Ray's Labrynth - Chapter 1

"Ray's Labyrinth"

By Kody Whitehead

Preface;
this is my first attempt at long writing. i knew that i would have plenty of bad habits to flesh out, so i wanted to do something i wasn't too attached to. i took an idea for a Dungeons & Dragons campaign, and turned it into a kind of writing exercise. this a first draft of the first chapter, and I'm aware of the break-neck pacing at the beginning, that will be the first thing to get fixed. other than that, i hope you enjoy!

Chapter one;

The room of arms

         It was hard to see much. His vision was blurry and unsteady, and his half-conscious stumbling made it difficult to focus on anything. He could make out the dirt floor, and the mist. Mist was all around him, congealed in the air like a bad feeling; fear perhaps, or maybe dread. It limited his sight to mere feet in front of him. His steps didn't echo, the noise seemed to get caught in the air, isolating the ringing in his ears. he could hear something else as well. Far away, it seemed, not much more than a vibration in the back of his head, he could hear a deep booming off in the distance behind the curtain of mist, Like bombs underwater. He was severely uncomfortable. He stopped moving forward Then realized that he wasn't aware of his walking until he had stopped. He tried to think...... and got nothing. His eyes widened as he realized his memory was a blank slate. He had nothing. No loved ones, no job, no home...... blank slate. He slammed his eyes shut, scouring for anything. Any fragment of information that he didn't get from this moment. Any memory at all..... Ray. His name was Ray. He at least had that much. His name was ray, and he was lost.
         Ray almost fell on his ass when his eyes focused on the building that was suddenly in front of him. Immediately, His brain started checking off all other senses that were receiving new input that, he was certain, were not there before. The sound and smell of something big burning, the warm wind rolling over him, billowing out of a gaping hole that was once the front door of.... A hospital. This place was a hospital. "Was" being key; it had been blown to shit. The confusion he had been ignoring confronted him. This place wasn't..... normal. It didn't seem like home to him.
          He approached the opening and looked inside. Small fires were smoldering everywhere. The walls were crumbling away at regular intervals. The doors leading further into the building looked to have been blown away or rammed down, revealing dark, empty halls leading in multiple directions from the main room. Bullet holes lined the walls. And was that..... a sword? Yes, there was a sword- no, several swords stuck in the walls, in chairs and tables, lying on the ground, Christ, the receptionists desk had arrows sticking out of every inch of it! He stepped in and walked up to the desk, flicking the butt of an arrow with one finger. It rattled back and forth in the desk, echoing loudly down the halls and back again. Ray saw a row of filing cabinets behind the desk and walked around to them. He opened one to find it empty. He opened the next, and then another, another...All empty, save for the occasional partially burnt, unreadable page of one record or another. He closed the last drawer, stepped out from behind the desk, walked over to a waiting area chair that was still intact, and slumped into it. The chair shattered underneath him leaving him sprawled on the floor. He cursed, sat up, and after a pause to appreciate his luck, pulled one leg in and tried to relax well enough to think.
         He wasn't on the ground long before he heard it. There was singing coming from the hallway closest to him. It was a female voice, softly singing some simple child's song or lullaby. It was vaguely familiar and unnerving as hell. Ray only had a moment's pause before he realized that there was another person who might have some idea of what's going on. He sprung up and ran to the doorway. It was very dark, save for the occasional small fire or light filtering out of a room further down the hall. The singing seemed distant, like it was moving away. He took off down the hallway. There were turns to the left and right, doors that pushed open, but he thought that the voice might be getting closer. Ray kept the pace. He had to find her, whoever she was. It was getting smokier now, and he was having trouble breathing, but still, he didn't lose speed. He glanced in doorways that were spilling light into the darkness of the hallway. Strangely, some of the rooms looked like they came from different hospitals. After a few rooms he was certain that they weren't just different, they were anachronistic; they came from different points in time. After another stretch of darkness, he came upon another room, glanced in as he ran by, and swore he saw a the insides of a thatch hut. He stopped and turned back to see nothing; A dark corridor with featureless walls. He knew the door was there just a second ago..... the singing was growing louder still. It was ringing around the corridor, resonating through his skull, vibrating in his feet. He took off running again, this time even more feverishly. He didn't look in the rooms anymore. he didn't dare look back again, just straight ahead. He had to get to the voice. There were no more doors now. He was only getting through by the light of smoldering rubbish. The singing was so loud, it felt as if his head wound split open. He got to a