Author's Preface
"Why'd go and beat up a hundred of those freaks anyways?"
Naren was carefully tightening his scarf around his waist as the chill of night began to wane, followed by an unbearable heat spouting from the ground.
"For a woman. A damn fine one too."
"All that for a girl? What a waste."
Naren grumbled at the unsatisfactory response. What a boring guy. Well, right now he should be thinking about other things. The stone ledge was beginning to scorch the soles of his feet and even the emerald green lake was bubbling.
Naren turned, muttering a complaint:
"Candle what're you doin with the heat? Turn it off."
Cairo rummaged around the ledge. When the Chimera scurried around, running after them, it scraped off so much rubble that the ledge was full of pale white debris. Even the poor skeletons were completely buried.
His movements were stiff as he worked around the injury on his abdomen, similarly his voice was hoarse.
"Not me dawg. Ground down here boils in the day."
Cairo picked up a large flat piece of stone, that spanned at least two meters. Groaning as he launched it into the lake, the stone sheet miraculously floating.
Clasping his hands he slapped Naren hard on the back.
"You an shorty get on. That's our way out."
"Huh?!"
Before he could ask any more questions, Cairo lifted Naren by the collar, throwing him right atop the stone. Watching, Vera scurried after Naren, afraid she'd be next.
Cairo joined them right after, him and Vera sitting atop the laying Naren. Naren shifted under their weight, complaining.
"I don't get how—"
In the next second, the effervescent waters began to violently bubble as small tremors shook the cavern walls. In a coalescent stream of emerald green haze, all the water in the lake shot straight up, straight through the gaping hole on the ceiling.
———————————————
At the fall of night, the chill had once again returned. On the freezing maze of trees and rocky dead ends three figures were lit up by a dim ember dancing on the finger of the tallest one.
Vera was sitting atop Naren's shoulders as the curly-haired boy underneath kept trying to empty the water stuck in his ears. His voice strained as he yawned.
"Freezing at night and boiling at day. What is this?...And Shrimpy we're already down from the mountain why do I have to keep carrying you? Is this too high for you too?!"
"Because I am your guide, Naren. It is a given that I should be taken care of."
Cairo turned back, joining their conversation. He was chewing the meat from a centipede-like beast they just killed. The rest of it's meat stashed in his pouch, cooked right inside it's own vertebrae.
"Is that so, shorty?"
"Y-yes."
The haughty nature of Vera's voice dissappearing into a meek response the moment Cairo was added into the picture. Shifting on Naren's shoulder.
Naren winced, as he massaged his right shoulder. They were able to put his shoulder back in place, but it still hurt. And yet for some reason he was stuck carrying around this little girl.
'Did I even put this on right?'
"Shrimpy, how do you even know where we're going. Everything looks the same."
The little girl triumphantly pointed to her head.
"I have it all mapped out up here, thank you."
Naren took a piece of meat from Cairo's pouch, sucking the meat out of the carapaced vertebrae of the creature.
"I think your map's upside down. We've been seeing the same sights for days."
They trudged on like soldiers surveying enemy territories. That is if the soldiers had no training with stealth. Luckily, most creatures were afraid of fire. However...
"Eeep!"
Vera climbed down off Naren's shoulders, backing off.
Every once in a while, there's a curious soul.
A dark murky pool of sludge laid out before the three. A mound erupting from it about two meters high, liquid constantly floating down from it. It couldn't keep a definite form, constantly dripping and changing as lumps burped out like gas bubbles.
Naren made a sour expression.
"Eurgh, what the."
Vera's similarly covered her mouth in disgust.
"Naren, would you kindly deal with that."
"Like I'm just your tool."
The creature moved with the pool at its feet following, the liquid cascading onto its body before slowly flowing out again, like an infinite fountain. It's liquid fizzling.
"You got this one Cairo. I'm not touching that."
Before he could even finish his sentence, the creature erupted, sending the black goo flying like confetti. Raining a disturbing sight of ominous thick paste.
Naren shook his shirt, trying to shake some off. His face scrunched.
