Jesse entered first.
Lukas was right behind him, lighting the torch in his hand with a flint. Light flared up and casted the inside room with a glow, highlighting the creepy statutes that stared down at them with hollow eyes. He heard the rest of the Order's ringing footsteps follow.
"Wow," Axel whispered. "Whoever built this place clearly didn't want to tone down the scary."
Olivia elbowed him in the side.
Lukas ignored him, glancing up at the carved stone images. Most weren't human, or looked a mix of human and something else, unnatural: a wolf with a serpent's tail, a huge dragon-looking creature on two legs with antlers, a woman with long hair and horns, a three-headed dog, a tall dark frame with arms that hung at its knees.
Above him, the roof was vaulted and arched, a mural long lost and faded to time painted on the ceiling. Jesse slowed slightly to walk beside him, and as they passed a bull with feathered wings the old torches in brackets on the wall sparked and caught fire, the ones in a line on each side of the room lighting up in a quick rhythm without a visible reason.
Jesse continued moving, his face a little unsure now.
Lukas didn't say a word, the gears in his mind turning to find an answer as they found themselves deeper and deeper in the temple, looking more like a shrine to the statues that stood on marble pedestals engraved with the same symbols on the map. The answer was simple: no magic involved, to do that all someone had to do was lay down a pressure plate with redstone or wire leading to dispensers or something created a spark right behind the brackets, so that when the spark happened it lit the fuel-- probably slow-burning wood doused in gasoline.
That was the explanation. No magic. When he looked over his shoulder at the others, Olivia's expression told him she'd come to the same conclusion. Axel seemed a bit worried, Petra not fazed at all.
He sped up to catch up with Jesse again, then stopped as they reached a fork in the road. Specifically, three passageways going straight, left, and right. Jesse rubbed his face with the back of his hand, thinking, then turned around. "We should split up, cover more ground that way. Since this looks like a temple, there's a possibility we might find books somewhere. Take what you can get, search for something that can translate the language. Petra, you good with going alone?"
Petra rolled his shoulders, grinning. "You know I can handle it."
"Okay, just shout if you need anything. That goes for you too," he added, pointing to Axel and Olivia. "Regroup back here in three hours. If any of us are missing we'll go back and check it out."
They went off in different directions, Petra down the middle, Axel and Olivia to the right, Lukas and Jesse to the left. The skull of a much too big viper hung above Lukas and Jesse's pathway. The lit torches continued down the hallway, too-- although with a dimmer, reddish glow to them. Lukas gazed at the barely discernible murals portraying pictures of death tearing the world apart, causing droughts and executions.
He shuddered, choosing instead to focus on Jesse walking in front of him, outlined in crimson. Lukas sometimes wished he could be as brave, as self-assured, or at least have the outward appearance Jesse did when it came to dangerous and uncertain situations. Lukas knew he was probably more nervous than he let on, but he hid it all behind humor, self-deprecating jokes, stupid smiles.
The corridor twisted and turned, random flights of stairs with steps at different heights breaking up the floor. Eventually it gave way to a medium sized room with six panels on the left wall, a closed door ahead of them. Lukas cautiously edged his foot onto the floor. Nothing happened, so he walked over to the panels and pieced together in his mind what they were for.
"A puzzle." Jesse finished his thought. "Any idea how we solve it? Something tells me we won't exactly get a gentle reprimand to a wrong answer."
Lukas examined the room for a few minutes before noticing the floor was made up of pristine gray slabs of stone, six by six exactly. Each row all contained darker colored slabs numbering one through six, although the pattern was different depending on whether you saw it horizontally or vertically. It was the only thing in the room, as far as he could see-- unless the code had something to do with the images in the hallway, which Lukas didn't think was true-- that pointed to some sort of answer.
He told Jesse what he'd found before putting the horizontal code in. The panels clicked, one by one, but the door didn't budge. Jesse frowned, confused. "Maybe if--"
The floor disappeared underneath Lukas, and he fell.
For the split second where he was in open air Lukas was in a total panic, unable to form a coherent thought about what he needed to do to survive. All he could think about was Sky City and falling in the dark and alone and falling and falling and falling--
Lukas was snapped back to reality when Jesse lunged forwards and caught his hand, the momentum nearly carrying him along as well. The tips of his fingers hit the edge and Lukas slammed the bottom of his shoes against the flat wall in an attempt to stop himself from going down any further, hanging over the void.