turn, took the corner, and saw a door at the end of the hallway. It was Large, ornate, and covered in symbols that he couldn't understand, with a comically large, gothic stonework border around it. It was rattling in its frame from the sound of the singing. He took off at a dead sprint to the door. He could hear other voices behind him now; whispers, laughs, screams, all malicious and terrifying. He ran with every ounce of stamina he had left. The singing started to fade, but the whispers were getting louder. Closer. He was almost there, or so he thought, but the hallway began to stretch out in front of him. The whispers faded away, leaving only the screaming and shrieking and manic laughter that sounded like it was closing in behind him at a pace he could never escape. He pushed harder and ran for his life, going faster than he knew was possible. He had to make it. He would make it. He had to believe it was possible, or else he wouldn't be able to keep his legs from going limp. He had to get to that door. Just as he was a few feet from it, all went silent. He had one second to realize that it was just him and the door, with that singing. It sounded like the girl must have been right on the other side. He tried to slow down, but didn't quite get his feet in front of him fast enough; he crashed through and tumbled into a pile on the hard stone floor. The door slammed shut behind him.
         He laid there for a second, chest heaving, and tried to get his heartrate to slow down. It felt like it was going to thump out of his chest. Each breath seemed to bring hot coals down his throat and into his lungs. He looked back to see that door, the same dark-wood panels covered in strange runes and ornate gothic frame on this side as was on the other, and no singing woman in sight. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the floor. After a while, when he had slowed down his breathing a bit and he felt like he could sit up without risking a heart attack, he did. Looking around, he saw that this room was pretty big. There was soft, blue light coming from the base of stone pedestals that dominated the floor space of the room. There were dozens of them, maybe a hundred, filling the room from wall to wall, save for the space he was sitting in. There didn't seem to be a ceiling, or at least, the light didn't go up far enough to reveal it.
         Ray got onto his feet and dusted his hands on his pants. He noted that the pedestals where about waste high, and turned to face the door. Obviously, if there was anything chasing behind him in the hallway, it would have burst in through the door right behind him and done whatever it had come to do. He walked up to the door and tried the iron ring handle. It didn't budge. He let his hand fall to his side and huffed in frustration. Where was he? This isn't a place where old rules apply. Impossible, terrifying things can happen now. It also seemed very.... directed. Like there was something that wanted him to go forward. He turned around and looked across the room for another exit. He could barely make out what seemed like another doorway on the other side of the pedestals. Building up a new reserve of curiosity and resolve, He set off towards it. As soon as he walked past the threshold of the first row of pedestals, the lights on the floor flared up, starting with the ones nearest him and rippling out. One concentric circle at a time, each pedestal erupted with a column of bluish-green light that seemed to continue up into infinity. Ray, bewildered, had to look twice and reconfirm when the one to his left materialized an ornate, English-style bastard sword in its sheath floating in the column of light. The one in front of him then did the same, except in place of a sword, there was a bolt-action rifle. The rest followed suit, each materializing some kind of weapon or relic from across time. He stood frozen in amazement while the room filled with more light and each pedestal materialized its own item, and then everything fell still again, only brighter than before. After a pause, He set off again with measurably more caution than before, his eyes darting around the room and looking for more changes. While he was walking, he took note of the things that had appeared, floating on the columns of light; Ray saw swords, knives, axes, spears, bows and arrows, guns, a book, a handheld fan, various clothes and pieces of armor, jewelry, accessories of this or that region or era in time, and some items that were harder to explain, like a floating orb of light, a smokeless, sourceless mote of fire, and a small clockwork mechanism that he couldn't determine the purpose of.
          After he hit what he thought was the halfway point, Ray convinced himself that the room didn't have any more surprises for him, and he upped his pace to a brisk, half-walk, half-jog to the doorway on the other side of the room. As he approached, he saw that it was much like the door he came in through, with the addition of 6 blue gems set into a circle of stone at the top. He walked up to the door and tried the handle, unsurprised when it didn't budge. He studied the runes for a second, thinking they might have some clue. Before he could finish looking the door over, the runes began to change. The branches of the letters folded in on each other in some places and split apart in others, lengthening and shortening and re-arranging until he was looking at a message written in the English of his time. It read;

