THE ENCHANTER AND THE CENTAUR
He Went Through Hell to Save the Centaur
Chap 4 — Diego opened his eyes to a new, startling world.
“Don’t be scared,” said the young ghoul, Cadence, though ze looked amused.
Diego opened his eyes to a new, startling world. His head spun and panic roiled in his heart.
He was in a strange nether space, where things just…didn’t make sense. Staircases curved upwards and downwards at the same time. Holes formed in a way where it was uncertain if they were a cave or a hunk of rock. Walls were simultaneously bent and straight.
All of this gave him a headache, and he just wanted to close his eyes and forget about everything. But for Aegon the centaur, he must continue.
He felt a tap on his shoulder. “Here, take this.” Cadence handed him a vial of pills.
Diego turned his nose up at it. “Why should I?”
Cadence rolled zir eyes. “It’s to help your nausea. You’ll still see these funny spatial shapes, but they won’t bother you anymore. If you don’t want these pills, I’ll throw them away.” Ze leaned back as if to really toss the vial into obscurity.
But Diego tugged on zir arm. “Fine, give it to me.”
He expected the pills to be either tasteless or bitter, but to his surprise, they tasted like candy, sweet and tangy. And sure enough, his vertigo receded, though he could still see the odd staircases and other warped features.
“There’s no time to lose. Come on.” Cadence waved at him.
The enchanter growled at the ghoul. “I know.”
They were in Trevian Gleamstone’s labyrinthe, where the ghoul lord would terrorise the victim, so he could enjoy them all the more later. Normally, that “enjoyment” involved Trevian sucking out some of their soul energy. This didn’t kill the victim, but rather, shortened their lifespan by a few days. Many victims loved the sensation, however. Some even swore that it felt like being in heaven, which was bizarre, as they were as far from heaven as one could be.
Yet, Diego’s own experience with having his soul energy sucked was traumatic, so he opted for a different route. By the tingling of his dick and other lower parts, you could guess what this alternative was. He couldn’t say that he disliked giving Trevian pleasure…Just the opposite. Diego hated him and lusted for him in equal measure.
Cadence spoke again, piercing the silence as the two of them went down — or up — another flight of stairs.
“This torment doesn’t have to be endless. For all it’s worth, you just need to make my uncle happy, and squeeze out his pleasure to the max.”
The enchanter groaned and rubbed a hand over his face. “I thought I was already making him happy. What more does he want?”
The teenage ghoul shook zir fair head. “You’re only feeling a base level of fear, which is nice but not satisfying enough for my sadistic uncle.” The ghoul paused, and zir ghost smoke seemed to lighten a bit. “Do you regret getting into this deal?”
Diego shrugged. “What else could I do? I couldn’t just abandon Aegon.”
“I’m not talking about Aegon,” Cadence said. “I’m talking about your first deal with my uncle. What possessed you to say yes to entering his labyrinthe in the first place?”
Diego wrapped his arms around himself, as he was starting to get cold. “I thought you could read minds.”
“Yes, but only your current thoughts, not your whole line of reasoning and motivations,” came zir answer. Zir footsteps were soundless as ze marched beside him.
Diego stared into the distance, and he felt the vertigo poking at the edges of his consciousness. But the pills must be strong, as his unease was quickly pushed away again.
“I was just foolish and reckless at the time.” He glanced at his companion, searching for judgment. But Cadence’s face gave nothing away. He continued, “I was curious, and didn’t want to back down from a challenge. And I believed I could protect myself from anything your uncle could dish. Plus, it sounded like fun, not unlike what humans do in their dungeon games.”
The little ghoul nodded and looked absentminded for a moment. Then ze said, “Watch the bucket.”
Diego halted his steps and spun around to face zir. “What do you mean?”
The ghoul flicked zir wrist to the side, and it made a clanging noise. Something silver shimmered. To Diego’s dismay, a silver-rimmed, transparent bucket appeared right beside Cadence.
Ze continued, “You can find one on your side too, if you knock purposefully. It’s empty now, but you can use it to judge my uncle’s satisfaction. The closer it is to full, the sooner you can get out of this place.”
The enchanter gritted his teeth. He flicked his fingers to the side and indeed, he heard a clanging, and an empty bucket appeared. He cursed.
“How do I know how to fully please your uncle? Now that you’ve given me those pills, it’s like my — my terror is put at bay. But your uncle gets off on fear, doesn’t he?”
