(replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 4)[LAZARRIEN]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 1.5)[A LOVE STORY]
To proceed, click the diamonds that appear.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 1)[Credits.]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[**Story, Art, and Code:** DemonApologist
**Game Engines:** Twine 2.9.2 / Harlowe 3.3.9
**Development:** August 10-15, 2024, for Single Choice Jam.
**Last Update:** July 5, 2025]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 1)[Content Warnings.]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Body horror imagery.
Non-explicit sexually suggestive content.
Discussions of self harm (in the context of self sacrifice).
Verbally abusive parent.
Violence/blood.]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 1)[Begin Story.]
(text-color:"#fb7951")+(text-size: 2.5)[(either:"[[❖->Church J]]","[[❖->Church P]]","[[❖->Church E]]","[[❖->Church D]]")](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[I.]
The man coughed himself awake.
His fingers glistened with clods of something tarry that stank of sulfur.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*That bodes ill.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Above, a jagged crevice tore across tarnished filigree. Light from the dull, brown sky filtered through the dust, so pale that it barely gave the man form. He glanced down at his scuffed breastplate; the crest had all but scratched away. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I am a knight, still, crest or no.*]
His sword was another matter. Gone.
Only the scabbard remained.
He sat up, climbing out of a nest of broken glass and crumbling stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He traced the contours of the dusty shrine, taking in details that seemed familiar in a way he couldn’t place. A painting of a storm-battered mountain. A vase of withered flowers. A blackened ring set with a raw, gnarled garnet.
Across the room, a strange statue stood on a plinth. Carved with uncanny precision from dark stone, a fearsome horned man reaching, his claws outstretched. It was a marvel of craftsmanship: a cape that flowed in wind unseen; scars upon his exposed chest; lips that looked somehow soft to the touch.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He turned away from the statue, its gaze far too piercing.
If this shrine had been abandoned, perhaps he ought to follow suit. The knight walked through the door, and then stopped.
In the midst of a cobbled road filmed with dust stood a familiar man. He was dressed in faded finery, soot-stained crown atop his straw-colored hair, staring up into the sky. The king was supporting himself with an ashy steel blade.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Father?”] the knight asked, fixed upon the man’s face.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The king tore his gaze from the sky to fix him a cruel stare. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Wastrel! Lazarrien, the wastrel! Lazarrien, the thief! Bringer of ruin! No son of King Dagforth. No son of mine.”] The old man spat, hurling a blood-tinged glob to the stone where it splattered.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Lazarrien?”] he replied, turning it over on his tongue. The name tasted familiar enough. But not often with such malice. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Father, what has happened?”]
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“Disgusting creature,”] King Dagforth said. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“A fourth son. Waste of my flesh. Fourth. Fourth! Bringing the curse upon my kingdom, for what? Look at what you have wrought.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien took note of a few things. The desolate, crumbling buildings. The tang of ash that soured the wind. A sky so sickly in pallor even the sun had been swallowed by haze.
The great capital of the kingdom, shattered.
The castle, gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Father, I—”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The king lunged forward, intent upon slaying Lazarrien with his blade. But without the sword’s support, the man toppled, crown rolling to a stop a few paces away.
Lazarrien took the opportunity to seize the blade for himself, before the old man could threaten him again. It slid easily into the scabbard, as though it had always been there.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“Thief!”] Dagforth shrieked. He hardly looked like a king anymore, crumpled at the knight’s feet. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Leave me at once, cursed thing. Begone!”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien had about a million unanswered questions, but he couldn’t bear to remain in the presence of his father, departing with haste. If he had really done this to the realm, he had no choice but to stop it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I am Lazarrien.
I have a purpose.
I will break the curse.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Rose DJ]]","[[❖->Rose DP]]","[[❖->Rose DE]]") ]]]]]]]]]
(replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[I.]
The man coughed himself awake.
His fingers glistened with clods of something tarry that stank of sulfur.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*That bodes ill.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Above, a jagged crevice tore across tarnished filigree. Light from the dull, brown sky filtered through the dust, so pale that it barely gave the man form. He glanced down at his scuffed breastplate; the crest had all but scratched away. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I am a knight, still, crest or no.*]
His sword was another matter. Gone.
Only the scabbard remained.
He sat up, climbing out of a nest of broken glass and crumbling stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He traced the contours of the dusty shrine, taking in details that seemed familiar in a way he couldn’t place. A painting of a storm-battered mountain. A vase of withered flowers. A blackened ring set with a raw, gnarled garnet.
Across the room, a strange statue stood on a plinth. Carved with uncanny precision from dark stone, a fearsome horned man reaching, his claws outstretched. It was a marvel of craftsmanship: a cape that flowed in wind unseen; scars upon his exposed chest; lips that looked somehow soft to the touch.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before the knight could investigate further, a new sound drew his attention. Someone was playing an instrument, its rapturous melody slithering through the broken windows.
Cautiously, the man crept to the shrine’s open doorway. Swordless though he was, he gripped a hunk of fallen masonry, ready to bash a head in if he needed to.
As he approached, the music grew louder, richer. He peered around the doorway. In the middle of the cobbled road stood a short woman dressed in an impossibly vibrant array of quilted patchwork, frayed paisley that defied the bleakness of its sky.
She swayed in time to the melody on her flute, eyes closed, as the sound swelled.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not a threat.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight sheepishly set down the rock, stood properly, and walked out to greet her.
She broke off the melody reluctantly as he approached, eyes opened. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Ah, Lazarrien. There you are.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Lazarrien?”] he replied, turning it over on his tongue. The name tasted familiar enough.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Yeah, that’s you. In the flesh, or… what’s left of it.”] She flicked a bit of soot off the tip of her flute.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who are you? Where am I? What is—”]
She held up a hand, fingertips calloused. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“I’m Jozetta. As to where we are? Really, it’s *why* we are that matters.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I don’t follow.”]
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Look around.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien—if that really was his name—took note of a few things. The desolate, crumbling buildings. The tang of ash that soured the wind. A sky so sickly in pallor even the sun had been swallowed by haze.
The great capital of the kingdom, shattered.
The castle, gone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Wretched, right? I mean, for you. I still get to have my music, so I’m set. You, though? With your quest and all? Not so much.”]
The knight wracked his brain. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Yes, I’m supposed to be doing something.*]
“Climb to the fortress in the sky. Defeat your evil sorcerer paramour who cursed the land.”
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“My *what*?”]
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“With that sword.”] She aimed her pinky at the ashy steel blade leaning unceremoniously against the stone. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“You know, stab him.”] She gripped her flute, making a crude gesture with it. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Dance a little first, at least.”]
Numbly, Lazarrien picked up the sword. It slid easily into the scabbard, as though it had always been there.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Go on then! I’ll see you off.”] Jozetta began a jaunty tune—some bawdy tavern fare ill-suited to the moment.
He had about a million unanswered questions, but the musician seemed to have not a care in the world. So he moved on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I am Lazarrien.
I have a purpose.
I will break the curse.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Rose JP]]","[[❖->Rose JE]]","[[❖->Rose JD]]") ]]]]]]]]
(replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[I.]
The man coughed himself awake.
His fingers glistened with clods of something tarry that stank of sulfur.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*That bodes ill.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Above, a jagged crevice tore across tarnished filigree. Light from the dull, brown sky filtered through the dust, so pale that it barely gave the man form. He glanced down at his scuffed breastplate; the crest had all but scratched away. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I am a knight, still, crest or no.*]
His sword was another matter. Gone.
Only the scabbard remained.
He sat up, climbing out of a nest of broken glass and crumbling stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He traced the contours of the dusty shrine, taking in details that seemed familiar in a way he couldn’t place. A painting of a storm-battered mountain. A vase of withered flowers. A blackened ring set with a raw, gnarled garnet.
Across the room, a strange statue stood on a plinth. Carved with uncanny precision from dark stone, a fearsome horned man reaching, his claws outstretched. It was a marvel of craftsmanship: a cape that flowed in wind unseen; scars upon his exposed chest; lips that looked somehow soft to the touch.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Hello?”] came a tentative voice from behind him.
The knight whipped around, tensing for a fight. But it was just a child. They looked up at him with curious eyes that peered out from under messy straw-colored curls.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Are you… are you Lazarrien?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Lazarrien?”] he replied, turning it over on his tongue. The name tasted familiar enough. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I think so. Who are you?”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’m Prenn,”] the child answered. They paused. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“Can you… help?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What is it that you need?”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“It’s not me. It’s everyone.”] Prenn’s voice rose slightly. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“I can’t find Mother. She’s cursed. Everyone is.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Cursed?”]
The child nodded, then turned to walk out the door. They looked back, beckoning the knight to follow. He did.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[They now stood in the midst of an cobbled road filmed with dust.
Lazarrien—if that really was his name—took note of a few things. The desolate, crumbling buildings. The tang of ash that soured the wind. A sky so sickly in pallor even the sun had been swallowed by haze.
The great capital of the kingdom, shattered.
The castle, gone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I see,”] he said, at long last. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What do I do? How can I help?”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Up.”] The child pointed skyward. There was a faint outline of something, but it was hard to resolve the shape given the haze. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“That’s where the bad man is.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What bad man? A demon, like the statue?”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“No!”] Prenn said, waving their arms madly.
The knight stared at them.
The child bit their lip. It looked like they had a lot they wanted to say. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“Please, go stop the bad man. Make it stop. Please.”]
Hearing the child’s plea stirred something in his memory. Lazarrien didn’t enough know quite yet, but he knew that it was important that he helped Prenn.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’ll do it. I’ll break the curse.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Prenn gave the barest hint of a smile. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“Thank you. You’ll need that.”] They walked over to one of the shrine’s exterior walls. An ashy steel blade leaned unceremoniously against the stone. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“Your sword.”]
Lazarrien picked up the sword. It slid easily into the scabbard, as though it had always been there.
Prenn looked him up and down, nodded, and then walked back into the shrine, leaving the knight to his quest.
He had about a million unanswered questions, but he could hardly expect this child to answer everything for him. So he moved on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I am Lazarrien.
I have a purpose.
I will break the curse.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Rose PJ]]","[[❖->Rose PE]]","[[❖->Rose PD]]") ]]]]]]]]
(replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[I.]
The man coughed himself awake.
His fingers glistened with clods of something tarry that stank of sulfur.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*That bodes ill.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Above, a jagged crevice tore across tarnished filigree. Light from the dull, brown sky filtered through the dust, so pale that it barely gave the man form. He glanced down at his scuffed breastplate; the crest had all but scratched away. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I am a knight, still, crest or no.*]
His sword was another matter. Gone.
Only the scabbard remained.
He sat up, climbing out of a nest of broken glass and crumbling stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He traced the contours of the dusty shrine, taking in details that seemed familiar in a way he couldn’t place. A painting of a storm-battered mountain. A vase of withered flowers. A blackened ring set with a raw, gnarled garnet.
Across the room, a strange statue stood on a plinth. Carved with uncanny precision from dark stone, a fearsome horned man reaching, his claws outstretched. It was a marvel of craftsmanship: a cape that flowed in wind unseen; scars upon his exposed chest; lips that looked somehow soft to the touch.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He turned away from the statue, its gaze far too piercing. To his surprise, a woman was watching him from a corner of the chamber.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*How long has she been there?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The woman was reclined in a dusty chair, draped in the pale blue robes of a priestess, curly hair pinned back into a bun.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is this your shrine?”] the knight asked. How strange to find a woman of the faith sharing space with such a fiendish sculpture. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What exactly are you worshipping here?”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“It doesn’t matter anymore,”] she said. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I’ll never again see the sky—the great blue firmament.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is this demon threatening you in some way?”] He paused, shaking his head. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Madness. It’s a statue. Just a statue. Who are you?”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Ennestine. High priestess? No. Low priestess. The lowest priestess there ever will be. And the last.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is there something I can do?”]
The priestess withdrew, knees to her chest, before sagging back to her original languished position. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“We’re cursed. You’re cursed. I’m cursed. My poor child… has forsaken me. Sin blackens the wind itself.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re a priestess. It’s your duty to offer guidance.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Seek the true sky. Only there could blood and steel cleanse us. I must stay. Lazarrien, you must go.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Lazarrien?”] he replied, turning it over on his tongue. The name tasted familiar enough.
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“That’s my guidance,”] Ennestine said. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Seek the true sky.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien—if that really was his name—left the shrine quickly after that. He now stood in the midst of an cobbled road filmed with dust.
He took note of a few things. The desolate, crumbling buildings. The tang of ash that soured the wind. A sky so sickly in pallor even the sun had been swallowed by haze.
The great capital of the kingdom, shattered.
The castle, gone.
The knight turned back, thinking of the priestess, perhaps hoping she might be watching him from behind the broken windows.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[She wasn’t.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[But he noticed something else. An ashy steel blade leaned unceremoniously against the shrine’s stone exterior.
Lazarrien picked up the sword. It slid easily into the scabbard, as though it had always been there.
If the faith had truly fallen, perhaps it was hopeless. But he had sought guidance, and received it. He would seek the true sky.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I am Lazarrien.
I have a purpose.
I will break the curse.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Rose EJ]]","[[❖->Rose EP]]","[[❖->Rose ED]]") ]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[II.]
Ash had drifted into mounds across the labyrinthine alleys of the desecrated city. The grim knight trudged through it.
Smoke hung over the land, smothering each and every scrap of civilized rubble. It wasn’t long before Lazarrien forgot the taste of anything but soot.
Even so, every so often, he caught a glimpse of something sparkling in the otherwise featureless sky.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*It must be the castle up there.*
*Like Jozetta said.*]
His heart swelled with purpose.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Close to the edge of the capital, he realized he was being followed.
A shadow lingered behind him, a dark figure against the gray expanse. He caught a glimpse of fire flickering, as though its hair was ablaze. Ram-like horns that curled back behind its head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon! So it wasn’t just a statue…*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien quickened his pace, his resolve streaked with fear. It couldn’t be good to meet a devil in a cursed land.
The city gave way to a field of bramble, scorched rose vines that wove a thicket higher than three men. Thorns scraped against his armor and flesh alike as he rushed past. Crisp gray blossoms crumbled to ash in his wake.
Flames crackled at pace behind him, the smoky fragrance of torched rose rising.
The knight stumbled into a small clearing.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A small child stood there. They looked up at him with curious eyes that peered out from under messy straw-colored curls.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You! Child!”] the knight said, voice hoarse. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What are you doing out here? It’s not safe.”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’m Prenn,”] they said. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’m looking for Mother. But... I don’t think she’s here.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“There’s a demon!”] Lazarrien snapped. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“It’ll find you. You need to run away from here.”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Agramith?”] Prenn asked. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“He’s not looking for me. He’s looking for you.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith. I’ve heard it before. When?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You know of this demon?”] the knight asked. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What do you know?”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“That he’s not looking for me. He’s looking for you,”] the child repeated. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“And I’m looking for Mother. At this point… even Father would do.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I don’t have time to help you,”] Lazarrien said, heart aching at the thought. The sickening howl of hellfire had drawn nearer.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’ll find her on my own, then,”] Prenn said. They paused, contemplating the knight, then pointed. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“Go that way, I think.”]
And so the knight leapt in the direction the child had indicated, bravely leaving them to their fate.
Sure enough, the burning smell lessened.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I must reach the castle.
I must break the curse.
I must not stop.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Tram JPD]]","[[❖->Tram JPE]]") ]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[II.]
Ash had drifted into mounds across the labyrinthine alleys of the desecrated city. The grim knight trudged through it.
Smoke hung over the land, smothering each and every scrap of civilized rubble. It wasn’t long before Lazarrien forgot the taste of anything but soot.
Even so, every so often, he caught a glimpse of something sparkling in the otherwise featureless sky.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*It must be the castle up there.*
*Like Jozetta said.*]
His heart swelled with purpose.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Close to the edge of the capital, he realized he was being followed.
A shadow lingered behind him, a dark figure against the gray expanse. He caught a glimpse of fire flickering, as though its hair was ablaze. Ram-like horns that curled back behind its head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon! So it wasn’t just a statue…*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien quickened his pace, his resolve streaked with fear. It couldn’t be good to meet a devil in a cursed land.
The city gave way to a field of bramble, scorched rose vines that wove a thicket higher than three men. Thorns scraped against his armor and flesh alike as he rushed past. Crisp gray blossoms crumbled to ash in his wake.