"I AM THE LABYRINTH.

TAKE UP ARMS AND VENTURE FORTH.

LET YOUR CHOICES TELL YOU WHO YOU ONCE WERE.

YOU HAVE A LONG ROAD AHEAD OF YOU.

FATE BECKONS THOSE WITH THE STRONGEST WILL.

STAY TRUE, AND YOU WILL FIND ME.

THE SWORD WILL GUIDE YOU."

         Ray turned back to the room. It seemed pretty self-explanatory. Take a weapon, and go forth. But "long road ahead" was very unsettling. This all felt like some game that someone or something was playing with him. Ray realized, with more clarity than any moment before, that he might not leave this place alive.
         He walked back through the pedestals, surveying the weapons and various things as he went. Without experience to fall back on, he wasn't very sure what he was looking for. Taking the advice of the message seemed like the best bet, so he browsed the collection, waiting for something to call to him. As he walked, he passed by a handgun, and paused. He knew it was a Berretta, but other than that, nothing else came. Still, there were probably worse choices than this. He slowly reached into the beam of light. It was slightly cooler, and there was an updraft of wind inside of it. As soon as his hand grasped the handle of the gun, the light snuffed out. It felt good and reassuring in his hands. New weight on his leg told him to look down; There was now a holster strapped to his thigh, along with compartments for 2 extra magazines. He flipped the lip open on them and saw that they were occupied with loaded clips. He removed the magazine from the gun and counted the bullets. 14. Ray realized then that he had unloaded the gun impulsively, without thinking about how to do it. He had a good feeling about his decision. He looked back to the door to see if it would swing open. One of the gems at the top of the door had lit itself with a bright blue light. That was an interesting development, ray thought. Perhaps six choices would open the door. He was grateful that he could leave well-equipped, but not in much of a hurry to see what he would need these preparations for. Ray walked around abit more, much more confident now with the feeling of the gun strapped at his side. He took pause at a suit of leather armor floating over one pedestal as if it were fastened onto an invisible mannequin. It was a light leather cuirass, complete with matching boots, gauntlets, and small pauldrons that seemed as if they wouldn't be very constricting for movement at the shoulder. The armor here were mostly from past eras, and he was sure he would find a weapon or two that would suit him in close range, but the armor was horribly archaic. He hated to think of how poorly and noisily he would trudge around with those giant, steel slabs strapped on him. It was not an option. This, however, piqued his interest. Not to mention the fine details and inlays, filigree and carved vine-work that showed impressive craftsmanship, it seemed to him to be just the right amount of protection. Without giving himself too much time to rethink the decision, he grasped the gauntlet closest. Just as before, the armor was fitted on his body in an instant. He flexed his fingers in the new gauntlets and rolled his shoulders. It was perfect. After a moment testing his range of motion, he bounced left and right on his toes and realized that he felt lighter than before. He pondered for a moment, and then jumped straight up, going twice as high as he had ever seen any man jump with the smallest amount of effort, and landing without making a sound. He stood there in amazement for a moment, and then let a grin spread across his lips. this was a fine choice indeed. He turned on a heel and sprinted towards the exit door, running like the wind. It felt like he was hanging his head out of a moving car at highway speed. It felt spectacular. He slowed his sprint part of the way and tried to get a foot in front of him to come to a sliding stop, but he wasn't used to this kind of speed yet. His body continued on past his foot, and he almost slammed into the floor, catching himself on a pedestal that was hosting a dark onyx statue of a gargoyle. As soon as his hands hit the top of the pedestal, the light snuffed out.
         "shit." He said, pushing himself back up and checking himself to see what had changed. He heard a scratching sound on the stone floor behind him and froze. A moment later, he drew his gun and spun on his heels, aiming down the sights and ready to blow away a threat. He was greeted by the living, breathing form that had been a statue floating in the light not a second ago. It was no taller than the pedestals next to it. A gargoyle was all that Ray could call it; it was impish, with beady black eyes, a long, avian face, a dark, stone-like complexion of flesh that seemed to blend well with its black scale mail armor, talons for fingers and toes, a thin, prehensile tail, and a pair of bat-like wings folded close to its back. It had a small sword, a buckler, and a short-bow strapped at the small of his back, just low enough, it seemed, to keep from hindering its flight.
