The corridor in front of them was solid stone this time, an intricate, interwoven mosaic, creating a myriad of geometric shapes. Looking at anywhere the light reached made Kyto feel lightheaded. There was just too much going on for him to compute internally. He was feeling dizzy and could feel the sense of nausea growing in his stomach from looking at the patterns for the briefest moment.
"What the hell is this place?" Sniffer asked as Kyto turned to look at him.
"Don't know, but it makes me feel sick," Kyto replied.
Brandon was gazing into the corridor and had a strange smile on his lips.
"Are you ok, Brandon?" Kyto asked.
"It is so pretty," he replied, not adjusting his gaze from the corridor.
"Pretty, where did we find this moron?" Tiddles said.
Kyto ignored his outburst. "Lars, how does it make you feel?"
Lars put two fingers up to his open mouth.
"So, you are the only one not seeming to be affected by this, Brandon," Kyto said, trying not to look into the corridor again.
"What do you mean?" he replied, coming out of a trance and turning to look at them.
"The corridor is like looking at a world spinning continually," Sniffer replied.
"Really. It looks perfect for me. The design and intricate work used to build this is insane," he stated, looking at them, confused by their responses.
"It makes me want to sit down and not even try moving my head. I'm spinning so badly looking at it," Kyto replied.
"For me, it just looks beautiful," Brandon said, smiling as he turned back to look at the patterns.
"He has lost the plot," Tiddles said, grumbling as he let out a belch looking down the corridor.
Kyto turned to look at him, for a beast the size of Tiddles looked like he had a green, sickly colour to his black-faced complexion. It was such a bizarre sight.
"Brandon, can you see how far it goes?" Kyto asked.
"Sure," he replied, taking the lantern Kyto handed him and walking down the corridor. Kyto called him familiar to replace the lantern's light as Brandon disappeared.
The other companions turned away, unable to look at it, and waited for Brandon to return. Brandon had been gone a while when they heard his distant voice call up the corridor.
"You have to come see this." Brandon had called in a crazed tone.
"See what?" Kyto shouted down the corridor.
"It is hard to explain."
"How far has the corridor gone?"
"Couple of hundred feet perhaps, not sure. I have found another crystal, though," he called.
"Fuck." Sniffer said as he turned, going green again as soon as his gaze looked on the corridor.
"Can you come and lead us down?" Kyto shouted.
"I would, but I am a bit busy," Brandon replied.
"What the hell is he busy with?" Tiddles asked.
"Shit. We have to go. He does not sound right." Kyto said. Taking some deep, steadying breaths, he turned and entered the corridor, his familiar casting its bright light for the following party. The others staying close behind, they had walked no more than a few dozen paces when Lars suddenly doubled over, vomiting. Kyto gagged slightly as bile rose in his throat, forcing it back down again. Sniffer was not so lucky as he joined Lars in emptying his stomach—the sensations from the intricate patterns felt like they were penetrating every inch of Kyto's body. Tiddles looked unsteady on his feet, and as he walked, he began to stagger into the side of the corridor. "We need to move on," Kyto said, picking up the pace once they had stopped being sick.
It took them much longer than they expected to reach the end of the corridor, weaving down it unsteadily, and on reaching the end, the four of them staggered inside and, in Tiddles's case, fell over as he entered the room. The room was circular and had a diameter of thirty feet. Stood in the centre was a large cylindrical object rotating two feet off the ground, about four feet tall and following its rotation was Brandon. As he did, his finger touched the surface, and he drew a pattern on it as he walked around.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Sniffer called to Brandon, looking completely confused by the man’s actions.
"It is a puzzle maze; I touched the pillar, and it started rotating, but to be able to trace it, you have to move with the pillar." He replied.
Kyto walked closer to where the pillar rotated, and as Brandon followed its slow rotation, he could see Brandon tracing his finger around the pattern of a tightly engraved maze on the pillar's surface. As his finger moved, it left a glowing blue mark on its surface. The pillar was as intricately designed as the corridor, and looking at its pattern again made Kyto's stomach reel.
"How do you know what to do?" Kyto asked.
"I had a System message. Did you not get one?" he replied.
