Damien: Jòn! Hey, Jòn, can you hear me?
I hear Damien's voice calling out to me. I wake up with a slight headache and my vision blurry. As I start to see clearer, I notice that I'm sitting in the middle of a room with stone walls and no windows, with the only visible exit being a metal bar door which seems to be locked shut. The stones used to build the walls look very old and are full of cracks. If I were to guess, I'd say we're being held in the prison cells of some old ruins. I suddenly remember Leah's friend, and how she left us all unconscious in the middle of the forest. Is she the one that brought us here?
I look around me to see if everyone's here. Damien is standing right beside me, while Leah and Rachel are sitting on the floor , on the opposite side of the room, with their backs leaned against the wall. Hagrid is standing near the metal bar door and knocking lightly on the walls around it, likely in an attempt to test their durability.
JÒN: What happened? Did the thackeray bring us here?
Damien: No, it wasn't them, it was the animals from the forest. They seemed really upset that we trespassed on their sacred magical fairy lands. I'll gladly bring you up to speed with everything that happened while you were passed out, but first, can you please shut off that infernal device of yours? It's been beeping ever since I woke up.
I look at my stat device and see that I received some more points while I was unconscious. It must have picked up some energy from the air from yesterday's events.
Once I finish with my stat device, it stops beeping.
Damien: Finally! At least now we can have some peace and quiet while we try to think of a way out of here.
JÒN: Wait, you said that some animals brought us here, but I don't see anyone guarding our cell. Did they come by here while I was still unconscious?
Damien: Yeah, a tiger and a bear came by earlier and started growling at us. At first, I thought the jailer sent their pets here to scare us, but then Leah and Rachel started talking to them, by making weird animal noises. It turns out that all of the animals and monsters on this continent can speak, but they only use ancient language. Monsters can't speak in the common tongue because they don't know any better, and the animals aren't allowed to speak it because their spirit vixen leader has forbidden its use after the humans started hunting them for food. It also turns out that having a basic understanding of ancient languages is not so uncommon if you were born on this continent.
JÒN: Never mind all that. Did they say what they want from us?
Damien: Yeah, they said that we should wait here until their great golden vixen arrives, and they apparently kept making jokes about how she will teach us all a lesson.
JÒN: So, why aren't they guarding us, then? What's to stop us from just breaking through the walls and escaping?
Damien (points towards his neck): These...
For the first time, I notice that we are all wearing green collars around our necks, with strange markings written on them. I turn to Leah.
JÒN: Wait, are these--
Leah: Yes, they are the same type of collars that the ancients used on artificial mages at the Institution of Truth in order to keep their powers under control. The good news is that I know how to turn them off. The bad news is that we need to find the device that's powering all of these collars, before I can use it to deactivate them. These ruins were also built by the thackeray of old, so if they're anything like the Institution, then there should be a control room not far from here.
JÒN: But If none of you can cast spells, then why is Hagrid still in his dwarf form?
Hagrid: Yeah, I was wondering about that too. I guess the collars don't actually dispel any spell that you cast on yourself before wearing them. They just prevent you from casting anymore magic. The first thing I tried when I woke up was to turn into a giant, but this damn collar won't let me cast any sort of shapeshifting magic.
JÒN: You say that you can't cast any shapeshifting magic... But you still have your superhuman strength, right?
Hagrid (grins): Aye! But even with my power, I still can't smash the collar around my neck. These blasted contraptions seem to near indestructible. Now I was checking to see if the walls are as durable as the collars, but it looks like they're just made up of regular stones. I should be able to break through them without any problem!
JÒN: Perfect! Then let's not waste anymore time here.
Hagrid: Alright, then! Here I go!
The dwarf punches the wall with all of his might, which shatters it into tiny pieces.
As we step over the rubble and look outside of our cell, we see that the corridor we've just entered is completely deserted. If it weren't for a few lit torches here and there, it wouldn't be too far fetched to assume that this building has been abandoned a long time ago. Our cell seems to have been placed at the far end of the corridor, which means that the only way for us to go left.
Leah: I don't like this. This is the same direction in which the bear and the tiger went to look for their vixen leader. The last thing we want is to run into her or her followers while we are escaping.
Hagrid: Well, it's not like e were given much of a choice. There was only one way to go after we walked out of our cell, and there haven't been any fox in the road since then. What intrigues me most is that we haven't passed a single cell since we got out. Isn't this supposed to be a dungeon of some sort? Where are all the other prisoners?
Rachel: Maybe, they only have one cell per corridor?
JÒN: Forget the prisoners, I'm more worried about the complete lack of guards in this place. Did they seriously think that we couldn't bring down these frail old walls without the use of magic?
