The Legend of Admir—Chapter 6: A Story Worth Telling

Admir held his torch high. This next room was completely flooded. Broken, moldy tables lined the walls and floor, all sorts of odd equipment scattered about. This must have been where they performed the experiments, right? Where they turned that woman into the sickly thing that she was now, where they infected that man who'd been left for dead for the spiders to feast on.

He did his best to suppress his fears, his anxiety, using the walls as a distraction. Something was off about them. He ran a hand along one of them.

Were these runes?

Yeah, definitely runes. They reminded him of a rather obscure tale, "Azriel and the Discovery of the Deadly Cyclone." It was a pretty nonsensical story, really. A deadly cyclone, hence the name, ripped through the land, and a mage known as Azriel set runes into his home to appease the spirits of the land. While the story hadn't described the runes in specific detail, it did give Admir some prose to work with. These runes reminded him of those.

Were these here to offer protection from the fire elementals? Or, perhaps, the infection?

That gave him an idea. Runes were just another form of language, right?

He propped the torch up and sat on a mostly intact table to get out of the water, then used some of his sewing supplies to hastily stitch some runes into his shirt. He wasn't sure if he was right about the runes, or even if he was skilled enough to get them stitched correctly, but he wanted any amount of protection he could get.

The needlework was sloppy. He could practically hear his sister Laurel's snide comments about how it looked like something Freddy would have done. But, overall, Admir was happy with his work. At the very least, it gave him hope, something that was fleeting the longer he spent in this horrible place.

Admir stepped into another room of the same general layout as the previous few. Did the architect of this place run out of ideas, or did these repeating rooms serve some grander purpose back when it was still functional?

The floor was littered with large lumps, and the air stank of mold, mildew, and... decay. He gulped. The darkness had did him a favor, but stupid Admir hovered his torch above one of the lumps. He had told himself it was so he could watch where he was going, but in reality his curiosity had gotten the better of him.

The room stank so much because those lumps weren't just lumps: they were bodies, wrapped in webbing. He threw a hand over his mouth and nose, shoving the rising vomit back down. His wounds tingled, though he wasn't sure if it was because of the situation at hand or his mind was imagining the worst. Fear welled up once more, but was quickly replaced with curiosity. His shirt felt warm and comforting. The skin closest to the runes felt the warmest. He ran a hand along it. He didn't feel any worse. But he'd had enough of this room and hurried along.

A long hallway greeted him, stretching on for what felt like forever, the only visible exit being directly forward...hopefully. The sounds of skittering creatures faintly echoed all around. A presumed victim of the spiders lay before him now. Though there was no telling how long they'd been here, it was clear that they were trying their best to survive it, just like Admir.

In their hand, they had a simple wooden shield, cobbled together from some of the scrap that Admir had passed by. It looked sturdy enough, though it didn't seem to protect this one. He gulped again and mumbled a quick prayer, setting the torch down for a moment, before prying the shield from the corpse's hand. There were too many things in these ruins and every ounce of protection he could find, he needed to utilize to its maximum.

Shield in one hand, torch in another, Admir exhaled and tried to settle his nerves. In that moment, he couldn't help but picture himself from a spectator's point of view. He even had a bag slung across him. He was a regular classic adventurer.

And, for perhaps the first time within these ruins, Admir smiled, genuinely.

Confident and hopeful, he threw up a few illusory clones to hopefully keep any spiders at bay, and pressed on.

As much as he tried to suppress the urge, Admir had to admit to himself that he was hungry. He'd last eaten before leaving for the ruins, and it was now many, many hours later, the sun gone and the moon soon to follow.

All he could think of were the two ravenous infected.

While he searched through his bag from something edible, he felt warm again. He told himself it was a hallucination of the mind, but he could have sworn it felt particularly warm near the runes he etched on his shirt, but he figured that wasn't possible. Besides, it did little to stave off the hunger he felt.

In fact, it had gotten worse.

Clones surrounding him as a faux-lookout, Admir picked up the scraps of food and crumbs he had and devoured them mercilessly. He licked the pocket knife clean of whatever remnants of food had been left on it from earlier that day. There was dried jam in the inside corner of his bag that he'd ignored countless times before; now, it consumed his every thought until he...um, "cleaned" it. He suppressed the thought that he'd probably also eaten something he wasn't supposed to, but that would be a problem for future Admir.

