His feet kicked up dust as he wove through the dirt and rock around him, the loose gravel beneath his legs provided no challenge for his practiced steps.
He arrived at the outskirts of it and approached the end of one chain.
Closer up, the large chain was incredibly plain. The dull gray lent it no favors, resembling stone rather than steel. The stake that held it pinned in place was the same color and was far smaller in size in proportion to the link it was attached to, like a toothpick woven through a thick rope. It seemed to do its job well enough, as it remained unbent under the force of the taut chains.
Gary turned his attention away from the stake and faced the chain link that faced him. It hung low, its surface almost touching the floor below it. But even then, it still reached up to his thighs. Their size was nothing to joke about, leaving Gary rather astounded that he hadn't noticed them without help.
'Still, other than the size... they aren't that obvious.' He noted, losing some of his caution. Out of everything in the throne room, this felt like the cheapest thing here.
'Pretty plain for a demonic ornament.' Gary thought, rubbing his chin. From what he had seen, the Demon King had a specific taste. Everything either needed to be black, red, or mildly disturbing to look at. It was like the Demon King wanted to remind everyone that he was-- in fact --a demon. Whether or not this style was what all demons preferred, or just their ruler, Gary did not know. Either way, the simple chain just did not fit the bill.
He blankly stared down at the chain, his eyes tinged with a hint of annoyance. Frankly, the chain did not seem to be that important. At least to him. The problem was that it shouldn't be here, and he couldn't understand its purpose.
It was like finding a brick lying in the middle of an uninhabited forest, or a whale carcass on top of a mountain. Well... an aquatic whale, at least. He had heard tale of some sort of flying whale species that existed to the south, though he wasn't sure HOW a whale could fly. They seemed a bit too plump for such an activity. Lots of wings, maybe?
He pondered over the mystery of the flying behemoth for a bit, before forcefully shaking his head. Now wasn't the time for distractions, as interesting of a topic it may be.
'Not like getting distracted makes a damn difference.' he grumbled. He doubted he was going to figure it out anytime soon, and he was quickly losing interest in puzzling over something that seemed so minuscule.
Labeling it as unimportant seemed to help rid Gary of his fascination and annoyance, and his signature smile slowly replaced the tight frown. There were better things to worry about, and he still had a banner to repossess.
He nodded his head and let out a pleased snort, choosing to ignore the chains for now. Though he didn't forget to send a dismissive kick toward the chain. In his experience, kicking something was an excellent way of relieving frustration, though his furniture back home would beg to differ.
But as his foot touched the surface of the chain, Gary could tell something was wrong. At first, it felt like he was kicking air instead of stone. He watched with confusion as his swinging foot sank deeply into its gray surface without resistance, scattering a cloud of gray into the air, and then with horror as his toes made contact with what felt like a metal plate underneath.
At that moment, Gary would discover that his prior opinion was wrong. There was no way this chain was the cheapest thing here. Not with whatever bullshit metal it had been forged from.
The first thing he felt was a sickening crunch. No pain, just the crunch of bones shattering in one's flesh. It was a peculiar feeling to experience, though far from preferable.
And then came the pain.
It exploded in his foot and shot up through his nerves, burning the entire way through and sending Gary to the floor in agony, gingerly holding his foot. So great was the pain, Gary could not even scream. Oh, he wanted to though. The bulging veins, bloodshot eyes, and tear-stained cheeks were proof enough that it was not a matter of pride.
It was just that he couldn't even muster up the breath to shout, only able to draw short breaths as he lay aggrieved on the floor. Even now, he had no idea what had happened. It wasn't even a hard kick!
'Maybe this was the Demon King's after all.' He realized with a sickened expression. Only a demon as great as he would think of such a sinister trap! That was why it was here! It was used to fool the Heroes and cause them injury. The thought of the great hero falling victim to the same accident must have helped reinvigorate him, as Gary managed to delicately raise himself off the ground just in time to see a befuddled Alfred arrive.
"Everything okay? Sounded like you hit..." Alfred asked, before noticing the injured Gary. "You okay man?"
"Just in time Alf," Gary wheezed out, ignoring the question as he swung his arms to balance himself on the one leg he stood on. "I... I figured it out. Its a, um, an old trap. Set here by the Demon himself I bet. Smart guy, if you ask me. Not to worry though, I managed to disable it right before you came." He waved his hand, lurching to his side as he lost his balance.
"Huh." Alfred snorted, unconvinced. "Never seen a trap that glows once you deactivate it." He motioned towards the link Gary had attempted to kick.
"It is a special type of... what? Glow? What are you talking about?" He asked, hopping to turn himself around. His confusion did not last for long.
Where there was once an uninterrupted line of stone-colored chains, now had one that no longer matched its peers. The victimized chain link now glowed with a golden glow, its rays made even more pronounced by the cloud of dust that floated around it.
Gary froze as his face warped into a comical display of pure shock and confusion.
"I-I..." He stuttered, looking back and forth between Alfred and the chain as he tried to come up with an explanation.
"What did you do?" Alfred sternly questioned.
"It wasn't like that before..." Gary hung his head defeatedly, still recovering from the shock.
"No shit it wasn't. That's why I'm asking what did you do? Did something you touched activate it? Did you step on something?" He fired off the questions in fast succession, nervously glancing at the chain.
His panic was justified, considering they were in what could be a dangerous place. Unlike Gary, Alfred had no delusions of grandeur. He was convinced any trap still active in the castle was enough to kill an adventurer team such as theirs, Even if they were considered to be A-rank.
Gary shuddered with each question thrown at him, before half-heartedly admitting "I may have touched the chain..."
"Just touched it?"
"Welllll, I did put a bit of force into it."
"How much force could you put into a finger?" Alfred wondered, eyeing the guilty party.
"Not much," Gary readily agreed, pausing a bit before he continued, "But a foot is a different matter."
Alfred's brows scrunched up as he digested what Gary just said, before realizing what exactly he meant by that.
"You... did you kick the chain?" Alfred asked in disbelief.
"That is one way of putting it." Gary said, rubbing his still broken foot. If he had looked up, he would have seen Alfred nearly collapse on the floor.
Adventurers had many unspoken rules. Most being simple "do's" and "don'ts" of the trade. For example: do bring extra potions, even if you think you have enough. Don't go into dark cramped tunnels, unless you have a short-- and rather brave --colleague who knows [Diminish Presence], [Detect Evil], and [Dash]. Do try to barter with a dragon, if you find yourself in such a scenario. Don't try to fight a dragon, if you find yourself in such a scenario.
And don't touch... or kick, anything that looks questionable.
These are the rules that they and their forefathers had learned throughout their life. And here Gary was, kicking something in a place where you probably should keep your feet to yourself.
"Why do we even still follow you?" Alfred sighed, feeling as equally defeated as Gary.
"Cause I am a natural-born leader?"
"I'm still not sure if you were even naturally born," Alfred muttered despondently. He felt like Gary was more likely to have been some dark wizard's creation, made to cause as much damage to the natural order as possible.