Things had taken a bizarre turn. Out of the illuminated garden, Jenny relied on the lantern to navigate the dark passage. It wound downwards in a labyrinth of twisted, unnatural walls. The walls’ texture and indentations bore an unsettling resemblance to heavy burn scars. Jenny’s skin prickled, and fear gnawed at her neck — or at least it should have.
Biscuit ran a few steps ahead. The rabbit scurried to a corner, face closer to the ground, and cotton tail in the air. He looked around the corner, then scurried to the next. All the while, he hummed what Jenny was pretty sure was a song. A song she had never heard before.
It was adorable and freaked Jenny out more than the walls and what might have created them.
Ahead, Biscuit stopped at a sharp bend. He peeked and looked back. “Eh-nyeh, eh’s ah oooj oom hee!” the rabbit tittered away.
Jenny couldn’t mask the shudder and goosebumps. Was it too late to run? She forced a smile and took a deep breath. Biscuit was just a little strange. He was a cute and caring rabbit. Better see what he was excited about, though, no reason to take any chances. She approached and, following the rabbit example, peeked around the bend.
The cramped tunnel opened to a vast room that stretched into the shadows of the lantern’s light. The walls near the passage where Jenny looked from were lined with intricately carved reliefs. The images showed several different scenes: People dressed in flaming red robes battling against a giant made of water, or a single imposing woman, her hair depicted as flames, burning a whole city. On the other side, a group of robed cultists, hands in the air, faces lost in bliss around an altar.
Biscuit took a step inside and froze, then sneezed.
Spreading from where they were, torches on the wall lit, revealing the room in flickering lights. Dominating the center of the hall was a massive structure. The surface was blacked and scarred yet still majestic. Around it were old and rusted anvils and workstations. Far off in the distance, Jenny counted five other passages.
Jenny took a step inside. The air was warm and tinged with the faint smell of burning. She looked at Biscuit, who still stood frozen. She walked toward the structure at the room’s center. It was a enormous forge, now cold and lifeless but still imposing. How old was this place? Around the forge, she saw unfinished and rusted weapons: Daggers, swords, spearheads, axes.
Biscuit approached and got on his legs, pawing Jenny’s trousers.
Jenny looked askance for a moment, then picked the rabbit up. It made sense; he was too small to see inside the forge. “Don’t get used to it,” she admonished.
Where should they go next? The circular forge hall didn’t indicate where each passage would lead.
Biscuit squealed loud and urgent.
Jenny looked back. The cold, rusted metal at the forge’s center now bubbled with heat. The flames spread fast around the center point. Jenny took a step back, and when the heat wave hit her, she took several others. The molten metal now bubbled like boiling water.
A searing orange claw emerged from the fire, followed by a sleek and sinuous body.
Jenny turned and ran. She placed Biscuit on the ground and then picked up the crossbow. She armed a bolt and took aim.
In the forge, the creature was already halfway out of the flames. It looked like a colossal lizard made of fire. The lizard eyes, twin orbs of pure fire and incandescent light were locked on Jenny. Even from a distance a wave of heat emanated from the creature. Biscuit hadn’t stopped squealing, Jenny glanced at him to make sure there was no other enemy. She took aim at the lizard and shot before the beast could leave the forge.
The bolt sailed toward the enemy and sunk deep into its molten flesh. The salamander growled, its movement faster. It leaped out of the molten metal and opened its mouth, a glob of fire shot in Jenny’s direction.
Jenny lept out of the way; it was not a graceful dodge, she sprawled on the ground, scraping her elbows and almost letting go of the weapon. She got up and looked at the forge. The salamander had left, leaving a trail of sparks and embers in its path. Panic set in, she walked backward, eyes still glued to the approaching monster. With trembling hands, she started to reload the crossbow.
The salamander opened its mouth again, but this time, Jenny was prepared. She ducked behind one of the anvils before the monster shot its payload. She wasn’t unscathed. Molten metal splashed around the anvil, tiny droplets falling on her back and arms.
After she finished loading the crossbow, she peeked out and ducked again. Another glob of fire flew by where her head had just been. Jenny took another breath, got up, aimed, shot, and then ran away before checking if she had hit. She hid behind another anvil and armed another bolt. In the distance, Biscuit still squealed urgently. Had the rabbit gotten hurt in the flames?
Jenny took a deep breath, holding the weapon ready, and left her hiding place.
The salamander was just in front of her. The creature had extinguished its light, and she felt no heat emanating from the monster. It lunged, fanged maw promising a painful death.
Jenny raised the crossbow in front of her. She didn’t have time to shoot, so she interposed the weapon between her and the salamander, hoping against hope that it would be enough.
The maw bit through the wood, almost taking Jenny’s hand with it. The broken weapon clattered to the ground. Jenny took the dagger, knowing it was a lost battle.
A dark, translucent demonic horned rabbit’s with bright red eyes and tentacles waving out of its body, collided with the monster. Jenny watched in horror as this new abomination skewered the salamander. The tentacles dug into its flesh. She looked around in fear. Biscuit was a distance away, paws waving in the air. His eyes glowed the same evil red of the demonic rabbit.
The salamander ignored Jenny; it focused on fighting the evil rabbit, but the thing was immaterial, and nothing the salamander did even affected the new horror. The flames on the salamander’s body ignited again, molten metal leaking from the many punctures caused by the tentacles. The rabbit was unaffected; it kept its gory work, biting, and rending the salamander until the fire monster dissolved into a glob of molten metal.
Jenny’s eyes were glued to the macabre display. The evil rabbit continued its attacks, tentacle ripping chunks of the fire monster for a few more moments before dissipating into the air. From Biscuit’s direction, she heard more squealing — high-pitched and loud. Was this it? Had the rabbit decided to finish her now that she knew his secrets?
With mechanical, jerky movements, Jenny turned to face the new threat, dagger firmly gripped in both hands.
Biscuit hopped in circles, squealing in what could only be happiness. He pranced and danced and even jiggled his fluffy tail.
A parchment appeared in the corner of Jenny’s vision. The dagger fell from her hand, and she collapsed, too tired to care.
Next Chapter tomorrow!
There are ten chapters on patreon and ko-fi if you want to help me commission a new cover image and read ahead. :)
Edit: Just got this from a reader: Behold, the dance!
Yuki needs to set her straight on her name and gender. Pop into human form, point at Jenny, say Jenny, point at self, say Yuki. And she won't have clothes so the matter of gender (well, s*x technically) will be resolved as well.
Well, not sure if Yuki can justify it given the slow regen of mana though.
xD
Even if she turns into a human, she still has the language barrier
@yocka I know. But she knows Jenny's name, pointing at her at saying Jenny, will provide context when she points at herself and says Yuki, making Jenny know she's referring to her name. Yuki also knows, from context and from the contract, that Jenny is calling her Biscuit, and has expressed displeasure at this fact. She doesn't know that Jenny also thinks she's male, but doing as I described would solve the issue without her having to know about it.
Yeah it's bugging me a lil too but I'm just traumatized by terrible mtl novels lol.
Thats too wasteful. Because of the spell cost.
@Kasasagi
Well, not sure if Yuki can justify it given the slow regen of mana though.
Does it even cost more than one point of mana? Once she's got a bit of a buffer, it's not too dangerous to be frivolous. Before she has full mana, it may be a bit of a risk though.