brave_kreyu | OOM: Elysium or Shephard's quest for an arm.

Shephard glances at the water, eyes narrowing a little. "How deep's it get out here?" he says. "Deep enough for somethin' to live in that might jump out at a bad time?"

"It's entirely possible," Kreyu replies. "But we must cross the river, whatever there may be beneath the water."

The blue butterfly lifts off from his head and lands on his nose, flapping its wings twice. It flits a few feet a way from them, then comes back to land on his nose again. It's almost as if it's trying to tell them something....

Shephard grunts, and eyes the butterfly. "You gon' have to try a little harder'n that," he says, and only half sounds as if he's joking. "I know Bee, not Butterfly."

There are advantages to growing up with a mother who kept hives.

The butterfly flits farther away this time, over to the riverbank. It ignores the stones entirely and moves toward the rapidly rushing water. It lands on the surface of the river as if it were no different than solid ground. The river rages, but the butterfly stays in place, entirely unruffled and at ease.

"...."

He's almost sure that a place like Faerie isn't supposed to reference Christian miracles, but whatever.

"I'mma close my eyes for this one," he promises, and does so. Because looking at the surface of the river as he steps on it is just going to screw up his already-wobbly balance.

The river feels solid under his feet as they cross the water, Kreyu leading ever so slightly. When they reach the other side, the river is suddenly.....gone. As if it was never there.

Up ahead is a stone archway, overgrown with ivy. A great stone gargoyle lurks atop the doorway, its face ferocious and its body made of sharp lines and angles.

As they are about to pass through the archway, the gargoyle opens one eye and spreads its wings with a cracking sound. "Who dares pass this way?" it rumbles in a voice like a landslide.

The first thing that comes to mind does not get said.

However, the second thing does, and the second thing that comes to mind is, "Who wants to know?"

... we're so sorry.

Kreyu represses the urge to facepalm.

"Hah!" It rumbles. "As if I would give my NAME to any fool who asked for it." The gargoyle peers at him, its yellow eyes glowing as if lit from within. "I am the Guardian of this gate, man-child..."

"We are two travelers, seeking the court of the Daea," Kreyu interjects, diplomatically.

The gargoyle turns to look at her. "Then the toll must be paid, Shadow Spinner." The gargoyle settles back onto its perch, "Proof of wit and cleverness I must have from any soul that would pass this way."

Kreyu raises an eyebrow. "A riddle answered?" The gargoyle nods.

"Oh, for- yeah, okay." Shephard resettles himself carefully; that shield is heavy and he's been carrying it a while. "I c'n do that for you. What've you got?"

"A cloud was my mother, the wind is my father, my son is the cool stream, and my daughter is the fruit of the land. A rainbow is my bed, the earth my final resting place, and I'm the torment of man. What am I?"

Sure does take the thing a lot of words to put forth a fairly basic question, but Shephard's not about to complain, seeing as how he knows the answer right off.

"That'd be rain, I'm thinkin'."

The gargoyle scowls. "That is so," it snarls. Clearly, it did not want him to get the answer right.

Kreyu gets a riddle of her own. "There are four brothers in this world that were all born together. The first runs and never wearies. The second eats and is never full. The third drinks and is always thirsty. The fourth sings a song that is never good."

"Water, Fire, Earth and Wind." The gargoyle grunts a reluctant affirmative. "I am bound by my oath to let you pass," it grumbles. "Go in peace." With that, the gargoyle is once again lifeless stone.

As they pass, Shephard glances over his shoulder. "That's the lowball, right?" he says. "The one they throw at us to make me say somethin' stupid like 'shit, this is gonna be a breeze'?"

"Faerie is what it is," Kreyu explains. "The gargoyle is bound to guard that gate and demand an answer to its riddles. In return, it has the right to devour all who fail."

There are definitely bones, human bones, scattered on this side of the arch as if from something feeding on the top of it.

"Beings such as he are as much a part of the landscape here as the deer and the trees."

"Didn't know about the devouring part," says Shephard, a little startled. He's not going to get any louder than that, though. He'd pretty much expected a whole lot of homicide around these parts to start with, from the way Kreyu had spoken of it.

