Dark Waters Ch.5: The Halls of Illusion

[heretichero666]

Part 5: The Halls of Illusion​

Myrine stood on the floor of the room and felt the smoothness of the wet floor beneath her bare feet. Myrine couldn’t make sense of her situation but she was confident that whatever sort of magic enchanted this place, it would work for her as well as against her. Suddenly Myrine heard a cranking sound and she looked at the end of the chain that had brought her into this strange area. It was being taken down a track in the wall which was going down a dark hallway. Myrine felt a bit of reassurance knowing that her guide this time was at least something that wasn’t alive and possibly life threatening.

“Down The Halls of Illusion you descend, to find a blessing or your life’s end.” Myrine said to herself as one of her mother’s old rhymes came to mind. The setting matched too perfectly the old gypsy metaphor she had been told as a child and found some humor in it somehow. “Let’s just hope I find the first rather than the latter on this walk.”

Myrine walked at a leisurely pace down the dark hall of the magic water; in fact she was able to walk faster than the chain leading her. While the hall was initially pitch black, light began to kindle in the hall as small dashes of light came streaming down the walls from enlightened runes. With each streak of light, Myrine could see the hieroglyphs on the wall be illuminated as the light passed under them. Myrine observed the depictions on the wall taking note of all the things relating to the Serpent God. Unlike the other frightening images that were depicted in the earlier parts of the tomb, these images depicted people joining in praise of the Serpent God out genuine love and respect rather than in fear of a wrathful deity. On the other wall, images depicted another sort of deity which went in hand with the Serpent God. Perhaps this was another maiden meant to do what Myrine was doing now.

Myrine became so lost in thought over the stories being depicted on the walls that she failed to take notice that the hallway had become much brighter now. On top of that, the hallway was beginning to collapse after the test of time and Myrine became keenly aware when she tripped over a large piece of stone in front of her. Myrine threw her hands up to catch herself but fell at a much slower pace due to the magic substance that she was traversing in.

“Quite the bend on reality with this strange water.” Myrine thought to herself as she quickly pushed herself off of the floor and gently drifted back down on to her feet. “I guess that was the rhyme meant with illusion; reality is what you make of it and whatever it is, that is what you have to use to find that blessing hidden in one of the exits in the hall.”

Myrine put away the memories of her family’s wise tales and stopped to focus on the situation at hand. The part of the hall she was in now had not only a part of the ceiling gone, but there was a crumbled staircase in front of her that she needed to reach the upper part of the hallway. Myrine ran up the bottom of the crumbled stairs and made a giant leap for the edge of the stairs. As she thought, she could jump much higher due to the magic water she was in and there was enough slack in the chain to allow her to move ahead to the top before the conveyer, but the ledge had just escaped her reach. Myrine drifted down feeling annoyed by this inconvenience and tried again. After several attempts, the young woman still failed to reach the ledge and felt a great deal of frustration come over her. To make matters worse, her foot was now being held a few inches off of the floor due to the shackle now making its way above her by the conveyer. Myrine paused to think of how to overcome the obstacle. She hated waiting and she didn’t want to wait for the shackle to carry her upside down to the top. Myrine could only look up after having made use of everything there was to offer on the floor and space around her. She looked around in a frustrated manner until her eye caught something on the ceiling. There was a hook of some sort holding the hall’s light source above her. On top of that, it was just above the bottom of the staircase, the only place where she could get enough slack to jump now.

“It looks like I will have use for my tools after all.” Myrine said to herself with a grin. She unbuckled the latch on her hip and unrolled her whip. She gave it a quick crack and felt a thrill run up her arm. Myrine readied the whip and took aim. “Glad to be able to use you again old friend.”

Myrine’s whip was one of her few keepsakes from her old gypsy band days. Though it was originally crafted for dances and festivities, it was proven to be a strong tool of exploration just like Myrine intended to use it now and was an effective weapon in her hands. Myrine’s skills with the whip had even impressed her former mentor while she was still under her care. But by far the thing Myrine loved most about this keepsake was the fact that it had three feathers attached to the tip of it making it a long distance tickle device when needed. Myrine had used it plenty of times as a means of revenge against female ticklers and had even lashed it out against the unprotected sides and bellies of male ticklers who thought they could tickle her without consent.

Myrine made a giant leap off the bottom of the stairs and cracked her whip the moment she got as high as she could. The end of the whip lashed on to the hook in the ceiling and Myrine climbed up as far as she could without putting too much weight on the whip. She then began to swing on it until she had enough momentum to reach the ledge above. Myrine cracked her whip mid jump and landed gracefully on the ledge above.

“Now it has begun feeling like an adventure.” Myrine said with a smile. Having to draw her weapons always made her feel like she was getting to test her metal. She rolled up her whip but kept it in hand to have it ready for use again. “Now let’s proceed.”

