06-19-2017, 07:16 PM
Oppressive silence fell over the dungeon, the once rhythmic, if hollow, tapping of Somerled’s feet fading away as he came to a halt. His eyes flicked lackadaisically over the featureless brown stone, as the last, lonely echoes of his footsteps bounced away into the room that opened up in front of him, empty and boring. The monster vaguely wondered if they were trying to kill him through attrition, if not sheer boredom. Seven more hallways, each exactly like the one he’d just emerged from, connected to the barren room. Three on the left, three on the right, and one on the far side, faintly visible through the veil of darkness.
A frown fell across Somerled’s face as he slowly shifted his gaze from one branching path, to the next, and so on. There wasn’t a shred of doubt in his mind that this wasn’t a trick, trap, or puzzle of some sort. He swung his right foot forward, taking a slow and calculated step into the room, followed by a limping step as a weak jolt shook through his left. The question was, what was the trick to this room? His gaze sharpened, and the half-assed searching he’d done before turned intense, scanning over every brick he could see.
“Sonny,” the storm spirit said, voice ringing back in dull echoes. “Let’s get some illumination in here.”
“Ah, time for me to shine!” His cheery other half responded. Somerled felt the tell-tale sign of Sonny beginning to borrow some of his power, a mental drain that slowly wore him out. Brilliant sunlight cascade out of the storm spirit, coalescing into a vaguely humanoid form. “Allow me to shed some light on the situation,” the glowing silhouette spoke. Rather than solidifying into the form of the sun spirit, he remained a pure light body, radiance spilling off of his ethereal form and illuminating every corner of the room.
“Thanks,” Somerled said, stepping away from the burning body and closer to the center of the room. “Do you think you could walk down one of these hallways for a couple of meters?” he asked, not eyeing any single one in particular.
“So if it’s a trap I can take the bullet instead of you,” the light spirit stated, silently stepping up to his more corporeal half. “Sure, it’s not like this body’s permanent. And I like getting shot at anyway.”
“Could you stop taking the words out of my mouth and making them worse?” Somerled growled, keeping his eyes on the wall ahead so he didn’t blind himself.
“Only when we’re not on the same wavelength anymore, Summer,” Sonny responded cheekily, as his non-existent footsteps carried him to the middle left hallway. The light slowly began to fade from the room, returning to its usual dark, but still supernaturally bright level. Somerled continued to scan over the room, casting an occasional glance to the hallway his other half went down. The cone of light beaming out of the entrance slowly became more steep, as the source casting it got further and further away. Another cone of light crept into the corner of his eye, a vague brilliance that spilled out of the top right hallway entrance.
BANG
A lone gunshot echoed out from, a dull ringing coming from the passage Sonny had wandered down, and, if he listened closely, faint aftershocks from the other one he was eyeing. Slowly, the reverberations calmed down, and after a few seconds, the radiant form of the sun spirit emerged back from the hall he came from.
“I got shot,” the silhouette stated matter-of-factly as he came into view, entirely unharmed.
“So you did,” Somerled responded dully, crossing his arms and gazing down, falling deep into thought.
“Looks like you’ve got an idea?”
“Yes,” he said, glancing back up at his other half, squinting. “How the hell are you seeing?”
“Magic.”
“Ah... Anyway, that’s not the point. I’m gonna need your help on this.”
“Too bad.”
“So what I’m going to need you to do,” the storm spirit continued on, ignoring his other half’s rejection. “Is walk into these hallways one by one. Only one leads out of here, the rest wrap around. If you cast a bright spotlight down each one individually, we’ll be able to tell which ones lead out and which ones loop by the shadows they cast.”
“Smart,” the sun spirit said, the light of his form sloughing off his body, revealing a blonde copy of Somerled. The small drain on the split spirit’s energy became much more noticeable.
