Immediately upon arrival into the opening chamber the pair lost sight of the hulking warrior as it disappeared into the darkness clutching the crying prince. In its wake a blazing fire was set blocking their pursuit. Bael quickly diverted their course through a side corridor to continue their chase but by the time they entered the new room the trail was cold. When he noticed this Bael kicked the wall in frustration and set into thoughtful pacing.
“What do we do now?” Lance asked while catching his breath from all of their running.
Bael proceeded to ignore him as he studied the chambers of the room. This particular room was a wide open multi-floor space with a pool of swamp water in the center. In the water floated large lily pads with blood-red flowers growing on them. At first, they appeared innocuous, but upon closer investigation rows of teeth adorned each petal on the floor. Lance shivered before moving himself as far away from the edge that they stood on.
“Bael, we have to keep moving,” Nyx chimed in once she left Lance’s shoulder to fly next to Bael.
“If we get more lost our odds are even worse.”
Lance took a couple steps towards them but hesitated before drawing close. “I mean if we mess up we can just try again, you know,” Lance offered with uncertainty.
Bael looked up at Lance with a seething gaze that said more than he needed to about how he felt towards that suggestion. Lance averted his own face having known it would get that kind of response, but he was at a loss for how to help them in this situation. His life was the only thing he had worth giving to save Juji.
“Oh good, you’re all still here,” an unfamiliar voice announced from around the corner of the doorway. Bael instinctively went on the defense stepping around Lance while posturing ready to strike. Lance felt weirdly embarrassed by the gesture but also appreciative as he ducked behind his companion.
Rounding the corner came Prince Kuthro which eased the heightened tensions immediately. Bael flinched in alarm having not expected anyone to follow them into the temple.
“Your Highness, what are you doing here? It’s unsafe, you should go back,” Bael pleaded.
Kuthro raised a hand and countered with a ferocious glare. “That beast took my little bro, you think I’m just gonna hang out there with Mom with my tail tucked between my legs? Not happening, Bael.”
His extremely casual way of speaking threw off Lance but in the same moment he also felt that he could be more comfortable around this deku noble compared to his family. Lance looked to Bael to observe his response not having any guess on how he might respond.
“You were the sacrifice yourself ten years ago, weren’t you?” As Bael asked this the deku prince’s confidant stature faltered if only for just a moment.
“I was. That means I have a pretty good chance of knowing where it took Juji.”
“I can hardly argue with that. Alright, lead the way, Your Highness.” Bael stepped to the side graciously to allow Kuthro to guide them into the depths of the temple.
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“So Bael, I don’t ask this to accuse you of anything but did you know that monster was going to be there?” Kuthro broke the unsettling silence that formed between them as they ventured deeper into the antiquated temple.
“It was something I didn’t rule out as a possibility, but no, I had no way of knowing Odolwa would be here.”
“Do you truly believe that to be him?”
“I do.”
Silence fell once more as Kuthro strained to move aside the natural debris blocking their path. Despite the luxurious life he probably led as a prince he appeared to be powerful for one of his species. Only a handful of times would Lance step up instead of Bael to help him out but in reality he could barely budge it an inch while Kuthro bore most of the burden. Lance tried to not let it show but after a couple of attempts he resided himself to pout behind the other two.
“Don’t say a word,” Lance said without even batting an eye at Bael.
“I’m hurt you would insinuate I’m thinking anything insidious,” Bael replied with a flick of his ponytail off of his shoulder.
“Is it like this all the time?” Kuthro turned to address Nyx.
“It’s a recent development, but yes I’m certain this is the new normal.”
“Hey!” Lance and Bael shouted in unison then instantly turned away from each other in a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance.
“Did you pick up a human pet or something, Bael? I never thought a loner like you would seek out companionship.”
Lance stumbled with surprise at the brazenness of the question, and Lance noticed even Bael was balking at the assumption. “I- I wouldn’t call it anything like that. It’s more of a forced cooperation we’re trying to make the best of,” Bael struggled to say.
“Hmph, if you say so. How do you feel about it?” Kuthro turned to Lance to ask.
“Oh well it’s basically like that. I guess.”
“I suppose there’s worse reasons to be risking your life with someone,” Kuthro finished right as the last bit of debris was removed, and they continued on farther into the temple depths.
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Soon they reached a grand room in the back of the temple that Kuthro proclaimed was the same sacrificial room he visited a decade prior. It was the most ornate one Lance had seen so far, its appearance depicting a story with long since faded paintings. From what he could decipher it was showing a deku noble being thrown into the giant maw of a terrible beast which brought about a time of peace. On the opposite side of the door it depicted the kingdom hiding away their noble child which angered the beast resulting in a time of strife.
