Is This Fate or Misfortune?

Her Acquaintance, Pieces

But what had been those creatures that had attacked you back then?

When you had first encountered them, you instantly had been reminded of Earl Trancy, however, it seemed as if those things simply had no consciousness.

Was it possible that those were the failed creations of the magic-user? Or were they just traps simply laid there to ward off trespassers?

The two of you headed down into the deeper depths of the cave, the only light being the luminescent glow of the stalactites and crystals that had formed on the wall.

To your delight, the small passageway soon branch out into a large rectangular chamber. The space seemed to stretch forward in a long distance, however, you couldn't completely gauged how far it was due to a hazy mist that coated the room.

"Something about this room doesn't seem to right," Grell remarked, straining his gaze in order to try to see to the other side. "Though it's not like we have a choice to go somewhere else. Seems that the only way past is to go through this room."

You peered through the mist trying to see if you could catch a of glimpse of anything that reflected the uncertainty that Grell was feeling. "Do you think something might be in there?" You questioned, hoping that there was nothing to Grell's worry.

"There's no way of telling with all this fog in the way, but... just stay attentive," he warned you.

Grell and you pursued your way into the haze, keeping your hands locked as to not lose each other in the mist. Both of you cautiously made your way through the room, treading carefully in case there was anything in it.

You released a cough, one you could only assume was due to the stuffiness of the chamber. Upon heading further into the room, the small cough morphed into a hacking fit and it seemed that Grell was doing the same.

An odd smell soon caught your attention as you made your way through causing you to scrunch your nose up. By now your eyes were stinging and watery, and you could only assume that they were red by how hard you were rubbing them.

A soft object that you had stepped on made you stumble back in your tracks, leading Grell to falter as well. "What is it?" He worriedly asked, his tone betraying his unease.

"I think that there's something..."

You conjured a torch bringing it closer to the ground in order to try to see the thing you had kicked. A choked scream left your throat as you dropped the torch onto the ground.

Illuminated by the orange glow of the fire, a blotchy red face dully stared up at the two of you. It's skin was swollen and covered in thick patches of rashes, the eyes wide and bloodshot, the area around them oozing with blood from where it had been clawed.

The person having scratched it themselves this indicated by the torn skin and blood that coated underneath the fingernails.

Grell's hold on your hand tightened and he quickly dragged you forward through the chamber leaving the corpse behind. The orange glow of the torch faded further in the distance as the two of you ran until you burst out of the chamber.

Your eyes were burning and it was arduous not to rub your irritated eyes while you leaned against one of the buildings.

"That mist back there, it was some sort of poison gas," Grell wheezily explained. "It's why our eyes are irritated and why that body back there was full of rashes."

"Who the fuck would do something like that though?" You cried out, your stinging eyes causing you pain.

The echo of rushing water was heard from further down the cavern leading you to gaze off in the distance. Both Grell and you gave each other a glance before dashing down the rest of the cave, not caring for the fact that you couldn't see.