Jesse looked terrified, his face several shades paler than what it normally was, all humor gone. Lukas watched him breathe in shakily, grabbed his other hand. "Is there anything you can use-- ledges, openings--"
Lukas swallowed and then glanced under him at the pit. He could faintly hear the sound of running water. He felt as though he was attached to the darkness below, as though there was a string tugging at his feet, trying to draw him in. "No, there's not."
Jesse's arms were trembling, either from the stress or the strain or both. Lukas almost slipped, and Jesse caught him again, sliding a fraction further. "It's-- it's okay, I got you. I promise, just gotta figure something out--"
Lukas could feel his chest tightening with every breath, the pain in his shoulders, the worn leather material of Jesse's gloves. He couldn't reach for his bow, they had nothing to use.
"Jump."
"What?"
Jesse gently squeezed his arms. "I got you, remember? Use your feet, jump up and I'll pull at the same time. It'll work, but you'll probably hit your stomach."
Lukas let out a hoarse laugh, steadying his feet on the wall. "You're worried about me getting hurt right now?" Countless scenarios ran through his head, mostly of Jesse slipping and potentially dying too instead of only him. Lukas wouldn't be able to live with the guilt, if he lived at all.
Jesse smiled tensely. "Not being hurt is always better than being hurt. On three, okay? One. . . two. . . three."
Lukas straightened his legs out and tried his best to jump as Jesse yanked him upwards, surprisingly strong despite his height, reminding him yet again that Jesse was far from fragile. He suddenly felt stupid for doubting him. Jesse had gotten him out of much more dangerous situations before.
His waist hit the edge, and Jesse helped him over it, pulling him up from under his arms. Lukas stood there for a minute or so, slightly leaning down to press against Jesse's shoulder in a somewhat uncomfortable position. He was too out of it to care. Jesse was warm and lightly trembling and patting his back and saying it was okay, he was safe. "You doing alright?"
Lukas quickly released the hug, stepping away faster than what was necessary. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. A little shaken up, reminded me of Sky City and all that."
Jesse studied his face with eyes the color of late summer oak leaves and shamrocks and winter holly, dark green and beautiful. "Okay, but we can go back anytime. Not like the temple can walk away." Lukas punched in the other pattern, and the door opened.
The corridor continued in a straight slope. It eventually ended in a basement-looking place, and Lukas picked up a torch from one of the brackets on the wall. Even with the fire, he couldn't see past more than a couple feet in front of him. The dark was heavy, almost tangible on his back and shoulders, like it was attempting to push him against the ground and drag him back into the pit. He couldn't sense where the ceiling ended, and by the sound of the echoes his steps made the room was huge. The ground was inlaid with cracked and dusty tile.
Lukas heard a noise to his left, low and rattling. He whirled around, instantly reaching for the bow on his back, but there was nothing but shadows to hit.
"Uh, Jesse? Did you hear something?"
"No," Jesse answered ahead of him. "Why?"
"I thought-- never mind, it's nothing." He shook his head. It was nothing, his brain was just playing tricks on him.
A faint glow began to emit from ahead of Jesse and there was a sudden ramp downwards onto a circle engraved into the floor the width of a playing field. Lukas stared at his feet and realized the light was spilling from the geometric lines that intersected the area like a confused spiderweb. It probably made some sort of pattern or image but Lukas wasn't up high enough to see the full picture.
A scale-like material brushed against the back of his ankles. Lukas stopped, freezing up. Dust. Just dust, there was probably an air draft here somewhere.
While Jesse was being fascinated with the place-- which looked a little too much like a gladiator pit for Lukas' liking-- his eyes caught a shape in the distance, low and slinking, and every hair on the back of his neck stood on end. His feet stopped of their own accord, and Lukas felt like panicking, not in control of his own body, and everything was PAMA all over again, sweltering and dry. His vision tunneled and somewhere the idea of snapping himself out of it was there, but forming comprehensible thoughts felt impossible when his brain was screaming DANGER over and over again like a broken record player.
DANGER.
One move forwards.
DANGER.
He swore it smiled, scarily humanlike.
DANGER.
Lukas was broken out of his trance by Jesse calling, "Hey, come look at this!" The pressure instantly retreated like it'd never been there.
