hey everybody, here's chapter two of Hidden Doors! Enjoy
Edit: sorry about the mess that this was earlier, I hadn't been aware that I had been using an incomplete copy of the chapter for my edits, so I went to fixing that as quickly as possible.
Chapter 2
Andrew felt terror unlike anything he had ever felt before in his life. It was like ice gripped the whole of his body and threatened to freeze everything about him down to his soul. He didn't know why he was currently feeling as such, but he had no doubt that such a fear could not come from anything of a mortal making. He could not feel his body, yet he still felt the cold resonate off of him. He could not see, but he knew that even if he felt his eyes, he would see only darkness. He didn't hear, but he knew he would hear nothing if he did. It was as if he was dreaming, only that dream was a nightmare unlike anything he had ever had in his life. It was then he realized the reason for his terror, it was then that he began to notice. In his mind's eye, he could see it, a shadow creeped all around him, like the blackest oil oozed from nothing, but he knew it was sentient, he knew it was thinking. It was then as he focused on the darkness in fear that something happened. Something in the darkness awoke, and then he knew it was looking back. And that thought scared him even more then he was willing to admit. For a few moments, he felt nothing but the stare, as if it waited for something.
Waiting…
waiting…
waiting…
And then it lunged at him without warning.
With a start, Andrew felt his eyes snap open and his body jerk in response to what he assumed was something coming for him. However, he didn't get much further than a few inches before he suddenly realized that there wasn't anything coming for him in the small room he was laying in. Well nothing else save himself and his new demon familiar Labareda who was sitting right next to him with a curious look on her face.
"Oh? Awake already? I would have expected you to rest another few hours at least. Though I was about to wake you up with the way you started to toss and turn."
Andrew blinked a few times as if to get his mind in working order and waited a moment for his heart to calm itself down, still racing from the feeling of being attacked. Andrew took a few deep breaths to bring the last of his adrenaline down before he let out one last long breath and looked at Labareda.
"I'm fine… thanks though…"
Sighing to himself, Andrew took note of something new about her. Unlike the last time he saw her, her skin was clean and smooth, taking on that pale ash color of hers. The Tattoos he had seen earlier were gone. The demon girl saw his puzzled gaze and looked down at herself with a smile.
"Ah, noticed that did you? You mentioned earlier that you liked my skin unmarked as such, so I took the liberty of hiding them for you. I hope it appeals to your taste master."
Andrew blinked a few times as his mind processed a few things about that sentence. Master. She just called him that. Looking down at himself, Andrew felt his body over a few times and tried to focus on his inner self.
He didn't feel cold anymore. Instead, he actually felt pretty warm on the inside. Patting himself down to doublecheck himself, Andrew stopped when he noticed markings on the back of his hands. Curious, he rolled up his sleeves and noted that he had tattoos like Labareda, though they only went up to his mid-arm.
"It's proof of our contract. As you have marked me, I have also marked you. Kinda like a signature for demons. I can hide those for you if you want though."
Andrew only half heard her, tracking the markings up his arm as she looked at him curiously. Eventually, he stopped looking at himself and brought his attention to the demon… his demon. It was something he hadn't been thinking about until now, but this situation… this girl in front of him, told him that as hard as he might try, this was his reality right now. Letting out a small sigh, Andrew looked back down at his arms before he shook his head.
"No, I'm good for right now, they don't seem to be hurting anything… plus, I always wanted a pretty sick tattoo. And as far as this one is concerned, it's pretty cool."
Labareda cocked her head to the side in amusement before she stood up on her hooves and stretched her arms out in a wide arc before she let them fall to her side.
"I don't know if I understand, but I am happy that they please you… however Master, I would ask you take it slow for a little while, I just got done with… crafting shall we say? Yes, Crafting you some magical circuits throughout your whole body."
Andrew looked down at himself and patted his body down once again, though he was sure he wouldn't find anything with such a mundane method.
"Really? Minus the lack of cold, I don't feel much different."
"It's normally like that at first. The individual doesn't notice a change in the beginning, but give it time and you'll start to feel things you never felt before, see things you never knew existed. That sort of thing, and when it does, I'll be there to help you along the way."
Andrew gave the demon a curious look before he simply smiled at her.
"Well, that's reassuring if nothing else."
Labareda could only smile at him.
"I'm a hard worker if nothing else."
For a moment, it was nothing but silence between the both of them, that is until Andrew looked around the room they were in and let out a low hum.
"Huuuuuuuuuuuum… well… I guess since I'm not dying anymore and your pretty much bound to me… I guess… the most logical conclusion would be to either sit and talk about things or to get up and get the hell out of here."
"I personally am a fan of the second statement. I've been down here for too long to be sitting in here anymore. You think you are well enough to walk Master?"
"Dunno… let's find out."
Doing just that, Andrew got to his knees as he tested himself. He couldn't say that he was feeling absolutely perfect seeing as less than an hour ago he had been dying, but he was feeling pretty good as he got to his feet. Looking around for a moment, Andrew stood there for a moment before he nodded his head at Labareda.