         "What are you?" the Gargoyle asked, with a flit of curiosity. Its voice was deceptively mellow. It seemed not only like the voice of a full grown man, but one who spoke for a living, perhaps as a concierge or T.V. show host. Hearing it come from this tiny, goblin-esque body was off-putting, to say the least.
         ".....What are you?" ray asked.
         "well, I'm a gargoyle, clearly. Also, it's quite rude to answer a question with another question." The gargoyle replied.
         "......I'm a man. Clearly." Ray retorted.
         "Well, man, it seems we'll be working together for a spell, so..... do you mind not pointing your gun at me?"
         Ray lowered his gun. He had a pretty good feeling that this was not a place where he would meet anything hostile, and the gargoyle seemed amicable enough, even if he was a smart ass. Still, this was too far-fetched for him to settle his nerves entirely. He was becoming more and more certain that he was in the middle of an extremely lucid dream.
         "I'm Ray. Do you have a name?" he asked.
         "Yeah, I'm Quetz. Nice to meet you, Ray." The gargoyle replied.
         "...Where the hell am i?" Ray asked.
         "I'm sure you have lots of questions, so I'm gonna' try and knock out as much as possible here. This is a labyrinth, which pretty much means that your job is to get out; solve its puzzles and survive its dangers until you find the exit. I don't know why you're here, I don't know why this place exists, I only know that that's what it is. I am a gargoyle. More specifically, I'm a golem that was given life and awareness by the magic of this place. My awareness was crafted at the moment of my awakening as a reflection of your awareness and knowledge, with a few additions and quirks that were likely put there by my creator. That's how I know English as well as you do. I am bound to you, and my purpose is your will. I will be by your side until one or both of us are destroyed. Does that cover everything?"
         Ray stared at Quetz for a while, letting the information sink in. this place made sense now. Dream or not, he had a grasp of what to do, even if it might get him killed. He looked back to the exit door behind him. Three of the lights were now shining brightly.
         "I'm assuming I have to select three more things from this room before I can proceed, right?"
         "Yeah." Quetz said. "Well, I would say that you get to choose three more things here. Choose carefully, this stuff is gonna' keep you alive. Also, you should know; these aren't the only prizes you'll find in here. I'm not sure about particulars, but there will be more treasures to find later on."
         "...Thank you for your advice. I'll try and make this easy on both of us." Ray said.
         "Heh, that's appreciated." Quetz said with a strange smile, showing his small, sharp teeth. "I was worried that you'd be a pain in my ass. No matter what happens, I'll help you as much as I can. I'm alright in a fight, not to mention I can fly a little." Quetz said, stretching out his wings.
         Ray put the gun back in its holster and sighed, releasing the tension in his shoulders. He was feeling good about his chances. Even if by happy accident, he had made what he figured may have been the best choice in the room. A companion with whom he could talk and work out problems must be invaluable in a place like this. He was still scared shitless by whatever it was from in the halls he had come from, but he was also curious about what this place had in store for him. He was even eager to delve into the labyrinth and prove himself. He had a life to rediscover, and he had an adventure to have on the way.
         "let's get started then." Ray said. "do yo have any recommendations?"
         Quetz looked over Ray in his armor, his eyes resting on the gun. "well, you do need a sword, of course.... Or, well, I guess you could take any weapon you like in here, but a sword is what I'm good with. That popper there is nice and all, but It'll run dry pretty quick. You need something reliable."
         Ray looked around at his options. There were so many different weapons here, the options were overwhelming. Every variable of blade, bludgeon, grip, length and weight was represented here. He thought for a second, and then looked at Quetz.
         "I want something that'll be quick. This armor gives me an advantage of speed. I need to capitalize on that."
         "I couldn't agree more, friend." Quetz said. He stretched his wings out, stooped a bit, and then shot into the air like a rocket, hovering in place with little effort from his wings about fifteen feet above Ray's head. "Speed is definitely one of your greatest allies when you need to survive." Quetz tilted his body forth and began to glide around the room, surveying the weaponry.
         "I'm sure flight helps as well!" Ray yelled up as he set off walking among the weapons again, browsing his options.
