Chapter 10: Final Battle with the Tentacles?
Clear pulsing crystals
Hold the tentacles' power.
Destruction awaits.
~ Miyara Miwa
We paused in the room with the pit for quite some time, while Ravena healed all the injured and we discussed what to do next. While we were there, Res Li looked through all the walls of the pit room, and discovered a piece of another room. He could see small blue-grey crystals, held to the wall with leather straps. The White Faerie thought that might be a good place to look for the white crystal from his vision, so we could destroy it.
Res Li also told us more about the room with the dais. Except for the dais and all the mud, the room itself was empty. On the other side of the wall with the leering faces was another room, also empty. The other side of the wall was the same as this side: clad in brass with leering faces. He also saw other faces against the other walls in there, and pillars as well. The wall itself, although resembling a door, was solid rock, encased in brass.
Once Ravena had healed me completely, I cleaned my swords and scabbards. I felt considerably better after being healed of my wounds and resting for a time. We decided to move into the room with the crystals: if we could find and destroy the white crystal, the White Faerie was certain we would also destroy the tentacle monster.
We arrived at the door to that room without incident. Once there, Res Li looked into the room. He said the walls were carved or pitted, the walls all around had blue-grey crystals hanging from leather straps, and in the center on a pedestal lay a large white crystal. All the crystals were pulsing in time with each other. There was also a boulder on the other side of the door, jamming it shut and occluding much of the doorway. The tentacle monster was there, waiting for us.
The White Faerie moved to the front, to bash open the door, but was attacked while we discussed our strategy.
The battle was an ugly one: truly, it seemed as though the tentacle monster was fighting much harder, for its life perhaps. I saw little beyond my small portion, and I spent some of that time under the mud, trying desperately to clear tentacles from me before I drowned. At last, one by one, I felt tentacles fall from me, and I finally pried the last one off and stood up. Clearing the mud from my face, I saw Sutoiko had bravely come forward to aid me. He continued fighting in my place as I stumbled back, towards Ravena. She was holding a book, but put it away to bind my wounds. She helped me back a little, and leaned me against the wall, then went back to her book. I struggled to remain conscious, but wondered why she was reading.
As if at a distance, I heard the sounds of the battle continuing without me, and shouting, but I could not make sense of what was said. Suddenly, Kyosuke ran by me, as quickly as he could through the deep mud, carrying a crystal in his hands.