It was a wooden door. Nothing special about it save for the fact that it was built into the dead end of a underground cavern near a planar source of Otherworldly corruption.
Issac and Ilvir looked at each other, worried and skeptical. How would they even fit inside? Both of them were much taller than the door which was built for a average human. Ilvir could possibly squeeze through, but there was no way Issac could, even if he did bust the door down.
“Well... Master... we should at least open the door and peek through.” Ilvir suggested.
Issac gave a sigh, he didn’t particularly want to know what was on the other side, but how else would he manage to get to the source of the corruption? This was the only way forward.
“Alright, open it if you could Ilvir, I’m afraid my hands couldn’t do so without crushing the knob.”
Issac chuckled slightly.
Ilvir nodded, and gripped the door’s knob, before gingerly opening it, cringing slightly as the doorframe creaked heavily.
Through the door Issac could see... nothing. Only a faint crimson light in the distance.
“How strange, not even our corrupted vision can let us see through it.” Ilvir said.
“Hmm... hang on Ilvir let me try something.” Issac said, willing one of the vines that composed his to his hand. It stretched out as far as it could, firm and stiff, and with a granite hand touched the tip of it, conjuring a purple flame onto the tip. It was a constant but dull pain as Issac literally lit a part of himself on fire. Eventually the purple flame grew steadily on its own, Issac’s own vine tendril now functioning as a torch.
He brought the purple flame closer to the door and raised a stone eyebrow when the light still did not illuminate anything past the door. It was a solid shadow, as if the darkness itself was sucking in the light, not allowing any spark to pass through.
“How strange, and disconcerting.” Issac said with disappointment in his voice, extinguishing the fire and sighing in relief as the pain vanished from his vine, the root retreating back into his body.
“We can’t go in there, we’ll quite literally be walking in blindly into whatever trap lays there.”
“What choice do we have? Backtracking would take hours and theres no guarantee that we’ll find another way to the Source.”
“Even if we did decide to go in there, how would you fit inside? How would you fight whatever lurks inside there? Master, I admire your resolve to save those creatures inside you, but they have quickly become a potential liability.” Ilvir argued. It seems that even as Issac’s spawn, Ilvir wasn’t completely subservient to him. Issac found himself worried about the hint of disappointment he felt at that thought.
“What you say is true Ilvir, but what can we do? I can find a way to fit inside, nor do you have to worry about my fighting capabilities, I have quite a few skills up my sleeve if you haven’t noticed.” Issac said confidently, although part of him wasn’t convinced.
Ilvir sighed and Issac could feel frustration coming from him through their mental bond. “Very well Master, I have an idea. I don’t like it and neither will you but what if I were to scout ahead? Survey the area and come back to you as soon as I can.”
“What? No. You were just saying how going inside was a risk, and now you want to go in alone?” Issac said, appalled at the suggestion.
“I’ll retread the second I see a hint of danger, and besides, you’ll be able to monitor my progress through our link.”
Issac paused. “What do you mean by that?”
“Close your eyes and concentrate, focus on my mind and soon enough you’ll be looking and hearing through my senses.”
“How do you know that?”
Ilvir shrugged. “I just do Master.”
“I still don’t like the idea of this.”
“Neither do I, but if you want to go and explore whatever’s inside here, I’m willing to go along.”
“Ilvir...”
“Quiet down now and concentrate. Make yourself comfy while you’re at it. Maybe touch yourself a bit too, I’ll be comforted by your pleasure.”
Issac drew in a breath and nodded. “Good luck Ilvir, if anything happens I’m going in there as well.”
Issac sat himself down against the wall, his huge heavy body thumping against the floor and his stone balls making a lovely jiggle as they did, his two sheaths resting comfortably beside each other.
“I’m going in now. Wish me luck.”
Issac nodded and closed his eyes, lifting up an arm in farewell as his focused on Ilvir’s mind.
It was a strange process, moving your perception to another, it was like if he was being stretched into a rope and being tied to a moving pole. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but it took some time getting used to.
Soon enough he could see again, hear again, feel the weight of Ilvir’s body, his balance, even his thoughts and emotions much more clearly than he usually could. He couldn’t control anything, Ilvir was still himself. Issac was just a passenger. A passenger who watched as Ilvir passed through the shadow door, practically no resistance as he went inside, his form almost melding into the darkness as he left Issac and walked into the unknown.
All Issac could see was a grand library. Endless rows of bookshelves and artifacts, all draped in shadow and softly lit only by a menancing crimson light...