Koakiran barked out a warning as he launched himself in front of them, his skin turning gray as he rushed forward. They barely had time to roll away as a massive rotten log collided with Koa, splintering apart. The impact sent Koa back to the ground, his legs splaying upward.
"It found us? How?!" Proclus shouted as its stamping grew closer
"I don't know! Is Koa ok?" Lyra asked, looking at the crater the boy had made. A stony gray hand slid out, giving her a thumbs-up. Koa sat up, startled, as his hand met cracked stone. Despite the age and ruin, Koa could see a familiarity in the stone. He had little time to register the screen that appeared next to his hand.
Would you like to activate the Gateway?
"Koa, down!" Proclus shouted, and Koa heard another thud. He looked up to see a massive stone arm hurtling towards him. The arm was part of a living stone creature, a monstrous being that seemed to be made entirely of rugged, misshapen stone. Koa barely had time, the side of his head scraping as stone met stone.
"I will draw its attention," Lyra said, aiming her crossbow.
"No, hold," Proclus said, pointing. "Whatever the kid's planning, he's handling it. We need a better plan."
Lyra looked to him questioningly, but he didn't meet her gaze. He was looking downhill.
"An avalanche?" He grinned. Behind them, Koa yelled out as the living stone threw him against an old tree. The cracking and splintering of wood told them of the force with which he was thrown.
Lyra moved to tie her rope to another tree, standing close enough to the edge of the drop-off, while Proclus circled the pair, still grappling. The stone machine easily overpowered the boy and began to drag him away by a leg. The boy managed to kick away and saw what Lyra was doing. So he ran, dropping his stone form. The stone moved to follow, slow at first before it began to build up speed.
Koa heard the stone behind him the entire time. It gained more and more speed until Koa felt it was breathing on him. He did his best to outrun it, but between its relentless momentum and the steepness of the hill, his burning legs began to fail him. Proclus and Lyra, meanwhile, were at opposite ends of the rope, doing their best to secure it. As he was just an arm's reach from it, Koa did his best to stop, straining his legs to angle his momentum to the side.
The stone monster didn't have the time to stop or change its course. Lyra and Proclus held fast as its makeshift legs snagged on the rope, and it slowed. To their eyes, the stone might have been able to recover, but its larger upper body carried more momentum, and it toppled. Dirt flew as it hit the edge of the hill and slid down.
"You two get what you were looking for?" Lyra panted.
"I thought we could sneak up on them," Proclus replied, pale.
"Yeah? You get that from the last time one ambushed us?" Koa looked at Lyra, surprised, then at Proclus.
"You got attacked by one?"
"Yes, but we survived."
"I fell into a hole," Lyra mentioned, glaring at her Aeolon companion.
"Oh!" Koa said, recalling the details. "You had heard a voice, and were somehow taken back up."
Lyra stared at Koa with that familiar hesitant suspicion, and Koa realized why.
"Well, that was what the rumors said." He waved his hand flippantly. "Regardless, I need to show you something."
They followed him to the cracked stone floor piece. He knelt over it, inspecting the floor.
"It's polished. Smooth." Proclus noted, kneeling beside him. "Carved."
"What is it doing all the way out here?" Lyra asked, her gaze scanning her environment. "There aren't any structures. No houses. Ruins?"
"Could be. This one's still active, though." Lyra and Proclus eyed the boy, then shared a look.
"Active?"
"Yes."
"What does it do?"
"I'm not entirely sure. It is called a- "Koa paused, for he noticed something. Something made the ground tremble slightly, for only he felt it. Lyra and Proclus were distracted by the shifting shapes they saw behind the treeline. Koa stood, walking to the edge of the hill to peer below.
The stone creature was climbing its way back up. Slow, ambling, powerful arms slammed into the side of the hill as it hoisted itself up, gradually closing the distance.
"Our friend returns!" Koakiran called out. He was about to suggest a retreat when he finally noticed the sounds of heavy stamping and the gray shapes looming into view.
"I thought your source said there was only one?" Lyra said.
"They did!"
"They're responding to us." Koa realized. "They don't want us here!"
