Ariadne’s Devotion { Katarina & Gerome
[...] As you enter the mouth of the ruins to dispel their needless fears, however, you find that these are no mere ruins. The vines close the entryway from which you came, and, looking ahead, you find that the ruins are, in fact, a huge maze. All around you, the labyrinth shifts and changes; the walls move, the plants snake and snap. You and your companion must hack and cut your way through and find a way out, lest you intend to bury yourselves in a grave that never needs to beg for flowers. [Grants Sword +1]
“I am what you’ve made me.”
Gerome read the engraving aloud, tracing its worn impression on the wall. He scoffed, unimpressed, pondering upon what sort of beastly truth lay before them in these immemorial grounds. (Because only monsters blamed their creators for what they would become.) Taking up the task to investigate and clear out the verdant overgrowth invading this abandoned town— so fondly nicknamed Naxos for all its troubles— Gerome and Katarina merged with the dark. They, like the shadows hanging over them, were unlit by any stars.
“There. Through the crown shyness. You can see Minerva, can’t you?” The stocked trees that rose seventy feet above them had odd striations and gaps through their leaves, leaving just enough of a crack to see his dearest wyvern hovering past them. He yearned to be a-top her back, chasing infinity, but he had a mission to accomplish down at base zero. “...” I’m sure she’s worried sick. Is what he would have said, had he been the conversational type. He doesn’t bother to.
The villagers from neighboring towns were practically begging them to do something about this. Anything about this. Whatever ‘this’ was, it was varnished in so many fear-mongering rumors that he couldn’t make heads or tails about what the real problem was. They said it was a curse, an omen, a wish that one bitter widow had made upon a star. They said it was God’s blessing, God’s warning, God’s hand at humor. Once he had a good picture of what the problem was, he realized that these people were afraid of what they couldn’t understand. So if a single seedling was allowed to grow, was it supposed to be a warning of times to come?
Well. It was better not to underestimate the unknown. In the dead of daylight, even an innocuous sky could mark the end of times. “...Are you coming?”
Normally, he would pace ahead and leave to surveil an area himself, but his gut gripped him by the lapels and warned him to steady himself. Gerome stayed rather close, waiting for her to tail behind. Just as the light tapered off and the natural overhang became a densely-carved stone roof, he began to check for traps. He pressed against the walls, seeking crevices or hidden levers, but all he was met with were tightly knit vines that snaked, over and across. To his utter shock, it felt as though the vines were alive. He jolted back, hopping away in recoil at the touch. With the vines blasting rapidly across the walls, a booming gust tossed them forward. And when the dust settled, the vines had tightly caged them in— leaving them the picture of foolishness.
“Damn it!!” This was no monster... it was the very burden of life, itself.
@ephemeralove