Forgotten Entry (South Leicester)
“And you’re sure this is safe?”
They find themselves staring down at the now-open entrance to, apparently, Shambhala. Laelaps stares with an unamused expression, arms crossed over his chest as he waits, expectantly, for their group to begin their descent. Siegbert stares back—there wasn’t a chance in hell that Laelaps wasn’t going first.
“After you,” Siegbert gestures. Only after the others have started and nearly finished their descent does he dare to follow.
And all the better. Though Laelaps says there’s nothing to worry about—Agarthans make things to last, unlike the surfaceborn, he says—and he and Nessie manage their way down the ladder without incident. Kana, Nina, and Rafiel soon follow.
Siegbert steps down onto the first rung of the ladder and immediately feels an anxious pit in his stomach. The way the metal creaked under his weight... wasn’t right.
Step after step he takes, the steel creaks and groans in protest. Prince has half a mind to turn around now and not push their luck, but with the rest of the group already safely dismounted, that was not an option. Just as Siegbert lands firmly on the ground, the ladder bars cry one last time—
—and snap, tumbling to the ground in a horrible cacophony, critically missing his head. Miraculously, the rest of the group is unscathed, as well, but that doesn’t stop the pounding of his heart in his chest.
“Nice breaking it, bud,” Laelaps says dryly.
“So much for your Agarthan building techniques—made to last, was it?” Siegbert snips in return.
Before them was a long, narrow hallway. High above them, the entrance closes, and in the absence of natural light, bright blue fluorescents cast around them and the rest of the room in a faint azure glow. Visibility certainly wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t exactly fantastic, either.
“Be careful,” Nessie warns in a hiss. Siegbert nods—that much need not be said.
Having gone unused for so long, the passageway was run down, its age clearly showing. They soon find themselves at an impasse—literally. The floor ahead opens in disrepair, tiles bowed in, as though collapsing in on itself. It was perhaps ten feet until the floor looked stable enough; surely they could run across.
The consequences of failure were clear in the exposed structural components, iron beams and wiring spelling certain doom—but not death.
Siegbert eyes the trepidation on his companions' faces. "Allow me to go first," he says softly, "to test the durability. If it can hold me, it no doubt can hold the rest of you."
If only it were that easy. Siegbert was a horse man; running wasn't his forte, and jumping was the last thing he wanted to do. Although he was tall enough to cover over three-quarters of the gap, he fell short into the foundation below.
Jagged iron beams and exposed wires catch him and dig far into his skin. Unfortunately, blood was a fantastic lubricant, and as it covered his hands, Siegbert found it harder and harder to crawl out of the depths. Gods only know what kind of hellish things were living on the surface of these materials and now had a direct entrance into his bloodstream.
"I'm fine!" he calls, but the waver in his voice belies his confidence. "I can get up! Ensure you all get a nice head start before jumping!"
Briefly, his mind turns to his beloved. Worried she no doubt would be, it would have eased his heart to hear her gentle chiding for his recklessness—and the smell surrounding him. Dragons, how disgusting.
[ Siegbert loses 4 HP. 6/10 HP remaining. ]
Eventually, the prince manages to claw his way to the other side. His entire body stung and ached but there was little that could be done. Panting for breath, he gazes across the gap at his companions—
—one of which could fly, and another who was currently climbing onto the back of a dragon. Heavens hath no mercy for a prince scorned.
@musing-fantasies @draconicprincess @rafiel-bird-man
