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“You’re really going the wrong way!” Cherri shouted. Her legs flailed uselessly in the air as Palan flipped her upside-down in the air above himself. “We’re not supposed to go this way! This passage is forbidden. It’s—mmph!”
Danger Noodle’s body wrapped around Cherri’s face and yawned before resting its head on top of the centaur’s. It had been a while since it heated itself up this way. The underground world was cold and a bit damp, but the centaur’s body was warm—a lot warmer than a harpy’s at least. The snake’s jaw widened as its head turned towards Palan, causing Cherri to squeal from the sensation in her hair. “Good … warmth. I keep?” Danger Noodle asked. Its tongue flickered as it exhaled.
“Isn’t it inconvenient to carry something that large around?” Palan asked his tail. Cherri let out muffled cries are her tail swished in protest. Palan barely made out the words ‘not fat’. His brow furrowed as he ignored her and stared at the ground. Pools of liquid rippled in miniature trenches with every step the party took. He stopped walking and crouched, sniffing the air. It smelled sickly sweet. “Poison?”
“I told you this is a forbidden area!” Cherri said once she managed to get her mouth over Danger Noodle’s body.
“You’d think they’d put signs up or something,” Justitia muttered to herself. A crease appeared on her forehead. She was talking to herself a lot recently. It started in the prison when she was being tortured by Pyre but continued even after she was freed. She stepped over a puddle and mumbled, “Well, it’s alright as long as no one responds. Right, Blossom? Right.”
“What is this passage used for?” Palan asked as he continued walking. Glowing stones illuminated the path with a faint light.
“Turn back!” Cherri said and wiggled. Her face was turning red from being held upside-down. “This is the holy path the bishops walk when they want to start a ritual. I don’t know what’s on the other end, but we’re completely forbidden from entering it. Please, please, please turn back.” She glared at Justitia. “And you! The signs are all over the ground! Poison obviously means do not enter!”
“Forbidden is just another word for treasure,” Palan said and snorted. His bare feet stepped into a puddle of poison, but he acted as if nothing happened. He witnessed Raea’s poison, and he was able to use it. Why would he be scared of a few drops on the ground? As he went further down the path, the passage became wider and brighter. The number of glowing stones increased, casting the path in shades of blue and purple.
Cory’s eyes widened as she waddled over to a wall, avoiding a puddle, and scratched at a stone with her talons. Her eyes squinted as she attempted to pluck it off. “Please stop,” Cherri said with a whimper. Tears formed in her eyes. What would the elders say if they found out she was the one who let these blasphemers into the holy ground? They’d probably kill her or, even worse, banish her from the tribe. Centaurs didn’t do well alone. She’d seen the exiles at the cafeteria, and she didn’t want to live like that.
“This wall is too hard,” Cory said with a growl. She sighed and stopped trying to remove a stone. She had a feeling her talons would give before the wall did. Palan’s red tail unwound itself from Cherri’s body and reached for the ceiling. Its mouth opened next to a glowing stone, and it chomped down, easily separating the stone from the ceiling despite its lack of teeth. It leaned over and opened its mouth next to Cory, offering her the glowing stone.
“For me?” Cory asked and blinked. Her head turned towards Raea. She’d take it if the harbinger didn’t have any objections. The red snake nodded. Raea didn’t even seem to notice the interaction, and Cory took the stone before depositing it into her clothes. She pat the snake’s head with her wing. “Thanks.”
Raea pinched Palan’s side. “What was that about?” she asked. Like Palan, she didn’t bother walking around the puddles, directly stepping into them with her shoes instead.
“Ask the tail,” Palan said and shrugged. He licked his lips. “We’re getting closer. I can sense them.”
Raea tilted her head. The noises she heard before had become clearer. Even Justitia could hear the chanting coming from down the path. “Please,” Cherri said, tears flowing up her face into her hair. “Let me down. You don’t need a hostage at all.” She sniffled, but her arms were pressed to her side, preventing her from wiping her nose.
“Refuse,” Danger Noodle said and yawned.
“Guess that’s that,” Palan said. The passage ended, leading to a brightly lit room. Green grass blanketed the floor, and there were even flowers growing in patches. Tattooed centaurs were standing around in a circle, surrounding a sapling.
Cory gasped. “Is that sunlight?” she asked. She glared at Cherri with lightning flickering in her eyes. “What the hell!? How come the centaurs get to see the sun!?”
“I, I don’t know,” Cherri said. Her eyes were wide. “I’ve never seen this before. Is this grass?” She inhaled deeply through her nose. A shiver ran down her spine. “It smells beautiful.”
“Another person with a weird sense of smell,” Justitia mumbled and rolled her eyes. She raised her head. The ceiling was filled with holes that let sunlight in. Shiny webs hung over the ceiling, catching any insects or dirt that fell through. Swarms of spiders hid in the cracks beside their webs. “How deep are those holes?”
“The holes are extremely deep. Sunlight only comes through twice a day, when one of the two suns is directly overhead,” a voice said. One of the centaurs had walked over to the party’s side. “Who brought you here?”
Palan pointed at the centaur suspended above himself. “She did,” he said.
“I didn’t!” Cherri said as her legs flailed. “I really didn’t! They kidnapped me and forced me to accompany them! You have to believe me, elder. I swear to the holy spirit, I would never intrude on the holy grounds otherwise.”
The elder centaur’s brow furrowed as he stared at Cherri. “Aren’t you the tribe leader’s daughter?” he asked.
“Y-yes,” Cherri said and pursed her lips. She sniffled, causing her body to jolt.
“He will be very disappointed,” the elder said and folded his arms over his chest. The remaining centaurs finished chanting and stepped away from the sapling before heading towards the group.
“You bastards had sunlight!” Cory shouted as her wings opened fully. Her feathers puffed up, increasing her body size. “This should be ours!”
One of the centaurs snorted. “It isn’t our fault you cretins haven’t thought about doing this,” he said. “It’s a shame the rest of your kind won’t find out either. Now that you’ve seen this, you can’t be allowed to leave.”
Palan raised an eyebrow and looked at Raea. “I don’t get it,” he said as the centaurs circled around the group. “It’s just a really small tree.”
Raea shrugged. “I’m just as confused as you are,” she said and scratched her head. “Maybe it has some religious meaning?” She raised her head and stared at Cherri who was trembling with tears falling from her face. “What do you think, Cherri?”
“Yes,” Justitia said as she stepped closer to Palan. “Ignore the hostile centaurs surrounding us. That’s exactly what we should do.”