It's here, I can feel it. Danger awaits us inside.
They had finally reached the cave, and now, on the verge of its entrance, Belinda's senses were telling her there was danger in the area. She had yet to fully grasp the extent of her senses, and aside from when they were caught by surprise, it had yet to fail her. So as far as she knew, that meant that somewhere inside that place something vicious awaited, and it was not trying to hide its presence at all.
Maggie let out a long sigh at that, as tired as she was. It’s been a long day and it doesn’t seem to be anywhere close to the end. “Welp, that sure seems like a place I should be diving into willingly,” she deflected, snarkily. She definitely wasn’t having second thoughts about stepping into the dark cave.
Eyes ahead, Maggie. Keep your guard up. One foot after another.
Time is of the essence here, but don't let that clog your judgment.
“Right.” She decided to follow Belinda's advice. Taking a deep breath, she moved forward, walking slowly, foot after foot, stepping carefully even before entering the cave. She was, of course, with her knife in hand already. She had no idea what she was about to face here, but she was not going to go unprepared.
Holding her breath, she crossed the opening.
Entering the new area was like crossing through a veil to a completely different world. The air felt heavier and much colder. The reddish light of the outside gave way to sheer darkness and the only sound she could hear was the echoing of her footsteps on the cold stone floor. As far as she knew, they were completely alone in there.
Being careful, she prodded the step ahead of her with the tip of her foot. She was looking for any kind of trap or hole, to make sure she wouldn’t fall directly to her death. And then, upon perceiving it was safe enough, she moved.
As soon as she took a second step forward though, she felt her feet sink slightly into the stone as a hidden pressure plate activated with a loud click.
“Uhh” A moment later, the sound of a large stone slab scraping across the floor came from behind her. Where once was an opening —the cave's exit— now laid a solid massive, even if rudimentary, stone door.
“Riiight. Traps,” she whispered. And as soon as she did, lights began to blink on, one after another. Coming from small, nondescript torches hanging on the walls; they were dim enough that it was creating more of a sinister atmosphere than lighting, but it sure beat going on complete darkness.
Tread carefully. Belinda warned her.
Gulping loudly, Maggie carefully started to follow the path forward. “I guess we will not be using this entrance anymore.”
***
The path was sinuous. Aside from its near smooth floor, it was composed of uneven porous rock, extending in a curve, alternating sides from time to time. Given that, Maggie's vision never went too far, always blocked by the next curve. Something that made her over-conscious, considering she could face any kind of unexpected danger anytime the path made a new curve. Perhaps that was the intention? She wondered.
Whatever it was, she was starting to get suspicious; she was walking for a while and couldn't find any clues about the Imps she was supposed to find. Maybe they had already left through somewhere else? It only makes sense to think of that, considering how long she took to get there. She was about to voice her worries to Belinda when the path suddenly split into two different entrances.
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“Uh, Belinda. The path seems to split here. Where should I go? Left or right?”
Hmm. I can feel a sense of danger coming from both paths, so I am not certain as to which would be better. The left one feels different somehow, though. But it is not clear if that means it's better or worse.
“That… is worrying” Maggie sighed. The whole place was already putting her on nerves, feeling like she could be attacked from anywhere at any moment, or that she could step on a trap at any time, even though there wasn’t a single one so far, aside from the pressure plate that closed the cave’s entrance.
“Okay! Let’s go left, you should always go left in a maze anyway, right?” She asked, still trying to hold on to enthusiasm.
That seems to be a common idea when it comes to mazes, yes.
“Then it is decided!”
The left path didn't seem to change much compared to the rest of the cave so far, or at least she thought at first glance. In truth, the place was getting gradually warmer, and by the time she noticed that, it had become obvious why. At the end of the corridor, the path seemed to curve into a bright, red-tinted room, with the shadows cast by it dancing as if by flame.
“Oh, that can't be good” She exclaimed, speeding up her gait to reach the end of the path, where she was met by what she could only describe as the most perverted parkour course she had ever seen.
The room wasn't big, just tall, but it was almost completely filled by fire. It was everywhere; seemingly floating around, on the ground, being spit from openings in the walls, and Among that, many platforms; some moving, some static; all going upwards, following an ascending circle that seemed to lead to a fall in the middle of the room; the only safe path to a clearing amidst the burning floor, where there was a lonely dais, extending from the ground. On top of it, was a small maroon box.
Maggie was still standing at the opening of the room but it felt like standing at the door to the burning pits of hell, as hot as it was. She was still uncertain about a lot of things in her short life, but one thing she was certain; she most definitely did not want to go in there.
“Nope, I am not going through here” She exclaimed, turning around and heading back, towards the other unexplored path.
What was that? I felt imminent danger.
“Oh boy, that was imminent danger, alright,” she grumbled, moving away from the entrance. “It was like a parkour course filled with fire and a tiny clear place in the middle, with some kind of box.”
And you don’t think that seemed noteworthy?
“You have a point, but I reeeally do not want to go in there if we can avoid it. Even I have a limit to putting myself in danger. Besides, how long do we have again?”
15 minutes, 58 seconds.
“Yikes,” she winced at her short time and sped up her walking. She must be very close to something, considering Belinda is not freaking out. “So… Imps?”
…Yes. We better find them fast. Or any other creature that dwells in this cave. I truly didn’t anticipate our enemies showing prey behavior back then… But something is here. Let's just hope it is the enemy we know and can survive, and not something else.
Maggie winced at that. “Why do I have the impression you just jinxed our chances here?”
***
At this point, Maggie was starting to grow ever so relaxed, being a few minutes in the cave without an incident, well, aside from the random room of fire. But while the place didn't seem to present any immediate danger to her, the same couldn't be said about her time, which was getting dangerously short. So after a minute of walking, she found herself speeding up her pace out of anxiety, to the point of almost starting running again.
That's when it happened.
Turning a corner she found herself getting into a different place; a short, cramped room, instead of a corridor. But before she could take note of any of its features, the torches suddenly blinked out, rendering her completely blind.
“Uh, oh.” Were her last words as tiny motes of red light, like angry burning eyes suddenly appeared in pairs all around her.
She only had time to bring her arms upwards, close to her face, before the first pair of lights shot towards her. Jumping backwards, she haphazardly slapped the thing with her free hand, —almost punching it with the side of her palm— and felt it hit something heavy, just barely moving it from its trajectory, but enough to send it to the ground. Before the creature could ever touch the floor to jump at her again, though, Maggie kicked in the direction it would fall. Using the tiny lights to guide her, she managed to hit something, clumsily pushing the creature backwards a couple of meters —the other motes still immobile, as if waiting for a signal.
The creature stopped for a second as if assessing the situation, slowly moving from one side to the other. Maggie took the opportunity to get a better grip on her knife, readying her stance to fight whatever came her way. She wasn’t completely sure what she was facing, but considering its stature and the familiar sheen it had to its eyes, she could make an educated guess at it.
“Come on, what are you waiting for!” She exclaimed, taunting her enemy to make the first move. And giving in to her provocations, it suddenly moved, pouncing once again. And without any warning, in tandem, all the other motes of light shot forward towards her.