         "Heh, that's not entirely untrue...... Hey, come over here!" Quetz said, diving into the aisles ahead of Ray. Ray picked up his pace to a jog in that direction, weaving between pedestals until he found Quetz. He came to a stop behind him and examined the weapon Quetz had landed in front of. It looked to be a sword of eastern Asian build. Its handle and scabbard were black with silver details. The handle was wrapped tightly in black leather with a jade-inlaid ring pommel and a very minimal hand-guard. It looked light, but not too flimsy. It also seemed very informal, like a mercenary's weapon. Save for the opaque stone in the pommel, this weapon was not very regal. There was nothing gratuitous about it. It was just made for cutting. Ray liked what he saw.
         "so.... whadaya' think?" Quetz asked. The gargoyle seemed uncertain that he had picked a weapon to Ray's liking, and was pleasantly surprised when ray took the sword from the pedestal without a word. It blinked away, and was fastened to his back in an instant, peaking over his shoulder.
         "a good choice, then. Right. Just don't keep this whole 'hastiness' habit in the future, it'll get you killed." Quetz said, shuffling off into the isles. Ray drew the sword. It was a single edged blade, which surprised him. The blade was about two inches wide, and straight down the length, ending in a terribly sharp point. It didn't feel too short or too long, and the weight felt right in his hand. He swung it down in front of him. The blade whistled through the air, even ringing when it came to a halt. Ray felt a draft swirl around him and saw motes of dust swirl away through the aisles. He swore he saw a wink of green light from the stone set in the pommel. Was everything in the place imbued with some kind of magic? What tricks did his gun have in store for him? Hell, what were the secrets of the rest of the weapons? He wished he could try the rest of the weapons, experimenting with them and finding their strengths one at a time. He knew though, by some will in the room, that a choice here was final. Turning back is not an option in the labyrinth.
         He turned to follow behind Quetz, when something caught his attention; a black, hooded cape, fastened at the front with a silver broach in the shape of a feather. It was floating in the light like a spirit, slowly turning and shifting in the air as if it were suspended in water. For some reason, the light from the pedestal did nothing to reveal the inner lining of the cloak. He walked up to the pedestal to get a closer look at it. It seemed to be lined with impenetrable darkness. At the edge of it, Ray saw what looked like small wisps of black smoke trailing off from it and dissipating into the air, almost too subtle to notice. He pondered it, and before he could change his mind, he grasped a handful of the cape. Once again, the light from the pedestal snuffed out, and the darkness of the cloak in front of him was replaced with more lighted pedestals beyond. It was draped over his shoulders now, conveniently situated over his armor but beneath the scabbard of his sword so that the handle remained easily accessible. He could hardly feel its weight. The edge of the cape lightly billowed around him, reacting to drafts that Ray could hardly perceive.
          He lifted the hood over his head, testing how it would feel. When he did this, he suddenly felt a force well up in the back of his mind, swirling and vibrating in his eardrums. It was like a pool of water in the corner of his consciousness that he could dip himself into. He took in a breath and imagined himself sinking into it. He felt gravity release its hold on him him. His body lifted into the air as if he were made of smoke. He felt his form wafting and twisting in the air, moving effortlessly of its own accord. He felt the absence of his bodily aches like a universal ringing of sensory silence. It was remarkable. He willed himself ahead, and he was there. In the blink of an eye, he felt his weight take on again, and his feet settled onto the ground. He looked back, and saw that he was three rows away from the empty pedestals where he had gotten his last two choices. The hood was still up, and he could still feel that vibrating force in his head, but it was a fraction weaker than before. This was, by far, his favorite choice yet.
         "Quetz! I found something else I like! Where'd you go?" Ray shouted, scanning the room for Quetz's bobbing, impish head.
         "I'm over here! I think I found something else you might like!" Quetz shouted. He was at Ray's right, and so Ray set off through the pedestals, feeling swifter than before with his new cape billowing behind him. He saw Quetz through the isles after a few seconds of running, and lowered himself into a sprint, weaving between the pedestals before skidding to a halt at Quetz's side. He knew what to expect when stopping this time, keeping his body low and sliding his fingers across the ground so that he could use them to stabilize if he needed to. It was much more graceful than his last attempt, especially with the trail of his black cape settling around him.
