Night 61: The Sphinx's Chamber

[monkeyboy]

[From here]

Eventually, the doors gave way and spilled Goku out into an expansive room. It glittered and twinkled with the flicker of light, and the young child had took take a moment to ogle until he realized that he had come in here with a purpose. That purpose was huge and sitting right in the middle of the tall room.

It was a strange animal--More like the statue of a strange animal--and the source of the smell that clogged Goku's keen senses. The awe gradually faded and left him waddling eagerly toward the thing.

"I wanna ride it~!"

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[monkeyboy]

"Ready?" Goku asked, not exactly on the same page with everyone else, but he knew what that smile meant. The monkey boy made it all the time, so while Taura grabbed for one of her weapons, so did he. Unsheathing his stick from its holster, his wide black eyes kept its critical gaze on the big beast in front of them. After all this walking and talking, he was really looking forward to a fight.

"Ready!"

[overlimit]

It looked like the others were willing to trust Rita's answer (well, Taura was. It was still uncertain whether Goku even knew what was going on), and so there was no time to waste.

Straightening her shoulders, Rita addressed the creature in a firm voice. "We've decided. The answer is leaves."

As an intellectual, it was going to hurt her ego a lot if she turned out to be wrong. Fortunately, Rita was pretty confident in her reasoning. This wasn't going to end in a fight.

[damned_monsters]

The Sphinx was silent for a moment, then let out a deep sigh. "Your answer is correct," it conceded with some hesitation. "You have earned your prize."

It lifted one paw, reached around behind itself, and retrieved a small, ornate shield. This, it presented to the challengers.

"This is the Coliseum Shield," it said, tone somber. "I have handed out many versions of it in my long days, but I have yet to hear of a man, woman, or child for whom it has brought anything but misery.

"In the ballroom, you might have noticed a door to the south--one of such intricacy that it either repulses or entices all who see it. That is the door to the Coliseum, and should you also carry the partner to this artifact, you will find yourself able to enter so long as you are willing to make a sacrifice. Should you survive the trials within, from which many venture but few return... You will be able to proceed further into the bowels of this heinous Institute."

These words, too, were recited in a dull tone that implied that they had been repeated many times before. When the shield was taken from its paw, the Sphinx's business was complete.

"That is all I can tell you. If there is nothing else, then I will return to my rest." Without waiting for an answer, the Sphinx raised its head, closed its eyes, and went still once again.

[ninelivesonce]

Taura let out the breath she'd been holding, and stepped back to an at-ease posture before walking up and taking the shield.

Then she leaned closer, her lips only inches away from the now-still Sphinx's ear. "You're trapped here, aren't you?" Her voice was a low whisper, though she didn't care if Rita and Goku could hear her. "You, um, don't have to try to answer that. I just wanted you to know that, if there is a way out -- I know, I know, you can't tell us...I just wanted you to know I'll be back. Or..." she trailed off, delicately. "Someone will." There, that covered death, dismemberment, and pint-sized one-way wormholes. Taura didn't make promises she couldn't keep. "I'll make sure. If that's what you want."

Then she held the shield out for Rita's inspection. Such a tiny thing, but they had both keys now, and Taura had a feeling she knew what the sacrifice might be. So many deaths, of late. She was living on borrowed time, in a borrowed body; would it even count? Only one way to find out.