Starry Resonance

After searching the room they were now sealed in, and finding no other exit point, Yvain and Selt tried the next logical step.

"One...two...pull!" With each one grabbing a different handle, they tried to open the doors that had closed on them. Yvain knew it was a futile effort, but this being his first dungeon it wouldn't hurt to put word-on-paper to the test.

The most important rule of any dungeon was that once it began its trial, no one could leave until it was either completed or they died. Since the conditions to begin the trial were never static, the rule of thumb was to never put even half a foot inside unless absolutely prepared. Some could begin as soon as the first person stepped in, others would not begin at all even if a whole team searched the place. At least, this was all the practical knowledge Yvain managed to gather in the past with the limited information available to him. Most books repeated themselves before filling the rest of its pages with accounts of the journeys unique to the writer. Something that only served as a tale to pass the time as no dungeon was ever the same nor had the same challenges. And once a dungeon was completed it would disappear for good so no references could be used.

Yvain couldn't really blame Selt this time around. He was the one that got enthralled by those eyes and opened the doors the kid couldn't even budge. Resigned to his fate, he released the door handle. "Here. If the doors ever open then quickly send the signal." Yvain undid the string holding a leather pouch to his waist, and threw it toward Selt. "I'm going to go on ahead and see if I can finish the trial so we can leave."

Selt grabbed the pouch, but his pout was already giving Yvain a migraine. "No way! This is our first dungeon together. I'm not going to miss out on the fun."

Rubbing his temples, Yvain spoke, "It may come as unexpected to you but not all of us have your luck. I don't know what I'll have to face. If I take you with me there's a high chance that it'll just be tougher on me."

"And it may come as unexpected to you but I can take care of myself," Selt argued.

"Of that, I have no doubt, but I wasn't implying I'd take care of you. Oh don't give me that face." The hurt that appeared on Selt's expression was too realistic. Yvain knew better though, this wasn't their first time having this conversation. "I already gave you a pass when we had to climb Great Divider, it's my turn to be forceful," seeing some guilt appear on the boy's face he pushed on, "and who was it that got us in this situation?" Yvain didn't feel good about pushing the blame when it mostly belonged to him, but he needed to increase the odds of his survival as much as he could and taking Selt with him would achieve the opposite.

With a frustrated sigh, Selt spoke, "Fine, fine I won't bother you for now." Yvain nodded and started turning when Selt continued, this time with a mischievous grin and extended hand."But! You owe me a favor. A favor you must fulfill at all cost, be it day or night, windy or not." Yvain found the choice of words weird, but nothing the kid could ask of him could be that difficult. He went to clasp hands but added his own condition before doing so, just in case."Just make sure it's something I can actually manage." He got a confused stare as an answer. "Why would I ask you to do something you can't do?"

"Forget it," Yvain said, kicking himself for even worrying, and clasped hands with the kid, sealing the deal. Selt laid back on a pile of gold with an audible clink and started throwing the leather bag up and down. "Be careful with that" Yvain said, and strode back to the middle of the room. "Yes sir~"

Looking at both doors, Yvain didn't see any differences between them. Not wanting to waste too much time on such a random choice he asked the paragon of luck for guidance. "Which way would you take?"

"Left."

"Well that didn't take long," Yvain thought and started walking the opposite way from his companions choice. He and the others had been testing the theory out. The theory that Selt had a nose for danger and followed it religiously. So far the evidence had met halfway on it being true or not.

The door didn't offer any visual or mental attacks, neither did it look at him. It easily opened, and Yvain found himself standing in a spiral staircase leading down. With torches steadily lighting the way, it didn't take long to reach the bottom where he found a long hallway with a tall window at the end.

A long red carpet, that felt pleasing even under the boots Yvain was wearing, covered the floor. Contrary to the great hall, the materials here conformed to the norm with finely cut rocks of different shapes creating a pleasing view from the floor to the arcs forming the ceiling. The five chandeliers lighting the hallway completed a picture that reminded him of the past. Though this view looked a bit more grandiose.

Doors covered both sides, all closed except for one, next to the window, from which some light was spilling out. Yvain concentrated on the window. It was raining outside. He could even make out the muffled sound of rain hitting the roof.