"I think I'm good."
"Excellent master! Then let us be on our way!"
"Where and how though? If I recall correctly, then this place is a labyrinth. I didn't happen to enter the normal way so you know."
Labareda only smiled as she began walking, forcing Andrew to follow after her curiously.
"You seem to forget master that I have been down here a very long time, nearly…"
Taking a moment to count it out on her furry digits, the demoness finally came to a number.
"Well over twelve hundred years by my estimate. Do you honestly think that all I've done while down here is twiddle my thumbs?"
Andrew was too amazed by the sheer number she just presented to answer her immediately. However, Labareda had not been looking for an answer and continued.
"No no my dear master. In all that time, I have planned for my eventual escape. so do not fret over minor details such as those. Just leave it all to your familiar, I'll have us out of here in a month or so."
"A month?!"
Labareda turned her head to look behind her, giving Andrew a puzzled stare as she did.
"Yes, a month. This maze is not small by any stretch of the word. I have spent a long time scrying each and every turn and dead end that can be found in this massive space and I can say with confidence that that is much faster than any other person who has come in here. As a matter of fact, other than the Maou who created this place, I'm more than one hundred percent certain that I'm the only one who knows the whole layout of this maze."
Andrew was having a hard time trying to come up with words right now, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel impressed with his familiar. That was beside the point though.
"If it's gonna take a whole month to get out of here, what do we do about food? Water? Things people need in order to live?"
He couldn't help but notice that they were already back at the top of the steps where his stuff still sat, but his attention was on Labareda at the moment as she bent down to pick up his stuff and began looking at it curiously.
"All issues that can easily be overcome. The prospect of water isn't an issue since I can make it from magic. Food is the bigger issue, but we can hunt creatures down here in the labyrinth. However, those are your concerns since, as a demon beast, I don't need to eat due to our contract… and since I've answered your questions master, I would beg you answer one of mine own. What exactly is this stuff and why does it smell like you?"
Not exactly sure how to respond so her earlier answer, Andrew instead opted to answer her question in hopes that it might help him collect his thoughts on the situation.
"Well, it smells like me because it's mine. As for what it is… the cylindrical item is something called a thermos. It holds liquids and keeps them either cold or hot for a prolonged period of time. The bags are snacks, or food I guess you would call it, but nothing you would be familiar with. The large jug is filled with water, nothing important there… and lastly, the blanket is just that, a blanket. Though like the food, it is also made from a material that you wouldn't be familiar with."
"I see… fascinating…"
Curious, Labareda picked up one of the bags of chips and began to turn it over in her furry paws. For a moment, Andrew was curious about what she was doing, but he was quick to hazard a guess.
"If you hand it to me, I'll open it for you."
Labareda looked up at him and gave him a sly smile.
"Only been with each other for less than a day and you're already starting to read me."
"More like it's easy to see when you're curious."
Handing the bag over with a sheepish smile, Andrew took it from her and in less than a second had it open. He quickly handed it back before he sat down and opened the gallon of water and poured a quarter of it into the thermos. Labareda only watched him for a moment longer before she looked back down at the bag and pulled out chip. For a moment, Andrew could only watch his familiar as she taste-tested the chip. Labareda took one bite out of the thing and her eyes lit up in delight.
"Mmmmmmmh! Delicious!"
"Yeah, but certainly not good for you… though I don't know if all the fatty acids would affect you in the same way… anyway, about what you were saying earlier."
Looking over at him curiously with a mouth stuffed to the brim with chips, Labareda tilted her head to the side cutely.
"Ahout 'hat?"
"Don't talk with your mouth full."
Labareda chewed vigorously for a moment before she swallowed everything in her mouth in a single gulp. A feat Andrew had to admit was impressive considering the size would have choked anybody.
"Sorry master, about what?"
"About getting out of here in a month. Does it really take that long?"
"Long? Master, that's the fastest anybody can come to completing this place. And even then, it's only possible because I happen to know every trick, secret, and otherwise unknown element to the labyrinth. Most individuals end up dead when they enter here carelessly."
"Most doesn't mean all mind you. What happens to the rest?"
Labareda thought about that for a moment before she answered.
"They usually tend to turn around and leave if they can. Otherwise… a few of them tend to make this place their home."
Andrew couldn't fathom why anybody would want to live in a labyrinth, but he felt that trying to apply his usual common sense here would only give him a headache. Sighing to himself, Andrew leaned back into the wall before he took another look around.
"So where is this place anyway? Not the labyrinth, but the name of the land I've managed to find myself in?"
"A good question. I fear that humans may have changed it over the years, so my information may no doubt be out of date, but from what I remember, the land we happen to be in is the land of Rigel for to the north. But that was when people would come to the labyrinth more often, so again it is probably inaccurate. Sadly, outside of the name, I know nothing else. Before you ask, it is because I was summoned and sealed in the labyrinth. These walls are all I really know… that and second-hand information."
"I see… that must have been a really boring twelve hundred years for you."
