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"Be strong. I'll be right next to you, Stridency," the purple-skinned tiefling boy - no older than ten, perhaps - said quietly, clasping the equally purple hand of a similarly aged tiefling girl. With both of them sporting raven-black hair and dun-colored horns, she could have easily been his twin.
"I don't like the hallway, Temerity," the tiefling girl whispered, her voice possessed of a fricative quality which belied her trepidation.
"No one likes the hallway," Temerity cooed in a conciliatory way, looking seriously at Stridency, still holding her hand. "That's why I hid it away, on the other side of it. No one in all of Darkhold will think to look for it there, so it will always be safe."
Stridency's eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and her throat quivered with swallowed fears, but she walked with Temerity along the cold stonework floors, clutching his hand in a lavender-knuckled grip. Small bare feet padding silently, they turned one way, then the other, passing alcoves, doors, and branching paths in a labyrinth of gray masonry. Before very long, they came to a stretch of hallway that seemed to fade into the distance, from their childlike perspective. Rather than the cold, worked stone, the floor here was nothing but dull, red, glowing coals.
"You know, some people say that Darkhold was built upon the ancient ruins of another civilization that had been lost to time," Temerity began as he set his unshod foot into the glowing coals. He was careful to keep his eyes on his sister's as he spoke and walked.
"Really?" Stridency whispered moving closer in curiosity, letting out a startled gasp as her toes found the coals.
Temerity was quick to tilt her chin up with his finger to force her to look in his eyes. A certain understanding dawned in Stridency's eyes as Temerity continued. "The Sunset Mountains are a peculiar place. You never know what you can find if you look hard enough. All you need is the temerity to do so."
Stridency giggled, focusing on her sibling rather than the coals. It was not very long before she forgot about them altogether while they walked and talked. Their infernal heritage, after all, considerably dulled the effects of the heat from the coals; where a human might have felt actual pain, they - even as children - would only feel discomfort, and so much less in ignoring it. They reached the other side of the hallway, which terminated in a plain wooden door. They pushed it open easily, and Stridency let out a soft shriek of a gasp at the sight beyond.
Within the room, illuminated by shafts of light filtering through rock formations high above, was a garden of every conceivable variety of snapdragon. It took every ounce of self control within Temerity to not grin, or at least smirk, at his sister when she began meandering and hissing in delight. "All the little walkways so you don't have to step on the flowers!" Stridency whispered loudly, practically dancing as she skipped and turned. "And they take up almost the entire floor, and they're growing on the walls, and the whole round room has them all organized by color and they look so happy!"
"It's not just that," Temerity said softly. "These were great grandmother's snapdragon seeds. She preserved every species that existed in her day, even some thought to have gone extinct. So I let father think I'd thrown them to the otyugh so that Pereghost will believe they're gone. The cave above lets enough air, water, and light in, but I think it must be enchanted to allow them to thrive. I bet it will let them live much longer, too. It isn't just about the value of the seeds or the flowers; you know he's started going on about wanting to outlaw genealogy."
Stridency blinked and then thrust her head forward, narrowing her eyes. "No! You didn't!"
Temerity finally smirked. "I did." He walked carefully down one of the rings of stone that allowed for responsible traversal of the flower garden, and pointed to a particular red snapdragon with a subtle brass garden marker next to it. "That one represents grandfather... that one is father..." he made his way to the blue flowers now, "... grandmother... mother...."
Following the natural arc of the colors between the two flowers that represented their parents, Stridency's eyes settled upon two prominent purple snapdragons growing next to each other. Then she threw her arms around her brother and buried her face in his shoulder.
"So... be strong. I'll be right next to you, Stridency."
"I don't like the hallway, Temerity," the tiefling girl whispered, her voice possessed of a fricative quality which belied her trepidation.
"No one likes the hallway," Temerity cooed in a conciliatory way, looking seriously at Stridency, still holding her hand. "That's why I hid it away, on the other side of it. No one in all of Darkhold will think to look for it there, so it will always be safe."
Stridency's eyes shimmered with unshed tears, and her throat quivered with swallowed fears, but she walked with Temerity along the cold stonework floors, clutching his hand in a lavender-knuckled grip. Small bare feet padding silently, they turned one way, then the other, passing alcoves, doors, and branching paths in a labyrinth of gray masonry. Before very long, they came to a stretch of hallway that seemed to fade into the distance, from their childlike perspective. Rather than the cold, worked stone, the floor here was nothing but dull, red, glowing coals.
"You know, some people say that Darkhold was built upon the ancient ruins of another civilization that had been lost to time," Temerity began as he set his unshod foot into the glowing coals. He was careful to keep his eyes on his sister's as he spoke and walked.
"Really?" Stridency whispered moving closer in curiosity, letting out a startled gasp as her toes found the coals.
Temerity was quick to tilt her chin up with his finger to force her to look in his eyes. A certain understanding dawned in Stridency's eyes as Temerity continued. "The Sunset Mountains are a peculiar place. You never know what you can find if you look hard enough. All you need is the temerity to do so."
Stridency giggled, focusing on her sibling rather than the coals. It was not very long before she forgot about them altogether while they walked and talked. Their infernal heritage, after all, considerably dulled the effects of the heat from the coals; where a human might have felt actual pain, they - even as children - would only feel discomfort, and so much less in ignoring it. They reached the other side of the hallway, which terminated in a plain wooden door. They pushed it open easily, and Stridency let out a soft shriek of a gasp at the sight beyond.
Within the room, illuminated by shafts of light filtering through rock formations high above, was a garden of every conceivable variety of snapdragon. It took every ounce of self control within Temerity to not grin, or at least smirk, at his sister when she began meandering and hissing in delight. "All the little walkways so you don't have to step on the flowers!" Stridency whispered loudly, practically dancing as she skipped and turned. "And they take up almost the entire floor, and they're growing on the walls, and the whole round room has them all organized by color and they look so happy!"
"It's not just that," Temerity said softly. "These were great grandmother's snapdragon seeds. She preserved every species that existed in her day, even some thought to have gone extinct. So I let father think I'd thrown them to the otyugh so that Pereghost will believe they're gone. The cave above lets enough air, water, and light in, but I think it must be enchanted to allow them to thrive. I bet it will let them live much longer, too. It isn't just about the value of the seeds or the flowers; you know he's started going on about wanting to outlaw genealogy."
Stridency blinked and then thrust her head forward, narrowing her eyes. "No! You didn't!"
Temerity finally smirked. "I did." He walked carefully down one of the rings of stone that allowed for responsible traversal of the flower garden, and pointed to a particular red snapdragon with a subtle brass garden marker next to it. "That one represents grandfather... that one is father..." he made his way to the blue flowers now, "... grandmother... mother...."
Following the natural arc of the colors between the two flowers that represented their parents, Stridency's eyes settled upon two prominent purple snapdragons growing next to each other. Then she threw her arms around her brother and buried her face in his shoulder.
"So... be strong. I'll be right next to you, Stridency."