Servitude: The Hydrangea Chapters

Chp 63: The Beginnings of a Joined Path - Part 2

"Master Elek! Where are you!?" one of Elek's fellow companions from The Seekers of the Forgotten calls out for him as the party, along with a few others, follows behind. Elek's tracks at the entrance disappear as soon as the sand can no longer reach inside. At this point, all they can do is wander until they find him.

With lanterns and weapons in hand, they cautiously walk through the sandstone hallways lined with broken and crumbling pillars decorated with ancient markings and hieroglyphs, with only the sounds of their footsteps and rattles of their equipment.

"I hope he's okay. Why would he come in here alone?" one of them asks.

"Can't say for sure, but His Lordship was definitely in a rush to push forward whatever Master Ervin is pushing with these old bones," a third member responds.

"Master Elek does face a lot of pressure, especially with His Lordship's failing health. All we can hope for is that he can turn things around once he takes command."

Reaching a section of the ruins they haven't documented yet, one of them notices broken pieces of stone that look like they were stepped on and crushed underfoot. All they see ahead is a straight stairwell leading down into a pitch-black abyss.

"He might have come down here to scope out the area. Keep your eyes open."

As they gradually descend the stairwell, they hear a faint growl and freeze in place.

"Did you all hear that?"

"I think so... but I'd prefer it to be just crushed rock."

After waiting for a few moments, one quietly calls out to Elek, but hearing nothing else, they decide to move forward. Reaching the end of the steps, the room opens up into a larger chamber, though the exact size cannot be confirmed from the darkness.

Taking several steps into the chamber, avoiding tripping over debris or running into toppled pillars. The chamber is too large for their lanterns to illuminate the area well. After a few more steps, they start to hear a wet crunching sound.

Holding their lanterns higher, they can see Elek's hand, blood dripping from it and hanging limply, palm facing upward. Though it remains still, it shifts slightly, with each wet crunch sounding as it moves, along with his blood-soaked sleeve.

Then there is the growling again.

"Oh god, Master Elek...?"

Not wanting to take another step, they increase the power of their lanterns to their maximum, revealing a hunter hekoska, with Elek's arm dangling from between its segmented maw. As the growls grow louder and its many bright yellow reptilian eyes lock onto them, its jaw tightens to swallow, followed by an audible snap as the bones of the arm break. It falls onto the ground with a wet smack.

The companions take horrified steps back, nearly tripping over each other as a claw reaches out and breaks through the stone to crawl toward them, jaw covered in blood.

"Master Elek! We have to save him!"

"I don't think we can! He's already gone!"

As they begin to scramble up the steps, the beast's long snout tries to follow them, slamming into the frame of the doorway, causing the ground to shake and debris to rain down around them.

With their panicked screams, the hekoska thrashes, causing the stairwell to rumble and shake, and the companions quickly clear the rest of the stairs to escape. With one final slam, the stairwell begins to collapse, large chunks of debris falling from the ceiling and quickly blocking the passage, sealing the monster inside.

After a few minutes of silence in the darkness, Tessa lights a torch and heads toward the spot where Elek planned to hide. Her steps are slightly unsteady from using so many Earth circles. Walking around the collapsed pillar where he decided to hide, she finds Elek sitting against it, half of his face covered in blood, his brow furrowed and teeth clenched, breathing heavily through them.