         "That looks interesting. What's it do?" Quetz asked casually.
         "It lets me blink around places, like a teleport. Watch this." Ray said. he sunk himself into the force again and willed himself to Quetz's other side. He lifted into the shadows once more, and landed softly behind the gargoyle. He could feel the well in his mind decrease by a fraction once again, but not enough to be alarmed. He felt like he had a good grasp of the cloaks use. Quetz ducked his head when Ray shot past him, but felt only a cool draft as the trail of smoke settled and dissipated.
          "That's a good one. I think you'll like this one though." he said, pointing at a leather bound book floating above it's own pedestal. There was an insignia on the front that looked like a trio of snakes weaving together and forming a triquetra of sorts, and a chain hanging from the top of the spine, ending in a pendant of the same insignia.
         "what can I do with a book?" Ray asked.
         "that's no ordinary book, human." Quetz replied. "It's a spellbook. An arcane relic. The things you find here have alittle magic in them, that's true, but you need something that can put the magic in your hands. This will be a very useful tool."
         "that does make sense... so I'll be able to cast spells from that thing? Do you think It'll be that easy to use?" ray asked.
         "pretty much everything here is easy to use. That's how the labyrinth works." Quetz replied.
         Ray looked the book over once more. He could imagine the uses he could get from having a book full of spells, and this one looked to have hundreds of pages, possibly even a thousand! Nevertheless, Ray was hesitant. This was his last choice. The item that would complete his loadout. He looked around at the items around him; there was a suit of plate armor, a spear with a crossguard in the shape of a dragon, a katana in it's sheath, a long-barreled revolver.... Plenty of fine choices they were, but none of them spoke to him. He turned back to the book and fixed his gaze on it.
         "...alright. No sense in pondering over it much longer. I think you're right." Ray said.
         "so do I." Quetz retorted. "I just hope it proves as useful as I think it will."
         Ray reached his hand into the beam of light, and felt the same cool updraft of air as before. He realized that this might be the last time he would feel it, say if he got himself killed before he had the opportunity to stumble upon another one. He shook off morbid thoughts and grasped the book. It vanished, and the beam went out. Suddenly, all of the beams of light from all of the pedestals in the room began to vanish, along with the items floating in them until the room was almost black. The only light left in the room came from the six shining gems above the door on the far side. Ray and quetz both flinched when they heard what sounded like a giant key turning in a lock. Mechanisms behind the door slammed together, and a seam of light split through the side of it as it slowly creaked open. As it swung open further, however, the light faded, and the door, now open, lead into a blackness more ominous than Ray was prepared for. He looked at Quetz, who, he found, was looking back at him, and swallowed.
         "Well, where's the book?" Quetz asked, still casual as ever.
         "ah, y-yeah. The book." Ray said, checking his person for where the book may have situated itself. He found that there was now a chain rapped around the wrist of his off-hand, with the pendant hanging from it. he swung the pendant up into his palm, and in the span of a breath, he saw the air above his hand become distorted, as if from the heat of a fire. It distorted until it was impossible to make out his fingers, started going opaque, and formed itself into the spellbook he expected, all in a couple of seconds.
         "talk about user-friendly." Ray said, his eyebrows raised in satisfaction. Quetz didn't say anything in reaction to this, so without any more hesitation, ray opened the book to the middle. Much to his surprise, the page was blank. Ray stared at the blank page for a moment, not quite grasping the implication. He flipped to the next page, and then through several more; all were blank.
         "Quetz, what is this?" Ray asked, his voice raised in frustration.
         "What's wrong?" Quetz asked, lifting off the ground with his wings and hovering just behind Ray to peer over his shoulder. "aaaah..... that's quite peculiar." He said, flatly.
         "peculiar? It's empty! What am I gonna do with an empty book?" Ray asked.
         "calm down, maybe it just doesn't work the way we assumed. Try checking at the beginning. Maybe all the spells are there."
         Ray flipped the pages back to the very first page. There were more runes, like the ones he saw on the doors. He studied them for a second before he saw them shift like they did before, letters folding together, blooming out, and rearranging until the message read;

