Seekers of the Stone Maker

They all stepped inside the circle. Leaf wasn’t sure if he would have to activate it or if it would work independently, but as the last person made their way in, it glowed with a bright blue light. The sigils lifted off the ground and rose to their knees as they orbited like planets in the night sky. Leaf waited a moment, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. When he breathed out, he could feel the cold wrap around him.

As he opened his eyes, he was blinded momentarily by the brightness of the snow around him. It fell in sheets, making seeing more than twenty feet out hard. His friends stood in a straight line to his left and right, facing forward to see a cave entrance ahead of them. Ana picked something off the ground, then turned and pulled some items from her food bag.

“This is the vision! Here,” She handed the garlic off to each of them, then took the lead as she chomped on some of the roots. Everyone followed suit, tasting a slight bitterness to the plant.

“Now what?” Leaf asked.

“Look,” Myla said as she pointed forward to the cave.

Leaf tried to look inside the dark entrance but could only see a few feet. As he stared, something came into view.

There’s something in there! He thought to himself.

The figure looked humanoid, but it was eerily still. Next to it, something else started to come into view. Something was moving closer to the entrance. In his head, he heard her voice again, an echo that caused the hair to stand on the back of his neck.

You should have joined me.

He shook Helena’s words away and watched. The creature moved closer and closer, coming almost to the light.

Its feet were gray, with no boots or covering on them. Further up, he could see that the creature was humanoid, wearing a dress covered in dirt and grime. Their bronze-hued hands and arms were slender, and at their torso, he realized it was a woman. Behind her, large golden wings were pulled in.

He would have moved forward to help her, but looking further up paused him. A large cloth covered her eyes and her hair… Instead of hair, snakes lay upon her head, connected to her scalp. Beside her, two basilisks sat like animal companions, lazily watching. She spoke, and though she was at a distance, and the wind gusted around them, it was as if she was speaking right into his ears.

“I imagine you are here because my Godfrey is dead. Please, come inside. My pets will not harm you.”

“Who… Who are you?” Leaf asked.

“I have been given many names over the past decades. I was once Countess of Karthmere Keep, daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. Now, Cecille cursed me with a new name. Medusa.”