The heat was unbearable, sending scorching tendrils of light dancing along charred rocks that crumbled beneath the relentless trudge of rattling footsteps. Shackled together, their feet shuffled through the oppressive heat, the chains clinking as they formed a sickening, seemingly endless line. A glance back made it difficult to discern much of anything; the flames arching across the charred landscape blinded most things beyond them in surging coronal masses. Their hands were bound together, and around them, the land seemed to be immersed in a pool of molten lava, echoing with the distant cries of beasts and harrowing nightmares in a symphony of wanton malevolence. Their feet pressed through the ashen grounds, accompanied by loud grunts and the thudding of heavy footsteps as massive, scarred beasts—part man, part something far more monstrous—stomped alongside them.
Grasping the lengths of large weapons and clunking steel armored plates of patchwork protection and their appearances really did feel quite a bit imposing, grunting at odd intervals where the unprepared of them jolted and set the line back. They inwardly cursed at this, kicking them to their feet before the beasts beside them decided to do that themselves. Another chap had tried so awhile back, grew sick of all the walking and dropped smack dab in the middle where he stood; holding everybody up. It wasn't long till his body chipped and cracked and set itself alight in a brilliant pillar of whipping flames that arched over like all the others miring the desolate landscape in blinding bright arcs. His screams never ceased, safe to say there weren't any complaints after that..
Following the rhythm of the steps of those around him, the procession was made bearable by this minimal show of teamwork as the person ahead of him spoke, more to themselves than anything else. "They're going to kill us here" He heard them, not a much taller individual than himself and certainly no larger, how could he be? After a certain point through their endless walking, the skin, flesh and blood that made them had rotted and peeled away. Days without rest, without food, without shelter. The frailties of their flesh couldn't keep up, leaving only the remnants of their skeletal figures beneath, the rest wreathed in twisting shadows that seemed in some way to mimic a semblance of the figures they once had and covered over in tattered rags. Maybe he was lying then, the man was a slightly more muscular individual than himself, a little broader too even though the details were quickly lost on him as he chuckled.
"Do something about it then, a few ogres against the whole lot of us won't do much!! We'll make it, albeit a few dead. Whattya thinking?" The man ahead of him scoffed, seemingly holding back an excessive burst of laughter before glancing back, "And end up a screaming pillar?"
The chains continued to rattle as their footsteps synchronized across the blackened grounds, the shadows of his mostly hollowed body twisting and writhing at the man's shallow complaints. They were all like this, hollow husks of resentment for their circumstances. They didn't know how they'd ended up here, they didn't know who they were and where this was. At some point, their lives had been encompassed by the barren wastelands and flaming pillars entirely; not a memory in the deepest recesses of their mind telling them they'd been anywhere else. Yet they couldn't cast away all forms of fear in the hopes of freedom? The ogres that guarded their procession were far and few, visibly limited in fact, he'd felt as though he'd seen and made out a majority of them or at least those that guarded their part of the upper convoy; the first man being just several others ahead of him. A well thought out revolt could probably get a few of them far enough, though he wasn't sure on how to break the chains himself but he was ultimately confident the ogres could..albeit through the deaths of some misfortune few.
"You're not actually interested in leaving are you?.." He commented, the charred terrain dipping into a massive gorge where the rocks sharpened and crumbled far easier than they had before. They traversed it with ease and the relative apathy of practiced footsteps far too familiar with the treacherous circumstances placed before them, the uneven footing, sharp grounds and pooling magma simply an average stroll at this point as the man ahead of him scoffed, cursing as though the insinuation were so profoundly outrageous it couldn't even be given the face of subtle seriousness, "You're a nut job"
The real nutjobs were those so unfathomably content with their current circumstances, they'd been on these planes for days, weeks, months....years? Keeping track of the passage of time here was useless, he couldn't remember from when they had started walking, nor did it seem as though he could very much try. Everytime the thought assailed him it was lost to the winds, forgotten, time was passing but he couldn't quite comprehend how or perhaps it was never passing at all. The rocks beneath them rumbled as a few stumbled with the rattling of distant chains and muffled curses, it was a narrow pathway along the steep hillsides they traversed; precarious in nature but not impossible. Careful footing was required, staring down at the sloshing currents of bubbling magma streaming at the base of the gorge and there was very much reason to do so. Their guards however, followed from above of the gorge with trained eyes, their large figures far from built in traversing narrow passageways.
"Whether we attempt it or not, we're all dead. There's no reason to hesitate"
"Acts of suicide are done alone, don't rope me into your madness.." Hearing that only heightened a sense of amusement from him, he was more than convinced the journey thus far would lead to ruin, beyond here was death..or something worse and yet diving into something just as dire yet far more fulfilling was somehow far more daunting? But, then again, the man barely knew him, journeying in silence except for the briefest moments of fleeting conversation but he'd at least hoped he had a pair. The sudden chuckle of a voice behind perked non-existent ears as a second shackled individual teetered into the conversation, "Say we did entertain the idea, madman, what's your plan of escape? Better yet, the damn shackles?"
Glancing back at them, the bare bone of a skull that remained of his former body gave the weird impression of a frown, one couldn't tell if they tried however; skin would've dearly helped about now but amongst themselves, reading void expressions was no problem at all. He laughed after a moment more of silence and looked ahead, "A minor issue but do spread the word"
"...No plan. Got it" They grumbled.