Blood rushed back to his tingling palms and Lukas jogged over, nearly stumbling over the pins and needles that struck his feet. When he glanced behind him the creature was (thankfully) gone, and he noticed the circle was set deep into the floor, making the actual surface of the cavern much too high to reach once you reached the lower level.
"There's murals here too, and some sort of small platform in the middle. I'm going to check it out, see if anything's there." Lukas scanned the pictures, similar to the ones in the corridor: death, all death, just death. He shuddered, still preoccupied with visions of red eyes and slamming Jesse into the glass against his will under the gaze of a giant machine. Everything, even the images his consciousness conjured felt too real as though they'd come to life at any given point in time. "I'll walk over there with you, I don't trust this place."
The echo of their footsteps sounded deafening in the lack of noise. "Lukas, when you said you heard something, did you see anything as well?"
He hesitated to explain. "Again, it was probably a trick of the shadows or a small animal."
Jesse didn't seem entirely convinced.
He raised his hands. "Okay, I'm pretty sure I did, to the left and out a ways. I don't know what it was-- maybe a snake? But those don't live in cold areas, maybe a mammal got stuck here or something."
Jesse pulled out his sword from where it hung at his hip, faintly glowing with light blue in the darkness. The hue intermingled with the light emanating from the floor, green and blue mixing as they walked forwards, cautious. On the pedestal stood a small statue half the size of Lukas' hand: a coiled reptile with the head of a goat, a snake, and a type of bird.
Lukas held out a hand to stop him, but Jesse was already there and picked the figurine up before all six of its eyes flashed and he dropped it without warning.
The sound of it hitting the floor reverberated throughout the cavern, and Lukas heard Jesse hiss "Fuck!" before everything was blocked out and he clutched at his ears, Jesse hunched over shaking his hand and probably swearing. Every single one of the lights set into the floor flickered and the floor tilted and groaned, tiles shifting and melting into each other. Lukas clutched at Jesse's shoulder to steady himself but was knocked back when the stone rose in front of him like a wave, shattering. He slid backwards, the now uneven floor grating against his elbows.
A hiss not unlike a creeper replaced the horrible grating noise. It was a snake, bigger than two houses combined and covered in ridged scales that seemed to flow with the patterns on the ground, winding around the arena over and under itself. He couldn't tell where it ended and where it began.
Lukas got to his feet, wild-eyed and on edge. Jesse was on the opposite side of the ring, the small statue in one hand and his sword in the other, staring at something invisible in front of him. Even from a distance Lukas could tell he was trembling.
"Jesse!" No response. Lukas would need to get to him.
The winds of serpent behind Lukas began to move, and he grabbed his bow, aiming for the sloped head that rose behind him.
The first arrow bounced harmlessly off the snake's scaled hide. Lukas panicked, grabbing another arrow from the quiver on his back and searching for a bare or vulnerable area to try to hit. The piece of equipment fit neatly against his fingers and Lukas pulled the string back, thumb barely brushing his mouth, before letting the arrow fly. Nostril. Bingo.
A coil struck him from the side. His vision was obscured for a few moments while he tumbled, arms over his head. The snake was angry, now: slithering back and forth across the ring so fast Lukas' eyes had trouble following it, slithering in knots.
Lying on his stomach, he pushed himself up and quickly found his bow, attention never straying away from where the serpent's body was moving. If it managed to bite or begin to constrict him it was over, he would be done for. But there was a problem. Jesse was gone from his spot.
The snake jerked behind him, and Lukas swung his bow around just in time for it to snag Jesse's sword in the corner.
A foot was planted firmly against his chest and Lukas was shoved back, pulling Jesse with him. Lukas wanted to yell What's wrong with you? but he knew better, and this was not Jesse pushing even harder in retaliation. Nothing about his appearance seemed to be particularly off-- his eyes were green, but not summer oak leaves and holly; instead the gray-green of the ocean during a hurricane, beating against the rocks and tearing boats apart, the surge of water that flooded shores and drowned those unlucky enough to be caught in the tide.
For the first time Lukas fully realized Jesse was, in fact, a lot stronger than him, pushing him backwards relentlessly until his shoulders struck rough scales. Lukas didn't know what to do. Fighting back would mean hurting Jesse, and there was still the issue of the serpent still twisted around them.