"WHEN YOU FIND THE WORDS OF THE LABYRINTH, WRITTEN OR SPOKEN

OPEN ME AND I WILL PUT THEIR POWER INTO YOUR HANDS

MAGIC BECOMES THE WORD, AND THE WORD BECOMES MAGIC AGAIN

SEEK THE WISDON OF THE LABYRINTH AND IT WILL SET YOU FREE"

         "Words of the labyrinth.... It must mean those runes, like the ones on the door." Ray said. He turned the page to the first pair of pages in the book, and they were blank.
         "You see? You just have to put the spells in there. I guess this place won't just serve you up a book full of spells on a silver platter, but we can still work with this. Lets go." Quetz said, and trotted off towards the door. Ray set off behind him, frowning down at the book. He blew air out of his nose in content of it and closed it with the hand that held it. it vanished out of sight.
         "well, at least that works." He said to himself.
         Ray and Quetz approached the now open door on the far side of the room. The six gems above the door shone brightly, making it even more difficult to see past the open doorway into the darkness. Ray set himself to step through the doorway, when a thought struck him. He walked around to the room-facing side of the door and looked once more at the runes on its face. They were still there, and rearranged into English once again, this time much more quickly than last, as if they had gotten used to the transition. Ray swung the pendant hanging from his wrist into his open palm. The book materialized once again, and Ray opened it up to the first blank page. He waited for a second to see if the book would react to the words on the door, but Nothing happened. He began reading the message on the door out loud;
         "I am the labyrinth. Take up arms and venture forth......" nothing special happened when he read the words. He finished the line "Let your choices tell you who you once were" and then opened his mouth to speak the next line, but what came out was completely different than the word on the door.
         "Reliath......"
         The sound of the word resonated through the open room with astounding volume. Ray looked down and saw that three runes had appeared at the upper left corner of the first page. A moment passed, and then they faded away again.
         "...What was.... What was that!?" Quetz asked.
         "I think I found how to use this book." Ray replied. He studied the next few lines on the door again.

"YOU HAVE A LONG ROAD AHEAD OF YOU.

FATE BECKONS THOSE WITH THE STRONGEST WILL.

STAY TRUE, AND YOU WILL FIND ME.

THE SWORD WILL GUIDE YOU."