Well, he couldn't deny that, although the silence came in not telling the man that his best bet was sacrificing the rest. Problems were indeed minimal when not blindly attaching oneself to incorporeal concepts such as morals, he didn't know them, they barely knew each other and most certainly didn't know themselves. Loose rocks from the narrow pathway tumbled down the gorge's steep lengths to the rushing amber currents below, there was no wind, there were no sensations, no sense at all that their bodies..or whatever was left of them very much existed. Glancing up to the top of the gorge where their armed guards followed at a leisurely pace and then the rushing currents below his mind raced with a thought, could they jump it? Splashing hot magma resonated in his ears as if posing a challenge or perhaps..an invitation.
Truthfully speaking it wasn't impossible, hell, he doubted it was anything difficult; the jumping in of course, the rest was another issue all together. The bottom of the gorge didn't slope in and flatten as it drew nearer towards the rushing currents, had it been that way then traversing the area most likely would've passed through right there at the danger of molten rock, he doubted their captors cared much in regards to if they would've died to that. No, the area itself caved inwards, towards the amber river like a terrifying maw. Jump and depending on the momentum carried, there might be no way back. That was a possibility, however, far from a certainty he was willing to drown himself in to wash away the thought.
Glancing up again, he inwardly frowned. Two of the guards following the procession were in ample proximity to do something about a potential escape, the rest were a bit ahead. The odds were daring but hesitation seemed just as dangerous, generally speaking; wouldn't it be expected that one would make a move of escape in less precarious circumstances? The streaming lava, the inward slope, everything about this screamed absolutely idiotic and thus..absolutely unexpected. Not expecting an individual amongst them to have the gull to jump head first down a slope towards certain oblivion, they'd be caught entirely off-guard, the most dangerous kinds of enemies were idiots after all and yet coincidentally it was equally deductible that someone would make an attempt here. Trying to shirk towards something unexpected sometimes had the misfortune of heading right into something well within your opponents line of thought, if you could think it then so could they. He grumbled to himself, shooting a furtive glance towards the heated currents.
Tempting but otherwise not the time, the lack of a plateau beneath was still bothering him anyway and similarly avoiding the raging amber currents below made the idea anything but wholly acceptable. Ironic, just moments ago he berated those around him for having a lack of blind disregard for their lives just for freedom and yet here he was cherishing his own as they walked, the narrow pathway starting to climb and widen as it rejoined the grounds above. He'd been wondering why they'd taken a detour into god knows where when their much larger compatriots enjoyed a leisurely stroll above, the area ahead that lead into the gouged piece of carbon cliff face held a sizeable spacious region to it that was overarched by the withering remains of the gouged rock. Movement shifted within its shadows as the languidly grim procession was brought to a slow halt, the two guards above that'd followed them thus far were brought to a similar cease in their actions although a sense of unease at the need for it was unregistered; then again, he hadn't noted the damn things as anything expressive..they were unnerving in that light. Frowning, his thoughts shifted back to the sudden reason for their stop as grumbles began to resonate throughout the shackled individuals.
"Damn the nerves, who jumped before me?" The man ahead of him glanced back, a non-existent brow raising at the comment but otherwise disinterested as the person ahead of them answered, "There's something up ahead, person of sorts.."
Surprised by the sudden intervention into the conversation though wholly appreciative of the information, a brief moment of silent acknowledgement shot between the two as he inwardly frowned, a person? He was all but assured that the damn place was teeming with the abominable, horrific, inhuman and malevolent. Person's weren't on his list of the region's many terrifying inhabitants as a scoff sounded from behind him, pulling an amused breath as the chains rattled; "Daemons.."
Glancing back in rightful confusion, his mouth shut itself before he could raise a question on the matter, a shout from up ahead caught their attention as figures pierced through from the shadows of the overarching stone face. They'd known before that beasts roamed the obsidian grounds, eldritch creatures slumbered in its crests and the place itself was far from normal, no..it was normal, why wouldn't it be? Not like they knew much of anything else..
The glaring point was that they'd come to know of the region as barren, a civilization didn't exist here and the monsters that inhabited it either lacked the means or were apathetic to the idea. So people? Hilarious, comical but the man's words; Daemons struck a chord in him, now why was that name so familiar?
Leaning to their side for a better grasp of the situation up ahead, a pair of cloaked figures stood just a few ways ahead of where they were. If there was any doubt before on the validity of their hold up, it was surely shattered now. The figures themselves were of a dark assortment of dazzling clothes, deep black like the grounds they'd grown accustomed to and yet somehow managing an endearing vibrance that felt all the more different from the charred ashenness. Woven within the fabrics of their cloaks were seamless additions of deep gold, accentuating an insignia branding their upper backs. The figures themselves were a man and woman, skin contrastingly as pale as pure snow and as unblemished as polished stone. They stood out like a sore thumb amongst the charred grounds and desolate atmosphere, so much so one might find it jarringly unnerving..