Myrine walked fast to get ahead of the shackle and conveyer. She had lost a bit of patience back with the stairs and wanted to get through this trial quickly but she also wanted to trek ahead to see if there were any other obstacles like she had encountered just now. Myrine walked as far ahead as the shackle would let her until she came to the edge of a pit of spikes. Looking over it, she could see that if she were to fall in, she would drift down to a slow and painful impalement. She could see that others had failed this part by the amount of skeletons sitting on the spikes below and all missing one leg from the conveyer pulling them off the corpses of those who died. Myrine noticed that there were once pillars to leap on to cross this pit but they had crumbled from time also. Myrine quickly took notice of her surroundings and prepared her whip.

The conveyer belt had conveniently sped up as she backed away to get a running start. Myrine leapt as hard as she could and lashed her whip on to another light hook on the ceiling swinging herself further across the pit. Myrine quickly cracked the whip free and lashed it onto a gargoyle head on the left hand wall. She then pulled herself on to the wall and began to run back and forth on it to give herself momentum for another jump. As she jumped, the gargoyle head broke off the wall before she could completely crack the whip free. Myrine made a fast lash with her whip to the next gargoyle head just barely escaping the cold metal spikes below. Myrine then climbed up her whip to the top of the gargoyles head. She spotted another hook in the ceiling and used it to swing herself onto one of the crumbled pillars which was conveniently lying against the edge of the floor to the other side of the hall. With another graceful jump, Myrine landed on the pillar and quickly made her way to the end of the pit. She looked back to see how far she had actually gone and felt impressed with herself; she even managed to stay ahead of the shackle guiding her.

Myrine continued onward with the shackle keeping its faster pace. Myrine felt a bit more excited knowing that she could move through the hall faster now. As she traveled further in, the room had become even more dilapidated. Cracks covered the walls, parts of the ceiling had fallen down, and the floor was littered with rocks. Myrine stepped on a sinking tile on the floor and heard an empty fling come out of the wall. The room was so old that even the traps that once filled it were no longer working. Myrine passed through this segment of the hall without any sort of challenge. She was glad to know that this part was going by easy.

The next segment of the hall featured more hieroglyphs and oddly enough other pathways not meant for the one being guided. Perhaps they were for spectators of some sort or those operating the now broken trap mechanics. Myrine didn’t think about this for very long. She was too awestruck by the hieroglyphs. The stories from before were continued on these walls. The people worshipped by the Serpent God and the unknown goddess as their godly king and queen. The Serpent God appeared as a giant white snake bringing some sort of good fortune to the people who worshiped him. But then he began to turn black and was filled with rage terrifying the cult worshipers until the goddess on the other wall came and tamed him. On the wall where the goddess hieroglyphs were, Myrine saw a similar story. The goddesses was also prone to violent changes of heart in which the Serpent God, now portrayed as some sort of human snake hybrid, would ease her wrath and stop her rampages as well. Continuing down the wall in which the goddess’ story was told, it showed the two in union colored both white and black and in a symbol that was very prominent in the east. Myrine believed this sign to be called a Yin-Yang, a symbol of harmony and balance. But as she moved on to the next section of the story, she saw that the hieroglyphs had been scratched out. The Serpent God’s wall of hieroglyphs had been destroyed by hand too. Myrine continued to stare at the bizarre vandalisms wondering who or what would have done something to the tomb like this when it was already coming apart on its own. Myrine wasn’t watching where she was walking when she stepped right into a solid stone figure.

“By the gods, what is…?” Myrine stopped and looked up at what was a large stone statue of a man screaming up to the heavens with a woman lying dead in his arms. “This couldn’t just be set here in the middle of a hall like this. How did this get here? What is it supposed to mean?”

Myrine had deduced that the hieroglyphs scratched off the wall were done by someone else go through here but this statue was clearly not supposed to be here. It didn’t even look like it had been aged for very long like the other rocks and stone sculptures that had crumbled along the way. In fact, it didn’t even look like it had been sitting in this magic water or any sort of water at all the whole time it had been in this tomb. There were no signs of aquatic erosion on it let alone any sort of algae growth. It looked as if it had been put in this room just this very moment. Myrine felt her shackle begin to tug on her and she walked around the statue with a feeling of uneasiness. Whatever was guarding this room was probably getting ready to show its ugly head soon.

