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"Congratulations, due to your victory against a deadly foe, the Old Ones have decided to reward you with a new spell!"
Call of Cthulhu: Ask for the High Priest who will announce the arrival of the Old Ones to assist you in combat with a tiny fraction of its power.
"It was about time we got something new, and truly powerful this time!"
"I don't know if I ssshould be happy or worried about getting something named after one of the most famousss entities, but the help isss welcome."
"Can we test the spell right now?"
"No, I've already ssspent enough mind."
"Please! Just for a second!"
"I'll use it when I face the New Godsss!"
"Come on, it won't cost anything!"
"Forrr you, you mean"
I closed Kitab, leaning against the wall while using a collapsed pillar as a seat. I threw my head back, looking towards the dark ceiling, and let out a long, exhausted sigh that reverberated like the howl of a spirit.
I shuddered as a frigid breeze blew back, for I was without my upper clothes, covered in small cuts and bruises caused by the crows. The potions were less effective than the spells, and Madeleine and I didn't have the energy to conjure another one now.
The child in question lay on the floor, swinging her legs in the air while drawing in my notebook with Moonless beside her, watching with curiosity.
D'arce sat beside me, too close to be unintentional, her helmet gone, revealing a once-bruised eye, now a healthier, less swollen shade, and a lip darker than usual from a cut that slowly faded.
She had healed her own wounds with Loving Whispers, and judging by the results, it wasn't bad for a first attempt.
Her face was downcast, her shield set aside, head bowed, eyes focused on the tip of her spear, red with dried blood peeling away as she dragged a rough stone along its edge in a steady rhythm, likely born from practice and previous combat.
The sliding made an irritating, sharp sound, but I dared not comment, preferring to rest.
Nas'hrah floated a little further away in a surprising moment of calm, eyes closed, murmuring something in deep meditation, the spoken language unknown to me.
The skeleton stood near the wall, while Ragnvaldr, Cahara, and Enki rested on the opposite side of the corridor, occasionally sending us suspicious glances, but I had no doubt that I was the focus.
I only realized the noise had stopped when I felt a weight on my shoulder. The unexpected action made me jump and fight the urge to grab my weapon, the fighting instinct screaming to retaliate.
However, it was just D'arce resting her head against me.
"I'm so tired…"
Her voice had the same lack of strength as her face.
"I can imagine."
A short silence formed between us, but there was comfort and warmth instead of strangeness.
"Things will only get worse from here on out, won't they?"
"I'd like to sssay no, but I'd be lying."
After a quick second she answered, but not in the way I expected.
"Micolash?"
"Y-yesss?"
"Tell me more about yourself."
I frowned as she glanced at me, the corners of her mouth lifting an inch.
"Why the sudden curiosssity?"
"You said you came here because of visions granted by the gods you worship, but who were you before that?"
I paused for a moment, recalling my past. My chest tightened as I realized I hadn't thought about my home in a long time. So many things had happened: death, madness, encounters with deities. I'm surprised I can still remember it all.
The feeling worsened the more I pondered. Would I be able to return home? If so, would my appearance be fixed, or would I have to hide for the rest of my life? Would my family accept me? Would they even recognize me? If so, would I still be able to function as a normal human being after everything I'd been through?
Fuck! I couldn't think of a solution, only increasingly worse scenarios.
"You don't have to tell me if it's painful."
D'arce's worried tone snapped me out of my stupor.
"N-no, it's not that. It's jussst... It's jussst been a long time since I've thought about them, and I don't know if I'll be able to go back if I sssurvive this place."
Her expression darkened, and she nodded. I felt the cold metal of her gauntlet touch my left hand, a gentle gesture that I returned, intertwining the fingers of my normal hand with hers.
Hm… The affection was strange and unexpected, but welcome.
"My life has been norrrmal for as long as I can rrremember, I was born and raised in a medium-sized city on itsss way to becoming big, with a loving motherrr, two younger brothersss whose function was to annoy me, something I returned in kind, but I loved them despite everything, and a fatherrr…"
I frowned as I remembered my father, or perhaps because I couldn't remember almost anything about him.
