It was a few days later, wandering the dead forest and weaving between the gnarled trunks, Vex in the lead. She was taking several shortcuts that mixed with trodden paths, avoiding swaths of brambles that refused to lay down and frost covered trunks, they guessed, taking note of the three's trail across the snow.
They remained at the back- or, at least, most of time time, as sometimes Jeff would linger behind or nearby, usually when the group found obstacles. Vex, then the human, jumped across a iced-over steam, and they follow across the thin width as well, Jeff seeming to pause to make sure they were fine. Which, they decided, was both a little grating but they were also a little grateful for.
Avoiding the true depths of the forest, the group wandered into the third hour mark of the day, sun slowly winding its way up the sky, illuminating the glimpses of white clouds and making the snow glare at the travelers. With an idle swirl of their hand, they murmur a quick incantation, watching the magic at their fingertips condense, taking on a purple color as it shaped itself. Before long, a semi-transparent bird rested on their wrist, too big for their hand, and preened at its false feathers. It turns a beady eye to them, and lets out a short cry that startles the other two for a moment.
"It's fine, just a little magic," They comment to them, a small smile crossing their face. Jeff looks at it for a moment before nodding, and Vex makes a face of disgruntlement from the original sound. Their head tilts slightly to the bird, what seemed to be a small crow, and murmured, "Interesting..."
A few heartbeats, and then the bird is letting out a sharp cry as it bristles. They yelp in turn, backing up as the bird shoots upwards, past the twisting bare branches of the trees above. "What-!?" Jeff cries from the side, Vex pulling out her daggers as the group watches the crow darts off to the side. Familiars were not suppose to do that- they knew that much; the animals never just darted away unless told to. So, shaking off the bewilderment, that chased after it, hearing the crunching steps of the other two following shortly behind.
Leaping from one patch of snow to the next, they dodged around poking stones and bony vines that still tried to grow, and the magic bird swoops into an outcropping of rock- a almost hidden cave that resonated magic. They skid to a stop, if only to see before they leap, looking as far as their enhanced eyes could see, but the cave only descended until they could no longer see it.
"Did it go down here?" Jeff voices, Vex looking at the cavern entrance with an unreadable expression. "Yeah," They response, and then they are walking in, deciding to go in a brisk walk to avoid slipping on the frost-layered stone, the sole of the trio's boots scraping across, bouncing off the walls of the cavern.
The tunnel led down and down, and their eyes flickered from one spot to the next. Small, dripping stones posed over the group's heads, icicles clinging to the ceiling. The grey stone was stripped with white minerals, and they wind around one of the growing stone teeth that erupted upwards, noticing that the tunnel seemed dim, despite the appearance of darkness from above- they could make out colors, rather than only greys and blacks, simply by looking to their hands, so there had to be a light somewhere... Or maybe some sort of magic, they decided. Turning their head, it seemed the other two noticed as well, Jeff easily maneuvering around the stones as well.221Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNkiXPeZoFF
Soon, lichen became visible, a deep green despite the winter above, the frost slowly turning to dripping, running water that drew grooves into the stone over the years. The walls were no longer grey stone, but instead withered bricks of dark grey, cracks spiderwebbing the surface, most likely from the moisture. How odd...
The bird was nowhere in sight and its wingbeats no longer bounced off the stone, and the group grew more and more uncomfortable, mainly with how the natural cave suddenly turned man-made. Finally, the tunnel yawned open into an expansive room, covered in dusty skeletons and rusting weapons. A thick scent of rot hung in the air, the dust threatening to unsettle as the group comes to a stop. On the opposing wall sat a large set of doors, polished wood and iron withering away while the bones of a beast circled around, ribs barring the door as three heads and spines spread out across the floor. A hydra, they recalled, and they swallow nervously.
"What the..." Jeff murmurs, Vex turning her head one way then the next with an irritated expression, most likely from the smell and mass of bones below their feet. Their eyes flicker for a moment, and then a rattling sound begins. The skeletons shook and trembled noisily, sending dust and grime into the air as the rotting bones erupted into a horrific cacophony of sounds. They barely had time to raise their hands to their sensitive ears before Vex blasts the bones, not stopping the fiery wrath until the sound stops, leaving the skeletons charred black and smoking, now silent as they laid on darkened stone. They shiver violently, though if it was from the terror of the noise or of Vex's power, they weren't sure.
Gingerly, the three make their way to the door, despite wanting to run for it. However, they pause a few feet away, looking at the doors that stood before them, slowly scanning the ribs that blocked the way, trying to deduce if one of them should break through or turn back...
A sudden groan, and the dragon heads start to move. They hear a scream, though it doesn't take long to realize they had made the noise themselves as the three quickly back peddle, Jeff drawing his sword and Vex preparing her magic while they fumbled for their spell book as the heads wind up towards the ceiling, magic holding the bones together as pearl-sized orbs of golden light appeared in the empty eye sockets.221Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoXln4ZTtJ
Swaying to and fro, the heads stare down at them for a long moment, and the left head drones in a deep, rasping hiss as its eyes survey the room, "Welcome, Gladiators..."
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