Going down a flight of stairs, I entered the prison, stopping at the end of the hall with my back against the wall, poking my head out of my cover and surveying the area ahead.
I spotted the rusty metal walkways painted red with the blood of the prisoners, the gigantic statues of lizard men adorning the walls, and there didn't seem to be any guards nearby, which is good.
Taking a deep breath, I left my hiding spot and followed the only possible path, making a point of searching everything I found, getting pieces of cloth, moldy bread, sticks and more. Now I just needed something to light up the torch.
My steps echoed through the metallic floor, which made me worried because I could attract a guard by accident. Approaching one of the edges, I tried to illuminate the abyss below, being unable to see the bottom.
It's a long fall, so better not risk it, I doubt the rusty bars will endure my weight. I moved forward, down the dimly lit corridor, pointing the light of my cell phone at the cells in search of something useful as my hands could slip between the bars.
"Hey, you!"
"AH..."
I immediately covered my mouth and looked around, searching for the guards, but when none appeared, I calmed down a little and almost fainted with fear when the voice returned.
"Hey, I'm talking with you!"
I put my finger on my lips and let out a hiss.
"SSSHHH!"
It echoed through the dark prison, silencing the voice.
"Sorry, look over there."
Turning towards the general direction of the voice, I saw something moving in the darkness. Approaching slowly with my hand close to the dagger, I crossed part of the catwalk suspended over the abyss, passing an empty cell and having a better view of the source of the noise, a man waving at me through the prison bars.
"You have no idea how relieved I am to find another human being. Can you help me?"
I approached, but stood out of his reach, pointing my cell phone at him.
"Hey, what is this thing?!" He screamed while shielding his eyes.
My breath stopped and I swallowed hard when I saw the person trapped in the cell, a tall man of athletic body, fair skin, black hair and eyes, wearing black pants and gloves and a brown leather vest. Cahara, the mercenary who entered the dungeon in search of Le'garde due to the generous reward.
"Can you please get that annoying thing off my face?!"
"Oh, sorry about that!" I put the cell phone in my pocket.
"Thanks, what was that thing anyway?"
"A magic item that lights my way."
"Hm… Interesting." He muttered, smiling with a hand on his chin.
We barely met and he's already thinking about stealing my cell phone. If I get him out of prison, I'll have to hide my stuff first.
"But putting that aside, could you get me out of here? That bastard of a guard trapped me here... You didn't meet one of them on your way here, did you?" He asked nervously, looking away.
"No." I answered awkwardly, knowing well what had happened to the mercenary.
"Perfect, then, how about opening this cell?" He smiled, leaning against the bars.
"I'm sorry, but I can't do that, I really would like to, but I don't have the key or a red vial."
He took a deep breath with his hands covering his face.
"Right! Right! But you're still going to help me, aren't you?"
"Perhaps, but on one condition."
"Speak it!"
"First. I want you to give me that doll."
I pointed to the doll in the corner of the cell.
"Just that?"
He picked up the doll and handed it to me shortly after. Then, I put it in my backpack.
"Yeah, you never know when that will come in handy. Thanks for that, but I have to go now, but don't worry, I always keep a promise, if I don't come back it's because I still haven't found a way to free you or because I died!"
I finished with a laugh and Cahara stared at me as if I was crazy.
"Haha! You are crazy!"
He muttered with a nervous smile.
"Considering the day I've had, it's quite likely."
"I will die here."
"We will all die someday. Don't worry, I'll get you out of there, just don't go anywhere and don't jump into a shit pit."
"Why would I do that?!"
"You would be surprised, toilets are the best places to think about life and philosophize about the universe."
"I was right, you are crazy!"
He pointed a shaky finger at me.
"We are all a little crazy here, Cahara."
I grinned from ear to ear.
"I'm going to die here… Wait! I didn't tell you my name!"
"HAHAHA!"
I let out my best villain laugh as I ran away, disappearing into the darkness.
"You've been here less than five minutes and you've already lost your mind?"
Kitab asked.
"Maybe I've already gone crazy before I entered the dungeon. Or maybe my little gig was nothing more than acting."
"Suppose you haven't become someone who needs to be placed in one of the padded cells at Arkham, wearing one of those shirts that make you hug yourself, why did you do that?"
"Because since the game became real, I don't want to be an NPC but a main character, and to be one, I need to stand out."
"Fair, but if you're going to do that, you better talk about me; I want to be famous too."
"Don't worry, soon everyone will know about Kitab, the most powerful spell book in the world."
"Yes, keep praising me."
If I remember correctly, there's a guard with a ballista just ahead in a passage to the left. Footsteps echoed through the prison and there was the guard carrying a ballista like a crossbow, aiming the weapon at me.
My heart raced and I broke out in a nervous sweat, corpses and monsters are one thing, but having a siege weapon pointed at you is a completely different story.
"You better start running faster!"
Without wasting time, I did what the book said, running faster as the guard followed my pace with his weapon, firing in the middle of my run. I threw myself to the ground, letting the gigantic arrow fly over me into a prison cell, piercing a ghoul in the stomach, pinning him against the wall with a loud crash.
