all.
“She really hates her mother doesn’t she?” I asked.
“Ain’t a shock,” Lance said, “Viva has a habit of using people for her own motives.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good ally for humans.”
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Adam chimed in as we started to follow after Isa, “Viva goes out of her way to help humans when possible.”
“Wait, Isa told me that she took a guy in order to...” my line of thought started to trail off as I looked pointedly at Lance.
“Sis exaggerates things,” Lance told me, “ain’t no kidnapping or nothing.”
“Oh that story,” Adam said, “Lance’s father was just a regular guy who Viva managed to seduce. He left a few weeks later a very happy man.”
“Found him once but eh, who cares about him?” Lance gave a shake of his head. “Ain’t my dad anymore than Viva’s my mom.”
While Adam, Lance, and I chatted back and forth we approached the location of the portal. The serene sphere floated a foot off of the ground in a wide patch of the canyon. The canyon walls stretched up high on both sides and cut off most of the moonlight, while the floor of the canyon was flat and easy to walk across.
Kuzu stood off to the left of the portal, ears flattened against her head while she stared up at the night sky. The goosebumps up and down her arms made it obvious the cold had gotten to her. With her arms tucked in close to her body she breathed out a small burst of vapor.
Lisa on the other hand showed no problem with how cool the air was. Instead she ran around the portal in circles with her arms extended out. With loud laughter she constantly darted away from the darkly clothed Giln who playfully ran after her. At no point did he ever give off an aura of someone who wanted to catch her, instead he seemed intent on keeping her occupied while he waited for us.
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With our arrival Lisa let out a shout of joy before she turned away from the portal. When she saw me she darted over, and as she came within range I scooped her up. “Daddy!” she cried out happily with a hug around the neck.
“Are you being a good girl?” I carried her as I walked to the portal.
“Of course I am! Ask Gilly!”
Giln turned to look at us, one dark eye visible amongst a mass of hair that looked akin to tendrils. He gave the smallest of nods before his attention shifted to Isa. No words were spoken by the pair, instead they walked to the portal and held out their hand to the white sphere.
“Lance,” Isa called out as she looked over her shoulder, “make sure you visit sometime soon. I ain’t happy with you constantly avoiding me!”
Lance gave what could only be called a half-hearted shrug. “Don’t worry,” he responded to his sister before he gave a quick wave of her hand, “scoot home, I’ll see you soon.”
“That’s more like it,” Isa said with a grin, “you take care of yourself too, Elf. Was fun while it lasted.”
Right before Isa vanished via the portal she gave me a quick wink. It was an act that caused the brothers to look at me, and I could feel a glare from Kuzu from behind. I shivered a little at the intensity of the glare.
“What?” I finally asked her, as I turned to look at her.
“Nothing,” Kuzu muttered before she strode over to the portal and activated it.
From behind an explosion stopped any further conversation, and it was the first of many that followed in quick succession. In unison we all ran for the portal, pushing our hands eagerly on the sphere. Even Lisa, who had wrapped her arms around my neck, knew to let go because of the urgency of our situation.
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Floor 32
An Innocent Hallway
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When we appeared on the next floor there was only darkness. As though our presence was the trigger lights flared into existence. Brazier lined the walls of the long and wide hallway we’d appeared in, but it was only near us that any were lit. The light revealed the white wall and the dark floor, all of which were hard enough that even with my strongest magic I couldn’t hope to pierce through it.
Astride the braziers on the walls were carefully crafted statues of the various animals found within the labyrinth. Each statue had a mirror of itself on the opposite side of the hallway. Along the floor and walls slits were barely discernible and interspersed at random.
“Do you know about the qualities of this floor?” Adam asked as he adjusted his monocle.
“Yes,” Kuzu responded with a nod.
“Not really!” Lisa chimed in with a wide smile on her face.
“And that’s why you’re staying in my arms,” I told my daughter as I scooped her up, “lead the way, Adam.”
Adam gave me a nod before he approached the first noticeable mark in the floor. His pistol and rifle had been put away as they’d be useless here. Gone was any confidence in his walk, instead an extreme caution was easy to see with his hesitant steps that took what felt like forever.
The reason for his caution became obvious when a crescent blade swept up from one of the slits in the ground. Before he could be cut apart by the sharp edge his brother reached over and dragged Adam backward. “Maybe you ain’t the best idea for leader right now,” Lance said as he tossed his brother to Kuzu.
Lance strode through the hallway and into what was the trap area without hesitation. His legs swung smoothly, boots stepping down on spots where no slits could be seen, while he grinned at what I could only assume was the joy of his near suicidal actions. After three steps a loud click emitted from the right wall and a silver arrow shot out at Lance. With a swing of his arm Lance knocked aside the arrow, his arm guard not even scratched, while he continued to walk forward unperturbed by the trap.
