Starry Resonance

"Why exactly am I carrying you on my back again?" Yvain was precariously hanging on to an almost flat wall of rock. Beneath him lay a fall that would result in his instant death. On his back, Selt kept whooping and urging him to go up faster. Around him, the wind was trying its best to knock him and his smaller companion off.

Their goal was to scout the top of Great Divider, the 5433ft tall border that surrounded Empryon, and make sure that no unexpected dangers were lying in wait. An easy enough task the first five minutes of the journey thanks to the easily accessible stairs carved out of rock. The problem began when they were faced with the end of said stairs not even halfway up. To be more exact, the problem began when Selt refused to not be taken along for the ride.

Selt wrapped his legs tighter around Yvain's waist and rubbed cheek against cheek with a grating sing-song voice. "Yvy~, you know I don't have enough strength to make this climb," he said. All hairs on Yvain's back stood on end, and he quickly grabbed the kid with his right arm, flinging him off with no hesitation.

Selt screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice growing more and more distant. Yvain listened intently, a very small part of him hoping that just maybe that voice would suddenly be cut off. Unfortunately, the scream began to grow in strength. As he looked down he saw Selt's body being pushed up by what he could only guess was a particularly powerful gust of wind.

"Unbelievable," Yvain said. No surprise could actually be detected from his tone. Yet his heart froze for a split second when he realized the strength of the gust carrying his companion upward. It would easily break his already precariously weak grip. Wasting no time he pulled his right arm back and, setting his hand in a knife-like shape, embedded the limb up to its forearm on the wall with some dust and debris bursting outward.

In the next instant, Selt's scream passed him by at high speeds. With the scream came the gust's assault. Having only his right arm as leverage in an awkward position, Yvain grunted in pain as the elbow joint tried its best to hold the body in place without breaking apart. The greatsword on his back kept moving and shifting his weight all over the place which made him grit his teeth a bit harder. Thankfully, before the pressure on his elbow could turn into an actual injury, the wind stopped.

Relaxing, he heard Selt's scream now coming from above. In the next moment, the kid grabbed on to him and a sharper pain ran up his arm as his elbow was now pushed the opposite direction from before. He felt arms and legs grab onto him, this time tight enough to choke. "Y-y-y-you d.i.c.k! I was just messing around!" Selt scream.

Opening his mouth, Yvain was about to scream too but gave up on it when he felt Selt trembling against him. He didn't feel bad about what he did, but there was no need to take the punishment any further. "And you rubbed your crotch against my back," he said and started climbing as if he hadn't just thrown his companion to his death. A dull pain now ran through his right arm every time he pushed himself up, but it wasn't enough to stop their progress.

A few more minutes went by in silence with the occasional stops every time the winds picked up. Selt's trembling had calmed down but he hadn't started up his past hollering.

"Are you excited?" Selt asked.

"What do you think?"

"Come ooon don't give me that wishy-washy answer. Your life long dream is about to be fulfilled! Are you happy? scared? Will you miss your home?"

Yvain snorted when he heard the last question. His home was the Draconian's Tavern. How could he miss it when all its members were always together? But he knew what Selt meant. Regardless, he didn't feel like addressing that particular topic. "You could say I'm a bit hesitant so close to the goal, but isn't that an emotion normal to humans? Hardly worth a glance."

Selt released his arms and let his torso fall back while still holding on to Yvain's waist with his legs. The shift in weight made Yvain almost miss the next foothold. "H-hey be careful!" Selt didn't pay him any mind and with arms crossed looked out at the vast grasslands stretching out to the horizon while upside down. The village their group was staying in could be seen in the middle of it with other smaller ones randomly set farther from it. "You're a human too you know. Don't talk as if what you're feeling doesn't concern you."

"My real concern is your own humanity. How high was that fall again?"

He wouldn't be surprised if that was really the case. In any normal setting, Selt would not be a part of the Draconian's Tavern or any guild for that matter. He couldn't use magic nor wield any weapons. Neither could he handle the logistics side of the business. He wasn't even fast on his feet, a crucial trait for a scout, and his attention to detail left much wanting. Yvain's companion only had one thing going for him, luck. Though by now every single member wondered if luck had any hand in Selt's impossible survival. But survive he did. That also meant that anyone near him would suffer the chaos following his brush with death if not prepared.

