WC: 2870 (may be off a bit because of the Galactic later on)

Warnings: Slightly descriptive violence (describing the wither effect), brief mentions of sharp objects (thorns)

Etho explores more of the Labyrinth's cavern and manages to stumble--quite literally--into a secret and a new ally.

-

As he explored more and more of the cavern, Etho discovered more and more odd things about this place.

The appearance was one thing--trekking the surface was difficult, since the brown sand he was walking over kept making his boots sink in slightly. He had to tug them out with every step. The ground was also uneven and bumpy, so he stumbled multiple times while exploring.

Whenever he fell into the sand, he felt...something. He couldn't explain it properly, but it felt like the swirling sand was trying to suck him in even more now that it was more than his boots stuck. Like whatever was making it shift was saying, "Come join us".

He hauled himself out of the sand as fast as possible after each fall. At least when he was walking, the tugging, uneasy feeling was slightly easier to ignore.

Luckily, there were signs of an old Blackstone path that was hidden under the sand. Etho got onto the solid surface as much as he could, but the sand was definitely more common around here.

Maybe the sand had slowly overtaken this part of the Labyrinth over time. It bore an uncanny resemblance to the Forest, which Etho didn't like at all.

The cavern formed one big loop. All of the halls that branched out led to a dead end quickly. At the end of each one, though, was an occasional Blackstone pedestal with a soul flame flickering on top.

Etho blew out each one.

Other than that, there wasn't really anything of interest, save for faint writing scattered on the Blackstone path in a language that Etho couldn't read. They looked like they had been carved on the path before the sand had come in:

∴ᔑℸ ̣ ᓵ⍑ 𝙹⚍ℸ ̣ ⎓𝙹∷ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ∷𝙹ᓭᒷᓭ

ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᓭ𝙹⚍ꖎᓭ ᔑ∷ᒷ ℸ ̣ ∷ᔑ!¡!¡ᒷ↸ ╎リ ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ᓭᔑリ↸

╎ℸ ̣ 'ᓭ ᔑꖎ╎⍊ᒷ
╎ℸ ̣ 'ᓭ ⊣∷𝙹∴╎リ⊣

After making a few loops of the main part of the cavern to make sure he hadn't missed anything, Etho found himself at the gaping entrance of the only place that was still unexplored, which was a passageway leading down.

Careful not to trip on the uneven surface again, Etho carefully made his way down.

At first glance, the area didn't look like much. Just another dead-end hallway with a soul flame to blow out. Etho was about to leave when he noticed an odd indentation in the wall--a part that seemed to be sunken in a bit more than the rest.

Once he looked at it closer, he realized that this part of the wall was actually hiding an alcove behind it. A small crimson red door was at the entrance. When Etho opened it, he saw a pitch black, narrow hallway, which was a stark contrast to the room cavern behind him.

This looked like it led somewhere, rather than a dead end. Etho set down his lantern on the ground before going in.

The sand here seemed...deeper. Etho's boots were sinking in more, almost up to his ankles now. The sand seemed to shift around more than it used to, like it wasn't packed as tightly as it was supposed to.

Honestly, the only thing he could compare this to was potting soil--deeper, not as packed, with fine grains of sand rather than big chunks of it. Like something was growing here...

It hit him like a truck. One moment, he was fine, and the next, his boots had grazed against something sharp and a wave of slow, throbbing pain started working its way up his body.

It came in stages--a few milliseconds of draining hurt, making you slow and sluggish, then a few moments of relief. Then, it started all over again.

Tango had had to deal with a problem like this a few years ago. A patch of roses had mutilated somehow, and their color turned from red to black. In the process, they'd also become deadly--they were one of the worst threats the Keep had encountered, right up there with the Ravagers.

One scratch from their thorns, and you got this--this feeling of draining energy that lasted for at least a minute, even more if you didn't get away from the roses immediately.

To make it worse, the original bunch of flowers had spread like wildfire, infecting the Keep and even making their way over to other parts of the Dungeon before they were finally got under control.

In the process, though, the Keep's population was cut down substantially, even before Tango had let the Ravagers loose.

Ever since, those flowers had been dubbed as wither roses, to reference the feeling you got when you were infected--like you were slowly withering away.

Etho never thought he'd find one again. The first time had already been bad enough, for goodness's sake. But--somehow--a small patch had survived in this little dark hallway in the Labyrinth, using the loose brown sand here to grow.

He stumbled forward, hoping to get away from the rose in his path, but he just ran into another one. Their thorns could even cut through his boots--that's how sharp they were. He moved forward again, trying not to trip and fall into the sand on his way while battling the ongoing wither effect.

And he stepped into another flower.

And another.

And another.

How many of these roses were here? They just kept on coming, and with each rose, the effect got worse and worse.

In his haste, Etho crashed into the Blackstone wall in front of him. It took him a second to realize that the hallway took a right turn.