"Is there a problem?"
"My fatherrr, he abandoned us at some point, I think. He simply disappeared one day, but without taking any of his thingsss, nothing. The documents, money, and car were all in their place."
"What is a car?"
"That'sss a conversation for another day. Maybe he went out to visit friendsss, take a walk, or buy something cheap, but time passed and nothing appearrred. We also didn't hear any news of accidents or ransom demandsss. We were all shaken, and I had to grow up being mocked by the other children who had a present and living fatherrr. The strange part is that I can't remember anything about hisss appearance; I wasn't that young to forget everything. This dungeon must have messsed with my memory morrre than I thought."
"I'm so sorry about that, it must have been difficult."
"The first few yearrrs were like that; my mother had to work double shifts to support usss, but my grandfather and aunt, for their part, helped usss. My aunt, well… I alwaysss thought she was a witch, and I still think the same to thisss day. She was an esoterrric person, believing in magic, ghostsss, that sort of thing, and apparently she was right. I was terrified of her; she dresssed weird, spoke weird, listened to weird music and did weird dancesss. Maybe she just liked some underground rock band."
Before D'arce could ask what a rock band was, I continued talking, leaving that subject for later.
"She, like my mother, said I was a ssspecial child, probably to cheer me up after everything that happened, probably to get it out of my head that my fatherrr disappeared because he didn't love me or sssomething like that. It was also she, along with my grandfather, who introduced me to the world of horror storiesss, which soon evolved into other media, despite my mother's protestsss. The old man was almost a living mummy, with shelf after shelf of dusty booksss, and he became the new fatherrr figure in my life, teaching me what a fatherrr should have taught his ssson. However, age finally caught up with him and his body began to fail. It's so ssstrange growing up watching a human being wasting away in a hossspital bed, a bad feeling that makes you think about our morrrtality, that one day I won't be here anymorrre."
D'arce's grip tightened, and slowly as a turtle, I tilted my head to the side, resting it on top of hers.
"I think thossse were the most interesting points of my life. Nothing too tragic or engaging. Time passsed, I had a relatively normal upbringing, and then I found myself herrre. How that happened you alrrready know."
Silence returned when I finished telling my story, receiving fleeting glances from everyone present; after all, we were close, and a tunnel did little to impede the propagation of sound.
After that, she told me her story, basically what is said in her game introduction, but with a small detail. One choice didn't negate the other; there was a mix of facts, further proof that I was in a world with real people.
"Micolash, what do you plan to do when all this is over?"
"Hm… Initially, if I surrrvived and everything ende well, I planned to leave for a dissstant place and live a peaceful life with Moonlesss and Madeleine, but considering, well, you know, the plan, I don't know what I'll do if I essscape this place. And you?"
D'arce's expression shifted to one of sadness, then she frowned in deep thought as her gaze drifted away.
"I don't know either. I ran away from my family to pursue a foolish love. If I wasn't disinherited or considered a traitor to the kingdom, then they'll keep me under their control for the rest of my life if I return."
"Well, would you like to come with me if we surrrvive?"
Surprise replaced her previous feelings and she stared at me with a curious glint in her eye.
"I won't lie, it will be difficult, I have nowhere to returrrn and what I carry now are my only possessionsss. I can't appearrr in public, but maybe I can get a job related to magic, or maybe…"
I didn't get to finish, I almost fell to the side when D'arce stood up and moved away from me, only to widen my eyes in surprise when I felt a pair of lips touching my cheek.
"I would love that."
I stood paralyzed like a statue, observing the woman in front of me and her wonderful smile illuminating the darkness. For a moment, being trapped in this dungeon didn't seem so bad.
"M-me too!"
I cringed at the response, mentally kicking myself. I certainly could have given a better answer.
Then she put on her helmet and retrieved her spear and shield. I did something similar, putting on my shirt, armor, and trench coat afterward.
Before continuing, I checked that everything in my backpack was in order. In the meantime, Madeleine approached, hugging my notebook to her chest, but it was her gaze that caught my attention, her eyes half-closed in suspicion.
"Why arrre you looking at me like that? She's the one who kisssed me."
