SRW: Pecking Order.

Hermes slowly processed through the tense memory with some visible effort as he seemed to relive the memory right in front of Eros’s eyes. His muscles tensed with stress, pupils dilated from the phantom images of gore, and his pulse quickened ever so slightly as the imaginary screams hit his ears. Hermes and Hera had likely endured a prime example of why unsanctioned arena fights were illegal under the Overseer’s rule.

The Overseer cared for all life, and the sad truth was that fight pits almost always had incidents like the one Hermes described happen at least once. Federations like the one Hermes described were mostly just glorified gladiator death matches, as whoever organized said federations almost never wasted the credits or gold to have a medical staff on hand for the fighters or protective spell casters or charms in case of emergencies. As sad as it was, many people went to those federations to see blood and gore. Although, if what Hermes said was true even that situation might have been too much. The Overseer would never permit such barbaric violence under his rule, and ensured that the SRW had safety measures in place not just for the audience members, but for the fighters as well. While Hera’s notched horns would be a dangerous weapon in a fight out in the wild, here in the SRW they were subject to many of the hidden debuff spells that lay inside the arena. Had she and her subject of admiration fought under the Overseer rather than a low level amateur, that situation likely never would have come to be. The spells inside of the ring and arena of the SRW would have blunted Hera’s horns without taking away any of her momentum, leading to a proper spear like she had planned and the fight to continue as normal.

Of course…that’s assuming Hermes is telling the truth. If he is being truthful, then there isn’t going to be much point in finding that gored goon. He’s either dead or retired due to injury…shame. It would have been a fun rating boost! And maybe nice to tease Hera a bit!

The mischievous thoughts didn’t leak onto Eros’s face as she gently patted Hermes' shoulder, her smile relenting just a bit to not scare the young assistant.

“It’s nice to see you care for her, Hermes~ Under my guidance, such a situation will be difficult, if not outright impossible, to occur again.” Eros said in her honey-sweet tone, “And don’t apologize~ After all, you’re just being honest. And I doubt your coworkers will mind too much.”

After giving Hermes shoulder a gentle squeeze, Eros would turn around once again and lead him to the other end of yet another winding hallway. It would only be a minute that passed, but the sheer silence of the place seemed to extend time and feel as though almost half an hour had gone by. When the bakeneko finally stopped, it would be in front of a large, wooden door bolted and hinged with iron and nails. An alien sight, given the rest of the doors were similar looking office space doorways or the occasional security scan door. The bakeneko seemed familiar with the door, and didn’t bat an eye as she began fishing through her pockets to find what she was after. Humming a certain tune, Eros would pluck a worn looking golden key. It looked like it had once been beautiful, but through years of work it was reduced to a former piece of art. The golden color was chipped and scratched, revealing the true silver and iron metal the key was actually made from. The lovely designs of flora and vines that were carved now only looked like deep, ugly cuts into the key as time had warped their splendid image. Even the hole for the key ring had been bent to an uneven oval shape, and yet the key slipped into the keyhole without issue and made a distinct CHUNK noise as Eros turned the key.

Peering over at Hermes, Eros would toss the key over towards the manager for him to catch.

“That will be yours~ There are only two keys to this door, and I’d hate to have to come and unlock this door for you every day if you lost your copy.”

The door would open with a heavy squeal, revealing a descending corridor of stone steps flanked by concrete walls. A total shift from the fairly modern office space of the SRW, this place had an almost oppressive atmosphere right out of the gate! The lights were dim lanterns lit with magic rather than flames, giving the dark steps a blue aura of flickering ghostly light! Despite the magical flames lighting the way, it was still difficult to see very far ahead. Shadows and darkness was in every crack and crevice of this place, with not a single ray of natural light to be seen.

“After you~” Eros purred, holding the door open for Hermes with a playful smile.

A long moment past as Hermes exhaled through his nostrils, attempting to vent all the tension that had built up in his body from reliving that memory. He flashed a soft, appreciative smile to Eros- It was nice for them to set their differences aside, even if just for a moment. With a gentle shrug of his shoulder, he nodded.

"Thanks... I'm counting on ya to keep Hera safe. I don't doubt you can, or that she'll even need much help, but... Y'know, just want the best for her."

Another attempt to dispell any pressure with a sigh, and with a clap of his hands, Hermes flicked back into business mode. "So! Shall we get going, then?" Inviting Eros to lead the way again, the two of them continued their journey, letting the relative silence wash over them once again. Upon reaching the wooden door, Hermes felt his eyebrows shoot up- It was like something straight out of some old fable, a gateway into the ye olde past that threw off the whole feng shui of everything surrounding it. The young man opened his mouth to question the door's purpose- Only to have a key tossed to him, leaving him to enter a brief frenzy as he fumbled to catch it, batting it from one hand to the next before finally clapping his hands together to capture the key!