At the very end, he could see the smallest bit of light peeking out from under the crack of another door, so he stumble-ran as fast as he could towards the exit.

He crashed through the door, flinging it open and coming to a screeching halt. Frantically, he started patting his pockets and belt, seeing if there was anything he had on him that could stop the wither effect, which hadn't worn off yet.

His hand brushed against a glass vial in his pocket, and he pulled it out quickly, almost dropping it as he fumbled with it.

The healing potion Impulse had given him before the Labyrinth Ravager chase, of course. With all the excitement earlier, he'd completely forgotten about it.

He downed the whole potion in two big gulps, feeling the sudden warmth spread through his body and cancelling out the wither effect. It wasn't Scar's magic crystals, but it was close.

"That looked dangerous."

Etho startled, not realizing he wasn't alone in the room he'd stumbled into.

The room itself was pretty small, but it was similar to the rest of the Labyrinth. Blackstone made up the edges of the wall and floor. Red bricks similar to the ones Etho had seen in the Ruins formed the walls, but they didn't have the skull carved into them.

What looked like a shop of sorts was set up at the back of the room, with barrels and Redstone lamps lined in a neat row. To Etho's surprise, some of the lights were still on.

At the right end of the room, leaning against another small shop of some kinds, was another person. Their appearance was somewhat disheveled--they wore a torn brown vest over a lime green hoodie, which had a nonbinary flag patch stiched on the left sleeve. They had ripped jeans and leather combat boots on.

The oddest thing about them, though, was that their right eye was replaced with a bionic one. A green gem--almost the same color as their hoodie--was embedded in the center of the eye in a cross formation.

Etho got the impression that part was supposed to light up, but due to the technology outage, it wasn't working.

After the Ravagers had gotten loose, problem after problem had struck the Keep. Monsters infiltrated the kingdom through the graveyard. Entire sectors had been destroyed from the Ravagers' initial brunt.

Technology had also started to die out, thanks to Ravagers shattering the Keep's Redstone power source. Since Redstone was rare and valuable, the kingdom operated on one main power core, which divided the electricity into the various sectors.

That meant, though, that since that core was gone, all the technology was dead. And since there was no replacement, the technology stayed dead, even years later.

And, as bad as all of that was already, that had also been the time when Impulse, Tango, and Etho had started to fall apart.

"Welcome to the Black Market," the person said, yanking Etho back to the present. "I'm Iskall. It's nice seeing someone else stop by here."

"Uh, Etho," Etho introduced himself, looking around. "So...that's what this place is? A shop, in the Labyrinth?"

"Yeah." Iskall shrugged. "I'm not sure who built it, because I didn't. But it hasn't been stocked in a long time. The good stuff like potions and Teleportation Pearls are all out, but they have a barrel where they were supposed to go. It's become more of an odds-and-ends kind of shop, since all of the things left are scraps."

"Do..." Etho glanced around again. "Do people actually buy stuff here?"

"Nope. It's been like this ever since I found it."

Etho glanced down at his boots and winced at the damage the wither roses' thorns had done to them. They'd been shredded right through--it was unbelievable how sharp they were. Etho wasn't going to be wearing them for long any time soon.

"Hey, if you need new boots, I'm pretty sure there are some in the shop," Iskall said, watching Etho. "Probably one of the only half-decent things left, actually."

Etho glanced at the nearest barrel. It was labelled, but it was written in the same language as the one he'd seen outside earlier, carved in the Blackstone path.

Turning to Iskall, he asked, "Do you know what this writing means?"

Iskall came over to peer over his shoulder. "I'm not the best at Galactic, but I'm pretty sure that one is for potions." They pointed to the second to last barrel on the right, which light was still on. "That's the one you want."

Etho opened the barrel, but there was nothing inside.

"It's an automatic system," Iskall explained. "You have to put in the right amount of coins first--10 of them, if I'm remembering correctly. The system will count them up and give you the boots once it's done processing."

"This place didn't get affected by the power outages," Etho commented, glancing at the well-lit Redstone lamps again.

Iskall nodded in agreement. "The circuitry probably works on a separate, smaller power core, so it's still up and running."

"You couldn't use it to charge your eye?"

They were momentarily caught off guard by Etho's analysis of their eye. Then they shook their head. "I can't find where the power source is. I would've if I could've, but Blackstone is hard to break without a pick."

Etho nodded, his hand digging into his pocket to see if he had any coins. None...he'd left the three coins False had given him back in the Keep, and that wasn't even enough. And, of course, he hadn't completed the dare the guard had given him.

"I don't suppose you have any, uh...?" Etho held up his empty hands.

Iskall reached into their hoodie's pocket and pulled out a small, worn, leather bag. "I don't really have a use for them since the market doesn't have anything I need, so you can have this."

