WC: 2503

Warnings: Brief injuries

Etho takes down his first Ravager in the spiraling maze that is the Blackstone Labyrinth and learns a few secrets along the way.

-

"There are five sections of the Dungeon," Impulse said, rolling out a large map from his pack on the floor. It was hand-drawn, but large portions were missing, as if they were unexplored. Impulse circled areas with his finger as he spoke.

"The Blackstone Labyrinth." This area was drawn with dark, thick strokes. It wasn't finished, though--half of it was still missing.

"The Ruins." This area was completely drawn in with thinner, lighter strokes and was meticulously detailed and labeled.

"The Nether Fortress." This one was barely drawn in--only a light layout took up the area.

"And, of course--the Keep and Forest."

These two areas were detailed, but not as much as the Ruins. Probably because the map artist had to draw it from memory, on account of not being able to actually visit that area. Etho could tell parts of it were inaccurate just by skimming over the drawing.

The Forest melded into the Keep, almost making it seem like the two were inseparable. And, once upon a time, they used to be.

"Obviously, we've explored some areas much more than others." Impulse continued. "The Labyrinth is practically a maze, and people are too scared to explore and get lost with the Ravagers on the loose.

"The Fortress is full of lava and monsters we've never seen before, not to mention a lot of traps.

"So far, the Ruins has been our safest bet; it's abandoned, and no monsters are there.

"While mapping out the area, we managed to pinpoint the three remaining Ravagers--the rest have either gotten themselves killed or got killed by us. Like I said before, they're separated, which is good.

"One goes between Blackstone and the Forest--that's the one you saw earlier. Another is in the Fortress. And the last one walks the border that lines the Ruins and Fortress.

"We've been trying to hunt them down, but, well...they've been stubborn. Again, it's not going so well."

Etho leaned against the mossy stone walls of the secret room, peering at the map. "So...how can I help?"

Impulse's finger followed a route in the Labyrinth. The ink was smeared here, like the line had been traced multiple times.

"Your job is one of the easier ones," he said. "Well, as easy as a Wanderer's job can get, anyway. All you need to do is lure the Ravager in the Forest into the Labyrinth. We have people waiting there, and they'll finish the job."

Etho studied the map a bit more. "What is this room, exactly?"

"It's one of the bigger ones in the Labyrinth." Impulse held up his hands, trying to gesture what the room looked like. "In the center, there's this large hole that leads straight into...nothingness. If you fall in, you keep falling forever. It's like a void of some sort. We were hoping to lead the Ravager into that hole, but you don't need to worry about that part."

Etho felt a spike of irritation replace his initial excitement. The more he thought about it, the more he started to realize what exactly his job was. He was Ravager fodder--the bait. He didn't have a real part in taking down the beast. All he had to do was have it chase him and not die in the process.

He wondered why Impulse had given him this job. Maybe it was because he was new. Maybe it was because he thought Etho didn't have anything else to contribute. Or maybe it was because he thought Etho was expendable. Now that was something he didn't want to think about.

Etho felt like he could do more. Much more. But he didn't voice his annoyances out loud.

Impulse didn't notice Etho's mood change. He turned to the brewing stand and chest in the corner of the room, picking up two glass bottles filled with a pink liquid from the brewing stand and some kind of teal orb from the chest.

"A few healing potions in case you need them." He said, handing the items to Etho. That didn't help his theory about him being the bait to this whole operation.

He gestured to the odd teal orb in Impulse's other hand. "What's that?"

"Literally? A Teleportation Orb." Impulse held up the orb. It didn't look like much, but when Etho held the sphere it was much lighter than he originally imagined. "Once you throw it and it hits a surface, it'll teleport you to that area. It's really helpful if you need a quick way out or are trapped, but they're rare. Don't waste it."

Etho took the orb and tucked it into his pocket safely. "Uh--what about weapons?"

Impulse shrugged helplessly, spreading his hands. "Metal to forge weapons out of is scarce. There's gold in the Fortress, but gold breaks easily, so the trek to the area isn't really worth it. The only other source of raw materials is the Keep, and we don't want to rob them. Money is already short for them as is."