Adam shadowed his brother, though he gave him plenty of space, and Kuzu followed along after Adam. While the group moved down the hall I remained where I was and instead studied the architecture. The statues and braziers were inset into the wall, and not a single inch of anything protruded out.
Along the ceiling were numerous engravings in the unusual stone, engravings that were some type of symbols that were indecipherable. It was only thanks to my interactions with Lute that I knew what they were, though she had never taught me exactly what each one meant. A dead language that predated the labyrinth itself she’d called it.
A brazier near Adam fell as though pushed by an invisible hand. The green flames spread outward, a wave that threatened to incinerate him in the span of seconds. As he recoiled in caution a sheet of ice erupted from the ground in front of Adam, a semi-circle wall of cold that stretched to the ceiling.
“Thanks,” Adam said as he cast a grateful look to Kuzu.
The only response she gave was a flick of her right ear before she motioned for him to keep moving.
Out of the three it was Adam who had the worst luck with the traps. Whether it was a pendulum that swung from the ceiling or a spike that extended from the wall, Adam managed to consistently find himself in danger of dying. If not for the awareness of Kuzu and Lance he never would have survived the hallway.
Lance found the hallway to be more of an entertainment than a test. After he’d deflected a few arrows he even went so far as to try and catch some. Each one he managed to snag out of the air he pocketed in his bag, though I had no clue why he would do such a thing.
To call Kuzu impressive was almost an insult, so beyond the Wolfe brothers that not a single trap activated. Silent steps that touched lightly on the ground, her presence was as ethereal as a ray of light slipping through the curtains. The hallway couldn’t even detect her as she flitted along after Lance and Adam.
When the trio finally reached the portal Adam let out a long sigh of relief. Lance patted his brother on the shoulder before he turned to check on Kuzu. It was then that he noticed that neither I nor Lisa had gone beyond the start point of the hallway.
“What you doing there? Hurry up!” Lance shouted with a frown.
“Theo! Lisa!” Kuzu cried out as she pointed behind me.
I could hear them as soon as they appeared on the floor, the breath and movements of two fresh arrivals. When I glanced back I saw two pale and featureless bodies, the telltale sign of a shifter in their original form. Even as I watched they started to twist and change, taking on a hybridization of ursine and reptilian design.
Down the length of the hall I could see in almost slow motion as Kuzu started to move back to Lisa and I. Lance only stood there, his face a mixture of anger and concern. Adam had started to shoulder his rifle as he planned to use it to defend me against the shifters.
I took a step forward while behind me the two shifters let loose beastial cries. It was easy enough to hear their movements as they edged in closer, one even swinging what I suspected was a paw at my backside.
“Don’t waste the ammo,” I said as I put one hand on Adam’s rifle, lightly pushing down the barrel.
In the matter of a few steps I’d walked down the full length of the hallway, a trail of electricity left in my wake. Even then it felt slow to me, a far cry from what I’d been able to do in the past, and when I directed my senses inward I could tell I’d drained a lot more of my magic than I’d anticipated.
Lance’s mixed face had turned to one of shock as he backed away from me, confused for a few seconds. Even Adam and Kuzu recoiled momentarily in surprise when I appeared next to them. Behind me down the length of the hallway a crackle of electricity could be heard, a thin light line of lightning traced in a straight line in my wake. There was only a single deviation in the line near the center of the hallway.
It was the keen eyed Kuzu who made note of that strange alteration in the course of my path. She lifted one finger up and pointed at it, head cocked to the side inquisitively. Near where I’d curved my path down the hallway one of the statues that lined the walls was broken, the top part smashed at such a fast velocity that the fragments scattered the full length of the hallway.
The pair of shifters stared down the hallway at me before they released a howl of frustration. One of them started to walk forward, but grew hesitant when the sound of stone shifting against stone resounded through the floor. The corridor started to shrink, or rather the ceiling began to descend, which forced the two shifters to back into the spawn area. It was only there and at the portal where the ceiling did not descend.
I brushed past the others and stepped up to the portal, free hand reaching up to touch against the white sphere. “We should move along before the reset is over,” I told the others.
“The hell was that!” Lance shouted at me as he pointed in the direction of the crumpling hallway.
Kuzu came up next to me and put her hand on the portal as well. For that brief moment she’d been surprised, but she already knew that I could move significantly faster than a regular person.
“Lisa, put your hand on the portal. We’re going to the next floor,” I said in a gentle tone to her.
From behind us the sound of the descending ceiling continued to sound out, a sound that brought a chill down my spine. I had seen people in the past fall victim to traps like that and never expected to use it to shake off a pursuit. However I pushed away those bad memories and instead focused on the portal.