Damien (studies the writing on a wall): Hey, Rachel. Can you come over here for a second?
Rachel: Certainly
Damien: You can read ancient languages, right? Can you tell me what this says?
Rachel looks at the text and furrows her eyebrows.
Rachel: Hmm... I'm afraid that this is a bit too advanced for me. I can tell that's written in the language used by the thackeray of old, but I cannot understand any of the words.
Damien: Jòn, did you by any chance learn how to read ancient language during your travels? If you did, come over here and see if you can translate this!
As I start to decipher the glyphs on the wall, I realize that the writing says "If you like discovering secrets, tap each of the glyphs in rapid succession"
Damien: Well? What does it say?
I tap all of the glyphs in order one by one, just as the instructions said.
Suddenly, the stone with the markings on it slides itself to the side, and two small objects gets thrown out of the hole it left in the wall. The stone then slides back into its original position. Upon closer inspection, I see that the objects that came out of the wall are a small parchment and what appears to be a piece of a puzzle. I take them both from the ground, and read the piece of parchment. The text on it is written in common language this time, and it says: "Find all of the pieces of the puzzle, and I will share with you my greatest secret. I've left one of this in each of the buildings I've designed"
The parchment is then signed as simply "the building's architect." I then put both the parchment and the puzzle piece in my left pocket.
Damien: Okay! First of all, what did the glyphs say and secondly, what are those?
JÒN: The glyphs said that if I press them all in rapid succession I'll discover a secret. The parchment said that if I find all of the pieces of the puzzle, I'll find out this building's architect greatest secret.
Damien seemed disappointed at the outcome, as he steps away from the wall and starts to walk down the corridor again
Damien: Useless! I don't know what I was expecting, really. I mean, it's not like we're--
Damien stops mid sentence when he realizes that there's someone blocking his path. There's a little girl standing in front of him, with her hands behind her back, and a cheerful smile on her face. She is wearing a golden amulet around her neck, a gray tank t-shirt, large pants commonly worn by clowns and no shoes. She is about four feet tall, and her long red hair is almost reaching her waist. Given her height and general appearance, I'd say that she's no older than ten. And yet, I'm not getting any sort of warning to not hurt her. Isn't she one of the locals?
Lily: Hello!
Damien: What the... Where did you come from?
Lily (points towards a hole in the ceiling): There!
Damien: Oh, uh, okay... And what are you doing here?
Lily: We were just doing some training in the room above, when we heard you talking below us. My name is Lily. Pleased to meet you!
Damien: Whoa, whoa, whoa... Hold on, there! Who's we?
Lily seems to have been caught off guard by Damien's question
Lily: Did I say 'we'? I'm sorry, I meant to say 'I'. I was doing some training in the room above. No 'we'. Just 'I'.
Leah: What do you mean by training?
Lily: Oh, lots of stuff! But mostly, I come here to practice my acrobatic skills. There's all sorts of traps around here, and I try to dodge them while doing fancy backflips or while I'm running on walls. It's really fun!
Leah: There are traps in these ruins?
Lily: Yeah, the place is filled with them! You need to watch your step if your not from around here. Did you all come here for sightseeing?
Leah: Uh, no... We were captured by the animals and locked up in a cell. We're currently looking for the control room so we can turn off the collars around our necks. You wouldn't happen to know where that is, would you?
Lily: Control room? Oh, you mean the room full of levers and buttons! Sure, I know where that is. Follow me, I'll show you the way!
As she starts walking down the corridor, Damien says to me in a low voice...
Damien: Something's not right here. The spell that the organizers cast on us isn't reacting to her in any way. What do you think is causing this?
JÒN: Maybe, she's a prisoner here too, and the organizers don't know about her
Damien: Yeah, that's what I was thinking as well. But if that's true, why do you think she'd be hiding that fact from us?
Leah: It doesn't matter who she is! She clearly knows this place better than us, and if she were working with the animals, she would have already alerted them of our presence. Either way, there's only one path for us to take at this point, so we don't really have much choice than to follow her. We'll decide later if we should trust her or not.
When we catch up with Lily, we hear her start talking with a much colder tone than before. While she speaks, she's still walking down the corridor, and her back turned to us.
Lettie (in cold tone): What's wrong with you, Lily? We came to these desolate ruins to train, not to play the tour guide! We don't even know who these people are!
Lily ( in her normal cheerful voice): Relax, Lettie! They seem like nice people. We can get back to training once we're done showing them around! This shouldn't take long.
Leah: I'm sorry, who are you talking to?
