Forsaken Fields: Godspawn Part 3

Part 2 collab: Thomas & Keys- - Godspawn Part 2 (paperdemon.com)

Prompt 2

“You first.” Thomas said. 

Keys glowered at him. “If something horrible ends up eating my shredded flesh in soup, I’m going to come back and haunt you.”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “You’ll be fine.”

Keys lifted his hand, muttering as he cast a light spell, sending little self-contained balls of fire through the air around them, floating ahead to light the way. The wooden floors creaked as they took step after step down the otherwise silent hall. 

The hall was lined with paintings and shelves, all with odd depictions that couldn’t quite be made out. A lot of the shelves had books fallen over across places where the dust wasn’t as thick, as though something had been removed from the shelves. 

Thomas gave a little laugh that seemed to echo terribly in the hall. He cleared his throat, trying to cover his discomfort as he said, “That hag must have stolen the book ends from this place to fill her library.”

“Must have,” Keys said, unamused as he peered into the darkness, head turned slightly to give him as much of a view of the halls as possible with his one eye. The scar that the woman had touched still pulsed with cold and it was getting annoying. “There’s a room over here.”

He carefully tried the brass door handle and it opened, showing nothing in the darkness beyond. Hesitantly, Keys sent one of his flames in, only for it to go out as soon as it entered. 

Keys froze, looking at Thomas, who stared back. Keys slammed the door shut and turned. 

“I’m leaving. No way. No no no no no. We can come back with Lock, but this is such a bad idea.”

“Come on, Keys, where’s your sense of adventure?” Thomas said, rushing to catch up and putting a hand on the magic user’s shoulder to stop him from leaving. 

“Oh, I don’t know,” Keys said, turning to face Thomas. “Maybe I left it in a bag somewhere. In Lock’s pouch, even! We can go get it real quick!”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “Seriously, don’t you want to know what’s up with this place?”

“Sure, but in a much safer and more controlled environment. When Lock knows where we are!”

“You don’t need to hide behind Lock, you know,” Thomas said, annoyed. “You are a very capable magic user.”

“If I were a capable magic user I wouldn’t have woken up in a field missing an eye and my memories! Would I!?” Keys shouted. The sound faded much quicker than expected and Keys shivered. He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry. I’m…. Haaaaa. Okay. We can explore a little farther. Very carefully. But only into rooms we can light up. I’m not going to be falling through rotten floor boards today if I can help it.”

Thomas didn’t gloat like Keys half expected him to. Instead, he nodded. “Thanks. Seriously. I know you’re tired.”

Keys shrugged. “Don’t really want to be out in the cold anyways. It’s making my scars ache.”

Thomas nodded. He knew that feeling well enough. 

This time, they went the other way down the hall towards a flight of stairs that led higher up into the old manor. The stairs were weathered and splintery, but the banister was still shiny and well carved. There were carvings of… snakes? It was hard to tell, like everything else in this place. Whatever they were, they were well made. They looked as though they were writhing within the wood. 

The two went up the stairs, Thomas taking the lead this time, which made Keys feel a bit better. 

They were nearly to the top when they heard laughter. Like the giggle of a teen girl. Keys froze, swiveling his head to find where the sound was coming from better. 

Thomas spotted her first. She was down on the first floor behind them, looking up at them. She was wearing simple clothing, her hair hanging around her face in a greasy frame. 

“Well, well, well. Looks like old mistress Willow sent tasty morsels our way,” she said, her mouth splitting wider and showing more teeth with every word. “How kind of her, even if your meat has been tainted. Run for me, won’t you? It makes this more fun!”

Her arms burst into the claws of a mantis, shreds of skin and sleeves fluttering to the floor around her. They swept up into the air again as she made a dash for the stairs. 

“RUN!” Keys yelped and Thomas moved, pounding up the stairs with Keys close behind him over the moth-eaten carpets and past picture frames and carvings that finally revealed themselves to the two of them. 

Horrible monsters depicted eating, writhing, scrounging, tearing, engorged on the flesh of men. And one notable figure in all of the paintings was the girl now chasing the two of them through the creaking, howling halls.