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[url=https://www1.flightrising.com/dragon/72209123][img]https://www1.flightrising.com/rendern/350/722092/72209123_350.png[/img][/url] DeepFire trudged upwards, irritated by her sisters comments about the view at the edge of the stairs looking down. Whomever said two head were better than one didn't have to live with said head there entire life. Her glowing body lighted the path for several yards all around her. Giving a little advantage to her near companions in negotiating the staircase. A breeze constantly blew from down below. So hope filled her heart that an exit big enough for a dragon was above them. The glow of her body lit some creatures eyes looking down at her from above. Could that be Lyra the cat and Fraizadi the Imperial above her. She missed her former group mate's cats mischievous antics. I'm so glad they escaped the fire. It made the journey so much better feeling lighter of heart. The staircase was too narrow to bypass other dragons to reach Fraizadi. DeepFire wondered if others of thier group were still with them or were they the only two left. She was so focused on the cats eyes above her that she almost missed a step. Hearing her sister hiss in her ear she turned her concentration back to the stairs that had for some reason were now hewn from the rock in various heights from each other and widths. An easy boring climb had become a challenge as each next step needed to be closely scrutinized before placing a claw on it. Did that step above her change shape? Was this staircase a living being? Was this the witches doing? @Stagraven group 6 @gn0me Trying to survive.

[center][emoji=rose size=1] [color= 013A20] Hi everyone! I wanted to just let you know that the final chapter will be posted on Sunday! I'm already drafting the last bit of the story. I just need it to make sense. And to be extra transparent, I am really into the profit push for my flight this week. Hope you're having a good week, too. See you on Sunday with the lone survivor and the winner of the 5,000 gems!

[center][img]https://i.gyazo.com/73df7ba9eaf3c0c533de914e72c22e7f.png[/img][/center] [center][emoji=skull size=1][/center] [center][b][size=7]The Final Chapter[/size][/b][/center] [quote][color= 013A20]It feels as if you’ve made no progress to the top at all. The spiraling never seems to stop. Every now and then the remaining few of you have to stop when the weight of everyone begins to shake some of the looser debris off of the cavernous walls. Unfortunately, two members of the group weren’t able to move out of the way before larger boulders fell. You hope it was quick for Iris (@PlushKiwi) and Sylvan (@c0nfused). It is quite heartbreaking that they would perish so close to the way out. Based on all of the information you already had, you are still surprised that getting out of here would not be a simple task. You figure you’ve been climbing up this spiral monstrosity for a few hours. You begin to wonder if it’s an illusion of sorts…but you’re probably just hungry and dehydrated. The waterskins you were given stopped refilling awhile back. Maybe the cave walls are blocking the magic or something? The dragon in the front screams. What now? Up ahead you see that they’re trapped in a massive spider web. You shudder, whatever made that was no small thing. But where is it? You can barely think with the poor soul, you think their name is Adramei (@Astaraela), struggling on the web. You barely have enough time to process what is happening before a large spider begins to pull Adramei up, put them in a cocoon, and drag them into an opening above your heads. Do you run for it? “Don’t bother running. I could catch you quite easily.” You suppose that answers that question. Plus, you’re already frozen in fear and in sorrow. “My name is Absinthe, and the only way up to what you seek is to get past me. I have not eaten in many months. Your friend will make a good snack, but I think I’d like another.” All at once, everyone begins to shout and protest! No one else needs to become food. The spider speaks again, “I would never be so cruel as to make you all choose a sacrifice. So, I shall pick for you.” The Absinthe reaches back into their nest above, and produces a small sack. “Each of you take one. Do not look in the bag, just reach in, and take the first one your hand touches. Do not look at what you’ve grabbed until I tell you to. Whoever grabs the red marble, will be the one to stay behind.” You gasp in horror. Not cruel? This is barbaric! One of the dragons is so sick of everything, they exclaim angrily, “WHATEVER. I don’t even care anymore. I’m this close to just turning around and just living here in this blasted garden. Red marble, blue marble, yellow marble, it doesn't matter. Everyone just grab one, so at least some of us can make it home. Maybe your lair can come back and burn this place down.” The outburst causes everyone to be silent. They have a point even if it is a morbid one. You figure it probably is better one than none. You feel terrible for even thinking such a thing, but they’re right. You must set aside your feelings, and get to it. Everyone reaches into the bag and grabs a marble. “Which one of you grabbed the red one?,” asks Absinthe There’s a gasp and a defeated whimper. It’s Celegans (@Nott). She whispers, “please let my lair know what happened here.” As soon as the words leave her, Absinthe shoots out webbing, and pulls her up into the nest. “You all better leave before I decide I want another one of you.” Everyone scrambles to get past this section of the cave. You pray to whatever deities have been ignoring you this whole time to finally listen, and to just let everyone make it safely. Thankfully, everything is uneventful, but again, you wonder how there are still stairs to climb. Finally, someone else voices this. “We should have made it to the top by now.” You immediately agree. Some trickery is happening. You suggest that everyone stops and takes a breather, so you can figure out what is going on and how to stop it. Someone leans against the wall of the staircase, and they…disappear? You rush to see if you can open the passage again. But the wall remains solid. Huh. You ask if anyone knew which one of you what was. It was Ultranova (@ViciousPrincess). You hope she magically ended up back home, but you know that it can’t be. BUT you do notice that there is writing on the walls. You know they weren’t there before. It’s just another riddle that’s literally life or death. [i]“Up is down, and down is up.” “It’s a tightrope, but life is all about balance.”