Lily gets startled by Leah's question and quickly turns around to face her
Lily: D-did we say that out loud? I mean 'me'! 'Me' not 'we'! Because there's only one of me!
Damien: Wait, are you implying that there's more than one of you in there?
Lily: What? No, that's crazy! You're crazy!
She then starts laughing very nervously and unnaturally.
Damien: Did she just call me crazy?
Suddenly, there's a muffled laughter coming from within the golden amulet that Lily is wearing around her neck. The girl opens the amulet and starts talking to it.
Lily: Shut up, Rakaia!
Now that I hear the laughter clearer, I realize that the voice in the amulet is made up of three different voices, all women, laughing simultaneously. Once the being inside the amulet realizes that we can now hear her clearly, she starts speaking to us.
Rakaia: Hey, you there! This girl's a cortana! Quick, check her magical energy! Check her magical en--
Lily panics and closes the amulet, shutting the voice up, but the harm had already been done. As I analyze her magical energy in detail, I realize that it's infact a lot more powerful than it seems, and that she's willfully suppressing it in order to make it seem like that of a normal human.
JÒN (to himself):But is she an actual Cortana or an artificial mage like Leah? There's something off about her energy... I can't tell exactly what. It feels almost as if she has two distinct magical energies around her, one that gives off an out worldly vibe, and one that doesn't. It's as if both the girl and the cortana that possessed her are somehow coexisting in the same body, as two separate entities. But that's impossible... Isn't it?
Damien: So that's what she's been hiding from us all this time!
He then turns to the girl
Damien: Kid, you're in luck! You don't need to live in fear any longer. Despite my looks, I just so happen to be an established white mage! I'll rid you of your cortana problem in no time!
Lily: What? No, you can't!
Damien: Of course I can! Don't worry about the collar. This sword has more than enough enchantments on it to be able to carry out a purification ritual even without me casting any spells. That cortana will be dead before you know it, and you will be able to live your life as a normal girl again!
Lily: No! She's my friend, I won't let you hurt her!
Damien: Friend?... This is even more serious than I thought! Indeed to get you purified quick. You're not thinking straight anymore!
When he gets closer to Lily, one of the stones that he stepped on starts sinking into the floor, and we can hear some other stones moving above our heads. A large rock detaches from the ceiling and descends upon our heads.
Lily: Look out!!
The girl raises her hand, with her palm facing the big boulder, and she shoots a fireball at it, which pulverizes the rock in an instant. As we are getting showered with rubble from the destroyed boulder, the walls are now starting to slowly close in on us, with a loud and menacing sound echoing all throughout the corridor.
Lily: Oh, no! I remember this trap. This isn't good! The walls aren't going to stop until they turn us all into red gooey paste.
She starts looking all around us for a way out, and then her eyes find the hole in the ceiling that she used to get into our corridor.
Lily: Okay, I've got an idea! I think I may be able to create an enclosed space here by blowing up the roof on both sides of the corridor. I can then flood the room with water so that we can all swim up to that hole in the ceiling! Can you guys swim?!
Damien: Well, I'm dressed from head to toe in heavy armor, so what do you think?
Lily: Okay, okay! New plan! I think there was a secret mechanism in the room above to stop the walls from moving! Lettie, can you give me a lift?
The girl puts both arms alongside her, with her palms facing downward. Two powerful jets of water start erupting from her hands, which lifts her into the air, and right through the hole in the ceiling.
Damien: What the hell? Didn't she use fire magic just a moment ago? Don't tell me that she's already mastered two elements at the age of nine?!
JÒN: Actually, I think that water is the cortana's element.
Lily: Guys, can you hear me? Just wanted to let you know that I've found the secret mechanism. But, uh... You see, the thing is there's more than just one mechanism. And I don't really know which one of these is the right one. But... I'm sure I'll figure this out in good time. Probably!
Hagrid: Ok, that's it! I'm going to punch right through this wall until we get to the other side.
Leah: What?! No, don't do that! Are you insane? What if that wall is the only thing holding this ceiling above us and it will all come crashing down upon us once you destroy it?
Hagrid: So you'd rather sit here and get squashed between two walls, then? You're not seriously thinking that the little goofball up there is going to figure out the complex mechanism that runs this place before the walls reach us, do you?
Lily: Uh, guys? I don't know if you can hear me, but I just realized that I forgot to tell you one important thing. Whatever you do, don't smash the walls. Okay? Good! Now, then, let's see... I think I've got this! Aha!... Okay, no, that was the light switch.
JÒN: Hagrid, it's too risky. Can't you give Lily just a little more time?
