The Path to the Depths

Dusk arrived, and with it, the pervasive, cold dampness that intrusively reached their bones returned.

"Wait, we can light our way with this..." Mina took three small planks and tied them with a bandage, then placed a resinous pine cone at the end. Jacob and Íthil watched as she lit the freshly prepared torch.

"Excellent, Mina, you certainly have many talents," Íthil took the torch while Jacob gathered more planks and pine cones.

"Add this too," Jacob took a vial from his bag and passed it to the others.

"Cough, cough... This burns strong," Mina coughed heavily as she added the sticky powder to the torch.

"Cough... What is this, dwarf?" Íthil asked, also in a coughing fit.

"Dried Bizmar resin, it's effective but its side effects when burned are strong. Just try to inhale as little as possible," Jacob, as a final touch, gave Jassubiana salts to Íthil and Mina.

Finally, and with a few precautions, they resumed their march.

"How far are we supposed to go to the mine, Jacob?" Íthil grumbled after 20 minutes had passed.

"Well, we should have already left the outskirts of the village and entered the old path... That strange buzzing is so annoying, do you still hear it?" Jacob turned to look at Mina and Íthil, both staring at him coldly and seriously.

"It's not for you to get so serious..." Mina threw a quick punch that almost hit Jacob full in the face. Barely dodging the blow, he dropped to the floor. The impact wave from Mina's attack reverberated in Jacob's gut. Íthil, for his part, cast a light screen behind Jacob.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Jacob yelled, utterly confused. Slowly, he looked behind him. Dazed by Mina's blow, there was an enormous centipede, sickeningly green, almost iridescent, composed of round, chitinous sections with sharp spines and edges. It convulsed and thrashed violently, trying to recover, swaying backward. That enormous monster coiled, twisting unnaturally, and made an impressive U-turn, resuming its attack against the adventurers, charging with all its might. As if magically confined to the path, the centipede stumbled into invisible walls at its edges, accelerating and passing by Mina and Jacob, trying to run over Íthil, who with a surprising turn barely managed to avoid the mass of blades and spines of the centipede, which, up close, revealed a lustrous blackish-green color. Each rounded section of the animal was adorned by multiple embossed silhouettes of animal faces and other unidentified entities in agony, these in turn rotated intertwined, emitting a screech like a scraped blackboard that, like a roar, it emitted every time it moved. Crying out in pain from the sound, the three adventurers immediately recognized the noise.

"THIS THING HAS BEEN FOLLOWING US SINCE YESTERDAY!" Jacob yelled.

"THIS IS PROBABLY WHAT'S TAKING THE YOUNG WOMEN!" Mina shouted back while Íthil just tried to dodge the enormous jaws, formed by animal ribcages, with which he was repeatedly struck.

Íthil, trying to dodge each attack, ended up repeatedly using his magical swordplay, shouting: "STRICTA FUNEM, STRICTA FUNEM, DAMN IT, GIVE UP, STRICTA FUNEM!" losing a bit of strength with each spell. Mina hit the creature with all her might, but an unnatural hardness met her full impact.

"Body attacks don't work, it seems only the face is vulnerable!" Mina climbed onto that enormous abomination and with her gloves grabbed it by the edges of its front end, which she decided was its head, pulling and giving Íthil a chance to retreat.

"Infernal thing, prepare yourself! Tellum secare!" A disc of magical energies shot out as Íthil waved his wand.

"KEEP GOING! You're weakening it," Jacob perceived a weakening in the centipede, taking a wooden box with hemp threads and pulling out a rosary with knots, and inside each knot was a red wooden ring, he shouted to his companions.

"I don't know about you, but the only ones tired between that thing and us are Mina and I! Whatever you're doing, hurry up, Jacob!" Íthil shouted, alarmed and dodging the aberration's jaws, while Mina clung with all her might to the creature's horrible shell.

"Íthil, Mina, hold on just one more moment, this won't take long," Jacob began to emit steam from his body, while focusing all his energy on a rosary he took from his bag. Around them, the fog began to be violently expelled as if a flapping motion pushed it away. Spheres with filaments appeared around, delimiting a space where eventually only they and the centipede remained. The filaments began to close around the beast, sounding like out-of-tune harp strings as they entangled and clung to the irregular edges of the horrible being, stopping its movement. Emitting another screech, it tried to reach Jacob while shrinking, squeezed by the ethereal ropes.

"Grab its left jaw, Mina, quick!" Íthil yelled to Mina.

"I got it! The bastard's strong!" Mina held the other enormous bone scimitar that the creature wore as a jaw.

Each stopping a jaw respectively, Mina and Íthil mustered enough strength to push it back, baring their fangs and bristling their hair in a gesture of unparalleled effort. The pair of Drakoorias pushed with all their might the enormous animal that charged back with force, Mina and Íthil leaving a deep furrow in the earth with their feet.

