"A map," Elias called back. "A map and some climbing tools." He glanced at Aumrauth, felling sick to his stomach. Was he to go first into that hellish lake?
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Although, she was half-hoping the chest would have more wine. Still, she was glad there wasn't an exploding chest, even though the items seemed... anticlimactic.
Without prompt, she grabbed Ainsley's hand and then focused her concentration to take away their light source again so that Aumrauth and Elias could see better around them. There was a monster still at the lake, after all, so she had to bite down her discomfort in the dark.
"Sorry Ainsley," she said to him in the darkness, finding comfort that she at least had someone to hold on to. "Hope you're not scared of the dark."
Elias took a hesitant step into the water, biting his lip. The thing was circling; he could see its pale shape in the water. "Aumrauth?" he said shakily.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Isn't there something we can do?" Elias knew he sounded petulant, but he really, really didn't want to die. There was so much work he still had to do.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Well don't sound so thrilled about it," Aumrauth sighed. "Look. I don't know. We probably just have to kill it. The hell else am I supposed to do? I'm not god. And this stupid place nuked my magic, so I can't just make it go--"
He paused, and then patted himself down.
Did he still have it? Did he lose it in the explosion?
He still had the vial of potion tucked into his undergarments. Perfect.
He pulled it out with a smug grin. He had no idea how he was going to get this in the mouth of the beast without putting himself in the mouth of the beast. He hummed.
"Elias, do you see any long sticks? Crowbars? Branches? Perhaps, rods of iron? Anything sturdy enough to use as a sort of brace?"
Elias looked around, then dropped to his knees and began to dig around in the sand. "If I had my cane," he murmured. "If I'd brought it with me..." There was nothing in the sand.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
The serpent didn't rear up just yet, shifting itself slightly beneath the surface.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Raptor didn't wait for a response before he started hearing down the hallway again. They had to be getting deep in the cavern now. He could have turned around; he probably should have. But when he left the little side tunnel that led to the thing, he kept walking down the path.
"We should keep going this way," he suggested. He walked for a little while longer until he entered some kind of room. It didn't have anything. It was just a break in the tunnel.
Raptor came to a stop midway across it.
He didn't want to admit it, but this was beginning to feel pointless. Everywhere they turned was a dead end or another tunnel. The only useful thing they had gotten out of this was the axe he didn't even know how to use.
Raptor groaned.
He wished he could go to sleep right now. He needed a break from all of this - and he needed to see May again. She made everything else before this seem possible to overcome.
The pile of clothes in the corner of the room Raptor had just entered shifted a little, and a groan echoed through the room.
The serpent surged up from his left, jaws agape and snapping. Elias clung to the satchel, backing up against the chest. He wasn't going to die today, he wasn't going to die today....
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Nikolai had been walking slower than Raptor, who was more decisive about what to do and seemed to know where he wanted to go. As a result, he was happy to let him take the lead. He had followed along, a few paces behind, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds to make sure there was no threat sneaking up on them. He was checking far more than was necessary, but he couldn’t get himself to stop worrying.
Then suddenly, Raptor had come to a complete stop.
Nikolai had been looking behind him at the time, so he didn’t see his companion was no longer walking and so he bumped into Raptor. It wasn’t enough to knock anyone off their feet, but Nikolai was a little clumsier than your average person and so he stumbled backwards, barely catching himself on the wall.
“Sorry,” he whispered, the apology barely louder than a breath.
Then he noticed Raptor had said his name, and that he was staring at... a pile of clothes.
Nikolai frowned, confused. What had got his attention? It didn’t take him long to realize. The clothes seemed to have moved slightly, and he could’ve sworn he’d heard a groan a few moments earlier that hadn’t sounded too much like Raptor. It wasn’t hard to put it all together. Something had to be there, lurking in the corner.
Nikolai’s gaze went from the clothes to Raptor. Eye contact wasn’t really something they could share, because of the helmet he was wearing, but that was what he was attempting to make. He mouthed four words, too worried to say them out loud.
What do we do?
Democracy dies in darkness. Also at 4:30PM in Pacific Standard Time, apparently.