Hagrid looks displeased that he isn't getting any kind of support from the group
Hagrid: Well, alright then, if no one likes my idea, then I'll hold off for a while longer. But mark my words, if those walls actually reach us, I'm not going to hold back.
After fifteen more seconds of waiting, the walls finally start to slow down, and soon they come to a complete stop. It doesn't take long for Lily to make her appearance again, with a victorious smile on her face.
Lily: Haha, I did it! But I think I should also tell you the bad news. See, when I was fiddling around with those mechanisms upstairs, I... maaay have accidentally activated all of the traps on this corridor.
Leah: You what?!
Lily: Don't worry, I can still fix this! I think I know where most of the traps are, so as long as you follow my instructions you should be fine. I just need to do a quick test run and make sure that I'm not remembering anything wrong.
The girl starts sprinting down the corridor, and makes a surprisingly long jump, which lands her on a stone with two cracks on either side of it. She then does an elegant pirouette and turns towards us.
Lily: See? Everything's under control!
As soon as she finishes talking, one of the walls opens up and a large pendulum blade comes swinging out of it, aiming directly for Lily. She rolls out of its way, and triggers two more traps by accident. There are now dozens of arrows shooting out of both walls, while sharp spinning blades are coming out of the floor and moving in circles all around her. At first glance, the girl appears to be just clumsily stumbling around while evading the traps out of sheer luck. As I watch her more closely, I realize that even though her movements all seem erratic, they have a way of flowing into one another which allows her to not waste even a single second between two actions. I guess she wasn't kidding when she said that she came to this place to train her acrobatic skills.
Hagrid shakes his head as he watches the girl jump around, and then he lays flat on the floor, with his ear pressing against the ground, trying to listen for something, while Lily jumps off a wall, lands on her left hand and then bounces off the floor like a spring.
Lily: Uh, guys, I know this looks bad, but if I keep going like this, I'll either remember the right path, or end up setting off all of the traps, so it's a win either way!
Hagrid (stands up): Yeah, no, this is clearly not getting is anywhere. That fox is going to be here any minute. We can't afford to waste much time here while the girl tests all the traps. This corridor is compromised, but I could hear some noise below us. These ruins have a subterranean level waiting to be found, and I'm about to create a shortcut.
Leah: Don't you dare!!!
Hagrid (grins): What's that? I'm having trouble hearing you because of all the noise those traps are making!
He then punches the ground below us, which cracks all of the stones, and sends us falling down along with all of the rubble that used to make up the floor beneath our feet. It was a longer way down than I would have hoped, but fortunately, the surface we landed on was soft enough that we didn't break anything from the floor.
Leah: Hagrid, how could you do something so reckless?! Do you think we're all giant's in disguise like you? I swear, if I still had my ice powers I would have smacked you so hard in the head that I'd have left you in a coma!
As Leah talks, I can feel the surface we're on move slowly up and down. I can also hear a continuous low growl somewhere above us. Something's not right, here
I look above me, to try and see if I can identify the source of the growl. I ended up regretting my decision immediately after taking it.
Nine snake like creatures, each at least six times the size of me, were all staring at me, with their fangs bared, and drool falling out of their mouths. All of the nine snakes were connected to the large body we landed on when we fell from the upper level. I've only read about creatures like these in books before, but even so, there's no mistaking it. What we've all landed on is a hydra.
Leah and Hagrid are still arguing and did not notice the situation that we are in. Damien is only now inspecting the slithery and dark green scale covered surface we've landed on, and Rachel is looking up at the snakes, with a terrified look in her eyes, unable to bring herself to speak.
JÒN (to Leah and Hagrid): Guys... I really hate to interrupt you, but I think you should have a look at this.
I then point upwards and both of them freeze for a moment
Hagrid: Gods have mercy...
Damien: Everyone get down from the hydra! NOW!!!
He then takes Rachel in his arms, and jumps off the monster's body. I slide off the creature's slippery body, and land on the stone floor below. We then all distance ourselves from the hydra and arm ourselves, waiting to see what its first move will be. The snake heads all roar at the same time, and the monster starts approaching us slowly, with its long tail swinging continuously from left to right as it walks. One of the snakes takes initiative and lunges for us. Its attack was rather slow, so we all had the time to get out of its way, but its impact with the wall behind us left a big hole in it. Damien wastes no time and uses his sword to cut off the head of the hydra with one swift strike.
JÒN: No, don't do that! Why would you do that?!
The hydra quickly retracts it's headless snake body, and all of the other eight snake heads start screaming in pain. Then, in a matter of seconds, the severed head grows back, and all of the other heads grow quiet once more.