Meanwhile, red-hot threads chafed against the creature's segments, sounding like badly played guitar strings against the centipede's irregular edges.

Both Drakoorias and the rosary fought to push back the monstrous immensity that was trying to kill them. Finally, Jacob's prayer with the rosary began to scald the being trapped within the ropes, leaving glowing red marks on all sections of the monstrosity, while a smell of rotten almonds covered the area. In a matter of seconds, the centipede was strangled and compressed into a blackish pearl in the middle of the path.

"Don't breathe, let's get away, quick… run," Mina said, dizzy from the effort and the smell.

"Why? What's happening?" Jacob looked at Mina while Íthil began to stumble away.

"The smell… it's… cyanide and other com… pounds… the… the centipedes release a compound of this… as… gas when they are attac… ked," Mina gasped with difficulty, suffocated by the smell she dragged her two companions, demonstrating incredible tenacity, while Jacob and Íthil were led by her to a distant place where they could catch their breath.

"What the hell was that? Jacob… what in Heaven's name was that!" Íthil asked indignantly while the three caught their breath.

"That was a Khan-ja rosary, I used a superior prayer," Jacob chuckled, almost out of breath.

"The spirits within the creature were returned to their corresponding ring; the centipede wasn't just one entity, it was a group of ephemeral spirits, a Koshin Obore. Fortunately, you kept it contained long enough to trap it."

"It seems we're done with this," Jacob said relieved, to which Íthil replied:

"No, not yet. Whatever is taking the young women wasn't what we defeated. This was a brute force fight. Whatever is taking them possesses an intelligent malice and protected itself with the centipede, and I bet there are still more defenses."

"You're right, Íthil, we must continue," Mina stood up and nodded with Íthil, Jacob said, straightening his clothes.

"Then let's go to the mine!"

Having some space to observe their surroundings, they noticed weapon casings and a broken spear, as well as a pair of burned protection amulets.

"Look, someone fought the centipede before us," Mina said, pointing to a pile of rubble and dirt.

"Possibly from the Klein brothers," Jacob said as he picked them up; the abandoned equipment only made them more nervous.

While Mina and Jacob tried to get their bearings, Íthil noticed something out of place.

"What is this?" he asked as his fingers brushed against a membrane almost imperceptible to the eye. Closing his eyes and pressing his hand against it, he cried out in indignation.

"Aaaah! Damn it, it can't be, how did I not feel it before!" Íthil slapped his palm against his forehead. Mina and Jacob looked completely bewildered at Íthil.

"There's a circle barrier here, it sends us back to the beginning of the path over and over. We have to pass in a certain way, otherwise, we'll never be able to advance," grumbling and muttering curses, Íthil began to create a pattern in the air with his wand.

Jacob, with a handkerchief over his mouth and nose, approached to pick up the shrunken, blackish sphere the centipede had turned into. It, almost as if defending itself, resonated with a scream in Jacob's mind, making him hesitate to pick it up. Clenching his fist, he decisively took it. Heavy and uncomfortable to the touch, he put it in his bag.

"Wait, if we want to cross, do what I do," Íthil walked to a certain point, looking at Mina and Jacob, waiting for them to imitate him.

"We should stop here, turn and face backward, close your eyes, and take a step back," Íthil said as he disappeared into the mist. Mina and Jacob, astonished, imitated their companion as they felt a buzzing in their ears that ended with a sudden click.

"Wow, I never thought you knew this kind of thing, Íthil," Jacob and Mina finally discerned their companion on the other side of the mirage that had kept them going in circles for a while.

"Yes… we're passing through magical isolation circles. They're not conventional, they don't work exactly as they should. I don't know who is creating these protection circles, but if we don't do this, we won't advance. For normal people and beginners, they would simply get stuck on the same stretch indefinitely, but an intermediate magic user can pass without problems," Íthil replied as everyone prepared their weapons and looked around them; the moment to advance was near.

"Look," Mina took a humanoid-shaped peridot jade bolt from a nearby tree, suspended from its neck by a cord on a nearby branch. It recreated a deformed human figure with its mouth open in a pose as if squeezed inside a bottle; the mouth's orifice went through the idol from one side to the other. The sudden tinkling of several idols startled them; several idols chimed in the wind, as if making themselves visible, screaming to be noticed.

"Something is wrong with those idols, I don't know what it is, but it's as if they're speaking," Mina said as Jacob felt a pulse behind his head that made him dizzy.

"Maybe we should remove them, I don't like them either, they seem to have some residual magic that I don't recognize," Íthil took out his small lead box and his glove of the same material with which he took the idol and put it in the box.

"WAIT, WHY WITH A GLOVE?!" Mina exclaimed loudly and scared.

