——— Chapter Art (Click to view) ———
Water dripped from the ceiling creating a predictable rhythm, echoing through the dark, damp, dungeon.
A boy with curly red hair converging to black tips was holding his tongue out, trying to get a drip of the water trickling from the ceiling. Behind a set of iron bars, his tongue would barely reach for one stray drop every couple cycles.
Naren grumbled and fell back before yelping in pain and sitting back up. His hands were shackled by a set of iron chains, held back in such a way that his shoulder would send a constant pang of pain.
"Damn shoulder, just get better already!"
Normally, he would be able to get out of such a situation through his flexibility. But just moving his shoulder was painful enough as is.
"That damn woman. I'll boil her alive."
Naren fell forward, avoiding his bad shoulder, yawning.
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TWO HOURS AGO
Vera led Cairo and Naren to a particularly thick mountainous pillar. One that could easily stretch a kilometer wide.
Naren looked at the wall in front of him which seemed to stretch into the pitch black of the night sky above them.
"This is it?"
"I think so."
"These got stairs too?"
Cairo grew closer using his flames to investigate the base of the pillar. Instead of stairs however, they found deep grooves carved into the pillar wall.
Vera edged closer, feeling the grooves.
"Look."
However, Naren's gaze was focused to the sky still. His ears perked as he heard the sound of something scraping against rocks and the rattling of wood.
"What you starin at?"
"Shh."
Cairo looked at Vera who pointed to her own ears. Trying to keep her voice quiet, she whispered to Cairo.
"H-he can hear really well."
Naren's eyes were half awake, but he focused on the sound. Then a couple seconds passed and he could hear the rattling get louder, along with the faint sounds of breathing. Then it became loud enough for both Vera and Cairo to hear.
Just in the sight of Cairo's embers, a wooden platform descended along the grooves in the wall, swaying ever so slightly. Cairo grabbing Vera away before she was crushed by the cage that fell.
With a thud the platform landed on the grassy floor. A gate swinging open at almost the exact same interval. Cairo lurked forward, his flames illuminating the inside: An empty cage.
Naren tilted his head entering as all three did. A completely wooden cage with nothing inside at all. One that just fell from the sky. Well there was one thing, a braided rope hanging from the ceiling.
Almost without thinking, Naren pulled on the rope. The cage rumbled for a second.
"Naren what was that!"
"Uhh, I dunno."
A beat of silence before the cage rattled slightly once more. Wood grinded on stone, as this time, the cage lifted of the ground. Slowly pulled upwards.
Cairo watched as the ground below them was slowly swallowed up by the darkness.
"What a convenient setup."
Naren looked down as well, his eyes trying their best to find the ground in the endless sea of darkness. Yawning he pulled away from the bars.
"I'm so ready for a nap."
"Now is not the ti—"
Vera couldn't finish her sentence as the drowsiness hit her too, letting out a deep yawn.
"Just wake me up when we get there."
Naren leaned his head against the wall, slinking to the ground as his eyes closed.
"How could you sleep...h..e..r..."
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His eyes fluttered open to an owl and a bear staring directly at him.
Naren jumped back, only hitting the back of the wall.
"Cairo! shrimpy! wake up! We're under attack!"
The drowsy little girl slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. Cairo on the other hand jumped right at the owl, as soon as his eyes flickered. He held his kunai to it's throat before realizing it was a human.
Both were in fact. They were two woman wearing animal-like masks. The one wearing an owl mask was short with green pupils barely shining through the holes of the mask. Curly blonde hair, with loose strands that coiled atop the owl face. She wore a very basic leather tunic with metal plating and bone support, and a light pink coat.
"Wow, the girl was right."
She held a crossbow pointed directly into Cairo's abdomen.
The bear masked woman was taller. Almost as tall as Cairo. She had brown hair braided into two strands sitting on each side of her shoulder. Dressed in a similar outfit, except a darker coat on top.
"Identify yourselves."
The bear girl had a spear, with a metal tube midway through the shaft, one hand holding the tube, the other at the bottom of the shaft. This one was extended past Cairo, right up to Naren's neck.
Naren put his hands up. Frantically shaking them.
"Woah woah woah, I was just takin a stroll."
Cairo stared at the crossbow aimed at his stomach. He let a little grin creep up onto his face as his kunai emitted a faint orange glow.
"Who the hell's askin?"
Vera, by Cairo's side, took a step forward, her hands up.
"W-we don't mean any harm. We're just l-lost."
Naren pointed at Vera.
"Yeah what shrimpy said. We're just really thirsty lost people."
Cairo moved his eyes from the point of the bolt to the owl's eyes.
"You gon fight us?"
The taller woman stared at Cairo's grey eyes. Lingering, while the shorter one side eyed her. They sat in a deadlock for a second, before the taller woman sighed and lowered her spear. The shorter one doing the same with her crossbow.
"Are you sure, Siobhan?"
Siobhan, turned her eyes to Vera, raising an eyebrow.
"We've already followed that woman here."
Then her gaze turned to Naren. Not at his eyes though, instead it was fixed on Naren's scarf, before clicking her tongue.
Naren muttered under his breath: "No sense of fashion."
Siobhan motioned towards the shorter woman.
"Chrysanthemum."
"You can call me Chrys, though."
Siobhan glanced at Chrys, making her shut her mouth and straighten her posture.
"Follow us."
They exited the dark cage, several enormous trees holding it up by metal chains. A set of trees formed an archway of sorts, like a tunnel. A dark tunnel with a faint glimmer of light right ahead.
Chrys spoke up.
"Welcome to Lastlight."
Naren stepped out. His bare feet touching onto the ground as he held himself tight, shivering. Though as he looked up, he almost forgot how cold it was.
"Nuts..."
A massive dome hollowed out from the side of the mountainous pillar like a scoop was taken out of it, easily three hundred meters high. With terraced levels clinging to the walls, doubling, sometimes trippling atop each other. Narrow staircases connecting each level along with rope bridges going from platform to platform.
Lanterns hung from poles everywhere, filled with blue glowing algae, setting a bioluminescent glow across the entire land. A fire burned in a giant bonfire in the middle of the settlement, a warm orange glow falling on the stone streets.
A crowd hung around the bonfire, many small shops open, bustling with people. A wide variety of voices entered Naren's ear at once that he was ignoring until now. Laughing, talking, eating, living. Somehow living in this hellscape.
Vera was right by Naren. Her eyes glistening. Her mouth open slightly, but no words coming out.
Cairo stepped out last as the two woman guided everyone deeper into the settlement. His one eye darting around.
"So where's your master."
Siobhan turned back without stopping.
"Pardon?"
"The woman yall follow. Where is she?"
"What're talkin about Cairo?"
"The one yall take orders from."
Siobhan stopped, glaring at Cairo.
"We don't take orders from her."
Then a voice cut through the air, without any particular face attached to it. Coming from the crowd of people, loud enough for all to hear, quiet enough to blend into the crowd.
"Siobhan. Chrys."
The two swung their heads into the crowd.
"White hair and the little girl too...Imprison the red scarf."