Chapter 12: Withered away

The halls of the fortress were made of maroon brick but oddly enough cool to the touch. The torches, littered throughout the halls, barely lit the path, leaving a majority of the hall in darkness. Upon entering, there were three halls branching off. Sky and Mitch took the left hall, marking it with a cracked brick that Mitch kicked out. Lewis and Honeydew took the central hall, marking it off with a little doodle Honeydew managed to construct with his pickaxe. Martyn and I were left with the right hall, which we neglected to mark.

Wandering along, the eerie sound the fortress echoed. It was like something out of a nightmare. Every turn in the hall led to a new dark path and a new batch of creepy noises. Eventually though, we came across another break in the path. The path on the left looked long and winding while the right path led to a dimly lit room with a tall staircase. It was hard to believe there was a second level to this place.

"Hey!"

Looking to the left, Lewis and Honeydew waved at us. The little dwarf trotted along, attempting to keep up with Lewis' long strides. The sweat and dirt was caked to their skin and clothes. Lewis chuckled, patting Martyn on the back.

"I suppose the halls loop back on each other," Lewis hummed.

"Well, now we know what's down that hall," shrugged Martyn.

"Find anything?" Honeydew commented, bending over and panting.

"I forget sometimes," sighed Lewis. "I walk too fast sometimes."

"Oh really?" snapped Honeydew.

"We haven't found anything but hallways," groaned Martyn. "Except this staircase right here."

"Stairs?" perked Lewis. "That's new."

"Shall we investigate?" I grinned, motioning toward the stairs in a grand fashion.

"Ladies, first," bowed Lewis.

I couldn't help but laugh at that. Lewis did too. Martyn seemed to fake one for some reason, heading toward the stairs swiftly. I couldn't understand what had gotten into him. We climbed the stairs carefully, listening to the crumbling steps beneath our feet. The second floor was a lot like the first one, as in boring. Unlike the first floor, however, this one had hovering bridges over the lava beds below.

"This is precarious," whimpered Martyn, looking over the edge.

"It feels like its getting hotter in here," I groaned, fanning myself with my hand.

"We've been here a few hours at least and have been without water for a while too," suggested Lewis. "We're probably getting dehydrated rather quickly."

"That's not good," groaned Honeydew.

"Do you guys…hear that?" gasped Martyn, peering down the bridge to the end of the hall.

It was the sound of creaking floorboards, even if this place lacked the floorboards necessary to produce such a sound. I could see Lewis' eyes glow as he readied his blade. Something was coming but it was hard to see through the darkness. Suddenly, the shimmer of a blade in the darkness resurfaced, glowing the lava's light. Emerging from the shadows was a dark boned skeleton. It was pure black with empty eyes. It stepped forward slowly, shaking and rattling. Lewis stepped forward.

"What the hell is that!?" gasped Martyn.

"No idea," returned Lewis. "But I don't like the way its looking at me."

"Uzgul!" cried Honeydew.

"Don't be so negative," sighed Lewis.

"What did he just say?" begged Martyn.

"Does it matter?" Lewis snapped.

"It matters to me," gasped Martyn.

"He said death, okay!" shouted Lewis, charging at the skeleton.

"That's reassuring," mumbled Martyn, glaring at Honeydew.

The dwarf gave a shrug.

"Makes me wonder what you were saying early," groaned Martyn. "What'd you say? 'Kazad Krunk'?"

Honeydew quickly shook his head, chasing after Lewis.

Lewis slashed his blade across the skeleton, watching it clash against the creature's bones. Nothing broke. Lewis' eyes widened. The creature quickly swung its iron blade, cutting open Lewis' jacket sleeve. Lewis leapt back, holding his shoulder where the opponents blade hit. Honeydew charged past Lewis, swinging his pickax at the beat. The skeleton clashed his blade against the axe, cutting the handle clean off. Honeydew hardly had time to stumble back before the beast swung again. Lewis blocked the attack with his blade, pushing Honeydew back.

"Fall back!" ordered Lewis, glancing back.

"Xephos!" cried Honeydew.

Lewis spun around just as the skeleton grabbed him by the throat. Lewis' skin quickly turned pale, eyes turning glossy. Honeydew snarled, tackling the skeleton. Lewis slipped from the creature's grip, collapsing to the ground. Martyn and I rushed forward, grabbing Lewis by the arms and dragging him away. Honeydew chased after us. We rushed back, practically leaping down the stairs before resting.

"What…the…hell…was that?" panted Martyn.

"Xephos? Xephos!" pleaded Honeydew, sitting Lewis up against the wall.

"What was that thing and what'd it do to him?" I commented.

"Lewis, you gotta wake up," Martyn sighed, shaking Lewis.

"Wha…" mumbled Lewis, lifting his head slightly. "I can…hardly move…"

"Whatever that thing was, we should avoid it from now on," Martyn instructed.

"Xephos Azul," Honeydew announced, beating his chest.

Lewis chuckled lightly.

"And he said?" Martyn grinned.

"He said I was sturdy," Lewis translated.

With that, Lewis' eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep. We took this as a sign to rest.