Besides Yvain's master, he was the only one that could survive that aftermath. Since his master couldn't really handle the absentmindedness and liberties Selt took, it always fell on his shoulders to accompany the kid. Realistically speaking Selt didn't need any of them to follow him, but he also couldn't give a detailed report for the life of him and one couldn't help but worry that someday his devilish luck would suddenly run out.....though those worries could weigh less depending on who you asked.

Moving one hand in front of the other, Yvain finally reached the top edge of Great Divider and pulled himself up. Selt didn't waste any time and jumped off, running past him to check the terrain ahead. Except, all there was ahead of them was uneven rocky ground....and a castle.

What the hell?

It was in an extreme state of ruin. Walls with huge holes in them, its bricks scattered outward as if something exploded from the inside, towers either already on the ground or about to break down, shattered windows. It only had one visible entrance, double doors that looked to be made out of black metal. On it, a pair of realistic eyes, with flames dancing all around the remaining space, were looking down on whoever dared stand in front of them. The intricate design showed that whoever crafted them did it both to impress a sense of dread onto guests and show off his/her skills. Though instead of dread, Yvain was curious over the inhuman shape of that gaze. Razor edge pupils on a complex system of webs, all surrounded by scales.

Selt was already at the doors trying to push them open but they wouldn't budge. For better or worse, he could never manage to stand still for too long. He always had to be doing something or moving somewhere. Even if the 'where' wasn't decided on yet. It could give quite a headache to their leader whenever there was a mission to complete, but everyone just treated it as part of the package deal.

Yvain was still staring at the eyes on the door when a violent sense of dizziness arrived. Everything became double and his legs gave out, but his hands stopped right before they touched the ground. With imperceptible trembling coursing through his body, he managed to regain a bit of his balance. He could feel it. If that dizziness managed to bring him to his knees he would lose. He didn't know what he would lose, but he knew that he would.

Looking up from his awkward position he saw that the eyes were now alive and looking straight at him. What were scales, iris and pupil of black metal were now a vivid red containing a web of yellow under a dark slit. The challenge in them wasn't lost on him. It somehow angered and excited him at the same time.

Yvain could only attribute that feeling to how most of his life felt like a cloud. No will of his own and only reacting to how the surroundings wanted him to react. Only when training with the sword and when he was finally free to choose the course of his life did he feel alive. This was the third time. He had a choice. He could give up and walk away, or face that stare head-on and win. He needed to reach that door.

"Are you alright?" Yvain heard a worried Selt next to him. A silly question considering his current state, but not much the kid could do as Yvain himself didn't know what was going on. Unbeknownst to Selt though, that hand sent Yvain's mind in a more violent spin and he finally puked.

"Hey!" Selt went to grab him but Yvain pushed him away. "Just...don't touch me." As he finished grinding those words out, one of the towers that was already breaking down fell completely. As it crashed, with a dust cloud spreading out, the dizziness that had been impairing him lost over half its power.

Yvain opened his eyes and realized his vision was back to normal. Not wanting to risk the ailments coming back before he reached the goal, he straightened himself and walked the rest of the way, albeit a bit unbalanced, and set his hands on the doors. Whatever dizziness was left disappeared immediately and, ready to claim his victory, pushed the doors open.

"Woah," Selt was already standing next to him with a shocked expression. The outside of the castle betrayed what was really inside. A great hall made of gold stood in front of them. It was completely empty in the way of furniture but in their place mountains upon mountains of gold coins filled every corner. Paintings depicting different types of scenery covered the room, going all the way up to the roof, set in no perceivable order. Ornamental weapons were discarded over the floor along with all types of jewels.

Yvain walked in with a mixture of awe and curiosity. There were only three doors in the room. The one they just walked through, and one on the right and left wall a bit farther ahead. This amount of gold could set them up for whatever endeavors they came up with.

Selt was a bit less restrained than Yvain and walked up to the closest pile of gold. "We can definitely go visit those dungeons you guys have been so adamant about with this amount of money." That's when realization dawned on Yvain. "Don't touch that!" he grabbed Selt by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him back but it was too late. The kid had already grabbed a handful of that gold.

Without any preamble, the double door closed with a reverberating thud that shook the whole room. Some of the gold could be heard rolling down their respective piles as Selt looked back at Yvain with a nervous smile. "We're in a dungeon aren't we?"

"And no supplies." Yvain sighed.