Chamber of Nature

There was a clear path on either side, with Emma being quick to choose the rightmost path, going off of her own intuition again. 

Blake looked around, looking at a peculiar spot on the left side of the room where an abundance of vines hung over, "--Hold on." 

Using his sword, he slashed the overgrowth, cutting it away as a third passage was found. 

Emma peeked in, finding the newly-found path much more cramped with overgrowth with the aroma of damp, old grass greeting both adventurers' noses. 

"This way looks more…foreboding?" Emma remarked, only peering partly into the corridor. 

"Come on," Blake nonchalantly said as he entered the passage without any discussion. 

The red headed archer gasped, calling out, "Hey, what happened to talking things through! Hey! Urgh–you're a total idiot, you know that!" 

Despite what she said, the lithe girl begrudgingly followed right beside him. It felt claustrophobic walking down the corridor covered in grass, sprouting colorful flowers. 

He quickly hurried to the end of the hall, stepping into the next chapter. It seemed as though he stepped right into a dense jungle, going by the complete presence of growth within the room. 

There were large flowers that bloomed from the cracks in the stone, all sharing the same appearance of triangular, scarlet petals. 

"This isn't normal, is it?" Emma asked, inspecting the ground. 

"I'm not any sort of botanist, but I'd reason to say it's not normal at all," Blake agreed, finding the sweet aroma of flowers becoming a nuisance to his senses. 

The chamber of luscious growth, claimed by nature, was far larger than the previous rooms of the labyrinth he'd found. It put him on edge, seeing as there were too many blind spots with the abundance of vines and flowers blocking his view. 

"Careful," Emma warned, keeping an arrow by her bow. 

"Don't need to tell me that," Blake said, staying only a few steps ahead. 

As he moved quietly without a sound, something made itself known—a slight rustle in the foliage. He saw something move within it, bringing him to take careful steps closer, closer, and closer— 

"Kreeeee!" 

The shriek came with a figure popping out of the abundant plants: a stumpy, bark-skinned plant that resembled a child. 

"What the—?!" Blake jumped back, wincing as the fiend's yell stabbed at his eardrums. 

Emma covered her ears, "A Mandragora!" 

From the mouth of the fiendish plant, the banshee-like shriek intensified to a painful degree before coming to a sudden stop. 

"Nn–"

"Ahh…" 

Blake watched the little noisemaker run off on its tiny legs, though was unable to give it any chase as his legs didn't respond. In fact, no part of his body responded. 

'Can't move…That yell–paralyzed me?' He questioned, finding his ears still ringing. 

From the noises made by his companion behind him, it seemed she was in the same predicament. It took a minute before he found his bodily functions returning to him, nearly stumbling over alongside the archer. 

"Urgh–that little…!" Emma said in frustration. 

"It ran off," Blake said, rubbing the side of his head with a sigh, "That's one more thing to watch out for." 

The archer tapped her own ears multiple times as if trying to flush out the lingering ringing, "So annoying! I hate those little things! Ever find one in your garden? Talk about a rude awakening."

"Can't say I have," Blake said, giving the girl a soft pat on the head, "Let's keep moving."

The gesture brought a small tint of pink to the young woman's cheeks as she nodded, "Y-yeah." 

As he led the way once more, he used his sword like that of a barrier, using its length to brush aside vines and bushes to make sure he didn't get surprised by the shrieking fiend. 

"Oh?" He reacted upon pushing some of the growth aside. 

There was a passageway unlike the others he'd seen: lifted a couple meters above the ground, yet the same shape as the others. It was as if it was a miscalculation when the dungeon was built, though one too obvious to be done on accident. 

"Guess that's our way," Emma said, looking up at the heightened path. 

Blake knelt down with his left shoulder pressed against the wall, placing both hands down as he gestured for his companion, "Come on, I'll boost you."

"Right," Emma said with a nod. 

As he watched the girl's light-brown boot step onto his palm, he was surprised at how light she felt, both by her weight and his recent gain in strength. He easily hoisted her up as he stood, lifting his hands. 

"Hyup–!" Emma let out, hopping up to grab onto the edge of the pathway. 

He watched as the archer struggled to pull herself up, deciding to give her a bit of help as he pushed his hand against her rear for a bit of a boost. Though it was hardly the largest, it was definitely soft, yet firm from the brief feel he got. 

"Hey!--Oh," Emma shouted, glancing back at the indecent touch, though realizing it had brought her up properly. 

Blake waited by the wall, "Whenever you're ready." 

He stood there until the scarlet-haired girl leaned back over, reaching her hand down for him. 

"Alright! I gotcha!" Emma said with an enthusiastic smile. 

Accepting the returned help of his companion, he grabbed on, using his feet to climb up the wall before being pulled up entirely, by some miracle of the young woman's small stature. 

"Pwah!" Emma exhaled, falling back onto her rear upon pulling him up. 

Blake caught his breath as well, looking around at the dim tunnel they had found themselves in now. It was becoming more of a hassle than he imagined to track down the insignia, though he maintained his focus. 

"You good?" He asked. 

Emma nodded, "Yeah, just still got that ringing in my ears…What about you?"

"Yup. I'm going to have migraines for the next few days," Blake answered with an exhale. 

The passage led into another chamber claimed by nature, of a much more impossible appearance; there were entire trees growing in the vast room, housing what looked like its own ecosystem. 

He dropped down first, finding his boots landing not on firm stone, but a cushion of soil. The grass that grew went up to his knees, bringing an almost overbearing amount of green around him. 

Behind him, the archer dropped down with a quiet landing, "Think we're getting anywhere?"

Emma asked, brushing her shorts off. 

"Hope so," he responded. 

With slow, careful steps, he began exploring the room, keeping an eye on the peculiar trees that didn't look like any he'd seen before; of dark bark and slanted branches. Just as he pushed past the dense foliage to see the heart of the chamber, a mass amount of rustling met his ears. 

He immediately raised his sword, placing his free hand behind him to bring his companion to a stop as well. 

"Kip. Kip. Kip."

"Kip!"

"Kip-kip!"

The small chirps came from the small creatures that ran out of the dense grass: the humanoid, plant-like fiends. They didn't move towards the two adventurers, nor seemed to even acknowledge their existence, only moving in the same direction. 

"Mandragoras," Emma whispered, "Where are they going?" 

"Dunno," Blake answered quietly, keeping his eyes forward. 

As he carefully followed behind the migrating creatures, the rendezvous was found past a wall of vines: stationed near a wall coated in overgrowth was a domal home built of dirt and flowers. 

"A hut?" Blake remarked. 

"Weird…Think they're hiding treasure in there?" Emma asked. 

"You have one thought on your mind, don't you?" Blake said, looking over at the avaricious companion of his. 

He got closer to the mysterious hut, not directly keeping in as he instead listened closely. The chirps of the mandragoras could be heard, alongside a muffled voice. 

'A person?' He thought. 

If it was really another human in there, and if they had some sort of connection with the hostile plants, then there was a good chance his hypnosis would be effective. At least, he hoped as much. 

"Anything?" Emma asked in a whisper. 

Blake glanced at her, "I'm going to check it out–stay here."

"That's totally dangerous though," the red-haired girl responded worriedly. 

"It's fine, trust me. If you hear those things in there shriek, then back me up, alright?" Blake asked. 

"Alright, but be careful," Emma accepted hesitantly. 

There was something that stood out to him as he carefully approached the flower-covered dome; the entrance was much bigger than necessary for the small bodies of the mandragoras. In fact, he felt it was perfectly sized for a person. 

'…Don't make a sound,' he reminded himself.