He could still feel hunger pangs, but he'd done enough to focus on the path forward once more. He slung his bag back over his shoulder—was it lighter now?—and picked up his torch and shield.

After the longest hallway ever, Admir finally stepped into a rather large room. He'd grown accustomed to the stench that permeated this place, so he barely noticed it was ever-so-slightly stronger here. He held his torch high to get a better look.

A writhing mass on the floor and beady little eyes reflected the light.

Rats. No, literally: rats. Tons of them.

Admir took a cautionary step back, already planning his escape. There was a clear path around them to the side but...

Admir won't admit this to anyone, but he was feeling more and more like a real adventurer. So, when he saw something shiny and gold amidst the rats, his curiosity got the better of him. He'll say that he felt a strange pull to it, like it was calling to him and—knowing what happens after this—sure, we can believe that. But really he just wanted to know what it was.

So, he did the stupid thing and tried to grab it.

(After throwing up a few new clones, of course. It wouldn't be Admir if he didn't try to face every challenge with illusions.)

The vermin didn't seem to care about his clones, however. They swarmed every copy of him in seconds and then himself. With no good options, Admir made a quick snap decision and used the torch to light his newfound shield on fire, hoping the flames would help disperse the swarm. They didn't seem to like the fire too much, though as they began dispersing they left bleeding wounds all over his skin. Some, ignorant to the flame, still clung to him, moving all over his body.

Needless to say, he was more than little frightened by it all. In moments, knowing his luck, he would probably lose the torch and be plunged into total darkness, with all the terrifying creatures that called this place home.

And the cultist, can't forget them.

Admir mustered up every bit of strength he could, using his magic to—hopefully—make the rats think the fire was spreading even further, distracting them and causing them to disperse.

They gnawed and nibble at him further, but the thought of burning alive finally made it through to every tiny little brain. They dispersed completely. Admir grabbed the shiny object they had been protecting and bolted from the room without a second glance.

He didn't have time to stop, though the fear kept welling up inside of him. Were there going to be more swarms of rats waiting for him? Even larger spiders? Would the cultist finally catch up to him? Or...or would he walk directly to them, presenting them a freshly beaten down and battered Admir, ripe for the picking?

Something was outside of the walls of the ruins, wind carrying the sound of something walking to a very steady rhythm. Perhaps patrolling, waiting for him?

He let fear take over. He extinguished the flame, then plunged himself to a dark corner, hoping to hide from whatever was looking for its next meal.

He waited and waited and...nothing.

And now he was in the dark.

Admir curled his knees up to his chest and held back his sobs. He'd done all that hiding, he didn't want his crying to be the thing that got him caught. He wanted to go home, back to his family. He wanted a warm bed, to fight his with sister, to sneak out of the house to go kiss the neighbor's son—ANYTHING but what he was doing right now.

But that did not deter him.

He thought it instinctively. It came to him as if his future self was looking back on this moment, yelling at him.

Kaito never let whatever he faced get to him. Even being locked up, he held on to hope. Sure, that didn't work out exactly the way he would have wanted it, but...it worked out.

"But the next time you think that all hope is lost, I want you to remember this story. Because sometimes things happen precisely the way they are supposed to!" He'd told everyone that. It was a core theme of Kaito's story: that despite whatever happened to him, not only did he not give up, but it all seemed to be according to some grand design. Because he kept going, he kept winning.

What would be his core themes?

Would this even be a story worth telling?

He stood up and dusted himself off, a little less frightened now that he remembered all Kaito went through. If he wanted someone to tell his story one day—if he wanted to be able to tell it the same way he told Kaito and every other story—he would have to keep going. He couldn't let the fear consume him. He couldn't simply lay down and let the creatures get him, despite his wounds.

Oh, speaking of, using this brief reprieve, Admir took out the remaining ointment and used it to treat his wounds.

Patched up and holding on to a shred of confidence, Admir cautiously pressed on once more, muttering "That did not deter him" to himself over and over.

