SS - Chapter 7 - The Gauntlet is thrown

Just felt like doing another SS chapter today. I have to decide which story I want to concentrate on fairly soon. I love them both, and Imaginary is just getting to the good part, but I'm leaning towards SS right now. Opinions?

Chapter 7 - The Gauntlet is thrown

I gently placed my hand against the glowing energy covering the entrance, It had a cold, and unsettling feeling but wasn’t harmful. A typical dungeon barrier, meant to contain as much magic as possible, which both helped conceal the dungeon’s location and accelerate the dungeon’s development.

Gritting my teeth I stepped through the curtain of energy. If touching the barrier had been uncomfortable, passing through was a hundred times worse. 

Since the barrier reacted to your innate magic affinity, it felt different to different people. Some people felt a static shock, Camille claimed it felt like passing through a patch of brambles, and when I passed through I felt like I was passing through a viscous liquid made of insects, which crawled over every inch of my skin. Even though it only took less than a second to pass through, it felt like an eternity to me.

When I finally emerged on the other side I immediately started wiping down my arms, and other exposed skin. The barrier was pure magic, and there was no residue, but the sensation stayed with me far longer than I liked. 

Thankfully I managed to regain my cool, and stop scratching, before Camille and Selena stepped through, so I didn’t look like a complete lunatic in front of them.

“I hate passing through those,” Camille whined.

Selena frowned, and glanced at the smaller girl. “Why? It just felt like stepping through a cool mist?”

“Really?” Camille muttered. “Lucky you.”

While the other two recovered from passing through the veil, I crept forward slightly, trying to get an idea of what we were dealing with.

A typical proto dungeon had corridors that appeared to have been dug out by some enormous burrowing creature, rough and unfinished, while most active dungeons usually had rough stone walls, like some old castle or crypt. 

This was not a typical dungeon.

Here the short entrance corridor we’d emerged into, and the small antichamber that lay just a couple feet ahead, were made of smooth white stone. There were no torches, just a handful of hemispherical glowing globes embedded into the walls around head height.  I’d never seen such immaculate stonework before, even in the Iskel imperial palace. 

I couldn’t see any signs of the refugees at all, which was both unexpected and unsettling. There didn’t appear to be any other exits from the antichamber, so they couldn’t have wandered off. I was like they just vanished into thin air. 

I guess in the grand scheme of things it wasn’t the worst situation, we could have walked in on them getting devoured by monsters. At least we didn’t have to deal with that. 

I paused at the threshold to the room, carefully looking for any irregularities in the floor and wall, which would indicate some sort of trap. Only after I was confident I wasn’t going to immediately die horribly did I step inside. 

As soon as I set foot in the antichamber a crystalline chime rang out from deeper in the complex. My vision blurred for a moment, and power flowed into my body. Stumbling forward, blinking rapidly to clear my vision, I was surprised when a floating, translucent green window appeared before me.

Greetings Chosen One,

You have been selected to participate in a trial, one that will test both your skills and your judgement.

Only the strong will reach the central sanctum, and only the worthy will be able to claim the prize.

Your destiny awaits within.

Do you accept the challenge?

I stared at the system window in shock. “Who are you? What are you talking about?” 

The window didn’t change, it just hung motionlessly in front of my face.

“Where are the people that  came in here before us?” I hissed.

The window changed slightly.

Those that came seeking shelter received it, they await you deep within. 

Only by undergoing the trials can you reach them.

Do you accept the challenge?

“What if I decline the challenge?” 

You will be ejected from this complex, unable to return.

Do you accept the challenge?

“It doesn’t seem like you’re leaving me much of a choice,” I growled. “I accept.”

A message flashed across the screen for a moment, The Challenge Awaits! Then the screen blinked, and changed over to the map function.

“Medea… Is that a system window?” Camille asked from behind me.

“Yes,” I grumbled, “Did you just notice? I was arguing with it for a good ten seconds.”

Selena and Camille exchanged a glance. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, you just stepped into the room a second or two ago,” Selena declared. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Fine…” I mumbled quietly as I tried to work through what just happened. “Can you two access a system window now?”

“What? No. I’m not bound to a stone, why would I have a system?” Camille asked. I just stared at her, eyebrow raised, until she relented. “Psh, fine. ‘System’”

A dusty pink window popped up right in front of her, causing her to squeak in surprise. 