Jesse untangled his sword from Lukas' bow and shoved him back another time just as the snake moved, sending him straight to the floor. The bow was kicked out of reach and Lukas felt cold metal under his chin.
"What-- what are you doing?"
Jesse rolled his eyes. "All you mortals are so pathetic. One hit and you're down. But I guess you're useful for something, otherwise I wouldn't be here." He shook the figurine in one hand and grinned a little too wide. "Thanks for that, Lukas, but unfortunately I'm done with you."
Lukas found himself unable to speak. "Stop," he croaked. "Leave Jesse alone."
Jesse studied his hands like he was discovering them for the first time. "A little on the emotional side, but he'll do-- oh Lukas, no no no." Jesse-- no, not Jesse anymore, some other entity that had possessed him-- flexed his fingers happily and tightened his grip on the sword. "I like this mortal. He'll do just fine."
Lukas went pale.
"I would thank you for bringing him here but it was all too easy. Amazing what you can do shoved inside a little prison for thousands of years, huh?" He frowned. "I'm getting too chatty and your friend here is very annoying, maybe your death will shut him up. I'd hate to go around with a migraine. Best regards, Lukas. Say hi to the gatekeeper for me."
The snake was behind him, coiled up to strike.
"Mortals are dust, and to dust they shall return."
Jesse raised his sword.
***
Lukas woke to a world of silence.
His eyes fluttered open first, face pressed against the now dull swirling patterns on the floor, casting barely enough light to see. He staggered to his feet, dark spots dancing across his field of vision. Every single one of his bones felt heavy as if he'd been woken from a deep sleep, and judging by the pain that flared when he touched the side of his head he had been knocked unconscious.
The last thing Lukas remembered was Jesse towered above him, looking unnatural and even hellish in the wake of shadows painting his face.
Jesse.
God, where was he? What happened? What seemed to be possession-- although that shouldn't be possible-- the figurine, the giant serpent-- it all made Lukas' head hurt more than it already did. Shakily he stood up, wincing as he felt the bump underneath his hair and picking up his bow before spotting a crumpled heap of something across the arena and running towards it.
He stumbled once, then hit the floor on his knees and carefully turned Jesse over on his side, the color draining from his face as he noticed the twin trails of red running from his nose. Patches of his armor and the clothes underneath were stained with blood that could only be his, but what worried Lukas most were the two large puncture holes on his right arm, running straight through the leather on top.
Lukas shook him, gently, patting the side of his face. "Jesse." His voice came out hoarse and not as confident as he wanted it to. "Jesse, please. We need to leave."
After a moment Jesse groaned and shifted slightly, eyes cracking open, back to the calm green of the sea on a clear day. He gave Lukas a small, exhausted grin despite his obvious condition. "Hey."
"Hey yourself," Lukas said softly. "Can you remember what happened?"
Jesse's face twisted in worry. "Not a whole lot, just. . . touching the statue-- there was a snake, right?" He put his head back down and wiped his face with the back of his hand, smearing the blood across his chin. Lukas wanted to say something but kept silent. "I-- and then I pushed you or something, right?"
"Or something. We can talk once we get out of here." Lukas caught his forearm and helped him up, Jesse wincing. "God, your hand--" The obsidian of the sculpture had burned right through his glove, searing an image of two connected crescent moons facing each other onto his palm in black. "And the statue did that?"
Jesse grimaced. "I think so. My hand burned when I touched it." He briefly looked around and then picked up the thing from where it lay on the ground, beady black eyes glinting maliciously. "I don't want to, but we should take it with us. Find out more. Ivor may know something." He glanced upwards. "And if there are any more of these places, we need to seal them off." A sudden realization struck him. "The snake--"
"Gone, so we shouldn't worry about it for now. We need to focus on getting you home, you're not exactly in the best shape to go giant serpent hunting."
Jesse cracked a smile. "That's what you're planning? Giant serpent hunting?"
They began walking in the direction they came from, Jesse's sword, even in its sheath, still offering a small amount of light, enough to see where Lukas was putting his feet. "It's possible. A giant serpent near Beacontown and Boomtown is not good."
The door opening up to the chamber with the pit was closed, but when Jesse leaned on it with his marked palm on the stone it swung open easily. Lukas wasn't completely surprised, but did make a mental note.
