Chapter 703

After some more walking the two managed to find the staircase. They also found that section of wall Kat had smashed, yet the staircase was heading down instead of up. “Honestly I don’t know what to make of this,” said Kat staring at the missing chunk of wall.

“Should we turn around?” asked Blue, “I mean, when we did the same thing with the staircase we ended up somewhere else. Maybe we do that again but with the hallway?”

Kat shrugged, “It’s as good idea as anything else. I just don’t know if I’d rather test going down these steps or your idea. I’ll let you decide I guess. I don’t have experience with this sort of thing.”

“Do you think this is common or something?” Blue said with a touch of faux annoyance, “It’s not like I’ve been in anything like this before. I don’t even know if the missing chunk of wall means this place is mirrored somehow or if Thyme just tied some walls together magically to mess with us,” Blue tapped her foot against the wall a few times, “I guess we’ll take the stairs. It’s a major change and it’s best to check out the obvious first because even if it doesn’t work out we’ll remember we checked it,”

Kat nodded, deciding that was as good a reason as any other. Kat didn’t bother walking down the staircase and just jumped over the banister straight to the lower floor, finding herself in a familiar, blue tinted hallway once again. Kat growled at that and waited for Blue to get down the stairs. “Shall we get to the staircase before turning around or just head right?”

“I... hmm...” Blue paused for a few moments to look down the hallway left and right, “I think we should go left first,”

Kat nodded and got to walking. “So what sort of training do you do on the regular?” asked Kat

.....

“I’ll tell you if you tell me. I do believe I’m the one owed a question,” replied Blue.

Kat nodded, “Well I don’t have any major routines. I believe I mentioned demons just sort of get more powerful as we age in stages,” Kat ignored the fake coughed ‘bullshit’ from Blue, “though we do have to make sure we use our demonic energy occasionally. Apparently, it causes issues if you don’t. In terms of skill... well I just recently got through a crash course on my fans, but I haven’t really incorporated that into my routine you know? It’s a brand new thing.”

Blue a puff of air out at that, “So bullshit. Fine whatever, fair is fair, even if demons aren’t. For a mage like myself it’s mainly training to get my mana up to faster and faster speeds and trying to shape it correctly out of my body. Studying new sigils sometimes but... they aren’t too bad it’s drawing them that’s always the problem.

“I also do some basic jogging to keep myself fit but no weapon drills. Though... I am now thinking about picking a few up. For the reaction speed and combat awareness if nothing else,” explained Blue.

Kat nodded and by that time they reached the staircase. Kat did an about face and headed back the way she came. It didn’t take long for things to change because not thirty seconds later a door raced up to meet them. As in the door and the wall it was attached to flew down the corridor stopping just a few centimetres from Kat’s face. If her eyesight was a bit worse or her balance less stable, she’d have slammed face first into the door, but as it stood Kat was able to stop not only herself but Blue as well.

Kat opened the door slowly. Inside was a large room set down into the floor. The door itself was on a raised dais with a knee height barrier. Down on the floor itself was a nice marble floor with a checkboard patterns and a full set of chess pieces looking particularly lifelike.

The two sides, black and white, seemed to be separated into humanoid races and monsters. The monster pawns were a bunch of goblins dressed with unique makeshift weapons and similar leather outfits on the verge of falling apart. With Kat’s eyes she could even see a bit of ‘rusting’ on the weapons sketched in despite being all the same colour. The rooks looked to be a troll. They were naked except for a shockingly small loincloth considering their relative body size. Apparently being a male troll was quite a sad life. They had big clubs in their hands to compensate though.

The knight pieces were some kind of giant wolf with two sets of teeth both above and below, ready to take a good chomp out of any other piece disrespecting them. The bishops were coiled snake monsters that looked like they were sleeping and the queen piece was a nesting harpy. Wings spread and talons ready to protect the nest she was sitting on. The final piece, the king, was a dragon that somehow looked bored even while asleep.

On the humanoid side the pawn pieces were farmers of all the various races. Two dwarves, two beastkin, wolf beastkin in fact, two elves, two humans and two fae. They all had different farming implements, well except the dwarves, the dwarves had pickaxes. The humans had fishing rods, the beastkin had two buckets resting across their shoulders on a stick and the elves had a pair of garden scissors, finally, the last were the fae who had a watering can each.

The rooks were dwarves with tower shields larger then their bodies held in front of them decked out in full plate armour. The knights were beastkin, elephant beastkin this time, riding elephants. Kat wasn’t quite sure how to take that particular set of pieces. The bishop was an elf on one side and a fae on the other, both in long flowing robes. The Queen piece was a familiar face. It was Thyme dressed up in a puffy princess outfit, 3ft tall, and standing on top of a whole bunch of skulls all while trying to look cute.

The final king space had a base, but no piece on it and Kat realised this room was clearly intended for the contestants to take place in a giant life size chest match. Frankly, Kat wasn’t having it. She slammed the door closed and turned around. “Welp, that’s clearly the wrong way,”

Blue paused for a moment looking at Kat, then back at the door, then back at Kat. “You know what Kat. I think you’re right,”

The pair walked away from the chess door, choosing to continue being lost in the funhouse maze rather then attempt anything that had to do with the chess game. They headed to the staircase with the chunk missing from the wall and walked downstairs.

When Kat came face to face with a door she peaked inside before slamming it shut again. It was the chess room. “Not that one either,” said Kat heading back up stairs only to start growling when she chanced upon another, very familiar door. One the pair had really hoped to avoid.

“Well now what?” asked Kat grumpily.

Blue bit the nail on her thumb, with a frown on her face. “I... hmmm. On the one hand, Thyme clearly really wants us to participate in this chess game of theirs. On the OTHER hand, I don’t think Thyme would find this as amusing if there wasn’t a way to avoid it. I don’t know where exactly the alternate path is, but there MUST be one,”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

*Yes that does sound very much like Thyme. As fun as it might be to force us into a chess game. It is much MORE fun to make us think we’re being forced into a chess game we have a way to avoid. Especially if the chess match in question really does need to be beaten or if it would take a particularly long time to pass. Heck, you might have needed not to win but to play your king piece over to the other side of the board.*

Kat carefully headed back down the stairs so that she was at the landings between floors. Looking up and looking down she could easily see the same door in both places. Kat tapped her foot in annoyance as she looked around for some sort of clue. In the end her gaze landed on the wall at the back of the landing. There was nothing odd about the wall. It looked very much like a normal spot of wall. It was appropriately tinted blue. It was basic stone with a bit of mortar. Kat kicked it down and the stone caved in. There was a secret passage.

“Frankly. I didn’t really believe that would work...” mumbled Kat as she staired at the hole she’d just made. It was dark, pitch black. Something that really shouldn’t be possible without magic of some kind. Perhaps darkness magic. Her eyes might work in low light but perhaps there was more ways to block her sight then black cloth.

“Honestly I’m not sure what I expected either and I can’t tell if this is a more or less surprising result then it not working,” replied Blue.