Flames crackled at pace behind him, the smoky fragrance of torched rose rising.
The knight stumbled into a small clearing.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A woman lay on her back, silver curls spread out around her as she gazed up into the sky. Rose brambles wove in and out of her pale blue priestess robes. It was hardly possible to tell where the vines began and her body ended.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Priestess?”] the knight asked, voice hoarse.
She continued looking up at the sky. Perhaps she couldn’t move anymore. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Is that you, Lazarrien? Sometimes I think I can see it... in my dreams. The true sky.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“There’s a demon behind me,”] Lazarrien said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re a woman of faith. Can you stop it? What should I do?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Seek the true sky,”] she said. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Agramith can’t stop you.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith. I’ve heard it before. When?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Jozetta told me—”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Jozetta?”] the priestess muttered. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Did she play her melody so sweetly? For you, too?”] She wept bitterly. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“No, I’d not turn from the true sky again. Not even for her.”]
Faith offered little respite for the knight. The sickening howl of hellfire had drawn nearer, he dared not meet it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien fled from the clearing, leaving the priestess to her fate. He wondered if the true sky was still blue in her dreams. Or had it clouded, even there?
The burning smell lessened. He’d drawn away from the demon after all.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I must reach the castle.
I must break the curse.
I must not stop.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Tram JEP]]","[[❖->Tram JED]]") ]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[II.]
Ash had drifted into mounds across the labyrinthine alleys of the desecrated city. The grim knight trudged through it.
Smoke hung over the land, smothering each and every scrap of civilized rubble. It wasn’t long before Lazarrien forgot the taste of anything but soot.
Even so, every so often, he caught a glimpse of something sparkling in the otherwise featureless sky.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*It must be the castle up there.*
*Like Jozetta said.*]
His heart swelled with purpose.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Close to the edge of the capital, he realized he was being followed.
A shadow lingered behind him, a dark figure against the gray expanse. He caught a glimpse of fire flickering, as though its hair was ablaze. Ram-like horns that curled back behind its head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon! So it wasn’t just a statue…*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien quickened his pace, his resolve streaked with fear. It couldn’t be good to meet a devil in a cursed land.
The city gave way to a field of bramble, scorched rose vines that wove a thicket higher than three men. Thorns scraped against his armor and flesh alike as he rushed past. Crisp gray blossoms crumbled to ash in his wake.
Flames crackled at pace behind him, the smoky fragrance of torched rose rising.
The knight stumbled into a small clearing.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[An older man, dressed in faded finery, was engaged in a struggle against a rose bramble that had twisted a loop around his ankle. His hands were scratched and bleeding. A dusty crown sat askew atop his straw-colored hair.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Father!”] the knight called out, his voice hoarse.
The king turned his way, affixing him with an expression so venomous that even Lazarrien’s bones knew no demon could hope to match its cruelty.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#f4e074")[“Filth!”] the old man shrieked. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Rot of my flesh. Stain on my house. You dare to call me Father? You are nothing! I am your king!”]
The threat of his fiendish pursuer paled in the face of his father.
Lazarrien turned, looking for a break in the clearing to escape.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“I gave you no leave!”] the king shouted. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Free me from this accursed vegetation, I command it!”]
The knight’s blade weighed heavily at his side.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“There’s a demon on the way,”] he said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You oughtn’t threaten me.”]
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“You brought this hell upon us,”] the king said. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“You brought Agramith into our midst. Damn you!”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith. I’ve heard it before. When?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[His father continued.(text-color:"#f4e074")[ “Even your name shall be destroyed—you stricken, from even memory. None will know of you except for how you’ve failed—for what you’ve ruined. Wretch! Traitor!”] The king spat, darkening a spot on the ground with something oily and black.
The sickening howl of hellfire had drawn nearer. Lazarrien dared not meet it.
He fled the clearing, leaving the king to his fate.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Try as he might, he couldn’t forget his father’s cruel words, each taking root, bramble in his mind.
Even so, the burning smell lessened as he left the demon and his father behind.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I must reach the castle.
I must break the curse.
I must not stop.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Tram JDP]]","[[❖->Tram JDE]]") ]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[II.]
Ash had drifted into mounds across the labyrinthine alleys of the desecrated city. The grim knight trudged through it.
Smoke hung over the land, smothering each and every scrap of civilized rubble. It wasn’t long before Lazarrien forgot the taste of anything but soot.
Even so, every so often, he caught a glimpse of something sparkling in the otherwise featureless sky.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*It must be the castle up there.
Where the ‘bad man’ is… if Prenn is to be believed.*]
Whoever it was that cursed this land, Lazarrien would put a stop to it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Close to the edge of the capital, he realized he was being followed.
A shadow lingered behind him, a dark figure against the gray expanse. He caught a glimpse of fire flickering, as though its hair was ablaze. Ram-like horns that curled back behind its head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon! So it wasn’t just a statue…*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien quickened his pace, his resolve streaked with fear. It couldn’t be good to meet a devil in a cursed land. Even if it wasn’t the ‘bad man’ he’d been told about. Perhaps especially so.
The city gave way to a field of bramble, scorched rose vines that wove a thicket higher than three men. Thorns scraped against his armor and flesh alike as he rushed past. Crisp gray blossoms crumbled to ash in his wake.
Flames crackled at pace behind him, the smoky fragrance of torched rose rising.
The knight stumbled into a small clearing.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[At the center stood a short woman dressed in an impossibly vibrant array of quilted patchwork, frayed paisley that defied the bleakness of its sky. She seemed entirely focused on playing her flute, swaying to and fro in rhythm to music that only she could hear.
In lieu of sound, a thin stream of smoke poured out from the tip of the instrument.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Hey!”] the knight said, voice hoarse.
The stream of smoke severed abruptly as the woman stopped to appraise him. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Lazarrien! Is it that time already? I lost track.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“There’s a demon approaching,”] he said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You should hide!”]
She laughed, a rich, bright laugh that must have carried for miles.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“And miss it? You and Agramith, dancing to bloody oblivion? Not for the world.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith. I’ve heard it before. When?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What about Prenn?”] he asked, hoping to strike a chord with this strange musician. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re their mother, right?”]
The woman laughed again, but this time, no smile reached her eyes. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Oh no. No no no. You really need to stop. I’m Jozetta. Jo-zet-ta. Yeah? You’re looking for Ennestine. Miserable lady in blue. Terrible layabout. Terrible lay. Couldn’t miss her.”] She resumed with her flute.
The sickening howl of hellfire had drawn nearer. Lazarrien dared not meet it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight left Jozetta to her mysterious ways.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A woman in blue?*]
The mysteries coiled upon themselves.
But the burning smell, at least, lessened. Perhaps the demon had been drawn to her song, even if the knight couldn’t hear it. He continued onward.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I must reach the castle.
I must break the curse.
I must not stop.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Tram PJE]]","[[❖->Tram PJD]]") ]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[II.]
Ash had drifted into mounds across the labyrinthine alleys of the desecrated city. The grim knight trudged through it.
Smoke hung over the land, smothering each and every scrap of civilized rubble. It wasn’t long before Lazarrien forgot the taste of anything but soot.
Even so, every so often, he caught a glimpse of something sparkling in the otherwise featureless sky.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*It must be the castle up there.
Where the ‘bad man’ is… if Prenn is to be believed.*]
Whoever it was that cursed this land, Lazarrien would put a stop to it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Close to the edge of the capital, he realized he was being followed.
A shadow lingered behind him, a dark figure against the gray expanse. He caught a glimpse of fire flickering, as though its hair was ablaze. Ram-like horns that curled back behind its head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon! So it wasn’t just a statue…*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien quickened his pace, his resolve streaked with fear. It couldn’t be good to meet a devil in a cursed land. Even if it wasn’t the ‘bad man’ he’d been told about. Perhaps especially so.
The city gave way to a field of bramble, scorched rose vines that wove a thicket higher than three men. Thorns scraped against his armor and flesh alike as he rushed past. Crisp gray blossoms crumbled to ash in his wake.
Flames crackled at pace behind him, the smoky fragrance of torched rose rising.
The knight stumbled into a small clearing.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A woman lay on her back, silver curls spread out around her as she gazed up into the sky. Rose brambles wove in and out of her pale blue priestess robes.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Priestess?”] the knight asked, voice hoarse.
She continued looking up at the sky. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Is that you, Lazarrien? Sometimes I think I can see it. The true sky.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“There’s a demon behind me,”] Lazarrien insisted. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re a woman of faith. Can you stop it? What should I do?”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Seek the true sky,”] she said. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Agramith can’t stop you.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith. I’ve heard it before. When?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Another thought occurred to him. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I met a child—Prenn. Do you kn–”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Prenn?”] the priestess cried. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“My little Prenn? Where are they?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“The shrine,”] Lazarrien said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")["They told me to find you."]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I sought too long!”] She wept bitterly. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I can’t move. Please—cut me free! I beg of you. If Prenn is still here… maybe we can seek the sky… together?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien drew his blade, hoping to hack away the brambles. But it was hardly possible to tell where the vines began and her body ended.
The sickening howl of hellfire had drawn nearer.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“There isn’t time,”] the knight said. He realized, dully, what he was about to do.
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Are you still there? Lazarrien?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[But Lazarrien fled from the clearing, bravely leaving the priestess to her fate.
He hoped the poor child would never stumble upon their mother like this.
Yet, his craven plan seemed to have worked. The burning smell lessened; he’d drawn away from the demon. Guilt rose in his gorge, but he tamped it down. He had a quest, after all.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I must reach the castle.
I must break the curse.
I must not stop.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Tram PEJ]]","[[❖->Tram PED]]") ]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[II.]
Ash had drifted into mounds across the labyrinthine alleys of the desecrated city. The grim knight trudged through it.
Smoke hung over the land, smothering each and every scrap of civilized rubble. It wasn’t long before Lazarrien forgot the taste of anything but soot.
Even so, every so often, he caught a glimpse of something sparkling in the otherwise featureless sky.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*It must be the castle up there.
Where the ‘bad man’ is… if Prenn is to be believed.*]
Whoever it was that cursed this land, Lazarrien would put a stop to it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Close to the edge of the capital, he realized he was being followed.
A shadow lingered behind him, a dark figure against the gray expanse. He caught a glimpse of fire flickering, as though its hair was ablaze. Ram-like horns that curled back behind its head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon! So it wasn’t just a statue…*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien quickened his pace, his resolve streaked with fear. It couldn’t be good to meet a devil in a cursed land. Even if it wasn’t the ‘bad man’ he’d been told about. Perhaps especially so.
The city gave way to a field of bramble, scorched rose vines that wove a thicket higher than three men. Thorns scraped against his armor and flesh alike as he rushed past. Crisp gray blossoms crumbled to ash in his wake.
Flames crackled at pace behind him, the smoky fragrance of torched rose rising.
The knight stumbled into a small clearing.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[An older man, dressed in faded finery, was engaged in a struggle against a rose bramble that had twisted a loop around his ankle. His hands were scratched and bleeding. A dusty crown sat askew atop his straw-colored hair.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Father!”] the knight called out, his voice hoarse.
The king turned his way, affixing him with an expression so venomous that even Lazarrien’s bones knew no demon could hope to match its cruelty.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“Filth!”] the old man shrieked. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Rot of my flesh. Stain on my house. You dare to call me Father? You are nothing! I am your king!”]
Lazarrien was taken aback by his ferocity.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The king took that as invitation to continue his diatribe. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“You brought this hell upon us,”] the king said. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“You brought Agramith into our midst. Damn you!”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith. I’ve heard it before. When?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Looking him over again, Lazarrien had a mote of insight, eyes drawn not the the crown, but the locks beneath. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Do you… know of a child named Prenn? May *they* call you father?”]
The king’s eyes seemed to bulge in fury. And… something else. Fear? (text-color:"#f4e074")[“I know not of what you speak, you vile brute!”] The king spat, darkening a spot on the ground with something oily and black.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You accuse me of staining your name, but... does Mother know about Prenn?”]
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“Leave me!”] the king shouted. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“I command you. I cannot bear it!”]
For the first and only time, Lazarrien wished to hear more from his father. Alas, the sickening howl of hellfire had drawn upon them. Lazarrien dared not meet it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He fled the clearing, leaving the king to his fate. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*It’s what he wanted, after all. Who am I to defy a command from my king?*]
The burning smell lessened as he left the demon and his father behind. There were more important things to attend to.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I must reach the castle.
I must break the curse.
I must not stop.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Tram PDJ]]","[[❖->Tram PDE]]") ]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[II.]
Ash had drifted into mounds across the labyrinthine alleys of the desecrated city. The grim knight trudged through it.
Smoke hung over the land, smothering each and every scrap of civilized rubble. It wasn’t long before Lazarrien forgot the taste of anything but soot.
Even so, every so often, he caught a glimpse of something sparkling in the otherwise featureless sky.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that the true sky?
But, how am I to ever reach it from all the way down here?*]
He had asked for guidance, and received it. But he wished she had guided him to do something easier.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Close to the edge of the capital, he realized he was being followed.
A shadow lingered behind him, a dark figure against the gray expanse. He caught a glimpse of fire flickering, as though its hair was ablaze. Ram-like horns that curled back behind its head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon! It really wasn’t just a statue…*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien quickened his pace, his resolve streaked with fear. It couldn’t be good to meet a devil in a cursed land.
The city gave way to a field of bramble, scorched rose vines that wove a thicket higher than three men. Thorns scraped against his armor and flesh alike as he rushed past. Crisp gray blossoms crumbled to ash in his wake.
Flames crackled at pace behind him, the smoky fragrance of torched rose rising.
The knight stumbled into a small clearing.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[At the center stood a short woman dressed in an impossibly vibrant array of quilted patchwork, frayed paisley that defied the bleakness of its sky. She seemed entirely focused on playing her flute, swaying to and fro in rhythm to music that only she could hear.
In lieu of sound, a thin stream of smoke poured out from the tip of the instrument.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Hey!”] the knight said, voice hoarse.
The stream of smoke severed abruptly as the woman stopped to appraise him. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Lazarrien! Is it that time already? I lost track.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“There’s a demon approaching,”] he said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You should hide!”]
She laughed, a rich, bright laugh that must have carried for miles.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“And miss it? You and Agramith, dancing to bloody oblivion? Not for the world.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith. I’ve heard it before. When?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The woman resumed with her flute, sinuous black haze curling once more from its tip.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Sin blackens the wind itself,”] Lazarrien said, recalling Ennestine.
Once again, the woman stopped her silent performance. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Is that so?”] She laughed, but no smile reached her eyes this time. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Sounds like what a sinner might say… were they to blame another for their transgressions.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight’s sword weighed heavily at his side. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is that the purpose of your music? To drown the heavens in smoke?”] he asked.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“You don’t like the sky when it’s clear,”] she said.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I doubt that. Perhaps you ought to stop.”]
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Perhaps *you* ought to *run*.”]
The sickening howl of hellfire had drawn nearer. Lazarrien cursed, knowing she was right. If he had time, later, he would return and put an end to her smokesong for good.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[For now, the knight left Jozetta to her tune, and hoped the sky wouldn’t darken even further.
But the burning smell, at least, lessened. Perhaps the demon had been drawn to her song, even if the knight couldn’t hear it. He continued onward.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I must reach the true sky.
I must break the curse.
I must not stop.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Tram EJP]]","[[❖->Tram EJD]]") ]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[II.]
Ash had drifted into mounds across the labyrinthine alleys of the desecrated city. The grim knight trudged through it.
Smoke hung over the land, smothering each and every scrap of civilized rubble. It wasn’t long before Lazarrien forgot the taste of anything but soot.
Even so, every so often, he caught a glimpse of something sparkling in the otherwise featureless sky.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that the true sky?
But, how am I to ever reach it from all the way down here?*]
He had asked for guidance, and received it. But he wished she had guided him to do something easier.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Close to the edge of the capital, he realized he was being followed.
A shadow lingered behind him, a dark figure against the gray expanse. He caught a glimpse of fire flickering, as though its hair was ablaze. Ram-like horns that curled back behind its head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon! It really wasn’t just a statue…*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien quickened his pace, his resolve streaked with fear. It couldn’t be good to meet a devil in a cursed land.