Everything had suddenly gone deathly silent at their arrival, a kind of heavy loss of sound that reverberated with the sudden stillness of the world. Distant cries of abominable creatures and searing infernos were the norm of the natural background chatter, the currents below were loud in and of themselves as they bubbled and churned with scorching heat emanating from its amber contents and yet all of that seemed to be driven to a grating halt. It was only the footsteps of the two that graced their ears from here and even that was light, feather-like in fact that registering weight behind them was difficult. The two guards that'd followed this part of the convoy casted a long gaze that quickly lowered along with their bodies, kneeling right then and there.
"Lady Morgana, Lord Belial!" The two of them rumbled, the damn things spoke? His thoughts reeled on that simple fact and similarly seemed to resonate across the crowd of shackled individuals, the journey thus far had been fraught with dead silence amongst their captors, watching, observing. He hadn't even been sure they had the running mental capacities for the basic act, a bestial strength was visible but intelligent thought was a difficult issue to decipher. How deeply did that intelligence go? How calculative? A myriad of thoughts raced with growing grim intensity, a darkness settling in his chest at the insinuations of that revelation. Had escape never been possible from the very beginning? Lost in that thought, he hadn't noticed the two individuals had begun sifting the procession till they were right upon him.
"Ghouls, Barthorne? When we heard word of an army out south, expectations were held high.." Pulled from the stupor of his own thoughts, the voice of one of the figures reeled him sharply to the situation at hand as his gaze fell upon them, violet eyes of galactic anonymity staring back at him as he felt a force pull his chin..or the bone to be precise as it got a better look of him only to shift it to the side moments later.
"Rest assured our arsenal varies though for the task at hand, our lord has implored these souls their service. He has no doubts their presence will be of great aid to the exalted" A sharp jerk of his chin pulled his head upwards, examining him further like an oddly intriguing art piece although perhaps not something exactly pleasing as their gazes were far from anything pleasant. Eventually letting go, the daemons' pale fingers flicked a nonexistent filth off of themselves accompanied by a reproachful glower. If he could respond in kind, he would though simply staring at the thing wouldn't elicit the directed intention, hell there wasn't even much of an indication he was staring at them at all except for the fact that his head was.
"Souls of the damned. If the occasions weren't so delicate our exalted wouldn't be so pleased, Barthorne.." The Daemon commented, searching for a reaction but finding none in the ogres' down cast expression as he glanced back at the other beside him, their face of a similar paleness and delicate beauty; endearing to the eyes, save for the dark horns twisting in ram knots as their lips parted, "Morgana.."
The second of the two, a far more unreadable individual who'd now been identified as Morgana gave a curt nod of acknowledgement as the other stared over the convoy once more, "We have no time for a procession, I've grown tired of the words spoken of us in our exalteds presence. Open a gateway for their passage"
"I would warn you, Belial, that decision lies outside of our hands" she responded, in contrast to her more violent compatriot, words seemed a lot more soothing to the ears although the sentiment was far from shared. Casting a reproachful glower through the eyes of a violet furnace, her gaze lowered however as the latter met it, seemingly conceding to the idea in avoidance of a terrible fury.
"As you command.." The world around them twisted, the rock and charred soil beneath their feet suddenly rushed forth like a churning tempest had swept them from their earlier stillness and a vortex tugged them with a waiting hunger threatening to swallow them whole where a spiraling epicenter surged with twisting dark arcs. They watched as that swirling maw opened with the brilliant embrace of luminous violet light then an image of the world beyond, awestruck, it was as though a window had been cast ahead of them, the boiling gorge was gone and the tough terrain suffused to flat ground whilst in the distance or perhaps not that far at all was the dark silhouette of a building..a castle standing tall ahead of a crimson backdrop. Dark spires pierced a celestial crimson veil, crooked jagged rocks seemed to line a malevolent base like walls to its magnificent structure. His eyes couldn't help but stare at it all in wonder, the gate swirled but the 'window' was stable, the stillness simply enamoring.
Suddenly just as quickly as the procession had finally halted, the chains ahead of him pulled him forward and they were walking again, walking towards the churning window beckoning to them. Glancing back as he drew nearer to the windows edge, the eyes of the one he'd noted as Morgana met his own and just as quickly swept past him before directing themselves elsewhere. His eyes were glued there momentarily longer before returning forward all the same, the man behind him grumbling a string of curses whilst the chains rattled to their dragging footsteps.
"We're dead.." He heard him mutter, chuckling at the notion as the image of the imposing castle drew ever nearer. Soon enough his body teetered on an illusionary boundary, ripples of space fluctuating in front of him, like a mirage, though very real. There was no time to admire it however as the movement of the convoy pulled him in all the same, stepping past and into the finely charred sand. 'Quick' he noted, lacking in feeling and grandeur. One moment they were on the gorge and the next they were here, no sensation telling him that anything had changed except for the scenery, the sand, the crimson skies and the castle that stood just up ahead. The procession carried on in laborless steps as the distant cries of creatures resurfaced, a litany of them in fact, nothing natural like it had been on the desolate landscapes but a melody emanating from a single point that echoed to the lands around them, one that resonated from the dark confines of the castle up ahead. He couldn't make out much but a few could be heard from above, circling them as he lifted his head for a glance where dark wings fluttered in the crimson horizons, bat-like in nature yet a distinguishable familiarity to them he garnered with a striking resemblance to themselves. How awfully eerie…
He trained his focus back to the approaching castle, the man behind him whispering, "Still without a plan, crazy?" a subtle tone of desperation betrayed the light mockery. The man was all ears now and dearly so. Amused by that, he gave a chuckle and shrugged, they'd all seemed awfully content with whatever laid ahead until it faced them unflinchingly, so why grasp onto whatever thin straws presented themselves now?
