Chapter 9 The Siren's Bridge

Lyse awoke to the sounds of shuffling and clanging as everyone prepared themselves around him. It was more than jarring, his senses seemingly not his own as he nearly jumped to his feet from the sudden awakening. His skin crawled around him, the cold sensation that was this otherworldly encounter suddenly replaced by the damp reality of this dungeon. As his eyes slowly recovered, his ears still ranged with the last words spoken to him by this goddess. The promise he made, and the objective, freshly laid before him now, he will have to embark on a quest, so it seemed. But to save his sister, above all else, is in the center of this massive storm of thought, trapped for now as a hostage of unknown purpose. And he will have to start here. These thoughts ran through his mind in just a breath.

Edlund watched as Lyse rose, faster than he initially thought he would. "A bit spry, aren't you? Couldn't get a whiff of sleep on bare rock."

"We have to keep moving," Lyse ignored his thought-out comment, which made him a bit meddlesome of what he dreamed about. Everyone was now placing their armor back on their person, Gray in his gambison and Elena in her plated armor. While both hurried to put whatever they had together, Lyse was ready in mere moments, his leather bracers secured, his gambison properly tied and stiff. His holster belted, and his sword sheathed.

"Well, all he needs now is a bard to narrate," Edlund sighed, putting in the last button on his gambeson.

"We have to move quickly now," Lyse said. Who knows where everyone is in this dungeon. No doubt Dagmyre has made significant head already."

"He may be a hothead, but you must not mistake him for a fool," Elena said. "He would have rested as well. However, he would have slept a lot less than we have if he is so eager to get to these relics before anyone else."

"Then we'll just have to cover twice the distance, right?" Gray asked.

"Much easier said than done," Lyse sighed. "Who knows what will be waiting for us next."

Edlund sheathed the blade he took from the corpse, which was now piled upon others in the corner. "If our luck proceeds us, it'll be something serpent-like. I'd be a bit disappointed if it wasn't, at least."

"We're wasting time standing here then," Lyse began walking towards the exit. They all followed accordingly. Edlund couldn't precisely put his mind on it, but he thought that Lyse functioned better in these kinds of situations. What that said about his mind was beyond him, but a leader seems to be apparent in his brother. And all this time, he thought he was always the one to come up with the schemes. Even the way he threatened Dagmyre proved how quickly he could act. The Fire Serpent, the Lamia. Both were unlike anything they faced. He's not the sharpest of swords, but he is always able to defend himself at least, confident in what he got. However, it was much different than anything else. He was at least glad that Lyse was there with him and hoped they could get out of this place to achieve what they wanted. But so far, he is not so hopeful of this place easing upon them or on their minds. He still pictures that man screaming in terror, disappearing into the void darkness of this dungeon to be swallowed whole. And e is disturbed if that could be him in the next two minutes—all of them.

Darkness once again swallowed them, and they could barely see their hands before them. Not too deep in, Lyse once again alighted his sword, staying ahead of someone else and continuing as the beacon. Gray constantly looked over his shoulder, waiting for some inhuman creature to come from the wall. Anything. But nothing did, and that only made his skin crawl. Like all the fables, he heard of parties being picked off one by one until one hero remained to finish the mission. He knows he doesn't want to be that unfortunate soul who will be picked off first without the others knowing it. What a gruesome and pitiful death that would be. Most likely one that many have faced already. His father, while not the more adventurous of men, certainly was no weakling. A forgehardens the softest of men. And working in the forge makes you acutely aware of how deadly some monsters genuinely are. He has seen some Red Serpent scales before, although barely a handful. They were barely able to fashion a sword out of it. Half of their men died, six in total, just for a handful. Over a year ago, there were some recovered swords from a party attacked by a tribe of Lamia out near the eastern mountains. Only two members survived, bringing back their companion's swords and mournful faces. He could only guess then whatever horror they must have witnessed, but now it is more than apparent. He wondered what was running through Elena's head now. She was probably the most battle-ridden of them all. But he doubts she's any more on solid rock than himself.

