Floor 35
Waterfall Steps
We’d appeared in a pool of water that was ankle deep, with a soft running river nestled nearby. No matter where one looked all they could see was water and rocks, while waterfalls fell from numerous cliffs and hillsides. Whether it was a river, a lake, or even an ocean, all of the sections of the floor were separated by stone walls.
Lisa giggled as she scooped up some of the water and threw it up into the air. With arms outstretched she spun around, the joy she felt easy enough to see on her face. It was impossible for us to not smile at the antics of my daughter.
“It’s fish! Can we catch it?” Kuzu asked as she stared at them.
“Ain’t a good idea,” Lance told her as he sheathed his daggers, “the shifters on this floor don’t like people hunting.”
Adam adjusted his monocle as he studied the nearby water. “If they act like they’ve done in the past we should be able to get past without worry, but just in case let Lance and I try to talk to any shifters that show up.”
“Whatever you think is best,” I said.
“Hey, portal’s that way,” Lance called out as he waved off to the south with his left hand. In his other hand a compass could be seen, one he’d fished out from his pack.
“That’s troublesome,” Adam said, “isn’t that where they camp?”
“Yeah, we can handle it though. Doubt they forgot our last scuffle.”
Adam nodded at his brother and then took the lead, heading off at a quick pace across the water. While I could recognize some of the landscape most of it had changed for some reason. One of the things that hadn’t changed were the odd islands in the sky, half-buried in a wall of mist.
The steady progress of the sun eventually dropped it beyond the horizon, and with that came the darkness of night. Adam began to have a hard time with his attempts to get through the water, though Kuzu, Lance, Lisa, and I adjusted easy enough. In the end he was forced to pull out a lantern from his pack and light it, a move that made our presence impossible to miss.
The islands that hung in the sky, amongst the mist, became all the easier to see as we came closer to them. Though water ran off of the islands there were also forests, ones that consisted of massive trees with gnarled and thick roots. Near us the ground lifted up and formed a makeshift staircase, one that lead to the first island.
Each of the trees was big enough that an entire ecosystem thrived on them, insects and small animals lived alongside birds within a cluster of giant mangrove trees. Though I couldn’t tell at a glance I was certain that at least one of those creatures was a shifter.
“We come with no intentions to harm you or your brethren,” Adam suddenly called out to the trees, “we seek passage to the next floor and wish to leave your home untouched.”
The water near one of the trees began to bubble, a precursor to the arrival of a darkened figure. It rose up from what should have been shallow waters, a figure that easily dwarfed Lance in height. The form was slick and thin, yet humanoid in shape, but also spliced with an alligator or crocodile.
“Yet you bring strangers here without fear.” The elongated snout of the croc-man snapped in a fit of anger. One webbed hand lifted up to motion in the direction of Kuzu, Lisa and I. “You make us look weak!”
“You know we can not choose where the portal appears,” Adam replied in an even tone, “is there any way we can pass peacefully and maintain our gained trust?”
The shifter stood there as he crossed his arms, his reptilian expression difficult to read. Dark figures that looked similar to the croc-man could be seen within the fog bank that surrounded us, a reminder of the trouble that a fight would cause us.
“Half your food,” the croc-man finally declared.
“Half of my food? I have no problem with that,” Adam said while he started to unsling his pack.
“You misunderstand. I meant all of you shall donate half of your food to my people.”
“What! That ain’t going to happen!” Lance exclaimed as he took a step forward.
Adam stepped in front of Lance and placed his hand on his brother’s chest. “I’m sorry but if we do that we can not reach our intended goal, we’ll starve before then.”
“We can make it,” I said.
“What? No, we can’t, we’ll run out of food before floor forty!”
“I know a place on floor thirty-eight. Trust me.”
Adam paused in his argument with me to stare. In the end he turned away with a loud sigh and grumbled a few choice words beneath his breath. The only word I could pick out was secrets, so it was obvious that he was unhappy with my withholding information.
“Fine, half of all of the food of everyone here,” Adam said to the shifter, “so long as we have your word we can pass to the next floor without harm.”
“Of course, we are not savages that would abandon a deal struck,” the croc-man declared.
From the fog emerged small figures that carried sacks made from an unknown fiber. Each of them stepped up to us and offered their sack, their forms lacking in any defining features. It took me a few seconds to realize that they were children, a fact that made me wonder at how assured the adults were to let them handle this task.
