I’m Stealing a Sho

"Sho!" Arlo called out but he didn't move.

[Sho Whitewolf level 52 Manager(B]] Weird when had he leveled up? Not important right now.

Arlo turned to the bars, and shook them a bit. They were strong and made of some kind of dark metal. Kai was examining the keyhole.

"We need a key." Kai stated the obvious.

"Can you pick locks?" asked Arlo

"No, this is Darkranium, you can't pick a lock in it." Kai replied. Weird Arlo thought, since when does the metal determine lock picking ability? In his jade bead he found a paperclip on some paper he had gotten in another town, but he needed two to pick locks….. wait were demon locks even the same as human locks?

Arlo pushed Kai to the side and examined the gate. Rip the complexity of it, what madness is this? It didn't even look like a lock more like there was a small car engine in there.

Arlo frowned well there goes plan A.

Blacky shrank and went through the bars. He walked over to Sho and started licking his face. To Arlo's relief Sho twitched slightly. Alive is good.

"Sho wake up, oye bro!" Kai was now trying to get Sho's attention. But other than Blacky's Sho didn't respond.

Arlo's eyes traveled to the 'window' if you could call it that. The far side was also covered in bars, but if someone really wanted to they could slip through it. The waves crashed hard against the rocks on that side, it seemed like that was asking for an early grave.

There was also the problem of Sho being chained to the wall. If that lock was anything like the gate Arlo would have a lot of trouble with it.

"Hey Blacky what does the lock on the chain look like?"

"Um it looks like a lock?"

"Can you pick it?"

"Never picked one before, oh hey this will work." Blacky grabbed the chain in his mouth grew to full size nearly filling the entire cave and pulled the end of the chain out of the wall. Several of the rocks tumbled away. The green veins on the rocks burst and green ooze pooled around. Blacky immediately retreated to the other end to avoid the creepy ooze. He grabbed Sho and carried him with him.

Okay one problem solved, thought Arlo. Now what to do about the other.

"The bars on the window, they don't look the same as these?" Arlo asked.

Blacky looked at them, "They aren't." The wolf pressed one paw against it and then shoved it like he was in a karate movie. The bars fell away into the sea.

Blacky poked his head out the window whimpered and pulled it back in. "I don't think we can go this way," he whined.

"Why" asked Kai.

"Steep, very steep." Replied the wolf. He poked his head back out for a second then added "There are also some Sharotkos swimming around."

Arlo gulped, sharks... not good. Of course the top of the demon rankings would build a prison with a shark pit to die in. What kind of proper dungeon didn't have a shark pit?

Arlo want to see the Sharotkos but at the same time he could only picture all the various horror type shark movies he had ever watched. And knowing this place, they'd probably be three times a big.

A chill ran down Arlo's spine. How on Earth, or rather how on the demon realm could he get Sho out of this place? He turned back to the lock on the inside and pulled out his paper clips, worth a shot….. I guess, he thought.

Arlo poked them into the hole and tried to even comprehend how one would go about unlocking one of these. It felt like 100 puzzle cubes and wires had been meshed together in a knot and called a lock. Were these things even meant to be opened?

Arlo hissed in frustration as he pulled out his paper clips, there was no way, he couldn't even make left or right of the lock. Impossible to unlock something if you can't even decide what the first piece is. He felt like whacking his head against the wall.

Focus Arlo, there is always a solution to every problem some are just way harder to find. He took a deep breath and tried to look at the problem as a whole. He kept coming to the same conclusion though. He hissed under his breath and looked at Kai who was watching Sho.

"Blacky, how steep and far up is the cliff." Arlo asked.

The wolf looked out the window again. "Very steep and wet, I don't think you could walk out this way."

"Blacky could I put Sho into my bead like the Cameltos?"

"Probably not, you'd have to have a claim on him and you cannot claim demons more than 5 levels above you."

"And if I gave the bead to Kai?"

"No he cannot claim his brother since siblings have a non-claim effect until they are both 20 years old."

"Well isn't that convent of the demon world" Arlo hissed under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh nothing."

No use cursing the demon realm, not like that'd change anything anyway. Arlo looked back over the situation and felt dread course through him. The cliffs were the only way out. Arlo quivered, he should have done more rock climbing in his old life.

Arlo checked his bead for rope, he only had two of them.

"Kai do you by chance have any rope?" Arlo asked. He shook his head.

"Blacky come back out for now. We are going to have a look at the top of the cliff." Arlo turned headed back out of the tunnel doing his best to ignore the skeletons.

The rock at the entrance was annoying but Kai opened it without a problem again. Arlo watched it slide to the side after Kai touched it once while he had been fiddling with it for a solid minute. He felt a twinge of jealousy, he should try teaching Kai chess he might managed to destroy the world with it.

They had entered the cave early morning but already the sun looked to be about 2 in the afternoon. Arlo walked to the edge of the cliff and moved along it until he saw the same rock that had been outside Sho's window. Or at least he hoped it was the same one. The rocks looked way to similar in their gloomy fashion.

He pulled his rope out of his bead and tied them together. It wasn't going to be long enough. Arlo glanced down the side again. The shark monsters were worse than he thought. Large sharks with octopus like mouths meant for dragging in their dinners. He totally could make horror movies as a career if he reincarnated back to Earth.

Arlo tied one end of the rope to one of Blacky's paws and handed part of it to Kai. Not that he didn't trust Kai to do a good job…. Oh wait he didn't.

Then he tied the other end around himself. Oh I really hope I don't regret playing with sharks, maybe I could somehow pick the lock with a bit of time or...

Arlo mentally forced his brain to stop over thinking. At least if he fell, the sharks should be able to make his second death quick although not painless. Nope painful and sharks went together and these long teethed monsters were no exception.

Arlo swallowed and moved to the edge and turned around. It was time to start his decent. He went down two hand holds at first then three. The rocks were easier to grip then he originally thought they'd be. Down 50 meters down 100. Shoot his hands were starting to hurt a bit. There weren't any nice larger rocks to rest on either.

Arlo moved down a few more rocks and then his foot slipped on one and he hissed hanging for a second before he managed to reclaim the hold. He looked down. He had reached the sea spray and the rocks were now soaked.

Arlo winced, trying to hold himself steady as he moved down another rock. It was five times harder to find a place to put his foot without sliding. He looked down the entrance he hoped was Sho's was still several meters away. He could make it he could totally do this….. he could .... Shoot he was out of rope.