“Let’s just hurry it up.” With that, he turned and ushered his other half from one hallway to the next. Sonny beamed a powerful burst of sunlight down each one, shining light on which connected to which. Quickly, the options were whittled down, and soon the middle right hallway was revealed as the only one without connection. His job complete, the sun spirit dissolved his body, flashing out of existence with one burst of light, and once again they were one fragmented mind inside one whole body. Wordlessly, he set off down the dark hallway, hoping he’d find his allies again soon enough.
A frown fell across Somerled’s face as he slowly shifted his gaze from one branching path, to the next, and so on. There wasn’t a shred of doubt in his mind that this wasn’t a trick, trap, or puzzle of some sort. He swung his right foot forward, taking a slow and calculated step into the room, followed by a limping step as a weak jolt shook through his left. The question was, what was the trick to this room? His gaze sharpened, and the half-assed searching he’d done before turned intense, scanning over every brick he could see.
“Sonny,” the storm spirit said, voice ringing back in dull echoes. “Let’s get some illumination in here.”
“Ah, time for me to shine!” His cheery other half responded. Somerled felt the tell-tale sign of Sonny beginning to borrow some of his power, a mental drain that slowly wore him out. Brilliant sunlight cascade out of the storm spirit, coalescing into a vaguely humanoid form. “Allow me to shed some light on the situation,” the glowing silhouette spoke. Rather than solidifying into the form of the sun spirit, he remained a pure light body, radiance spilling off of his ethereal form and illuminating every corner of the room.
“Thanks,” Somerled said, stepping away from the burning body and closer to the center of the room. “Do you think you could walk down one of these hallways for a couple of meters?” he asked, not eyeing any single one in particular.
“So if it’s a trap I can take the bullet instead of you,” the light spirit stated, silently stepping up to his more corporeal half. “Sure, it’s not like this body’s permanent. And I like getting shot at anyway.”
“Could you stop taking the words out of my mouth and making them worse?” Somerled growled, keeping his eyes on the wall ahead so he didn’t blind himself.
“Only when we’re not on the same wavelength anymore, Summer,” Sonny responded cheekily, as his non-existent footsteps carried him to the middle left hallway. The light slowly began to fade from the room, returning to its usual dark, but still supernaturally bright level. Somerled continued to scan over the room, casting an occasional glance to the hallway his other half went down. The cone of light beaming out of the entrance slowly became more steep, as the source casting it got further and further away. Another cone of light crept into the corner of his eye, a vague brilliance that spilled out of the top right hallway entrance.
BANG
A lone gunshot echoed out from, a dull ringing coming from the passage Sonny had wandered down, and, if he listened closely, faint aftershocks from the other one he was eyeing. Slowly, the reverberations calmed down, and after a few seconds, the radiant form of the sun spirit emerged back from the hall he came from.
“I got shot,” the silhouette stated matter-of-factly as he came into view, entirely unharmed.
“So you did,” Somerled responded dully, crossing his arms and gazing down, falling deep into thought.
“Looks like you’ve got an idea?”
“Yes,” he said, glancing back up at his other half, squinting. “How the hell are you seeing?”
“Magic.”
“Ah... Anyway, that’s not the point. I’m gonna need your help on this.”
“Too bad.”
“So what I’m going to need you to do,” the storm spirit continued on, ignoring his other half’s rejection. “Is walk into these hallways one by one. Only one leads out of here, the rest wrap around. If you cast a bright spotlight down each one individually, we’ll be able to tell which ones lead out and which ones loop by the shadows they cast.”
“Smart,” the sun spirit said, the light of his form sloughing off his body, revealing a blonde copy of Somerled. The small drain on the split spirit’s energy became much more noticeable.
“Let’s just hurry it up.” With that, he turned and ushered his other half from one hallway to the next. Sonny beamed a powerful burst of sunlight down each one, shining light on which connected to which. Quickly, the options were whittled down, and soon the middle right hallway was revealed as the only one without connection. His job complete, the sun spirit dissolved his body, flashing out of existence with one burst of light, and once again they were one fragmented mind inside one whole body. Wordlessly, he set off down the dark hallway, hoping he’d find his allies again soon enough.
Quote:859 Words
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