It hadn't occurred to Etho that the Keep's budget was low, especially with all the upper-class folks acting all high-and-mighty. Maybe it was another one of the king's well-kept secrets. He was surprised at how irritated he was--to both Impulse and Tango.

After that, Impulse and Etho split paths. While Etho went deeper into the Forest, Impulse went off to the side--which, according to the map Etho now held, was the way to the Labyrinth.

Etho held up his torch and peered through the tree branches to see if he could find anything. His other hand drifted unconsciously to his vest pocket, where the Teleportation Orb was hidden. Even if he was better protected his time, he still felt wary wandering this place for the third time.

As luck would have it, unfortunately, nothing came out to attack him. No skeletons. No zombies. And no stupid Ravager.

Etho reached the snowy mountain again with help from his map, but there was nothing there this time. The one time he was looking for trouble on purpose, and it didn't come.

He started prematurely psyching himself up for the inevitable chase while pacing the perimeter of the lake when he spotted a blur of movement across the water.

"There you are," he muttered, turning to face the beast. "About time you showed up."

The Ravager growled as if responding to him. It was obvious that it recognized Etho from their last encounter, and it wasn't happy about seeing him again.

"Well?" Etho spread his arms, surprising himself with the sudden burst of confidence. "Come and get me. I know you want to."

The Ravager charged, and Etho bolted towards the Labyrinth.

He ran fast enough to evade the Ravager but slow enough that he would always be in its line of sight. It was hard to outrun it, and the Ravager was always one step away from running him through with his horns. As he ran, he kept one hand on the cork of his healing potions, just in case.

What had Impulse said? "This was one of the easier jobs." He didn't want to see what some of the harder ones were.

Where the hell was this Labyrinth entrance? Etho was getting winded quickly, and the Ravager wasn't relenting. Impulse had loosely said the entrance was a small indentation in the snowy mountain, but the mountain was huge. It stretched off way past the lake in both directions.

After a few more minutes of running along the mountain's base, he spotted a small Blackstone arch embedded into the stone, just like what Impulse had described. It was absolutely dwarfed by the mountain, and Etho was thankful he found the entrance at all. A singular soul lantern--emitting blue light instead of orange--hung from the arch, barely lighting it up.

Etho plunged into the Labyrinth quickly, momentarily surprised by the jarring transition between each section. The Labyrinth was cold and dark. The only materials that made up the hallways were Blackstone and its variants. They stretched off in any direction possible, and Etho was grateful he had the map to guide him.

Just get to the void room. That's all you need to do.

He made sharp turns, navigating the maze as best as he could while keeping the Ravager angry. He was surprised it hadn't lost interest yet, but it was only a matter of time.

Then, he made a wrong turn and found himself facing a dead end.

Etho panicked and turned around just in time to see the Ravager balk at the start of the hallway he was trapped in. It let out a snort when it saw Etho, but it didn't charge in. If anything, it was taunting him.

Nowhere to run now, it seemed to say. Etho was really starting to hate these guys.

"Not today," he said, reaching into his vest pocket and pulling out the Teleportation Orb. This definitely qualified as an emergency. "C'mon. Run at me."

The Ravager reared its horns and charged him again. Etho braced himself, his hand tensing on the orb as he prepared to throw it.

It would be a tricky angle. He had to make sure the orb didn't hit the oncoming Ravager or a part of the wall where he would teleport closer to the beast. He wasn't good at maths, but he threw the orb at a trajectory he hoped would get him out of the hallway.

He watched the orb soar past the Ravager and land behind it. The Ravager kept running at Etho. Any moment now, it would be in range of him, and he had nowhere to run.

For a terrifying moment, nothing happened.

Then, in a burst of purple sparks, Etho suddenly found himself at the start of the hallway, the Ravager behind instead of charging head-on towards him. The sudden teleportation made him nauseous--like he'd gotten off of a bumpy minecart ride. He lost a few valuable seconds trying to reorient himself.

The Ravager paused as it realized Etho wasn't in front of it anymore. While Etho was still trying to steady himself, the beast turned around and saw its prey had somehow gotten behind it. It growled in outrage and charged again.