"Well, where else are we supposed to go now?!" Proclus asked, hefting his mallet. Koa looked down at the 'gateway'. Where would such a thing lead? Would he risk their safety on the mere possibility of escape?
"I count two tens," Proclus said, using Aeolon standard combat counts.
"Did you count the three behind the bigger one?"
"…Damn." Proclus's monotone reply would have made Koa laugh were it not for the growing danger.
"Damn all of this." Lyra agreed.
"You're right," Koa said, grabbing the two by the shoulders and startling them. "damn this, hold on!"
Would you like to activate the Gateway?
Koa only had to think yes for the stone to begin humming and vibrating. In an instant, the world spun, and Koa couldn't make out anything. Lyra and Proclus flinched, attempting to escape what was happening, yet Koa held on, and in the span of a breath, they found themselves in a dark and empty space.
"What happened?" Lyra groaned, suppressing a burp.
"And why do I feel like I'm dying?" Proclus fell to his hands and knees.
"I used the gateway." Koa did not suppress the belch he let out.
"I'm going to spew."
"No, no, wait, not on my-"Lyra didn't finish, only pinching her nose as Proclus let out his breakfast.
Koa turned his head, trying to avoid the stench and look around. He felt the cold stone on his palm, after avoiding Proclus's breakfast, of course.
As his eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, he saw a shape a few paces away. It looked to be a pedestal with something vaguely iridescent atop it. A fierce cold gripped Koa's chest, and he froze. It was dark, and he couldn't see. Flashes of memory assaulted him. Many small somethings are crawling all over him, biting. The blind wandering through a maze. The Bewildering Lost. No direction.
Lyra had set to work on lighting a small emergency torch, keeping her haughty retort towards Proclus to herself. He had protested against taking supplies that he didn't consider necessary. When she had finally managed to light it, Koa had blinked away from his frozen trance, letting out a long breath. He turned to look at the pedestal again.
"Lyra, another torch, please." Koa's voice was strained, and Lyra handed one to him. He turned to walk toward the pedestal while the other two took note of their surroundings.
"Lyra," Proclus swallowed, "Is this…?"
"Yes," Lyra said. "Like where I fell before."
Koakiran didn't listen. He was focused on the strange oval-shaped gem on the pedestal. It was warm, and Koa could have sworn it hummed at his touch.
Forgive me…
Congratulations! Through a specific and constant experience, you have learned the skill 'Sense Danger'
Sense Danger (Passive) Lvl 1: 0.01%
Your natural perception has been developed to detect threats instinctively. The higher the level of skill, the more possible dangers you can perceive.
This ability is based on your perception skill (WIS).
Current limit: Sense Danger up to 10 levels higher than you.
It felt as if various needles began pricking the back of his neck. He whipped his head around, searching. Had the darkness… Grown?
He turned to his two companions, and the sight startled him. Their mouths were moving, yet no sound reached his ears, and their hands banged and smacked against something Koa couldn't see.
Pain spiked around Koa's wrist, and he looked down to see that his wrist was gone.
No… Not gone. As Koa focused his eyes, he saw a band of darkness wrapped around it, and it felt as if his hand were being sawed off. Another spike of pain in his legs wrapped around his shins. Koa was being latched onto by something he could not see; it looked as if living darkness was beginning to devour him.
He could feel it too, as if the darkness had found a way inside his veins, beneath his skin, writhing and wriggling, spreading and growing like the roots of a cancerous tree. Each wriggle brought another new sting, another pinprick of pain. Then, it would be as if the pain devoured any other feeling. He could no longer feel his body, numbness being the only feeling left after the pain.
Escape!
He began to feel jabs of pain from his back up to his shoulders. He was held in place as it felt like knives were starting to lift him off the ground. Moreover, he felt as if he and whatever had been stabbed through him were moving somewhere. Leaving, as the voice he had heard implied.
It was all Koa could do to reach his hand for the pedestal, latching on tightly. The boy didn't know why, but despite the pain, he did not want to let this thing leave. He looked to his companions, watching their wide eyes. It couldn't reach them; something was blocking this darkness. Yet it seemed to think there was a way out.
Koa would not let it out. He was dying, but he would not let his death be a stepping stone for this entity to escape.
Koa saw light as he whited out from the pain.