         Ray steadied his excitement, and began to read the words alout again;
         ".....Reliath, eht nuimo saradha. Shaialem seht melletlaghem. Sivrinta noi, daia nuimakesh allastaer. The sword will guide you."
         The words wrung through the room. Like a wave from the ocean, washing through every corner and coming back again. Ray could hear his voice, but also other voices, whispering the words along with him. As he spoke, runes appeared on the paper in sequence, one bundle for each word. As he finished each sentence, the runes began to rearrange themselves into English on the page. When he spoke the last line, however, it was solely his voice, speaking plain English, and no more runes came. Once the runes finished situating themselves on the paper, a circle began to form, taking up the bottom half of the page. The circle wound around and completed itself, then a triangle sprouted up inside of it, completing each endpoint at the border of the circle and creating a pronounced dot at the meeting points. More runes began to spring up around the outside of the circle, these more complicated than the alphabet at the top of the page. They were more detailed and organic, bending at several points and branching off here and there to end in spirals and circles and several series of rapid strokes. They formed around the outside of the circle, and then the black lines of the newly formed glyph lit up on the page with a bright blue light. The glyph lifted off the page and the concentric layers began to rotate in opposing directions from each other. Ray stared in awe as he watched it all unfold in front of him. He placed his palm over the glyph and lifted it away again. Much to his delight, the glyph followed his hand and floated before him. He realized that he could feel the vibrating force in the back of his mind again, this time leagues stronger than when he used the cloak. It was massively powerful, forcing his consciousness inward to face it. Opting not to resist, he sunk into it and willed the glyph to activate. A Ball of light appeared at the center of the triangle. Ray went to touch it with his free hand. The runes melted into a thin, glowing mist that dissipated into the air. Ray retracted his hand at this, and was surprised to see the triangle and circle, still rotating, was attached to his hand. The ball of light, still in front of him, lazily floated away past Rays head, and around the door. Ray followed it around as it bobbed into the doorway, illuminating the stone walls of a deep cavern.
         "huh. Magic." Quetz said.
         Ray turned to look at the gargoyle. "Magic indeed...." he said back, and turned again to towards the cavern. He stepped across the threshold into the cave and felt a change of air pressure in his ears as he passed through. It was colder on this side. The floor was slightly slippery with moisture. Ray had a feeling there would be treacherous things around every corner, and he was surprised to find himself excited to meet them. The orb of light, more confident now that Ray had followed it in, floated further into the cavern, running up the walls and around the ceiling, revealing more of the caverns path. Ray set off after it.
         "let's go, Quetz. No sense in wasting time here."
         "My sentiments exactly! Let's get this adventure started!" Quetz replied, taking to the air again and whizzing through the door, landing hard at Rays side. Ray looked down at him and smiled. This was a lot to take in, but there was something about this place, something about everything that was happening, that felt like fate. Ray was positive that this was a path he needed to be on; a journey he had to have. He didn't let himself wonder about what it meant. For now, he had a gun at one side, a friendly gargoyle on the other, a sword on his back, and a light guiding the way. This was enough for him at the moment, and answers would come later.
Ray and Quetz delved further into the cave, there steps echoing forward and back to them again, Ray heard the door behind them slam shut once it was hidden in darkness, but he didn't look back. Hiss business was ahead of him, in the dangers of the dark, in the whispers and the voice of a singing girl he could barely still hear.
         "I'm glad I have you with me, Quetz." Ray said. When Quetz didn't reply, Ray looked down to see that the gargoyle had stopped a few paces behind him.
         "We need to hide." Quetz said flatly. "quickly, with me." he ran to the side of the cavern to a rock formation that jutted from the ground enough to crouch behind. Ray didn't hesitate to follow him. He darted behind the rock formation with the gargoyle.
         "What is it?" Ray whispered. Quetz replied by putting a clawed finger to his lips. Ray drew his gun and listened. Nothing for awhile, other than the faint singing that may have been solely the ringing of his memory, and..... something else. It rose from inaudible to the only thing that Ray could hear in a breath-span. There was something in the cavern with them. Something large, and growling.