Ridley

I stared at Vandel a moment, a clear look of disbelief plastered to my face. He slipped off his horse as I slowly did the same. The moment our bodies left the creatures, they went perfectly still, as if they were carved from marble.

At last, I turned to face Vandel. "We're going...down there?"

Vandel smirked. "Oh, there is no we. Just you."

"But I can't be more than ten feet away from you. I'm pretty sure that hole is much deeper than ten feet."

Vandel lay a hand on my shoulder. I hated how closely his long, black nails resembled claws. "I can expand the area. But I'll be able to sense you wherever you are, and vise versa. That means, if you try to run, I can change the radius back to 10 feet." He grinned. "And trust me... you won't want to see what happens then."

I furrowed my brow. "You can change the range of where I'm allowed to move anytime you want? That doesn't make any sense."

"It's fucking magic, Ridley! Of course it's not going to make sense," Vandel snapped, rummaging through the bag he'd brought and tossing a coil of rope at me. "There you are. Just tie it tree or something and lower yourself down. And do be quick. I don't want to get back too late. I need my beauty sleep."

"I'll do my best. Obviously you need it."

Vandel cast me a sharp glare. "Hey! The fuck did I say about being obnoxious?" He ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it back. "Not that I'm too upset. I know you're just jealous that you're not nearly as good looking as I am."

"Clearly." Honestly, I was shocked at myself. I never acted like this. It seemed that being around Vandel had a way of bringing out the worst in me.

Vandel continued to dig around in his bag, removing a crystal glass and a bottle of wine.

I arched a brow. "Are you serious?"

Vandel didn't respond, tugging off the cork with his teeth before pouring the dark liquid into his glass. At last, he brought the cup to his lips, took a sip, and then looked to me. "Oh, don't mind me! I'm just going to be enjoying a nice beverage while you're down there." He grinned, wiggling his fingers in a mocking wave. "Have fun."

Sighing heavily, I knotted one end of the rope around my waist, then tied the other to a tree. Reluctantly, I made my way to pit, peering over the edge. Well...there was no doubt in my mind that this was going to be an absolutely dreadful experience.

Vandel snapped his fingers. "The hell are you doing? Enjoying the view? Hurry it up!"

That's when something came over me. I had no idea what it was, a bitter twist of anger that I had never experienced before. And then, for the first time, I raised a single finger in an obscene gesture toward Vandel before plunging into the gaping mouth of the pit.

I was thoroughly shocked by my own behavior today. What was I doing? I'd never acted so rudely in my life. But then again, it was towards Vandel, so I supposed maybe, just maybe, that gave me a free pass.

I carefully descended into the pit, my boots making contact with the ground below. It was dark, but my eyes gradually adjusted. Swallowing hard, I glanced around. I appeared to be in some kind of underground cave system. At the other end of the cavern, a massive rock jutted from the ground, a black garment draped across it. That had to be the Cloak of the Heavens!

I was surprised by how straightforward everything appeared. As I took a step forward, however, my foot met something wet.  My breath caught as I stumbled back. With a start, I realized the entire cavern floor, save the spot I was standing, was covered in thick, green slime.

Pushing down my initial bout of disgust, I forced myself to take another step. Regrettably, it seemed I had miscalculated the thickness of the slime, for my foot sank into it, the cold, gooey substance reaching my ankles. Shuddering, I pressed on. With each step towards the center of the cave, the slime grew deeper—reaching my legs, then my knees, and finally my waist. Around the midpoint, a horrendous stench assaulted my senses, reminiscent of rotten eggs. Cursing my luck, I continued to trudge through the slime. Progress was becoming more difficult, the substance so thick it slowed my every movement, like making my way through gelatin.

With each step I took, the slime steadily climbed up my chest, sending shivers down my spine. I smothered the urge to gag as freezing goop met my bare skin. Still, I continued forward, fighting for each step. That's when a noise caught my attention. It started as a low hum and gradually grew louder. I froze, scanning my surroundings as the noise crescendoed, and then it hit me—the sound was a buzz.

As the realization dawned, a black cloud materialized right before my eyes, composed of dozens of small, locust-like insects. Panic surged through my veins, but I knew drawing my sword would be futile against the swarm, especially with my hands trapped in the goo. So, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, clamped my mouth shut, and braced for impact. In a matter of second, the swarm engulfed me.

The insects struck my face with nauseating thuds, their tiny bodies brushing against my skin. The struggle not to retch intensified, my jaw clenched in an effort to control my body's revolt. The cacophony of their relentless buzzing reverberated in my ears, drowning out any other sound. I swallowed hard, my throat constricting as I fought to regain my composure amidst the whirlwind of bugs. But then, just as abruptly as it had started, the swarm dispersed, their insistent wingbeats fading away into the depths of the cavern.

Cautiously, I cracked my eyes open. No harm had been done. If anything, the slime seemed to have lowered back to my waist. The insects must have been feeding off it. I shook my head, trying to clear it. I needed to get this damn cloak and get out of here before they came back for seconds. 

Finally, I made it to the bank on the other side, pulling myself up. As I approached the cloak, the stone around the garment glowed a luminescent blue, sending shadows flickering around the cavern. My eyes narrowed, noticing the same blue glow had appeared on the wall behind it.

When I looked up, I saw intricate drawings on the wall that had been hidden in the darkness before. As I focused on the images, they began to reveal a disturbing scene. In the depictions, there was a monstrous humanoid creature, larger than life, with grisly teeth and gangly limbs. The beast seemed to be in a violent struggle, a sword rising from its hand on which a smaller figure was impaled like a shish kabob. I stepped closer, my fingers tracing the lines of the drawing as I studied it, taking in the victim's pitch-black eyes. With a start, I realized that it was a demon. My gaze drifted higher, and words materialized above the image, forming the name 'The Demon Eater'.

That was odd. I would have examined the strange writing further, but I wanted to get out of this hellhole as soon as possible. Turning away, I snatched up the garment. For a moment, I thought it would be funny to dunk it in slime so it'd look awful when I gave it to Vandel, just to piss him off. However, I decided against it for two reasons.

One, I, Sir Ridley of the house of Alester, never did funny things, and the fact that I had even thought of the idea was quite strange. And two, I didn't know if the bond would be broken if the garment was ruined, and there was no way in hell I wanted to find out.  So, holding the cloth high above my head, I began to wade back.

That's when I noticed that the slime in a specific spot ahead of me was moving.

I froze, my stomach turning to knots as a green serpent rose up from the depths of the goo. With a groan, I tucked the cloak under my arm and reached for Crystalbreaker. Yeah, not exactly the way I envisioned drawing my father's beloved sword in combat for the first time, with my fingers slipping on the slimy hilt. The second I unsheathed it, however, I was surprised by how perfect the weapon felt in my grip. It was almost as if it was always meant to be there, like an extension of my own arm.

I looked up at the serpent and sighed. "Well," I said, to no one in particular, "here we go."