Damien: What?... You didn't really believe those old legends about the hydras growing two heads for everyone you cut, right? I've fought hydras before, and none of them possessed that kind of an ability. Still, the regeneration ability of this one is off the chart. Last time I fought one of this, I had more than enough time to cut off all the heads before they started regenerating, but there's no way that's going to work with this particular monster. The only way we're killing it is if we can find its heart and stab it, or if we use fire, to prevent it from regenerating.
Leah: Damnations!... If only I had my ice magic, I would have easily cut all those heads off simultaneously...
Damien: Didn't that little girl have fire magic?
He then starts to shout the girl's name, while looking at the hole in the roof.
Damien: Lily! Hey, Lily!
There's no answer
Hagrid: You're wasting your breath. There's no way that she can hear you from all the way up there, with the sound all of those traps are making.
Damien: Yeah, you're probably right.
Damien readies his sword once more and takes a look towards the monster.
The hydra has taken a few steps back while Damien was talking, and it's been just standing there for a while, hesitating to attack. It must be afraid that it'll get one of its head cut off again.
Hagrid: Well, if it's not going to come to us...
He doesn't finish his sentence and rushes straight for the nine headed creature. The monster attacks the dwarf with four of its heads, but he jumps out of their way and manages to place himself below the hydra's body. Hagrid then flexes all of his muscles and starts lifting the hydra off the ground, as he roars loudly and his face turns almost red from the effort.
Before the hydra has time to react, the dwarf sends it crashing the nearest wall. The creature is now staggering clumsily, trying to get back up.
Damien: I guess I can't just let a good opportunity like this go to waste. Jòn, you take care of Rachel. I'll go fight the hydra with Hagrid.
He rushes towards and starts slashing at its enormous body.
I turn around, and see that Rachel is sitting on the floor, with her back leaning against the wall and her arms holding her legs, trying in vain to control her shivering.
JÒN: Rachel!!
She doesn't give any sign of having heard me, and continues to shiver uncontrollably, while looking at the ground.
JÒN: Hey, Rachel, are you with me?
Leah: Let her be... She'll get over it once the hydra is dealt with and the danger passes. It was the same when we fought Qaerys. She's already doing all she can to keep control of herself.
JÒN: I... suppose you're right
I then turn around to see how the fight with the hydra is going.
It doesn't seem like Hagrid and Damien are losing the fight, but it's not like they're winning, either. The hydra is using its heads to keep them both at bay, while Damien tries to take advantage of every opportunity he gets to stab the creature's body, in hopes that he'll manage to find its heart through sheer luck. The hydra's large body regenerates almost as fast as its heads, so they haven't really made much progress outside of crossing out all the parts of the body where the heart is not located. This looks like it might take a while.
After a few more failed assassination attempts, Hagrid and Damien take a few steps backwards to catch their breath. Suddenly, an enormous pillar of flames engulfs the hydra, as it starts screaming in agony with all of its heads. The screams die off quickly, as the hydra turns completely black, and its charred remains fall on the ground, lifeless. Soon after the flames disappear, Lily drops from the hole in the ceiling and slows down her fall with small jets of fire coming out of her feet. She then lands on the floor next to us.
Lily: Oh gods, I didn't know there was a hydra down here. I would have come sooner, but those traps upstairs just kept going and going! Is anyone hurt? Lettie knows a bit of healing magic, so we should be able to help if it's nothing too serious.
JÒN (to himself): The way she casually dealt with that hydra and the calm manner in which she's talking now makes me think that this girl has dealt with far stronger enemies in the past. I'm not sure what the situation would be if we were at our full strength, but the way we are now, making an enemy of this little girl would be nothing short of suicide. We need to choose our words carefully, if we want to get out of here in one piece.
Hagrid: Actually, I could use some healing right about now. This wound on my leg is killing me!
Lily: We're on it!!
The girl approaches the dwarf and puts her hand on his wound
Lily: Lettie?
She then pauses for a few moments, and her eyes then starts shining with a bright blue light, as her expression becomes a lot colder, and a warm light starts coming out of her hands, slowly healing Hagrid's wound.
Hagrid (grins): So... You must be the cortana inhabiting the girl's body? Lettie, is it?
The girl looks the dwarf in the eye without changing her cold expression, but she doesn't say anything. She then shift her gaze back to his wound and continues to heal it diligently.
Hagrid (grins): Not really the talkative sort, are you?
As the wound heals completely, the girl's eyes turns back to their normal green color, and her warm expression returns as well
Lily: Oh, she's usually not this silent. I think she's just shy around strangers...
Damien: Well, I think this farce has gone on long enough! I really am sorry that I have to ruin this beautiful friendship, but I'm afraid the cortana has to go.