Etho was surprised by Iskall's generosity. He poured out the bag's contents on his palm and came up with about 25 coins, which would be more than enough.

Once he put the correct number of coins into the barrel he'd found earlier, dispensers started clicking behind the walls. Now that was a sound he hadn't heard in a long time.

A moment later, the clicking stopped. Etho opened the barrel again to see a pair of worn combat boots, just like Iskall's, inside. They were pretty old and smelled pretty bad, but at least they were better than the ones he used to have.

He knelt down and laced up the new boots. They were a bit bigger than his old ones, but that could be dealt with.

"Thanks," he said to Iskall as he got up. "That's really kind of you."

Iskall gave him a casual shrug. "No problem. Anything to help."

There was one more thing in the room that Etho hadn't seen yet, which was the machine Iskall had been standing by when he first entered. It looked like another shop, but it was much smaller than the other one.

He took a step towards it, but Iskall stopped him quickly. "Careful. That's a gambling machine."

They pointed to a sign above the machine, which was written in that strange language, Galactic:

ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ ꖎ⚍ᓵꖌ|| ᓵ𝙹╎リ

"The Lucky Coin," Iskall translated. Reading the text below that, they said, "Win a chance to claim treasure. But beware, for you may awaken the spirits of the Dungeon."

Etho winced. "I don't suppose you know what that means?"

"I do, unfortunately. They're talking about Evokers in the Ruins--magicians who can summon spikes out of the ground and creatures called Vexes that can fly through walls. If you use that machine enough times, you'll cause them to appear in the Ruins, attacking everything in sight, before disappearing again, ready for the next time someone triggers their trap."

They studied Etho for a bit before adding, "You don't want your Wanderer friends getting attacked."

Etho raised an eyebrow. "Are you a part of them?"

They scoffed slightly. "No. I've been trapped here in the Labyrinth ever since the Ravagers got loose. One chased me into here. It's a miracle you didn't run into it. This cavern--Soul Sand Valley--is the only safe spot in the whole area. So," they said, shrugging again, "here I am."

Etho was shocked at how casual they were telling their story. "You've been stuck in here ever since the Ravagers got out?"

Iskall chuckled. "That's what I said."

"But--that was years ago! You've stayed in this caver--Soul Sand Valley ever since? How have you survived?"

"The Black Market had plenty of food when I first arrived. That's the only main thing that changed since."

"The Ravager that chased you here is dead now," Etho protested. "Most of them are now. You can leave! You don't have to stay here."

"There's one more reason why I can't leave, even though the Ravager is dead," Iskall said calmly. "Remember those wither roses you encountered on your way here? I took a hit from them, too, but I didn't have anything to heal myself unlike you. I'm already weak as it is. I don't think I can take another run-in with them. Like it or not, I'm stuck here."

"There's got to be some way for you to get out. I'm not leaving you here with no coins and barely any resources."

Iskall just smiled dryly, like they'd heard all of this before and was used to it. "Nothing I haven't already told myself, Etho. Don't worry, my dude. I'll be fine. It was nice meeting you. And thanks for giving me company...even if it was only for a bit."

»»————-　★　————-««

When Etho returned to the Ruins base camp, disappointed that he couldn't help Iskall escape, he was immediately cornered by Impulse.

"Hey, there you are. I was about to go out and look for you." He gave Etho a small smile. "Where have you been?"

Etho waved his hands around vaguely, careful with how he formed his words. "Just exploring the Labyrinth now that the Ravager is gone."

"Cool. Look, I'm not sure if you're up to this, but we were thinking of killing another Ravager--the Ruins one."

"So soon?" Etho asked.

"Well, not really. We've been planning this one out for a while now, but it's ready to go now. Since you took down the Blackstone Ravager singlehandedly, I was wondering if you were willing to help out with this one, too."

He waved to two people waiting by the other end of the camp. One of them was Grian, whose wings were looking much better. He was throwing a smug look to a disgruntled Scar, who was watching from his corner. The other was the guy who'd been studying a map when Etho first arrived.

"You'll be with Grian and Zed over there," Impulse said.

Etho twiddled his fingers idly. "So, I'm guessing I'll be the one who's in charge of killing the Ravager. What about them?"

"Grian's the scout, and he's tangled with the Ruins Ravager before. Scar didn't want him to go, but, well, he insisted. Zed knows more about the Ruins than anyone--he's sort of our expert. If you don't want to, that's fine."

Etho pretended to think about it, but the thrill of another Ravager being taken down--and one by his own hands, again--got to him. He nodded to Impulse eagerly before going over to Grian and Zed.

"Well, the sooner these guys are killed, the better, right?"

-

I didn't mean for Iskall's story to be so sad I swear-

Super fun chapter to write :D This is probably one of my favorites so far, along with the last one

We're jumping back into the action in the next chapter with the Ruins Ravager, and I have a few things planned for it as well!

Until next update :D