Once he looked back up, Hermes was met with the daunting stairwell to Gods-know-where, his breath catching in his throat as his whole body tenses. A wave of dread overcomes his whole being, his mind filled with intense deja vu of stories that have kept him up at night- He's always had a deep affliction to the macabre, yet an oxymoronic fascination with it. At least when it came to fiction; This was real, all too real, and a tiny voice in his brain was making quite the convincing argument to book it.

"W-Where, uh..." Hermes started, trying to keep his cool, but Eros could hear a distinct waver in his voice. "Where does this... go, exactly...?"

The door remained wide open, with Eros standing off to the side with her silent offer for Hermes to enter still open for him to take. But instead, the small little imp-thing just stood there, wide eyed as he peered into the winding darkness inside. He must not have expected the content of this door to be so totally different from the rest of the office space surrounding him. Of course, this door was clearly special from the others thanks to the many enchantments that were sealed into its wooden planks and locks. Technically, this door was a smaller waygate. Created through the Overseer’s magic as a way to separate this prison world from Gaia. A sort of phantom zone given life through the Overseer’s will. It was purely for security reasons, as there was no way one could escape this world unless they had the key to the door. The key that was now in Herme’s possession.

“Down here, are the Cells, Hermes. Each and every monster, plague, horror, and criminal the Overseer deemed too dangerous to allow any chance of escape into Gaia. From the Primal Fairy Queen, to the Roaming Raze Maze.”

Eros was clearly very proud of the Cells. A honeycomb of mystical cages wrapped together by her master’s immensely powerful magic and trusted to be maintained by her and her staff. The bakeneko smirked, clearly eyeing Hermes as his conscience told him to turn and run…almost like she knew what he was thinking.

“You’re an assistant to the Head Warden of Gaia now~ If anyone needs me while I’m down here, it will be you that will have to get me, right?”

Eros spoke with her usual sweetness, but it seemed she was keen on teasing Hermes today. She didn’t move from the door, and instead stood beside it expectantly. Waiting for Hermes to make his decision. This might have been a test, knowing the bakeneko… but could easily be a mean spirited joke at Hermes expense. Her unreadable face made it impossible to tell!

“Unless…you don’t feel comfortable going down just yet?”

No. No, as a matter of fact, he was not comfortable with going down to the dark dungeon filled with monsters, plagues, and criminals just yet. As a matter of fact, he wasn't sure he'd ever be comfortable with it. And he was all ready to open his mouth and express that to his boss, until two voices in his brain piped up.

The first one sounded a lot like the voice telling him to bail- It was trepidation, a fear of the unknown. But unlike his original fear of what could happen to him if he went down to the Cells, this fear was far more intangible: What would happen if he refused? Would he simply be teased for his cowardice? Would he be fired and left without a job? Maybe something would happen to Hera, an effort to bury her push before it even began. Maybe something would happen to him- And somehow that thought made him far more worried than anything that could happen to him down there in the Cells.

The second voice was, actually, far more simple: Curiosity. An overwhelming curiosity to see something he has never seen before. Hermes blinked twice, peering back down that empty abyss of a stairwell.

"... Dahhhhh screw it... Let's go."

The Head Warden remained by the entryway. As still and quiet as the old enchanted wooden door itself was leaving Hermes alone with his thoughts as the yawning dark hole in the wall stood waiting for him to decide if he should step forward and be swallowed up into such an unknown place. It would have been easy to forget she was even there, as only the slight flickering of the enchanted lantern flames and the occasional sounds of dripping water came from the Cells. The more Hermes thought, the more those sounds seemed to call to him, like some twisted song of shadow and darkness.

Drip…drip…drop…drip.

The extended silence made his sharp ears focus more and more on the dripping inside of the darkened halls. Each passing drop sounded louder and louder, starting from a subtle noise to something close to a bell! It was only when Hermes pulled himself out of his thoughts that the dripping noise returned to its regular volume, returning to a sweet subtle noise near the bottom of the winding hallway. Once again, his eyes were consumed by the pitched black dark that stood before him, dancing shadows and all! The enchanted flames remained clinging to the walls, but the fresh air from his side of the door pulled at them, feeding them in a manner that seemed to divert their flames towards him. The dancing heat seemed set onto him, eyes of embers practically watching him, reaching for him even.