[/i] Once the words are read out loud, a thin rock bridge appears ahead, and connects to a new section of the cave that you hadn’t noticed before. “I assume it wants us to choose?,” someone voices. You all know it’s true. It’s another choice, and you really hope it’s the last one. You’re at your wits end. In the end, the group can’t decide which path to take, but two dragons have decided to take the bridge because there was no way they would risk jumping down or having to climb all the way up again. You watch as Deepfire (@gardenparty) and Fable (@CitrusSeeds) make their way across the bridge. You sigh in relief as you watch them make it across. They cheer and high-five. They turn to let you know that it is safe, and to come across! You start to move towards the bridge, but it falls away. Are you stuck over here? Fable shouts,“JUST STAY THERE. WE’LL MAKE SURE SOMEONE COMES BACK TO GET YOU. I REMEMBER HOW TO GET HERE.” You’re not a fan of this plan, but you don’t know what else to do but wait. But you quickly realize that the plan is another dud because just as those two step into the doorway that appeared with the bridge, it lights up in bright purple flames, and you hear them all scream before the doorway seals. There are only two of you left. [i]Up is down, and down is up[/i]. You don’t even think. You jump, and hope for the best. You scream on the way down, the bottom of the cave is rushing up towards you. You close your eyes and brace yourself, but you feel a weird wave pass over you, and you hit…grass? Your other companion lands with a thud next to you. You look at each other in happy shock. You lived. You really jumped and landed. You hear clapping behind you. “Well, looks like you made it. You know I can’t let you live. But I didn’t want to pull the rug out from beneath you before I had a few more chances to see you guys try to leave. I am impressed that you made it this far. I didn’t think you’d ever find the waterfall, let alone make it up the spire to the riddles. I should get this over with…!” It’s Alice. She is standing in between you and a doorway that you know leads to home. Alice follows your gaze, “Ah, yes, it’s a portal to the outside. This side of it remains invisible unless you know exactly what to look for. I’m not sure how the portals even manifested here, but Grandmother says there are hundreds of them all over the place that lead to impossible places.” You have no interest in the other portals. You need to get to this one. “Oh, don’t look at me like that! It was just a bit of fun! Can’t blame a girl for trying to feed her garden!” She is wrong about that. There were many dragons that have met early ends for no reason. You are lost in your thoughts. It’s like your life is flashing through your eyes, you remember every part of your trip in this garden. Then it hits you. You know how to get out of here. Thank you, Grenda. You’re about to carry out your plan when you hear Alice speak ugly words again. “Oh, Garden…I have a few more treats for you.” She begins to hum a soft tune, and vines begin to grow out of the grass. They rise high in the sky, waving to and fro. They start to wind down to you, but then rise up again. Is the garden playing with it’s food? You’d rather just get eaten. Alice is looking up in awe, and you know you have to move quickly. You remember what Grenda told you. Willing blood feeds the garden. Alice must not be aware of this or maybe she is and just finds amusement in what she has done. One of the vines shoots down, grabs Riga (@Storygeek), and wraps what seems about 100 vines around them. You yell in anguish. Alice says with an unholy amount of glee, “And then there was one.” Without even thinking, you slash your own hand with a piece of broken glass you collected during your journey. Blood flows, you shout at the top of your lungs, “I AM GIVING YOU BLOOD FREELY. LET ME GO.” The vines hover in midair as if they’re thinking. A vine moves down and absorbs the blood right before your eyes. It winds around your hand. It’s feather soft. It slithers over your cut, you’re bracing yourself for the end, but it actually closes your wound They make their decision, but they head towards Alice. Your ears are ringing so loudly that you don’t even really see or hear Alice’s screams of rage as she becomes the same food she had been feeding this place while you’ve been here. You want to collapse into the grass beneath you and weep, but you know you can only do that once you’re truly out of here. You walk out the portal, and you find yourself at the gate that had originally seemed so inviting when you had first arrived. You’re finally out of The Garden. [b] You have made it @Stagraven.[/b][/quote] ------ ------ [color= 013A20] Wow, we made it. I did crawl to the end. But I did finish it! I had many re-writes, and I had to read the story to my friend, and I got the green light. Thank you everyone for your patience, and for playing! I'll be back tomorrow evening with prizes and badges! Yes, I promise I will do it tomorrow evening after I get off of work and eat dinner! Also, this is my favorite part: If I missed k*lling you off....1) Awks 2) Well....you're a ghost. You're dead. :/ [center]@pinglist-17996 @pinglist-17995