The Virtues

Devil's Staircase

Iuvenis came into the kitchen where everyone else was already eating breakfast. She was looking very un-goddess like in a pink sweatshirt, blue leggings, and pink converse. She had straightened her hair and left it down. Iter stalked in and snatched up a plate.

"Um, are you okay?" Iustitia asked as Iter chugged a mug of coffee.

Iter wiped the corner of her mouth and snapped, "No, I am not." She sat down on a nearby stool and finished eating before the others. She scrubbed her plate with soap and water, then set it aside. "Hurry up, it'll take longer getting to the stream than I had anticipated."

Everyone else scrambled to finish, then they said goodbye to Marilee, and joined Iter who had gone to wait outside. They set off at a brisk pace and continued until lunch time. Ignis chose a spot and they rested for half an hour. While they were eating, Iter went on ahead to see how much farther the stream was.

"Come on! We're almost there!" Iter appeared out of nowhere, startling everyone. "Oh, hurry up already! It's just me, not a sasquatch." Iter grumbled.

The group continued on for about fifteen minutes, then found the old stream.

"Wow," Spes said. "It's so cool."

Iter rolled her eyes and kept going. It was probably around seven when she announced they had reached the stairs.

Sighs of relief were quickly followed by begs to stay the night there, which Iter grudgingly consented to. The sun was quickly setting and with the light went the warmth. The group quickly set up camp and Validus and Acer gathered wood for a fire. Everyone but Iter pulled their sleeping bags close to the flames.

They ate, then they lied down. Iustitia stayed awake long after the others, wondering if the murderer were really one of them, and if they would strike that night.

The next morning, Iter hurried them along once again. She went first down the stairs to demonstrate, then carefully guided the others. Iter went first, then Spes, Ignis, Validus, Acer, Iustitia, and Iuvenis followed.

"Wow, I didn't think you'd be helping us this much." Acer said loudly.

Iustitia wacked him as Iter stopped to turn back and look at him above the heads of Spes and Ignis.

"Well, it may shock you to know that I don't want anyone else to die on this trip, even if it were you!" Iter turned away and kept going. Suddenly her foot slipped on a wet rock and she started sliding down the stairs.

Validus tried to push forward, but he was too far back. Iter slapped her hand against the rock wall to find some nook where she could stop herself. She had fallen about six steps when her strong fingers slid into a crack in the wall, and she slid to a stop.

"Okay, well that proves you have to be extremely careful!" Iter shouted. "Even me." She muttered. She climbed to her feet and the rest came carefully down to her where they continued on.

Once, Iuvenis stepped on a stair and it broke from underneath her feet. She was alright, she just fell into Iustitia, and luckily, Acer caught both of them, otherwise they would have been gone in an instant.

Near sundown, Iter announced, "Okay, start looking for a place to spend the night."

After almost another hour of rock stairs Ignis spotted a deep shelf in the rock wall.

"Are you sure?" Spes asked hesitantly as Iter climbed in. "Couldn't it collapse at any second?"

"Sure could!" Iter called from all the way at the back, sounding believably cheerful about it. "But seeing as the sun has set, and not knowing what is ahead of us, this is our best gamble."

Validus started climbing in after her, then the others slowly followed. The shelf was only about four feet tall, so that they had to hunch over. It was around fifteen feet deep, which was more than enough room for the seven of them.

They got their things set out, then tried to sleep. Though, Iustitia and Spes were awake for a long time, wondering if the ceiling would suddenly collapse on top of them.

The next morning was much like the previous; they ate, then continued on down the stairs. Iter was in the lead again, and when she crawled out of the cave, she called back to the others, "I can see the valley!"