บท 20: A Lizard Named Serena!
Leonard and David stepped out of the hotel, with Leonard carrying a flintlock pistol and ten rounds of ammunition. The weapon was far from efficient, after each shot, it required tedious cleaning before reloading with gunpowder and lead. But for now, ten shots seemed enough.
David led him into the woods, weaving through dense trees until they stopped beneath a towering giant. Leonard glanced upward at the seemingly empty tree. Then, something remarkable happened.
In his sight, ripples appeared in the air near the tree trunk. Slowly, an outline began to emerge; a massive form with translucent scales shimmering in silver-gray. As the creature fully materialized, Leonard found himself face-to-face with the lizard. Its orange-yellow eyes, slitted like a cat's, fixed on him, radiating intelligence.
The lizard tilted its head slightly, then spoke in a low, deliberate voice. "Leonard."
Leonard blinked but recovered quickly. "Hello, big guy."
The lizard's eyes narrowed in thought before it shook its head. "I am not 'Big Guy.' My name is Serena."
'It talks,' Leonard thought, suppressing his surprise. And not only that, it seemed intelligent enough for meaningful conversation.
"Hello, Serena," Leonard said, respecting the lizard's self-identity. He decided not to question the name. The fact that it could communicate and seemed willing to engage was enough.
"Can you accompany me to the mine?" he asked after a moment. "If you help me, I'll cook for you in the future. I'm pretty good at it," he added, trying to appeal to the lizard's appetite.
Serena tilted her head again, considering the offer. She remembered that Leonard had been her feeder once, and she didn't find his scent unpleasant. More importantly, she sensed the faint mark of Alfonso, a powerful being, on him. Without a word, Serena climbed down from the tree and began following Leonard. Her silence was answer enough.
With a giant lizard in tow, Leonard felt a wave of relief. A formidable ally made the journey far less daunting.
---
When they arrived at the mine, the area outside was eerily quiet. Scattered rocks dotted the ground, and bloodstains mingled with the dust, creating unsettling patches of color.
Standing before the dark entrance, Leonard hesitated. He realized he'd made a rookie mistake, he hadn't brought a torch. Just as he was about to curse his oversight, two faint beams of orange-yellow light illuminated the surroundings. Leonard turned to see Serena's glowing eyes casting a dim but useful light.
"Convenient," he muttered, leading the way as Serena and David followed close behind.
The mine was deep and foreboding. Wooden support beams stretched across the tunnels, their surfaces splintered and aged. Candle holders with hardened wax clung to the walls, remnants of a time when miners worked here. The ground was littered with gravel and dust, crunching faintly underfoot.
Before long, the tunnel split into a fork. Leonard frowned. He had assumed the mine would be straightforward, a quick exploration near the edge of town. But the fork complicated things. If there were multiple splits, he doubted he could finish this in one night, let alone understand the full layout.
Serena broke his train of thought by moving decisively toward the left path. Surprised but trusting her instincts, Leonard followed, motioning for David to stay close.
As they delved deeper, more forks appeared, but Serena chose a path without hesitation each time. The air grew heavier with each step, and the thick dust began to sting Leonard's lungs, forcing him to hold his breath.
Then, faint sounds began to echo from deeper within the mine. The noises were indistinct; a blend of distant movement and soft murmurs. Leonard tightened his grip on the flintlock, his nerves on edge. Whatever lay ahead was far from ordinary.
As Leonard approached yet another fork in the mine, a sharp cracking sound from above froze him in place. Before he could react, a massive creature lunged at him, striking with lightning speed.
David, trailing just behind, moved like a flash. With a powerful uppercut, her fist collided with the creature mid-air, creating a sharp whoosh of displaced air.
'Bang!'
The impact sounded like hitting a heavy sandbag, and the creature crashed to the ground with a thud. Leonard turned toward the commotion, catching sight of the monster under the faint orange glow of Serena's eyes. The creature was a bloated, worm-like thing with a metallic head, wriggling frantically as it began to burrow into the ground. Within moments, it vanished, leaving behind a gaping black hole.
Serena, the giant lizard leading the group, spared the scene a glance before continuing forward.
David turned to the lizard, puzzled. "Aren't you going to eat it?"
Serena responded in a low, human-like voice. "I'm not hungry."
Leonard frowned at the casual dismissal. 'Not hungry? That's not the point.' The lizard's indifference was unsettling. Tightening his grip on his staff, Leonard quickened his pace to stick closer to Serena. He couldn't shake the feeling that if another attack came, the lizard might not be as reliable as he'd hoped. He resolved that if danger struck again, he'd scramble onto her back for safety without hesitation.
As they ventured deeper into the mine, the air grew thinner, though still breathable. The oppressive atmosphere pressed down on Leonard, and an unsettling scent of blood began to waft through the tunnels. The ground felt different beneath his boots; soft, elastic in places.
Suddenly, Leonard's foot struck something. He looked down and found a pickaxe. Its handle was gripped by a severed, purple-blue hand.
"This is it," Serena said, her deep voice breaking the silence. She stopped, raising her head and fixing her glowing pupils on a point ahead.
Leonard followed her gaze and saw the end of the tunnel; a rock wall. Except… part of the wall wasn't solid stone. A large hole had been excavated in its center, its jagged edges revealing the signs of human work. The floor was littered with rubble and crisscrossed with messy footprints.
Moving closer, Leonard noticed something glittering at the edge of the hole. Squinting, he realized it wasn't just a hole, it was a door. A door made entirely of gold.
But it wasn't intact. The massive golden door had been broken, and a gaping hole had been chiseled into its surface. The edges were rough, evidence of hurried, desperate work. Remembering the severed hand and pickaxe, a grim picture began to form in Leonard's mind.
"The miners must have discovered this golden door," Leonard muttered. "But they didn't dare excavate openly, so they chipped away at it in secret. Day by day, they must have taken pieces out; until they broke through entirely."
And when they did, they must have released whatever lay behind it.
His gaze drifted to the ground, where the remnants of a worker's hand still gripped the pickaxe. "Someone probably came back at night, trying to sneak more gold. That's when the monsters emerged."
Leonard stepped closer to the hole in the golden door. Beyond it, the cave yawned into darkness, impenetrable even to Serena's glowing eyes. Whatever had been sealed behind this door wasn't just treasure. It was a trap, and someone had sprung it.
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