Cadence gave him a slight smile, with a pitying expression. “Yes, but there are different kinds of fear.”
Diego wished he could wipe the cryptic smirk off of zir face. But instead, he asked, “So what did Aegon really do to offend your uncle?”
As Diego expected, Cadence frowned and shut down at the question, sealing zir lips.
Diego grumbled. “How can you be my sidekick if you can’t even help me with such a basic thing?”
Cadence hissed at him with a glint in zir eye.
The two of them had been striding through corridors and climbing up and down stairs. But they suddenly arrived at what looked like a shore. A churning dark sea stretched out towards who knew where.
No, no, no, Diego thought with panic. He yelped when he felt a jab on his arm.
“Come on, Diego. Chin up,” came Cadence’s sharp voice. “You have to stay strong and keep pressing on, too, or I won’t be able to help you.” Then ze glanced to the side and said, “Our ride is here.”
Diego turned around and his jaw dropped.
Lumbering on all fours, was a mechanical beast, roughly in the shape of a tiger. Diego mumbled to himself. Were the pills wearing off? What was a robot doing in the ghostly labyrinthe?
The young ghoul directed zir glance over the water. “Can you see the lily pads? Our Tiger here will jump from lily pad to lily pad, since he can’t swim, until we get to the other side.”
The enchanter gaped and stared hard at the roiling sea. “I can’t see any lily pads…And are you serious? A heavy mechanical beast, hopping on mere lily pads, across a deadly sea?”
Cadence laughed in his face. Zir expression sobered. “My uncle likes you too much to let you die. This is just a game.”
Diego balled up his fists, wishing he could punch Cadence but knowing that the ghoul wouldn’t even feel it.
“What? Are you saying this is all an illusion, and that I should just have faith that this nightmare will end? That this isn’t even a real sea?”
Cadence raised an eyebrow. “If you want my honest thoughts, no, this isn’t an illusion. It may be a labyrinth, but the dark sea, and our Tiger mecha, are real and solid. And yes, there are deep sea creatures just waiting to get their claws on you, eat you, or worse.”
The ghoul looked like ze was trying not to laugh. “You’re so easily scared!” Ze tapped beside them, and to Diego’s amazement, the bucket filled up three quarters of the way with green fluid.
Regardless, Diego’s fear was genuine. He tried not to scream. “But we could die out there. Or at least, I would die.”
The ghoul was unconcerned as always. “Just trust me.” Without waiting for an answer, ze leaped onto the mecha’s back. The Tiger stared expectantly at Diego.
The enchanter threw up his hands. If he could just portal out of this place without upsetting Trevian and losing Aegon, he would. He doubted that his magic was strong enough to prevent the giant robot from sinking into the sea if it slipped.
With a deep breath, he mounted the metallic beast’s back.
Now that Diego was sitting on Tiger, who was about to leap into the dark ocean, he realised that the mecha’s body was nothing but a worn-out piece of junk metal…
Click here for Chapter 5
I wrote this story to Jonathon Sawyer and Bradan Writes Stories’s Monday Mash-up #22.
Prompt (2 pts)
Your main character wakes up in a world like the works of MC Escher!
Diego wakes up in Trevian Gleamstone's Labyrinthe, where the stairs lead
both up and down at the same time.
Constraints:
A vial of pills (1 pt)
Cadence gives Diego a vial of pills so he doesn't feel too bothered by the
contradictory shapes.
An empty bucket that is full by the story's end (1 pt)
Cadence shows Diego the silver bucket beside them. It fills with green fluid
that indicates how satisfied Trevian is. It's not full yet, but this is not
the end of the story!
A giant robot (or a mech) (1 pt)
Tiger, the mechanical beast!
A lily pad (1 pt)
Tiger, the giant mechanical beast, will jump on tiny lily pads across a
dark, dangerous sea full of monsters. Cadence insists that Diego will be okay.
Hardcore Constraint:
A Worn out piece [of ___] (2 pts)
Tiger turns out to just be a worn-out piece of junk metal…
Literary Device:
An example of Tmesis (5 pts)
Diego "turned his nose up."
I tallied up my own points (1 pt)
Total: 14 ptsTagging readers who kindly commented on my previous chapters (in alphabetical order of first name): Bradan Writes Stories, J.C. Lovero, Jonathon Sawyer, Laura Knapke (Nap-Key), Marie A. Rebelle, May More 💜 Tales, Posy Churchgate - Writes & Edits Fiction, and Sonja Glucksberg.
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