"Warmer." The voice echoed out once more.
Norbert heard it not in his head this time but reverberating around the hall where the cells were located. Gulping, Norbert held the staff a bit higher, trying to see if he could make the light go that bit further out so as to locate the owner of the voice.
Unable to see anything other than the lines of cells, Norbert stepped forward, quickly changing to magic to see if he could locate anything. He quickly changed his vision back to normal, unable to view anything at all, the mist having become even thicker than it was before. In response, Norbert sent more energy around his body to accommodate whatever it was trying to do to his body, hoping the mist wouldn’t be increasing exponentially, possibly causing Norbert to lose consciousness and never wake up.
Walking past the first two cells, Norbert looked on either side, seeing it as he expected, memories of the past cell he was in. The metal bars in front kept their occupant inside wholly rusted over. Norbert pushed against one and felt it break and crumple under his hand.
Looking inside the cell, wondering if anything was left inside of importance, something that could let him know a bit more about this place or the individual talking to him. Norbert saw two rusted links connecting to the wall. Breaking down the cell, Norbert held the staff to the wall, investigating the area around where the two links of the chain connected to the wall.
Norbert imagined in the past someone being held there, on the end of the chains, two manacles keeping them in place like he once was. Taking a glove off, Norbert swiped it slowly against the wall around where the links came in, trying to feel even the slightest indent in the wall that would explain a spell being there.
After some time tracing, He felt a pattern as he was expecting and squinting at the wall. Moving the light closer, Norbert was still unable to see anything.
"Colder." The voice came from further down the corridor.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming to you; just give me a second. This has spiked my curiosity," Norbert said as he gave the voice a dismissive wave before returning to the wall.
As he stared, a puzzle started to form in the back of his mind. Knowing he was missing something and with the voice insisting for him to move from this place, a hunch formed that it would be necessary. Not wanting to call anyone else, Norbert continued staring at the wall, stepping closer and further away.
He thought it must be in the entire room, then back to it being extremely minute, the detail he was looking for; only after some time would he step back out again. Norbert was losing track of time as he continued this way, the voice becoming desperate as he continued to stare, pacing around the room in circles.
"Just come here already and stop wasting time." The voice insisted, the echoes becoming even louder than before. As Norbert let it shake around, seeing some dust escape from between the slabs of stone making up the wall, Norbert looked around, confirming his thought that not another barrier had formed.
Stepping backwards, not able to pick apart the mystery of the cell but at least having something else explained about the force, that at least he wouldn't be trapped in one of these cells, but still not having a way of escaping this section of the hall he found himself in.
Walking down the hall, all the other cells he passed were the same as before. Whistling as he passed, changing his tune constantly and pitch; whenever it sounded like a tune, he would change it once more.
"You're going to tell me when I'm getting closer," Norbert said as he closed his eyes, continuing to whistle even louder, trying to drown out the voice when it attempted to speak.
"Hot!" The voice shouted, all signs of age going from it, now exhausting pervading around it. Norbert stopped, opening his eyes as he looked around.
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Norbert stepped through the cell he was in front of, not seeing any guests at first. As Norbert stepped in, the hole opened up before him.
Looking down, Norbert saw the hole in the cell floor. Staring up at him was a skeleton with two horns poking up from its skull.
The skeleton was contained within a test tube, and shackles within it were filled with a light green liquid, reminding Norbert of diluted lime cordial. Knowing it wouldn't taste the same, the individuals' clothes waved with the bubbles as they moved. The clothing was now in tatters of dark greys; the only piece somewhat together was the hood.
Norbert looked around. The rest of the room looked more like a lab than the prison cells of the level he was currently on. Stepping towards the hole, Norbert looked at the ground, seeing the rest of the rubble on the floor.
Sitting on the ground, Norbert dangled his feet, still several meters down, before reaching the next level. Taking a deep breath, Norbert slid off, falling for several moments before hitting the ground.
A crack emanated from his ankle as Norbert clutched it, leaning again on the staff, ensuring it wouldn't slip onto the ground. He looked down at his ankle, watching as it slowly moved back. Norbert remembered the speed impacting from the air he was still breathing in, trying to kill him with every breath.
He moved around to sit down, not wanting to put any weight as Norbert had it elevated in the air, and turned to the creature in the tube just staring back at him. Norbert waved his arm, dismissing whatever was in there, not resembling a human with horns coming out of its skeleton.
Seeing it suddenly click back into place, a wave of relief washing over him, Norbert waited several seconds before moving the ankle around in a circle, confirming that there wasn't any pain in the movement.
Standing up, Norbert carefully stepped off the pile of rubble on solid ground. Once again, Norbert lifted the staff into the air, seeing the large room he found himself in. The tables row after row, some having items of glass on them, others the rubble or whatever caused it having knocked them off, the glass broken and the liquids long dried.
Looking around the room, I saw some dried puddles on the ground, others with slight diverts where whatever was spilt slowly ate at the stone before evaporating. Remembering the last time he was in one of these research labs, after sniffing something needing to be carried out or who knows what could happen.
Taking a step back from the vials, most of them having been cleared out by now, the liquid evaporated even in the beaker long ago, only remnants on the sides showing where the liquid poured to. Looking around this place, Norbert stared at those there. Going past it, wondering what else was in the room, Norbert scanned the walls. The first instance of dust on the ground was hooks from the wall. Norbert, walking forward, looked down at the ground, wiping his hand through the dust.
His hand resisted slightly before it continued; Norbert moved it back, seeing a piece of golden thread still there, half attacked by others. Norbert picked it up as he dropped it on the ground, watching it try to fold back into its original shape.
Moving it around, assisting it when needed, Norbert thought he saw words of some kind staring back at him. Looking back at the wall, Norbert realised it was a bookshelf; what it contained was lost to time, having now crumbled to dust.
"Guess their contents have been lost," Norbert said aloud, his voice echoing around the mostly empty room.
"Not exactly." The voice came again, its ancientness appearing now that Norbert was before the creature.
Spinning around, Norbert looked at the creature in the massive test tube. Now, I see its light greenish light illuminating parts of the room.
Careful to step around the tables, Norbert looked right at the creature, needing to crane his neck up as the creature dwarfed him. Now able to correctly see its height nearly two-thirds up the wall, Norbert looks down the tank to its base. The metal was still shinned, and the only thing in the room seemed unfazed by time, no rust forming.
Coming out of the metal, Norbert saw several pipes coming, ranging in size from his arm to his pinkie, snaking around each other as they went into a box on the side.
Norbert now sees his first sign of magic circles stamped into the bottom of the box. Norbert followed it along as he saw dials on it, seeing this now not in perfect condition like the tank, a piece of rubble having smashed into it somehow on the top corner, as some of the liquid from the tank seemed to pool.
Leaning slightly forward, Norbert looked at the liquid coming out; as it puddled on the floor, Norbert saw it transform from light green to the mist's dirty, dark green-brown colour.
Some part of him was calling him to go forward. Norbert leaned slightly forward, his finger reaching out towards the liquid.
As he was about to touch it, a mote of golden light appeared in front of him, Luck's voice whispering "Don't" before the mote of light disappeared, the mist that he knew was around him seeming to eat it away.
He was broken from whatever spell was placed on him, and his head felt clear. He did not realise his head was packed like a balloon, only realising he could think again.
"What a fool of a champion you are." The voice said to Norbert. Turning around, Norbert saw the back of the creature, the same tattered robes showing down and covering its feet.