"Eugh, C'mon man. This is Maren's favorite shirt."
Vera pursed her lip, frowning. Protected by most of it by using Naren as a shield.
"Disgusting..."
"What're you disgustinging about."
"I was referring to you, actually. You smell dreadful."
Cairo was completely drenched. Staring at the remains of the self-destructing abomination.
Naren dragged himself over, as he wrung his scarf. Vera following along.
"What's up."
"D-do not tell me that thing is still alive."
Naren's half open eyes swam from Cairo's drenched head to where the creature once stood. Golden eyes glimmering.
"Was she in that thing?!"
On the ground, completely drenched in a thick dark sludge, laid a woman. She was tall and lean, laying on her side. An animal-like mask worn slightly off, revealing only a pair of blueish lips and dark hair in a pony tail. She wore a leather tunic and leggings, plated with iron and bones. Clutching a cloth pouch with one hand while her other was clenched shut with a piece of paper in it.
Both hands soaked in a blood.
Her body looked completely unscathed, as she laid there motionless.
Vera followed their sight, reaching a complete stop.
"I-is she..."
Naren titled his head as he picked up on the faint heartbeat of the woman. She was still alive. He crouched before her.
"Yo wake up! Is there a city nearby!"
The woman's lips moved, quivered. Her fingers twitched as her eyes slowly opened. She groaned pressing her hands against the ground, sitting up.
Naren shifted a bit from surprise.
"Good morning."
Her mask fell off in the process revealing a beautiful face: Black strands fell along her face failing to cover her amber eyes and olive brown skin.
She looked around, her eyes landing on Naren, then on his scarf. Her half open eyes slowly shook as her lips trembled.
She grabbed onto Naren's shoulder, her blood-soaked skin seeping into Naren's shoulder. His bad shoulder. He was annoyed, about to knock her hand away, but decided to give her a little leeway.
Her voice coarse, croaking out what little words she could muster.
"Help...my brother... Nico...Please."
Naren tilted his head.
"Where is he?"
The woman tried speaking, but no words left, instead she grew into a long drawn out and hoarse gasp for air. Her grip tightened on Naren's body, as she clenched her jaw. Able to croak out one last word.
"D...t..D.r...am..."
Cairo watching in a monotone gaze, while Vera grabbed her shirt, gripping it tightly.
Her body shook vigorously from the inside out. Rumbling as her skin began to flake and wither. Slowly her groans became hoarse as the skin around her erroded, falling off the bone and fleeting away.
Vera watched in horror, unable to take her eyes off. Naren and Cairo looking only in bleak fascination.
The body of the woman was rendered to a skeleton. One that fell flat against the ground, bones rolling into a jumbled mess.
Naren turned his view to the woman's pouch, looking at the contents inside: A waterskin, extra cloth rolls, a primitive leather notebook, and a rock attached to a string to form a necklace. He dropped the pouch, grabbing the notebook.
The first page containing a depiction of a map: A boot shaped island, with several crosses along only the bottom left. All the crosses surrounded one small icon of a house. Then he continued flipping, diary entries in each page, before landing on one that looked like it was ripped out then placed back in. He stared at it for a beat longer than it'd take to read.
Closing the book, Naren stared at the crude necklace that peered through the pouch opening. Slowly he got to his feet picking it out.
"Yo. We gotta go on a detour."
Vera flinched back from the dead body, retorting:
"A detour...why would we?"
Cairo titled his head, a similar reproach in his voice:
"Why the hell would I wait longer to getta Atlas?"
A loose page flew out of the notebook in Naren's hand. One that looked like it had been ripped out before being slid back in, landing on the pool of blood right below the woman. A certain page, that he had just finished reading.
It read:
"You won't believe who I met today! It was a witch! A witch! I was terrified at first, but she was super nice. She showed me a cool magic trick with my reflection. Then she told me stories about her little brother. He sounds like the cutest. I wish my brother acted even half as cute as he did. Just kidding, I still love you, Nico!"
Naren held out the crude necklace in front of the two.
"Why else? We gotta return this to it's owner."