The tower of Cuccubao. Straight out of a Gustave Dorè incubus.
Walls over walls of stones engraved with thousands of monsters, gods, demons out of every mythology the Earth has ever known. Visions of every Hell man had to endure. Tortures, violences, rapes…
Vines and lichens and strange mushrooms encrusts the bas-reliefs; among them, a varied fauna of deadly insects, venomous amphibians and poisonous serpents crawls and twists.
We are circling the base of the tower, trying to find a way to enter. But there is no trace of a gate, an entrance or even the small of the holes.
“It’s not that we are not finding it, Ed. There is not any gate. Or I, without doubt, would have find it. By chance, obviously!” smiles Kristopher, still stroking every stone, hoping to release some hidden mechanism.
“They had to enter somewhere” I say.
“Maybe they phase just like Ameristar. See? Their tracks ends here, right in front of this steep wall”.
“Or they can fly” I suggest, while my feathers sprout out of my arms, while I am ready to take flight.
“Wait a moment!” says Drake. “They could have fled, or phased, or shrunken to subatomic size… we don’t need to follow their way… when I can summon Drax!”
And all of a sudden, the young man disappears, and a big, white, furry dragon takes his place.
“Comrades… follow me!” The creature opens his way trough the stone, ripping the walls like tissue.
We walk inside. There is a long corridor, spiralling up, lit by torches. On the internal side of the corridor, there is a seemingly infinite row of wooden doors, closed.