"I don't know what curses they might have, one must be cautious with these things, Miss Mina," with a murderous look, Mina silently observed Íthil.

"But next time I'll let you know," Íthil said fearfully while Jacob hid behind him, equally scared.

The moment the idol was removed from the tree, a slight flicker of light illuminated the area for a very brief instant; the heavy forest mist began to enter the path.

"The icons seem to be barriers," Jacob analyzed the idol more closely and noticed a slight whistling sound coming from its mouth.

"They're not barriers… they're regulators," Íthil took the idol with his glove, threw it into the air, and destroyed it with a precise spell.

"Hey, look… the mist seems to be eating the path and getting closer. Come on, keep going!" Mina started running ahead of the others, urging them to follow her.

"Come on, quick, move! The other idols are collapsing!" Íthil began to run with the others as the fog greedily swallowed their steps. They were almost thrown into a clearing. Mining carts on destroyed rails, abandoned trucks, and cabins eaten away by the swamp and humidity let them know that they had finally reached the mine.

"Here it is," Mina sighed while a terrible feeling lingered in the minds of the three adventurers.

"We should probably check the place before entering," Íthil said in a low voice. The other two nodded and split up to survey the area briefly. A few minutes later, they regrouped above. The mine entrance consisted of an area without trees or herbs, just a few malformed plants sprinkled around the exterior where a heavy, yellowish fog created occasional patches of mist here and there. The mound where the entrance was located opened with timbers into a black abyss as if awaiting visitors. At the entrance, a bunch of bones and small wooden pieces tinkled like bells. On the floor, waiting for them, was a mining lamp. Swallowing their fear and brandishing their weapons, they took the lamp and ventured into the darkness.

"The presence of spirits is very bad, I perceive many ephemeral spirits, but they are hidden, fleeing from the lantern's light," Jacob trembled as they walked.

"I perceive a strange flow of magic here, everything is very tangled like Mina's hair," to which Íthil received a blow to the back of his head.

"I think this is a place we shouldn't be," Mina looked ahead as they advanced, trying to find something more than abandoned tools. The terracotta and orange passages, stained by the lantern, stretched endlessly before them and disappeared into the deep darkness of the place.

"It's as if the lamp's light is afraid to go ahead," Mina exclaimed as they walked, trying to discern the path through the darkness.

"You're just making me uncomfortable, Mina, how about we sing instead?" Íthil said, scared.

Jacob and Íthil trotted behind Mina; at some point, she moved ahead of them, while the dripping moisture and the absence of animals only made them more and more uncomfortable.

"This is very bad, I feel several spirits nearby, some very strong, they would harm us if they could, but they keep their distance, many of them are stronger than us," Jacob left paper seals on the cave walls behind him.

"What are you putting up, Jacob?" Íthil said without looking back.

"Well, they're watchman seals in case we need to…" Jacob stopped and stammered, pale and scared.

"Ru… run… run, move… quick! A very strong entity is behind us," Jacob said in a low voice, biting his lips to keep from screaming as he pushed them.

Hurryingly and with growing fear, the chase began. Not a word, not a sound, only footsteps, only cold sweat and emptiness in their guts. Running and guided by the lantern that seemed to be their only salvation, the darkness refused to yield, imposing itself with every step as if fighting for the space the light claimed. For a moment, they heard the intermittent sounds of something rolling behind them, thundering and dragging itself. None of the three dared to steal even a glance, only to flee. Whatever was behind them was beyond their comprehension.

They felt their strength and knees giving way behind them; just looking meant death. Fleeing silently, for a moment, the thing slowed down without explanation, which allowed a moment of lucidity in the irrational terror that the chase had caused. Jacob took the black pearl into which the centipede had turned, throwing it behind them. It broke free and emitted a familiar screech, fleeing in the opposite direction. Just then, the three threw themselves to the floor. Mina threw her lamp in the direction of the centipede, which got stuck in its tail. Silent and at the brink of fear, they felt the thing run after the centipede. With tears in their eyes and recovering from intense dread, they saw the bars of an elevator, to which they silently and in the darkness headed.

As the elevator started, it began its noisy, metallic descent; none of them yet had the courage to utter a sound. Íthil, sitting on an edge with his hands on his temples, made no noise. Mina, for her part, hugged herself, swaying back and forth continuously. Jacob sniffled and cried, standing in the elevator. Suddenly, they heard the centipede's screech followed by a silence that sounded even more eerie.

"So how do we get out?" Íthil said without standing up.

"I don't know, this is more than we can handle… this is simply unstoppable, we won't last a minute if we fight, I don't even know if it will allow us to fight," Mina sighed shakily.

"Hey, do you hear that tapping?" Jacob put his hands to the sides of his ears, trying to hear better. Mina and Íthil looked around and above them; there were 2 dry bodies with bare bones, bearing wooden emblems.