The city gave way to a field of bramble, scorched rose vines that wove a thicket higher than three men. Thorns scraped against his armor and flesh alike as he rushed past. Crisp gray blossoms crumbled to ash in his wake.
Flames crackled at pace behind him, the smoky fragrance of torched rose rising.
The knight stumbled into a small clearing.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A small child stood there. They looked up at him with curious eyes that peered out from under messy straw-colored curls.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You! Child!”] the knight said, voice hoarse. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What are you doing out here? It’s not safe.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Shh!”] they said, motioning for him to quiet down. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’m Prenn,”] they whispered. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’m hiding from Mother.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“There’s a demon,”] Lazarrien whispered back. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“It’ll find you. You need to run away from here.”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Agramith?”] Prenn asked. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“He’s not looking for me. Mother is.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith. I’ve heard it before. When?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You know of this demon?”] the knight asked. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What do you know?”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“That he’s not looking for me. He’s looking for you,”] the child said. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“Please, don’t tell Mother that I’m here.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What does she look like?”] Lazarrien asked. But he realized he had no time for this nonsense; the sickening howl of hellfire had drawn nearer.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“She’s always wearing blue robes,”] Prenn said. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“I think it’s the only blue thing left. So don’t tell her where I am.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re Ennestine’s,”] he said.(text-color:"#b7ada0")[ “But—”]
The child motioned for him to be silent, bringing a small finger to their lips. Then they pointed toward a narrow gap in the bramble, as if to say, (text-color:"#66f17b")[“Go that way.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[And so the knight leapt in the direction the child had indicated, leaving them to their fate.
Sure enough, the burning smell lessened.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I must reach the true sky.
I must break the curse.
I must not stop.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Tram EPJ]]","[[❖->Tram EPD]]") ]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[II.]
Ash had drifted into mounds across the labyrinthine alleys of the desecrated city. The grim knight trudged through it.
Smoke hung over the land, smothering each and every scrap of civilized rubble. It wasn’t long before Lazarrien forgot the taste of anything but soot.
Even so, every so often, he caught a glimpse of something sparkling in the otherwise featureless sky.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that the true sky?
But, how am I to ever reach it from all the way down here?*]
He had asked for guidance, and received it. But he wished she had guided him to do something easier.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Close to the edge of the capital, he realized he was being followed.
A shadow lingered behind him, a dark figure against the gray expanse. He caught a glimpse of fire flickering, as though its hair was ablaze. Ram-like horns that curled back behind its head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon! It really wasn’t just a statue…*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien quickened his pace, his resolve streaked with fear. It couldn’t be good to meet a devil in a cursed land.
The city gave way to a field of bramble, scorched rose vines that wove a thicket higher than three men. Thorns scraped against his armor and flesh alike as he rushed past. Crisp gray blossoms crumbled to ash in his wake.
Flames crackled at pace behind him, the smoky fragrance of torched rose rising.
The knight stumbled into a small clearing.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[An older man, dressed in faded finery, was engaged in a struggle against a rose bramble that had twisted a loop around his ankle. His hands were scratched and bleeding. A dusty crown sat askew atop his straw-colored hair.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Father!” ]the knight called out, voice hoarse.
The king turned his way, affixing him with an expression so venomous that even Lazarrien’s bones knew no demon could hope to match its cruelty.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“Filth!”] the old man shrieked. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Rot of my flesh. Stain on my house. You dare to call me Father? You are nothing! I am your king!”]
His words stung, sure, but it was strange to see the man who had once threatened him far more than his fiendish pursuer ever could reduced to… this.
An old man stuck in some vines.
No more. No less.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien turned, searching for a gap in the thicket.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“I gave you no leave!”] the king shouted. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Free me from this accursed vegetation, I command it!”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I have sought and received divine guidance,”] the knight said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You weren’t mentioned.”]
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“Divine? *Divine*? You know nothing of the divine! You brought this hell upon us,”] the king shouted. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“You brought Agramith into our midst. Damn you!”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith. I’ve heard it before. When?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[His father continued. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Your name shall be destroyed—stricken even from memory! None will know of you except for how you’ve failed—for what you’ve ruined. Wretch! Traitor!”] The king spat, darkening a spot on the ground with something oily and black.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“So be it.”] The knight had other matters to attend to. The sickening howl of hellfire had drawn nearer.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien left the clearing, leaving the king to his fate. That old king had nothing to offer him, anyway.
As he ran through the brambles, pulling further and further from the clearing, the burning smell lessened. He’d slipped away from the demon and his father alike.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I must reach the true sky.
I must break the curse.
I must not stop.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Tram EDJ]]","[[❖->Tram EDP]]") ]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[II.]
Ash had drifted into mounds across the labyrinthine alleys of the desecrated city. The grim knight trudged through it.
Smoke hung over the land, smothering each and every scrap of civilized rubble. It wasn’t long before Lazarrien forgot the taste of anything but soot.
Even so, every so often, he caught a glimpse of something sparkling in the otherwise featureless sky.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*It must be the castle up there. My father’s castle.
The source of the curse.*]
He’d taken King Dagforth’s sword. Perhaps he could take his castle, too? Or… destroy it?
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that the answer?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Close to the edge of the capital, he realized he was being followed. And it wasn’t just his father’s cruel words in pursuit.
A shadow lingered behind him, a dark figure against the gray expanse. He caught a glimpse of fire flickering, as though its hair was ablaze. Ram-like horns that curled back behind its head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon! It wasn’t just a statue…*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien quickened his pace, his resolve streaked with fear. It couldn’t be good to meet a devil in a cursed land.
The city gave way to a field of bramble, scorched rose vines that wove a thicket higher than three men. Thorns scraped against his armor and flesh alike as he rushed past. Crisp gray blossoms crumbled to ash in his wake.
Flames crackled at pace behind him, the smoky fragrance of torched rose rising.
The knight stumbled into a small clearing.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[At the center stood a short woman dressed in an impossibly vibrant array of quilted patchwork, frayed paisley that defied the bleakness of its sky. She seemed entirely focused on playing her flute, swaying to and fro in rhythm to music that only she could hear.
In lieu of sound, a thin stream of smoke poured out from the tip of the instrument.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Hey!”] the knight said, his voice hoarse.
The stream of smoke severed abruptly as the woman stopped to appraise him. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Lazarrien! Is it that time already? I lost track.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“There’s a demon approaching,”] he said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You should hide!”]
She laughed, a rich, bright laugh that must have carried for miles.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“And miss it? You and Agramith, dancing to bloody oblivion? Not for the world.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith. I’ve heard it before. When?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I don’t follow,”] Lazarrien said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is that part of… the curse? A dance?”]
The woman laughed again, but this time, no smile reached her eyes. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“You could say that. Try not to dance forever, okay? Or at least… try some different dances. I would hate for this all to grow as stale as the air around here. Speaking of which…”] She resumed with her flute, smoke coiling forth as she played in silence.
Lazarrien hesitated. He wished to understand what she meant; it was the closest he had come to meeting someone helpful so far. Alas, the sickening howl of hellfire had drawn nearer. He dared not meet it.
And so, the knight left the strange musician to her mysterious ways.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*What does she mean by ‘dance’?*]
In his courtly days, such that they were, the only steps he’d learned were fighting stances.
Even then, he could hardly count himself among the masters, were he honest with himself.
As he traveled, the burning smell, at least, lessened. Perhaps the demon had been drawn to her song, even if the knight couldn’t hear it. He continued onward.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I must reach the castle.
I must break the curse.
I must not stop.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Tram DJP]]","[[❖->Tram DJE]]") ]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[II.]
Ash had drifted into mounds across the labyrinthine alleys of the desecrated city. The grim knight trudged through it.
Smoke hung over the land, smothering each and every scrap of civilized rubble. It wasn’t long before Lazarrien forgot the taste of anything but soot.
Even so, every so often, he caught a glimpse of something sparkling in the otherwise featureless sky.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*It must be the castle up there. My father’s castle.
The source of the curse.*]
He’d taken King Dagforth’s sword. Perhaps he could take his castle, too? Or… destroy it?
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that the answer?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Close to the edge of the capital, he realized he was being followed. And it wasn’t just his father’s cruel words in pursuit.
A shadow lingered behind him, a dark figure against the gray expanse. He caught a glimpse of fire flickering, as though its hair was ablaze. Ram-like horns that curled back behind its head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon! It wasn’t just a statue…*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien quickened his pace, his resolve streaked with fear. It couldn’t be good to meet a devil in a cursed land.
The city gave way to a field of bramble, scorched rose vines that wove a thicket higher than three men. Thorns scraped against his armor and flesh alike as he rushed past. Crisp gray blossoms crumbled to ash in his wake.
Flames crackled at pace behind him, the smoky fragrance of torched rose rising.
The knight stumbled into a small clearing.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A small child stood there. They looked up at him with curious eyes that peered out from under messy straw-colored curls.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You! Child!”] the knight said, voice hoarse. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What are you doing out here? It’s not safe.”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’m Prenn,”] they said. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’m looking for Mother. I don’t think she’s here.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“There’s a demon!”] Lazarrien snapped. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“It’ll find you. You need to run away from here.”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Agramith?”] Prenn asked. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“He’s not looking for me. He’s looking for you.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith. I’ve heard it before. When?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You know of this demon?”] the knight asked. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What do you know?”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“That he’s not looking for me. He’s looking for you,”] the child repeated. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“And I’m looking for Mother. At this point… I’d even be willing to find Father.”] There was a long pause. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“You have his sword.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You are mistaken,”] Lazarrien said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I bear King Dagforth’s blade.”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Where is he?”] Prenn asked.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You oughtn’t approach the king,”] the knight advised. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Best to leave the shrine to crumble, I think.”]
Prenn stared at Lazarrien with soft, sad eyes.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He felt something clench in his heart, but tamped it down. The sickening howl of hellfire had drawn nearer. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I must be on my way,”] he said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You should do the same.”]
The child nodded, glum, as Lazarrien turned to fight his way through more of the bramble.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[His guilt abated, somewhat, as the burning smell lessened. It was far less cruel to leave the child to their fate, than risk them encountering that wretched king.
Lazarrien would put a stop to this, one way or another.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I must reach the castle.
I must break the curse.
I must not stop.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Tram DPJ]]","[[❖->Tram DPE]]") ]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[II.]
Ash had drifted into mounds across the labyrinthine alleys of the desecrated city. The grim knight trudged through it.
Smoke hung over the land, smothering each and every scrap of civilized rubble. It wasn’t long before Lazarrien forgot the taste of anything but soot.
Even so, every so often, he caught a glimpse of something sparkling in the otherwise featureless sky.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*It must be the castle up there. My father’s castle.
The source of the curse.*]
He’d taken King Dagforth’s sword. Perhaps he could take his castle, too? Or… destroy it?
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that the answer?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Close to the edge of the capital, he realized he was being followed. And it wasn’t just his father’s cruel words in pursuit.
A shadow lingered behind him, a dark figure against the gray expanse. He caught a glimpse of fire flickering, as though its hair was ablaze. Ram-like horns that curled back behind its head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon! It wasn’t just a statue…*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien quickened his pace, his resolve streaked with fear. It couldn’t be good to meet a devil in a cursed land.
The city gave way to a field of bramble, scorched rose vines that wove a thicket higher than three men. Thorns scraped against his armor and flesh alike as he rushed past. Crisp gray blossoms crumbled to ash in his wake.
Flames crackled at pace behind him, the smoky fragrance of torched rose rising.
The knight stumbled into a small clearing.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A woman lay on her back, silver curls spread out around her as she gazed up into the sky. Rose brambles wove in and out of her pale blue priestess robes. It was hardly possible to tell where the vines began and her body ended.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Priestess?”] the knight asked, voice hoarse.
She continued looking up at the sky. Perhaps she couldn’t move anymore. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Is that you, Lazarrien? Sometimes I think I can see it. The true sky.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“There’s a demon behind me,”] Lazarrien insisted. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re a woman of faith. Can you stop it? What should I do?”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Seek the true sky,”] she said. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Agramith can’t stop you.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith. I’ve heard it before. When?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Can you tell me what to do at the castle?”] Lazarrien asked. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I took King Dagforth’s blade from the shrine.”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Dagforth?”] the priestess muttered. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“No, it is not *his* blade. He knows nothing of what we need.”] She continued staring upward.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight remembered what he had seen at the shrine. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“He, too, was watching the sky.”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Is that so?”] She sighed. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“But he could not hope to bring this to an end. It was never for him.”]
The sickening howl of hellfire had drawn nearer. Lazarrien dared not meet it, even to spare the woman in blue her suffering.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He fled from the clearing. If the priestess said more, he did not hear it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*It was never for him? Then perhaps it truly is my curse. Was Father right? Did I cause this?*]
The burning smell lessened. He’d drawn away from the demon after all.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I must reach the castle.
I must break the curse.
I must not stop.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"[[❖->Tram DEJ]]","[[❖->Tram DEP]]") ]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting some kind of offering.
A closer look revealed the key—the burnt out stub of a black candle. Wax had dribbled down the candlestick onto the floor of the cage.
The knight ducked back out onto the greasy expanse, chancing a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien lifted his foot, realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many potential offerings had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched—how many half-melted stubs and wickless wonders he sorted through—until he saw it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight trembled as he reached for it, fearing it might melt. But it was cool to the touch. Solid. He held it aloft, appreciating its form.
His path seemed clear, when a terrible squelching sound reverberated through the tallowed valley. Lazarrien turned in time to see a fountain of liquid grease erupt from the hillside, taking humanoid form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon?*]
Alas, it was something far worse.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[An older man bearing a tarnished crown hobbled toward him at an alarming rate, shedding half-formed candles as straw-colored wax poured from the back of his head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Father?”] Lazarrien asked, transfixed by the nightmarish sight.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“Filth!”] the waxen king roared, face cruel and sharp. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Rot! Shame of my flesh! You shall smother, as you ought’ve long ago!”]
The spell broke—if his sword could cleave his father in this state, the knight dared not find out. He grasped the candle, running back to the lift.
He felt the heaving heat of the monstrous king as it screamed showers of hot oil with each obscenity.
Though he slid and zagged on the greasy slick, Lazarrien reached the lift first. He jammed the dark candle into its pedestal, willing it to save him despite his lack of decorum.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“LAZARRIEN!”] the king screeched, voice thick with fluid, splattering patches of wax in every direction.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Please,”] Lazarrien begged the candlestick, gripping it with trembling hands. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Lift me! I swear I will break the curse if you just—”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Orange fire burst into being, lighting the tip of the wick. With a triumphant creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“No!”] the king shouted, grasping for the bottom of the cage. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“I shall have my revenge, I shall feast on your sin and destroy it!”]
Lazarrien stomped on his father’s fingers. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“If you hunger for sin, feast upon yourself!”]
Greased as they were, the king’s hands couldn’t hope to grip the chain. He slid down, down, and further, screaming as he went, and then went silent.
Lazarrien’s heart raced, even as the waxen foothills melted away, merging indistinguishably into the rest of the ground.
Only then did he find a mote of peace.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[All that existed now were the cage, the chain, and the knight, rising through a featureless smoky void.
The steady progress of the melting candle marked meaningless time.
As he rose, the air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain. His heart skittered as he whipped his head to find the threat, preparing to fight once again.
Below, a familiar shadow burned, climbing steadily beneath the cage.
To his astonishment, Lazarrien felt relief.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*At least it’s not Father.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave JPD]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. Before he could make sense of the device, he heard a voice nearby.
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Who’s there?”]
Lazarrien turned. Through the bars, he saw something close to the ground, so he stepped back out.
A woman, or more precisely, the torso of a woman, was sticking out of the greasy slick. Her blue robes and silver curls were coated with the tallowy substance.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I am… Lazarrien,”] he said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*That’s what I’ve been told.*]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Of course,”] the woman replied. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“You seek the true sky, yes?”]
He wasn’t sure what she meant. But indeed, he wished to ascend. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I want up this mountain; I wish to slay the sorcerer who has cursed this land.”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Sorcerer?”] She sounded dubious. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I was once a priestess. High Priestess Ennestine, they called me. Not so high anymore, these days.”] Sweat ran down the sides of her face, beading on the grease. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Some thought me a witch, but I only ever sought the true sky. Alas, I never found the key to the lift.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What key?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“An offering—a single, unbroken candle. I never could find one.”]
