The flame of my torch crackles and spits as water drips onto it from above. Its fluctuating orange light catches on piles of bent sheet metal and rusting wire, throwing angular shadows on the tunnel walls as I pick my way through the ruins. One of the shadows seems to hang on the wall as I pass, solidifying into a heavily stylised mural reminiscent of some ancient jungle predator. Its face leers down at me with dead charcoal eyes. Pitch black fangs curl around spatterings of red in its gaping mouth, at the centre of which is a sloppily painted red arrow directing me further into the complex.
The air gets steadily colder as I proceed, but my torch gives off a dry heat that keeps me barely comfortable in my threadbare clothes. Eventually I reach a set of smooth metal doors, each thicker than I am wide and hanging slightly ajar. Smothering my torch I allow my eyes to adjust to the darkness before slipping through the doors. The room is dominated by a heap of cables - some thick as my arm - that seems ready to collapse on anyone who enters. As I step further into the room, two yellow lights flare to life near the top of the mountain of cables.
The room seems to shrink as the metallic creature bends down towards me. The countless cables snaking into the ceiling and walls groan, restraining it less than a foot from my face. Squinting up into its painfully bright amber eyes I hesitate, nearly forgetting what could've possibly motivated me to come down here. Before I can restore order to my thoughts the silence is broken by a low mechanical hum. A long electric blue tongue slides slowly across translucent silicon teeth.
"Either state your business, leave, or if you're feeling particularly lucky - take a few steps forward." The beast's deep voice buzzes loudly from somewhere deep within the heap of machinery, monotone yet still managing to convey a sense of deep impatience.
Despite how tempting the second option sounds as I stare down its softly glowing throat, I cannot leave empty handed. Not this time. "I.. I need to ask something of you, Lion. I need information." The Lion responds by retracting its head, leaving a mass of cables slack around its tree trunk neck.
"Information? Is that all? You lack ambition, little one. Most who come to me make grand requests - power, endless wealth, protection from death - for themselves or for a loved one." Some subtle change in expression must have given me away, as the beast immediately leans back down to meet my eyes, slowly rotating its head as it speaks. "Who did you lose? Friend, family member, lover? More importantly, how much were they worth to you?"
I take a deep breath and do my best to present an indifferent attitude. This is for her, after all. "That isn't what I'm here for, Lion. Like I said, all I need is information. Information about the Varicose Man." The Lion's eyes widen at this and I flinch away from the sudden brightness.
"Oh? Now that's a name I haven't heard in a while... Yes, quite a while... Not for three days, at least." I open my mouth to respond but the Lion continues regardless, amusement showing through its buzzing voice. "Yes, a woman came to me recently looking for information, just like you, about that sad old man. Oh, but I've already said to much."
I'm already fumbling in my bag for something to pay with as it finishes speaking, and quickly produce the five batteries I managed to scrounge on the way here. The batteries glow a dull amber under the light of the Lion's eyes and the mechanical hum dies down, leaving the room disturbingly quiet. Suddenly the noise returns and an impossibly deep rumbling shakes the floor, leaving me sprawled on the ground.
"You think I need power? You think I need your paltry wealth?" The Lion's voice shakes my bones and leaves my head ringing. Its bright blue tongue cracks back and forth in its mouth, sending sparks raining down on me. "I am power! I am eternal, and you are nothing!" The room shrieks in protest as it lunges at me, teeth snapping shut inches from my face, before going silent once again. Its head remains terrifyingly close to me and utterly still. My heart is still trying to escape my chest when the mechanical hum starts again.
"No, I know exactly how you're going to pay for this information. I think you'll agree it's quite a reasonable payment." Something bumps against my leg and I quickly scramble away, only to see a tiny metallic servant of the Lion scuttling out from the darkness. On its back is a gleaming tray, holding an incredibly clean pair of steel pliers.
"Pull out your teeth for me."
