《Tales From The White Gold Desert》Chapter 26
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Pritchett hanged back, feeling around the slide with his hands, hoping to find a secret switch that would close off the entrance to the secret tunnel. He gave that up when he saw Everett stepping into the creepy doorway. Instead, Pritchett made a bee-line for it just as it began to close, bumping into Everett and nearly knocking the man down.
Ben nearly stepped on the little crab walking ahead of him. The crab turned and pinched his ankle in revenge. "Ouch. Sorry little guy," said Ben. The crab closed his claws a few times in quick succession and resumed walking.
The small tunnel past the door was made of the same grey rock, with a golden stripe running on the ceiling above Ben's head, providing a decent amount of illumination. Although not daylight level, it was enough that one could reliably make their way around.
As he followed the crab, Ben could feel the flow of fresh air coming from ahead, accompanied by strange chattering noises. It was not long until the little tunnel ended and they came into a massive round chamber, red crabs crawling on almost every surface.
The crustaceans moved in a myriad of lines across the chamber, their little legs digging paths into the floor. They appeared to be caretakers of some sort, the red lines of crabs heading in different directions and going through differently marked doors.
Ben's little guide crab was bigger than the others, and if he squinted he could see the rune on the crab's head, encrusted in the carapace, a sort of twisted symbol resembling the letter W. Maybe it was a coincidence, but it reminded Ben of the Witch with her floppy, large-brimmed hat, and he hoped that the little crustacean was some sort of inter-dimensional guide, sent there to help him.
The guide scurried over a large, broken-down piece of wall that had fallen from somewhere up top. Apparently, the little crabs had not wholly grasped the intricacies of building maintenance. The crab then began gesturing and making clacking noises with its claws. This caused the rest of the crabs to take notice, turn around, stop their efforts, and split down on each side, pushing themselves so that a pathway for the two men could be created.
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The guide jumped up happily and continued its trek. Ben followed it, not wanting to make a bad move and be consumed by the crustaceans. He wondered if there was any animosity hidden in their beady little eyes. Pritchett seemed to think so, as he kicked aside a wayward crab that mistakingly forgot to clear the way. This caused the army of crabs to chatter and stomp their little legs against the stone.
"I wouldn't do that again," said Ben. "There are thousands of them, won't take much more than a minute to clean the meat off our bones."
"I better not," said Pritchett, looking a bit shaken, which was appropriate given their situation.
They were led to a square slab of stone, and they stood on it awkwardly, with everyone silent, and the army of crabs staring at the two men expectantly. Finally, with a hitch and a groan, the slab began descending, creaking and spreading grey dust in the air. Ben coughed and covered his mouth, the chain that linked the cuffs rattling. Figuring out a way to get rid of them was high on the priority list, as they impeded his movement.
The slab moved with painfully boring speed. After a while, even nervous fear that you're going to die at any second can lose its luster. Ben began to tap his feet and pace around the little square. It was too small for human use, as with Ben and Pritchett standing side by side, and with a little crab between them, the two men's shoulders were nearly scraping the walls. So Ben's pacing could more accurately be described as one step forward, one step backward.
Ben ran his tongue over his teeth and spat out. His mouth tasted terrible, which was not surprising given that water and hygiene were now a faint dream. He did not even get a chance to shave in the past few days. Ben felt his jaw with his fingers and wondered how many people would cross the street if they saw him coming the other way.
Since the already glacial progress of the last few days had slowed even more, with the appearance of the world's slowest elevator, Ben decided to get some answers.
"So," he said, pondering how to best breach this subject, "From what I gather, you guys are some sort of rebels?"
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"Pretty much," said Pritchett. "It's going poorly. Well, it was going poorly before we got blockaded. I'm not much sure what to call it now. Then we came here to steal some guns and you know how that went. Look, I'm really not the right person to talk about these things. I'm starting to get grey around the temples and yet I'm sure I'll die a corporal. But I'll tell you, if we make it out of here, I'll buy you a map and a tub of ink and we can write it all down."
"Huh," said Ben.
"What?"
"That was almost friendly."
"Ah, you'll do something stupid in no time, so don't get used to it. I hardly mean it," said Pritchett. "Not big on the odds of us getting out of here anyway."
And with that, and the sound of horribly maintained magical machinery, the elevator pitched to a stop.
"Are you sure about this?" said Pritchett, fiddling with his stolen pistol.
"What if it's sending us down into where they're making those monsters."
"Ha. That would be some bad luck," said Ben.
The elevator doors opened, leading to a silver staircase, ornate with golden inlay carvings on the steps and twisted metal rods stuck on each side, acting as a banister. The staircase gave off a soft glow, at odds with the imposing and impenetrable darkness that made up the rest of the chamber.
The guide crab waddled over to the steps and failed to make the summit, giving it a few tries before slouching off with his claws hanging on the ground. As the crab looked especially dejected, Ben took pity on it and picked it up, holding it in his cupped hands. The crab seemed to like this new mode of transportation, giving Ben only a handful of hurtful pinches.
The stairs went on and on. Ben got the feeling that they were in a much bigger chamber than it appeared but due to the lack of light, they could not see, making it seem as if the stairs were the only things in existence. Ben wondered what things might lurk in the dark.
