Young Writers Society

Ainsley watched as Morrick retreated a bit. Aumrauth was going to have to let up on the questioning if this was going to go smoothly. Ainsley understood where he was coming from--he wanted answers too, but it was clear that they would have to let Morrick share what he knows on his own terms.

"Aumrauth, relax," he said. "We all want to find the heart and get out of here, but I think we should take things one at a time."

"Morrick? Could you tell us more about the arena and it's key? We can start there." Ainsley nodded as he spoke; giving their journey a little bit of structure made him feel more comfortable about the entire situation. "You're in control."

Nikolai hesitated, then nodded slowly with a bit of a shrug. "I guess we could, as long as we don't get too close," he agreed. Now they knew what his strange glass objects did, so if the second beast broke its chain, they would be able to do something about it.

Even then, they'd have to walk past the corpses on the ground. He shuddered. He was incredibly glad they hadn't met the same fate of those who had come before them.

Nikolai wondered if Aeshan had ever met them. He must have wandered around the caves before, right? He couldn't imagine being huddled in the same corner forever, so he must have traveled to different places. Maybe just not this particular chamber.

He approached the area where the second monster was slowly.

The beast snarled and snapped at him immediately jerking against its chain desperately. Aeshan leaned against the wall, watching nervously.

***

"There are some...some things left in there. I hear them crying and fighting," Morrick murmured. "I don't know what the key is, but...I know it's difficult. Some of the loyal ones tried to get in there, but they all died."

Raptor rushed over to Nikolai's side. Nikolai did have the little glass orbs, but Raptor's torn armor was still better than Nikolai's total lack of armor. He stuck close to him - just a few inches apart - and eyed the chamber in search of what the monster had to be guarding.

The chamber was bare except for the corpses; the only thing of note was a tunnel doorway beside the beast.

Aumrauth was starting to fray at the seams. Everyone was annoyed with him, and Morrick was scared of him, and Aumrauth was still in the process of healing from death-by-fire on top of everything in his body already screaming.

This was fine. If it got them answers, it was fine. He still wanted to know what the hell that heart was about and the more weird things Morrick said the more Aumrauth just wanted to know.

"So I have to fight more monsters," he said. "So be it."

"Nothing right here," Nikolai said, slowly glancing towards the other tunnel. Unless whoever had laced the beasts here was just being plain nasty, they were probably be here as a challenge to fight. However, a challenge would need some incentive— like a treasure that it was guarding.

Since there was no chest here, he had to assume that the tunnel behind it was where they might find something.

"If we're getting any reward at all, it's probably through there," he said, pointing to the other tunnel and moving around the beast, being careful to stay out of range of its teeth and claws.

Or it could be something even more deadly for anyone foolish enough to check it out.

No, that negativity wasn't going to be helpful. Nikolai was just hoping this wasn't for nothing.

Mel flicked her eyes between everyone talking, keeping up with the conversation. Out of habit, a finger started to curl one of her hair strands back and forth in a circle as she thought this though.

"Okay, so the arena has something we need to get the heart, but we need a key to enter. And you don't know what the key is, but it's somewhere with monsters. Is that right?"

Raptor watched Nikolai carefully make his way around the monster. Nikolai was still close to it - there was only so much space in the chamber - but he managed to keep just enough distance that he couldn't lash out.

Raptor glanced back at Aeshan.

He was worried about the old man getting hurt if the monster suddenly broke free from its chains like the other one had, but Raptor also had the axe to protect himself with.

"I'll follow you in a minute," Raptor said, briefly looking over at Nikolai.

Then he went to where Aeshan was leaning against the wall. Raptor wasn't sure how to convey that he would keep him safe without words. He also wasn't sure if Aeshan would be comfortable moving near the corpses wearing robes that looked incredibly similar to his own.

He crouched down in front of Aeshan like he had back in the chamber they were in before this one. When he had his footing steady, he gestured at his back.

The old man sighed wearily and climbed back on, closing his eyes.

***

Morrick nodded tentatively. "It's a puzzle. They were worried about people finding the heart. Didn't want that."

With Aeshan now on his back, Raptor made his way back to where the monster was chained to the wall. He followed Nikolai's lead and circled as far around it as he possibly could. It took a little more time for him; he was trying his best to keep his back - and Aeshan - away from the monster.

"Let's hope there's not another monster guarding whatever might be at the end of that tunnel," Raptor said. He couldn't really smile and knew that Nikolai couldn't see his face with the helmet, but he would have been giving him a tiny smile. Then the smile would have faltered; they still had to get past the monster in this chamber.

He glanced over at Nikolai.

"...Should we use one of the orbs to put it to sleep?" he asked.

Nikolai looked back at the two of them and nodded slowly, realizing it was either that or fighting again. He knew which he'd rather do.

He still had twelve of the orbs— well, he had nine and Raptor must have done something with the other three, probably kept them in his messenger bag— which seemed like plenty, but they were clearly a single-use item. The glass from the first one was still broken and scattered on the ground next to the dead monster. He realized that the shattered glass was clear now. That made him think that the glass itself wasn't blue, but whatever was inside was. It was like the colored magic light was trapped inside the ball, and could only be released when it broke. Interesting.

"Okay," Nikolai said, backing up a few steps as he took one out of his bag. "Stand back and stay away from the light. I'd recommend looking away too."

Right before he threw it, he felt the orb's weight in his hand. It felt feather-light, as if it was hollow, but something about it felt strange. For some reason, he felt reluctant to use it by instinct, but he wasn't sure why.

Closing his eyes, he tossed the orb in the direction he knew the second beast would be in. He heard the sound of breaking glass, and even through his eyelids, he could see the radiant blue light flare up in the room.

Aumrauth was one second from just bolting down the tunnel by himself. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples in frustration before letting out a long sigh.

"Are all of the monsters guarding things we'll need to get the heart?"

Raptor followed Nikolai's example and took a step back from the monster as the orb was thrown. He also looked away and shut his eyes to protect himself from the bright burst of light. They didn't know what caused the monsters to fall asleep; Raptor wasn't ready to risk it being a combination of whatever was in the orb and the light that shown when it was realized.

"I wonder what's in the orbs," Raptor said. He was still looking away, waiting for Nikolai to confirm that it was safe to turn back to face the monster. He wasn't really sure if he was talking to Nikolai at this point, or just trying to work through it himself. "It's like an elemental sphere, but I've never heard of one that puts things to sleep."

"I don't know," Morrick mumbled, hugging himself. "I don't think so. There are dogs and apes that were down here before anyone came. They...I don't think they have much purpose."