Whether it was bravery, reluctance to fail, or maybe just a quick flash of insanity, Hermes would swallow his fear and accept the journey. But if he expected any sort of response, he would be sharply disappointed. His only companion remained by the door, her eyes shining almost brighter than the flames inside the winding halls, her form was just as immobile as the hallway itself, and her face as readable as its darkened stone walls. Her thin smile remained on her lips as the door remained in her grasp, her silent offer never waning or rescinding even as Hermes thought to himself. This was Hermes' choice, and it would be his own volition to enter. All the while, his voice echoed down to the Cells, as if calling him to follow as it rolled down the tunnel deeper and deeper until even his sharp ears could no longer hear its familiar tone.

Both of them knew how easy it was to say they would do something. But even in Gaia, actions spoke so much louder than any word ever could.

.   .   .

Hermes blinked, turning his head to Eros expectantly, before realization lit up his eyes. "Oh... Oh you want me to go first?"

And just as quickly as they beamed, the light drained from Hermes' eyes, as if the flickering torches had sapped it directly from him to feed their taunting dance. It was funny to see a man so full of unearned confidence one second, only to see it fade away the very next. It was a shame his skin was already an ashen grey- Eros surely would've gotten a kick out of seeing the color drain from his face. Another awkward silence passed, as Hermes quickly ran through the process of convincing himself to move once again...

["... Dohhhhkay..."] With a quiet, exasperated sigh, Hermes finally achieved the impossible, and stepped forward.

While it was difficult to read Eros’s perfectly still expression, it would be a safe bet for Hermes to assume that she was enjoying the situation that was unfolding in front of her. The way Hermes hesitated and stirred in place while those eerie gold eyes seemed to watch him with an expectation of sorts. Did she want him to actually step through that doorway? Or did she want to see him back out and run away? Leaving her alone with Hera in the SRW and the gladiator under her total control. Hermes was clever enough to see that Eros had nothing to lose if he stayed or disappeared, which made her happy expression and watchful eyes just as uncomfortable as the deep and dark hallway that stood ready to consume him.

But perhaps that was just his nerves talking. Hermes had done plenty of backroom deals in his past, but this was a Head Warden that served the Overseer himself! Someone who prioritized safety over all else, right? And yet, he couldn’t shake that feeling in the back of his mind. The feeling like there was a target on his back, and that the Warden was staring a hole right through it.

As he stepped through the door, a cold air seemed to flow through his hair and rustle his clothes. In the very same instant his feet hit the descending stone stairs, the bright light behind him seemed to disappear with a heavy slam. In a single instant, the flames became his only sense of light. If he turned, he would find the door was gone. Nothing but a corner of darkness that would expose a solid brick wall with no openings or crooks to be seen. A dead end, where the door had once been. Even as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, there was simply nothing else there to see. Now, it was just him, the lights, and a stone prison that seemed to surround him everywhere he looked.

Well…everywhere but one.

“A safety precaution~” Eros purred, suddenly standing in front of him.

Her dark clothes made her blend into the deep shadows perfectly. Even after his eyes seemed to adjust, it was difficult to keep track of where Eros was if she strayed too far into the dim shadows.

“It’s never happened, but to keep anything down here from escaping any further than the cells, we’ve employed the use of special magic to constantly move exits of this place at random. You will never be able to walk out the way you came in here.”

The soft but sturdy sounds of her feet hitting the stone steps let Hermes know she was descending. It didn’t seem as though she looked back or waited for him, but the dimness made it difficult to tell. But for now, the only way to go was down. Surely he would catch up with her even if she didn’t wait. At least, that was the thought that lingered in the air.

"Ghh--!!" Oh this was it, Hermes had really done it now. The sudden rush of darkness and the booming, echoing thud of the door slamming left him frozen in fear, his skin overcome with the prickly sensation of anxiety, leaving him feeling like an acupuncturist's pincushion! Instinctively he turned and reached his hands out to shove the door open, completely ignoring his earlier decision and instead opting to dive right out in a fight-or-flight response. But instead, his palms simply pushed against ice-cold, solid brick, and a wave of bewilderment and pure despair washed over the wide-eyed assistant...

Then Eros' voice came from behind him, further down the stairs. A sound that instantly brought him both immense relief, and even more apprehension, a paradoxical cocktail churning like a whirlpool in his chest. He turned and pressed his back against the wall, as if to protect himself from some sort of sneaky trick, as he struggled to focus on the Warden's eyes in the darkness, his own rapidly blinking in sporadic rhythms as he tries to catch his breath.