For the first time, the knight risked a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“They’re all broken,”] Ennestine said. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Well... perhaps not all. There are so many. That's what I thought—that I'd find one. I spent so long looking at the ground, I must have forgotten the true sky. That's where I went wrong.”] She gave a bitter, choked laugh. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I’d pray for you to find yours, but I can't find my hands.”]
Lazarrien lifted his foot, suddenly realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many candles had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched—how many half-melted stubs and wickless wonders he sorted through—until he saw it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight trembled as he reached for it, fearing it might melt. But it was cool to the touch. Solid. He held it aloft, appreciating its form.
Triumphant, he returned to the lift, hoping to show Ennestine that her prayers had worked. But where her torso had once emerged from the wax, only a few strands of hair remained exposed.
He hadn't realized she was still sinking. It was too late now; the soft wax had closed over her head.
If she’d called to him for help, he hadn’t heard it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*And if I had heard it? Would I have answered?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien stepped into the cage. An ornate candlestick of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting his offering. He placed it gently. It fit perfectly, as he knew instinctively that it would.
The wick lit itself, a small orange flame providing a welcome pop of color.
With a resigned creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
Lazarrien was eager to leave the waxen foothills behind.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, they merged, indistinguishable from the rest of the ground.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight lifting through a featureless smoky void. Only the steady progress of the melting candle marked time.
The air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering the peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave JPE]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting some kind of offering.
A closer look revealed the key—the burnt out stub of a black candle. Wax had dribbled down the candlestick onto the floor of the cage.
The knight ducked back out onto the greasy expanse, chancing a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien lifted his foot, realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many potential offerings had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched, fruitlessly.
For each half-melted stub a wickless wonder; and countless more that looked firm, only to melt at his touch, staining his gauntlets with tallow that seeped through the gaps to grease his fingers.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Lazarrien?”] came a small voice from behind him.
The knight turned.
Before him stood a child. They looked up at him with curious eyes that peered out from under messy straw-colored curls. Wax crusted their clothes. In their hand, they held what Lazarrien sought.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is that for me?”] the knight asked.
They frowned. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“There’s no one else out here.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I suppose not. Who are you? How did you find that?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’m Prenn,”] the child said. They bit their lip. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“But I don’t want to say.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*What a suspicious answer.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Shall we return to the lift?”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“No. That’s not for me. I have to go back for Mother.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Suit yourself.”]
Lazarrien accepted the gift of the candle. But, the child was still staring at him. It was unnerving.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What is it?”] the knight asked. He looked into the child’s eyes, but didn’t find any answers.
Prenn sighed, and turned away. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“There’s gonna be a big storm.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’ll keep that in mind, little Prenn.”] Lazarrien was quickly realizing he had no idea how to talk to children. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*‘Little Prenn’?*] He cleared his throat, awkwardly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Good luck out there.”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Thank you, Lazarrien.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight returned to the lift, stepping into the cage. He placed Prenn’s offering. It fit perfectly.
The wick lit itself, a small orange flame providing a welcome pop of color.
With a resigned creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
Lazarrien was eager to leave the waxen foothills behind.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, they merged, indistinguishable from the rest of the ground.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight, lifting through a featureless smoky void. Only the progress of the melting candle marked the passage of time.
The air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering the peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave JEP]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting some kind of offering.
A closer look revealed the key—the burnt out stub of a black candle. Wax had dribbled down the candlestick onto the floor of the cage.
The knight ducked back out onto the greasy expanse, chancing a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien lifted his foot, realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many potential offerings had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched—how many half-melted stubs and wickless wonders he sorted through—until he saw it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight trembled as he reached for it, fearing it might melt. But it was cool to the touch. Solid. He held it aloft, appreciating its form.
His path seemed clear, when a terrible squelching sound reverberated through the tallowed valley. Lazarrien turned in time to see a fountain of liquid grease erupt from the hillside, taking humanoid form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon?*]
Alas, it was something far worse.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[An older man bearing a tarnished crown hobbled toward him at an alarming rate, shedding half-formed candles as straw-colored wax poured from the back of his head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Father?”] Lazarrien asked, transfixed by the nightmarish sight.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“Filth!”] the waxen king roared, face cruel and sharp. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Rot! Shame of my flesh! You shall smother, as you ought’ve long ago!”]
The spell broke—if his sword could cleave his father in this state, the knight dared not find out. He grasped the candle, running back to the lift.
He felt the heaving heat of the monstrous king as it screamed showers of hot oil with each obscenity.
Though he slid and zagged on the greasy slick, Lazarrien reached the lift first. He jammed the dark candle into its pedestal, willing it to save him despite his lack of decorum.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“LAZARRIEN!”] the king screeched, voice thick with fluid, splattering patches of wax in every direction.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Please,”] Lazarrien begged the candlestick, gripping it with trembling hands. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Lift me! I swear I will break the curse if you just—”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Orange fire burst into being, lighting the tip of the wick. With a triumphant creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“No!”] the king shouted, grasping for the bottom of the cage. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“I shall have my revenge, I shall feast on your sin and destroy it!”]
Lazarrien stomped on his father’s fingers. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“If you hunger for sin, feast upon yourself!”]
Greased as they were, the king’s hands couldn’t hope to grip the chain. He slid down, down, and further, screaming as he went, and then went silent.
Lazarrien’s heart raced, even as the waxen foothills melted away, merging indistinguishably into the rest of the ground.
Only then did he find a mote of peace.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[All that existed now were the cage, the chain, and the knight, rising through a featureless smoky void.
The steady progress of the melting candle marked meaningless time.
As he rose, the air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain. His heart skittered as he whipped his head to find the threat, preparing to fight once again.
Below, a familiar shadow burned, climbing steadily beneath the cage.
To his astonishment, Lazarrien felt relief.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*At least it’s not Father.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave JED]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting some kind of offering.
A closer look revealed the key—the burnt out stub of a black candle. Wax had dribbled down the candlestick onto the floor of the cage.
The knight ducked back out onto the greasy expanse, chancing a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien lifted his foot, realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many potential offerings had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched, fruitlessly.
For each half-melted stub a wickless wonder; and countless more that looked firm, only to melt at his touch, staining his gauntlets with tallow that seeped through the gaps to grease his fingers.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Lazarrien?”] came a small voice from behind him.
The knight turned.
Before him stood a child. They looked up at him with curious eyes that peered out from under messy straw-colored curls. Wax crusted their clothes. In their hand, they held what Lazarrien sought.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is that for me?”] the knight asked.
They frowned. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“There’s no one else out here.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I suppose not. Who are you? How did you find that?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’m Prenn,”] the child said. They bit their lip. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“But I don’t want to say.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*What a suspicious answer.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Shall we return to the lift?”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“No. Mother left me behind again. So I don't want to see her.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Suit yourself.”]
Lazarrien accepted the gift of the candle. But, the child was still staring at him. It was unnerving.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What is it?”] the knight asked. He looked into the child’s eyes, but didn’t find any answers.
Prenn sighed, and turned away. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“There’s gonna be a big storm.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’ll keep that in mind, little Prenn.”] Lazarrien was quickly realizing he had no idea how to talk to children. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*‘Little Prenn’?*] He cleared his throat, awkwardly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Good luck out there.”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Thank you, Lazarrien.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight returned to the lift, stepping into the cage. He placed Prenn’s offering. It fit perfectly.
The wick lit itself, a small orange flame providing a welcome pop of color.
With a resigned creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
Lazarrien was eager to leave the waxen foothills behind.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, they merged, indistinguishable from the rest of the ground.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight, lifting through a featureless smoky void. Only the progress of the melting candle marked the passage of time.
The air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering the peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave JDP]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. Before he could make sense of the device, he heard a voice nearby.
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Who’s there?”]
Lazarrien turned. Through the bars, he saw something close to the ground, so he stepped back out.
A woman, or more precisely, the torso of a woman, was sticking out of the greasy slick. Her blue robes and silver curls were coated with the tallowy substance.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I am… Lazarrien,”] he said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*That’s what I’ve been told.*]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Of course,”] the woman replied. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“You seek the true sky, yes?”]
He wasn’t sure what she meant. But indeed, he wished to ascend. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I want up this mountain; I wish to slay the sorcerer who has cursed this land.”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Sorcerer?”] She sounded dubious. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I was once a priestess. High Priestess Ennestine, they called me. Not so high anymore, these days.”] Sweat ran down the sides of her face, beading on the grease. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Some thought me a witch, but I only ever sought the true sky. Alas, I never found the key to the lift.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What key?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“An offering—a single, unbroken candle. I never could find one.”]
For the first time, the knight risked a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“They’re all broken,”] Ennestine said. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Well... perhaps not all. There are so many. That's what I thought—that I'd find one. I spent so long looking at the ground, I must have forgotten the true sky. That's where I went wrong.”] She gave a bitter, choked laugh. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I’d pray for you to find yours, but I can't find my hands.”]
Lazarrien lifted his foot, suddenly realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many candles had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched—how many half-melted stubs and wickless wonders he sorted through—until he saw it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight trembled as he reached for it, fearing it might melt. But it was cool to the touch. Solid. He held it aloft, appreciating its form.
Triumphant, he returned to the lift, hoping to show Ennestine that her prayers had worked. But where her torso had once emerged from the wax, only a few strands of hair remained exposed.
He hadn't realized she was still sinking. It was too late now; the soft wax had closed over her head.
If she’d called to him for help, he hadn’t heard it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*And if I had heard it? Would I have answered?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien stepped into the cage. An ornate candlestick of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting his offering. He placed it gently. It fit perfectly, as he knew instinctively that it would.
The wick lit itself, a small orange flame providing a welcome pop of color.
With a resigned creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
Lazarrien was eager to leave the waxen foothills behind.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, they merged, indistinguishable from the rest of the ground.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight lifting through a featureless smoky void. Only the steady progress of the melting candle marked time.
The air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering the peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave JDE]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. Before he could make sense of the device, he heard a voice nearby.
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Who’s there?”]
Lazarrien turned. Through the bars, he saw something close to the ground, so he stepped back out.
A woman, or more precisely, the torso of a woman, was sticking out of the greasy slick. Her blue robes and silver curls were coated with the tallowy substance.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*This must be who Jozetta spoke of.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I am Lazarrien,”] he said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Are you Prenn’s mother? Ennestine?”]
Sadness creased the woman’s face. She tried to turn away, as best as she could given her predicament.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Prenn was looking for you at the shrine.”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Of course,”] she said, voice solemn. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I never told them I was leaving. My poor, dear, child. I only sought the true sky. To see the blue firmament stretching above me, as of old.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is that why you’re here?”] Lazarrien asked. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Would this lift take me there? I wish to end the curse.”] He doubted his own resolve. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“No—I *must* end the curse.”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Promise me,”] Ennestine said, sweat running down the sides of her face, beading on the grease. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Please—should you find Prenn again, don’t tell them what became of me. Don’t tell them how weak I was, how pathetic. Let them remember me as the high priestess I should have been.”] She was tearing up now. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“You have to. You have to promise me.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I promise,”] the knight said. In truth, he would have promised anything to learn the way forward. This hardly felt like a sacrifice. To him, it meant little. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Prenn will never know of this.”]
Relief spread across her face. She sank further, until only her head remained exposed.
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Then do as I say—you must place an offering. A single, unbroken candle. I never could find one. But you shall, I know it.”]
For the first time, the knight risked a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The sunken priestess gave a bitter, choked laugh. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I’d pray for you to find yours, but I can't feel my hands anymore.”]
Lazarrien lifted his foot, suddenly realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many candles had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched—how many half-melted stubs and wickless wonders he sorted through—until he saw it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight trembled as he reached for it, fearing it might melt. But it was cool to the touch. Solid. He held it aloft, appreciating its form.
Triumphant, he returned to the lift, hoping to show Ennestine that her prayers had worked. But where her torso had once emerged from the wax, only a few strands of hair remained exposed.
The soft wax had closed over her head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Prenn will never find her.
They must find something else to seek.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien stepped into the cage. An ornate candlestick of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting his offering. He placed it gently. It fit perfectly, as he knew instinctively that it would.
The wick lit itself, a small orange flame providing a welcome pop of color.
With a resigned creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
Lazarrien was eager to leave the waxen foothills behind.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, they merged, indistinguishable from the rest of the ground.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight lifting through a featureless smoky void. Only the steady progress of the melting candle marked time.
The air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering the peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave PJE]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting some kind of offering.
A closer look revealed the key—the burnt out stub of a black candle. Wax had dribbled down the candlestick onto the floor of the cage.
The knight ducked back out onto the greasy expanse, chancing a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien lifted his foot, realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many potential offerings had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched—how many half-melted stubs and wickless wonders he sorted through—until he saw it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight trembled as he reached for it, fearing it might melt. But it was cool to the touch. Solid. He held it aloft, appreciating its form.
His path seemed clear, when a terrible squelching sound reverberated through the tallowed valley. Lazarrien turned in time to see a fountain of liquid grease erupt from the hillside, taking humanoid form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon?*]
Alas, it was something far worse.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[An older man bearing a tarnished crown hobbled toward him at an alarming rate, shedding half-formed candles as straw-colored wax poured from the back of his head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Father?”] Lazarrien asked, transfixed by the nightmarish sight.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“Filth!”] the waxen king roared, face cruel and sharp. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Rot! Shame of my flesh! You shall smother, as you ought’ve long ago!”]
The spell broke—if his sword could cleave his father in this state, the knight dared not find out. He grasped the candle, running back to the lift.
He felt the heaving heat of the monstrous king as it screamed showers of hot oil with each obscenity.
Though he slid and zagged on the greasy slick, Lazarrien reached the lift first. He jammed the dark candle into its pedestal, willing it to save him despite his lack of decorum.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“LAZARRIEN!”] the king screeched, voice thick with fluid, splattering patches of wax in every direction.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Please,”] Lazarrien begged the candlestick, gripping it with trembling hands. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Lift me! I swear I will break the curse if you just—”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Orange fire burst into being, lighting the tip of the wick. With a triumphant creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“No!”] the king shouted, grasping for the bottom of the cage. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“I shall have my revenge, I shall feast on your sin and destroy it!”]
Lazarrien stomped on his father’s fingers. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“If you hunger for sin, feast upon yourself!”]
Greased as they were, the king’s hands couldn’t hope to grip the chain. He slid down, down, and further, screaming as he went, and then went silent.
Lazarrien’s heart raced, even as the waxen foothills melted away, merging indistinguishably into the rest of the ground.
Only then did he find a mote of peace.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[All that existed now were the cage, the chain, and the knight, rising through a featureless smoky void.
The steady progress of the melting candle marked meaningless time.
As he rose, the air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain. His heart skittered as he whipped his head to find the threat, preparing to fight once again.
Below, a familiar shadow burned, climbing steadily beneath the cage.
To his astonishment, Lazarrien felt relief.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*At least it’s not Father.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave PJD]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A strain of music, wafting through the smoke, drew Lazarrien’s attention. A strident, urgent melody called for him.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*What is that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Letting the song guide him, he next saw a long black chain that reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage. That’s where the sound was coming from.
The knight approached the device, suddenly cautious. There was someone moving inside.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Through the bars, Lazarrien could see a short woman dressed in an impossibly vibrant array of quilted patchwork, frayed paisley that defied the bleakness of its sky. She was playing a flute, swaying back and forth within the cage to the rhythm of her frenetic tune.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Hello there!”] the knight called, wary of getting too close.
The music cut off abruptly. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Lazarrien!”] the woman said, voice crackling with delight. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“I was afraid you wouldn’t find me. Get me out of this thing!”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’m not sure we’ve met,”] he replied stiffly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who are you?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“We’ve met. But sure, let’s prattle. It is always such a time, when we speak at length.”] She gave a brittle laugh. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“I’m Jozetta. Resident musician… of this cage, at least until you free me. You’ll let me out, right?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How’d you get stuck in the first place?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“That vile, wretched, ill-tempered, odious king locked me in here,”] she said, then waited for him to catch up.(text-color:"#c98ff8")[ “Your father.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Oh.”] Lazarrien felt ill, a mass of despair settling in his gut. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“He’s not… *around*… is he?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Jozetta cocked her head, as though weighing what exactly to divulge. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“He was screeching about betrayal, revenge, his particular… loathing… for this state of affairs that he’s convinced you brought about.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Oh,”] Lazarrien said once more.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Honestly, I played the flute just to drown it out. He didn’t like that. And here I am.”]