Labereda didn't bother answering that question, but the look on her face told him that he was right in that regard. The both of them sat in silence for a moment longer before Andrew got to his feet.
"Well, if it really is going to take a month to get out of here, then I guess we should go ahead and get started."
Labareda followed her masters example and stood up while still munching.
"Agreed. Let us be on our way."
With that small exchange between them over, the demon started walking with Andrew tailing behind her. For the next few hours or so, Andrew said nothing as Labareda would turn this way and that at intersections, her mind seemingly in the middle of calculating where the both of them where going. Sadly, he himself was not quite so calm or collected in his thoughts, the fear of running into something or dying in a trap keeping him pretty on edge the whole time. It wasn't until about three hours in when something happened. That something being Andrews stomach growling. He would have eaten something from his bag of snacks, but Labareda had consumed everything he had brought with him. Despite her young body, she could really put it away. The rumbling brought his familiars attention back to him, a curious look in her sunset eyes.
"Everything alright master?"
Feeling a little embarrassed about letting his stomach make so much noise, Andrew laughed sheepishly to himself.
"Sorry, just getting hungry is all. The last time I ate was a few hours ago if not more."
"I see… then it might be time to go ahead and take a short break."
Not needing to be told twice, Andrew found a spot that looked partially comfortable and sat down there. Labareda, however, did not sit down and began to walk off.
"Wait, what are you doing?"
The demon turned around, some confusion on her face.
"I'm going to procure some food. You need to fill your belly and eating something will help me to recover my mana faster. Until I return, you can stay here and rest."
Thinking about that for a moment, Andrew looked back at Labareda with curiosity in his eyes.
"Are you going to be okay? And is there anything close by to hunt around here?"
"Just leave all of that to me master."
Was all she said before she walked away with a smile on her face. Andrew wasn't going to say anything, though he was somewhat curious about what it was she was going to do. A moment later though and Andrew realized that Labareda could be a while and decided that as long as he was waiting, he might as well do as his familiar suggested and get some rest. Laying down on the stone floor, Andrew tried to make himself as comfortable as possible. Thankfully he was still feeling rather tired and his eyelids quickly became heavy before he eventually drifted off. It felt as if he had just drifted off for a second, but the next time Andrew opened his eyes, Labareda was there looking at him with a content look on her face. However, upon seeing that he had awoken, the demoness let a mock pour cross her face.
"What a pity, I felt as if I could look at your sleeping face for a good deal longer."
Not paying what she said much mind, Andrew worked himself up to a sitting position, stifling a yawn as he did.
"Yeah, pity that… how long was I out for?"
Losing the pout, Labareda thought about it for a moment before she seemed to come to a conclusion
"I believe I felt you go to sleep right after I left, and since it took me some time to find something to eat, I would say about two hours. That's only a rough estimate though."
"Two hours of rest is better then no rest… by the way, you 'felt' me to to sleep?"
Labareda looked confused for a moment before she remembered that her contractor knew nothing of owning a familiar.
"Ah, I forget your not well versed in the ways of magic. Allow me to explain. As we are bound by a pact, we share between us an empathetic link. You don't really know how to take advantage of this yet, so you probably will be a little confused when it starts to happen. Thankfully I can keep track of your mental state from across the world if the need should arise, so that is why I was alright with leaving you here for a short time to get food."
Andrew nodded his head in understanding. Though he pretty much just chalked it up to magic stuff he wouldn't be able to understand.
"Alright then… so going back to what you just said, how did food gathering go?"
Labareda didn't answer with words, instead opting to point her thumb over her shoulder. Curious, Andrew looked behind her where his eyes widened in shock at what he saw just behind the demon girl. The only thing he could attribute it to was some kind of giant demon caterpillar… or the charred remains of one to be precise. Labareda looked rather happy with herself at seeing Andrews reaction.
"What in the world is that supposed to be?"
"That my dear master, is what is known as a Shadow Silk Worm. It a pretty docile demon beast, though that doesn't mean it isn't deadly in its own right."
"Alright… interesting name… is this what you caught to eat?"
Labareda nodded proudly as she poked the burnt hide of the worm.
"Of course. A shadow silk worm is a wonderful source of protein for any creature. I even managed to keep the silk organ intact."
The confused look on Andrews face caused Labareda to smile sheepishly.
"Ah right. A Shadow Silk Worms silk is actually very valuable. It can be as strong as any metal while retaining the comfort and flexibility of normal clothing. It's actually very hard to remove the organ without damaging it."
Andrew nodded his head at her, not sure how hard that actually was, but praising her effort nonetheless.
"I see… one thing though. Since you removed the organ… doesn't that mean it won't work anymore?"
"Not quite Master. True, without it being connected to the worm, it won't work as it is… but with the right kind of apparatus and a good amount of magical energy, I can replicate the worm's inner magic circuits to imitate the silk creation process. Before I was sealed up down here, I used to know a bit about things like this. Anyway, that's enough about all of that. Go ahead and eat master. I'll eat what you don't finish so as to recover magical energy."
