Chapter 96: Traps

Chapter 96: Traps

With the Essence Eater gone, the island was far more relaxing to explore. That said, there was a long stretch between relaxation in the comfort of a home and wandering the purple vine-ravaged fragments of a fortress.

Chanc wasnt nearly as on edge as he had been, but the island was still eerier than he would have preferred. Still, it was leaps and bounds better than before. He and Bella scoured through the island, combing every building and investigating every brick that looked out of place.

For the first hour, they found absolutely nothing. That baffled Chance, as he could have sword the island should have been mostly untouched with the Essence Eater guarding it. But, finally, their search came to fruition.

Chances foot caught on a protruding stone and he tripped, grabbing for the wall to catch himself. His palm pressed into a dull grey stone, identical to all the others around it. It slid inward with a faint click.

He froze as a distant rumble shook the island. Dust sprinkled from the ceiling as a section of the wall beside them slowly ground back, revealing a passageway that led into the heart of the island below them. Chance exchanged a glance with Bella.

Was that intentional? Bella asked.

If I say yes, would you believe me?

Not for a second.

Was worth a shot, Chance said with a grin. He squinted into the darkness. Even with the light coming off the golden mist surrounding him, he could barely see more than ten feet into the passage. It was just stairs leading to pitch black.

Well, if theres anything worth taking, Ill bet its down there, Bella said.

Either that or this is a really clever trap. I mean, everyone thinks the secret passage has the loot, right? Wouldnt it be really nasty if you stuck the worst trap youve got behind a secret passage like this one so any would-be thieves waltzed into it thinking theyd found the treasure trove and ended up getting caught off guard?

Bella shook her head and let out a slow whistle. Are you sure you arent evil? I was expecting you to finish that off with a diabolical laugh while you stroked an invisible moustache.

Chance laughed. Is that a trope here too? I thought that was an Earth thing.

No clue. Maybe its shared? There are a good number of Earthlings in Centurion, so its possible someone just brought it over. Im not sure where the stereotype started myself, but youre well on your way to becoming it. You better shave, Im starting to see the beginnings of that moustache coming in.

Chance touched his lip, then scrunched his nose. Liar. I couldnt grow facial hair if my life depended on it.The origin of this chapter's debut can be traced to N0v3l--B1n.

Keep up the psychopathic plans and youll surprise yourself.

They fell silent for a few seconds, staring into the darkness. Bella cleared her throat.

Do you actually think its a trap?

No. Who would do that? Its crazy.

Bella glared at him, and Chance had to fight to keep from bursting into laughter again.

Ill go first, then. Bella stepped past Chance, a thin veneer of glittering Essence washing over her skin before she hesitantly lowered one foot to the stairwell, keeping her weight on the other leg and only putting the end of her shoe down.

Nothing happened. Bella leaned more onto the foot, then finished the step. She took another. Chance crept after her, providing light as the two of them headed deeper.

Their footsteps echoed through the thin hall, bouncing off the walls and reverberating around their heads. It was warmer than it had been above ground, but mostly because there wasnt any wind or open air.

Seeing what?

Chance waved his hand through the air. All the colors.

No, Bella said, the frown evident in her voice. Are you okay?

Chance went to answer. Then he closed his mouth and slapped himself in the forehead. Im an idiot. Its my aura. I forgot that I reached Knight rank.

Bella let out a snort of laughter. Then she cleared her throat. I kind of did as well. Thats embarrassing. Whats it feel like?

Chance turned his hands over. He tapped his skin curiously, but it didnt feel any different. Im not sure. Not that different, to be honest. Im just more colorful now.

He lifted his eyes from his skin, looking out over the room. Almost immediately, his eyes were drawn to several weapons on the walls. They shimmered with faint light, so dim that it barely formed an outline around the weapon but in the pitch black, they stuck out like a sore thumb.

For that matter, they were the only things he could make out in the room. Everything else had gone so dark that it might as well not have been there. Even the floor directly before Chance was just black nothingness to his eyes. He looked to Bella, who was outlined in a faint blue glimmer similar to his.

Chance released his hold on the new node in his chest. The dull greys of the room returned and the auras faded once more. Chance shook his head.

Okay. Thats useful. I think I can see the weapons that have Essence attached to them. I cant see anything else, though. Its some sort of pure aura-sight. I can either see things with aura and nothing else or vice versa.

Thats odd, Bella said. I never heard anyone say they had to swap between the two modes. Its probably something you learn to merge.

Chance nodded. He swapped back to his aura sight, focusing on a nearby short sword that shone purple, and let it drop again while keeping his eyes on the weapon. The blade didnt look any different than the other ones on the walls.

Im gonna grab that one, Chance said, pointing at the sword in question. Its purple.

What kind of aura is purple?

How should I know?

Oh, yeah. Duh, Bella said. Okay. Just be careful. Make sure you dont actually touch the weapon with your skin in case its sentient or something. They usually need direct contact.

Chance rooted through his travel bag to try and find his backup handkerchief. Hed had two, but hed given one of them to a doll weapon that hed cut into pieces about five minutes afterward.

A moment later, he remembered that the handkerchief in question was currently in Bellas pocket, where it housed the ring theyd found earlier on that island. He grimaced and pulled his shirt off, wrapping it around his hand before taking a cautious step into the room.

He wasnt sure what hed been expecting, but his foot touched the ground just like it did any other ground. Chance paused for a moment, then edged further into the armory. He made his way over to the sword hed had his eye on and examined it closely.

Beneath the thin layer of dust was a fairly plain looking sword. It hung from its hilt, suspended by two hooks that jutted out from the wall. And, running between them, was a thin strand of wire.

Chance swallowed, his eyes tracing the wire into the wall where it vanished. He slowly backed up until he was standing on the stairs with Bella again.

What is it? Bella asked.

I was wrong. Im pretty sure its trapped. Theres a tripwire on the sword. Im not sure what, but if we take anything out of here, I get the feeling that it wont be for free.