The walls continued to be the same clear-cut path it had been—nothing very noticeable on the wall that would signify a trap. No false doorway and no trap doors are hidden on the floor. It seemed like every step they took was with the most care. It was on the border of tediousness. But they stayed acutely aware of their surroundings. The chambers still sloped down further into the mountain and near its heart, where Lyse guesses the relics will be placed. Every breath, every step, and shift in the metal caused a symphony of echoes and clatter before them. From the past two encounters, their racked minds took note of everything around them. Their hands were constantly caressing the pommel of their assorted blades. Elena held her shield close to her chest, staring past Lyse's shoulder and into the darkness. They could not see more than 30 feet before them and could not sense any presence around them. Lyse knew that there was at least one more obstacle before they finally saw the object they had been looking for. But how much longer can they endure this? They haven't eaten in days. They felt the lack of energy weigh upon their shoulders, arms, and legs. It will not be too long before this turns into a burden, and they will get slower.

Almost an hour of walking later, with no breaks, their vision widened to a large cavern, unlike anything they had seen before. A bell-shaped ledge was pressed against what appeared to be a natural cave wall. In all directions, this sudden cavern extended into darkness. At the apex of the bell-shaped platform they stood upon, a metal bridge stretched into the night ahead made chiefly of metal, but no railing or anything keeping someone from slipping into the void. It was unsettling, the silence. There was no echo, but there was some sort of monotone buzz filling the dank air around them. A strong hint of old dried blood filled this chamber, which alone was cause for alarm, although the source was nowhere to be seen. The ground was slick with some sort of white powdery substance, covering the walls as well.

"This is most certainly foreboding," Edlund sighed. "Bet my whittling knife that this is yet another trap. And I like that knife."

"We won't see it again if we are dead," Lyse said, walking towards the edge. But as soon as he began to advance, the buzz he heard rose even louder. And before the others could even think of taking another step along with him, he held up a quick hand and swift look of warning. He slowly walked to the edge, still holding his glowing sword. And almost immediately as his nose pointed down into the abyss, he wrinkled back as a wafting scent of infectious decay invaded all of his senses at once. He nearly dropped his blade as his body reeled from the sudden impact. What he saw before him, presumably extending in all possible directions, was a sea of writhing flesh, organs, and mouths all mushed together in an infinite expanse. It shifted in no rhyme or reason, arms and legs twitching and grasping for anything that may be counted as food. And as he looked over the edge, even for a moment, the voices rose in their volume. The drone was once nothing, now vivid, as vivid as the very world around. Not down there, no. The speaking was sourceless, coming from Lyse's mind, invading his every thought. And from the scramble of words, random phrases, and chaotic dialects, he found what appeared to be order and compulsion—telling him many things. But most had the same note.

Kill yourself. End it. Kill them. End the suffering. Join the suffering. Join it. Fall. Fall. Fall upon the flesh. Feed the mother.

Lyse gulped as he quickly scrambled away, the pendant he wore hot against his chest. He was sweating, and his face had lost color. The voices were now subsiding but still in the back of their minds. Elena got impatient and walked up to Lyse, seeing him utterly white with fear. She then narrowed her eyes to the ledge, moving to see what had caused such a visceral reaction. But before she could even peer over the edge, Lyse's hand firmly grabbed her shoulder and yanked her away abruptly. She was a bit surprised, but the look on his face, racked with fear and anxiety, pleaded for her to stop as he conjured the words to his tongue. It took a few tries before those words could be properly expressed.

"S-stop," he said stubbornly, fighting a compulsion to throw both of them in. "Those things down there, they rack the mind, f-fills it with horrid thoughts of death."

"Ominous," Edlund noted. "So, how are we going to get across?"

Lyse tried to think for a few moments, silently standing not too far away from the ledge itself. The others began pacing, thinking of their ways of getting past a challenge such as this. Unfortunately, they were not entirely equipped to handle a problem of this magnitude. And any wrong move will most likely be their last. Lyse tried to find a way around this scenario, thinking back to what triggered what assaulted his mind. It was clear that this thing targeted him specifically and did so as soon as he laid eyes on it. However, it did nothing to the others who were only a few feet away. Only when he looked directly at it did the thoughts fill his mind and eat away at his sanity. And that got his mind shifting alone. Gears began to turn as he lifted his head towards the edge again.

"What if it only affects you if it sees you?" Elena suddenly piped up; her furrowed brows turned to Lyse with a matching expression of thoughtfulness.

"Could that work?" Gray asked. "Seemed to take no time for it to make Lyse shiver in his boots."