Yvain was broken out of his thoughts when the sound of a crying baby came out from the only open door. He immediately grabbed the hilt of his sword with his right arm and started walking forward with caution. He noticed that the downpour intensified from the moment the crying started and that the closer he got the stronger it became.

A few moments later, as if the rain reached a boiling point, lighting fell down. It illuminated Yvain and the hallway completely before everything was plunged into darkness. The only light remaining now was the one in the final room. Some seconds passed. A sharp silence in the background of the baby's cry indicated that it wasn't raining anymore, then the sound of thunder hit.

Yvain heard every door creak open, and a sound not too different from nails on chalkboard started screeching out from every single one.

The strange occurrences so far hadn't fazed him, yet he couldn't help but tremble at what he just saw outside the window. The moment lightning struck, the image of a massive creature appeared. It came and went much too fast to see the details, but he didn't miss the eyes. They were the same ones he saw at the entrance. Yet not only were they much bigger, but the pressure they gave off was a sky compared to the speck of blue from the ones that came before it.

Giving him no time to gather himself, skeletons close to him in height started coming out of every room. Some were b.a.r.e of skin, others only had their eyeballs or no eyeballs at all with only some skin giving hint at their past lives. Most were holding a sword with a few holding a double axe or a great sword like Yvain. The one thing they all shared in common was the stench. It was the first time he had smelled something so putrid. It took all of his master's training to hold himself steady as he prepared to fight in that smell.

The fight never came though. The closest skeleton ignored him and started heading for the light ahead of it. In fact, every skeleton was heading toward the source of the cry.

"What the hell is going on?" Yvain thought. He knew he couldn't use examples of finished dungeons as a point of reference, but the descriptions made by others were never this bizarre. As no skeleton was paying him any mind, he decided to just follow them and see if there was really a baby in a dungeon.

More and more skeletons entered the room but the crying didn't stop. When Yvain finally reached the door, a line of skeletons standing at attention on either side were waiting for him. A crib was at the end with a single bearded skeleton standing in front of it.

"It really is a baby," Yvain thought with widening eyes as he saw a tiny head struggling inside a piece cloth. He slowly walked in at the ready, piercing every skeleton he passed with his gaze, but no one made a move. The room was like any other where someone would find a newborn. Bright colors, plushies, a chair for the mother to sit in while feeding. The rotting atrocities now in it didn't fit at all.

Yvain shot out of his position, forming a single deep footprint on the ground, and creating a mild shockwave that rattled anything hanging loose around him. Having no time to draw his sword, he could only think of one thing. He extended his right arm and allowed the knife to impale his hand. Pushing up he managed to stop the edge from every reaching its target and without missing a beat he back-handed the bearded skeleton's head with his left fist. The head, as if being shot out of a cannon, got ripped out from the rest of the body and smashed the wall, forming cracks all around it. He quickly slid the knife out, some blood falling on the cloth underneath, and with no other option carefully laid the baby between the crevice of his right arm.

As if on cue, the same scream the skeletons made before began once more and they all started to move, this time with their weapons set on Yvain. He didn't wait for them to make the first move.

He slid the great sword from his back in a horizontal motion and, with a speed almost invisible to normal eyesight, cut two of the skeletons to his left in half. Wasting no time, he took that brief opening and dodged the attacks coming from the right and moved behind the crib. He kicked it with enough strength to make it burst when it hit the skeletons on the right, making most of them stagger back. That's when the crying started again.

When Yvain looked down he realized he had moved too roughly and the baby's left arm was stuck uncomfortably between its body and his c.h.e.s.t.

"Tch." He needed to get out of there quick.

Stabbing the sword on the ground and flinching at the sound it made (master will scold me for that), he fixed the baby's arm.

Picking up the great sword, he ran toward the left side of the room focusing on parrying the attacks coming at him. The skeletons were thankfully slow and their moves predictable, making his escape quick and easy. Unfortunately, when he left the room and turned to leave, the entire hallway was filled to the brim with more of them. In the back, several orbs of bright sapphire were illuminating the body of their hosts, skeletons that were probably around twenty feet tall.

Yvain was sure he could take on this small army, but the baby would die.

Pushing down the shiver of fear that threatened to burst out of his body, he made up his mind. Yvain sheathed his greatsword and ran for the window. He turned, and using the momentum, jumped back, braking the flimsy crystal but taking him and the baby out of the hallway.