Etho barely had time to outrun it as it turned the corner to catch him. One of the Ravager's horns managed to slash his arm, leaving a bloody gash. Etho winced at the spike of pain, but he kept running. No time to drink potions now, not when the beast was right on his tail.

Luckily, according to the time he spent studying the map before this, the void room he was looking for was right ahead of him. Etho full-sprinted towards the end of the hallway, knowing full well a Ravager could catch you easier in a clear hallway rather than a maze of trees.

He slid into the room and quickly scanned the area, trying to figure out what to do next.

The first thing he noticed was the size. It was a pretty big room, but there wasn't much inhabiting it except for a raised dais in the center. Etho assumed that's where the hole that led to the void was.

The second thing he noticed was that he was alone.

Where were the Wanderers Impulse had promised would be here?

As he hesitated, he heard the Ravager's heavy footfalls echo across the hallway behind him.

...He was going to have to do this on his own, wasn't he?

Etho cursed under his breath. He had mere seconds to come up with a plan here. Time seemed to slow down as his mind raced. After a split second of contemplation, he decided to do what first came to mind.

He ran towards the dais and stood in front of it, hoping the Ravager would be stupid enough to follow him.

He turned around quickly and spotted the Ravager still charging full speed, showing no sign of stopping. It was so close to him--but would it take the bait? If it didn't, Etho would be in serious trouble.

"C'mon, you big lug," he muttered. "Just a bit closer."

The Ravager barrelled straight ahead, too focused on Etho to realize where he was standing. Etho gritted his teeth, mentally counting in his head as the Ravager roared in delight, thinking it had trapped Etho.

Closer...closer...

At the very last possible moment, Etho ran to one side, leaving the dais wide open for the Ravager. The Ravager's momentum kept it going, straight into the hole that led down: Straight into the void.

Etho watched the beast plummet to its death, standing frozen in his spot for what seemed like forever. His heart was pounding. His breath was ragged.

But the Ravager was gone. It wasn't coming back where it was headed.

"...Well."

A voice spoke from behind Etho, and he jumped before whirling around to see a small group of people huddled behind one of the Blackstone archways.

The person who had spoke cleared their throat. "That was, uh...eventful."

The Wanderers had been here, after all.

"Thanks for the assist," Etho said dryly, his heartbeat going back to average pace.

"You're fine. It looks like you had it under control." The Wanderer's tone wasn't patronizing, though; it was more lighthearted than anything.

Etho started to smile--half out of amusement and half out of sheer relief that he had survived the ordeal.

One more Ravager was gone. And he alone had been the one to take it down.

"Well, what were you guys here for?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Moral support?" they ventured. "And to also show you where to go after the job was done. C'mon, new guy!"

The Wanderers started to disband, murmuring quietly as they headed out of the Labyrinth. Etho was a little irritated by how lightly they were taking this--he'd just taken down a Ravager, after all. He wasn't usually one to ask for praise, but surely a feat like that deserved some recognition, right?

As he was pondering this, another Wanderer from the group came up to Etho, noticing his cut arm. He wore lavender robes, a staff strapped to his back, and--weirdly--tattered bunny slippers. Etho didn't question it, though. His own attire was pretty weird.

"You're hurt," the Wanderer noted. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Etho muttered. It was true--the wound only ached a little.

The Wanderer shook his head, making a small tsk sound. "No, that wound will get infected if you don't treat it soon."

He started to follow the rest of the group out of the Labyrinth, gesturing for Etho to come with.

"C'mon," he said. "We're going back to our base camp, in the Ruins. I have my magic crystals there, so I can heal you up easily."

"...Thanks," Etho said as he followed. "I'm Etho, by the way. You?"

"Scar. It's nice to see some new people here. We really need it right now. There are still two more Ravagers on the loose, after all."

-

New character (again) pog!! And an action-based chapter! Hopefully it turned out okay, I was a bit short on time ^^'

Gonna be taking a small break from Crossroads this week to work on some oneshot plans and just lay back and take it a biiit slower. The next chapter will also be more laidback, more worldbuilding than action :D

Until next update!