The intensity worsened as if she were trying to punch a hole in my head.
"Are you jealousss that I'm not paying attention to you?"
She looked away, and I couldn't help but smile, having hit the nail on the head. I dropped to one knee and pinched her cheeks, making her face turn as red as an apple.
"What wasss that? Isn't that what you wanted?"
I held her in my arms, and despite everything, she didn't try to push my hands away.
"Can I see your drrrawing?"
Madeleine hesitated for a moment before nodding and showing me the notebook, revealing several doodlo of the things we saw in the dungeon. Among them, the Salmonsnake, the God of the Depths, the Yellow Wizard, the Cavemother, Nas'hrah, and most importantly, all of us fighting against the Crow Mauler.
"They arrre great!"
The girl smiled, momentarily turning into disappointment when I put her on the ground, only to return with greater intensity when I stuck a star sticker on her chest, next to the first one.
She let out a small laugh, then looked at me expectantly. I didn't get to ask what she wanted, because the child acted faster, removing her doll from inside her armor.
"Oh, how could I forrrget, you get a little starrr too!"
Madeleine became radiant, hugging her doll while swaying from side to side. With that done, I finished packing my things, but kept Kitab and Shark Teeth in the inside pockets of my coat, holding Madeleine in my arms again.
"Ssso, is everyone rrready to leave?"
"Finally! I was tired of your mushy display!"
Nas'hrah awoke as quickly as lightning, his mood changing at the push of a button. Moonless was next, rising and barking while wagging her tail.
The trio consisting of Enki, Cahara, and Ragnvaldr followed, rising with their weapons and equipment ready. The priest stared at me, but said nothing. Cahara gave me a friendly nod, but quickly looked away, as I must have been difficult to look at. Ragnivaldr stopped in front of me, analyzing me from head to toe before speaking.
"I thought you had become a monster, but it seems I was wrong."
Then he left without another word. I let out a sigh I hadn't known I was holding and ordered the skeleton to follow me. Without further interruptions, we crossed the dark gate to the Tomb of the Gods.
I felt watched as soon as I crossed the threshold, not only by the statues whose phallic flutes played a song only I could hear, but also by the overwhelming presence below us.
Alll-mer, or what was left of him.
I clenched my teeth, trying to concentrate. Madeleine tugged at my coat and I assured her I was alright, but that was a lie. The narrow corridors seemed to stretch on forever, each step weighing a ton, and the music, the damned music, grew louder and louder.
The bloodied undead emerged from their tombs, placing themselves in our path. There wasn't room for everyone to fight; D'arce led the line with her spear while Ragnvaldr stood at the end, protecting our backs.
A long, slender, pale arm tried to pull Madeleine from my arms as we passed a large crack in the wall, but the bastard failed miserably.
I opened my mouth and closed my teeth around it. A squeal of pain echoed through the corridors, the bone cracked and shattered like glass, and the taste of blood assaulted my mouth.
The arm tried to break free, but I bit harder, pulling in the opposite direction with hatred burning in my chest. My heart raced and my vision turned red, and with a final tug, the flesh gave way and the Harvestman had his arm ripped off. For a second, I glimpsed his calm face transforming into one of fear and agony before disappearing into the darkness.
"YOU BASTARD, SON OF A BITCH!"
I swore every curse word I knew after spitting the arm away, and quickened my pace, ignoring the surprised and frightened looks the others gave me.
Eventually, we returned to the main passage, spotting a bright light emanating from the exit ahead. We passed through the large entrance arch, and on the other side there it was, the City of the Gods, Ma'habre.
Our elevated position allowed us to see its entire expanse: large and small buildings, palaces, temples, and towers of various sizes and ancient architecture full of details and adornments, surrounded by labyrinthine streets.
I heard the admiring sighs of everyone present who approached to better analyze the landscape. Even Madeleine almost fell from my arms as she leaned forward with her mouth open and eyes wide.
I don't share the sentiment due to a series of problems; first, Ma'habre was a complete city now, not a collection of rooms, streets, and buildings; second, the biggest of all, the smiling moon in the sky, replacing the city's day with night.
END OF CHAPTER