The knight was sure there was more to the tale than that, but he found he didn’t care.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Without hesitation, he assisted the odd musician, detangling her from the cage.
Jozetta stretched, cracking her shoulders and patting off some of the ash that had fouled her bright clothing. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“That was dreadful. So dull! So dreary! Never again.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What even is this thing?”] Lazarrien asked, examining it more closely now that Jozetta had been released. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor. At the top, there was a slim black candle with a crisp white wick.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Why, it’s the lift, of course. What else would it be?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And it’ll take me…”]
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Where you need to go. Probably!”] She laughed, more richly this time. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“But who really knows. Ready?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before the knight could answer, Jozetta snapped her fingers. The candlewick lit, a small orange flame bursting into existence.
Lazarrien stumbled as the cage lurched, beginning its ascent.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Wait a minute!”] he cried, but Jozetta was growing smaller by the second as he rose skyward. She waved furiously to him, with a malevolent grin on her face.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, all distinguishing detail on the ground had smoothed to nothing. He was stuck in the lift, until it arrived wherever it was headed.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight, rising through a featureless smoky void. Only the steady progress of the melting candle marked time.
A sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering his moment of peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave PEJ]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting some kind of offering.
A closer look revealed the key—the burnt out stub of a black candle. Wax had dribbled down the candlestick onto the floor of the cage.
The knight ducked back out onto the greasy expanse, chancing a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien lifted his foot, realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many potential offerings had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched—how many half-melted stubs and wickless wonders he sorted through—until he saw it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight trembled as he reached for it, fearing it might melt. But it was cool to the touch. Solid. He held it aloft, appreciating its form.
His path seemed clear, when a terrible squelching sound reverberated through the tallowed valley. Lazarrien turned in time to see a fountain of liquid grease erupt from the hillside, taking humanoid form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon?*]
Alas, it was something far worse.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[An older man bearing a tarnished crown hobbled toward him at an alarming rate, shedding half-formed candles as straw-colored wax poured from the back of his head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Father?”] Lazarrien asked, transfixed by the nightmarish sight.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“Filth!”] the waxen king roared, face cruel and sharp. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Rot! Shame of my flesh! You shall smother, as you ought’ve long ago!”]
The spell broke—if his sword could cleave his father in this state, the knight dared not find out. He grasped the candle, running back to the lift.
He felt the heaving heat of the monstrous king as it screamed showers of hot oil with each obscenity.
Though he slid and zagged on the greasy slick, Lazarrien reached the lift first. He jammed the dark candle into its pedestal, willing it to save him despite his lack of decorum.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“LAZARRIEN!”] the king screeched, voice thick with fluid, splattering patches of wax in every direction.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Please,”] Lazarrien begged the candlestick, gripping it with trembling hands. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Lift me! I swear I will break the curse if you just—”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Orange fire burst into being, lighting the tip of the wick. With a triumphant creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“No!”] the king shouted, grasping for the bottom of the cage. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“I shall have my revenge, I shall feast on your sin and destroy it!”]
Lazarrien stomped on his father’s fingers. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“If you hunger for sin, feast upon yourself!”]
Greased as they were, the king’s hands couldn’t hope to grip the chain. He slid down, down, and further, screaming as he went, and then went silent.
Lazarrien’s heart raced, even as the waxen foothills melted away, merging indistinguishably into the rest of the ground.
Only then did he find a mote of peace.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[All that existed now were the cage, the chain, and the knight, rising through a featureless smoky void.
The steady progress of the melting candle marked meaningless time.
As he rose, the air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain. His heart skittered as he whipped his head to find the threat, preparing to fight once again.
Below, a familiar shadow burned, climbing steadily beneath the cage.
To his astonishment, Lazarrien felt relief.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*At least it’s not Father.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave PED]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A strain of music, wafting through the smoke, drew Lazarrien’s attention. A strident, urgent melody called for him.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*What is that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Letting the song guide him, he next saw a long black chain that reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage. That’s where the sound was coming from.
The knight approached the device, suddenly cautious. There was someone moving inside.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Through the bars, Lazarrien could see a short woman dressed in an impossibly vibrant array of quilted patchwork, frayed paisley that defied the bleakness of its sky. She was playing a flute, swaying back and forth within the cage to the rhythm of her frenetic tune.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Hello there!”] the knight called, wary of getting too close.
The music cut off abruptly. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Lazarrien!”] the woman said, voice crackling with delight. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“I was afraid you wouldn’t find me. Get me out of this thing!”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’m not sure we’ve met,”] he replied stiffly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who are you?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“We’ve met. But sure, let’s prattle. It is always such a time, when we speak at length.”] She gave a brittle laugh. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“I’m Jozetta. Resident musician… of this cage, at least until you free me. You’ll let me out, right?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How’d you get stuck in the first place?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“That absolute *witch*, Ennestine!”] Jozetta spat, with particular venom. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“The high priestess! What kind of woman of faith leads a poor, sweet artist to a nasty little trap like this?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What, are you some kind of… demon?”] The more she spoke, the more suspicious the knight became.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The musician cackled. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I don’t know what you mean.”]
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“You will!”] Jozetta said, cheerfully. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Look, I might seem a little shifty. I get it. Not everyone has the strength of character to stay positive in a place like this. But picture this—a woman in dusty blue robes, droning on and on about ‘true sky’ this and ‘true sky’ that. Aren’t you exhausted even listening to it secondhand? I played my flute just to drown her out. She didn’t like that. And here I am. Honest!”]
The knight was sure there was more to the tale than that, but he found he didn’t care.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Without hesitation, he assisted the odd musician, detangling her from the cage.
Jozetta stretched, cracking her shoulders and patting off some of the ash that had fouled her bright clothing. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“That was dreadful. So dull! So dreary! Never again.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What even is this thing?”] Lazarrien asked, examining it more closely now that Jozetta had been released. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor. At the top, there was a slim black candle with a crisp white wick.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Why, it’s the lift, of course. What else would it be?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And it’ll take me…”]
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Where you need to go. Probably!”] She laughed, more richly this time. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“But who really knows. Ready?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before the knight could answer, Jozetta snapped her fingers. The candlewick lit, a small orange flame bursting into existence.
Lazarrien stumbled as the cage lurched, beginning its ascent.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Wait a minute!”] he cried, but Jozetta was growing smaller by the second as he rose skyward. She waved furiously to him, with a malevolent grin on her face.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, all distinguishing detail on the ground had smoothed to nothing. He was stuck in the lift, until it arrived wherever it was headed.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight, rising through a featureless smoky void. Only the steady progress of the melting candle marked time.
A sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering his moment of peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave PDJ]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. Before he could make sense of the device, he heard a voice nearby.
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Who’s there?”]
Lazarrien turned. Through the bars, he saw something close to the ground, so he stepped back out.
A woman, or more precisely, the torso of a woman, was sticking out of the greasy slick. Her blue robes and silver curls were coated with the tallowy substance.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I am Lazarrien,”] he said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I've been called worse.*]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Of course, Lazarrien…”] the woman said. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“You seek the true sky, yes?”]
He wasn’t sure what she meant. But indeed, he wished to ascend. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I want up this mountain. I woke up at the shrine to this… curse. A child told me there was a ‘bad man’ I might slay to end it.”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“A child?”] She sounded wistful. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“My dear Prenn?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Wait,”] the knight said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“It was *you*? You and the king?”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Aye,”] the woman admitted, pride in her voice. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I was once a high priestess. Some thought me a witch; King Dagforth never did. He wouldn’t be seen with us, but he doted upon Prenn.”]
A foul heat sizzled across Lazarrien’s heart. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Why Prenn? What is so special about *them*? Oughtn’t he have offered me the same succor?”]
The sunken woman appraised him for a few moments. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I pity you, small one,”] she said, finally.
His envy roiled, threatening to bubble over further. He tried to excise thoughts of his father, and remember instead how the child had asked for his help.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“So the child—Prenn—is my kin? Truly?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Aye,”] she said again. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Truly.”] She sank further, until only her head remained exposed.(text-color:"#88e8f6")[ “I’m afraid I haven’t much longer. Listen well, Knight. Prince. Lazarrien. However you style yourself. You must place an offering. A single, unbroken candle. Only then shall the lift ascend.”]
For the first time, the knight risked a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien lifted his foot, suddenly realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many candles had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched—how many half-melted stubs and wickless wonders he sorted through—until he saw it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight trembled as he reached for it, fearing it might melt. But it was cool to the touch. Solid. He held it aloft, appreciating its form.
He returned to the lift. The high priestess had sunken completely into the soft wax. Lazarrien knelt for a moment, touching the place where he thought she had been.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’m sorry, Prenn,”] Lazarrien said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’m sorry, Priestess. My hatred oughtn't fall upon you.”]
Yet, the hour for apology had passed.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien stepped into the cage. An ornate candlestick of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting his offering. He placed it gently. It fit perfectly, as he knew instinctively that it would.
The wick lit itself, a small orange flame providing a welcome pop of color.
With a resigned creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
Lazarrien was eager to leave the waxen foothills behind.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, they merged, indistinguishable from the rest of the ground.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight lifting through a featureless smoky void. Only the steady progress of the melting candle marked time.
The air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering the peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave PDE]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way to the heavens?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting some kind of offering.
A closer look revealed the key—the burnt out stub of a black candle. Wax had dribbled down the candlestick onto the floor of the cage.
The knight ducked back out onto the greasy expanse, chancing a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien lifted his foot, realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many potential offerings had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched, fruitlessly.
For each half-melted stub a wickless wonder; and countless more that looked firm, only to melt at his touch, staining his gauntlets with tallow that seeped through the gaps to grease his fingers.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Lazarrien?”] came a small voice from behind him.
The knight turned.
Before him stood a child. They looked up at him with curious eyes that peered out from under messy straw-colored curls. Wax crusted their clothes. In their hand, they held what Lazarrien sought.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is that for me?”] the knight asked.
They frowned. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“There’s no one else out here.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I suppose not. Who are you? How did you find that?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’m Prenn,”] the child said. They bit their lip. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“But I don’t want to say.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*What a suspicious answer.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Shall we return to the lift?”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“No. That’s not for me. I have to go back for Mother.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Suit yourself.”]
Lazarrien accepted the gift of the candle. But, the child was still staring at him. It was unnerving.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What is it?”] the knight asked. He looked into the child’s eyes, but didn’t find any answers.
Prenn sighed, and turned away. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“There’s gonna be a big storm.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’ll keep that in mind, little Prenn.”] Lazarrien was quickly realizing he had no idea how to talk to children. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*‘Little Prenn’?*] He cleared his throat, awkwardly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Good luck out there.”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Thank you, Lazarrien.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight returned to the lift, stepping into the cage. He placed Prenn’s offering. It fit perfectly.
The wick lit itself, a small orange flame providing a welcome pop of color.
With a resigned creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
Lazarrien was eager to leave the waxen foothills behind.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, they merged, indistinguishable from the rest of the ground.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight, lifting through a featureless smoky void. Only the progress of the melting candle marked the passage of time.
The air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering the peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave EJP]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way to the heavens?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting some kind of offering.
A closer look revealed the key—the burnt out stub of a black candle. Wax had dribbled down the candlestick onto the floor of the cage.
The knight ducked back out onto the greasy expanse, chancing a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien lifted his foot, realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many potential offerings had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched—how many half-melted stubs and wickless wonders he sorted through—until he saw it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight trembled as he reached for it, fearing it might melt. But it was cool to the touch. Solid. He held it aloft, appreciating its form.
His path seemed clear, when a terrible squelching sound reverberated through the tallowed valley. Lazarrien turned in time to see a fountain of liquid grease erupt from the hillside, taking humanoid form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon?*]
Alas, it was something far worse.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[An older man bearing a tarnished crown hobbled toward him at an alarming rate, shedding half-formed candles as straw-colored wax poured from the back of his head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Father?”] Lazarrien asked, transfixed by the nightmarish sight.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“Filth!”] the waxen king roared, face cruel and sharp. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Rot! Shame of my flesh! You shall smother, as you ought’ve long ago!”]
The spell broke—if his sword could cleave his father in this state, the knight dared not find out. He grasped the candle, running back to the lift.
He felt the heaving heat of the monstrous king as it screamed showers of hot oil with each obscenity.
Though he slid and zagged on the greasy slick, Lazarrien reached the lift first. He jammed the dark candle into its pedestal, willing it to save him despite his lack of decorum.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“LAZARRIEN!”] the king screeched, voice thick with fluid, splattering patches of wax in every direction.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Please,”] Lazarrien begged the candlestick, gripping it with trembling hands. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Lift me! I swear I will break the curse if you just—”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Orange fire burst into being, lighting the tip of the wick. With a triumphant creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“No!”] the king shouted, grasping for the bottom of the cage. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“I shall have my revenge, I shall feast on your sin and destroy it!”]
Lazarrien stomped on his father’s fingers. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“If you hunger for sin, feast upon yourself!”]
Greased as they were, the king’s hands couldn’t hope to grip the chain. He slid down, down, and further, screaming as he went, and then went silent.
Lazarrien’s heart raced, even as the waxen foothills melted away, merging indistinguishably into the rest of the ground.
Only then did he find a mote of peace.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[All that existed now were the cage, the chain, and the knight, rising through a featureless smoky void.
The steady progress of the melting candle marked meaningless time.
As he rose, the air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain. His heart skittered as he whipped his head to find the threat, preparing to fight once again.
Below, a familiar shadow burned, climbing steadily beneath the cage.
To his astonishment, Lazarrien felt relief.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*At least it’s not Father.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave EJD]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A strain of music, wafting through the smoke, drew Lazarrien’s attention. A strident, urgent melody called for him.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*What is that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Letting the song guide him, he next saw a long black chain that reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage. That’s where the sound was coming from.
The knight approached the device, suddenly cautious. There was someone moving inside.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Through the bars, Lazarrien could see a short woman dressed in an impossibly vibrant array of quilted patchwork, frayed paisley that defied the bleakness of its sky. She was playing a flute, swaying back and forth within the cage to the rhythm of her frenetic tune.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Hello there!”] the knight called, wary of getting too close.
The music cut off abruptly. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Lazarrien!”] the woman said, voice crackling with delight. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“I was afraid you wouldn’t find me. Get me out of this thing!”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’m not sure we’ve met,”] he replied stiffly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who are you?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“We’ve met. But sure, let’s prattle. It is always such a time, when we speak at length.”] She gave a brittle laugh. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“I’m Jozetta. Resident musician… of this cage, at least until you free me. You’ll let me out, right?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How’d you get stuck in the first place?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“That vile, wretched, ill-tempered, odious king locked me in here,”] she said, then waited for him to catch up.(text-color:"#c98ff8")[ “Your father.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Oh.”] Lazarrien felt ill, a mass of despair settling in his gut. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“He’s not… *around*… is he?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Jozetta cocked her head, as though weighing what exactly to divulge. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“He was screeching about betrayal, revenge, his particular… loathing… for this state of affairs that he’s convinced you brought about.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Oh,”] Lazarrien said once more.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Honestly, I played the flute just to drown it out. He didn’t like that. And here I am.”]
The knight was sure there was more to the tale than that, but he found he didn’t care.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Without hesitation, he assisted the odd musician, detangling her from the cage.
Jozetta stretched, cracking her shoulders and patting off some of the ash that had fouled her bright clothing. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“That was dreadful. So dull! So dreary! Never again.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What even is this thing?”] Lazarrien asked, examining it more closely now that Jozetta had been released. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor. At the top, there was a slim black candle with a crisp white wick.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Why, it’s the lift, of course. What else would it be?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And it’ll take me…”]
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Where you need to go. Probably!”] She laughed, more richly this time. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“But who really knows. Ready?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before the knight could answer, Jozetta snapped her fingers. The candlewick lit, a small orange flame bursting into existence.
