Begins with a Single Step

Edited by Pyrranha

Wen by holyflpncows

The early Reliphe sun wakes me up, its warmth working to chase away the chill of the night.

I head downstairs to meet the others for breakfast. Honey ham is set on the table, and Feng Da and Arslan have already begun eating. Feng Da gives disgusted looks to Arslan, who frankly lacks any table manners. I seat myself and inform the young goliath how he should be eating at the table. He mostly ignores my advice.
We get going shortly thereafter. As we meander on the road east, we run into a travelling merchant. He informs us about the wall and the soldiers stationed there on the border. It won't be too long before we see it for ourselves.
Blooming vegetation—sparse as it may be—colors the otherwise barren earth along the pass to the wall. And the further east we travel, the more the stones and earth dominate the scenery. Boulders banded with near-invisible shades of grey and blue here. Rough and grainy schist there. Bits of shale under my boots. People are quiet and it grows boring fast. I sigh, trailing my fingers along the relatively smooth rock face as it closes in on the path, gritty dust building up on my fingertips.
Hours go by. We shuffle our way up switchbacks, back and forth. Wen suddenly jumps, patting himself all over. A slight mystical armor appears over him. I look around, confused. This half-elf boy is really jumpy.
But then fire beetles come scuttling into our path. Several of them. "Damnare," I swear and draw my saber, hefting it in my left hand. But Feng Da and Spark act faster, already dispatching a beetle each. Feng Da's sword cuts through the spindly legs of one, and he follows that up with bashing his war pick into the glowing sack on its gullet. Spark slams her clawed fists into the face of her target. Shen Po interposes himself between another overly-large bug and Feng Da, magic flaring to block the beetle's jet of flames.
I cut at a beetle closing in on me, but it's not enough to fell it. An arrow whizzes past my face, pulling strands of my hair forward as it slams into the tiny head of the insect I cut. It drops. I ready myself to kill more of these fire-spitting insects, but there's none left. Zyon kicks at the corpse of one near him. Arslan gives Wen a hearty clap on the shoulder, which nearly knocks Wen down into the messy remains of another.
"Damnare," I murmur, impressed. Perhaps I did make the right call traveling with this bizarre group.

---

Shortly after the tiny skirmish, we come to the wall—and it’s not very impressive. It looks like it serves its purpose, but I’ve seen bigger and thicker barriers in my travels. I hang back while everyone tries to peek over it. There’s no way I’m getting dragged down with them, antagonizing the guards like they are.
Eventually, Feng Da rounds everyone’s attention. We follow him into a tent near the edge of the outpost. Inside is a mysterious man, who—as Feng Da explains—can get us into East, past the guarded wall. I eye the man and his polite smile. He doesn't offer any more information as everyone starts debating our options. Out of any better ideas, we agree to meet him the morning.

---

Morning arrives and, at first, no one can find this mysterious man. When he finally appears, he makes an offer. He’ll show us a tunnel that leads east if we deliver a letter for him. We reluctantly agree. I sure didn’t come here to do someone else’s errands, but I’m also not going to try and fight those guards to get by either.
The man turns and begins to lead us. I look back at the wall, hopeful that we're not being led astray. An inhuman noise snaps my attention back to the man. He's turned toward the group, his jaw dropped low and filled with fangs. Everyone takes a step back.
“Do not try to take it. I will give it when it is time.” He composes himself, looking human again.
I get even more nervous. This man—whatever he is—is dangerous. He leads us to a tent and gestures for us to enter.
There’s a hole in the center inside. A pitch black hole. We slowly proceed down, probably to our death.