The next corridor of the ever expansive hall was nothing like the previous ones. As Myrine entered it, the conveyer came to a halt next to a switch meant to make the mechanism continue she assumed. Everything else looked like a sort of rest area with a seat and great stone bowls. Perhaps the maiden undergoing this trial was meant to be given a moment of ease before continuing on down the hall. Myrine observed the ruined chair and the remains of an altar meant for offering prayers. She pushed back some rocks on the altar and found a large white marble like sphere split in half sitting on it. It was most likely a celestial orb, a structure meant to house good spirits who most likely were meant to be the care takers for whoever came through here. Myrine for a brief moment felt sorry for the people of this land who worshipped this deity the Serpent God. Everything else was meant to provoke fear and break the cowardly not meant for this challenge, but here she was seeing a more benevolent side of the being worshiped. If the holy men and women who crafted this tomb were as wicked as they had been made out to be by the outside world, then why would their god king be so merciful as to allow a moment of rest for the maiden’s tiring journey? Myrine let go of the thought and continued to look around.

“All the fortunes I was hoping to find must be at the end of these trials. There’s nothing of even the slightest value here.” Myrine said to herself as she moved around broken bits of pottery and other relics which had no cultural value they were so disfigured and had no precious metals crafted into them. As horrible as it sounded, Myrine was beginning to slightly lose patience in searching for treasure. Until she moved a loose stone peg which crashed to the floor and broke open a hidden room in the wall containing a treasure chest. “Or perhaps they’re hidden away for only those adamant enough to look everywhere.”

Myrine approached the chest with a spring in her step. She didn’t like to think of herself as being greedy but rather someone who got excited when the investment of her time was finally paying off. After the long and perilous journey she had taken so far, Myrine would settle for just a few pieces of gold or silver for now. As she opened the chest, she saw a single gold necklace with a crescent moon pendent sitting at the bottom of it. Myrine’s eyes lit up as she pulled the necklace out of the chest to look closer at it. While it was certainly worth a great fortune considering how well crafted it was, Myrine saw the necklace being better as a keepsake than a treasure to sell and immediately put it on.

But unknown by the poor young woman was that runes had begun to light up around the bottom rim of the chest before activating one where the keyhole was on it. A magic trap had been sprung on the chest and now it would strike Myrine. As Myrine began to walk away, a slimy black mass shot out of the mouth of the chest and lashed around Myrine’s right ankle like a tentacle. Soon another did the same to her left ankle pushing the shackle upward to have a firm grasp on the joint. Two more of the black tentacles shot out and grabbed Myrine’s wrists and lifted her up with her arms and legs spread out.

“NOT. FOR. YOU.” A voice barked out of the chest as two glowing red eyes appeared. The chest was Mimic monster meant to capture those foolish enough to take the contents of its stomach. And now it was going wreck vengeance on the young woman who robbed it. “PUNISH. YOU. NOW.”

Two more black mass tentacles came out of the Mimic’s mouth and began to mercilessly brush the soles of Myrine’s feet sending her into a roaring fit of laughter. Myrine twist and turned the rest of her body in a futile attempt to escape as the tentacles began to brush between her elegant toes. As Myrine roared with laughter, the beast began to feel an allurement to Myrine’s reactions as it saw the perfect, silky smooth arches of the gypsy girl. The feeling was so unique, different from the other females who had come this way. The Mimic now had an unbearable lust to taste the flesh of this young woman beginning with her ticklish feet which would most likely squirm even more with the brush of its tongue.

“You will not have me you deceptive beast!” Myrine shouted as the Mimic stopped tickling her and began to bring her close to its mouth to lick her feet. The moment Myrine was close enough, she kicked downward on to the teeth of the Mimic and out of reflex the beast’s jaws snapped shut cutting the tentacles holding Myrine. Myrine pushed herself back down to the floor and removed the necklace. “No gold as meager as this is worth losing my life over in comparison to what waits ahead. And no petty treasure is worth having my feet licked by something as disgusting as you!”

Myrine threw the necklace back into the Mimic’s mouth and ran for the lever to start the conveyer again. Unfortunately the Mimic was not satisfied with just having its treasure back. It had now realized how hungry it truly was after being awakened after all this time and it was now sexually aware after having tickled Myrine and finding its own odd pleasure in it. The chest now sported four devilish looking black legs coming out of the bottom of it with six tentacles ready to catch and tickle its prey before it feasted on it. Myrine ran as fast as she could through the magic water which was resisting her movements until she fell to the floor from the length of the shackle running out. As she got up, she saw the Mimic come down the hall with its jaws open wide and ready to kill.

“I guess I have no choice.” Myrine said as she drew her sword. “I’m going to have to fight this thing.”

Myrine angrily taunted the creature to come at her in which the Mimic charged at her. Myrine charged at the Mimic as well but as she neared it she slid on her side dashing under the beast. The creature’s slow reactions made it miss the pirate and she immediately used this opportunity to cut one of the creature’s legs. As Myrine slashed the Mimic’s right hind leg, the beast hollered in pain as it spun around smacked Myrine into the wall. It then used to two tentacles to hold her free ankle and thigh to ensure that she wouldn’t be able to move her leg this time. As it zoomed in to tickle a beautiful bare gypsy foot, Myrine cut off the tentacle about to get its feel. The Mimic released Myrine’s leg and began to holler. Before Myrine could make another move, she was suddenly being dragged across the floor. The conveyer was speeding up and now was moving faster than Myrine could keep up with while fighting.