“It’s back? Why is it back?!?!?” she reached out and started manipulating the window excitedly. “My magic’s back too! What’s going on?”

“I’ve apparently been challenged to conquer this dungeon. It’s taken the other elf-bloods, and won’t give them back unless we get to the end,” I explained quietly.

Camille frowned. “Dungeons don’t do shit like that.”

“This one apparently does,” I declared sharply. Camille flinched at the tone, so I held up a hand and took a deep breath in to help center myself. “Sorry. Selena, do you have access to the system?”

“System,” Selena whispered, creating a warm orange window that matched her eye. A small smile bloomed on her face when she saw it. “Yes. It’s back.”

I flicked my own window over to my status for a second, before closing the window, a smile on my face. “It looks like this dungeon wants us to be in top shape to challenge it.”

With a snap of my fingers I summoned a small mote of purple black flame to hover a couple inches above my hand. “My magic is back too.”

“What is that?” Selena asked hesitantly. “It doesn’t feel… right.”

“Blackfire, it’s not as hot as regular fire, but the wounds can’t be healed through magic,” Camille explained excitedly. “It’s the house Ashborne specialty.”

“That sounds dangerous,” Selena muttered.

“It is, but also exceptionally helpful, when used correctly,” I whispered before snuffing the flame. “According to the system message I received there's more to this complex. Let’s spread out and find it.”

Camille bounced into the antichamber pulling the scowling Selena behind her. “Do you know any magic? We should probably share before we run into any monsters. I know wind and nature magic, which I channel through my bow and daggers. How about you?”

Selena snatched her arm back out of the blonds grasp. 

“Even if I had been chosen to receive magic by a Skylian noble family, the eye would have prevented it,” she snarled. “I’m fine with that, I’d rather have something that’s entirely my own rather than relying upon the whims of someone else.”

“You know what? That’s fair,” Camille chirped as she skipped away.

I shook my head, trying to avoid Camille’s inane babbling as I slowly approached the middle of the room. While the walls were completely featureless, there was an emblem embedded into the center of the room.  It vaguely resembled the Iskel kingdom’s crest, and heraldry, but lacked much of the gradious designs. There were no hippogriffs standing next to the shield, propping it up, no banners bearing the kingdom’s motto, and no crowned griffin sitting on top.

Instead this was a simple kite shield with a pair of phoenixes chasing each other around a central sun. The strangest thing about it was there were a pair of brooms, crossed like swords, passing behind the shield. It was a beautiful crest, but not one that I recognized from any existing, or historical kingdom.

Once I was done inspecting the relief I carefully stepped around it, heading towards the far side of the room.

As soon as I passed the middle of the room the back wall suddenly split open. One by one the massive bricks emerged from the wall, then slid out of the way. These displaced blocks quickly slipped into place, creating a frame around the new opening. It took less than a minute, and when it was done the new door fit into the wall flawlessly. If I hadn't witnessed the reconfiguration first hand, I’m sure I would have believed the door had always existed there.

“How did you do that?” Camille asked excitedly. “Can you do it again?”

“I don’t think I did anything,” I growled. “It happened on its own!”

“You said the dungeon challenged you,” Selena said hesitantly. “Maybe it’s inviting you in?”

I eyed up the door suspiciously. 

“Maybe,” I agreed begrudgingly. “Maybe it’s a trap.”

“I don’t see another way forward either way,” Camille said quietly.

I bit my lip for a minute, then nodded. “I need you both to stick close to me from now on, that door opened incredibly fast, and I don’t want anyone to get cut off by shifting walls.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” Selena muttered.

I took a moment to work up my courage before stepping through the archway. 

Beyond the door was a large circular room, close to fifty feet across, with a packed dirt floor. I glanced around suspiciously, but didn’t see anything suspicious. It was just a large empty room with an archway on both sides.

As soon as the three of us stepped into the room a heavy metal portcullis slammed shut behind us, nearly crushing Selena in the process. I jumped back towards my friends, whipping out my rapier as I did.

All around the room the dirt shifted, mounds started to emerge, and finally massive earthen limbs emerged from the ground. Ever so slowly over a dozen golems dragged themselves out of the ground.

“I told you, trap,” I growled, pointing my sword at the nearest monster with one hand, while summoning my magic in the other.

Camille slowly drew her bow, her mouth flapping open and closed a couple times as she tried to find the right words. Finally she just went ahead and said it. “Why are they all dressed like maids?”