With a simple grunt of agreement, Andrew got to his feet and walked past his familiar next to the worm. He couldn't help but admire it for a moment, but found himself feeling somewhat hesitant about eating a giant bug. However, he had been taught to adapt to most any situation and pushed his reservations to the back of his mind before he grabbed a piece of it and tore a chunk of burnt worm off the carcass. The sound of ripping and cracking carcass made him almost stop, but he pulled until he got a sizable chunk off. When he looked down at the thing in his hands, he saw that the 'meat' didn't really have a color to it, nor did it seem to bleed. He had never eaten a bug before, but his hungry stomach was more than willing to try now. Hesitating for only a moment longer, Andrew quickly brought it to his mouth and savagely bit into it. For a few moments, all he did was chew. However, the disgusted look on his face pretty much said it all before he forced himself to swallow.
"Yeah… kinda figured it was gonna taste like shit."
When he looked at Labareda, he saw that she looked a little annoyed… and maybe a little hurt at his statement.
"I apologize for the taste Master, but sadly there isn't much I can do to alter that."
Realizing that he probably sounded like an asshole right now, Andrew shook his head to dispel her words.
"No… I'm sorry… that was pretty dick-ish of me to say. Yeah it tastes bad, but like you said, there isn't much we can do about that. I'll not complain about it again. Thank you for getting it by the way."
Andrew saw that his familiar's face looked brighter at his words, but didn't say anything else after that. For the next 30 or so minutes, Andrew forced himself to eat as much of the creature as he could stomach before he was full enough without retching the thing back out onto the floor. He hadn't even managed to consume one eighth of the worm, a testament to the creatures size. Sitting himself back in his original spot, Andrew looked at Labareda and nodded his head at her.
"Alright, have at it then."
She didn't need to be told twice before she started to savagely rip into it like a beast. Andrew found it somewhat terrifying as she didn't seem to care if she splattered her food everywhere, but he felt he couldn't fault her eating habits right now due to how long she had probably gone without food. In about half the time it had taken him to eat his portion, he witnessed this little girl eat about half the worm in that time. Honestly, he was amazed, and felt that he should voice this thought.
"Good god, how can you eat so much without regurgitating it all back up?"
Labareda, who had just been chomping down into the head of the insect, turned around with her mouth full of insect. It took her a moment to remember that she couldn't talk with all the stuff in her mouth and swallowed. Andrew couldn't help but cringe a little bit when she did. After Labareda cleared her mouth, she turned her attention back to her masters question.
"Easy, it doesn't actually stay in my stomach."
"Huh? Wait what?"
"I get the feeling I'm going to need to explain a lot of things in the future when it comes to the worlds common sense… Anyway, as a contracted demon beast, I don't need to eat physical food. In actuality, I only eat only to taste things, or to take the things I eat and convert it into mana."
Andrew thought about it for a moment before he suddenly had an idea of what she was talking about.
"Ah! So you just convert the things you eat into mana?"
Labareda nodded her head with a smile on her face before she tore a chunk out of the worm and bit into it.
"Aat's h'ite"
"Chew with your mouth closed."
Doing just that, Labareda swallowed down her food before she spoke again.
"Since I rely on mana to survive, I could just eat trees and rocks and get about the same value in terms of mana absorption. However, I like to think I'm a little more refined in terms of dining compared to other demons, so I actually try to eat human foods."
Andrew watched her rip another chunk of worm off the carcass as she said that and stuffed the whole thing in her mouth.
"Refined isn't the word I would use… So how much mana to you recover from eating things like that anyway?"
Andrew pointed to the corpse as he said that, but her dismal reaction made him curious.
"Not much sadly. Well… not much for me at any rate. Most demons could get by on a corpse like this for a long period of time. Me though? It only takes the edge off my very low mana."
"Why is it so low."
Labareda let out a small sigh before she turned her attention back to the worm and spoke again.
"After twelve hundred years of being imprisoned down here, I've been forced to use a great deal of my power to study and break the seal set on me. I've also had to use it to maintain myself for this vast amount of time. Add on to the fact that creating magical circuits for you drained what little I had left, and… well… I'm like an ocean sized flask with hardly a mouthful left in me."
Andrew nodded his head in understanding, though he felt somewhat guilty about her current state if what she said was true. Scratching the back of his head, he thought of something he remembered seeing in fantasy novels and the like.
"As your master, don't you draw it from me directly?"
Labareda stopped for a moment, Andrew unable to see the look on her face before she started to stuff herself again.
"Normally… yes. That would be how it works… but your magical powers are hardly even a day old, and I fear trying to take from you now would be like trying to swing a blade fresh out of the forge. Though…"
Andrew waited for her to say something, however, all she did was shake her head and mutter something under her breath before she replied.
"No, never mind. The long of it is, until you get used to the magical energies in your body, I fear trying to use any of it would only hurt you. Until then, I'll keep to eating things to keep me going."
Andrew watched as she did just as she promised and went right back to eating. He however was somewhat impressed with her sense of security for him. He wasn't sure if it was due to the fact that she was bound to him, but he felt touched by the concern. Though he was curious as to why she had hesitated a moment ago. However, he wasn't going to pry into the reasons why she did, it wasn't as if they knew each other for very long after all. Deciding to let her eat in silence, Andrew found his attention drawn to his inner thoughts for the time being. It wasn't until a few minutes later when Labareda finished eating that Andrew said anything.
"Feeling better at least?"
His familiar thought about it for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders.
"I'll manage."
Nodding his head, Andrew got back on his feet before he looked this way and that, trying to figure out which way they would need to go. Labareda answered that question for him as she began to make her way down the hall with Andrew in tow, the start of the adventure down this labyrinth only just beginning.
Xx 5 days
"I'm going to die down here."
Labareda looked down at her master, her face some parts annoyed while other parts amused.
"You said that yesterday, but here you are, still breathing."
Andrew looked up from the floor at his familiar, a long sigh going out from his lips.
"I mean in general. One month of this? We started… like… what? Four days ago?"
"Five to be precise."
"Yeah, five, and it still feels like we haven't managed to get anywhere. Are you sure we aren't walking in circles or something?"
Now just irritated, Labareda lightly kicked her master in the side with a hoof.
"The fact that you still doubt me hurts my pride master. In answer to your question, no, we are not walking in circles. It just feels that way to you because the Shadow Labyrinth disorients anyone who came from outside of it. It's one of the things that makes it so dangerous. You lose your sense of time, placement, even direction while down here. I'm sure I explained this all to you two days ago."
Andrew sat up and leaned against the wall, his mood still not improving even with the explanation.
"Yeah, you explained it all to me before… but I'm just getting frustrated is all. We haven't eaten anything even remotely decent for the past few days, I haven't bathed myself or my clothes these past five days, and to top it off, the magic circuits you planted in me are starting to activate, and it's giving me a massive headache. Frankly, I'm of the mind that I'll die in the next few days before we manage to get out."
Labareda let out yet another sigh from her lips.
"Master, I promise you that you will not die. I'll see to that. I personally think that what your experiencing right now is a serious amount of boredom. You need to take your mind off of all this and just trust in my ability to get us out."
Andrew didn't say anything more, but mostly because he knew that deep down, he was only whining because she was right. He was bored. However, he had found it difficult after the second day of walking to keep his mind off of the situation he was in. Thankfully his familiar had been more than willing to talk with him throughout that time, so he hadn't been all that bored. But there had only been so much he could talk about with her. Her knowledge of this world was outdated, and even she wasn't sure what might count as fact or fiction at this point. Sadly, she wasn't willing to brooch the subject of magic, and every time he brought it up, she would simply tell him that he needed to wait a little longer for his body to acclimate before she tried to explain all that. Other than that, he would opt to tell her about his world and all the things she might find interesting. Thankfully, she had been very attentive in regards to that, but she would ask a lot of questions about how things worked, and he sadly did not have a lot of those answers. Looking around for a moment, Labareda nodded her head before she turned her attention back to her Master.
"The area is clear master, and I think you've rested long enough."
Andrew let his displeasure show on his face before he got back to his feet.
"Fine… lets go ahead and get going… the sooner we get moving, the sooner we get out…"
"Aptly put Master… however, would you mind if we took a short detour?"
Looking at Labareda, Andrew cocked his head to the side in confusion and interest.
"Depends on what it is you want to do really."
Labareda smiled sweetly, making Andrew even more curious about what it was she wanted.
"It won't take very long I believe… as for what it is I'm trying to do… well, we happen to be close to another sealed individual in the shadow labyrinth. I personally think you and I could do with some extra help. These past few days have had me draining more mana then what I can recover, and I think it would be nice to have an extra set of hands."
Andrew saw the merit in what she was talk my about, and she wasn't wrong about it being nice to have someone else to help out.
"Hum… I see what your talking about. Only issue I might have with it is if I'll need to make another contract with another demon."
"Oh you won't need to worry about that. She's not a demon."
Andrew does his head to the side curiously at her words.
"Really? Then what is she?"
Labareda smiled a knowing smile as she began walking away.
"She's what you might call a sorceress."
That's all his familiar said to him before he began following along after her, rather curious about this individual the demon was talking about. As they walked, Andrew found his thoughts start to revolve around this mysterious sorceress. Who was she? Why was she down here? What kind of a person was she. For the next hour or so, this was all he seemed to think of until eventually, He and Labareda found a spiral staircase much like the one he found his familiar at the bottom of. Andrew couldn't help but think back to the last two flights of stairs he had come across and what each one had meant for him.
"I get the feeling the person we're looking for will be down here?"
"That would be correct. Getting to her was the easy part, now comes the challenge."
Looking at her curiously, Andrew posed the question that had formed in his mind.
"What challenge?"
"Getting her to help us."
Andrew could only stare at her blankly as Labareda began her decent down the stairs, forcing Andrew to cut short his momentary confusion. Quickly following behind her, Andrew kept quiet for the time being as they descended down the stairs, the hard tapping of Labareda's hooves seemingly acting as a metronome of sorts for him. For a minute or two, he didn't say anything, but he eventually had to ask his familiar something.
"Labareda… why is it going to be hard to get this individual to help us?"
Labareda didn't answer immediately, her furry hand coming up to her face to tap her chin.
"Hum… well… it's easy to explain, but I think it would be better if you just saw her with your own eyes. It'll become clear when you meet her."
Not really feeling satisfied with that answer, Andrew could only sigh in annoyance and resignation.
"Alright… I guess I'll just see this person for myself… but does she at least have a name I could call her by?"
"Her name is Unoma. She's a powerful Sorceress who was well known for being both a genius at all forms of magical application, and for having more than enough power for some gods to actually be afraid of her. She even managed to obtain the ability to use the long sought after and almost impossible to achieve ultimate magic."
Andrew blinked a few times before those words really set in.
"So she's like some super powerful Mage… what the heck is she doing down here? And if she's that powerful, why is she still down here?"
Labareda only smiled as she turned her attention back to the front.
"All questions that can be answered when you meet her… which should be right about now since we've arrived."
Looking over her shoulder (which wasn't very hard considering he was so much taller than his familiar) Andrew was quick to note that they had in fact hit the bottom of the stairs. The area they currently found themselves in was a little larger than the room Labareda had been found in, only this one lacked the distinctive ruins and glyphs that had bound her to it. As far as anyone would have seen, it was simply a room with nothing interesting in it… well, almost nothing. It took him a moment, but Andrew saw that the room wasn't as empty as he had originally believed. Looking in the middle of the room, Andrew saw that someone was lying face down flat out, as if not even caring that such a position was obviously hard to sleep in. From what Andrew could see, the woman (for indeed it was female judging from large breasts that where squished out from under her) in the middle of the room had incredibly long silver hair that would have gone to her ankles if she had been standing. Her hands where a pale cream color, as if she used to have a nice complexion, but had deteriorated due to lack of sunlight. The only other thing he could see of her was the dark sorceress outfit she had on. It was comparable to the one the Mage had on that he had met some days ago. Even then, he couldn't see a lot of it since she was covered by her hair. Other than that, Andrew couldn't see her front or her face due to her being face down. For a moment, Andrew didn't say anything, his mind trying to find the words that best went with this kind of situation.
"Um… is that… her?"
Andrew turned his attention back to Labareda to see if she might deny it or something similar. However, the smile on her face gave a different answer.
"Yep, that's Unoma."
Andrew looked back at the body just lying there, unmoving and lifeless.
"She's not… dead… is she?"
"No, she's just like that. Sadly, she probably hasn't had a lot of human contact for the past few hundred years or so, so she might be stuck."
"Stuck? What are you talking about?"
Not bothering to answer his question right that second, Labareda walked up next to the facedown Mage and looked at her for a moment before she lifted a hoof and lightly tapped Unomas arm.
"Oi you lazy bitch. Gonna get up anytime soon or am I gonna have to force you up?"
The only reply she got for her effort was a whole lot of nothing. Unoma remained unchanged. For a moment, nobody said anything, that is until the demon let out a low sigh.
"Jeez… you are really out of it huh? This is going to require some extreme stimuli."
Not sure what she meant by that, Andrew watched on as Labareda walked to the witch's feet and turned to face her. For a moment or two, all she did was look at the witch before she nodded her head. Labareda held out her furry hand above her head and let out a low sigh in concentration. Andrew wasn't sure what she was doing at first, but a few seconds later and something happened. That 'something' being a scythe forming in the hands of his familiar. Andrew blinked a few times, not sure what exactly had just happened, but the longer he looked, the more he could see that yes, a scythe had just formed in her hands. It wasn't a normal looking weapon either, appearing to be made out of molten rock and fire then metal and wood while still managing to retain the sharp shape and detailed look of a real scythe. However, as amazing as it was for his familiar to summon one up, he wasn't sure what having a flaming scythe would do for this situation. That is until he saw Labareda lift it high above her head and aimed the tip right for the facedown sorceress.
Eyes widening in shock, Andrew lifted his hand as if to stop her.
"Wait, what are you-!"
The swift fall of the scythe followed by the sickening sound of it embedding itself into something caused Andrew to jerk himself violently at the sudden display of horrendous violence.
"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?"
Labareda looked to her master in a curious manner, all while swinging the scythe up with the witch still on it and embedding the bottom of the handle into the ground in a morbid kind of crucifixion of the woman with a scythe sticking out of her gut.
"What am I doing? I'm waking her up."
"BY STICKING A SCYTHE IN HER GODDAMNED ABDOMEN!? Get it out before you kill her if she's not dead already!"
"Master, I think you need to take a moment to step back and observe the situation currently as you seem to be making a rather erroneous assumption on your part."
"Assumption!? Not much to assume when it comes to GUTTING someone! What the fuck are you-"
Before he could even begin his rant or try to save Unoma's life, the sound of said sorceress moving caused him to cut it short.
"Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww…"
With a small cry that sounded more like an annoyed whine over an actual scream of pain, the sorceress lifted her head up for the first time since anybody had come into the room where she looked down at the scorching blade protruding from her chest, and oddly enough, between her rather large breasts. Andrew was quick to see that for being an old witch, Unoma didn't look to be past her mid-twenties with a pale complexion on her pretty face and a lazy listless look in her violet eyes. On further inspection, Andrew saw that Unoma's clothes where pretty much threadbare at this point, so much that for all the good it was doing her, she might as well be wearing nothing at all. However, where he was paying attention to her, Unoma was paying attention to the offending thing sticking out of her chest. She then brought her attention to everything else in the room, her eyes eventually falling on Labareda.
"Ah… now it makes sense."
Andrew, for the life of him, couldn't wrap his head around this situation and simply shook his head while bringing his voice up.
"Woah woah woah, hold up here! How does that explain anything! How are you still alive and in perfect working order despite having a scythe like blade sticking out of your chest?!"
Unoma, who wash busy extracting herself from said blade, didn't answer. Labareda on the other hand had her attention free and her mouth open to explain.
"Easy master. Despite what my scythe may look like, it is in fact an extension of myself, so I can will it to cause permanent damage only if I want it to. Since I only wished to cause some moderate injury over fatal harm, at most Unoma here-"
Labareda jerked her thumb over her shoulder at mentioned person, said sorceress having worked herself off enough of the blade to fall on the floor flat on her face as she was indicated.
"- only incurred minimal damage. I pretty much just punched her with a blade is all. Thinking about it, I think that's all I really needed to do."
"If that's all it took, then why did you need to get the scythe out?"
Labareda smiled smugly as she put her paws on her hips.
"I wanted to get a point across."
Blankly staring at his familiar for her terrible pun, Andrew turned his attention to Unoma, who was still face down on the ground. Walking over to her, Andrew bent down and flipped her over to see if she was still awake. She was, but she looked slightly miffed at the fact that she wasn't being left alone. Andrew scratched the back of his head nervously before he tried to speak. However, Unoma cut him off before that.
"Who are you and why are you down here bothering me with Nah?"
Andrew cocked his head to the side in confusion before he decided to just rapid fire his answer.
"My name is Andrew, I'm down here bothering you because my familiar told me you might be able to help us, and what the heck is a Nah?"
"That would be me master."
Andrew turned his attention back to Labareda, his confusion very evident. The demon familiar looked somewhat annoyed, that annoyance being directed mostly to Unoma before she brought her attention back to her master.
"Nah, that was the name given to me by Unoma when I was her familiar a very long time ago."
Andrew looked at his familiar with a blank expression for a moment before he looked at the sorceress.
"Is she being serious?"
Said sorceress nodded her head before she let out a large yawn.
"Yup. Easy to remember."
Andrew turned his attention back to Labareda, his eyes asking the question that wouldn't come out of his mouth. Labareda, for her part, could only sigh in annoyance.
"Sadly master, that is the truth of the matter. Before she came down here: she was known for two things. Being a super genius sorceress… and for being so lazy that she was referred to as 'Unoma the immovable', legitimate title."
Andrew looked back at said 'immovable' sorceress and saw that Unoma was already laying back down, only half interested in the duo that had disturbed her. Andrew let out an annoyed groan. He then came up next to his familiar and began to whisper in her ear.
"If she's that bad, then how are we supposed to convince her to help us?"
Labareda smiled on as she directed Andrews attention back to the sorceress.
"How about, instead of asking me, you ask the person in question if she would like to help? Who knows? You may surprise yourself."
Not sure what his familiar was getting at in this situation, Andrew decided to just do as she said and try to ask Unoma if she would be willing to lend assistance. As far as he knew, the worst she could say was no. Hesitating for only a moment longer, Andrew turned around and made his way next to Unoma, who looked as if she had gone back to sleep. However, she only looked it, as was indicated when she cracked her eyes open when Andrew stepped next to her.
"Can I help you…"
She ended up saying in a rather bored tone of voice, as if she would very much like to keep doing nothing. Andrew could only sigh internally before he decided to just get on with it.
"Listen… uh… Lady Unoma. I've been down here for five days now, eating things I wish I never knew about and going out of my mind with sheer boredom. All while remaining oblivious to how I got into this labyrinth or even why while housing the power of some kind of demon in my body. I honestly want your help cause Labareda, who you call Nah, said it would be a good idea to have you. Honestly though, it's your call. You seem to want to be down here, and I think me getting in the way of that is kinda rude on my part, but I still wanna ask for your help. I'll do what I can to help you if you want, but that's all I can offer to you given the current situation."
Unlike a moment ago, where the sorceress had simply been giving him a vague look, Unoma actually looked as if she was putting some thought into what he said. For the next few minutes, no one said anything. However, a contemplative hum from the woman in front of him caused Andrew to lightly cock his head in some anticipation.