Myrine pushed herself up off the ground while still being pulled by her ankle with her right heel pressed into the floor to allow her to move in a sliding like motion. She then jumped on her one leg off the floor and pulled and regained her full footing so she could run. But the Mimic was still closing in on her. The creature began to climb on the ceiling gaining on Myrine by the second. Soon it was over her head with its remaining tentacles ready to lash out at her when suddenly a great weight came crashing through the ceiling knocking the creature down. There were still traps that worked in this end of the hall.

“A blessing in disguise!” Myrine thought as she quickly cut another tentacle off of the Mimic while it was down. She then began to run again being as careful as possible to not set off any traps that would potentially harm her instead of her pursuer. “If one of these traps can kill it then I’m home free.”

Myrine wasn’t able to keep up with the conveyer now its speed was too fast. And the Mimic seemed to be getting faster with each tentacle it lost. Myrine jumped forward and turned around to face her enemy as it grabbed her right ankle once again only this time using Myrine as a means to pull itself closer to her. With three tentacles left free, the Mimic got ready to pin Myrine while they were both still drifting. But Myrine managed to land back on the floor while stepping on a trap tile which unleashed a pendulum axe. Myrine quickly dodged the blade but the tentacle still holding her ankle was sliced off. As the Mimic came crashing down on to the floor, Myrine charged in and stabbed out one of its eyes while it’s mouth was still open. She then began to run away while dodging every other tile she saw on the floor. The Mimic continued to mindlessly chase her when suddenly one of its hind legs stepped on a tile and was clamped off by a bear trap like mechanism in the floor. As it wobbled around, it lost yet another hind leg as it stepped on another trap. The Mimic was going berserk.

The last corridor of the hallway was at hand. Myrine could tell by the light at the end of it. But now the dangers of the hall were no longer hidden mechanisms but full blown obstacles Myrine would have to dodge while trying to keep up with the conveyer still pulling her. She rolled under a spinning blade, jumped over a bed of spikes while turning mid jump to avoid a falling blade, and just barely made it past another pendulum axe. Myrine stopped there to catch her breath. She couldn’t keep going on after all this but the conveyer would not let her stop. As she was pulled yet again, Myrine got back up and sprinted to the end. As she did she saw the walls closing in on her getting ready to crush whoever came through this last hallway. Myrine reached the end and collapsed as she gasped for breathe. The conveyer had finally stopped and she had made it out of the closing walls in more than enough time. But a loud roar said otherwise. The Mimic was back focusing what remained of its black matter body into a pair of behemoth legs while covered in a thick shell so it could simply charge through all the other obstacles. It was going to reach Myrine no matter what.

“Enough of this game!” Myrine shouted angrily as she stood back up and sheathed her sword. She then faced the Mimic with a bold look in her eyes. “Come and get me if you think you can!”

The Mimic pounced at Myrine changing back into the form it was using earlier with tentacles coming out of its mouth. As the chest monster shot one of its tentacles out at Myrine, the gypsy pirate grabbed her whip and lashed it on to one of the beast’s tentacles. She then pulled it in close and right as the Mimic was a few feet away from her, the walls collapsed and the beast was crushed to death. As the walls reset themselves, the splintered mess of wood that was the chest now oozed a black ectoplasm which drizzled its way to Myrine. Flowing through this strange ooze was the necklace that Myrine had taken from the Mimic in the first place. She picked it up, cleaned it on her pants and put it on with a smile.

“When a lady says no she means it.” Myrine giggled at the corpse of the beast mocking it one last time. She then turned to the bright light ahead and walked through it. This Hall of Illusion was over.

As Myrine stepped out of the light, she felt herself on dry land again without any of the magic water. She then fell to her knees and sighed in relief knowing that she was done with that wretched hall. She took that moment to thank the divines for helping her as she continued to sit there catching her breath. When Myrine regained her strength, she stood up forgetting about the shackle on her left ankle. As she stepped forward, the shackle snapped off revealing a red gemstone in the left hand socket of the anklet she had been given.

“It’s so beautiful.” Myrine said in admiration as she bent over to touch it. “It would seem that my efforts will reward me with jewels from here on out.”

Myrine was extremely grateful and happy to see what she had received but her journey was not over yet. She looked up to see a stone casket of some sort at the end of the room. Her next trial awaited her.


One more chapter and then I'll be caught up on here. Stay tuned guys.