Each of us in turn put our food into the bags, though when they reached Lisa she couldn’t resist giving the child a hug. It was a response that nobody expected, especially me, and yet the young shifter didn’t seem to hate the physical contact.
“An odd child, no food?” the croc-man inquired.
“An inheritance from her mother,” I explained, “she only needs to eat when she wants to.”
“If only we could all be that way,” the shifter muttered before he gave a casual wave of his webbed hand, “get on to the portal, and next time don’t bring scraps with you.”
Adam took the initiative to lead us past the croc-man and the children shifters. We walked through the mangrove trees and past the gnarled roots. When we reached the portal in the middle of the mangroves Adam wasted no time putting his hand on it.
“If we take too long they’re liable to ignore their promise,” Adam warned us before he flickered out of existence.
Without another word the rest of us started to flicker out of sight, as we transferred to the next floor via the portal. Out of all the floors I would need to contend with prior to the armory it was the one I least looked forward to.
Floor 36
The Intoxication Of Fear
The first thing I saw was the nothingness around me. To be fair it would be more that I wasn’t seeing anything, as there was no light present. A permanent darkness that hung like an oppressive curtain.
Even if I tried to feel or speak out I knew that I would be unable to. Instead I waited with arms crossed, a frown on my face, for the most annoying thing in the labyrinth to show up. Is it possible for a shadow to have a shadow? For darkness to have varying degrees of black when no light is introduced?
Those were the questions I often wondered whenever the show started on the thirty-sixth floor, as it seemed so implausible to my mind. There was no warning when around me the world rippled as though something floated beneath the surface of the shadows themselves.
Similar perhaps to a large shark that disturbed the surface of a lake I knew what lay within, and though I could do something about it I knew the rules. When a figure started to emerge from the curtain of shadows I made no move to attack or defend myself. Instead I let out a long sigh, one brought on by annoyance.
A figure that was familiar to me had appeared, as Pierre staggered in front of me with blood coating his body. He held out one mangled hand in my direction before he collapsed on the ground. With far too much strength for a dying man he dragged himself to me while blood continued to pool about his body.
“Why, why did you lead me to my death?” Pierre pleaded of me as he looked up from his spot on the floor.
“Can we move on with this?” I requested of the thin air in a cold tone.
Pierre scoffed before his body dissipated in a puff of smoke that was absorbed back into the shadows. The ripples occurred again while something churned within the depths of the darkness, a low hissing laughter echoing within the chamber.
Before I could respond to it a figure fell out of the shadows in front of me, a beautiful woman with wings that spread out behind her. From out of her body a familiar sword extended, embedded through her heart, while blood oozed from the corners of her mouth. One hand lifted up as if to plead for help.
I felt a twinge of both sadness and frustration at that image, though I managed to maintain control over my emotions. I turned my face away from the impersonation of my dead wife and glared at the shadows. “Stop playing around.”
“But we haven’t met in how long, Theodore?” a quiet voice hissed in my ear.
“Not long enough.” I batted at a tendril of smoke that had curled up next to my face. “When are you going to realize you can’t scare me?”
An imp-like face floated in front of me, one unattached to any body. “Even though you’ve tasted mortality and killed the one you loved?”
Before I knew it I’d lashed out at that face, though the smoke scattered about my fist. “Whatever you try nothing is going to work, so just let me pass on to the portal already!”
“And here I thought we could be friends,” the whisper resounded within the emptiness, “though perhaps one of your companions might be more fun?”
Without another word the presence was gone and the shadows within the chamber were absorbed by the walls. In front of me stood a single doorway that had a golden trim, an unknown symbol nestled at the arch. Beyond I could make out the portal in the distance, a familiar sight which brought with it relief.
Around the white sphere a little girl with blond hair ran at a pace so fast that I could barely follow it. She giggled constantly as she completed her laps, arms extended to her sides, even while two grown men watched her. Both of the Wolfe brothers had already arrived and glanced up at my entrance into the central chamber.
“Didn’t take you long did it?” Adam adjusted his monocle. “Though your daughter was here first.”
“The ghost guy said I didn’t taste good!” Lisa called out in between her laughter.
“That ain’t a normal thing to hear,” Lance growled.
“Where’s Kuzu though?” I wondered aloud as I looked at the numerous doorways that connected to the portal room.