He burst through the queen's door. She sat up in bed with a start, eyes wide. Before she could question him or call for the guards, Kaito shouted over her, all of his anger, hurt, pain, and relief spilling out. "My name is Kaito. I hail from the village of Enerian. I am the son of Winona and Murry Cook—two people that you had executed mercilessly! I demand to know why!"

The queen stared at him, first in shock, then... confusion?

"Cook? No. I had personally requested your family's presence, but they refused the offer."

"Liar!"

She slid out of bed with an annoyed huff and Kaito drew his dagger, aiming it square at her. Whether arrogance or stupidity, she ignored his threat and reached into a drawer by her bed, pulling out a small scroll and handing it to him.

"Read it. I tell no lies, Kaito. I'm sorry for your loss, but I had no part in their deaths. I don't know what story you were told."

Kaito snatched the scroll and... his heart sank. What she was saying appeared to be true. But... Something was amiss. "This isn't my father's handwriting. He would not have turned down such an opportunity."

"All I know is what I've been told. I would not mercilessly kill anyone, let alone respected individuals. You should speak with the leader of my guards. They delivered the message on my behalf, and returned with the refusal."

And then she turned his entire world upside down.

"Find Captain Wynton. He was there."

- excerpt from "Kaito's Hunt for Justice"

Admir found himself in yet another room, slightly smaller than most of the previous ones, using the scraps of moonlight that managed to infiltrate the walls to guide him. For once, he didn't see spider cocoons or spiders or writhing masses ready to consume him.

Then something in his bag shifted.

He jumped and opened it up, terrified of finding a rat that had managed to gnaw its way into his belongings. Instead, the shiny object from before, a little more shiny than he remembered: It glowed softly now. He hadn't had a chance to really look it it, with the running and the fear and the darkness. And was it...humming? He lifted it to his face, trying to figure out what it was.

It was a compass. And it was pointing towards something in the room. Not one to turn down a very obvious plot hook, he followed it cautiously, using the moonlight and the compass's soft glow to help him navigate to...

A shrine? He'd never paid them too much attention before. They were scatted throughout the Dales, claiming to offer protection. People devoted themselves to keeping them tended to, though perhaps they needed better devotees in Kozen Crest. He'd always considered their "power" nothing but fanciful fiction that made their place in stories fun.

But, perhaps, they were more than just fanciful fiction. Those in Kozen Crest seemed to think so. And it couldn't have been a coincidence that he ran into another untended shrine here.

Admir sat in front of the shrine, a wave of nausea rushing over him. He could feel something from the shrine, something that was affecting the infection coursing through his veins. Maybe...maybe this shrine was the reason for all of this? Maybe it just needed to be tended to.

But how?

"I have no idea what I'm doing," Admir blurted out. He gripped the compass, the soft hum soothing his nerves. "I'm starving, running low on food, and I don't think these bandages or the ointment are going to keep me together much longer. I'm scared. It's dark and... I want to go home. I didn't think this would be so hard. I thought...I-I don't know what I thought, really. I just wanted to find out the truth about me. I want to know where I come from, who I come from, why they gave me up, why I can do the things I can do—anything! I've almost died like five times tonight and...honestly, I feel like I won't make it out of here alive.

"I don't know what to do or say to... fix you. But maybe I was brought here for a reason. Hell, I even have a literal compass pointing directly at you. So, why not a story? I got plenty of those."

He exhaled.

"Our story begins on a day much like another other... Well, almost any other day. This day was different, so...I guess I shouldn't have said like any other."

"Let's start over."

He recounted his party, and how he was so sad to leave.

He talked about getting the bag from his family, and becoming even sadder.

He talked about how "terrified" he was of traveling to Kozen Crest, and all of his misadventures while there.

He talked about Tiga and her telling of the tale of the Kozen Elementals of Fire.

He—

Flame erupted from a wick on a candle he hadn't seen in the dark. Admir scrambled back, eyes glued to the bright light that only got bigger and brighter. He could see the shrine now, gorgeous, made of stone and wood. Small, now rotted, offerings lay before it.

And the air smelled clearer now.

The candlelight exploded, bright light filling the room, and Admir felt an overwhelming sense of power. When he finally dared to look, the light dimmed down, his breath caught in his chest.

And his whole world was turned upside down.