"Is everyone okay?" Iver shouts. His words echo off the walls of the castle.
"Yeah. Still alive anyways." I answer back with most of the party answering the same.
"Yea I'm alive but my damn arm hurts," grunts Bjorn as he applies pressure to the snakebite. "That bastard's fangs were huge."
Frode scoffs at his remark. "Don't be such a baby. That snake obviously constricts its prey. Its teeth could not be more than a few inches. Hope you don't go lying like that to the ladies!"
"How about I shove my fist a couple inches up your arse and see how you feel about the size!" Bjorn barks back as he stands ready for a fight.
Their shouting fades from my attention as a faint whisper flutters across my ear. I stand and turn towards the whispering that seems to be coming from the end of the dark hallway before me.
"Asger." The voice whispers as I sense motion to my right.
I quickly turn but all I see is a small torch on the wall flickering a small yellow hue of light around us. We seem to be in a large room with the only perceivable exits being the door we came through and the hallway before us. Large stone pillars hold up the ceiling above with each of them carved with serpents that wrap around the entire structure.
"Asger." The voice rings again and my gaze focuses down the hallway.
My eyes centered on the figure of a woman slightly hunched over, barely visible in the scarce lighting. She has long black hair draped over her face and wears a white nightgown. Her hand begins to raise and motions for me to come closer.
What is going on? Is anyone else seeing this? I feel as if I should be wary of the woman, but she almost feels... familiar. I start to take a few steps towards the woman, my eyes locked on her.
"Asger... Asger... Asger!" Shouts Haralda, snapping me out of my trance. "A Little help would be nice!"
I turn to see her and Langley desperately trying to hold Bjorn back as Frode stands a few meters away chuckling to himself. Pure rage seethes from Bjorn's demeanor as he gradually approaches Frode. I turn back towards the woman, but she has vanished without a trace. Great another thing to go unanswered. I look back at Frode who seems uncaring of the situation he is in, continuing to laugh to himself, pleased with Bjorn's reaction.
Bjorn gets within a foot of Frode before Iver interrupts them. "Enough! We have more important matters to attend to."
Iver pushes past them and starts towards the hallway without another word. Langley and Haralda release their grips on Bjorn who gives one last buck towards Frode who flinches before following behind Iver with a triumphant laugh. I shrug my shoulders toward Haralda and Langley who sigh from exhaustion.
"Let's just get this over with," Haralda says as she follows them into the hallway with Langley close behind.
I walk over to Frode and help him to his feet. "Got a death wish or something?"
"Can't live life without a little fun err... death I guess," he answers with another chuckle.
We both quickly follow behind the group, my mind still focused on the woman.
*****
A labyrinth of hallways was all that awaited us as we continued down the initial one. Cages filled the rooms we passed that were all mostly empty except a few holding human remains. Their faces contorted into an expression of despair and I worry about the horrors that we will discover here.
"What do the keys look like?" Langley whispers to Iven, ending the eerie silence.
"Honestly, I don't know. I'm sure we will know it when we see them." Iver answers, failing to alleviate the tension in the group.
"Hey! There is someone over here!" Haralda yells from two hallways to our right.
Everyone rushes over to her location, but I feel a chill trickle down my back, and the voice from before whispers, "Asger."
I turn and look down each direction of the hallway for the woman in the white gown but do not find her. Just a chilled air and the faint light from the torches populate the hallway. I shake my head and meet up with the others who surround a cage in the hallway.
The iron bars are thick and rusted only being held closed by a large padlock to the bottom right of the cage door. Inside the cage was barren. Only a small cot occupies the room with a man atop of it. He wears brown, blood-stained clothes that are torn and ragged. The man is covered in wounds from head to toe and draws short, raspy breaths as if in pain.
"Help... me..." The man chokes out, lifting his hand towards us.
"Don't worry mister. We will get you out of here!" Langley exclaims as he starts to hit and pull on the lock.
The man coughs between each word as he continues. "How did you get out of your cages?"
"Cage? You can never cage Bjorn!" Shouts Bjorn while flexing his muscles.