Unfortunately the door was firmly shut so the two strong members of the group began pulling while Lance stood back to stand guard.
“How long ago did the sacrifices stop needing to be killed?” Lance asked, not content to stand in silence.
“Hundreds of years ago when Odolwa was killed,” Kuthro replied through the physical strain.
“Why do you keep doing it after all this time? Even without that thing around this place is still dangerous.”
“They ceased for a long time up until a hundred years ago. That changed a hundred years ago during the time of the hero from another land. My fourth-great grandfather was king at the time and my third-great grandmother was the princess. Odolwa took her and destroyed the land in exactly the same way he did centuries prior. Out of fear we resumed the tradition even though really it affected nothing in the end.” As Kuthro finished his explanation he turned away from the door and slid down with his back against the wall having exerted himself.
“Bael, we need to find another way this isn’t going to work,” Kuthro said among gasps for breath.
“That wasn’t Odolwa, it was an evil spirit possessing his corpse. A hundred years ago, I mean,” Lance continued.
“And?”
“Well, it’s a horrible thing to mutilate your bodies as part of some old tradition that accomplishes nothing.”
“A human doesn’t get to tell me how our people should react to our traumatic experiences. If we experienced another bout of the swamp turning toxic we would all die because we would have no one to turn to,” Kuthro declared as he stood up to begin stepping towards Lance with a flash of anger in his eyes.
“I’m not trying to do that, it’s just-”
“Human society has always looked down on us despite our adoration for your way of life. Hundreds of years of our culture is defined by admiring the human societies. Even now when you spit at us for trying to trade with you, we can’t help but yearn for days past.” At this point Kuthro was right in front of Lance, punctuating every so many words with a jab to Lance’s stomach. At his full height the top of the prince’s head came up to his sternum but the pure malice in his gaze made Lance feel insignificant.
Nyx flew into the small gap between them yelling, “Stop it! We don’t have time for petty arguments.”
Kuthro’s hands shifted to squeezing the sides of his own head as he turned around in irritation. “My brother is about to be killed and I’m here arguing with an ignorant human. Bael! Leave the door alone, we have to do something else.”
Lance’s gaze was averted to the ceiling as he tried to mask his guilt for being insensitive. By doing so however he caught a glimpse of something that might aid their mission. “How about that window up there?” He asked while pointing to an opening near to the ceiling of this room.
“I’m coming to save you, Juji!” Kuthro shouted as he ran headfirst towards the wall to begin climbing the overgrowth leading to the window. Bael quickly did the same with Lance following his lead before Bael turned around to stop him.
“You stay here. I think this is the exception to my rule because if he’s in there you’re going to be in danger.”
“The two of you can’t fight him alone! At the very least let me help rescue Juji,” Lance pleaded, trying to push past but was firmly reminded of his weakness compared to the shorter man.
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“Stay. Nyx, keep an eye on him.” Bael began to turn around but Lance persisted to climbing along with him. This caused something to snap in Bael’s brain as he spun around once more, this time planting his gloved hand on the center of Lance’s chest. “Sorry, I didn’t want to have to do this.”
Before he could resist Lance crumbled to the floor completely out cold.
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His head throbbed like the morning after an all-night bender at Latte when Lance finally roused from his unconscious state. Blurry eyes made it difficult to discern, but he could tell that he was still outside the great door leading to Odolwa. A soft twinkling noise made its way to his ears as Nyx flew down from the window to check on him. Her manner of flying was erratic which caused Lance to launch up in alarm that something must be wrong.
“Lance! You have to get up, Bael’s been fighting for almost an hour and it’s not looking so good.”
“Kuthro, Juji, are they okay?”
“Juji is on top of a pyre, but they’ve been keeping Odolwa from igniting it. Kuthro got injured and is unconscious. I know Bael said to stay here, but-”
“No, don’t worry,” Lance assured her as he uneasily stood up. “I’ll try to give him the upper hand.”
With Nyx in tow he bound for the vine covered wall and struggled with each pull to lift himself higher towards the window. Several times he lost his grip and slid down but thankfully the growth was a tangled mess that allowed him to easily recover himself. Upon reaching the top he crawled on his stomach through the window out onto a ledge that ran around the circular room near to the ceiling. Edging closer as quiet as could be he peered down to take in the confrontation.
Immediately upon approaching the window he could hear the strained grunts of Bael and the wicked laughter of Odolwa. It did nothing to convey the sheer difference in the power between the two beings. Odolwa at full height towered over Bael three times his height with a powerful muscular body that swung his great sword as if it were no heavier than a knife. Bael was forced to dance around on nimble feet to avoid each earth shaking collision of the sword that left crevices in the stone floor. If he hit Bael just once the man would crumple instantly with every bone in his body crushed. It looked as if the spear Bael wielded had long since been kicked aside as he brandished a dagger that barely registered as a weapon in this battle.