Lazarrien stumbled as the cage lurched, beginning its ascent.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Wait a minute!”] he cried, but Jozetta was growing smaller by the second as he rose skyward. She waved furiously to him, with a malevolent grin on her face.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, all distinguishing detail on the ground had smoothed to nothing. He was stuck in the lift, until it arrived wherever it was headed.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight, rising through a featureless smoky void. Only the steady progress of the melting candle marked time.
A sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering his moment of peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave EPJ]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way to the heavens?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting some kind of offering.
A closer look revealed the key—the burnt out stub of a black candle. Wax had dribbled down the candlestick onto the floor of the cage.
The knight ducked back out onto the greasy expanse, chancing a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien lifted his foot, realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many potential offerings had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched—how many half-melted stubs and wickless wonders he sorted through—until he saw it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight trembled as he reached for it, fearing it might melt. But it was cool to the touch. Solid. He held it aloft, appreciating its form.
His path seemed clear, when a terrible squelching sound reverberated through the tallowed valley. Lazarrien turned in time to see a fountain of liquid grease erupt from the hillside, taking humanoid form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The demon?*]
Alas, it was something far worse.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[An older man bearing a tarnished crown hobbled toward him at an alarming rate, shedding half-formed candles as straw-colored wax poured from the back of his head.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Father?”] Lazarrien asked, transfixed by the nightmarish sight.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“Filth!”] the waxen king roared, face cruel and sharp. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“Rot! Shame of my flesh! You shall smother, as you ought’ve long ago!”]
The spell broke—if his sword could cleave his father in this state, the knight dared not find out. He grasped the candle, running back to the lift.
He felt the heaving heat of the monstrous king as it screamed showers of hot oil with each obscenity.
Though he slid and zagged on the greasy slick, Lazarrien reached the lift first. He jammed the dark candle into its pedestal, willing it to save him despite his lack of decorum.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“LAZARRIEN!”] the king screeched, voice thick with fluid, splattering patches of wax in every direction.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Please,”] Lazarrien begged the candlestick, gripping it with trembling hands. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Lift me! I swear I will break the curse if you just—”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Orange fire burst into being, lighting the tip of the wick. With a triumphant creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
(text-color:"#f4e074")[“No!”] the king shouted, grasping for the bottom of the cage. (text-color:"#f4e074")[“I shall have my revenge, I shall feast on your sin and destroy it!”]
Lazarrien stomped on his father’s fingers. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“If you hunger for sin, feast upon yourself!”]
Greased as they were, the king’s hands couldn’t hope to grip the chain. He slid down, down, and further, screaming as he went, and then went silent.
Lazarrien’s heart raced, even as the waxen foothills melted away, merging indistinguishably into the rest of the ground.
Only then did he find a mote of peace.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[All that existed now were the cage, the chain, and the knight, rising through a featureless smoky void.
The steady progress of the melting candle marked meaningless time.
As he rose, the air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain. His heart skittered as he whipped his head to find the threat, preparing to fight once again.
Below, a familiar shadow burned, climbing steadily beneath the cage.
To his astonishment, Lazarrien felt relief.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*At least it’s not Father.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave EPD]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A strain of music, wafting through the smoke, drew Lazarrien’s attention. A strident, urgent melody called for him.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*What is that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Letting the song guide him, he next saw a long black chain that reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage. That’s where the sound was coming from.
The knight approached the device, suddenly cautious. There was someone moving inside.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Through the bars, Lazarrien could see a short woman dressed in an impossibly vibrant array of quilted patchwork, frayed paisley that defied the bleakness of its sky. She was playing a flute, swaying back and forth within the cage to the rhythm of her frenetic tune.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Hello there!”] the knight called, wary of getting too close.
The music cut off abruptly. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Lazarrien!”] the woman said, voice crackling with delight. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“I was afraid you wouldn’t find me. Get me out of this thing!”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’m not sure we’ve met,”] he replied stiffly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who are you?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“We’ve met. But sure, let’s prattle. It is always such a time, when we speak at length.”] She gave a brittle laugh. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“I’m Jozetta. Resident musician… of this cage, at least until you free me. You’ll let me out, right?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How’d you get stuck in the first place?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“That whiny brat! Always with the sad eyes, asking where their parents are. As if that’s somehow *my* responsibility.”] Jozetta shuddered. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“You’d think I killed them or something. I want nothing to do with either of them!”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You got trapped in this cage by a *child*?”] The knight was incredulous.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Oh, very funny. So, so amusing,”] Jozetta said, her voice suddenly menacing. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Laugh at the poor woman who got tricked by—yes, a child. It’s embarrassing enough without you, of all people, poking fun.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I meant no offense,”] Lazarrien said, sensing the conversation had taken a dangerous turn.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Look, that child was wandering around all sad, and I thought I’d cheer them up with a jaunty tune. It also doubled to drown out their mewling. They didn’t like that. And here I am. Honest!”]
The knight was sure there was more to the tale than that, but he found he didn’t care.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Without hesitation, he assisted the odd musician, detangling her from the cage.
Jozetta stretched, cracking her shoulders and patting off some of the ash that had fouled her bright clothing. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“That was dreadful. So dull! So dreary! Never again.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What even is this thing?”] Lazarrien asked, examining it more closely now that Jozetta had been released. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor. At the top, there was a slim black candle with a crisp white wick.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Why, it’s the lift, of course. What else would it be?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And it’ll take me…”]
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Where you need to go. Probably!”] She laughed, more richly this time. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“But who really knows. Ready?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before the knight could answer, Jozetta snapped her fingers. The candlewick lit, a small orange flame bursting into existence.
Lazarrien stumbled as the cage lurched, beginning its ascent.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Wait a minute!”] he cried, but Jozetta was growing smaller by the second as he rose skyward. She waved furiously to him, with a malevolent grin on her face.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, all distinguishing detail on the ground had smoothed to nothing. He was stuck in the lift, until it arrived wherever it was headed.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight, rising through a featureless smoky void. Only the steady progress of the melting candle marked time.
A sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering his moment of peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave EDJ]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way to the heavens?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting some kind of offering.
A closer look revealed the key—the burnt out stub of a black candle. Wax had dribbled down the candlestick onto the floor of the cage.
The knight ducked back out onto the greasy expanse, chancing a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien lifted his foot, realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many potential offerings had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched, fruitlessly.
For each half-melted stub a wickless wonder; and countless more that looked firm, only to melt at his touch, staining his gauntlets with tallow that seeped through the gaps to grease his fingers.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Lazarrien?”] came a small voice from behind him.
The knight turned.
Before him stood a child. They looked up at him with curious eyes that peered out from under messy straw-colored curls. Wax crusted their clothes. In their hand, they held what Lazarrien sought.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is that for me?”] the knight asked.
They frowned. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“There’s no one else out here.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I suppose not. Who are you? How did you find that?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’m Prenn,”] the child said. They bit their lip. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“But I don’t want to say.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*What a suspicious answer.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Shall we return to the lift?”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“No. That’s not for me. I have to go back for Mother.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Suit yourself.”]
Lazarrien accepted the gift of the candle. But, the child was still staring at him. It was unnerving.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What is it?”] the knight asked. He looked into the child’s eyes, but didn’t find any answers.
Prenn sighed, and turned away. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“There’s gonna be a big storm.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’ll keep that in mind, little Prenn.”] Lazarrien was quickly realizing he had no idea how to talk to children. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*‘Little Prenn’?*] He cleared his throat, awkwardly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Good luck out there.”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Thank you, Lazarrien.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight returned to the lift, stepping into the cage. He placed Prenn’s offering. It fit perfectly.
The wick lit itself, a small orange flame providing a welcome pop of color.
With a resigned creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
Lazarrien was eager to leave the waxen foothills behind.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, they merged, indistinguishable from the rest of the ground.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight, lifting through a featureless smoky void. Only the progress of the melting candle marked the passage of time.
The air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering the peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave EDP]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting some kind of offering.
A closer look revealed the key—the burnt out stub of a black candle. Wax had dribbled down the candlestick onto the floor of the cage.
The knight ducked back out onto the greasy expanse, chancing a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien lifted his foot, realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many potential offerings had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched, fruitlessly.
For each half-melted stub a wickless wonder; and countless more that looked firm, only to melt at his touch, staining his gauntlets with tallow that seeped through the gaps to grease his fingers.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Lazarrien?”] came a small voice from behind him.
The knight turned.
Before him stood a child. They looked up at him with curious eyes that peered out from under messy straw-colored curls. Wax crusted their clothes. In their hand, they held what Lazarrien sought.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is that for me?”] the knight asked.
They frowned. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“There’s no one else out here.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I suppose not. Who are you? How did you find that?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’m Prenn,”] the child said. They bit their lip. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“But I don’t want to say.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*What a suspicious answer.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Shall we return to the lift?”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“No. Mother left me behind again. So I don't want to see her.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Suit yourself.”]
Lazarrien accepted the gift of the candle. But, the child was still staring at him. It was unnerving.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What is it?”] the knight asked. He looked into the child’s eyes, but didn’t find any answers.
Prenn sighed, and turned away. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“There’s gonna be a big storm.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’ll keep that in mind, little Prenn.”] Lazarrien was quickly realizing he had no idea how to talk to children. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*‘Little Prenn’?*] He cleared his throat, awkwardly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Good luck out there.”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Thank you, Lazarrien.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight returned to the lift, stepping into the cage. He placed Prenn’s offering. It fit perfectly.
The wick lit itself, a small orange flame providing a welcome pop of color.
With a resigned creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
Lazarrien was eager to leave the waxen foothills behind.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, they merged, indistinguishable from the rest of the ground.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight, lifting through a featureless smoky void. Only the progress of the melting candle marked the passage of time.
The air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering the peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave DJP]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. Before he could make sense of the device, he heard a voice nearby.
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Who’s there?”]
Lazarrien turned. Through the bars, he saw something close to the ground, so he stepped back out.
A woman, or more precisely, the torso of a woman, was sticking out of the greasy slick. Her blue robes and silver curls were coated with the tallowy substance.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I am… Lazarrien,”] he said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*That’s what I’ve been told.*]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Of course,”] the woman replied. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“You seek the true sky, yes?”]
He wasn’t sure what she meant. But indeed, he wished to ascend. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I want up this mountain; I wish to end the curse upon this land.”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Is that so?”] She sounded dubious. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I once thought so, too. I was a priestess. High Priestess Ennestine, they called me. Not so high anymore, these days.”] Sweat ran down the sides of her face, beading on the grease. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I only ever sought the true sky. Alas, I never found the key to the lift.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What key?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“An offering—a single, unbroken candle. I never could find one.”]
For the first time, the knight risked a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“They’re all broken,”] Ennestine said. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Well... perhaps not all. There are so many. That's what I thought—that I'd find one. I spent so long looking at the ground, I must have forgotten the true sky. That's where I went wrong.”] She gave a bitter, choked laugh. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I’d pray for you to find yours, but I can't feel my hands.”]
Lazarrien lifted his foot, suddenly realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many candles had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched—how many half-melted stubs and wickless wonders he sorted through—until he saw it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight trembled as he reached for it, fearing it might melt. But it was cool to the touch. Solid. He held it aloft, appreciating its form.
Triumphant, he returned to the lift, hoping to show Ennestine that her prayers had worked. But where her torso had once emerged from the wax, only a few strands of hair remained exposed.
He hadn't realized she was still sinking. It was too late now; the soft wax had closed over her head.
If she’d called to him for help, he hadn’t heard it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*And if I had heard it? Would I have answered?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien stepped into the cage. An ornate candlestick of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting his offering. He placed it gently. It fit perfectly, as he knew instinctively that it would.
The wick lit itself, a small orange flame providing a welcome pop of color.
With a resigned creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
Lazarrien was eager to leave the waxen foothills behind.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, they merged, indistinguishable from the rest of the ground.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight lifting through a featureless smoky void. Only the steady progress of the melting candle marked time.
The air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering the peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave DJE]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A strain of music, wafting through the smoke, drew Lazarrien’s attention. A strident, urgent melody called for him.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*What is that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Letting the song guide him, he next saw a long black chain that reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage. That’s where the sound was coming from.
The knight approached the device, suddenly cautious. There was someone moving inside.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Through the bars, Lazarrien could see a short woman dressed in an impossibly vibrant array of quilted patchwork, frayed paisley that defied the bleakness of its sky. She was playing a flute, swaying back and forth within the cage to the rhythm of her frenetic tune.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Hello there!”] the knight called, wary of getting too close.
The music cut off abruptly. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Lazarrien!”] the woman said, voice crackling with delight. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“I was afraid you wouldn’t find me. Get me out of this thing!”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’m not sure we’ve met,”] he replied stiffly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who are you?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“We’ve met. But sure, let’s prattle. It is always such a time, when we speak at length.”] She gave a brittle laugh. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“I’m Jozetta. Resident musician… of this cage, at least until you free me. You’ll let me out, right?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How’d you get stuck in the first place?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“That absolute *witch*, Ennestine!”] Jozetta spat, with particular venom. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“The high priestess! What kind of woman of faith leads a poor, sweet artist to a nasty little trap like this?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What, are you some kind of… demon?”] The more she spoke, the more suspicious the knight became.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The musician cackled. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I don’t know what you mean.”]
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“You will!”] Jozetta said, cheerfully. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Look, I might seem a little shifty. I get it. Not everyone has the strength of character to stay positive in a place like this. But picture this—a woman in dusty blue robes, droning on and on about ‘true sky’ this and ‘true sky’ that. Aren’t you exhausted even listening to it secondhand? I played my flute just to drown her out. She didn’t like that. And here I am. Honest!”]
The knight was sure there was more to the tale than that, but he found he didn’t care.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Without hesitation, he assisted the odd musician, detangling her from the cage.
Jozetta stretched, cracking her shoulders and patting off some of the ash that had fouled her bright clothing. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“That was dreadful. So dull! So dreary! Never again.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What even is this thing?”] Lazarrien asked, examining it more closely now that Jozetta had been released. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor. At the top, there was a slim black candle with a crisp white wick.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Why, it’s the lift, of course. What else would it be?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And it’ll take me…”]
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Where you need to go. Probably!”] She laughed, more richly this time. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“But who really knows. Ready?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before the knight could answer, Jozetta snapped her fingers. The candlewick lit, a small orange flame bursting into existence.
Lazarrien stumbled as the cage lurched, beginning its ascent.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Wait a minute!”] he cried, but Jozetta was growing smaller by the second as he rose skyward. She waved furiously to him, with a malevolent grin on her face.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, all distinguishing detail on the ground had smoothed to nothing. He was stuck in the lift, until it arrived wherever it was headed.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight, rising through a featureless smoky void. Only the steady progress of the melting candle marked time.
A sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering his moment of peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave DPJ]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. Before he could make sense of the device, he heard a voice nearby.
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Who’s there?”]
Lazarrien turned. Through the bars, he saw something close to the ground, so he stepped back out.
A woman, or more precisely, the torso of a woman, was sticking out of the greasy slick. Her blue robes and silver curls were coated with the tallowy substance.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I am… Lazarrien,”] he said. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*That’s what I’ve been told.*]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Of course,”] the woman replied. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“You seek the true sky, yes?”]
He wasn’t sure what she meant. But indeed, he wished to ascend. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I want up this mountain; I wish to end the curse upon this land.”]
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Is that so?”] She sounded dubious. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I once thought so, too. I was a priestess. High Priestess Ennestine, they called me. Not so high anymore, these days.”] Sweat ran down the sides of her face, beading on the grease. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I only ever sought the true sky. Alas, I never found the key to the lift.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What key?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“An offering—a single, unbroken candle. I never could find one.”]
For the first time, the knight risked a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#88e8f6")[“They’re all broken,”] Ennestine said. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“Well... perhaps not all. There are so many. That's what I thought—that I'd find one. I spent so long looking at the ground, I must have forgotten the true sky. That's where I went wrong.”] She gave a bitter, choked laugh. (text-color:"#88e8f6")[“I’d pray for you to find yours, but I can't feel my hands.”]
Lazarrien lifted his foot, suddenly realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many candles had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched—how many half-melted stubs and wickless wonders he sorted through—until he saw it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight trembled as he reached for it, fearing it might melt. But it was cool to the touch. Solid. He held it aloft, appreciating its form.
