Chapter Text
“Ooo! A lever!”
Luz brushed some of her brown curls behind her ear as she reached out to pull the contraption on the wall. Fire from her torch danced on her tan skin as a loud CLUNK! aired deeper within the dungeon. The pattering of footsteps echoed off the walls as a small, dark-furred creature walked up to her.
“Uh, Luz?” King said, the skull covering his head taking on an orange hue from the firelight. “Don’t you remember what happened the last time you pulled a random lever?”
Luz waved her hand flippantly as she started looking around for whatever the lever had opened. “Oh pshaw, King! Levers are meant for pulling! Besides,” she smiled as she found an opening in the wall that hadn’t been there before. “We made those skeletons look like the pile of bones they are. It’s not a dungeon without a couple of baddies. Otherwise, the loot is too easy.”
King rolled his eyes, following his sister further into the dungeon. Before he could reply, the rattling of bones filled the room again as three skeletons formed from piles on the ground, turning their empty eye sockets toward the two newcomers.
“Luz chop!” Luz shouted, slamming her hand into the skull of one of their assailants, only to wince as it connected, pulling it back with a pulsing pain in her fingers.
King stepped in front of her, taking a power stance as he stared down the skeletons despite only coming up to their knees.
“Weh!”
A burst of energy shot out from King’s mouth as he shouted, shattering the skeletons into piles on the ground once more. His shoulders heaved for a moment as he waited to see if any more attackers would appear. Once he saw they were clear, he looked over at Luz, still nursing her hand.
“When was the last time a Luz Chop even worked?”
Luz scowled at him lightly. “They work! Just, you know, not so good on bones, apparently.”
King shook his head, chuckling. “I’ll never understand how you survive these without me.”
“Oh, come on. You know mom taught me well.” Luz smiled as she lifted a key from where one of the skeletons had stood. “Besides, once I get a new sword, I’ll be back at full power, baby!”
“Yeah, another sword for you to lose fighting the Flame Queen,” King muttered to himself with a huff.
“What was that?” Luz asked, glancing at him with a grin as she found a keyhole hidden in the wall.
“A new sword sounds great!” King exclaimed, giving his sister a thumbs up.
Luz smiled victoriously as she turned the key, a whooshing sound coming from the hidden door as it opened. Inside, her torchlight reflected off water surrounding a narrow pathway that led to a small circle on the other side of the room.
Glinting in the light, a golden blade protruded from the ground, a red gem in its black handle sparkling the same way Luz’s eyes did when she saw the sword.
“Gimmegimmegimmegimmegimme!” Luz ran toward the sword, ignoring King’s protests about boobytraps, until she stood in front of it, bouncing from foot to foot. “Okay, Luz, it’s like in every story you’ve ever heard about a hero finding a sword, you’ve practiced your whole life for this moment, don’t mess it up.”
The teenager smiled as she placed her feet shoulder-width apart, reaching out with her right hand to grip the black handle tightly. She took a deep breath, pulling the sword from its stone in one fell swoop, holding it above her head, and pointing toward the ceiling.
She held the pose for a moment before lowering the blade to inspect it more closely. There were some chips and scratches, but the blade was still sharp. It looked like a sword fit for an adventurer.
In other words, it was perfect.
She giggled, giving it a few practice swings before sheathing it on her back. She turned that grin to her brother, though it quickly turned to a frown when she noticed that King wasn’t even looking at her.
“King! Did you even see? New sword!”
King hummed in response, something on the wall taking his attention.
Luz sighed, kicking some dirt on the ground before stepping next to King and looking at the wall with him. “What is that?”
King hummed, scratching his head. “I… I don’t know.”
Luz stumbled back, looking at her brother surprised. “You don’t know?! You’re like-” She gestured into the sky as if trying to convey everything all at once. “You’re the demon encyclopedia! How do you not know?!”
King shrugged. “Never seen that symbol before in my life. It’s probably nothing. Sigil of an old kingdom or some demon who thought he was way cooler than he really was. I mean, seriously, who builds a dungeon just to leave a sword and a weird arrow circle?”
As King moved on, scooping up as much gold on the floor as he could into his bag, Luz stared at the drawing on the wall for a bit longer. After a moment of thought, she nodded to herself, pulling out her notebook to copy the sigil down so she could research it in the library later.
She stuck her tongue out as she drew, double-checking every new line with the engraving on the wall. “Aaaaand done!” She exclaimed, tapping her hand against the drawing with a smile.
She started to close her journal, dropping it in surprise as the paper closed in on itself. Luz watched in awe as the paper turned into a ball of light, hovering over the journal peacefully.
“King,” Luz called out for her sibling. “King, look! I… I think I just did magic. I just did magic!”
King rolled his eyes. “Luz, you’re a human, you can’t do magic. Wait, what is that?”
As King inspected the light orb closer, Luz jumped around in place, throwing her hands into the air and ignoring her brother. “I just did magic! I can’t believe it! This is going to come in handy during so many missions, and even more, the Princess won’t believe-” Luz stopped, clapping her hands to her cheeks. “Oh my gosh, King, we have to tell the Princess! She won’t believe it!”
“Yeah, okay.” King dusted his hands off as he stood up, leaving the light orb hovering until Luz grabbed her journal. “This place was getting pretty boring anyway.”
Luz quickly drew the sigil from the wall one last time, not quite completing the circle, before stowing her loot and scooping King off the ground.
Together, the two of them ran forward, out of the dungeon, and on their way to the Plant Kingdom to tell the Princess of their discovery.