The guard grumbled and reloaded the ballista while I quickly got to my feet and kept running, reaching the end of the walkway just in time to escape another shot who dug into the wall beside me, cracking the stone.
"You missed!" I yelled, walking up the stairs to the right.
The answer I got was a scream of rage and an arrow slamming into the wall at the bottom of the stairs. As soon as I finished climbing, I stopped and struggled not to throw up. The smell was beyond horrible and rotten, the smell of death.
I felt my foot stepping on something wet and sticky, looking at the ground, I saw something red, blood. Taking a deep breath, I moved forward and finally saw where I was, in the Blood Pit. Walls, floor and ceiling covered with mutilated corpses in different states of decomposition.
Shit! Damn it! Fuck!
I know I should have expected this, but it's still hard to see.
Take a deep breath.
I immediately regretted it and tried hard not to throw up.
Don't take a deep breath, hold your breath and don't look to the sides or down.
"What a waste! Instead of being dumped here, all these mortals could have made a fine sacrifice!"
"You are not helping."
"What? You read the stories, sacrifices are normal to the Old Ones, even if some of them don't even want it."
Lovecraftian fun fact, not all Old Ones wish to be worshiped, but after finding out something about them, some humans go crazy and form cults that try to invoke and contact the Gods, even though they couldn't care less about humans.
I continued walking down the hall, but something shiny on the floor caught my eye, a red vial, perfect. I put it in my backpack, but prepared to run in case I accidentally disturbed a certain floating head. But seeing that nothing happened, I passed beside the hole that led to the caves and walked up a set of stairs. However, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that someone was watching me as I crossed the pit.
I found myself in the inner hall and stopped to think for a minute.
Should I go back to free Cahara, or keep the vial to free the girl?
Hm... Tough choice, considering the guard knows I'm walking around and I'd have to go through the Blood Pit again.I think I'll just keep the vial and move on, if I find a key or another red vial I'll come back to save Cahara.
I walked through the hall and passed beside the secret passage that would lead to the Penance Armor, but I would need Trortur's key and fire to light all the torches in the hall to open it.
Down the path, I heard footsteps behind me, making me turn around in time to move away from a scared man, shaking and sweating, his clothes dirty and torn and face stained with blood.
"He is coming!" He yelled before hiding in a nearby room.
He? Wait a minute! That man must be Buckman! So, that means the one who's coming is...
"Well! Well! Well! What do we have here?" A squeaky voice came from where Buckman fled. Rounding a corner, a balding, gray-skinned, deformed dwarf carrying a knife appeared, Trortur.
"W-who the hell arrre you?" He said with difficulty, his misshapen mouth and swollen face making speech almost impossible as his saliva fell in rivers.
"Nobody important, just a visitor." I replied while drawing my dagger and stepping back.
"Hm... There's no need for violence, you can be a good boy and surrender, I'm a doctor, you know?" He muttered, spinning the knife in his hand.
"I will have to refuse. How about we go our separate ways before someone gets hurt?"
This only pissed him off.
"Don't underestimate me; I've fought worse than you in the past!" He ran towards me with his knife raised.
I won't lie, I was scared, but It was a little disappointing seeing Trortur almost fall to the ground as he ran towards me. This gave me some courage to act, I raised my dagger and brought it down on his shoulder.
"AAAHHH!" The torturer screamed, dropping his knife and grabbing his wound.
Then, I pointed Kitab at him and cast Cats of Ulthar. The dark ooze came out of the book and formed the same monstrous cats as before.
"Hump! A bunch of cats?! Is that the best you can do... AAAHHH!" He never finished as the cats began to devour him.
I looked away from the bloody scene and focused on where Buckman was hiding, entering the room and finding the supposed prince huddled in a corner.
When I thought of a prince, I imagined a character from a Disney movie, but Buckman would have to be around forty years old, a man of average height, with long hair, a dark beard and mustache, a little chubby, and wearing purple noble clothes.
"You can leave; I already took care of the short mutant."
"D-did you kill him?" He stammered.
I glanced at the man who was screaming in agony, surrounded by a moving dark mass covered in red.
"Y-you can say so." I said nervously.
"Thank you very much! I'm glad to find another sane human in this place! My sense of time has been shattered; I don't know how long I've been here! Days? Months? Years?" He spoke, shaking my hand vigorously.
"Okay…Okay…You're welcome! Now listen, Seymour is looking for you! Last time I saw him, he was resting in the armory in the basement!"
Buckman's eyes shined and he gave me a big smile.
"Seymour is alive! Thank you very much, young man! I'll go after him right away!" He grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me before leaving the room and running down the corridor.
"Meh! He is not so bad after all. I expected an arrogant prince." I shrugged.
"He is a weak-minded coward!",Kitab said.
"Do not say that. This dungeon is messing with all of us. "
"Speak for yourself."
I returned to the corridor and found what was left of Trortur, bones and rags, while the blood-covered cats were lying on the floor with their bellies full. As I approached, they got up and rubbed themselves against my legs, getting blood on my pants, making me shudder in disgust.
"Well, the cats like you, it doesn't surprise me considering how much food you feed them."
"I wonder if they will help me against the strongest monsters."