Triumphant, he returned to the lift, hoping to show Ennestine that her prayers had worked. But where her torso had once emerged from the wax, only a few strands of hair remained exposed.
He hadn't realized she was still sinking. It was too late now; the soft wax had closed over her head.
If she’d called to him for help, he hadn’t heard it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*And if I had heard it? Would I have answered?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien stepped into the cage. An ornate candlestick of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting his offering. He placed it gently. It fit perfectly, as he knew instinctively that it would.
The wick lit itself, a small orange flame providing a welcome pop of color.
With a resigned creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
Lazarrien was eager to leave the waxen foothills behind.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, they merged, indistinguishable from the rest of the ground.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight lifting through a featureless smoky void. Only the steady progress of the melting candle marked time.
The air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering the peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave DPE]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A strain of music, wafting through the smoke, drew Lazarrien’s attention. A strident, urgent melody called for him.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*What is that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Letting the song guide him, he next saw a long black chain that reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage. That’s where the sound was coming from.
The knight approached the device, suddenly cautious. There was someone moving inside.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Through the bars, Lazarrien could see a short woman dressed in an impossibly vibrant array of quilted patchwork, frayed paisley that defied the bleakness of its sky. She was playing a flute, swaying back and forth within the cage to the rhythm of her frenetic tune.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Hello there!”] the knight called, wary of getting too close.
The music cut off abruptly. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Lazarrien!”] the woman said, voice crackling with delight. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“I was afraid you wouldn’t find me. Get me out of this thing!”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’m not sure we’ve met,”] he replied stiffly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who are you?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“We’ve met. But sure, let’s prattle. It is always such a time, when we speak at length.”] She gave a brittle laugh. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“I’m Jozetta. Resident musician… of this cage, at least until you free me. You’ll let me out, right?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How’d you get stuck in the first place?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“That whiny brat! Always with the sad eyes, asking where their parents are. As if that’s somehow *my* responsibility.”] Jozetta shuddered. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“You’d think I killed them or something. I want nothing to do with either of them!”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You got trapped in this cage by a *child*?”] The knight was incredulous.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Oh, very funny. So, so amusing,”] Jozetta said, her voice suddenly menacing. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Laugh at the poor woman who got tricked by—yes, a child. It’s embarrassing enough without you, of all people, poking fun.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I meant no offense,”] Lazarrien said, sensing the conversation had taken a dangerous turn.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Look, that child was wandering around all sad, and I thought I’d cheer them up with a jaunty tune. It also doubled to drown out their mewling. They didn’t like that. And here I am. Honest!”]
The knight was sure there was more to the tale than that, but he found he didn’t care.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Without hesitation, he assisted the odd musician, detangling her from the cage.
Jozetta stretched, cracking her shoulders and patting off some of the ash that had fouled her bright clothing. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“That was dreadful. So dull! So dreary! Never again.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What even is this thing?”] Lazarrien asked, examining it more closely now that Jozetta had been released. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor. At the top, there was a slim black candle with a crisp white wick.
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Why, it’s the lift, of course. What else would it be?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And it’ll take me…”]
(text-color:"#c98ff8")[“Where you need to go. Probably!”] She laughed, more richly this time. (text-color:"#c98ff8")[“But who really knows. Ready?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before the knight could answer, Jozetta snapped her fingers. The candlewick lit, a small orange flame bursting into existence.
Lazarrien stumbled as the cage lurched, beginning its ascent.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Wait a minute!”] he cried, but Jozetta was growing smaller by the second as he rose skyward. She waved furiously to him, with a malevolent grin on her face.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, all distinguishing detail on the ground had smoothed to nothing. He was stuck in the lift, until it arrived wherever it was headed.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight, rising through a featureless smoky void. Only the steady progress of the melting candle marked time.
A sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering his moment of peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave DEJ]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[III.]
Lazarrien noticed the bramble thinning when he stepped upon something strangely soft and slick.
He continued forward, his pace slowed by the way his feet sank into the mass of this alien substance. Sickly heat reached up through his boots.
Gray vines had given way to broad, rolling hills of an unnerving fleshy color, bare of plants or even rocks. A smooth expanse with a yellow cast, like fat sloughed off of a roast.
The knight was disgusted… but curious.
He fought the urge to take a closer look at what he treaded upon.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Cresting the next hill, he could see that the brambles had guided him on a hook-shaped path toward the base of a mountain. The inescapable haze grew thick, obscuring the peak.
A long black chain reached through the haze down toward the foothills. Link after link of blackened metal, stretching from the mountainside far, far above. At its end, a strange contraption that resembled an iron cage.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is that a lift? My way up to the castle?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped into the cage for a closer look. An ornate pedestal of twisted metal stuck out of the floor, awaiting some kind of offering.
A closer look revealed the key—the burnt out stub of a black candle. Wax had dribbled down the candlestick onto the floor of the cage.
The knight ducked back out onto the greasy expanse, chancing a closer look at what he’d been standing on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[It was not the patchwork of living flesh that he feared, but wax.
A thousand thousand candles, melted together into a single mass.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien lifted his foot, realizing his folly in treading so recklessly across the hillside. How many potential offerings had he crushed while fixated on the path ahead?
He could not say how long he searched, fruitlessly.
For each half-melted stub a wickless wonder; and countless more that looked firm, only to melt at his touch, staining his gauntlets with tallow that seeped through the gaps to grease his fingers.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Lazarrien?”] came a small voice from behind him.
The knight turned.
Before him stood a child. They looked up at him with curious eyes that peered out from under messy straw-colored curls. Wax crusted their clothes. In their hand, they held what Lazarrien sought.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A single slim black candle.
Whole and perfect.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is that for me?”] the knight asked.
They frowned. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“There’s no one else out here.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I suppose not. Who are you? How did you find that?”] Lazarrien asked.
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“I’m Prenn,”] the child said. They bit their lip. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“But I don’t want to say.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*What a suspicious answer.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Shall we return to the lift?”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“No. That’s not for me. I have to go back for Mother.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Suit yourself.”]
Lazarrien accepted the gift of the candle. But, the child was still staring at him. It was unnerving.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What is it?”] the knight asked. He looked into the child’s eyes, but didn’t find any answers.
Prenn sighed, and turned away. (text-color:"#66f17b")[“There’s gonna be a big storm.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’ll keep that in mind, little Prenn.”] Lazarrien was quickly realizing he had no idea how to talk to children. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*‘Little Prenn’?*] He cleared his throat, awkwardly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Good luck out there.”]
(text-color:"#66f17b")[“Thank you, Lazarrien.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight returned to the lift, stepping into the cage. He placed Prenn’s offering. It fit perfectly.
The wick lit itself, a small orange flame providing a welcome pop of color.
With a resigned creak of metal, the cage began its ascent.
Lazarrien was eager to leave the waxen foothills behind.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Before long, they merged, indistinguishable from the rest of the ground.
All that existed were the cage, the chain, and the knight, lifting through a featureless smoky void. Only the progress of the melting candle marked the passage of time.
The air grew colder and colder. Before too long, the knight longed for the false heat of the ground he'd abandoned.
In his moment of longing, a sudden vibration sent the cage swaying on the chain, shattering the peace. Lazarrien looked down, seeing a familiar burning shadow on the chain far beneath the cage.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Not far enough.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Cave DEP]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit D]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit P]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit D]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit J]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit P]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit J]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit E]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit P]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit E]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit J]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit P]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit J]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit D]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit E]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit D]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit J]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit E]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit J]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit D]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit D]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit E]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit E]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit P]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[IV.]
At long last, the lift clattered to a stop on a rocky outcropping.
Lazarrien had watched the demon’s progress climbing the chain behind him. But Agramith had kept a respectful distance.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Still, the knight didn’t wish to linger.
The air here was thinner, and far, far colder. He wandered up the stony switchbacks, searching for relief from the piercing chill.
Thunder cracked and wind howled as a furious storm descended upon the mountainside, pelting Lazarrien; first with rain that slicked his path, and then with jagged sleet that stung, bouncing loudly off his battered armor.
His teeth chattered, each breath emerging as a ghastly puff of fog, frost scorching his lungs.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to find cover.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Out of desperation, he climbed into a nearby alcove, and was pleased to discover it led deeper. A cavern, cleft into the mountain. Just where he needed it.
Respite from the hail, but not the cold.
The knight pulled his knees to his chest and pressing himself into the furthest corner of the cave he could fit. Even there, it was barely warmer. He regretted ever complaining of the stifling heat of the lands below.
He held like that for a while, before he heard footsteps over the din.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*No!*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Distracted by the storm, he’d forgotten Agramith’s pursuit. There was no running now. The demon was upon him at last.
An eerie crimson glow preceded the entrance of Agramith himself. Moments later, the demon stood before him, filling the the narrow passageway with his lanky form.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*A handsome form.
…Why did I think that?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The demon’s coal-bright eyes met the knight’s. In his claws, Agramith held a sphere of flame that crackled ominously.
Lazarrien trembled from the cold, wondering what he should do. He tried to draw his sword, but lost his grip immediately, betrayed by stiff frozen fingers. The blade clattered uselessly next to the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“There you are,”] the demon said, voice mellow and resonant. His expression softened.
Lazarrien watched as the demon flicked the burning orb toward a patch of stone nearby. The knight felt relief as the warmth flowed into him, bringing a rush of blood to his extremities.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I couldn’t bear to see you freeze to death.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You aren’t here… to kill me?”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“No.”] Agramith strode closer to him, then sat nearby, sprawling out over the stone.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“You’re beautiful,”] the knight blurted out. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Why did I say that?*]
The demon laughed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I know,”] he said, preening a bit. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“But I love to hear it.”] He slid closer. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“Especially from you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien picked up his scent then—rose oil, cloying, and the acrid note of brimstone. He breathed it deeply, so warm and familiar that he wondered how he had ever been apart from it.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who knows when the storm will be over,”] the knight said, trying desperately to convince himself that only the heat of the fire burned his face. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How shall we… occupy ourselves?”]
Agramith’s face was now near enough that Lazarrien could see the softness of his lips as they parted into a grin. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“How indeed?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(either:"The knight took the lead, climbing atop the barely contained fires of hell, partaking deeply of the pleasures Agramith readily offered.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, wrapped around the comforting heat of the demon.","The knight let the barely contained fires of hell wash over, as Agramith climbed atop him. He welcomed the demon’s exploration, finding, finally, the only pleasure this miserable, cursed land could offer.
It was as though they’d lain together a thousand times or more, each knowing instinctively knowing where to move next; a dance that they’d rehearsed, performed, and performed again, accompanied by the fevered rage of the ceaseless storm.
Eventually, Lazarrien succumbed to sleep, dreaming of shadow, fire, and lust.
Some time later, he woke again, with the comforting heat of the demon wrapped around him.")
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“The storm’s letting up,”] Agramith said, idly stroking the knight’s shoulder with a gentle claw.
Lazarrien listened for himself. Sure enough, the howling wind had faded, the clatter of hail merely distant echoes. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Then I must continue on my journey.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Stay with me,”] the demon insisted. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could stay here. Together.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“And leave all the realm to the curse?”] Lazarrien said, quietly. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Who would stop it, if not I?”] He pulled away from his lover, breaking the connection of their warmth.
Agramith had an inscrutable expression. The coals behind his eyes seemed to have dimmed. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“We could simply live with the curse. The curse is only as bad as we let it be.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“A demon *would* say that.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Said demon rose, in anger. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I have done *nothing* to hinder you.”] He stood near the mouth of the cave, once again filling the space with his fantastical, monstrous form.
Lazarrien’s heart ached for this man. There was nothing he could do to stop it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You were the one who brought me here in the first place. You always said we ought to fight to be free of what bound us. That we should embrace one another. Reject suffering. I did what no demon should—I let you sway me. I’ve tried to help you. But nothing I say makes a difference. You want to end the curse? Lazarrien—you are the curse. My beautiful, cursed thing.”] Agramith gazed upon the knight with reckless longing, then turned, and disappeared outside.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, wait—I didn’t mean it!”]
But the demon was gone.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I didn’t.”] He could barely hear himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien looked to where the abandoned sword once gleamed red from Agramith’s warm glow. It sat, cold, upon the cavern floor.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I will bring an end to this.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Summit P]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[V.]
The cold of the storm and heat of the cave faded to a dull ache.
What remained was a grim climb to the summit.
Step after step after step, Lazarrien trudged onward. Only the faint sparkle of firmament drew him forward.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to end the curse. It must be done.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight broke through the smoke layer, revealing a new sky. Inky black and starless, save for the vigil of a bright, frozen moon.
What pitiful air survived the ascent with him at least didn’t stink of hellfire. It was pure, cold, and lifeless.
At the gateway to the summit, a lone figure blocked Lazarrien’s path.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He was dressed in faded finery, crown crooked atop his straw-colored hair. The king.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*My father.*]
A thin layer of hoarfrost encrusted him head to toe. He stared straight into Lazarrien’s eyes, cruel and judgmental.
But, ultimately, seeing nothing. He had frozen solid.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“I’ve faced worse than this to get here,”] the knight said, his voice straining to gain hold against the yawning void.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He reached for the crown.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[As he did, the king shattered, crumbling to dust-fine snow. Crown and all. A pathetic pile of nothing.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Nothing important, anyway.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien reached the true summit, finally learning what had gleamed from below the haze. A bridge of ice, arched over the lands below, leading to the castle in the distance.
He walked right up to the edge of it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Wait.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight turned. Agramith stood behind him.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What do you want?”] Lazarrien asked, voice hollow.
The demon walked forward.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I can’t bear even to look at him.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I’m sorry for my wrath. I... regret it. But you need to know, you cannot enter the castle. Not unless you make a sacrifice. It will take at least that to break the curse.”]
Agramith knelt before Lazarrien.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You brought that blade all this way. Sacrifice me. That might be enough.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, my... love?”]
He wasn’t sure.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Whatever part of the curse made him forget, clouded what was most important.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I hope that to be true.”]
The demon closed his eyes.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*He’s waiting for my decision.*]
|===
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+2s)+(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size:1.5)[SACRIFICE]
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+5s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Bridge Sacrifice]]]
===|
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+3s)+(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size:1.5)[SPARE]
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+5s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Bridge Spare]]]
|==|
]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[V.]
The cold of the storm and heat of the cave faded to a dull ache.
What remained was a grim climb to the summit.
Step after step after step, Lazarrien trudged onward. Only the faint sparkle of firmament drew him forward.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to end the curse. It must be done.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight broke through the smoke layer, revealing a new sky. Inky black and starless, save for the vigil of a bright, frozen moon.
What pitiful air survived the ascent with him at least didn’t stink of hellfire. It was pure, cold, and lifeless.
At the gateway to the summit, a lone figure blocked Lazarrien’s path.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A woman in pale blue robes, staring moonward.
Light danced across her ice-crusted robe, hoarfrost fractals reaching even her silver curls.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*The high priestess.*]
Whatever she had seen in the sky, she saw no longer. She had frozen solid.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[As a testament to the wonder of the heavens, perhaps she had triumphed.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[As a guard, she most certainly had not.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight stepped around her. She could do nothing to stop him.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien reached the true summit, finally learning what had gleamed from below the haze. A bridge of ice, arched over the lands below, leading to the castle in the distance.
He walked right up to the edge of it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Wait.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight turned. Agramith stood behind him.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What do you want?”] Lazarrien asked, voice hollow.
The demon walked forward.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I can’t bear even to look at him.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I’m sorry for my wrath. I... regret it. But you need to know, you cannot enter the castle. Not unless you make a sacrifice. It will take at least that to break the curse.”]
Agramith knelt before Lazarrien.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You brought that blade all this way. Sacrifice me. That might be enough.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, my... love?”]
He wasn’t sure.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Whatever part of the curse made him forget, clouded what was most important.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I hope that to be true.”]
The demon closed his eyes.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*He’s waiting for my decision.*]
|===
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+2s)+(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size:1.5)[SACRIFICE]
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+5s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Bridge Sacrifice]]]
===|
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+3s)+(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size:1.5)[SPARE]
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+5s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Bridge Spare]]]
|==|
]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[V.]
The cold of the storm and heat of the cave faded to a dull ache.