Haralda shakes her head and quickly interrupts Bjorn, "We came from outside the castle."
"Outside? You came INTO the castle?" The man replies beginning to laugh to himself.
"You are all fools! This castle wasn't built to keep people out, it was built to keep people in!" He continues his laugh turning more senile.
"What do you mean? We can just follow the hallway we came from back to the wooden doors." Langley counters, pointing in the direction we came from. All of us stare in the direction of his finger in disbelief. A solid wall now sits a few meters away creating a dead end to the hallway. All of us certain that was the direction we came from.
Bjorn and I both move towards the wall to inspect it. Each of us bang our fists and the hilt of our weapons upon it but it does not budge. It only gives a solid thud with each strike. Bjorn tries shoving his body against the wall to push it out of the way as I begin to turn back to the cage.
"This is your doing! What did you do!" I shout at the man now laughing uncontrollably.
"Shifty. Shifty. Shifting hallways. Watch them go round and round."
"This fellow's brains are fried," Frode adds in with a defeated look.
Iver steps closer to the cage and gets level with the man now swaying from side to side on his cot, continuing his nonsensical banter. "Have you seen a key in this place?"
The man ignores the remark and continues mumbling to himself.
It was a good thought by Iver but there is no telling what this place has done to the man. Can it really be true that these hallways are moving?
"Shh! Everyone be quiet." Bjorn whispers over to us.
"I find it in bad taste for you to quiet anyone, Bjorn." Frode snaps back clearly annoyed.
"Just do it!" Bjorn barks back cupping his hands around his ear and placing them on the wall.
Everyone in the hallway remains silent, attempting to listen for any sounds. We stand motionless for a few seconds of silence before a faint scrapping begins to sound from the other side of the wall. It starts to grow as it approaches us and I can pick out the sound of scales rubbing against the stone walls.
Haralda grasps her weapon and turns to face the party, "I think it's time to go."
"We can't just leave him!" Langley interjects still struggling with the lock.
I walk over to him as the rest of the party draws their weapons and begins down the hallway. "Come on son. There is nothing we can do."
Langley looks up at me with a disheartened look but reluctantly grabs his weapon. I help him to his feet and keep my hand on him as we run down the hall to catch up with the others.
Behind us, the man begins laughing again and shouting to us. "There is no escape from this place! No escape from the shifty hallways!
We both continue running until we catch up to the group who have halted in a large room with ten hallways splitting off in every direction. Each hallway looks identical and leads to more hallways within. Suddenly, the ground begins to shake, and the room begins to rotate, sealing the door we have just passed through and shifting the ten hallways to seemingly new ones. In two of the hallways, large snakes begin slithering towards use with several smaller ones following in behind them. These snakes look similar to the ones before except the pure white skin on these is interrupted by several large yellow circles draped down their backs.
"What do we do now?" Langley questions the group, his eyes darting between Iver and myself. Why is he looking at me? Am I supposed to be the one who comes up with a plan? Damn it. I look around the room for something to use while the others mount their defense.
Iver knocks back an arrow and pierces one of the large snakes who flails on the ground in agony. The blood from its wound sizzles and burns into the ground like acid. "Be careful they look venomous. Don't get any of their blood on you" Iver warns the group.
Bjorn gives a quick war cry before he charges at the snakes and golf swings a handful of the smaller ones across the room. Haralda and Langley engage with one of the larger snakes to the right of me. Langley quickly sidesteps its strikes as Haralda's massive sword easily slices the large snake in two. Iver, Bo, and Frode provide support to each side, taking care of the smaller snakes slipping through the defense.
I continue surveying the room but the only thing obstructing the slick, tall walls are the few torches that light the room. I could use one of them to push back the snakes but there is no way it would be effective with the amount before us.
What do I do!
Everyone continues to struggle as they are gradually pushed closer and closer together and toward the wall behind us.
I need to think of something.
"Asger! Iver shouts, motioning his head toward Haralda and Langley. I look over to see Langley spread out on the ground with Haralda desperately holding back another massive snake. There is no time to come up with a plan. I run towards them as Haralda is brushed to the side by the snake's tail and it positions itself to strike the boy.