"Only when I saw it," Lyse told them. "When I walked to the edge, I was looked over to the horizon for a few moments before looking down. If we guessed right, it would not affect us. I mean, if we are lucky."

"Please leave luck out of this," Edlund groaned. "Seems whenever it's mentioned, we end up in terrible situations. Let's just get going."

"Yes," Elena said. "We don't have much time to waste, do we?"

Lyse decided to take the lead. He was still holding his sword out, glowing a faint white light ahead of them for about thirty feet before darkness began. The bridge was pretty comprehensive; about two people could stand side beside relatively comfortably. Still, Lyse had to keep his balance and make sure that each foot found was carefully purchased. Several times he resisted the urge to look down to see where he was going. He could only have faith that he was indeed following the right direction. Unfortunately, he didn't find a lot of things to have confidence in. It was a careful experience for him in the past. Thankfully, the bridge did not sway much, made primarily of metal and old thick rope. However, having no rails to secure oneself made it extremely dangerous if he lost balance suddenly.

For the first minute of walking, there was nothing but darkness around him. Occasionally, the white powder would be found sprinkled on the bridge, which was on the outcropping on the left, now out of vision. Whenever he saw it, he questioned what it was. But it was far from the strangest sight as he continued. Soon, a looming shape appeared on the edge of their vision. They all immediately stopped and turned carefully not to look down. But as soon as they seemed to focus on this shape, it immediately disappeared. This was not comforting, as they drew their blades and stayed on guard and aware. This time, Elena seemed to draw a much longer blade, one Lyse knew as an Albion Maximilian sword. He's never seen one in person, as primarily those in mercenary of adventurer guilds carry such knives. It made him all the more curious every time she drew that blade. They moved further and further, deeper and deeper. Soon, they found what looked like a tree slowly appearing ahead, its branches hanging slightly over the bridge. It seemed relatively normal, seemingly a regular oak tree. But somehow, the coloration was off. As they approached, the bark was as white as bone. The leaves dripped something red onto the bridge. As they grew closer still, the wave of the strong scent of blood washed over them. Several round-looking, green fruits were tucked in the trees. The smell of bile was incredibly potent, and they covered their noses to avoid it.

"What is this thing?" Edlund asked, trying not to hurl on the spot. Lyse, curious, leaned over to touch one of the leaves. It was fleshy and soft, the texture similar to organ tissue and skinned animals. A slight sting emerged in the back of his head. And then suddenly, he felt a presence suddenly appear just beside the tree. Nearly the same height. He was as stiff as a board as he saw a creature looking directly at him. It was vaguely human, grey-skinned but featureless, wearing nothing and having no eyes, ears, or mouth appearing on its face. But Lyse felt it was glaring down at him, watching every move, his sword, and facial expressions. Then he saw more movements to his right. Below, the strange sea of mouths was gone. Now, these tall creatures were standing all around them, waiting and unmoving like statues among these roots. He was watching each of them with a malicious air around them. He was suddenly filled with fear, almost to the point that it was uncontrollable. Pure panic. And he had only snapped away from this when Edlund placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" he asked him in concern, seeing him looking around them frantically. "Were you affected?"

"Don't touch the tree," he whispered to them with overwhelming intent, then turned around to continue. They were all confused but continued to follow him nonetheless. The significant figures continued to watch them, moving as they moved. However, they made no steps or movements. They simply glided alongside them, not moving their heads even once. They stayed precisely the same distance away from them all. They saw where he was looking but saw nothing but the void. As they passed the white tree, they stepped over the blood carefully. However, Gray misplaced his step, stepping directly on and sliding. He was tumbling over the edge, and time seemed to slow down for them all.

Elena moved quickly to grab his arm, the non-injured one, and hold him tightly. However, she grabbed onto the tree in the process to hold herself up, and before Lyse could even shout in protest, the giants suddenly moved closer, shifting all their focus on Elena now. Lyse didn't dare move a muscle, and he watched as Elena pulled Gray back onto the bridge, his eyes closed shut till he was safely secured. But now, as Elena looked up, one of the giants crouched and looked directly at her; she stifled a scream as she stepped away. As she let go of the branch, its leaves left red stains on her glove. She pointed her blade at it, but it did not attempt to attack. As soon as she let go of the tree, they all stopped at once, standing back to their original positions around them. Elena was frozen, clutching the large sword but not moving. Gray looked up, seeing her frozen in fear. Fear that he has never seen written on her face. He stood and lightly touched her.