What remained was a grim climb to the summit.
Step after step after step, Lazarrien trudged onward. Only the faint sparkle of firmament drew him forward.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to end the curse. It must be done.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight broke through the smoke layer, revealing a new sky. Inky black and starless, save for the vigil of a bright, frozen moon.
What pitiful air survived the ascent with him at least didn’t stink of hellfire. It was pure, cold, and lifeless.
At the gateway to the summit, a lone figure blocked Lazarrien’s path.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A child.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[They gazed up at him with curious eyes that peered out from under messy straw-colored curls.
It looked like they were about to say something important. But whatever it was, Lazarrien would never hear it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[They had frozen solid.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight couldn’t fathom how the child had possibly wandered this far alone, but he’d long since accepted that the curse’s tenacity was boundless.
He reached out to pat the child on an ice-crusted shoulder, as if to comfort them. But, he hesitated.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*It won’t matter to them, only to me.
And I don’t deserve to feel better.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[So he withdrew his hand, and moved on.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien reached the true summit, finally learning what had gleamed from below the haze. A bridge of ice, arched over the lands below, leading to the castle in the distance.
He walked right up to the edge of it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Wait.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight turned. Agramith stood behind him.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What do you want?”] Lazarrien asked, voice hollow.
The demon walked forward.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I can’t bear even to look at him.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I’m sorry for my wrath. I... regret it. But you need to know, you cannot enter the castle. Not unless you make a sacrifice. It will take at least that to break the curse.”]
Agramith knelt before Lazarrien.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You brought that blade all this way. Sacrifice me. That might be enough.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, my... love?”]
He wasn’t sure.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Whatever part of the curse made him forget, clouded what was most important.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I hope that to be true.”]
The demon closed his eyes.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*He’s waiting for my decision.*]
|===
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+2s)+(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size:1.5)[SACRIFICE]
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+5s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Bridge Sacrifice]]]
===|
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+3s)+(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size:1.5)[SPARE]
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+5s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Bridge Spare]]]
|==|
]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[V.]
The cold of the storm and heat of the cave faded to a dull ache.
What remained was a grim climb to the summit.
Step after step after step, Lazarrien trudged onward. Only the faint sparkle of firmament drew him forward.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I have to end the curse. It must be done.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight broke through the smoke layer, revealing a new sky. Inky black and starless, save for the vigil of a bright, frozen moon.
What pitiful air survived the ascent with him at least didn’t stink of hellfire. It was pure, cold, and lifeless.
At the gateway to the summit, a lone figure blocked Lazarrien’s path.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A short woman, dressed in an impossibly vibrant array of quilted patchwork, frayed paisley that defied the endless yawning void above.
Thin hoarfrost covered her entire body, fractal patterns tracing each bit of fabric with uncanny precision.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[She held a flute to her lips, but never again would she play it.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[She had frozen solid.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight tried to think of something to sing, to honor the erstwhile musician. But not a single note rose in his throat.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*In a cursed land, even music meets its end.*]
So he stepped past.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien reached the true summit, finally learning what had gleamed from below the haze. A bridge of ice, arched over the lands below, leading to the castle in the distance.
He walked right up to the edge of it.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Wait.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight turned. Agramith stood behind him.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What do you want?”] Lazarrien asked, voice hollow.
The demon walked forward.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I can’t bear even to look at him.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I’m sorry for my wrath. I... regret it. But you need to know, you cannot enter the castle. Not unless you make a sacrifice. It will take at least that to break the curse.”]
Agramith knelt before Lazarrien.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#fb7951")[“You brought that blade all this way. Sacrifice me. That might be enough.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Agramith, my... love?”]
He wasn’t sure.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Whatever part of the curse made him forget, clouded what was most important.
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“I hope that to be true.”]
The demon closed his eyes.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*He’s waiting for my decision.*]
|===
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+2s)+(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size:1.5)[SACRIFICE]
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+5s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Bridge Sacrifice]]]
===|
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+3s)+(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size:1.5)[SPARE]
(t8n: "dissolve")+(after:time+5s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Bridge Spare]]]
|==|
]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[VI.]
Lazarrien placed one hand on Agramith’s shoulder, for stability.
With the other, he drew his sword, placing the tip directly over the demon’s heart.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He trembled for a moment.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Can I really do this?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[And then he remembered his mission.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[His hand steadied, and then...
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He thrust forward with all his strength.
(after:time+3s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(after:time+3s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[Once it was over, he could not wipe the blood off the blade.
(after:time+3s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[ It remained resolutely stained black, sacrifice infused into its very metal.
(after:time+4s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[Some sins are indelible.
(after:time+3s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Though his tears flowed freely, he never looked back. He marched, steadily, across the bridge.
The dark castle in the distance drew closer.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[And closer.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[And closer still.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[At long last, he arrived at its gate.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He stepped forward.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I’m ready to fight.*]
(after:time+2s)+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Castle Sacrifice]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[VI.]
Lazarrien offered his hand.
Agramith looked up at him, puzzled.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Stand up.”]
The demon stood with as much grace as he could muster. He leaned forward, the curves of his horns resting against the knight’s forehead.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“We’ll face it together, whatever it is.”]
(text-color:"#fb7951")[“Alright,”] Agramith said. He looked pensive. (text-color:"#fb7951")[“I will… follow you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[They walked along the crystalline bridge, moonlit void above, smoky hell below.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The castle in the distance drew closer.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[And closer.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[And closer still.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[But alas...
(after:time+3s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[Ice makes for treacherous terrain.
(after:time+4s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[When they slipped, Lazarrien had every intention of catching the demon’s arm, pulling him back to safety.
(after:time+6s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[The instinct of a swordsman, however, was another matter.
(after:time+4s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[He caught the blade instead.
(after:time+3s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[Lazarrien was too numb with horror to feel anything but idle curiosity as he watched the dark figure shrink, and shrink, and finally disappear, into the miasma.
(after:time+6s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[Agramith was gone.
(after:time+5s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight walked forward with only a pit for a soul.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He could still lift the curse.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Perhaps.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*But for what, anymore?*]
(after:time+4s)+(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Castle Spare]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[VII.]
In the castle’s antechamber, a demon lounged behind an ornate desk. She looked a bit like Agramith, though her horns were far more prominent, and her fire burned the hue of a ripe setting moon.
As Lazarrien approached, she straightened up.
He hesitated.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is she part of the curse? Must I slay her?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He had no idea what to do with himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#ffb156")[“Well?” ]she asked. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“I know you have questions for me.”] She pulled out a yellowing parchment and barbed quill.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is… the curse?”]
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“That’s your question? ‘Is the curse?’”] She thought about it. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“Yes, I suppose the curse *is*. You know, maybe I should lead this one. You needed to bring me three things. Let’s start with the obvious. Did you manage to get Agramith here?”]
Lazarrien looked down. He hadn’t even *tried* to do that.
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“Bad start. Remember that for next time, okay? Handsome demon guy, arm in arm, right next to you. And the sword?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Numbly, the knight drew his blade. The dark bloodstain was evidence enough of what happened.
She winced, perhaps at the sight of the pain of her kin. Or perhaps out of secondhand embarrassment. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“That’s *rough*. What happened out there? Scratch that—not important. Now this is a real longshot. The ring?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Ring?”] Lazarrien asked. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What ring? I don’t—there wasn’t a ring.”]
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“There definitely was and you absolutely needed to bring it with you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What is this? Who *are* you?”] the knight was suddenly angry. Now that his sword was brandished, he was considering putting it to use.
The demon looked affronted. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“Hey, that’s not on me. I’m just overseeing your trial. I don’t want to be here any more than you do.”] She tilted her head. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“I’ll cut right to it. You, Lazarrien, estranged fourth son of King Whoever. In your despair, you summoned a demon—Agramith—and fell in love. That doesn’t happen a lot. Hell was abuzz. Personally, I find it cute.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Cute.”]
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“Yeah. Cute. But summoning a demon to the mortal realm—it’s expensive, taxing, and most importantly, temporary. Your dear Agramith was bound to return. So you hatched a plan. You asked him to take you with, to face his father, and ask for his hand. His freedom. Do you know how expensive that is? Can you fathom even a fraction of a fraction of the cost to release, fully, a son of the Lord of Hell, to your plane? I was scared for you. I thought he might obliterate you on the spot.”]
Lazarrien felt ill, sweat beading at his temples.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#ffb156")[“But, I shouldn’t have doubted you. I think your hubris caught him off guard. So he devised this trial for you—to prove that you are worthy to liberate a demon from our ranks. To pass the trial, you must wake up at the shrine, traverse the cursed lands, and eventually arrive here. With Agramith, the sword, and the ring. You agreed to those terms. You have unlimited attempts, so long as you still wish to continue.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How many times. How many times have I failed.”]
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“Well, think of it this way. At least it’s evidence of your determination. But, well… you’ll get a sense of scale in a moment.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is the trial… is it even *possible*?”]
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“You have *some* agency here,”] she replied, deftly avoiding a direct answer. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“As part of the trial, I’m sure you’ve realized, your memory is wiped to the bare essentials at the start of the attempt. But, before you wake up, you can set the encounters.”]
She gestured to an array of pedestals marked with four glyphs.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A shrine. A rose. A candle. A mountain.
Atop stood familiar figurines. The high priestess. The child. The musician.
And, of course, the king.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#ffb156")[“You have copious notes from your previous attempts available to you in the other room. The next attempt will be starting when the sun rises.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“When is that?”] Lazarrien asked, mouth dry.
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“Better get reading, I think.”] She gave him a sympathetic smile. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“Oh, and you can drop that off with the others.”] She pointed to the sword.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Others?”]
The demon had returned to her parchment.
In a daze, Lazarrien wandered into the other room.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Dominating the space, to a comical degree, was a colossal pile of swords, stretching stories to the ceiling and perhaps beyond.
About half were stained with Agramith’s sacrifice.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight dropped the blade with the others. There was a great spat of clinking as the pile settled.
He read as much as he could, but his notes led in circles.
He wrote what happened this time, but couldn’t grasp how he could bend his future self to fix things. But it was true—he was determined. He wanted to solve it.
Each time he glanced out a window, the moon, unfrozen, had sunk lower toward the horizon. The sky was brightening at the edges. A true sky was about to dawn.
He willed himself to remember, this time.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith, sword, and ring.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith, sword, and ring.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith, sword, and—*]
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“It’s time, I think.”] His overseer stood by. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“Set your arrangement, and we’ll be off.”]
Lazarrien barely paid attention to where he placed each figurine. That was a distraction.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Sword.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Ring.*]
The demon brought him over to the castle balcony.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#ffb156")[“I can honestly say that I wish you luck. I want you to be happy. You won’t be, but I want that for you.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Thanks, I—”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[She pushed him off the edge.
(after:time+2s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[As he fell, mind growing numb, his last thoughts were…
(after:time+4s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith.*]
(after:time+3s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Sword.*]
(after:time+3s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[There wasn’t time to remember the ring.
(after:time+5s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[There never was.
(after:time+6s)+(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Title Screen]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]](replace: ?Sidebar)[](text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)[VII.]
In the castle’s antechamber, a demon lounged behind an ornate desk. She looked a bit like Agramith, though her horns were far more prominent, and her fire burned the hue of a ripe setting moon.
As Lazarrien approached, she straightened up.
He hesitated.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Is she part of the curse? Must I slay her?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[He had no idea what to do with himself.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#ffb156")[“Well?” ]she asked. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“I know you have questions for me.”] She pulled out a yellowing parchment and barbed quill.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is… the curse?”]
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“That’s your question? ‘Is the curse?’”] She thought about it. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“Yes, I suppose the curse *is*. You know, maybe I should lead this one. You needed to bring me three things. Let’s start with the obvious. Did you manage to get Agramith here?”]
Lazarrien looked down. He had tried his best, but... he'd fallen just short.
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“Bad start. Remember that for next time, okay? Handsome demon guy, arm in arm, right next to you. And the sword?”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight drew his blade, showing it off. It gleamed even in the dim light.
She noted something down. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“Good on that front. Now this is a real longshot. The ring?”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Ring?”] Lazarrien asked. (text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What ring? I don’t—there wasn’t a ring.”]
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“There definitely was and you absolutely needed to bring it with you.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“What is this? Who *are* you?”] the knight was suddenly angry. Now that his sword was brandished, he was considering putting it to use.
The demon looked affronted. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“Hey, that’s not on me. I’m just overseeing your trial. I don’t want to be here any more than you do.”] She tilted her head. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“I’ll cut right to it. You, Lazarrien, estranged fourth son of King Whoever. In your despair, you summoned a demon—Agramith—and fell in love. That doesn’t happen a lot. Hell was abuzz. Personally, I find it cute.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Cute.”]
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“Yeah. Cute. But summoning a demon to the mortal realm—it’s expensive, taxing, and most importantly, temporary. Your dear Agramith was bound to return. So you hatched a plan. You asked him to take you with, to face his father, and ask for his hand. His freedom. Do you know how expensive that is? Can you fathom even a fraction of a fraction of the cost to release, fully, a son of the Lord of Hell, to your plane? I was scared for you. I thought he might obliterate you on the spot.”]
Lazarrien felt ill, sweat beading at his temples.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#ffb156")[“But, I shouldn’t have doubted you. I think your hubris caught him off guard. So he devised this trial for you—to prove that you are worthy to liberate a demon from our ranks. To pass the trial, you must wake up at the shrine, traverse the cursed lands, and eventually arrive here. With Agramith, the sword, and the ring. You agreed to those terms. You have unlimited attempts, so long as you still wish to continue.”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“How many times. How many times have I failed.”]
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“Well, think of it this way. At least it’s evidence of your determination. But, well… you’ll get a sense of scale in a moment.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Is the trial… is it even *possible*?”]
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“You have *some* agency here,”] she replied, deftly avoiding a direct answer. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“As part of the trial, I’m sure you’ve realized, your memory is wiped to the bare essentials at the start of the attempt. But, before you wake up, you can set the encounters.”]
She gestured to an array of pedestals marked with four glyphs.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[A shrine. A rose. A candle. A mountain.
Atop stood familiar figurines. The high priestess. The child. The musician.
And, of course, the king.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#ffb156")[“You have copious notes from your previous attempts available to you in the other room. The next attempt will be starting when the sun rises.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“When is that?”] Lazarrien asked, mouth dry.
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“Better get reading, I think.”] She gave him a sympathetic smile. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“Oh, and you can drop that off with the others.”] She pointed to the sword.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Others?”]
The demon had returned to her parchment.
In a daze, Lazarrien wandered into the other room.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[Dominating the space, to a comical degree, was a colossal pile of swords, stretching stories to the ceiling and perhaps beyond.
About half were stained with a strange black substance.
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*I wonder what that means?*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[The knight dropped the blade with the others. There was a great spat of clinking as the pile settled.
He read as much as he could, but his notes led in circles.
He wrote what happened this time, but couldn’t grasp how he could bend his future self to fix things. But it was true—he was determined. He wanted to solve it.
Each time he glanced out a window, the moon, unfrozen, had sunk lower toward the horizon. The sky was brightening at the edges. A true sky was about to dawn.
He willed himself to remember, this time.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith, sword, and ring.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith, sword, and ring.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith, sword, and—*]
(text-color:"#ffb156")[“It’s time, I think.”] His overseer stood by. (text-color:"#ffb156")[“Set your arrangement, and we’ll be off.”]
Lazarrien barely paid attention to where he placed each figurine. That was a distraction.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Sword.*]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Ring.*]
The demon brought him over to the castle balcony.
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#ffb156")[“I can honestly say that I wish you luck. I want you to be happy. You won’t be, but I want that for you.”]
(text-color:"#b7ada0")[“Thanks, I—”]
(link:"❖ ❖ ❖ ❖")+(t8n: "dissolve")[She pushed him off the edge.
(after:time+2s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[As he fell, mind growing numb, his last thoughts were…
(after:time+4s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Agramith.*]
(after:time+3s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[(text-color:"#b7ada0")[*Sword.*]
(after:time+3s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[There wasn’t time to remember the ring.
(after:time+5s)+(t8n: "dissolve")[There never was.
(after:time+6s)+(text-color:"#b7ada0")+(text-size: 2.5)+(t8n: "dissolve")[[[❖->Title Screen]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]