JÒN: Actually, I don't think that will be possible!
Damien: Oh yeah? And why's that? Please, enlighten us, oh great cortana expert!
JÒN: Because the cortana has already awakened. In fact, I think she's been in this state for a very long time.
Damien: Impossible!! Everyone knows that an awakened cortana is supposed to look like a genuine monster. Almost nothing should remain of their human host's appearance.
JÒN: Yeah, I've seen a cortana awaken before, remember? That doesn't, however change the fact that this cortana has already awakened, in spite of all that, since she is clearly no longer in a dormant state. Why don't you try your purification technique on her if you don't believe me?
Damien: Hmph... I was going to do that anyways...
Damien approaches her, and starts moving his sword in the air around her
Lily: W-W-What are you doing?
JÒN: Lily, it's alright! His technique won't work on you or Lettie. I guarantee it.
Lily: Uh...okay?
Damien waves his sword in the air for about fifteen seconds, trying to light it up so he can start the purification ritual.
Damien: It's... It's not working...
JÒN: Of course it isn't! The purification technique can only be used before a cortana has fully awakened, or if the cortana never existed in the first place. An awakened cortanas energy is just too unsettled to be able to get a good lock on it, so the technique will simply fail to activate. The only way you can kill the cortana now is if you also kill the girl along with her. Is that what you want?
Damien: No, that's not... I don't...
Lily: Listen to me! Lettie is here to stay, whether you like it or not! You don't have to talk to her if you don't want to! And I'm here too! And... even if I'm not the best guide there is... I'm the only guide you have! I promised that I'd take you all to the rooms full of buttons and I don't intend to fall back on that promise! Are you still willing to follow my lead?
JÒN: Please, tell me you at least have a vague idea of where we are headed.
Damien: Of course. The first thing we need to do is get back to the corridor we came from. There's an elevator not far from here that can take us back to the upper level. It will leave us right at the end of the corridor, so we won't have to worry about anymore traps.
Hagrid: That... actually sounds like a pretty good plan
Leah: I agree, we can't afford to waste time bumbling around, with the spirit vixen breathing down our necks. I say we follow the girl's lead for now
Rachel still recovering from the shock of the hydra's attack
Rachel: I... I think we should follow Lily as well...
Lily: Alright then! You're not going to regret this! Come on, follow me, I know exactly where we're going!
She then takes the lead and starts marching like a soldier in front of us
Lily (repeatedly): Hut two, three, four...
Damien: Oh, I'm starting to regret this already!
We all start to follow in the girl's footsteps, and leave the Hydra room behind. After a few minutes of walking, we finally reach the elevator that Lily spoke of. It is entirely made of stone, but there are several levers inside of it, which I assume are used to operate it.
Lily: Okay, this is the elevator I told you about. Now, if I could only remember which one of these levers I need to pull...
She starts looking at each lever in turn, with her eyebrows furrowed.
Lily: Ooooooh! I can't remember which one's the right one!
There's a mumbling sound coming from the amulet Lily's wearing round her neck.
Lily: What is it, Rakaia?
Rakaia: Hey, Lily! I remember which of the levers you need to pull in order to get to the upper floor. It's the second one from the right!
Lily: You're not lying to me again, are you?
Rakaia: Oh, no, no, it's the truth! I swear on my mother!
Lily: Well, ok, then...
She then pulls the lever, suddenly, the elevator starts moving, but somewhat unsurprisingly, the direction we are heading in is down instead of up.
Lily (furious) : You swore! You swore on your mother!
Rakaia (laughs) : I don't have a mother, you twit!
As we descend towards the lower levels of the ruins, there are several low continuous growls audible somewhere below us.
Elyria: I've had just about enough of this!
The girl's eyes turn blue again, and she starts fiddling with the levers until the elevator stops in its tracks and heads back up.
Rakaia: You just had to ruin the fun like you always do, didn't you, Elyria?
JÓN: Wait, who's Elyria? Is that the cortanas real name?
Hagrid: Never mind that. What I want to know is who the spirit in the amulet is.
Rakaia: Who, me? Why, I'm the spirit of joy and laughter! This evil girl is keeping me trapped in here and won't let me do my job of spreading happiness all throughout the world!
Hagrid (grins) : Spirit of joy and laughter, eh? So I'm guessing that the sinister aura all around you must be because of the amulet the girl is keeping you in, then?
Rakaia: Hmm? Oh, no, I just forgot to change it!
The sinister energy around her now disappears completely, and it's replaced with one of joy and kindness.
