Chapter twenty-three: Labyrinth's vengeance
Jack jumped against the wall and jumped off it, sending himself in an arc through the room. The huge cube—now under him—immediately moved itself upwards, trying to crush him against the ceiling. It was too slow, but didn't stop following.
Jack landed on the ground. The Slider positioned itself above him, then descended. Jack leaped away, and the Slider slammed onto the ground. The cube slid towards him, and he had to move again.
Jack tried to think of some way to fight this thing as he jumped through the room. The Slider wasn't that fast, but it was nonetheless fast enough to keep him on the back foot. He needed to hit its eyes again, but there weren't many openings for that.
He retreated and leaped down a corridor. The Slider immediately gave chase. Jack raced into the room beyond and towards the far wall. Then he jumped to the side, letting the Slider pass under him and slam itself against the wall. Chunks of stone flew off the point of impact.
Jack landed near the center of the room. That seemed to have done something. Now he just needed to repeat that and—
The cube retreated from the wall, and Jack's building sense of triumph fell again. The Slider was barely damaged; the chunks of stone had come from the wall, which now had a giant hole where the cube had impacted it.
It would take more than that to win.
The vague echo of a crash sounded through the halls.
Brigul stopped for a moment. The Labyrinth had many sounds echoing through it, but this one stood out. It sounded more…solid. And closer.
She and Skotur shared a brief glance. Then they resumed towards the sound's origin, their pace faster. Something was going on. Something besides the two Valkyries had disturbed the Labyrinth, and there was only one person who that could be.
Jack dodged another attack. He tried to hit the Slider as it soared by, but was out of reach. The cube moved to retaliate immediately after.
Jack leaped away. He landed inches next to a slight elevation in the otherwise flat floor. He glanced down at it.
A pressure plate. Like the one that had separated him from the Valkyries.
Without thinking, he stepped on it.
And once again, a wall descended, this time separating him from the Slider. With the cube gone, so was the red light it provided, and Jack was left in darkness again.
A tense moment of silence passed.
Then a huge crash rang out from right next to him. The Slider's red eye looked through the hole it just made, glaring right at him.
It moved to the side. Then it went for Jack again.
A realization hit him: the Slider hadn't once moved diagonally so far. Besides going up and down, it could only go in the directions its eyes looked, and the cube wasn't able to rotate. Jack had noticed it earlier, but it wasn't until now that he'd fully realized it.
He leaped to the side again. Only problem was, the Slider was quite fast, yet could stop dead in its tracks anytime, anywhere. Jack wouldn't be able to get a good angle to strike.
He jumped and soared down another corridor. His breathing had quickened noticeably; he was getting tired. If he didn't act quickly, he'd slip up. He doubted his enemy had the same weakness.
He turned to see the big cube flying towards him. Jack clenched his teeth, then evened his breathing. He had to try it.
He jumped in the Slider's direction.
As he passed it, the cube stopped instantly, as expected. Taking the opportunity, Jack swung the hammer against its eye and immediately leaped to the side, dodging the Slider's counterattack.
It didn't pause for a second and went after him. Jack jumped again.
He wasn't quick enough.
The Slider ran into him, winding him despite the Gravitite. Not stopping, the Slider slammed him against the wall. The sound of cracking stone rang out. Jack groaned.
The cube didn't back down. Jack felt himself getting crushed between it and the wall. He was sure the only thing that kept him alive was the Gravitite fighting back against the external forces, but that wasn't going to last forever.
Jack placed his hands on the Slider's surface and pushed, hoping the Gravitite would support him enough.
He pushed with all of his strength, and, miraculously, the cube inched away from his chest. With a strained grunt, he raised his legs and placed his feet against the cube as well, further distancing them.
The red eye glared at him, almost blinding him with its light. It pushed back, and Jack heard more stone cracking behind him.
Then the cube stopped. It moved to the side, and Jack dropped to the ground.
He turned just in time to see the Slider stop again. A winged figure in armor leaped over it—briefly prompting it to go upwards—before skillfully landing at Jack's side.
Skotur, he realized with relief. He glimpsed Brigul standing to the Slider's other side, holding her sword like a bludgeon. He hadn't even seen the light of their lanterns approaching.
Jack scrambled to grab his poleaxe from the ground. He turned to face the cube again, weapon raised.
As if recovering from the shock, the cube moved. This time it headed for Brigul, who flew up towards the high ceiling. The Slider ascended as well.
Skotur didn't hesitate and followed suit. Jack was the last to jump, preparing to attack.
Then the Slider unexpectedly shot down and right into Jack, winding him again and bringing him down with. Next thing he knew, he was slammed into the ground with such force that his Gravitite creaked.
Then the Slider exclaimed a mechanical grunt and moved to the side. Jack groaned, and the two Valkyries landed next to him. Despite being disoriented, he noticed a few small chunks of rock dusting Brigul's armor and sword. She must've hit hard.
Skotur helped him up. Still dazed, Jack leveled his weapon at the Slider. He had no doubt that his armor was severely damaged, but he didn't have time to worry about that now. It had been strong enough to keep his bones from breaking, at least.
Brigul raised her sword again, but the Slider slammed into her, sending her sprawling. Instead of following through, the Slider immediately went for Jack and Skotur.
Jack leaped to the side. Skotur, however, raised her lance and shield.
The Slider met her in its way—and impaled its own eye on her lance. It grunted and stopped in its tracks.
Then it backed away. Acting on instinct, Jack leaped forward and hit the cube's nearest corner, chipping the stone.
It immediately went for him, but he backed off quickly, taking advantage of its inability to move in diagonal directions. Brigul took that moment to attack.