"Same as before, gentleman, in due time.." He heard a grunt and a labored groan but otherwise the man grew silent, resigning himself to the monotonous movement. Himself? Honestly, the more he thought about it the less likely an escape seemed possible. In due time, In due time. But he felt out of time or teetering too close towards it as they walked, the movement of creatures peeking from atop the crevices of the castle's jagged stone walls making themselves known, growls and swishing tails, glints of fanged teeth, leathery shadows and shifting rock making it all but a fine welcome indeed. They threaded through a path past stones that seemed blasted through by earth unknowable forces, scorch marks and the warped formation of the jet-black stone being its lasting remnants—as though an imitation of frozen water in the middle of a splash. Essentially, not hard to surmise that the construct had likely been blasted through by some kind of blazing heat. The man ahead of him commented as much, "This place makes me sick of flames.."
Scoffing as he stared, his head tilted "What, were you an arsonist?" Surprisingly the remark was met with a laugh and then a shrug, the castle gate coming into view, "Not to say I loved them before anyway, everything here is just full of it. Haven't you grown tired of it as well, lunatic?"
He shrugged, barely elicited to respond. He'd only grown sick of the chains, the procession, the ominousness of their end. The charred grounds or churning infernos held little of an emotional resentment within him, after escaping it'd be all there is to explore so it was best to simply accept it as it was. The sound of grinding stone echoed through with the shuffles of scuttering creatures making the reveal of this grandiose structure all the more uncomfortable to bear, the shadows from beyond receded with light sparking from within as torches lit themselves. Whoever called this place home seemed a lover of the theatrics, the convoy continued through the gate with little noise from the castle walls now reaching them but quickly being replaced by something louder and more guttural. The charred black sand and flat stone they walked upon became a patchwork road lit by the torched lamplight although another luminescence burned from the world around them, the nature of the cries now known and deafening as their eyes widened—
"This…" The sound of rushing chants and billowing jets of steam assaulted them from all corners along with the sounds of tanging metal accompanied melodic singing, not pleasant and rhythmic but gruff and purposeful, shanty-like yet lacking any meaning behind it. Light rushed forth from the ground beneath and rumbling machinery all the more with it, with horror they realized that the road they walked on was a bridge, the base of the castle sat at the end of an abyssal ditch where workers from below were situated. Dazzling arcs of amber wisps flicked from the base of the castle on odd occasions as they walked, their eyes surveying it all with a mixture of dark emotions.
His mind more importantly reeled with a sense of grim trepidation, was this a prison? He groaned from within and cast a long gaze upon the churning work from below, no, he was sure he'd heard the daemon mention the fact of an army though for what reason was lost to him. The assumptions came quickly, the worst possible thought passing through him; a slave convoy!? The place looked the part, gloomy, imposing, pools of spitting lava bubbling at its base as creatures from below worked on it in seamless coordination. Quickly taken by this fear, he glanced back, the entrance to the castle inching further away and that of another at the far end of the bridge drawing ever nearer. Now? The time was opportune, neither the ogre or the new arriving daemons were near although the drop down was daunting it was survivable..no?
"How desperate are you for a chance at freedom?" he suddenly asked, the men ahead and behind him seeming to groan as they glanced back and towards him before frowning at his expression, "You..you can't be serious!" The one ahead of him hissed though the one behind seemed indifferent or perhaps the desperation had grown just as dire that he'd become numb and receptive to any kind of idea by now, daring and idiotic alike.
"I got a few others in, what's next?" If he could smile he would, laughing instead as the convoy continued down the bridge before all hell broke loose. Rapidly moving steps and rattling chains resonating across the dark bridge, one moment his feet were on solid ground and the next in the air, weightless.
"OVERBOARDDDD!!!" The man behind shouted, not resisting the movement and turning to grab the person behind them, pulling them down as they followed with the next. Truly it was beautiful, one felt the weight over the edge and grabbed the next person behind them, tossing them if resistance was met otherwise as more and more bodies were flung over the edge like ragdolls. Screams resonated into the crimson skies above and flailing bodies barreled down the gargantuan ditch as in the next moment enough weight and momentum had built up from the piling bodies flying over the edge that others were naturally strung into the fall, a domino effect that couldn't be stopped now, at least..not yet.
The chains rattled to the fall and the screams were cacophonous, the man who was ahead of him in the procession (now a part of the fall) gave a cold glare and glanced downwards. "Acts of suicide are done ALONE!!"
"Then it's great I'm not particularly fond of death!!" They sped through the air as bodies and chains flailed and fluttered, a gross amount of them embroiled in a litany of melodious screaming. Feeling a hand grab his shoulder and glancing to see its recipient, the similarly featureless skull of another shadowed individual met him with a sizing stare.
"So this is who we're banking on, we're quite desperate aren't we? Pleased to meetcha, crazy" The bell-like charm, tone and albeit the figure of the rest of their body taken by the shadows told of a woman as he grinned whilst a familiar voice resonated from beside him with the much intended venom of a viper although mixed with a slight hesitancy as the ditch barrelled towards them, "I hope you know what you're doing!!"