A ring of fire surrounded the combatants, preventing either one from moving much farther away from the center of the room. Lance then caught a glimpse of Juji laying on top of a pile of organic material atop a ceremonial dais in the back of the room. Kuthro was not far away from him laying in his own broken heap. Both deku princes appeared to be unconscious and worse for wear.
Taking in the particular ledge they were on, Lance surmised that if he was careful he could crawl around to the backside and climb down on more vines in the back. Stealthiness wasn’t his forte but there wasn’t another option in this circumstance.
“I’m going to put myself back where Juji is at. After a few minutes can you fly down and try to distract Odolwa?” Lance whispered in the smallest voice he could manage. Nyx shook as she floated in place.
“I’ll try,” she replied, unable to hide the uncertainty in her voice.
The journey to the back of the room was a painstaking one and a much farther distance he realized initially. Periodically he stopped to peer over the side to make sure Bael was still surviving the fight. The closer he got the easier it was to see just how exhausted he was from dodging every blow, desperate to find an opening just to slash at the monster’s arms to little avail. Lance also noticed that the fire from the ring was lapping at the sides of the room and slowly approaching the vines on the wall, threatening to ignite the entire room in an inferno that would incinerate all of them.
As he drew nearer to the back Nyx flew down in a dive directly towards Odolwa’s face. His mask disguised his face but it was easy to tell that Bael stole the entirety of his attention and Nyx was going to only have one chance to truly take him by surprise.
Odolwa was rearing his arm back ready to drive home another terrible blow.. As the sword began to swing down Nyx dashed into the creature’s face, slipping herself underneath the lip of the mask as she prepared to make herself as much of a nuisance to the creature as she could.
His arm went limp to his side as the free hand reached to paw at his mask clawing with grotesque nails to try and pry the small being hidden beneath the surface. Bael wasted no time responding to this distraction as he ran in to slash at the monster’s feet in an attempt to sever the heel cord and bring him down to his knees. He was able to successfully slash at the tendon of the left foot, causing bright red fluid to spurt from the open wound. The beast howled in pain as it batted at him with the side of his sword, leaving Bael with no choice but to step back and leave the other foot intact.
Meanwhile, Lance had just finished climbing down the wall grateful to see that Odolwa was very distracted by their diversion and his companion was able to land a successful blow to the monster. Content with that knowledge in mind he began to clamber up the pyre made of dead logs and ripped up vines to lift Juji and pull him backwards closer to the back of the room. The prince was completely unconscious which prompted Lance to attempt slapping the sides of his face. Juji groaned in discomfort before his eyes fluttered open. He squinted to look up at Lance before a small smile appeared on his snout.
“You found me,” the prince spoke kindly.
“We can talk later. Are you able to climb?”
Juji nodded cautiously before Lance lifted his body and held him against the vines to urge him to climb.
“Go. I’ll find a way to rescue the others but you need to get out of here now.”
Lance turned around with the backdrop of the little deku prince struggling to lift his weakened body to climb upwards. He began striding over to Kuthro’s body to check on him when he heard the beast squall in pain followed by a resounding thump of wood on stone.
The mask the beast wore lay on the floor now covered in blood and strings of muscle that must have kept it adhered to the beast’s face. His free hand was curled into a tight fist emitting a small feminine screech from within. Bael flew into a blind rage at this sound and leapt forward fully intending to slice the monster’s jugular if at all possible. Odolwa easily slapped him aside with the back of his sword hand.
With one foot ruined Odolwa limped over to Bael lying flat on the stone floor doing his best to recover from the shock of his head colliding with the floor. Odolwa pressed the ball of his foot on the center of Bael’s stomach, causing the smaller man to gasp as the wind was knocked out of him. Blood poured from the fresh wound on the monster’s face causing Bael to be drenched with it, choking on what fell into his mouth.
“You thought you could best me, pathetic little half-creature. Your days as a pretender are finished,” the creature hissed through dripping liquid that splattered with his words.
“No, no, no no no no no.” Lance stared in horror as he watched Bael be completely overwhelmed. Time slowed around him as his memories flashed to his prior death. Bael’s anguish as he reprimanded him for dying right in front of him carelessly. He now understood that horror as it was playing out before him, but Bael wouldn’t wake up from a bad dream as he did.
At that moment, against all his better judgement and any assumption someone would make about him, Lance was sprinting at this beast. Hurriedly he pulled the knife from his pocket and discarded the sheath somewhere on the floor. The furious ring of fire masked his troubled breathing and pounding feet that collided with the stone hard enough to bruise the soles. He stepped up to the dais that Juji was previously on and launched himself into the air and over the fire with the only sight in his eyes being the back of Odolwa’s back.