The pair carefully scooted around the abyss and made the trip up the long, long flight of stairs. This time, the murals seemed to try to jump out at him when he wasn't looking, as though the depictions of death ached for someone to free them from their confines. Lukas kept walking. Jesse was clearly worn-out so Lukas mulled over his thoughts rather than voicing them out loud.
There had to be some logical reason for all this. Whether it had all been a caused hallucination or a set-up-- Lukas would not accept the supernatural as a reasonable explanation. He could come back, find the snake, gather information and try to understand as much as possible about the cause. Maybe discovering more about whatever the place was would help them out in the long run, and Lukas knew for a fact the whole of their world was far from being fully discovered, much less understood.
Petra was waiting for them.
He sat against the far wall under a statue twice his size, absolutely covered in small nicks and scratches like he'd jumped through a glass window. His dark brown eyes flitted back and forth between them anxiously as he stood, favoring one ankle. Olivia and Axel were nowhere to be seen.
He scanned them both, the small figurine in Jesse's pocket, the blood on his face. Pulled himself up.
"What happened to you guys?"
"What happened to you?"
Alarm flickered across his features. "The corridor-- I just had trouble figuring out what was happening, Lukas. That's all. Stumbled into some stuff." Liar.
Petra was one of the most fearless people Lukas knew. If he was nervous about that particular hallway, Lukas wouldn't be going anywhere near it. "Back to what I asked. What went on down there?"
Jesse glanced at him briefly. Lukas fidgeted with the feathered tips of arrows behind him. "A lot went on. I think," he said slowly, "It would be better if I shared another time. I'm still trying to find an answer, and Jesse should go home to rest."
Jesse raised the hand that wasn't burned. "I'm fine, I can stay." His attention snapped to the last corridor. "Where--"
Petra scowled. "No, you're clearly not. Go home with Lukas. Axel and Olivia-- when they return, and if they don't soon I will go after them, don't worry-- and I can handle what comes if needed. We can take care of ourselves."
"But--"
"Go home. You have blood all over your face, Jesse."
He touched his fingers to his lips and looked at them. "Oh. Sorry."
Lukas would've laughed if it hadn't been so morbid, taking his arm and carefully tugging him in the direction of the exit. "Petra's right. Let's go." After a few more tugs Jesse followed him out, feet lightly dragging and half leaning on him. He inspected the statue another time, turning it over and watching how the sun glinted off its edges. The weather was even hotter in the late afternoon, cicadas buzzing in the trees as they left the ruins and picked the best path to the Nether portal, Lukas' hand always near his bow in case any monsters decided to show up.
A few times Jesse had to sit down, feeling dizzy. Lukas took this as a sign he was definitely not okay and needed to be looked at as soon as possible. The serpent could've been poisonous, and Lukas himself probably needed to affirm he didn't have a concussion.
The route from outpost to outpost passed quickly while Lukas was so preoccupied. They shared the same minecart like the previous trip, Jesse leaning on his back with a hazed look to his eyes, his complexion gradually turning sickly as time passed.
He tripped several times during the walk to Beacontown although he waved it off, assuring he was okay and didn't require assistance. Lukas tried not to attract an audience by taking lesser-known streets but people were concerned and everywhere, and while Lukas appreciated their sympathy and willingness to help, being crowded would not help Jesse and he shooed most of them off with a few well-put phrases. They had a right to ask questions since Jesse was in a partial position of authority (what the Order was exactly was being figured out) but could wait until later to be answered.
Jesse seemed as relieved as Lukas was when he finally shut the Order Hall door behind them. He pulled out a chair and collapsed on it, setting his head against the table. In an environment where nobody apart from Lukas was watching, he had an easier time showing he did need help. Lukas had recognized the behavior over months and months.
Lukas laid a palm on his back. "Don't fall asleep on me." He should've known better, should've known the outcome wouldn't have been good. Now, on top of everything else, Jesse was injured and had been controlled by something.
Lukas was such a good friend.
Jesse turned his head to look at him. "I would if I could. Everything hurts too much." He shifted and released a deep breath. "I don't know, about the snake and whatever that thing was, but. . . don't blame yourself about the map. We made a group decision, and I was the one who was impulsive and touched this," he set the carving on the table. "Not you."
Lukas started to respond, but before he could the front door slammed open. Jesse flinched, then smiled.
"FRIENDS!" Ivor boomed.
Lukas sighed.
***
D A D V O R
yeah lmao jesse was possessed arent i so nice