So did himself but there was no business in telling them that or perhaps they'd already surmised it, blindly grasping at anything with the feeble hope that it tugged back. Death or a daring escape to oblivion, there was no in between but the guarantee of a thrill while they were at it. With the base of the terrifying castle drawing ever nearer, the heat and echoing screams synchronized in intensity. It wouldn't be long, in fact, it shouldn't have been long. The entire convoy couldn't be pulled into a daring suicidal nosedive, someone would stop it, hopefully soon..now? A snap resonated in the air like a whip, a force pulling at the chains connected to their shackles that ruthlessly grasped them from the air to the dark walls of the ditch.
"BRACEEEEE!!!!" He shouted, positioning his feet for impact as the woman followed, the two others and a few that'd grasped the warning wasted no further time either. No more than a few minutes later, their bodies slammed against the dark rock in a plume of black dust and debris. Obsidian rock shattered and tumbled from the steep walls as he groaned upon impact, resonated by a melody of others and the crumbling dark walls. The fall had ceased, snapping them onto the charred walls in light rattles. Bodies found themselves desperately clinging onto the jagged terrain, their momentum completely debilitated as breathless curses echoed around him. If they had hearts, a pumping pulse, nerves or sweat to excrete then any of these would've worked themselves tirelessly as a burning anxiety washed through them.
A metal groan echoed across the ditch as the chains connected to their shackles were pulled by harsh tensions, the dark metal creaking but otherwise holding the dangerous weight tightly; the good news was that their descent had been slowed. Below them, the bottom of the ditch seemed a long way down. He heard a grunt from ahead, the man from before pinning his feet into the crevices of the cracked stone, putting in an obscene level of effort at the thought of being tossed to the unforgiven bottom. Behind him, the woman's body was completely dug into the rock, though her hands were shackled they made ample effort to keep her from slipping..not like most of it mattered. A few dangled desperately, the likely weight from above causing the tension that hoisted them. He watched them slowly rouse themselves to action whilst his shackled hands grabbed at the taut chains and glanced downwards, "We ought to start moving"
Catching the command was the man ahead of him, as a glare was pointed back, "Moving..? You had a job and you—"
Before he could answer, however, the descent began as the chains tugged to brief resistance whilst the man followed in disgruntled reluctance and then the woman behind and a few of the rest. Those that didn't look on in shock, still grappling onto the jagged stone in a feeble attempt at keeping themselves from slipping, were dragging down the pace of their descent. Their own weight alone wouldn't be a sufficient opponent to the others above, however, seconds would pass before they were once again suspended, held in place as he glanced back. The plan should've already registered by now, time was of the essence as the weight from above provided a slow descent down the stone walls where they eventually curved into an inwards slope headed directly to the base of the castle—the bottom of the ditch, their combined weight could prove enough to gain the distance required to trail the walls before their captors inevitably heard any word of this.
Glancing below in a worried frown, the man followed his gaze then the woman and a few of the rest, to say the next sequence of events was cruel would be quite the understatement as in the silent gestures of nodding heads and weird stares there was a yelp before one of the more reluctant of their descending convoy was shoved off of the face of the dark wall followed by others in terrified screams whilst a roar of anger bellowed from below, "What the hell are you doing?!"
The sudden addition of dead weight pulled them further down, grip on the jagged stones becoming arduous as he shouted, "YOU'RE EITHER GETTING US DOWN OR DOING SO ANYWAY!! NOW MOVE!!"
His hands gripped the chains tighter before jumping, the motion mimicked in terrified reverie as the combined weight pulled them further below with the resistance from above reeling the descent till they stopped again and were flung back to the stone walls, "HEAVE!!"
"HO!" The woman answered and they tossed themselves again, inching further down as they traveled before the chains pulled taut and the process continued. Slowly they made their way down the dark wall, crumbling rock and dark debris tumbling down the treacherous surface with groaning metal. The slope drew ever nearer with eyes glazing over the approaching bottom. With another synchronized toss, they were taken further down with the sliding chains above before resistance returned to them moments too early———
CLANG!!
Suddenly, the dark restraints were pulled with whipping force, halting their descent immediately as they slammed back onto the dark wall. Groans resonated whilst his knees buckled upon the unprepared impact, the man ahead of him grunting as the woman behind him cursed, smashing into the jagged dark rock with a thud and a puff of dirt and debris. His eyes quickly veered above, the chains now pulling.
"THE HELL?!" The man ahead of him wrapped desperate hands around the now taut chains, planting his feet between crevices on the wall in an attempt at resisting the movement..a futile endeavor, "That took less time than I would've liked it to.." he cursed to himself and pulled back as well, urging the rest to do the same. Their ascent slowed with the inclusion of the desperate tug of their combined weight as the metal grippin them groaned to the rising tension, they weren't stopping however. Gradually their feet were forced a step forward, grindingly slow but present with the ever increasing screams of the metal holding them in place. It wasn't going to hold, he thought to himself, turning back towards the point in which the wall's began sloping inwards, he crouched whilst still pulling back. The man noticed, whether an admission of further trust or blind desperation, he followed. The creaking continued, their weight grappling against the force until it happened. A sudden bang and a small jolt downwards was the first of the structures failing supports, his body crouched nearer to the ground as the last residual creaks of the dark chains echoed before—
SNAP!!