"No," he responded.
"Oh. I have to try and complete the maze from the bottom to the top of the pillar so that the door will unlock," he replied.
Kyto looked around the room and noticed the door on the far wall for the first time. Brandon was sweating, and Kyto could see the beads on his brow as he concentrated on the pillar's movement and tried to run the maze with his finger.
"Can we help?" Sniffer asked.
"No. I am nearly there. The problem is it gradually speeds up with each rotation, and if you hit an engraved line, it resets and changes," Brandon said.
"This is one fucked up room," Tiddles said, still lying on his side, looking particularly worse for wear from the corridor. None of his power and skills prevented the nausea and dizziness from impeding him.
Kyto's legs felt weak, and he sat on the smooth stone floor. The spinning cylinder gradually moved faster as Brandon worked his way around it.
"SHIT" Brandon shouted as the pillar suddenly stopped moving.
"What?" Sniffer asked.
"I hit the line again. Fuck it." he cursed as he placed his finger at the base of the surface of the cylinder once more. It instantly started to rotate again, his finger following the maze outline. Quickly, initially, until the pillar's rotation increased, slowing his progress.
They sat watching his attempts as the cylinder spun, Kyto's nausea returning and again having to turn away from it. He looked at anywhere but the corridor they entered by and the cylinder. Brandon kept going, not stopping his attempts, until he suddenly cried out.
"Yes."
Kyto turned and looked at the cylinder beginning to spin even faster as Brandon stepped back from it. The cylinder suddenly flashed a brilliant light and shot upwards towards the chamber ceiling, disappearing. As it did, there was a scrapping metal sound like bolts were being drawn.
"Well, that was fun," Brandon said, turning to the companions. His face was covered in a sheen of sweat.
They all looked at him, not responding momentarily before slowly returning to their feet.
"That was horrendous," Sniffer said, Lars nodding in agreement.
Tiddles remained sprawled on his side, slowly rising to his feet. "I hope there are no more places like this here," he said.
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"Can we just move on now?" Sniffer said.
Brandon smiled at them all, his expression and eyes wide with a crazed look.
"Are you ok?" Kyto asked.
"Never felt better," he said as he stepped towards the next door in the chamber. The others glanced at each other with worried expressions.
"I could never have done that puzzle," Sniffer said.
"I think it is a good job Brandon was with us," Kyto replied.
Lars placed his hand on Kyto's shoulder, squeezed it, looked at Brandon, and signed. 'We better keep an eye on him.'
Kyto nodded in agreement. The door was like all the others they had seen in the dungeon. Again carrying the lantern, he walked up to it and opened it. It pushed inwards, this time into another corridor. Thankfully, this one was back to plain stone and earth. "You found another crystal?" Kyto asked Brandon now that they were out of the room.
"Oh, yes. Here you go." He dug in his pocket, pulled out the three-centimetre-diameter gem, and tossed it to Kyto. His expression was glazed over, making him appear not to be paying attention.
Kyto caught the gem frowning at him. "Be careful."
Power crystal 2 of 10 discovered. Power crystals can be combined to create a permanent power source.
He placed it in his pocket with the other gem and, on doing so, felt them move. He grabbed them both out and held them as he watched the two gems merge before his eyes. The green glow now brighter inside the original gem. "What the hell is doing all this?" He said, staring at the gem before placing it back in his pocket.
Brandon led them down the new corridor, pausing occasionally to check something before moving on. The corridor was twisting, following shallow curves, not sharp corners like the previous corridors. They eventually came to a point where they could see a faint flickering light at the end of the tunnel and hooded the lantern, Kyto cancelling his familiar as they approached. The end of the corridor splayed out, and they stood on a ledge overlooking a vast cavern. To the side of the ledge, rough stone steps cut into the wall and led down over a hundred feet to the cavern floor below. The cavern was vast, and they could not see the distant side; the only light inside was being cast by fires and torches that burned around the cavern floor. As they stood there, they could see movement below and then heard the tell-tale croak of a Geblex carried up to them.
"Looks like we have found more of the little buggers," Kyto said.
"How many, though?" Sniffer asked.