Instantly the blade plunged in between the shoulder blades of the monster and Lance was grasping his shoulders to hang on with all his might. Without thinking his head bent down and bit firmly into the rancid flesh tasting of tree rot and ash. Despite the discomfort he would hold on for dear life.
Immediately Odolwa began reaching back with his sword to clumsily try and slash at the offending pest who did this to him. Lance endured the strikes to his back only biting into the flesh hard. Eventually he managed to completely bite through the muscle making his teeth clatter when they collided. Without missing a beat he was biting him once more.
Finally, the monster stepped back in an attempt to swing him off which gave Bael just the opportunity he needed. He hacked up the blood choking his throat and quickly refilled his lungs with the air he desperately needed. With a knife in hand he sliced the other heel tendon and as the beast screeched in pain Bael used the entirety of his might to push the giant over to fall on his back.
“Lance, get down now!” Bael shouted in desperation as he began running around to where Odolwa’s head would be when he landed.
Slow to respond Lance narrowly launched himself off the creature while he was halfway through falling through the air. He rolled on his side to lessen the impact but with adrenaline pumping in his veins he was able to spring back up surprisingly quickly to rejoin Bael at Odolwa’s head.
During his fall the giant had released Nyx who flew to the back of the room and away from the fire. Immediately after impact Bael placed the sharp point in the center of Odolwa’s throat. With the mask gone his face was a horrific sight. Torn muscles and sinew were the top layer with no skin left to hide them. His teeth were a startling solid back and instead of two eyes there was only one singular throbbing eyeball in the center of the monster’s head. It flickered rapidly between looking at Bael and Lance but without lips it was impossible to discern his expression.
“Why are you alive?” Bael asked with hatred raging in his eyes.
Odolwa laughed. It was a throaty sound that was nothing like what a human being could produce. “You slipped up. You let Dumah find what he was looking for. We rise and wait for his glorious return.” Each word caused muscle fibers to unwind around his jaw making understanding his words an ever-increasing ordeal.
“By ‘we’ you mean the others are awakened as well?”
The monster only half-lidded his eyes as his teeth came together in a grotesque attempt at a smile. “Killing me will only prolong the inevitable. Once he returns to us we will rise again. And again. It will never end.”
Instead of bothering to ask anymore Bael sank the blade into his neck all the way down to the hilt. Odolwa’s body convulsed as his survival instinct tried to resist his end. Before he was able to raise a hand and strike at Bael all signs of life vanished from his body. The ring of fire surrounding them died down until it was nothing but a memory scorched into the stone.
As the giant lay before them, both men felt the entirety of their adrenaline exit their bodies all at once. Lance dropped to his knees, pressing his face into the palms of his hands. Bael slipped off Odolwa’s chest before walking over and kneeling beside Lance.
“You may hate me for this, but I’m doing it anyway and you can yell at me later.”
Before Lance could respond to ask him what he was talking about Bael pulled him into a tight embrace. His arms barely encircle Lance’s much larger frame as he pulls the larger man into his chest to rest his chin on the top of his head.
“That was so utterly and unbelievably stupid of you. By that I mean that it took some serious balls to pull off and I’m so glad you did.”
Lance wasn’t capable of producing the modesty it would take to be extremely embarrassed by what Bael was doing nor annoyed by him. After what they just went through Lance could agree that it felt natural and earned.
“I should have probably expected you to be mad at me, but to be honest I wasn’t even thinking at all. When I saw you there on the ground about to be killed I- I stopped being aware of what I was doing. All of a sudden I was running at the monster thinking how I just couldn’t let him kill you.”
Bael pulled back from the tight hug but still his arms were resting on Lance’s body. When Lance looked up to his face he was met with a softened expression unlike any Bael had ever given him before. Lance could only guess that Bael was deeply touched that he would risk himself like that to save the other man.
Interrupting their post-adrenaline high reverie, Nyx flew over quietly to hover at Bael’s side. Having an audience suddenly made Lance aware of his position, causing him to shimmy out of Bael’s grasp who wordlessly let him leave.
“Bael, Lance, are you two okay?”
Bael nodded with a smile as he realized the meaning of his answer. Nyx however continued to float in place with nothing else to say. Her body began to shake just like she did before when she was afraid for Bael’s life.
“What’s wrong?” Bael asked with deep concern.
“It’s- it’s Kuthro,” Nyx paused to fly closer to him and press herself against his cheek.
Between the two of them their hearts simultaneously sank into their stomachs as realization set in that the safety of the two princes was currently unknown to them. Immediately their fears devised the worst case scenarios.
“Kuthro’s not breathing.”