With a rush, they were flung. Tumbling down the assortment of sharp stone with unsettling momentum and shackled wrists, the next few moments flashed by in terrifying pandemonium. Now, a lack of control in a situation of daring stakes would..in most cases incite a level of panic in many. To say he was calm and collected would be a gross embezzlement of his mental fortitudes, it was a gamble, they hadn't damn near reached the desired slope and to be honest past this point was utter blankness. The problem with gambling was the faithfulness in putting everything in the hands of…absolutely nobody? And then hoping that nothingness was quite inclined to assist, so being suddenly thrown down the ditch's terrifying heights what would be the most appropriate reaction? The correct answer would be screaming, in fact neither the woman nor the awfully violent man he'd come acquainted with were holding much of that back. The same would've deftly sprung from himself had the rapid ragdolling of his body not had his face kicking up rock and dirt every few nanoseconds, others had been thrown in the air to come slamming back and off the stone again and again. In a few minutes, what was tumbling for himself was now falling, the stone face too steep to keep them planted. This time he screamed, glancing below, the distant, horrifyingly distant, bottom of the ditch.
"BRACEE!!" He heard someone shout before blinking and kissing the dirt. His body was rolling, tumbling again with terrifying speeds as the sounds of rattling chains and scraping metal echoed like a crude orchestra. Groans and still ever fervent screams echoed to the winds, a hard impact to his back flipped him over in the air for a short bit as he grappled at the jagged stones upon impact. He realized they were tumbling, some sliding with parts of the now sloping walls smoother than the rest as a boisterous cry ahead brought him from the daze of the earlier dirt rides, "Damn you! The slope, It goddamn worked!!" He noted the man sliding down a ways ahead with his back against the crumbling stone and feet lightly planting themselves on the precarious surfaces. The world whizzed past them, debris kicking up from their descent as unsteady laughter slipped through him, they were going to make it, they really were..
Activity stirred from below as amber eyes found themselves glancing above, rolling figures barreling towards them in the wake of dark plumes of dust. How many minutes, seconds before their captors made their way here? Word should've spread, truth be told they'd probably already arrived. A nonexistent heart pounded with a thrilling rush of adrenaline at the mere notion, far from the escape itself, the process of it was invigorating. He wondered if their captors had really expected it all, the probability that others had done so already filling him with wonder. Thoughts raced with themselves at the forefront, places existed where a natural order was kept taut, left unchallenged..
"Here we go!" Bodies braced and the next moment solid ground was felt, charred rock kicking into the air as their bodies rolled a few meters more before notable control returned to them with groans and grunts resonated between them although a moment of rest was a fatal endeavor as dark sockets glanced over the creatures now ahead and staring at them utter silence. For a moment they stood, transfixed by one another and ever further confused on what to do next. Mind whirring on how likely to deal with the next hurdle, the amber glare of bubbling light brought fuel to his thoughts once more as he shouted;
"Melt the chains in the pools!!" Minutes, seconds, less than that? Time was running on an exceptionally thinning thread of fabric as they scrambled, chains flinging themselves into the amber pools whilst the ominous creatures stared at them. The obsidian chains glowing a burning red and a blinding white before they finally broke apart, freedom, freedom to his limbs; freedom at last. It was at this moment that a guttural cry from above decided to resonate in the crimson skies, one, two, three circling creatures—the flying abominations he'd noticed before now echoing like foghorns a world below that was deafened into silence. When the once still creatures suffused to low growls and purposed, monstrous feet took a few steps forward with sparks of scraping steel tools across the charred rock, the plan moving forward was simple.
They ran. Chaos started with reverberating roars and striking metal followed by hallowed cries of anguish, his ears could've been deaf to them though as he sprinted. Thumping footsteps thundering along the ground as they followed with glinting silver as he dodged to his right, narrowly missing a blow from a slash overhead. A nonexistent heart was pulsing in there, the exhilaration pushed to its upper limits. The next came from his left as another person suddenly tagged him from beside and was grabbed moments later with a deafening cry of surprise before being split in two. Feelings of distraught or fear couldn't bloom faster than an intense desire for an exit as he glanced around him, carnage surrounding him like a raging inferno. There had to be a way out, there had to be something to make this all worth it. 'Come on, just give me one more—' There!! At the end of the dark landscape was the entrance; to be precise, their exit, a dark set of doors looming in the distance both inviting and challenging. He grinned, sprinting down the charred landscape as cries and wails assailed the world behind him. Further, he told himself, catching wind of finer footsteps sprinting not far behind him as a glance back identified them as the woman from earlier, closely following was that of the other two men. Paying them no further mind, he slid beneath the sweeping grab of flailing clawed hands before stopping himself short of a stomping foot that would've crushed him otherwise.
A bellowing roar followed as a whipping tail of bony metal crackled across the air whilst he was pulled and tossed forward, avoiding it at the nick of time. Dazed for a moment, both the man's faces glared at him as they scoffed, one of them more angry than most; "You said you're not fond of dying, didn't you? Now run!!" He blinked but didn't falter, pointing towards the edge of the region where they followed. A mad dash towards uncertainty, a gamble followed by more after the other, before too long, those still alive and capable had joined in on the maddened rush—the slickness of hard metal meeting him first as a crashing lunge at the obsidian doors sprung him onto smooth ground against a barrel roll to slow himself into a gradual halt. Little time was wasted after that before desperately pulling himself up from the ground. The woman followed in after, followed by the two men and a few others as chaos continued outside.