"No idea, but looking at the number of fires burning down there, there are a fair few," Kyto replied.
"It's too dark to see anything. We'll know once we get down there," Sniffer said.
Lars led the group as they made their way down the stone steps. The journey was treacherous, the steps being very narrow and designed for the smaller feet of the Geblex. With his claws easily digging into the stone surface, Tiddles did not have any issues. It was slow going, but they reached the bottom and gathered themselves, looking out across the cavern floor. They had seen fires dotted around from the ledge, but by being on the same level, they could only see a couple now. Off to their left, the flickering light of one fire shone brightest, the closest light source to where they stood.
"We need a plan," Kyto said in a hushed tone.
"Geblex are easy to kill," Tiddles replied.
"They may be easy to kill, but we do not know how many there are over there," Kyto responded, looking at the beast.
Lars quietly chuckled at Tiddles's obvious comment, removing his blades from his belt.
"I will go and check out the area first," Tiddles said. The beast was tricky enough to see in the darkness, and when he activated his stealth skill, he vanished from their vision completely.
"Where is Tiddles?" Sniffer asked.
"Gone to scout," Kyto replied.
"Not being able to see something the size of Tiddles moving in the dark is a sobering thought," Sniffer said.
"You better not be calling me fat." Tiddles's voice carried a whispered reply.
Kyto ignored his comment, and they stood waiting for his return.
Tiddles approached the firelight, and as he neared, he saw a group of Geblex sitting around. They were doing nothing interesting besides croaking and cooking some strange-looking creature on the fire. There was a small rocky outcrop on the chamber floor close to the group, and he climbed it to look out over the nearby fire. He could see the number of Geblex and the weapons they had. Several carried the crudely designed clubs and others spears. One was even carrying a blade on them. It looked like a large kitchen knife.
Tiddles lay on the outcrop, observing them for a few minutes before returning to the others. It was a good job. His smell was so good because even he was struggling to see in the pitch darkness of the cavern, the firelight having destroyed his night vision. On returning to the group, he told them what he had found.
"25 Geblex," Kyto whispered.
"So how do we take 25 Geblex on?" Sniffer asked in a hushed tone.
"Lars and Tiddles again, I assume," Kyto replied.
Lars nodded, the others shrugging, knowing the pair was their only valid option. Lars was looking over towards the fire, pointing urgently, and Kyto watched as he indicated to the right. He turned and looked in shock, suddenly realising that Brandon was no longer with them.
"Where is Brandon?" Kyto said urgently.
"Have not seen him," Sniffer replied, spinning and looking around.
"I can't see him either," Tiddles added.
Then they heard a scream. They all spun in the direction of the fire, and in the fire-cast light they saw Brandon's running form heading straight towards the group, screaming at the top of his lungs. He sounded like a man possessed, wailing, heading straight for them.
"Shit." Kyto cursed as the Geblex noticed Brandon and let out loud croaks.
The Geblex stopped what they were doing, and as one, they turned to look at the lone figure. Brandon ran towards them as if he had no inhibitions.
The four companions began to follow, now moving towards the firelight.
"Fucking idiot. What does he think he is doing?" Sniffer cursed.
"Quick, let's get them," Tiddles said, hurtling ahead of the rest at the Geblex, Lars following on his heels. The Geblex erupted in loud croaks as Brandon reached them. He took a spear to his chest as he ran into their stationary forms. Kyto was too far away initially to help him, and his health dropped by a half. Kyto pumped his legs to get in range and, as soon as he did, began throwing strands at him as he took a second spear in his leg.
Brandon was not even reacting to the strikes as they landed, a group of four Geblex now moving towards him holding clubs. Tiddles erupted into the middle of the group out of the darkness, causing immediate panic as he began to attack them.
Then, they heard the call of what could only be assumed was a horn. Its sound echoed across the cavern floor, bouncing off the stone walls and getting even louder as it rebounded at them. Similar-sounding calls came back in reply.
"Shit, they have alerted the others," Kyto said.