"I think we found the Klein brothers," Mina said.

"Here's the third one, take the medallions," Jacob said as he looked under the twisted base of the elevator. A dry tapping sound was heard as the third body bounced against the elevator structure descending through the diagonal tunnel. A feeling of insecurity invaded them as they wondered if a simple metal box could stop what they were leaving behind. Suddenly, the tunnel began to lose its sense of direction; they couldn't tell if it was going up or down.

"Hey, did the elevator stop?" Íthil asked.

"I don't think so, I feel like it's been rotating for a while now," Mina was slightly dizzy.

"We're probably suffering from motion sickness," Jacob sat down while the others followed suit.

"Okay, look, we need to be prepared, we might be going down into the tomb, that means whatever we find won't necessarily obey physical or natural laws," Jacob took his weapons and the others prepared themselves.

"It's best to avoid confrontation as much as possible. Jacob, you guide us while Mina takes the middle position; if something happens, she'll be within reach to react and help anyone in the group. I'll go last, I have a better chance of defending with shields or vision, plus I see better than you in low light," Íthil prepared the group; if he showed fear now, the group would collapse. He wasn't a leader, but at this moment he had clarity and reasoning.

Minutes later, the elevator stopped its pathetic movement and with a spine-chilling screech opened its door, revealing a tunnel covered in old, crumbling concrete, full of uncapped crates, containers, and barrels. The smell and appearance of it gave them a feeling of having been submerged in water, as if horrible times were spilling onto its walls. The tunnel by itself was a terrifying enemy.

"The boxes here in the tunnel, have you seen them?" Íthil whispered as the group advanced cautiously.

"They're full of shoes, clothes, and household utensils of all kinds," Mina said, stopping momentarily to sniff around.

"I see several rusted or closed doors, I don't think they can be opened without attracting attention. Ahead there's a split, and to the right there's what looks like light," Íthil told Jacob as they walked.

"Understood, be ready, this tunnel has its own malice and will stop us if we try anything against it or its master," Jacob paused to pray for a moment with his rosary while the group halted their advance, focusing only on maintaining guard. Jacob left a strip of yellowish paper every 5 meters; on it was drawn what appeared to be a closed eye.

The tunnel swallowed all light in the area and only left a few distant points now and then where a deteriorated light bulb flickered solitary.

Inside the tunnel, upon reaching a bifurcation, they could see light on the right side and an entrance adorned with several hanging ornaments that swayed with the scarce wind in the tunnel.

"It's a 15-minute walk from here to the elevator. If that thing doesn't move faster than us, we have a 10-minute action range," Íthil presented his plan, to which Jacob cooperated and placed 3 Jassubiana thread barriers.

"And with this barrier, I hope it gives us at least another 10 minutes," Jacob said as Íthil and Mina nodded their heads, and as a group, the three headed towards the illuminated room.

"Of course, he he," Íthil smiled worriedly. Mina turned to the top of the door where there was a rusty and faded sign. Íthil looked, and they read together in a low voice:

"Dark Room, please keep door closed," they said.

"Can you read Arrosthoc?" Jacob asked.

"Yes, at least I learned it during raids on ruins of darkness," Mina replied in a low voice while Íthil looked at him and said:

"The tone of the language seems curious to me, that's all." Jacob, intrigued, proceeded with the plan.

The door revealed a central wall that blocked the entrance, leaving space to enter the same room from the sides. A strong, yellow light was visible on the sides of the wall. The three adventurers entered from the right side. Upon entering, they arrived at what appeared to be a workshop.

"Wood carving tools and tailoring supplies," Jacob picked up a nearby tool and put it back down as they looked at various carved doll parts and possibly handmade clothes.

"Look at that!" Íthil said, pointing, mouth agape, at the back wall.

"Divine Enrya!" Jacob, Íthil, and Mina looked scared and pale at a stepped wall where several dolls sat on small chairs and stools, and in front of each doll, a nightgown or carefully folded dress.

"All for a party… all smiling… all happy…" they suddenly heard coming from the tunnel, in unison with something galloping and shouting the same phrase over and over:

"ALL HAPPY, ALL SMILING, ALL FOR A PARTY!" The talismans instantly boiled and the strings snapped like hair as it passed.

"!!!QUICK, MOVE, IT'S COMING!!!" Jacob said loudly as tears of blood streamed from his eyes.

"The dolls, the nightgown in front of them, and their clothes match the clothes of the missing young women," Mina said as her fury overtook her fear, and she prepared to fight.

"QUICK, MOVE, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS THING!" Íthil moved behind a workbench, shielding Jacob whose sight had abandoned him. For a moment, everything seemed to move slowly; no one knew what to do.