True Soul part 32: A Cloudy Day

Nearin must have hurt her wrist when falling without noticing it, because her throw was decidedly unimpressive. Of course, it didn’t take much to throw an object that weighed as little as the orb only a few meters that lay between Nearin, who had backed up all the way to the portal in case something went wrong, and the devouring cloud of black something.

The glow of the orb disappeared as soon as it entered the cloud. A moment later there was a metallic ‘ting!’ sound as it hit the ground. The cloud advanced another inch before stopping. A ripple passed through it. Then another. Then what looked like a vertical whirlpool formed on its ‘surface’. The cloud began receding as if it was being pulled towards something.

Few moments later it was clear that that something was the orb and the cloud was being sucked into it like water into a hole in a bucket. Two minutes passed before the cloud had disappeared. The orb was no longer glowing and a moment later it crumbled into ash.

“I guess that did it,” Nearin whispered and sat down to catch her breath. That realization soon kicked in. They had won. She had encounter with a monster from nightmares and had survived. This was the third life or death situation she had been in and she thought that she was getting the hang of it. Terror and all. A smile forced its way onto her face.

“Yes and no,” Selesta answered. She was staring at the tunnel where they, and the cloud, had come from, beyond the area her light illuminated.

Nearin quickly climbed back to her aching feet. She didn’t hear anything except her and her mentor’s breathing. She looked at the darkness beyond Selesta’s light and didn’t see anything. After a moment she glanced at Selesta, who had a frown on her face that told Nearin that she was thinking furiously. Then Nearin looked back at the tunnel.

Had the edge of the darkness moved? Yes, it had, she realised as more of the cloud came pouring forward.

“What do we do?” Nearin croaked. She was sure the only reason she wasn’t panicking was Selesta’s Aura.

“We have no choice. We retreat.”

“But where-“ Nearin started to ask as Selesta turned to face the portal to the Labyrinth. “There? Ma’am?”

She stared at the portal. The only reason the portal to bad parts of the Labyrinth had not dominated her attention until now was the wraith that had tried to kill them and then she had sort of forgotten about it. Silly me, she thought as she stared at the black stone walls with glowing red veins. But as Selesta started hurrying towards the portal she found herself following without even thinking about it.

“Don’t worry, I have been to the Labyrinth before. It’s mostly safe as long as you don’t go too deep or too close to hell or offend one of the fair folk,” Selesta reassured her.

Nearin remembered something about it being difficult to find your way back unless you had a proper compass, but decided not to argue with her superior.

When she stepped through the doorway she expected something to happen. There had to be something to mark that she had just stepped into another world, but there wasn’t.  No sudden vertigo. No stomach lurching. No feeling of not being in the human world anymore. Well, except for the heat that radiated from the red veins in the stone, but it didn’t start as a wave of heat. Rather it increased gradually as they walked further into the labyrinth.

The cloud however stopped at the edge of the portal, Nearin noticed as she glanced over her shoulder for the fourth time. That was good, now she could focus on any potentially scary things before them and didn’t have to divide her fear.

“It stopped,” she said and Selesta turned to look at the now inert cloud. Selesta muttered a quick spell then stared at it for a moment before turning back towards the way they were going.

“Doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere for the moment,” she said and started walking away.

“So what do we do?” Nearin asked, hoping Selesta had better plan than just to wander deeper into the labyrinth aimlessly.

“We’ll find someplace where we can rest,” Selesta answered. “When we have rested we’ll come back to check if the cloud is still blocking our way. If it is then we’ll try to find another way out. Perhaps with help of a fair folk  if we happen to meet one.”

“Can’t we rest here, ma’am?” Nearin asked. She would have kept her mouth shut, but she thought that there had been a hint of doubt in Selesta’s voice.

“I’d rather not,” Selesta shook her head. “There is always a chance that if the cloud disappears whoever sent it comes to finish the job. I don’t think we can fight them off at the moment. And they might see us from the chamber.”

Nearin glanced behind her, then back forward. The tunnel was straight and lit so you could see awfully far through it. She shrugged and continued walking.

The tunnel continued straight for what felt like an hour. Nearin was jumpy the whole time, believing that they’d run into some sort of monster at any moment. Finally they arrived at a crossroads. One tunnel led to the left and downhill, while the right one went uphill.

“Always good idea to go up in the Labyrinth,” Selesta said and chuckled as if remembering something before turning right. Behind the turn there were two more crossroads within the next twenty meters.

“Ma’am, isn’t there a danger of the Labyrinth behind us changing?” Nearin asked as she followed.

“You haven’t had your lessons on Labyrinth yet, have you?” Selesta raised an eyebrow. “No, there is no danger this close to a portal. You have to travel about half a day before that becomes a major problem.” They walked another minute in silence before Selesta stopped. “I think this is far enough.”

As soon as those words were uttered Nearin sat down next to the wall so fast it looked like she had collapsed. The wall was hot, but through her cloak and armor it just felt pleasantly warm.

“You did well there,” Selesta said as she sat against the opposite wall. “I thought you were dead for sure when you fell down that chasm.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Nearin answered and looked away, embarrassed. After a moment she removed her helmet and closed her eyes. It was hard to believe it probably wasn’t even  midday yet. It felt like it had been ages since they had entered the tunnels. Now with the exhaustion from the fight and all the walking and with a pleasant source of warmth against her back, she felt like she would drift away to sleep any moment.

It took her good five seconds to realize that Selesta had gotten back to her feet and that they weren’t alone anymore. A short hooded creature with a single, huge, glowing and pupilless eye had come from behind the corner and was staring at them.

“Hello travelers. May I inquire where you are heading to?”