The higher up they went, the more dizzy Ben became, and the burning in his calf and thigh muscles turned incendiary. Eventually, the wind began to blow. It was a horrid thing, warm and foul-smelling. The two men covered their noses as best they could and struggled to carry on.
In the distance, Ben could see the dim silvery glow of thousands of other staircases. They were made in strange shapes, often twisting back in themselves or cut off, seemingly, without having reached a destination.
Fortunately, their own staircase had an end. They reached it none too soon, as they could barely breathe due to the foul miasma floating around. Ben and Pritchett nearly tripped over themselves as they hurried to leave the awful smell behind.
They now found themselves in a small, arched hallway, from the looks of it made out of red mud, with bits of straw poking out and scratching the two men. The sound of running water made them persevere.
At the end of the cramped hallway lay a small ornate fountain made out of jagged mountain rocks. Water fell from a tap two feet above, swirling around the fountain as it settled. On each side of the fountain were two identical doors made out of wood, each with its own polished, ornate metal handle.
The smell of fir trees inundated Ben's nose. Pritchett knelt and began drinking straight from the tap, stopping only to groan happily and mention that the place smelled like his seaside homeland.
Ben let the little crab down on the side of the fountain, as he waited his turn. The water tap was barely big enough for one severely dehydrated person, never mind two. While he waited, a shadow ripped itself off the wall, shook the dust off its shoulders, and cleared its throat politely.
The shadow began to solidify, and as it transformed, it took off a large top hat and bowed to the two men. When it spoke its voice was akin to that of a bored politician giving a rehearsed speech.
"Welcome to the Labyrinth travelers. Would you like to purchase a guidebook?"
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May Aien Have Mercy
He was a slave for life, born without a name. One of many, and yet few, that allowed the majority to live comfortably at the cost of their well being. Despite these circumstances, his kindness and righteousness knew no bounds. Not once had he resented the Gods or blamed destiny for his circumstances. Not once had he lost sight of what he believed in, no matter the cost he had to pay to do so. This was the man known by his peers as Mentor. Yet, even the ideals of such a man had one day begun to crumble under a cruel reality. An escape attempt ended in failure, resulting in a vicious punishment that led to the man's demise. He was finally able to welcome the sweet embrace of death, but fate was not done with him yet. Reincarnated into a different world, he was filled with hope for the future. Assuming it was his just reward and a chance for a new life, he set forth into the world, trying to reach towards a simple happiness, that could make him forget his past suffering. Alas, he didn't know how whimsical fate could be. As betrayal followed him with every step, he realized, time and time again, the shackles of his own destiny. Until at last, as he was faced with the injustices of his two lives, his ideals and hopes were broken beyond repair. Unwilling to restrain the accumulated hatred within him any longer, he'd finally unleashed it upon the world, where none would be spared from his hate-fueled vengeance against the world. Thus, if you dare follow Aien on his road of destruction, leave behind your morals, and witness the birth of a Demon.
8 868My Multisystem In Isekai
Zavier met Cosmic Consciousness after his death. He was satisfied with every system that Cosmic Consciousness exhibited, so he wanted all of them. Surprisingly, the Cosmic Consciousness obliged him. Zavier was reborn in an isekai full of magic and alchemy. Now, he had many routes to upgrade. Interestingly, to coordinate these systems, Cosmic Consciousness gave him the gift of being able to duplicate himself. He could clone a finite number of himself to manipulate these systems. Magus, Alchemist, Mesmer, Tamer, Hunter, Vampire, Werewolf, Dragonknight, Necromancer..... ----- It will be a story that focuses on combat and levelup but still has many mature contents. I've read a lot of fiction about cool systems, so I wanted to try one. So many amusing ideas popped up that I didn't know how to choose the best one. After a long time, I decided to blend them into one story. So the MC will have many routes to upgrade and, of course as well, many pretty female characters. I can't wait to share these with you guys!
8 133All Things Must End
Milo thought he always lived an ordinary life. He had always seen miraculous occurrences but never put them to mind. Milo will discover that he is from one of the few families that have a Singula. Some will view him as being weak others will see him as strong, but only he knows the truth. What is a Singula? It gives its user spectacular powers and makes them "super men." How will Milo live in this world that he has newly discovered, follow along with Milo as he goes on an adventure as he strives to become the one who knows all.
8 436A Raymond's Raven - (The Exploration of Magic in World War 1)
(Re-Write of Original Version)-----1917, the First World War. Witches and Magicians have been deployed from every warring nation and onto the battlefield called the Western Front. They take up their weapons of wands, staffs, and rituals to battle their own brethren under the crossfire of bullets, artillery, and mechanized warfare. And it will be told through the eyes of a certain Canadian Pilot in the pages of history, Raymond Collishaw of Black Flight.-----
8 76Spencer Reid Imagines ✔️
a collection of imagines for your enjoymentmy requests are open so if you want a specific story message me and tell me what you want i will most likely write it!
8 160I'm Stuck! [The Umbrella Academy : Five Hargreeves X Reader]
You grimaced as you held your back, feeling it ache from falling on your ass, as you took a look around your surroundings in confusion.One moment you're outside, the next, you're surrounded by nine figures. But what surprised you more was who the figures were.You don't know how this even happened.**Join the Umbrella Academy as you all try and do your best to stop the apocalypse from ever taking place. Lots of chaos, therapy, and maybe a dash of romance ensues.
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