Page 98 of House of Ydril

I jump up off the ground and try to shake them off, fighting not to let panic overtake me. If I can’t control them, there’s only one thing I can do. I can try to shrink them.

And I still only have my Element rune activated, but this is a matter of fucking life and death, I think to myself, gritting my teeth as I stare at the crystals.

Nothing seems to be happening.

And they’ve already reached my fucking elbow. Fuck.

I strain my eyes even more and I see them shrink.

It almost makes me cry with relief when I see them disappear.

I don’t hesitate. I rush straight for the next opening, only throwing a glance at my runes to see that I really did just activate the third one. The Growth rune.

But she’s dead, Amra has justdied, the thought echoes through my mind. It all feels so unreal, but I have to keep going, keep going until I can’t keep going any longer, otherwise…

Otherwise who knows what will happen, but it sure ain’t going to be pretty.

So I make my way through the next opening. What’s waiting for me on the other side looks like a regular cave. I walk through it and I find myself in another one.

I keep walking through cave after cave for what seems like an eternity. Every now and then, I hear blasts, yelling, sometimes even more screaming.

When once again I walk out of a cave only to find myself at the entrance of a seemingly identical one, I stop to come up with a plan.

Because I really need to speed this up. The more time I lose, the more time Baldor and the Pied Piper have to get the Stone.

So I take a closer look around. I’m breathing heavily, my mind buzzing as I look for clues on what the hell is going on.

I invoke the Sight, but it doesn’t show anything I haven’t already seen.

I let out a frustrated groan and stomp my foot on the ground.

It’s then that it occurs to me. I look down.

I look down and I see a trail on the ground. Tiny footsteps.

Drawing in an excited breath, I rush to follow them.

They start leading me down a series of tunnels, twisting and turning. And there’s something strange about them. I feel them as if they’re living and breathing things. Or asingleliving and breathing thing.

I stop and prick my ears up. And sure enough, the sound isn’t crackling, but pattering. But it’s still her.

“I’ll start thinking you have a thing for me,” I say, “Dame Gothel.”

Her chuckle sounds as if the earth itself has produced it. “Don’t flatter yourself, little one,” she says as she makes the ground before me move, rise and form an enormous woman made of clay and twigs and moss.

The woman, Dame Gothel, looks down on me from high above and almost whispers, “I have a soft spot for all orphans. Always have and always will. Especially the ones with a lot of fire in them.”

It makes me frown for a second, because it brings Hansel and Gretel to mind, when Dame Gothel is the witch from Rapunzel. Or could there be more than one story told about her? It sends shivers down my spine, but I’ve more important things to think about. “If that’s really the case, will you help me find my way?”

Dame Gothel smiles, goes back to her incorporeal form and whispers, “What else am I here for? Just follow my footsteps and you’ll get out of here soon.”

“But this place seems to be huge. Do you know where I’ll find the Stone?”

“Where will she find the Stone?” She laughs so hard, it makes me a little sore. “Do I need to spell everything out for you, little one? It’s afairy talestone, for crying out loud.”

With that, I sense her disappear.

And the very next second, I hear more screaming. Shit, I’ve been dragging my feet, I curse myself as I keep running where the tiny footsteps are leading me.

---