Isaac needed to continue his search for the source of the corruption. Even if he may be irreversibly corrupted, at least he’d be able to have some dignity to stop it. He walked away from the room, trying to find out where he was.
Outside the room was a large cavern with numerous paths. It looked like a labyrinth, a strange and grotesque labyrinth, as paths winded up and down to who knows where. Groundwater from above dripped into the cave floor, dripping into puddles that overflowed and went even deeper. The lights at this point were broken either from neglect or deliberate damage, darkening the place more. Isaac was unfamiliar with this place, and the sexual haze in his mind earlier made it hard for him to remember the way back.
“Nggh…” Isaac groaned, his head aching. He looked around. He could take the paths going up, but he didn’t know if they would wind back down. He could take the paths going down, but he didn’t know if they would ever go up. He could take the paths going straight ahead, but he didn’t know if they would change height soon.
Isaac decided to go down to see if there were any safe rooms. He needed to find something that could help defeat this source of corruption, fast.
The caves were damp as Isaac could feel puddles under his feet turn into ice. He had a hard time walking around in his height, bumping his head on the ceiling multiple times. His tail kept hitting the wall whenever he’s not conscious of it. While Isaac liked this masculine form, his body felt like a bane. The four monsters— or maybe three, the witch looked pretty human enough— only increased his libido fourfold, and it impeded his ability to think rationally.
After walking in the darkness for some time, Isaac was glad to see light again. It came from a lit torch, glowing purple like before. He was careful not to touch it lest he die aflame. Beside the torch was a door made of stone, which had been engraved in runes. Isaac was familiar with them as he saw them before in the training house; they were warding runes to keep out evil spirits and monsters.
Strangely, the door didn’t have an adverse reaction to Isaac. Perhaps the Ring of Purity kept him safe from the burning magic?
Isaac entered (with some difficulty from his height) and inside was a bedroom of sorts. A cot was tucked away into the corner, accumulating dust and water as it smelled musty. On the other side of the room was a desk with an unfinished letter sitting next to a lit lantern, fortunately safe from the water that seeped through the walls. A chest was placed next to the desk, and the rest of the room was filled with so many books. Did Crawnav inhabit this room…?
The unfinished letter was interesting by itself as Isaac went over to read it in the burning light.
“Good heavens, that boy is going to be the death of us all!
“He had gone mad, trying to tell us that there’s a much better way to do this ritual. The techniques I’ve been practicing were good enough, but while his suggestions made them much quicker, at least my ideas weren’t as dangerous and life-threatening as what he’s saying!
“We needed to find a way to make transport easier. We’ve done that with warping spells and rituals, but they would last for mere seconds. Sure, they could work for small trades, but interregional trades need much more time than that.
“Crawnav had been suggesting that we travel through an existing dimension and then to the destination. It would be much easier and quicker than to conjure up a possible route, and it would be much more stable. But my god, the only other dimension that we can travel to is an evil, corrupted world! It’s basically Hell for all I know!
“Crawnav wasn’t deterred by my words. He was so damn sure that his method would work, and while I still admire him for that, this is being too reckless! I fear that he would mess up and”
The letter halted there. Something must’ve happened to whoever wrote this letter when they were writing it, and it was very eerie. Still, was it Crawnav who caused corruption to reign in this place? He was the same guy who made the Ring of Purity, the very item that kept him away from corruption. Could he be…?
He needed to get to the source, now.