Forward

Welcome back, dear reader. Benjamin Caddock, back again, with a different tale for you this week. This was an interview recorded by a police sergeant told by an amateur explorer who had gone into the nearby mountains.

Harold Smit was our first contact, as far as I could find, for what we now call Dwarves. Nasty creatures, but he’ll tell you all about that. Don’t judge him too harshly. I’d have run too.

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Interview Report dated 21/03/30XX

Presiding Officer: Sergeant Ryan Rensil

Interviewee: Harold Smit

Police Officer: This is Sergeant Ryan Rensil, interviewing Mr. Harold Smit at 12:00 pm. So, Mr. Smit, can you please explain exactly what you saw yesterday morning?

Mr. Smit: What I saw, man? I told you what I saw!

Police Officer: Yes, but this is for the record. Now you’ve calmed down a bit. We thought you might give us more details?

Mr. Smit: Shit man! Sure. Fine. On the record. So I was out exploring the new mountain that popped up?

Police Officer: The one that’s legally off-limits.

Mr. Smit: Yes. Sure. Fine. But I’m an explorer, ya know? A man who seeks the unknown. What is more unknown than a mountain that appeared out of thin air?

Police Officer: Trespassing aside. You were exploring the mountains?

Mr. Smit: Right. Sure. Um. Right. Ok, so. I went to the mountain. No one was around, and there was a hole in the fence, so I slipped through that. You should get that patched, by the way.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Police Officer: I’ll be sure to mention that.

Mr. Smit: Sure. So yeah, I slipped through the fence and started climbing the mountain. It wasn’t a hard climb, either. Lots of handholds, you know? Anyway, yeah.

Police Officer: Are you alright? Do you want a coffee or?

Mr. Smit: No. No, the shaking will go away on its own. Maybe. So I was climbing the mountain and there was a cave. Not Natural, more like a hole someone dug in? I’ve been down a couple of mine shafts and stuff. Thought it could be fun. There wasn’t much, but it was dark. Real dark. Had a torch with me, but the light didn’t illuminate much.

Police Officer: And that didn’t deter you?

Mr. Smit: No. No, it’s not the first time, like I said.

Police Officer: Right.

Mr. Smit: So I went into the cave. And it was dark, but my light didn’t do much. The silence was odd. Like my boots are heavy, and on stone, but I couldn’t hear anything. My own breathing was inaudible. I did a sensory deprivation bath thing once? Similar. Creepy. Figured at that point, a few more meters, and I’d turn around. No point getting lost. But it was too late. Way too late.

Police Officer: Do you want to stop?

Mr. Smit: No, I’m ok. The voices, you know? But that’s not until later. Anyway, after the pitch black, a blob of light formed up ahead. I wasn’t expecting what lay ahead. How could anyone?

Police Officer: And what was it?

Mr. Smit: Humanoid. Squat, and it glowed, man. It glowed! Its skin was white, it had a long beard that was green, sort of like moss-colored, same with the hair. Long, tangled. But I swear, man, it was moving on its own. Like, sweeping back and forth around it like an elephant trunk! Or a tentacle. It was creepy. I thought it had four legs but turned out its arms were so long they reached the floor. Thin too, really thin, like a needle. Nails scraped against the ground, but there wasn’t any sound. Not sure why? Didn’t really care. Not after it turned around.

Blood-red teeth, and white eyes. No pupils. Not that I was focusing on that. Blood-red teeth! What the hell was it eating? Doesn’t matter. It screamed when it saw me. Heard that. But not? It was like it happened inside my mind. Some kinda telepathy bullshit.

So I bolted.

Police Officer: You weren’t worried about getting lost?

Mr. Smit: Fuck that man, no. I was worried about getting eaten. Torn to bits and chewed up. Plus, it’s not like I’d turned anywhere.

Police Officer: Right, and then you came here.

Mr. Smit: Basically. You gotta nuke that place, man.

This is where the interview ends. Mr. Smit was charged with trespassing, and therapy was made mandatory.