"Probably not, but they can serve as a distraction for you to run away."
"Didn't you complain about me running away from fights?"
"Yes, but there is no reason to die like a fool."
At least Kitab is reasonable. I looted Trortur's remains, found the key to the armor, and stowed it and his knife in my backpack.
Now where to go?
Going to the right, I continued picking up items, but still nothing to light the torch. Looking into another room on the way, I saw yet another of the disturbing things in the dungeon. The Human Hydra, a mass of human bodies writhing, laughing and moaning in a gigantic marriage of flesh.
"Hey, you there, how about joining us?!" A cacophony of different voices spoke as its many eyes focused on me.
I ignored Hydra; I wouldn't gain anything from this monster.
"The Old Ones are disappointed with this poorly performed ritual."
"At least the Hydra is enjoying it."
Further ahead, I found the altar of Alll-Mer with the crucified man, and the Dark Priests in front of it, wearing their black and yellow robes while their lanterns lit the darkness.
Hm... Best to ignore them, I do not intend to sacrifice anyone for now. I walked carefully; preparing myself for what was just ahead, the library where Enki is if you don't choose him as a playable character.
"Hello, is someone here?"
No reply. Walking into the library, I looked around before hiding behind the bookshelves since I don't want to get a fireball in the face by accident. I poked my head out of my cover, not finding Enki, but something that caught my eye, a small key on top of a table.
I smiled, put it in my pocket and left the library toward the main entrance to the right. I'll toss some coins later. Maybe I can find a necromancy book on the shelves.
I passed through the grassy courtyard with the hangedmens and the well where I could jump into and take the shortcut to the basement, and from there, I could free Cahara, but not yet.
I arrived at the dungeon's entrance, only to see a ghoul running towards me. The being was thin and pale, with bloody hands and wearing a loincloth as its white eyes stared at me.
The monster tried to bite me, but I leapt to the left, slamming my back into a table, but dodging the blow, quickly piercing the monster's side with my dagger right after.
With a tearing sound and a small spurt of blood, the shoddy dagger easily sank into the creature's flesh. The ghoul let out a grunt and tried to attack again, raising its claws and lowering it towards me.
I jumped out of the way and deeper into the hall as the blow ripped a chunk off the table with a crack of splintering wood. Taking the chance, I advanced and plunged my dagger into his stomach, and for a moment, I had a revelation, this is not a game! I don't need to do one attack at a time!
I withdrew my dagger from the Ghoul's stomach and stabbed it repeatedly, making the sounds of flesh being pierced echo through the corridor along with the monster's growls, who raised one of its claws and scratched me on the left shoulder.
"Son of a..."
I kicked his belly, making him crash into a bookshelf and knock some books on his head. Wasting no time, I ran towards it, grabbing the furniture by the edge, pushing it forward and on top of the ghoul, pinning him to the ground.
I heard the sound of bones breaking, but the bookshelf wasn't enough to kill the ghoul. Even so, he kept struggling, letting out screams of rage, unable to free himself. I crouched down next to him and poked the side of his head with my dagger; making him turn and futilely try to bite me.
"Hey, you're dead!"
He stopped trying to bite me and went silent as if thinking about what I said.
Did he understand my words?
"I'm telling the truth, look!"
I turned my dagger towards his face, making him see his own reflection. The Ghoul stared at the confused image, but with one last grunt, he stopped moving.
"Well, rest in peace."
With him dead, I climbed over the bookshelf and kept walking.
"The Old Ones are divided, some approve your actions, and others wish you had killed the Ghoul."
"Well, they gave me the freedom to do whatever I want."
"They know it and some of them regret it."
If I remember correctly, there's a lot of useful stuff here at the entrance, but there's something more important. I approached an old, rotting wooden door, and kicked it around the lock, making the wood shake, but it still stood. So, I kept kicking, with each blow the door shook on its hinges, and with a final one, it finally gave away.
The door fell into the room with a loud crash, kicking up a cloud of dust. When it settled, I found myself in a small room with a table, a bookshelf, flags on a wall, and a large red rug with a cage on it, and inside the cage, a small shape hiding in a corner.
I pointed my cell phone at it and the shape hid even further, shielding its eyes from the strong light. There she was, the Girl, future God of Fear and Hunger. I put my cell phone away and kneeled in front of the cage while the child looked at me scared, trying to become as small as possible.
I lowered my hood and took off my iron mask, speaking in a soft voice and smiled at her.
"Hello, I'm sorry for scaring you, but you don't have to be afraid, I'm not a monster."
She didn't answer.
Can she understand what I was saying?
"Don't worry; I'll get you out of here."
I unlocked the cage with the small key and opened the door, seeing doubt and surprise in her eyes. She must think this is too good to be true.
"Come on, I won't hurt you. Let's get out of here and get you something to eat. You must be hungry."
However, she hesitated.
"Hm… You don't trust me, do you? How about I give you a gift? A proof that I am speaking the truth."
I removed the doll from my backpack and held it out to the Girl. Her eyes widened in surprise and she stared at me in silence, probably looking for any sign that I was lying.
Slowly, she extended her hand.
END OF CHAPTER