When Ryuji was beginning his studies in psychology at the University of Tokyo, he had heard about an experiment conducted in the United States that came to be called, "the Stanford Prison Experiment." The gist was that some psychologists went into the bowels of Stanford University and assigned roles to their participants. Some were inmates, some were guards, then they monitored. At first, everyone was very cordial with each other, the boundaries were clear between inmate and guard but for the most part, everyone participated civilly…but it didn't stay that way. Within a few days, the experiment had to be shut down because of the unethical things the guards were doing to keep the inmates under their thumb, to establish control. The guards would demean, humiliate, and lessen the inmates to make it easier to dominate them. It was an experiment that showed how tyranny could give rise through populations, and how normal people could unknowingly fall into such hate and discrimination. Fortunately, Ryuji had seen very little of it in practice throughout his life…that was until his new life.
Ryuji, Liliane, and the goblin treaded through the high vegetation toward the drake's habitat on the other side of the building. Ryuji walked slightly behind Liliane and the goblin, with his eyes transfixed on the little green boy. Every book he read described his race as being filthy, awful, disgusting, and just evil. Of the Terran creatures, they were one that Ryuji frequently contemplated how to interact with in hopes of quelling their violent nature. But Ryuji now saw how wrong he was. How could he have been so blind? Every book he had access to, ever time he read, every recollection of history was told through the eyes of the Sklgrans. They decided history, they decided the narrative, they decided…the view of another race…simply because they were the victors.
He had only assumed goblins to be nasty creatures because of what he had read, but when coming face to face with a young boy who looked so similar to the Sklgran races, he realized his own bigotry. It was unfortunate to say, but Ryuji realized he had to reorient the way he saw his new world, as limited an experience as he had, to see that he currently resided with the side of oppression.
Ryuji suddenly felt a tug on his shirt. He shook his head coming back to reality. In front of him was the young goblin boy, his sad eyes looking at Ryuji with a tired expression. He didn't say anything, he simply pointed to Liliane. She stood before a massive outcropping of rock, embedded inside was a burrow large enough to house a beast that rivaled the size of Ryuji's one bedroom apartment back in Japan.
"I think this is it…" Liliane said shyly. She looked back at Ryuji with hesitation in her eyes. She was trying to be brave, to make it even this far showed her courage, but the thread of bravery began to wear thin.
"I think you are right," Ryuji said. He walked forward to stand before the cave, even though the entrance itself felt intimidating. Its sheer size made Ryuji feel even smaller than he already was, like he was about to be swallowed whole. His knees buckled and shook a little. The nerves hit him like a truck. Has he always been nervous? He probably has, but he just had enough distractions to take his mind off of the nerves, but there was no escaping them now.
Unexpectedly, Liliane reached over and grabbed Ryuji's hand. Ryuji jumped at the sudden touch. He looked up at Liliane, she smiled a weak, forced smile "let's head inside!" She said she began to pull Ryuji behind her, leading him into the cave. He had never seen her like this before. Most of the time she seemed so timid, vulnerable, like an unkind word would break her. Ryuji always viewed her as someone to protect, like a kitten; frail and in need of intervention. Is it possible that she saw him the same? It was clear she didn't feel strong, but she was trying to be. Was she trying to care for her brother?
As the group got deeper and deeper into the cave, the light lessened more and more. It darkened to the point where they could only barely make out each other's features. There was enough light to feel aware of each other's surroundings but dark enough to feel like anything could be lurking around them. The cave no longer benefited from the light of skylight, the whole area had a lingering sense of cold to it. The air itself felt damp with moisture. Ryuji and Liliane looked around frantically, hesitant to take another step out of fear of what they might encounter. It seemed that the darkness was full of enemies and horrors. Ryuji wanted to believe it was just the mind of a child playing tricks on him, but he knew he would be afraid even if he was his old self.
"What do we do?" Liliane asked, clutching Ryuji's hand even tighter.