Rakaia: See? Now I'm the spirit of joy and laughter! If you don't believe me, you can just ask all of the people who've had the honor of meeting me! I always leave them with a smile on their face! Of course, it would be a little hard to get them to talk to you since they're all dead. And now that I come to think of it, the expression I usually leave them with is somewhat less of a smile, and more of a look of sheer terror. But I'm pretty sure that I've carved a few smiles into the necks of at least some of them, so it should count, right? Aha- AHAHAHA--
Lily interrupts Rakaia's speech by closing the amulet, and then she holds on to it for a few seconds, clenching her fist around it angrily. The elevator finally arrives at the corridor with the traps.
JÒN: So, uh... Is that another cortana, then?
Lily: Yes... A very evil and powerful one. She was trapped in this amulet twenty years ago by the thackeray, and we've been acting as her jailers ever since.
JÒN: Wait, did you just say twenty years ago? How old are you, exactly?
Lily (smiling): I'll be turning thirty next month! Hey, look, we've reached the main corridor! Follow me, the room with the buttons shouldn't be much further!
JÒN: You know, uh... I'm not exactly sure how to tell you this, but... you don't really look thirty years old.
Lily: Oh, my body stopped aging twenty years ago after my soul fused with Lettie's! Lettie keeps nagging me that I never made it to the age of ten, but I say to hell with that! If I want to have my birthdays, then nothing is going to-- OH MY GODS!
Leah: What? What happened?
Lily (points in front of her): I remember those three corridors! One of them leads to the control room, while the other two leads to deadly traps. I know for certain that the correct corridor had some sort of insect marked on one of its walls! We're practically already there. Come on!
Lily rushes ahead of us to have a better look at the walls of the three corridors.
Lily: Nooooooooooo!!!
Looking at the markings at the three walls, I start to understand the source of the girls frustration. She was not mistaken when she remembered that the correct corridor had an insect marked on it. What she failed to remember, however, was that the other two corridors had insects marked on them as well.
Leah: A dragonfly, a beetle, and a wasp... Leah, you're saying that one of these three paths will lead us directly to the control room?
Lily: Yes, as long as we choose the correct path, there won't be anymore obstacles between us and the room with buttons. Ooooooh! If only I could remember which way is the right one!
JÒN: If we know that at least one of these paths is the correct one, then we may as well just pick one at random and if we trigger any traps, we get out of there as soon as possible. I say we try the corridor marked with a beetle first.
Damien: To me, any path is as good as any other. Actually, come to think of it, I'd rather go specifically with Jòn's suggestion, because then if we run into a trap, I can just blame it all on him afterwards!
Once everyone's agreed to have me carry the blame for our potential failure, we all start walking down the corridor marked with a beetle.
After a few minutes of walking through the corridor, we finally start to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
Lily (excitedly points towards the exit): This is it! I remember this part! Once we're past that door, nothing will stand between us and the room of buttons! I told you we'd make it here safely! Come on, follow me!
Lily rushes out of the tunnel, but her momentum fades immediately after she enters the control room, and she stops right in front of the corridors exit. As I reach the end of the corridor myself, it takes a few moment for my eyes to adjust to the really bright light in this room. I hear a female's voice while my vision is still a little blurry.
Celestia: Congratulations! You've made it to the control room. Now you can all die in peace, knowing that you've achieved your goal.
I suddenly realize where all the light was coming from. The great golden vixen is standing right before us and her insanely strong magical energy is shining so brightly that it's hard to even look at her.
She may be regarded to as a vixen but has the appearance of a normal lady, and her aura gives off an out worldly energy. A similar energy to that of a cortana. Could she originate from the magical plane as well?
As I look around, I see that the room we are in is filled with levers and buttons of all shapes and sizes. Besides the vixen, there's also a leopard in the room, who appears to be one of the vixen's followers.
Celestia: Once I learned that you escapes from the dungeon, I knew that there was only one place where you could be heading, so instead of chasing you down, I decided to simply wait for you here. You were foolish to break out of your cell. If you had patiently awaited my judgement, you would have only been sentenced to a life of hard labor in the animal kingdom. However, breaking out of prison before hearing your sentence is a much more heinous crime. One that is punishable by death
Damien: Are you joking right now?! Who sentences someone to a life of labor like that just because they happen to walk into a forbidden area by accident? Do you also execute your fawns and cubs, if they don't keep off the grass in a garden?
Celestia: You would be wise to not address me in such a casual manner, mage in armor. But to answer your question, the animal kingdom has neither gardens, nor a rule to keep off the grass in any region of the continent. However, if there were such a rule, and a cub or a fawn were to break it, then I assure you I would not hesitate in ordering their execution. Rules are meant to be upheld, both by humans and by animals. The fact that you humans are so lenient with your rules is one of the main reasons why your society is decaying to such a degree. I will hear no more of this.