"Are you alright?" he asked. He touched her shoulder and the blood that had spilled on her. Immediately he saw the giants around them and was completely wide eyes. "What in the bloodiest of nights are those things?"

"I don't know," Lyse walked over to Elena, slowly lowering her arm as it was still pointing the blade at the nearest creature. It didn't seem threatened, and it didn't seem anything. Its emotionless, stone-like face just waited. He wiped the blood on her, smelling it and examining it. It seemed like blood, fresh and warm. Although he doesn't know where it came from. Edlund looked at them all, confused.

"Alright, is this some sort of joke I'm not a part of or something?" he asked in ignorance. "I must say I am quite hurt."

"We have to be careful," Lyse flicked the blood onto Edlund, who shuddered away, trying to avoid it. But before he could launch a curse, his vision slowly dimmed as he too saw the creatures around them, hunched over the four of them.

"Oh," he said breathlessly and gulped. "Okay, I guess you're not all crazy. What in all sense are these things?"

"No clue," Lyse said, looking around at each one. "They only seem aggressive if we harm the tree. The creature below us also disappeared. This thing, the voices, appear to be a defense mechanism for the tree. Who knows where they found a thing such as this."

They looked down to see, astonishingly, the grotesque mounds of fleshy limbs and mouths were gone, replaced by a void of nothingness. No drones, no voices. Silence and echoes.

"So . . . " Elena struggled to regain composure. "So, what does this mean? Where did these things come from?"

Lyse stayed silent for a moment. He wishes he could answer this question, as he could most things; he wanted to understand most things. But, this was beyond him, almost like looking upon that goddess, who seems to be from beyond the mortal perceptions, attempting to imitate his reality, his way of seeing. The only thing he can guess is that the fleshy mounds were an illusion to drive off or even kill potential predators. That would explain how they could just disappear. But what of these giants? They seem to care only for the tree. They did not attack, but they are also watching over each of them now.

"We have to keep going," uncomfortably, they nodded.

It was a bit relieving that they no longer had to keep their vision strictly forward. But somehow, they would prefer not to have to see these things stare at them. Their unnatural, seemingly motionless movement was unsettling all on its own. Paired with their humanoid forms and slim build, they were indeed the machinations of nightmares. Every time they glanced even briefly towards them, it seemed they had gotten even closer to them. Soon, and thankfully, they moved away from the tree, and slowly, the giants began to slow in their follow. Still unmoving, and their eyes trained on them as they advanced, they began to slow significantly in their pursuit till they were finally behind them. Lyse gave a long sigh of relief, looking back to see the three Standing absolutely still. As if they have not moved from the tree's side at all during this. But as he did, peering past his comrades into the darkness, he saw the faintest bit of light and heard the faintest of echoing yells and shouts.

They all stopped and turned fiercely to see what appeared to be another group of knights making their way. They held their breath as they tried to cross with apace. However, as soon as they were closer to the tree as Lyse's group was, the giants immediately snapped their attention and began to huddle around this group the same way they had done before. Closer and closer they came, and Lyse saw that the tree's limb was directly in their path. And while they seemed to notice it, they didn't seem to take any heed of it.

"Don't touch the tree!" Lyse yelled, but it was in vain. Seeing the four of them, this group of knights seemed even more eager to move faster now. Lyse furrowed his brows as the others threw out their words of warning, with seemingly o effect. Lyse was unsure whether they couldn't hear them properly or something was obstructing their voices.

Nevertheless, they then came into contact. The first batted at the branch, and even from this far away, Lyse could hear that sickening crunch, like a dead sprig. The stem drooped loosely, and there was only a moment of terror before a massive fist slammed into the first man. The entire bridge creaked and shook. As the giant lifted his fist, the knight was nothing more than paste against the iron bridge. The others looked bewildered but still unaware of the figures one by one, and they began to be snatched up. Once they contacted these creatures, they became terrifyingly aware of the situation as it drew them closer. The giants seemed to inspect each of them for just a moment. And then brandished their chests out as if something was preparing to burst forth. Immediately, the chest cavity ripped open, revealing a mouth along the ribs filled with angry flesh and rotten-looking brown teeth. And as the screams of the captive knights filled the air, they were just as quickly silenced as the giants plunged their fists into their chests, and their mouths began to chew.