"Hum… if I agree to come with you, would you be willing to make a contract with me?"
"Contract?"
Unoma nodded in affirmation.
"Yup. You do what I ask of you and I'll use my powers for you."
Andrew thought about it for a moment before he said something about it.
"Isn't that a master-servent contract?"
"For the most part, but not exactly right either. Think of it as… you scratch my back and I'll sleep on yours."
Andrew wasn't sure if that's how it was said in this world, but he honestly wasn't going to question it seeing as he was more surprised at how smoothly this was going.
"Alright, as long as it's not anything too crazy, I'll do anything you might ask of me."
Unoma nodded her head slowly before she held her hand out to him.
"Excellent, now all you have to do is kiss my ring from finger, and the contract will be formed."
"… Really? That's it?"
"Yes, it's that simple."
Looking at her outstretched hand, Andrew noticed that her fingers looked thine and rather feminine. He found his mind wandering to what they might feel like when his lips touched them. Thinking about that for a moment, Andrew found that he wasn't very sure where that thought had come from exactly, but he didn't think too deeply on the meaning behind it. A moment later and Andrew found his hand under Unoma's before he gently placed a kiss on said ring finger. He was right in his general assumption that her fingers felt soft, but they also felt delicate in his hand, as if he might snap them if he was to squeeze too hard. That thought only lasted for the moment his lips where in contact with the Sorceress's hand, as when he pulled his mouth away he felt something form on his hand. Pulling his hand away to look at it, he saw that a kind of tattoo had formed around his ring finger on the right hand and saw that Unoma also had a similar tattoo on the finger he had kissed.
"Huh... well, that was easy."
So he said, but something akin to confusion followed by surprise formed on Unoma's face when she saw the pattern on her finger.
"That... huh... that wasn't supposed to happen..."
Confused, Andrew was about to ask what the sorceress was on about, but Labareda popping up next to him stopped him when he saw the look on her face.
"Uh-oh Unoma. You messed up. You didn't pay much attention to his Mana Levels, did you?"
Still confused about the current situation, Andrew felt the need to express his confusion verbally.
"What? Mana Levels? What are you two talking about here?"
Unoma, with a sigh, looked to Andrew with a half annoyed, half resigned look in her eyes.
"You don't know very much about magic I see… so here's what just happened. I initiated a general contract, cause it's easier to deal with then the kind of contract you and Nah-"
"Labareda now thank you."
"-you and Lab have. Mine was set up so that the one with the stronger power would be the master and the lesser one the familiar. I thought I was stronger then you in terms of magical energy, so that's what I went with."
Labareda interjected here, a highly amused expression on her face.
"Sadly, she didn't bother checking to see if that was actually the case. In terms of who has more mana, you obviously have more then she does even if she is much stronger then you in terms of magical application."
It took him a moment to let that sink in, but Andrew finally started to see what was going on here.
"So… I'm the master now? Can't she just null the contract?"
Unoma shook her head in answer.
"The only way to negate it is if I get more mana then you, or if we find another Mage or sorcerer who happens to specialize in negating contracts. Until that happens, I guess I'm stuck like this until then… Dear Master."
Andrew felt a tint of a blush forming on his face as Unoma called him that, but he kept it from his mind as her scratched the back of his head in thought.
"This isn't going to mess anything up for you is it?"
Unoma only shook her head.
"No. If anything, this is actually pretty okay for me. Since you're the master, I don't have to think about things. So Dear Master can do anything he wants to me, please don't make me work hard okay?"
Not sure how to answer that, Andrew simply turned his attention back to Labareda.
"Sooooo… I guess we did what we came down here to do. So let's go ahead and get going."
Andrew began making his way back up the stairs with his demon familiar in tow, but as his foot hit the first step, Unomas voice behind him stopped him.
"Dear Masteeeeeeeeeer."
Turning his head around, Andrew saw that Unoma had yet to move. Somewhat baffled by this, the young man fully turned around and looked at his newest familiar.
"Unoma, what are you doing."
"I apologize Dear Master, but I'm afraid that I haven't used my legs in so long that I can't use them properly. I fear they have atrophied after such a long time of neglect."
Andrew blankly stared at her for a few seconds, the young man oblivious to his demons snickering at this prospect.
"You're… you're joking right now…right?"
The only answer he got out of her was when she lifted her arms up, as a child would to be picked up by their parent.
"Up please Dear Master. I will have to ask you to please carry me."
Despite his wanting to tell her to pick herself up and walk on her legs, despite the fact that this was in essence a full-grown woman, Andrew found that he honestly couldn't care anymore. Letting out a low sigh, Andrew turned himself around and bent down for her to get on his back. Doing just that, Unoma wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged herself close to him. Thankfully for Andrew, she was very light even though he would have thought otherwise. Labareda smiled at him, but she also looked a tad jealous.
"Hey, Master, you're going to have to let me try that out sometime soon."
"I'll think about it… now let's get going."
And with this newest addition to the party, the group made its way back into the Labyrinth.
Let me know what you think!