really wasn’t sure that was it.
She thought she was thirsty, hungry, or tired, but nothing sounded
quite right. There hadn’t been much down there to eat though. Aside
from the luminescent mushrooms guiding her path, she’d only seen a
few insects and a pair of frogs. She continued to hear the stream
of water, but it remained maddeningly out of her reach. Earlier,
she had convinced herself that she didn’t need food or water
anymore. Sleep seemed beyond her, despite repeated attempts and
growing exhaustion. When she had been wandering around above in the
Abyss, Ruby didn’t have any of these problems. Maybe the effects of
the spell were starting to wind down, and she was returning to
normal. The princess hoped for that, but she was not so naive that
she thought it could have actually been true.
Her only companion through the rocky
labyrinth was the little, purple imp that had named itself Sniggle,
and he was of little help or solace. It offered no suggestions,
preferring to lazily slumber on her shoulder. Unlike her, it seemed
not to be bothered by the exhaustion over the past days. It needed
no food or water, but it certainly slept enough. She was quite
jealous of that. Her last dream was of the demon Scarlett, and
despite her protests, the princess wouldn’t have minded seeing her
again. Sleep, however, would not come to her, so she walked. She
would find the way out, or she would die searching.
Above ground, in the Abyss, Ruby had used her
poisonous abilities to send out a dozen little sludge-crafted imps
in search of an exit. She’d considered doing that again, but she
felt too weak. Despite that, she’d attempted to create one of the
little creatures, but the toxins wouldn’t harden into anything
useful. She would have to continue forward on her own.
Ruby’s goal had become finding the stream of
water that she could hear somewhere behind the walls. The sick of
the serpent still covered her, and she wished to finally clean it
from her skin and matted hair. Though it wouldn’t matter because of
the poison, she just wanted to be clean for a few minutes before
the secreted sludge ruined it once more. There was one section in a
particular hall that the princess kept coming back to. The water
could be heard the best from there, and she had searched its
corridors repeatedly in vain.
She stood in the middle of that hall, with
her eyes closed, trying to focus on the sound. It swept through the
rocks of the cave. It wasn’t just a small trickle; this was a
full-blown stream. The water was so close. The sound was almost on
top of her. Why then couldn’t she find it? Without moving, she
mapped out the cavern’s twists and turns nearby. Every last
corridor had been explored. A trail of sludge marked each one.
“Where is it?” she shouted, spitting poison
from her mouth and jarring Sniggle from his slumber.
So disoriented was the imp that he managed to
slide off Ruby’s shoulder and into a heaping puddle of her secreted
poison at her feet. He splashed as he landed, and the princess
looked down to realize how long she must have been standing there.
The puddle was so great that it had begun to dribble toward one
wall. The floor sloped, she realized. Sniggle too discovered this,
and it walked toward where the sludge was drifting. The little imp
looked up at Ruby and pointed in that direction.
The princess got down on her knees to see
what it was pointing at. She grinned, when she realized where the
poison was going. Ruby grabbed Sniggle and gave the slime creature
a kiss, before sitting him to the side of the large opening at the
bottom of the cave floor. The wall had jutted out and the light of
the mushrooms had hit the rocks at such an angle that the opening
was obfuscated without being down at the floor’s level. The crevice
was big enough for her to slide through, and that’s exactly what
she did. Ruby didn’t look before she squeezed through; she was too
desperate for escape. It ended up not mattering
She thought she was thirsty, hungry, or tired, but nothing sounded
quite right. There hadn’t been much down there to eat though. Aside
from the luminescent mushrooms guiding her path, she’d only seen a
few insects and a pair of frogs. She continued to hear the stream
of water, but it remained maddeningly out of her reach. Earlier,
she had convinced herself that she didn’t need food or water
anymore. Sleep seemed beyond her, despite repeated attempts and
growing exhaustion. When she had been wandering around above in the
Abyss, Ruby didn’t have any of these problems. Maybe the effects of
the spell were starting to wind down, and she was returning to
normal. The princess hoped for that, but she was not so naive that
she thought it could have actually been true.
Her only companion through the rocky
labyrinth was the little, purple imp that had named itself Sniggle,
and he was of little help or solace. It offered no suggestions,
preferring to lazily slumber on her shoulder. Unlike her, it seemed
not to be bothered by the exhaustion over the past days. It needed
no food or water, but it certainly slept enough. She was quite
jealous of that. Her last dream was of the demon Scarlett, and
despite her protests, the princess wouldn’t have minded seeing her
again. Sleep, however, would not come to her, so she walked. She
would find the way out, or she would die searching.
Above ground, in the Abyss, Ruby had used her
poisonous abilities to send out a dozen little sludge-crafted imps
in search of an exit. She’d considered doing that again, but she
felt too weak. Despite that, she’d attempted to create one of the
little creatures, but the toxins wouldn’t harden into anything
useful. She would have to continue forward on her own.
Ruby’s goal had become finding the stream of
water that she could hear somewhere behind the walls. The sick of
the serpent still covered her, and she wished to finally clean it
from her skin and matted hair. Though it wouldn’t matter because of
the poison, she just wanted to be clean for a few minutes before
the secreted sludge ruined it once more. There was one section in a
particular hall that the princess kept coming back to. The water
could be heard the best from there, and she had searched its
corridors repeatedly in vain.
She stood in the middle of that hall, with
her eyes closed, trying to focus on the sound. It swept through the
rocks of the cave. It wasn’t just a small trickle; this was a
full-blown stream. The water was so close. The sound was almost on
top of her. Why then couldn’t she find it? Without moving, she
mapped out the cavern’s twists and turns nearby. Every last
corridor had been explored. A trail of sludge marked each one.
“Where is it?” she shouted, spitting poison
from her mouth and jarring Sniggle from his slumber.
So disoriented was the imp that he managed to
slide off Ruby’s shoulder and into a heaping puddle of her secreted
poison at her feet. He splashed as he landed, and the princess
looked down to realize how long she must have been standing there.
The puddle was so great that it had begun to dribble toward one
wall. The floor sloped, she realized. Sniggle too discovered this,
and it walked toward where the sludge was drifting. The little imp
looked up at Ruby and pointed in that direction.
The princess got down on her knees to see
what it was pointing at. She grinned, when she realized where the
poison was going. Ruby grabbed Sniggle and gave the slime creature
a kiss, before sitting him to the side of the large opening at the
bottom of the cave floor. The wall had jutted out and the light of
the mushrooms had hit the rocks at such an angle that the opening
was obfuscated without being down at the floor’s level. The crevice
was big enough for her to slide through, and that’s exactly what
she did. Ruby didn’t look before she squeezed through; she was too
desperate for escape. It ended up not mattering
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