They fought for what felt like an eternity, distracting, retreating and attacking, working together with unspoken tactics as though they were a hivemind. The Slider tried to return the favor, suddenly taking a turn or shifting his focus on someone else, but the three fighters were too fast, too focused, and when one fell, another helped them rise.
The light from the Slider's eyes began to flicker. Pieces of its stone form were cracked and chipped.
Finally, with one final well-placed strike from Brigul's greatsword, the light faded altogether. The Slider's remains crashed to the ground.
Jack stayed alert for a moment longer, keeping his eye on the now-deactivated cube, his poleaxe raised. When it didn't move, he finally relaxed, panting.
"Tired, are you?" Skotur said evenly.
He glared at her from behind his visor. Apparently Valkyries had superhuman endurance as well. Not surprising. "Shut up," he finally sighed, straightening himself. A glance told him that his armor was visibly dented. It still felt weightless, so the Gravitite's force-bending powers were probably unaffected, but the metal plates weren't as smooth as they used to be. The Valkyries' armor didn't fare much better.
"Where did the Slider appear?" Skotur asked Jack.
Right. "Remember that giant door we couldn't get open? Well, it's open now."
"Then we should go back there."
They started moving. Jack took point, trying to remember where he'd come from. He didn't need much time to think; the Slider had left a trail of destruction in its wake during the chase, and he soon found his way back.
The double doors were still open, thankfully. Beyond was a large room with a pedestal in the center—one that looked like what the fake Slider had sat on, except that this one had a hole in the middle that went down about six feet. Down below sat a sizeable stone chest.
Anticipation shone through Jack's tiredness, and he immediately dropped down despite the Valkyries' protests. With the support of his Gravitite armor, he lifted the heavy stone lid.
Sure enough, there were some documents in the chest, some of which were preserved in glass tubes or leather wrappings, but it was too dark to see. His own shadow blocked out the light from the Valkyries' lanterns. He growled, his hands trembling.
"Here," Skotur said. "Pass everything to us. We'll look through them."
Jack reluctantly complied, handing them the many scrolls the chest contained. Some documents that weren't as well preserved practically fell apart in his hands, which wasn't encouraging.
Next, he tossed other items on the floor at their feet. A bloodred gem radiating a strange hue. Oddly shaped weapons and armor, made of brightly colored metals. A locket, of all things…
The Valkyries didn't pay them much mind, instead focusing on the documents. Jack kept rummaging through the chest.
In the darkness, his hands met something. He took it out and observed it.
A sphere. A black one, about ten inches in diameter. The smooth surface reflected the lanterns' light and was decorated with silvery swirls.
He started. He recognized this from the artwork in Karthuul's lair. It was the item Herskagul was looking for. The item Jack had promised he'd bring to her if he found it.
He glanced at the Valkyries and considered telling them, but he hesitated. No. Let them look through those documents, first. Then he'd show it.
He carefully placed the sphere back in the chest and closed it. Then he pulled himself up and out of the pit. He picked up one of the documents from the ground and opened it, only to be met with more unreadable texts.
"Fuck!" he hissed, tossing the scroll on the ground. He noticed Brigul glancing at him, but she didn't berate him like he expected.
A terrible silence fell. Jack shifted in anticipation. He took up more scrolls, but he only found texts and the occasional artwork. He'd recognize a map.
"Jack," Skotur finally said.
He hurried over to her side, and she showed him the parchment she was holding. It depicted a map of what looked like a collection of islands. Various locations were marked with commentary he couldn't read.
"The text under that map mentions Aether portals," Skotur said. "The Aether portal that connects to the portal in the Overworld is here." She tapped one marking in particular. "I've been near that area before. We can take you there easily."
For the first time in a while, Jack felt real hope. "Yes!" he exclaimed, taking the map from her. "We got it!"
He looked up at her. She gave a hint of a smile, then turned to Brigul.
With an ashen face, Brigul looked up from a document of her own. "You…" she hissed. "I was right…"
Jack paused. What was it now? Even after all of that, she couldn't get off his back—
Brigul wasn't looking at him, but at Skotur.
"When I read that document in Karthuul's lair, I began to suspect…" Brigul whispered. She held up the parchment. "But now I've got confirmation."
"Brigul…?" Skotur questioned.
In response, Brigul raised her greatsword. Skotur leaped back and readied her own weapons.
They froze for a moment.
Jack had backed away from both Valkyries, his poleaxe in one hand, the map in the other.
"… Someone tell me what's going on?" he finally asked.
Brigul let go of her sword with one hand and, keeping her gaze on Skotur, crumpled up her document and tossed it towards him. "Look at it."
Keeping an eye on the Valkyries, he picked it up and opened it. Along with unreadable text, there was a drawing of what looked like a machine. He'd seen something like this before: The ornate technological device in the Sanctuary. It wasn't exactly the same, but the similarities were striking nonetheless. There was also a drawing of the artefact.
"Is this the same machine Herskagul is building?" he asked slowly.
"Close enough," Brigul said. "I suppose she used some other copy of that document to assemble it."
"What is it?"
"Ask Skotur. And also ask her why we had to bring you along for our little adventures."
Jack turned to Skotur, whose posture had relaxed a tad. She looked at them both, remaining silent.
"Skotur…?" Jack said, cautious. "That device in the Sanctuary… What is it? What does it do?"
She glanced at the both of them.
"Karthuul," Skotur finally sighed. "The device is designed to bring back Karthuul. And that artifact we're looking for is the last piece we need." She pointed to him. "That's also why we brought you with us, Jack. It's why you wear that armor now."