Sniffer continued towards the Geblex to assist Tiddles and Lars, who had joined the melee. Kyto stayed back slightly now that they were all within his healing range. Brandon had gone down, his health was nearly gone, and Kyto could not maintain the strands fast enough compared to the damage he received. He had never seen him respond to any attack and had just allowed the Geblex to strike him. As Kyto watched his mana draining rapidly, trying to keep Brandon alive, he took a brutal strike to the face with a club. His health plateaued, and a cross came by his name.
Kyto cursed internally at the limitation of his healing ability not to keep him alive and turned his focus to Tiddles, who had taken a couple of minor strikes. His boosted defensive capability prevented any serious injury from the close-quarter battle initially. Lars was like a liquid, constantly spinning between the foes, releasing his blades as fatal punishment to the unearthly creatures. Sniffer reached them and added his crazed strikes to the battle as it continued. The croaks and shrieks in the cavern's dark were magnified tenfold, and with only the fire providing light, Kyto thought he was watching the fight in slow motion through the cast shadows.
Over half were already dead and several injured when the realisation of their predicament became genuinely apparent. Off to the right from within the cavern's depths, the Geblex had rallied to the call, and Kyto could hear the body of movement before they could see anything. The scratches of dozens of clawed feet struck at the ground as they ran to join their kin.
"Fuck we are screwed," Sniffer called as he turned and saw the wave of forms approaching now. They were near enough to see in the dark.
It was terrifying to hear the scratching feet and croaks and see the forms of the Geblex wall that ran at them. The number was vast compared to theirs, and there was no way they could fight this many, with more Geblex forms appearing in the light of the large fire.
"We need to retreat. There are too many." Kyto shouted.
Tiddles and Lars were fighting for all they were worth now with the volume that had arrived and was gradually pushed back due to the weight in numbers. Sniffer took a club to his side, letting out a loud groan as the wind was knocked from him, his health dipping, and Kyto turned his attention to him. His mana was already critically low after trying to keep Brandon alive, and he knew it would fail before they could kill the number of attackers they were facing.
"We need to go now," Kyto shouted again as he started to back away towards the path, walking backwards while still maintaining his healing strands.
Sniffer suddenly screamed. A spear had struck him in his shoulder, thrown by a nearby Geblex. He watched as Sniffer grabbed the shaft and tore the tip out, gasping in pain but still trying to fight. Kyto pushed his healing again, and as he did, his mana zeroed. "I am out." he cried.
He drew his knife as a defensive gesture as they were corralled backwards. Tiddles had taken several spears now and looked like a pin cushion with the shafts acting as extra deterrents as he spun around, trying to kill as many creatures as possible. Lars was tiring purely due to the number of attackers he was defending against, striking out with his knives when he got an opening. Tiddles let out a howl as he suddenly pounced directly into the central group, tearing into as many as possible. Kyto watched as his health began to decrease steadily with every passing second.
Lars was trying to defend himself by blocking club strikes, but one of the Geblex got lucky, catching the side of the big man’s head with a crazed swing. The blow knocked Lars sideways, the creatures taking advantage and jumping onto him, dragging him to the floor.
Kyto knew they would not survive. Without him being able to heal them, they would eventually succumb to their wounds due to the mass of bodies attacking. Lars's bar suddenly dropped and hit zero. Kyto could not see where he was now due to the Geblex covering him. Tiddles was down to a quarter of health, and Sniffer was not much better. With Lars down, the remaining Geblex turned on Sniffer and Kyto. Tiddles was still out of sight, growling and snarling as he waste to their numbers.
"Run," Kyto screamed to Sniffer, turning and sprinting towards where he hoped the path was. He had no idea in the darkness and dashed straight into the cavern wall, not seeing it in time. His head cracked against the rock surface, sending him sprawling backwards, his head spinning and stars in front of his eyes. He lay on the ground, unable to focus, and could feel the slick sensation of blood dripping down the side of his face.
He vaguely understood that Sniffer's health had hit zero before his dazed world became a world of pain as clubs and spears struck him. With no mana, his shield did not trigger to defend him, and he screamed in agony at the onslaught as his health plummeted. His very last sight before he died was watching the form of a beast flash into his vision as a spear penetrated his heart.