He leaned against the woman, not sure how they would be getting out of this. Perhaps there was a mechanism that would reset the trap. But that was beyond his specialty. He was best at hunting and killing beasts, not... Oh. He just realized it all. Or he thought he did. They weren't trapped per se. They weren't being hunted. This room was simply to have people be bait. To make something come out, from that portal. For the enjoyment of those that would sit above and watch. To enjoy the carnage.
But if they were bait for something... then that portal wasn't an open doorway. It was a cell door. To keep something in until people wanted it out. So the real question, was the key. What unlocked it? He decided to test this idea. He stopped down and picked up a chipped piece of stone and lobbed it at the portal. It bounced off, sending light ripples through the barrier. That confirmed it. So what was the trap for? To keep it from escaping? Surely something so dangerous could get up to the bleachers. So why have so many spears, all that would do is block the way and make a big, bloody mess.
Then it hit him. Blood. He looked over to where he'd been skewered and saw the puddle of blood had elongated on a nearly unseen slope, dripping into a tract. It slipped along toward the portal, the blood on a seemingly unstoppable mission. The blood came into contact with the portal, and the entire thing glowed deep red. It bulged and warped and expanded outward, passing through them harmlessly. It was now encompassing the entire arena. That was how the audience stayed safe. It wasn't a portal. It was a shield. A cage. And they were now trapped in it with something.
The smell inside the shield was sweet, so very different from the sick, rotten smell from outside. It was enticing, alluring, and instantly made Raffey not trust it. It was more bait. It seemed it was too late for Drache to leave. If they survived, he had a big 'I told you so' waiting for her. There was a heavy shuffling from down the corridor, and the glowing mushroom like things were wiggling now, almost in glee.
Eventually a massive creature appeared, squeezed into the corridor. It appeared to be a massive, dark colored ooze, and the name
Coria forced itself into the pair's minds. All they could see was its massive, toothy maw. Then it blasted their minds, forcing Raffey to his knees under the power,
"I've not had food in so long. It is such a shame you have seen me. Now you cannot be my little puppets like those fools above. And you, female, would be a most powerful puppet. I'd remove your... corruption, make you pure, and so much stronger. But you must be my food now."It slumped closer like a slug, filling the entire tunnel as it did. It didn't need much effort, nothing physical or magical could pass through the magical barrier, it could walk them into its mouth. A slow, inevitable death. Raffey forced himself upright, trying to block out the sensory overload. Drache being a mage would find this task far easier. Raffey put his weight on his good leg, swung his javelin around into a thrust hold. At least he could go down fighting, even if it was futile.
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Megumi's attempt to stave off the woman with her words and frightened expression failed to stop the blade. But the woman smirked at the last second, turned the blade just enough, so that the flat struck Megumi across the temple hard. The blow would send blinding white light through her vision, dropping her to the ground in a small pile. In the few moments of consciousness she had left, she saw more justicars coming from the door she was heading toward. The barman had led her to a trap. Then her consciousness faded.
When she awoke, she'd find herself chained by the wrists to a stone wall. The woman who'd struck her down was smirking in front of her, arms crossed.
"Be happy I found you first, half-breed. If you'd gone into that room, you'd be dead. You're in the dungeons beneath New Vircastoria. I told them you were a simple thief. A human thief."She moved close to Megumi,
"Lucky for you, my employer believes it best to keep... impure races alive and useful." She held up the coin that Megumi had received from Jakobi,
"And this confirms that you will be very useful indeed." She slipped the coin back into Megumi's coinpurse. She then cupped Megumi's face and pressed her lips firmly against the thief's. Megumi would feel the woman's tongue slip into her mouth, and leaving something thin and metallic behind, before breaking the kiss.
"When all seems lost, the coin will see you to freedom."The woman left through the metallic barred door, locking it behind her, then heading to the left of the cell. Luckily for Megumi, the chains were loose enough that her hands could reach her mouth. The corridor was empty, just rows and rows of empty cells. At the end where the woman left, was a door, but it was locked shut by a heavy bar on the opposite side. The other end of the corridor had a perfectly smooth stone wall, with a single, circular defect in it.