"Y-You... You c-couldn't have told me that before we s-stepped in...? F-Fuck..." He couldn't prevent the tremble in his voice to save his life. He did keep himself at least somewhat composed, avoiding an outright accusatory tone so as not to upset his new headache of a boss, but plenty of indignation bled into his tone. He did not sign up for this. And he was just about to tell Eros that when the distinct click of shoes meeting concrete filled the stairwell- Was she descending without him?! "WAIT, waitwaitwaitwait, slow down c'mon--!" As much as she gave him the creeps, sticking close to the only other soul in the darkness was far, far more appealing than being left alone. And so, Hermes frantically scurried behind the Warden, hoping to catch up and stay close!

Herme’s scurrying footsteps and pleading calls for his boss to slow down caused quite a ruckus in the deep dark dungeon cells. His voice echoed deep within the rocky hallways, and returned to the duo almost as loud as it would have been had it come from his mouth! Eros paid no mind to her assistant's pleas and continued on at her familiar pace, only listening to Hermes gentle curses and the occasional sound of him missing a step! The smile on her face grew considerably, but Hermes would never be able to see it with her back to him.

Not even Cirkot screams like that anymore! Messing with Cirkot is fun, but Hermes has some rather amusing expressions too. I can almost hear him crying~ The Wicked Warden thought! A shame he and Hera are a packaged deal at the moment. I’d love to see what expressions he’d make when I-!

Eros suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Her golden eyes gleamed in the dark as she suddenly twisted her head to face the stuttering student.

“That’s right! I was going to ask you about Hera!”

The way Eros spoke, it seemed more like she was talking to herself. Even her gaze that latched onto Hermes almost seemed to cut right through him. Those golden eyes rested on him, but didn’t see him as the bakeneko seemed lost in her own imagination and mind. As quickly as she spun around to face Hermes, she was off again. Although those golden eyes didn’t disappear from view. Instead, Eros retreated off the last few steps of the winding hallway backwards! Her feet hit the flat stone floor with a definitive CLACK, which muffled the next few steps she took.

“Honestly, how could I forget~? I wanted your opinion on how best to market our wild little gladiator. You’ve been with her for some time, I’m sure you would have some insight on how we can help her achieve her best self? Hera has a somewhat menacing appearance and stature, but I think we could clean her up to be a face…what do you think?”

Eros walked naturally in the cell hallway. While the torches down in the cells did a much better job of chasing away the shadows than the light fiery lamps in the winding stairway. Hermes would finally be able to see properly again, but the torches here only revealed more of what had already been seen. Solid brick and stone, wrapped with the occasional belt of enchanted metal. Various wooden pieces of furniture lay strung about the large, square shaped hall. This might have been a guards post at some point. Or maybe even a storage area, given the eccentric way one had to enter the dungeon.

Hermes' hands pressed against the walls of the stairway in a barely-fruitful attempt to keep himself steady as he barreled after Eros, his feet haphazardly making each step like a shoddy tapdancing performance. He hardly had time to think in his desperate chase, which was a double-edged sword- On the one hand, it meant his brain was too preoccupied to dream up any specific nightmares he could find himself in once they reached the bottom. On the other, however, just because he couldn't conjure any particular frightful ideas doesn't mean his body wasn't gripped with a general sense of dread, a sinking pit in his stomach that only grew as the pair went deeper...

And deeper...

And deep--

"GWAH--!"

The poor boy's skeleton nearly jolted right out of his body as his forward momentum was suddenly blocked by the Warden stopping and thrusting her golden hues right into his face, knocking him off-balance and leaving him to flop right onto the hard stairs! "Ow..." Rubbing the small of his back and peeking one eye open, he tilted his head slightly as Hera's name was brought up again- Oh, she was thinking of turning Hera face? Huh! With a grunt, he pushed himself back up and dusted himself off, stepping back in line with Eros as she walked backwards- Yeesh, how could someone do that without getting nervous...?

"Well, uh... Luckily for you, Hera's pretty flexible when it comes to playing a role. She treats the whole 'hero and villain' dynamics uber seriously, like it's a religion to her almost. It's kinda cute honestly, when she gets all excited and starts brainstormin'..." His words were flavored with a gentle chuckle, talking about Hera offering a chance for him to try and settle down after the grueling mental rollercoaster that was the walk down the stairs. "She's very classic in how she presents herself- When she's heel, she acts like the most menacing monster imaginable- Though she likes to mix in some cerebrality in, y'know, a thinkin' villain is way scarier than a mindless brute she says. And when she's face, she's full-on comic book hero, drives her power from the people..."

His tireless report trails off slowly as he looks around and properly takes in his surroundings now- And that prickling sense of foreboding overcame him again, his throat starting to grow dry as he fruitlessly tried to clear his throat. "Uhhh... I... Sorry, lost my train of thought..."