Suddenly, a golden cage pops out of nowhere and surrounds every one of us except Lily.
Celestia: The five of you are not worth another second of my time. I am going to execute you here and now and be done with this once and for all.
The magical power coming from her is like nothing I've ever witnessed before. I haven't even felt so much pressure when I was in the presence of Gaius. The hopelessness I'm feeling right now can only be compared to the feeling I got when we first met Theo. Are we all just going to die like this, without even getting a chance to offer the slightest amount of resistance?
Lily: Celestia, wait! You can't hurt them! They're not bad people!
The girl says, as she puts herself between us and the spirit vixen.
Celestia: Do not stand in my way, Lily. These people broke our sacred rules, and they must be punished.
Lily: Yeah, but can't you like, give them a slap on the wrist or something?
Celestia: I'm not going to have you question or methods or our punishments, little girl. You may have helped us in the past, but if you insist on defending these criminals, I will not hesitate to execute you along with them.
Lily: Oooooooh! You are always so stubborn! Fine! If you want a fight, I'll give you your fight! Get ready, Lettie!
Her eyes turn bright red, and her magical energy starts to radiate strongly from her body.
Leo (in common language): Please, stop!
Lily's eyes start to go back to their normal green color
Celestia: What is the meaning of this, Leo? I only gave you permission to use the common language in case of an extreme emergency!
Leo: I am sorry if I am speaking out of turn, oh great golden vixen, but I consider this to be an emergency of the utmost import.
Celestia: Explain yourself.
Leo: I would like to invoke the sixth golden rule, and take personal custody of these prisoners.
Celestia: To what end?
Leo: I believe that they would be of a much better use to us alive, rather than dead. We cannot afford to send anymore of our troops to the ogres stronghold. At this rate, the sacred chalice will be lost forever. But these warriors have proven their combat prowess when they defeated our hydra pet from the subterranean level. We could send them to retrieve the chalice, in exchange for their freedom.
Celestia: I see... So this is why you insisted on accompanying me to the control room when we learned that the prisoners had escaped. You surprise me, Leo. Of all the animals in our kingdom, you are by far the one who hates humans the most. I never thought that I'll see the day when you'll suggest using any of them to further our cause.
She pauses for a bit to ponder on his words
Celestia: Very well, then... In full accordance with the sixth golden rule, I hereby grant you full custody of these prisoners.
Celestia then turns to us
Celestia: You were lucky to have been spared in such a way humans, I suggest you make the most of this opportunity.
JÒN: Could you tell us more about this ogre stronghold we're about to be sent to?
Celestia: The ogre stronghold is a fortress located a few dozen miles from here. The ogres have been using it as their main headquarters in the area for the past few years. It is heavily defended, and very hard to infiltrate. Besides regular warriors, I am told that the ogres also have a few powerful mages within their ranks.
Leah: Will we get our collars temporarily deactivated once we get to the ogre stronghold? I've seen collars like these before, and I know for a fact that they could be activated and deactivated at will, without having to remove them.
Celestia: I'm afraid that the collars we use are a more primitive version of the ones you know of. Their effects will not go away unless we remove them completely, and I'm not going to have them removed until you have retrieved the golden chalice. I will give you a time limit of five days to complete your quest. This should give you more than enough time to get the task done. If you are not back within five days, I will assume that you've abandoned your quest, and I will use these collars to have you killed by electrocution.
Hagrid: Five days?! What if we get lost on our way there?
Celestia: You won't! Because I'm sending a guide with you to show you the way.
She then turns to Lily
Celestia: Lily, since you were so eager to protect these humans with your life, I am assigning this task to you.
Lily: Uh... I don't really think they'd still want me as their guide after all that happened in these ruins... Couldn't you maybe send Leo or--
Celestia: No, I'm sending you. Consider this your punishment for confronting me earlier. Of course, I'm not forcing you to go. If you do not want to take on this task, I will simply execute them right now, and spare you the trouble.
Lily: No! No, don't do that! Okay, I get it... I'll... go with them to the ogre stronghold.
Celestia: Very well, then. Leo, I leave you in charge of giving them their mission briefing. I have some other business to attend to.
She then turns and leaves
Lily: So, uh... I guess we will be traveling together for a while longer...
She then starts laughing nervously and unnaturally again.
JÒN: Oh, boy!...
Even without using my premonition stat, there's one thing that I'm definitely sure of. This is going to be one hell of a trip...
>>>End Of Chapter 10<<<