"CLOSE THE DAMN DOOR!!" He didn't have to be told twice, rushing back to the double doored structure and pushing at the solid steel whilst others made their way towards them in assistance and slammed it shut before finding a steel bar locking propped beside and slamming where it locked, frantic banging ensued on the obsidian structure with screams bellowing from just beyond. They stood there in silence to it, guttural cries of abominable creatures following, although standing here probably wasn't a great idea, once those outside were done, they were next..
"So what's it from here?" He heard the woman ask, his head glancing back. They were in a chamber and ahead of that were corridors of sorts, torchlight lining dark walls of slick stone. There were twelve of them inside, an entire castle unknown to them. She was asking what his plan was when making it this far had well and truly been a miracle, inwardly he laughed though and outwardly he didn't hold back a small chuckle whilst walking forward as the obsidian structure of the doors dark surface shook and then groaned.
"We run"
The frame was blasted through, fleshly tendrils grabbing and pulling at a man before ripping them apart as they sprinted in the wake of his screams. The corridors ahead of them split in either direction, he went left followed by the woman and the man whilst the rest fancied the right; they were correct because the creature took the left. Footsteps echoed whilst the corridor continued, dark stone walls glaring at them as they sprinted. It turned, it widened, it narrowed, there seemed to be no end whilst the beast followed.
"DAMN IT ALL!!" Taking a panicked right, they were now currently staring at a dead end, thick, hard stone practically gloating..if it could. He inwardly grumbled but couldn't help but find a dark amusement in it all, turning back and the beast's rapid approach was nigh. Well, assuming they died here, at the very least it'd been an attempt. The man's gaze was frantic, the woman just as much. It seemed the entire area itself had been an extension of one that abominable castle, a guess he'd only garnered as after all that running, all this time; every turn, every crook, crevice, corridor were lined with un-openable doors. Rooms whose very existence seemed to mock their feeble attempts at escape. Sick of standing and too far into this to give up, the two beside him desperately grappled for the doors along the walls again although that was futile, they seemed slammed shut by something more than just locks. He simply stood there and stared at them, it was truly a novel experience watching how quickly their outlooks on the situation had shifted whilst glancing back at the dark wall.
ꁝꋬ꒐꒒ꋊꏂꋪ꒐ꇙ ꃳꏂ꒒ꊰ꒐ꋪꏂ, ꀘꏂꏂꉣꏂꋪ..ꇙ꒻꒐꓄ꄲꋊꏂ
He turned, assailed with a light whisper, was he hearing things? The last hallucinations of a mind filled with fear? He frowned inwardly, assailed by it again as it resonated within the corridors. Glancing back at the other two, still embroiled in the act of searching the doors, he wondered; They hadn't heard it? He questioned and as a subtle click ensued, audible from beside him as he turned to one of the other doors. Crimson light resonated from the frames of the dark surfaces, insignia's writing themselves in crooked, wretched letters that didn't seem like letters at all but glowed brightly with the ever beckoning whispers. Slowly he reached out to it, placing his hands on the dark surface and pushed it open with a force suddenly slamming into him as the door swung to scarlet flashing light and rumbling thunder.
BANG!!
A screeching cry echoed from the end of the corridors, flailing tendrils of flesh accompanied by a thousand toothed maw, "Shit!" the man turned witnessing the opened door with hopeful sockets. Seeing the two's gaze on him he gazed back at the end of the corridor as the creature sprinted forward, they were ahead but the thing was gaining; no time later than now. Jumping in, he grabbed at the door and waited. The two practically threw themselves in as he slammed the door shut with a bang, just as whipping tendrils snagged for the narrow space left and were deftly severed from the main body.
'Guh!" The thing slammed and flailed on the door, the two glancing at him holding it shut with horror INSTEAD of helping. "Don't just stand there!!" They blinked and then jumped into action, pinning their bodies to the door's frames as the creature continued to assault them.
"This was our only option?!" He heard the woman, glancing at her to see her gaze focused on what was ahead of them, wait, in fact, where the hell had they trapped themselves in? He followed her gaze, staring ahead with suppressed shock. Ahead of them, a swirling storm raged between violent flashes of scarlet lightning. Winds whipped and whistled, howled like wailing wolves and churned like an angry furnace Terrified, he noted that they stood upon the only piece of solid ground around them, everything else was a raging cyclone. He cursed and cursed again, cursed like it was the last time he'd ever speak words again and then glanced back at the door frame still rumbling with the attacks of the creature behind them.
ꁝꋬ꒐꒒ꋊꏂꋪ꒐ꇙ ꃳꏂ꒒ꊰ꒐ꋪꏂ, ꀘꏂꏂꉣꏂꋪ..ꇙ꒻꒐꓄ꄲꋊꏂ
The whispers—the screams, he stared ahead and then below. The storm seemingly concentrating into a swirling epicenter as he glanced back at the door and then shifted to pin his back to it, "Now, you're really not going to like this.."