"I…I…." Ryuji struggled to find the words. He noticed out of the corner of his eye the young goblin boy standing only a few feet away. He kept creeping closer but kept enough distance so as to not disturb them. He was shaking, he was scared, the only difference was he had no one to look after him. His job was literally to be here to die. No one was looking out for his well being.
Without even thinking Ryuji reached over and shakily grabbed the young boy's hand. He got scared and tried to pull away with wide eyes, "it's ok," Ryuji said with a comforting smile, "let's stick together." The boy let out heavy breaths but he didn't try to fight. His hand rested within Ryuji's.
"There has to be a way to get the drake's attention…without stumbling into its nest," Liliane said.
"Isn't there supposed to be tamers to help us with getting the drakes out of the cave?" Ryuji asked.
"Father said you would take care of that so he sent the tamers away," Liliane replied.
That Asshole! Ryuji thought.
"Right," Ryuji said, beads of sweat forming on his brow, "well first things first we need to let the drake know we are here, without it thinking we are lunch…" Ryuji said. He looked around the cave, searching for anything in the low light that might be used to alert the drake to someone's presence. He noticed against the wall about 20 feet away from him was a small lever that was attached to a string. He followed the string with his eyes. It led up the wall of the cave to a large bell that was positioned directly above them.
"You don't think that's a dinner bell, do you?" Ryuji asked.
"What's a dinner bell?" Liliane said.
"…nevermind," Ryuji said, it was good enough for him.. He tried to move towards the lever but his legs felt like they were cemented in concrete. Even if he could move, Liliane and the young goblin were planted as well. He focused his mind and let the flow of mana spread throughout his body while opening his domain. Even though he had very minimal control of his magic, some things came easier to him than others though the strain was always intense. He sent out a pulse of energy across the ground of the cave. It was like he could feel every inch of the surfaces around him. He felt a stone no more than 10 feet away from him. His eyes began to glow purple as he lifted the stone into the air with his mind, channeling energy through the air towards the object. Almost immediately the pressure began to compact upon his head. It was the same each time. The longer he used his telekinesis, the more the pressure built. It was like an ogre was squeezing his head. His vision blurred. As quickly as he could he sent the stone upwards towards the bell, like he was throwing a ball. The stone sailed upwards, climbing through the air.
DOOOOONNNNNNGGGGG! The stone collided with the side of the bell. The sound resonated through the cave echoing as it went deeper inside. It seemed to get stronger as it went, the sound bouncing off each part of the cave. Then it was quiet. Everything was silent.
The stillness of the cave was killer. Nothing had changed yet everything felt much more ominous. The tightness on Ryuji's brain subsided, he let out a deep breath as his eyes returned to normal.
"Did it work?" Liliane asked.
"I'm…unsure," Ryuji said. It seemed unlikely that it did nothing and yet nothing had changed.
"Does it feel hot in here to you?" Liliane said. Ryuji noticed that the moisture in the air had dissipated, the cold of the cave now felt like a stuffy heat.
Boom…boom…boom…Ryuji heard the clangs of rocks from deeper within the cave.
Boom…boom…boom…the sounds got louder, he could feel the vibrations in his feet. Small pebbles shook.
Boom…boom…boom…a glow appeared in the darkness. The faint hue of Orange began to flicker and dance across the blackness of the cave.
Boom…BOOM…BOOM…a wing, a claw, a foot, features of the creature began to come into view as it grew ever closer. Ryuji had fortunately only seen the beast from a distance in the past, but that was no longer the case. He had always heard and read that drakes were much smaller than their counterparts in dragons, and if that was the case then Ryuji never wanted to see a dragon. The drake that hoofed towards them was at least 30 feet long and towered at least 10 feet above them. Its mouth curled with the flames of fire that licked the roof of its mouth.
REEEIIIIGGGG!!!! The creature screeched. Its face came into view, the angular serpent-like head slithered through the air as it got closer and closer to them. However, something was off. It wasn't coming towards them with patients or poise, it was low to the ground, it made careful movements, Ryuji had seen the creature do this before.
It was hunting.