"I'mma keep that in mind. Where to next?"

"Had he tried to devour US, he would have bitten off more than he could chew," Kreyu replies with a predatory grin. Nom nom nom tasty minerals.

"A left here, and....." Oh look, a hedge maze! A really, really, frustrating hedge maze that appears to have been inspired by M. C. Escher. It looks like it will take HOURS of backtracking and cursing to find a way through this thing.

Several hours later....

Kreyu curses at length in at least 4 languages as she finds herself standing upside down on the "floor" of yet another dead end. Hacking at the maze does nothing, and flying over it has proven impossible.

Shephard's going to have to remember a few of those. Well, okay, all of those. You don't waste perfectly good profanity.

However, when navigating the maze no longer works, and cursing no longer works, and cutting your way free no longer works... well, he's gonna sit himself down on the ground and think a bit. He's tired. His right arm's starting to shake some. It's been a long walk so far and it's not getting any shorter. Might as well try thinkin'.

Eventually he looks up at the hedges and calls out, "Don't suppose you'd be so kind as to open up and let us through, pretty please?"

(What? The Green Faerie told him he had to ask the Big Damn Fish nicely before it would come out of the pond. Maybe it would work again.)

"Oh, what a nice young man you are," says the maze in the pitch perfect voice of a slightly dotty elderly lady.

"I'd love to let you through dear, but I can't give anyone that kind of help."

Kreyu perks up at that. "What kind of help are you allowed to give, madam?"

"Hm? Oh, well, I suppose I could give you the key. But are you SURE you must go so soon? I get so lonely here all by myself..."

"Can't say I blame you, ma'am," says Shephard after a moment's recovery. "But I got folks back home I got to get back to, once my hand problem's all dealt with, and so does my friend here. We surely would appreciate it if you would be so kind as to give us the key, and we'd be right grateful for it after."

"Yes, yes I suppose you must," the maze answers with a sigh. "It's quite simple, really. Once you go through the Mirror, the path out is the reflection of the path you came in on."

Which would be helpful if they'd seen anything at all reflective anywhere in this maze of hedges.

Shephard considers this, and glances over at Kreyu. "I ain't carryin' a mirror," he says. "I mean, I got the shield and all, but it ain't near that reflective to count. You got anything shiny on you? Nobody here wants me to make a mirror, trust me on this..."

(Puddles are reflective, are they not? He's been walking a good while. He could generate one if he had to. Please let there be another way he's not thinking of.)

"You didn't walk past it?" the maze asks, confused. "Oh. Oh dear. Surely I haven't forgotten my own solution? Oh, this is so terribly embarrassing!"

The walls of the maze twist and contort in various bizarre configurations almost too fast too track, rather like someone flipping rapidly through a picture book.

Finally, the walls stop moving and an open area with a large, still pond appears. "Oh, there it is! I can't believe I forgot to put it on this morning, forget my own head next!"

The maze whispers, almost furtively, "I'd be much obliged if you didn't mention that little gaffe to anyone, dears. I don't know that I could live with the shame."

"That's quite all right, ma'am," says Shephard. "You got it goin' proper in the end, that's what matters. We won't mention this to nobody."

He nods to Kreyu- that's a fair thing to say, right?

Kreyu nods in approval.

"Now all you have to do is dive on in and swim down," the maze replies, relieved. "You'll know when you've crossed it properly and can start swimming back up again."

At first, the water is what one would expect of any pond in the summer, the water tepid but getting darker and cooler the further down one dives.

And then, the world turns upside down with the feeling of a roller coaster doing a loop. The water changes, going from tepid to ice water in an instant. As they struggle toward the surface, they're greeted with the now frozen over surface of the Mirror.

Kreyu shifts her hands to claws and starts tearing at the ice, trying to make a hole so they can escape the frigid water.

What in the ever-living hell-

Well. Shephard's been hauling a shitload of bronze around for a reason, hasn't he? And he's been defying his doctor's orders in private so's to keep both his arms strong even if one of 'em's not what it used to be, hasn't he?

It'll use up what oxygen he's got left in his lungs, but he's gonna see if he can't bash at that ice as hard as he can with that damn shield before it drags him down.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject