Exploring The Labyrinth

It was further into the labyrinth that more paths presented themself, finding once more an intersection where a path needed to be decided. 

"Alright, this way it is," Blake decided without hesitation, taking a left. 

"Wait, what happened to talking it out? Letting me pick? A woman's intuition?" Emma asked while following closely. 

"That intuition led us to a freaky mimic, so I'll pass," Blake answered. 

The chosen path led into a peculiar chamber that was led into by a walkway that split into four directions. Between the pathways was pitch-black water, dark enough that nothing could be seen past the surface. 

"Ugh, I hate stuff like this…Anything could be in the water," Emma muttered, taking careful steps forward. 

Blake ignored the girl's fearful mumbles as he reached the center platform, looking in every direction as, once more, there hardly seemed to be any indication on what was the right choice. 

"Alright, which way now, genius? Unless we find a way higher up, we're going the wrong way," Emma snarkily asked. 

The sword-wielder was more focused on the odd object in the center of the platform: a quartz handle anchored into the stone tile. He reached down, grabbing onto it without much of an attempt to pull it–click. 

"Ah," Blake let out. 

"What was that?!" Emma asked, looking around as the whole room began rumbling. 

The archer stumbled somewhat as the young man unsteadily rose to his feet, spurred by the unexpected rise of the platform they stood on. Water splashed from the rising square, bringing him to look up as he noticed a hole in the ceiling perfectly the same shape as the platform. 

"I think I found our way to the next floor," Blake remarked while gazing up. 

Emma followed suit amidst her panic, noticing it as well, "--I still don't like this." 

Through the perfect square, the platform rose into a different layer of the dungeon, slotting itself into a new chamber. It came to a stop as the two looked around, finding themselves in a room layered heavily in overgrowth, with vines hanging down plentifully. 

"Careful…I don't have a good feeling about any of this," Emma warned. 

"Yeah, I agree there," Blake said, brushing aside the low-hanging vines, looking down at the bits of grass that grew between the stone tiles. 

It began to settle in what sort of challenge it truly was to obtain the insignia, seeing as Emerald Mountain was less like a dungeon, and more of a labyrinth of death for the uninitiated. Still, he held confidence in his strength. 

There was a clear path on either side, with Emma being quick to choose the rightmost path, going off of her own intuition again. 

Blake looked around, looking at a peculiar spot on the left side of the room where an abundance of vines hung over, "--Hold on." 

Using his sword, he slashed the overgrowth, cutting it away as a third passage was found. 

Emma peeked in, finding the newly-found path much more cramped with overgrowth with the aroma of damp, old grass greeting both adventurers' noses. 

"This way looks more…foreboding?" Emma remarked, only peering partly into the corridor. 

"Come on," Blake nonchalantly said as he entered the passage without any discussion. 

The red headed archer gasped, calling out, "Hey, what happened to talking things through! Hey! Urgh–you're a total idiot, you know that!" 

Despite what she said, the lithe girl begrudgingly followed right beside him. It felt claustrophobic walking down the corridor covered in grass, sprouting colorful flowers. 

He quickly hurried to the end of the hall, stepping into the next chapter. It seemed as though he stepped right into a dense jungle, going by the complete presence of growth within the room. 

There were large flowers that bloomed from the cracks in the stone, all sharing the same appearance of triangular, scarlet petals. 

"This isn't normal, is it?" Emma asked, inspecting the ground. 

"I'm not any sort of botanist, but I'd reason to say it's not normal at all," Blake agreed, finding the sweet aroma of flowers becoming a nuisance to his senses. 

The chamber of luscious growth, claimed by nature, was far larger than the previous rooms of the labyrinth he'd found. It put him on edge, seeing as there were too many blind spots with the abundance of vines and flowers blocking his view. 

"Careful," Emma warned, keeping an arrow by her bow. 

"Don't need to tell me that," Blake said, staying only a few steps ahead. 

As he moved quietly without a sound, something made itself known—a slight rustle in the foliage. He saw something move within it, bringing him to take careful steps closer, closer, and closer— 

"Kreeeee!" 

The shriek came with a figure popping out of the abundant plants: a stumpy, bark-skinned plant that resembled a child. 

"What the—?!" Blake jumped back, wincing as the fiend's yell stabbed at his eardrums. 

Emma covered her ears, "A Mandragora!" 

From the mouth of the fiendish plant, the banshee-like shriek intensified to a painful degree before coming to a sudden stop. 

"Nn–"

"Ahh…" 

Blake watched the little noisemaker run off on its tiny legs, though was unable to give it any chase as his legs didn't respond. In fact, no part of his body responded. 

'Can't move…That yell–paralyzed me?' He questioned, finding his ears still ringing. 

From the noises made by his companion behind him, it seemed she was in the same predicament. It took a minute before he found his bodily functions returning to him, nearly stumbling over alongside the archer. 

"Urgh–that little…!" Emma said in frustration. 

"It ran off," Blake said, rubbing the side of his head with a sigh, "That's one more thing to watch out for." 

The archer tapped her own ears multiple times as if trying to flush out the lingering ringing, "So annoying! I hate those little things! Ever find one in your garden? Talk about a rude awakening."

"Can't say I have," Blake said, giving the girl a soft pat on the head, "Let's keep moving."

The gesture brought a small tint of pink to the young woman's cheeks as she nodded, "Y-yeah." 

As he led the way once more, he used his sword like that of a barrier, using its length to brush aside vines and bushes to make sure he didn't get surprised by the shrieking fiend. 

"Oh?" He reacted upon pushing some of the growth aside. 

There was a passageway unlike the others he'd seen: lifted a couple meters above the ground, yet the same shape as the others. It was as if it was a miscalculation when the dungeon was built, though one too obvious to be done on accident. 

"Guess that's our way," Emma said, looking up at the heightened path. 

Blake knelt down with his left shoulder pressed against the wall, placing both hands down as he gestured for his companion, "Come on, I'll boost you."

"Right," Emma said with a nod. 

As he watched the girl's light-brown boot step onto his palm, he was surprised at how light she felt, both by her weight and his recent gain in strength. He easily hoisted her up as he stood, lifting his hands. 

"Hyup–!" Emma let out, hopping up to grab onto the edge of the pathway. 

He watched as the archer struggled to pull herself up, deciding to give her a bit of help as he pushed his hand against her rear for a bit of a boost. Though it was hardly the largest, it was definitely soft, yet firm from the brief feel he got. 

"Hey!--Oh," Emma shouted, glancing back at the indecent touch, though realizing it had brought her up properly. 

Blake waited by the wall, "Whenever you're ready." 

He stood there until the scarlet-haired girl leaned back over, reaching her hand down for him. 

"Alright! I gotcha!" Emma said with an enthusiastic smile. 

Accepting the returned help of his companion, he grabbed on, using his feet to climb up the wall before being pulled up entirely, by some miracle of the young woman's small stature. 

"Pwah!" Emma exhaled, falling back onto her rear upon pulling him up. 

Blake caught his breath as well, looking around at the dim tunnel they had found themselves in now. It was becoming more of a hassle than he imagined to track down the insignia, though he maintained his focus. 

"You good?" He asked. 

Emma nodded, "Yeah, just still got that ringing in my ears…What about you?"

"Yup. I'm going to have migraines for the next few days," Blake answered with an exhale.