“You did warn her about this floor right?” Adam turned to look at the doors as well. “Lance and I have come through before so it’s not much of a hassle, but since it’s her first time…”
“Lisa,” I called out to my daughter, as I had a sudden thought.
The energetic child came to a sliding stop before she turned and darted over to me, nearly tackling me with a hug. “Yes, daddy?”
“When you were helping Kuzu train do you remember her ever talking about any trauma in her past?”
“She didn’t want to talk to me about her past.”
“That idiot,” I muttered, though I gave Lisa a light pat on the head, “can you point me to the room she’s in?”
Lisa detached herself from me with a quick hop and then started to twirl around. Her finger lifted up and when she came to a stop it was pointed in the direction of a doorway to my left. “Locked on!” she proudly proclaimed with a wide grin.
“I’ll be right back,” I told the Wolfe brothers before I marched toward the doorway that Lisa had pointed at.
Though there was no actual door it still felt as though a hard substance blocked up the entrance into the portal room. I lifted my right hand and drew upon my magic, a glow exuding from my skin, and I gently pushed my hand against the shadows.
As though the light hurt the shadows recoiled with a low hiss and soon I gained access to the room beyond. At first I could hear nothing as I pushed through the darkness, but soon a noise of a woman crying came to my ears. It was a noise that made my anger flare up, the light from my hand seemingly reacting to that as it burned brighter.
Curled up in the corner of the room was a teary-eyed Kuzu with her ears pressed down against her head. Her arms crossed over her knees while she tried to hide away behind them, as though nothing would get to her. Even from a distance I could hear the whispers of something, while a shadowy figure that looked like a fat elf turned at my arrival. A low hiss was all it made before it burst into nothing.
“Kuzu!” I called out to her, a flick of my wrist leaving a sphere of light to float in the center of the room.
She made no response to my call and instead stayed curled up in the corner. Even when I walked over to her Kuzu merely quivered, her face buried against her arms as tightly as was possible. As I reached out to touch her shoulder she let out a scream and began to flail, her claws slicing into my skin and scattering blood across the floor.
“Kuzu! It’s me!” I yelled at her, ignoring the pain and bleeding, while I gripped hold of her shoulder.
“Theo?” Kuzu slowly moved her face away from her arms, her eyes turning to look at me. In those green eyes all I could see was an immeasurable fear. One of her ears started to lift away from her head and then she lunged at me, arms wrapping around my neck as tears flowed.
“It’s alright,” I caressed her head in an attempt to console her, trying to maintain control of my own emotions. “I’m here now. We’re going to go back to Lisa and get out of here.”
“Thank you!” she said between her sobs, her body shaking so badly that I could barely hold her still.
We turned to where the door should have been and started to leave, with Kuzu tight against my body the entire time. Centermost in the room my ball of light continued to beat back the darkness, that malicious entity who fed on fear kept at bay for the moment. With every step I could hear the hiss of it’s breath more and more as anger welled up within it.
“You’re breaking the rules!” the entity hissed.
“Be happy that I’m not ripping this entire floor down around you,” I retorted in a flat tone, “or do you want to see me upset?”
That unnamed entity let out a long sigh before it flickered away. Much like the first time the doorway appeared from amongst the darkness, a symbol centermost at the apex of the arch. When I walked out of the dark chamber and into the central room everyone was still present.
“Daddy! Kuzu!” Lisa let out a happy shout as she ran over to us, latching onto both of us in a hug.
“I’ve never seen someone do that before.” Adam walked over to join us, though he visibly recoiled at the sight of my bloody arm. “What happened?”
“I’m sorry,” Kuzu said with eyes filled with tears.
“Don’t worry about it.” I patted Kuzu on the head before I offered my arm toward Adam. “Mind bandaging this for me?”
“Sure, sure.” Adam searched through his pack for a few seconds and then produced a roll of gauze. While he wound the white material around my arm he glanced at the doorway we’d come back through. “How’d you do that? Nobody can ever go back in.”
“That thing is nothing but shadows given a personality,” I explained as I continued to rub Kuzu’s head with my free hand, “light made by magic can disrupt it, and an intense enough light can pierce through the barriers it uses.”
Adam gave a small nod of his head before he put away his gauze. “All done,” he informed me before he turned and walked to the portal, “think Kuzu will be alright for the transfer?”
