The flames weren't exactly fast to spread, they were actually quite underwhelming and that's what worried Leo the most. Eventually they would spread into the tunnel ahead and catch up to him, even worse if there would be some sort of roadblock that prevented him from advancing.
He couldn't be hasty either though, running aimlessly would serve to tire him out, and in both scenarios neither would do him any well should an enemy jump out at him – especially now after several hours going without food or water, preserving his strength was key.
The grand hall ahead was quite antique, it boasted gold plated pillars with silver vines that reflected some moonlight which seeped through the cracks in the wall - an ancient style of architecture that youd see nowhere in the modern world.
The same draconian lanterns layered the walls, some working, some flickering and some remaining in the dark, all that mattered was that they lit up the way, though they weren't doing a very good job.
Leo's footsteps echoed in the same way a boulder would splash in the water, the whole ruin seemed to be an echoing device, even his breathing bounced back to him and so did his heart.
Sweat condensed on his face, walking forward through the dark sent a cold shiver down his throat.
'I dont feel good about this.'
'And this stupid sword is hurting my wrist now.'
Of course it would, Leo had no experience in anything but housework. Along side magic, he was just as talentless in regular combat - even if the sword was as light as a coin, without the proper technique even a king would look foolish.
'Ugh, my sleeve is torn again, Luna wouldn't be happy.'
Leo grasped the side of his tatters and ripped the sleeve clean off with little to no effort. Luna was his everything, she'd do everything for him down to the very last detail, that included making his shirt - which is why he was so hesitant to rip it off.
'I hope it will last me, that beast has no brains, its chased me for over an hour and it only managed to land two hits, all it did was make me stumble on every branch before that!'
And solid those hits were, luckily whatever stopped the beast in its tracks also reversed the damage to his body, who knows what'd happen I'd it didn't.
Taking his sword by the hilt and wrapping it in the now muddy fabric he tried stuffing the thicker end of the fabric into his pocket to act as a sheathe, it was far form ideal but it would work for now - not like he had the privilege of choice anyway.
Looking back he could still see flames running rampant despite having walked a fairly long distance across.
'Looks like it won't be here for a while.'
Along the hallway were several doorways and ornaments hung to the side, which he chose to ignore in favour of outrunning the fire, and also because he couldn't afford spending time on something he might not even have the skill to open. But now that the fire was a decent way away, it surely wouldn't bring trouble to inspect one.
'Call me a pillager, a theif or whatever else, I call this being smart.'
Leo approached one of the doorways smirking, it had a small wooden box hanging from the top of its frame. On the side of the door were some engravings, similar to the runes he'd been seeing but in a language he did not understand.
'Looks like some kind of offering box, grave robbing isn't my taste but...'
He reached a hand out in greed, hoping to find some ancient device he could sell off on the black market, or even better, the poisonous Ivy.
Poison Ivy wasn't exactly a rare or exotic material, it would often go for sale for a few pieces of gold on the regular markets. Of course he couldn't afford that ever, hell even nobles struggled to buy them in bulk, not to mention the only places something like that grew was the Preceptors Forest.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
The only problem was, Luna required a cure to something uncurable, word went around of a mystical cure-all developed in the empires capital which Leo caught wind of, a cure so potent people seriously claimed it could bring the dead back.
'Ah I knew it was too good to be true, why did I come here!'
One of its ingredients was rumoured to be the infamous Poison Ivy, which was the only ingredient he knew of that made the cure up. His sister gravely advised against doing anything rash when she found out about his asking of the forest, but once she succumbed to her condition and fell into a deep slumber, there would be nothing stopping Leonidas anymore.
Even if there was a 0.0001% chance, even if the cure didn't exist. Leo was determined to make it happen, to cure his sister and return to the joy he once felt. He would lay his life down for this process.
'Luna has at most a year left, that's what the shaman said... so within a year — no, within half that time. I need to get my hands on it, theres no telling how good the prediction is, getting comfortable will only make it worse.'
A very ambitious goal, he'd need to find the rest of the ingredients first, how that would happen was up to fate - perhaps he wouldn't ever find it and would be crippled by his lack of talent, but who's to say for sure.
To start with his plan was flawed, as he was there'd be no way to achieve it, he was basing this of a stupid rumour from the slums, infact, his primary reason for coming for the Ivy was not because of its potential to be part of a cure, but because of its potential to hold the Architects Smoke at bay when burned.
Of course that was all rumours as well, he was far too deep in the dark to actually know or understand what it did or how it worked, but he had put his hopes in it for now.
As his hand reached to snag the box, a compartment on the door opened, startling him as he jumped away. There was nothing to fear however, taking a closer look the door held nothing behind it but a barred stone wall - it was all just a fluke, a really cruel one at that.
'Some joke that was — bastards.'
Peeved at the interaction he snagged the hanging box immediately.
'Better be something nice inside.'
Leo took the sword from his hip and held it by its blade, carefully gashing the wooden mechanism that held it locked in place, if there's one thing he wasn't useless at, it was survival. Living in the slums had its ups and downs, mostly downsides, but as a result he civilised himself in the art of lock picking despite the wishes of his sister.
'What an outdated lock, just how old is this place?'
The beams inside broke, producing a gratifying clicking sound as the latches on the outside sprung free, letting out a storm of dust and putrid odours as the wood inside breathed.
Alas the box was open, he precariously opened the top to reveal the contents it so desperately hid.
"..."
There was a small watch, some sort of magical dial.
And it was ticking.
'Huh?'
His curiosity had to wait just a little longer, because something from behind turned its gears.
Behind him down the Hall the first few rows of lanterns tipped over, thanks to the fire raging around he could see exactly what just happened, more oil started flowing from the walls, adding to the rapid expansion of the fire.
'Shit!'
Leo quickly repositioned the sword back on his side and left with the watch right away. Had he known opening that box could hasten his demise he would've never looked its way, but what's done is done, no point in looking back now.
The dial in his hand ticked, it had one arm which didn't even move and Leo couldn't read something it - though Luna was determined to teach him, before the tragedy that is.
'More fire for a stupid thing that I cant even read, incredible.'
The grand corridor seemed to never end, by this point he'd walked well over a kilometer and still there was no sight of an ending, perhaps because of the darkness ahead, the further he went the less lanterns were avalabile, having to rely on the moonlight seeping through the walls to at least get an idea of his direction.
'Why did that light bring me here anyway... I appreciate that I wasn't food for that worm-dog but what reason did it have to send me here?'
Leo placed the dial inside his pocket to add to the weight of the sword, making it less likely for it to swing and fall.
The floating runes appeared once more, this time they engulfed his sword and swept away some of the silver coating the blade held, indenting an unkown sentence through the middle of the blade, its as if the dial and sword resonated with eachother. But nothing would surprise him anymore with how chaotic the past few hours have been.
He took a look at the sword while walking further down, not only was it now engraved with some unkown runes, but it radiated with an azure ambiance - pointing towards another door, rather similar to the one he first encountered and opened.
'This thing must be like a master key here.'
He wasn't wrong, this door too had a small keyhole that could fit the sword. And just as before, he took one last look around and plunged his sword right in.
'The flames might grow bigger, but I cant afford losing anymore time here.'
Just as predicted, once the doors creaked open and the sword was taken out the rest of the lanterns tipped over - fortunately since some of them were defective the effects weren't as grave as he anticipated.
As he stepped through the doors that released a cold rush of air and dust, the runes made one last appearance before sliding back onto the edge of his blade and allowing him passage forward into the depths of the ruin.
[Preceptors Ruin: Subterranean Maze]