He stared between them and then the bottom, the swirling, tempest of a bottom. He could practically feel their indignation before they roared, ""You're insane!!""
"Overdramatic, much? I speak for myself I guess but I'm quite not the fan of monstrous deaths, this seems very reasonable"
"You'll die, idiot!"
"What haven't we done that wasn't going to anyway?" The man grumbled but he'd made up his mind, the creature wouldn't let up, security had likely heightened at the knowledge of their attempted escape, even if they made it out of here, chains awaited them quite patiently or perhaps just death all over again. He glanced at the two and back at the storm before wrapping an arm over their necks as nonexistent eyes practically widened between them, "Apologies in advance!!"
They jumped..
Their screams bellowed into nothing as the frame above flung open to the creatures flailing body, its thousand toothed maw screeched to their receding figures below but it didn't pursue. He laughed at this, the other two witnessing the same with starkly different outlooks than himself, "The darn thing is too terrified to follow, we're doomed!"
He still laughed however, barely registering their plights as the voices assaulted him. Suddenly, the flashing crimson lightning heightened in rapidity as slashing winds broke them apart from one another. Screaming into the wailing winds, the man's body was sucked into the swirling storm and disappeared within it in a flash of crimson light. The woman fared no better and was whipped away as well, now it was himself. The storm's swirling center raging at him whilst the voices practically screaming at him so badly his own thoughts had been drawn to a halt.
Well, it seemed like it was truly it from here. His gaze grew distant, the amusement not leaving him however. It beat a far more gruesome death and perhaps slavery, the crackling and the howling winds, the wailing voices, all of it grew louder until it was deafening. He could've built a migraine from all this noise, couldn't his death be a little more peaceful? He groaned as the storm engulfed him, a flash of crimson light and then..
Silence…
…
Darkness didn't engulf him, although nothing really did. He felt empty but wasn't all the same, prismatic colors where violet threads swarmed everything within view snapped at his wake, shadows and distant gazes moved and trailed him. He was still plunging, headed somewhere and it was drawing nearer. Was this death?
His mind, still intact, wandered, hit with a burning thrill and then a searing headache as a voice resonated from the silence between a blurring flash of images too fast to make sense of.
...Beryl?
He slammed into something, hard, crashing into it with considerable force as he hissed a set of curses. He couldn't really feel much but the aspect was annoying, groaning as his body shifted with the subtle sound of his shackles where the snapped chains rattled. Confusion assailed him and a very damn near fatal headache although his eyes were fluttering across his surroundings, he was in a room, a dusty, mottled room with tarnished furniture and torn fabrics. Wood splinters showered the floor where he noticed he was standing in the middle of something, something drawn onto it although perhaps seared into it? The thing was sizzling with an amber glow that receded with the passing seconds, his mind now a whirlwind of activity. Where…was he?
Trying to answer that question was useless, still planted where he stood as he cursed, shaking his head at the pain throbbing from within. It was dark, far from pitch but lacking enough that getting a good grip on what was around him further than what wasn't immediately within his vicinity was difficult, "That damned door"which he opened but he moaned, shifting with a croak of the wooden floorboards beneath him and the burnt wood, the space around him still glowing with the deep colour of amber. Had they escaped? He thought, the last thing he remembered had been the jump and then a flashing set of things he couldn't remember..struggled to remember.
A step into the darkness garnered a sudden sense of resistance as he padded the open air, a hard surface, four legs and flat, an obstruction? He glided a hand and worked his way around it, the surface of the floor becoming soft, perhaps even warm as a wall soon met him in the dark along with the sway of dark fabrics draped over its surface where small cracks of light breached through. Curious, the curtains were pulled open, a wave of silver light washing over the room as the place was illuminated by the moon above but more importantly..
"This…" He whispered, staring ahead through the window as his breath grew ragged. A night sky, stars splattered across a black veil and beneath it..though familiarly amber in colour—gold even, it wasn't the magma, it wasn't the pillars of light arching across the skies in coronal masses but something else.. it was life.
"Haa" He let out a breath, a shaky breath that grew with excitement, "Ha, Freedom! Freedom!! I'm Free—!!"
The window shattered in front of him, glass shimmering to the ground as a jagged man sized hole stared at him where a voice echoed from below, "PERVERT!!" Snickers followed where the sight of children from across the street below him pointed whilst he cocked his head to the side, grinning if no one could notice, their faces weren't bone, their bodies weren't wreathed with the shadows; "Yes, friends! Such excitement is mandatory, you're alive!!" he laughed as they frowned and ran off, the group of them disappearing into the dark where one glanced back at him with a scowl; "WEIRDO!!"
He chuckled, he couldn't be tainted right about now, he couldn't feel an ounce of anger even if a part of him felt like it. Smiling from within, his hands lifted to his face and head, witnessing the shadowed arms that gave him a moment's pause, the slightest frown creasing his jubilated features, "Ah…" he sighed, still some fleshless creature of sorts it seemed. His gaze eventually lowered to his body, bare and black as night, his clothes..the tattered rags they'd been were gone causing him to raise a brow.
"Hrm, this..this does seem unnatural" a subtle scoff resonated in the wake of the moonlight, "but…no matter", lifting his gaze back at the city, truly, nothing could ruin this…he was finally..free…truly and finally..free.
That's all that mattered...