"Langley!" I shout as the snake bares its fangs. I get to him just in time to wedge my axe into the snake's mouth as it strikes. I struggle to hold the snake at bay as Langley scrambles from underneath him. A whistle sounds as a dagger flies through the air and lodges into the head of the snake, knocking it slightly away from me. Bjorn then shoves me to the side as he slams his hammer into the snake sending it down one of the hallways.
"I'd say that is at least ten points." Thunders Bjorn as he puts his hand on my shoulder. I nod to him in thanks and turn to do the same to Bo. My thanks to them is bittersweet. I'm glad to have been spared a venomous snake bite but would have liked to have been of more use in this fight. To be of more use to Langley and Haralda.
"Is it just me or are there more snakes now than there were previously?" Haralda shouts to the party.
She was right. The once small group of snakes had turned into a hoard that now completely surrounds us. The wounded snakes all steam and those sliced in half quickly return as two more, much like the snake from outside the castle. These snakes must possess healing abilities, not unlike the hydra I have heard from old stories. If we cant hurt them, then what is there to do? The rest of my fellow party members also realize this and halt their haphazard assault.
Bo unsheathes several daggers from his cloak and begins charging towards the snakes. He begins throwing the daggers with each effortlessly hitting their mark. He steps perfectly in the gaps between the piles of snakes like an elegant dance as he makes his way across the room. He picks up several daggers swiftly and dodges several strikes from the larger snakes leaving several on the floor wriggling in pain from their wounds. The blood from the snakes sizzling on the ground like acid. Bo reaches the other side of the room and waves his hand at us, signaling us to follow behind him.
If we cant beat them, our only choice then is to run.
We all look at each other, giving a nod that this may be our only shot. Each of us shouts as Iver shouts "Charge!"
We use our weapons to defend ourselves parrying any attack from the snakes. Following the path Bo had created as fast as we could before it was swallowed along with us. The smaller snakes posed the greatest threat of tripping the party up, but Bo's continued barrage of daggers kept them at bay.
"Into the hallway!" Iver yells as we make it to the other side of the room. The horde of snakes still pursuing behind us. I guide Langley and Haralda into the hall ahead of me, but before I can follow, my leg is snagged by one of the large snakes causing me to crash into the ground as it drags me back into the room. I scream in pain as the snake twists my foot and begins to crush my ankle.
"Asger!" The party yells turning back into the room.
"Go!" I scream at them, pleading that they still get to safety. The rest of the snakes begin to pool around me but do not seem to be attacking. I guess the larger snake has called the rights to be the one to devour me. My vision darkens as the horde of snakes pile on top of my body. I can hear the muffled shouting from my party members, but I wish they would leave me. There is no need for all of us to perish here.
The snakes holding me prisoner begin to move frantically and begin to slither off my body. In the opening this creates, to my surprise, Frode stands with a torch in hand, batting away the pile of snakes above me. He shoves the torch into the side of the larger snake who screeches as its grip releases around my ankle.
"Time to go son," Frode says as he helps me to my feet. I wince in pain when I put my weight onto my ankle but Frode offers his shoulder to carry me. I look over into the hallway to see the rest of the party providing support, yelling at us to hurry.
Suddenly, the room begins to shake again, and the hallways begin to shift. "Damnit," Frode mutters as we hobble towards the group. Two of the larger snakes hastily slither in front of us, positioning themselves between us and the entrance to the hallway. I Look at everyone in the hallway and my gaze falls on Iver's eyes. I give him a nod and he returns one.
If there is anyone I can trust to protect Langley and Haralda, it would be him.
"This way!" I shout as I point a few hallways to the right. Frode understands and we begin to make our way towards a different hallway that doesn't have two large snakes blocking its entrance.
"I'm so tired of these f'ing snakes." Mumbles Frode before we both lunge into the hallway with its entrance closing behind us. I let out a sigh of relief as I listen to the slithering of scales still trying to find us.