It was on the fifteenth day of the third month that Pallula arrived at the final room of the dungeon with the only other person who survived from their party. Their weapons were broken and their supplies were running low but there they stood before the ornate doors that would reveal the ruler of the dungeon and the treasure that created the much sought after Waters of Space.
Pallula turned to her friend, a bard whose lute only had two strings left and had only a horse whisper left of his voice. His costume hung loose from the frays and tears in it but still he turned to her and smiled, "We made it, Pallula we made it!" His eyes glittered with emotion as he tried to stay composed, "Marlin would have been so impatient."
He walked forward and placed his hands gently against the door bowing his head, "I bet he would have just charged right in without even thinking of a plan. A-And Helle would have had to hold him back, talk sense into him, make a plan, I-I bet they'd have three at the ready just for this moment."
"Fern.." Pallula reached out but held back, she wasn't good at comfort. She was a warrior not a mage or a healer or any sort of deep thinker.
"and- and Velian, gods I miss her. Her voice made my songs look like child's play even though she was an archer, she'd have made such a fine ba-rd" His voice cracked and his lay his head against the door his shoulders now hunched,"D-Did you know that- she asked me out? W-we were going to date- did you know that Pallula? We were going to be happy and adventure together and-and-and- I killed her. It's my faULT-"
Fern collapsed to the ground gripping at the door's graceful design in grief.
Pallula pushed back her emotions, "Fern.. it was her choice. It wasn't your fault, it-it wasn't anyone's fault. It just happened." She was at a loss as she watched her last companion break down. With one last room ahead of them, Fern had broken. He sat there now, weeping as his cries filled the glittering hallway they stood in. She wiped harshly at the tears trying to fall from her own eyes as Fern's cries bounced off the shining mirrors and metal patterns on the walls.
"we should have never come here." His voice a quiet parody of what it once was.
Even though they finally made it here, the victory felt empty.
"Fern, I'm going to scout ahead. Wait here until I return I.. shouldn't be long." Pallula took out her cloak of spun starlight and wrapped it around herself masking her presence and making her hard to concentrate on. It had belonged to Marlin before he- it had been a gift.
She placed the key Helle died for inside the lock and with one last look at Fern who lay against the door on her right she turned the key. She knew the fight in him was extinguished, "If I don't return... turn back and go home.. try- just try to forget about this dungeon", she pushed the left door open a crack and slipped in.
They had entered the dungeon with light hearts and dreams of receiving a key of one of the forbidden dungeon to find holy treasures from the old world. But only the worthy were granted that right and they had chosen to search for the origins of the Waters of Space to bring it back in it's purest form to earn that right. But... The dungeon had been too strong, too clever, and they had been fools.
Stilling her aching heart Pallula crept into the darkened room keeping her back to the wall with her hand resting on her sword.
But with a terrifying clang the door slammed shut and the room was plunged into unrelenting darkness. A chill settled in her spine as she waited for the trap to be revealed. Every room had something hidden or dangerous or hateful. She gripped her sword tighter.
Stirred by the sound light sprites woke up with a gentle glow and bit by bit revealed the room with their glittering light.
And silhouetted the form of a monstrous angel harpy.
Pallula's heart stuttered as creature hissed loudly at the light and snapped opened its four feathered wings with a heart stopping screech.
Pulling the cloak close with her other hand Pallula reeled back from the noise. Her knees threatened to buckle as she bit her lip to keep quiet. If she gave away her position she was as good as dead. The sprites flitted away from it with trills and giggles as they lit up the walls with elaborate designs instead. Leaving tiny curling letters and loops that glowed softly until the entire room was filled with the soft pale light.
The harpy snapped at any of the sprites that came too close but stayed vigilant over its nest. Pallula didn't dare to move until the harpy flapped its wings closed and settled alertly.
She tried to remember anything that would help her,
Marlin once said that harpies couldn't see very well but they had excellent hearing. But.. angel harpies had more eyes didn't they? They probably had good eyesight, no one ever got close to one and got out alive.
Velian had once sang them a song about a demigod who challenged an angel harpy for the god's tear in its nest but when morning rose the demigod was dead and the angel harpy claimed their soul as the prize. Pallula shuddered, it was just a story. They were just mutated harpys, nothing magical about that.
But what was it... there was a child that had been following the demigod and... they had.... they lulled the angel harpy to sleep with music?
She silently cursed her luck. Fern would have been perfect for the job, if only she had tried to convince him to come with her, if only she had done a better job at protecting him. If only.. she wasn't alone.
She inched back towards to door, one slow foot behind the other. The soft crunch of dirt under her boots seemed as loud as an explosion. But the harpy remained unmoving, she reached behind herself and tried the door handle but it held fast.
She was trapped.
I think that this is a pretty good start so far.