“I’m fine,” Kuzu boldly claimed, though she was in the midst of rubbing her eyes with her forearm.
Suddenly conscious of the fact that I had my hand on Kuzu’s head I removed it, then cleared my throat. “You heard her, we’ll be moving on.”
Once more our odd group gathered around the portal in preparation for the transfer. Adam and Lance left first without a word. Kuzu cuddled in close to me as though afraid to walk more than one step away, while Lisa held her left hand tightly in an attempt to reassure her.
“It’ll be okay,” I whispered to Kuzu, “let’s get going, we have a lot more floors to clear.”
Kuzu offered me a smile, though it was one that didn’t reach her eyes, and put her own hand on the portal. It was a look on her face that caused the embers of rage to remain within me. When Lisa stood up on the tip of her toes and also touched it they both vanished together.
Only I remained behind and I looked over the dark room once more. It had been a long time since I had been forced to come to grips with my fears, my traumas, and the potential horrors that lay ahead. No matter what I might say there would always be something buried within my mind, a regret at the least, and in a way this floor helped to prove that point.
“Godslayer,” came the voice of it, as tendrils made of night stretched out from a doorway, “greet my sister for me?”
“I will. I should be seeing her soon after all,” I replied. No matter how angry I might become at the entity I would never strike it down, as it was in the end a child of Luticia.
“Tss, a present then, as thanks,” the voice began to laugh as the tendrils slipped back into the door from whence they came.
Before I vanished to the next floor two figures appeared, framed by the doors. Each door showed a different scene, as though a slideshow of art. Though I would never call what I saw art, nor a gift. After all it was a secret not meant for me to know unless Kuzu wanted to tell me.
Even when I vanished to the next floor I could still hear that horrid laughter of it.
Floor 37
The Gargoyles Of The Pit
When I materialized the brothers had already prepared for battle. Lance stood a distance in front of his brother, twin long daggers drawn, while Adam had shouldered his rifle and aimed it in the direction of a wall. Nearby where I appeared Kuzu and Lisa stood, with Lisa held close to Kuzu’s body as though to protect her.
We were in the bottom of a dry well, small hints of moisture the only bit of water that could be found. Those who owned the well had clearly left it long ago and so others had taken over, or so the story was supposed to go. What had been placed as the guardians of this hole were creatures as hard as stone.
One of those ripped itself free from the side of the pit wall, three arms of differing length and thickness pushing against the stone that clung to it. The head had an almost human look to it if not for the horns and long teeth. No air came from the mouth as the gargoyle had no need for breath nor sustenance.
When Luticia had crafted this floor she had opted to make a place to check the abilities of any who had come so far into the labyrinth. To that end one could arguably call this place a test of strength, more so than any other floor, as only people with a great deal of competency could hope to best the monstrosity here.
“Hope this ain’t going to take a few days like last time,” Lance commented from ahead, while he casually twirled his blades. “Rather not have to climb the harpy cliff with broken bones again.”
It was rude of me and also childish, but I shoved past both Adam and Lance. “Get back,” I growled at him, the obvious anger I felt from what I’d recently seen nearly oozing off of me.
Lance hesitated to respond to me as he stepped away, a worried glance at his brother gaining him no more than a shrug in response. Even Kuzu looked at me with a confused expression, which only added to the uncertainty that Lance and Adam most likely felt in that moment.
When the gargoyle pried itself from the wall it fell to the bottom of the well, four large feet smashing into the dirt floor with enough force that all could feel the vibration. A roar erupted from the mouth of the stone beast while it lifted up two arms. The stone creature was at least three times our height and twice our width.
My hand rested on the handle of my sword, a trail of electricity dancing down the forearm.
I slid my sword back into the scabbard I’d pulled it from while I turned to the others. Though it’d been a bit of a waste I’d at least managed to let out some of my anger at the Shadow. “Alright, lets go to the next floor.”
Behind me the bisected gargoyle fell to the ground, a large slash down the middle that had gouged out everything visible. Beyond it even the wall that made up the pit had been sliced in half, large boulders and rocks knocked loose by the sudden removal of structural support. A cloud of dust lifted up from the unending stream that fell down from the well wall.
Without waiting for another word from the others I turned and walked forward. Ahead, with the defeat of the gargoyle, a portal lifted up from out of the center of the well via a hidden compartment.
