NOVEL NEXT Chapter 32 - Larissa: Livery Labyrinth
“Damnit!” I can’t help but curse.
“They got you too?” Marcus asks from just behind me, pushing into the bit of space that the crowd is giving us after my stunt.
The insufferable Dwarf is right behind him, giving us a shit-eating grin.
“Oh, well, guess the two of you are gonna have to go and get those back…” he drawls.
“Don’t think you are exempt Baerdur, you know we don’t split the party.” Marcus chides.
He grumbles but doesn't argue as all of us turn towards the “Performer” entrance. It is noticeably easier to move through the crowd in this direction, and without much fuss at all we push past a gaggle of puppets in dresses that eerily resembles the group near where my token got taken from me. Then we stand in front of the empty hallway.
Checking that my companions have arrived, we nod to one another before heading down the hallway.
It’s plain and dimly lit, as opposed to the entrance hall, and ends in a wooden door. A stone sign hangs off of it labeled “Costume Shop”.
“What’s this, a shop inside a dungeon? And why would it only be open to performers?” Baerdur muses.
“No you uncultured idiot. It’s a workshop! A costume workshop! That’s what they are called in theaters.” I retort and push open the door.
Beyond, a wooden room full of shelves and more of the wooden dolls await. This time the dolls seem inanimate however, displaying various outfits. On the shelves a variety of boxes and trinkets rest. The room is lit dimly by several candlesticks that are spread around between shelves causing shifting and irregular shadows.
There is no exit visible beyond the shelves, so I take a tentative step inside to get a better look. That is when the shelves behind me move, slamming shut in front of the door.
Immediately, I turn and attempt to push them open, and muffled shouting and grunting on the other side tells me the others are doing the same, yet to no avail, the shelves will not budge.
“I think the dungeon is doing the splitting up for us!” I yell. “I will try to make my own way. If the shelves reopen, try to enter together, I will try to wait for you at an appropriate location!”
“All right, but be careful!” Marcus shouts back.
I turn back away from the entrance and begin moving. The shelves reach floor to ceiling, and often are clattered enough to block visibility, turning the room into a veritable maze. Also I could swear the shelves move around to constantly change the room’s layout, making common maze strategies like always turning left pointless.
I wander around aimlessly for a while, inspecting the occasional costume I come across. There is nobleman’s clothing, various tradesmen outfits, servant clothing and many other things in between.
At some point, I arrive at a workstation with a dressing mirror nearby. One of the wooden monster’s in servants' clothing stands nearby, and a set of empty tailor’s clothing floats behind the workstation, a needle and some cloth and string held in the white gloves floating there.
The servant bids me forward with a beckoning gesture as I approach. I step up to the station and the floating clothing turns towards me and strikes a thoughtful pose, before moving to one of the shelves nearby, where it begins searching for something. After a short while, it turns back to me with a plain dress in hand. It moves towards me, around the tailoring equipment on the table, and hands me the dress. The servant then motions back in the direction I just came from where I see the shelves have shifted once again.
Shrugging to myself, I take the dress and move in the indicated direction. Another series of wandering around what feels like an endless labyrinth but should be more of like a large room ensues, and just before I am about to give up I hear the clanking of metallic footsteps and see turning around a shelf ahead of me a familiar figure.
“Marcus!” I call out, and he sees me and waves.
“Reunited at last. And it seems you have received a costume as well?” he smiles.
“Sure, if you can call it that.” I present the dress. “Where is Baerdur?”
“Right here.” I hear his voice from behind the shelf and see him step around, carrying a piece of fabric under his arm. Something is wrong, though. He is holding his hand to his chest defensively.
“What happened to his hand?” I ask Marcus.
“Hahaha, he was curious to see what some of the chests on the shelves hold. Most of them are empty or filled with various knick-knacks. Some of them are filled with teeth and acid, it would seem.”
“The little bugger didn’t even bite.” he shudders “Just licked me’ hand like some kinda pet! The acid still burns!”
“I fixed the wound with my healing touch but I can’t do much about the pain, I am not a proper healer after all.” Marcus confides. “Shall we keep going?”
I nod and we move in the one direction that is still available to us. After several twists and turns, it seems we are finally out of the maze as a hallway opens up in the wooden wall ahead of us.
Cautiously we step forward, curious to see what the dungeon has in store for us.