The screeching of countless creatures filled and echoed through the darkness. Panting and breathing as the sound of clacking together rapidly cut through the screeches and cries as the clattering of metal followed. It took multiple rapid and frantic metallic snaps until a light cut through the darkness. A small sliver of soft blue light appeared hovering over a pair of armored fingers just above the figure who was right now trying to get to their feet. With a set of rusted and worn armor, the figure moved, the metal armor fell off, shifting and falling as the figure seemed to flinch in fear as the metal clattered to the ground. It left the figure in shock for a moment, he seemed like a frozen animal whom a predator saw. After a few moments of continuing to hear the cries of monsters, the man rose.
As the man rose, more and more of the armor he was in seemed to almost peel off and fall away, leaving him completely naked except for his great helm which was wounded and damaged beyond repair. The man shook his head as he began to look around, holding out the small light as he saw right next to him was his hope, a wooden staff made of white ash oak. The man kneeled and took hold of the staff to his head as he spoke in a deep yet whisper-soft voice, “Oh gods please work”.
A soft blue glow began to flow from his arm up to the staff as it focused on the top of the gnarled staff. The man took a breath in and said in a commanding voice, “By my command, that which is composed of the five elements, be boldened by the 5 elements, heed my command, Mend”.
The light began to flow down onto the pieces of metal that once made up armor. The light began to fill the cracks and breaks in the armor, forming new metal, creating new inner layering, and then finally upon his head, the helm that had a large break in the entire face guard was now mended. The armor didn’t look new, far from it truly, yet it was wearable. The metal that was created looked dull yet new, the leather and cloth within looked sturdy yet as clean as the day it was made, yet the metal that was already there looked the same. The rust was cleared but the discoloration was still there. The thickness in areas gave the armor a strange mortar or volcanic rock look. Yet it was protection, and it was exactly what was needed, yet the man clicked his tongue as he looked around and saw nothing else.
The man took off his helm and began to take hold of the armor and began to don the armor. Once the man donned the armor, he took hold of his staff and began to slowly move it around his head as he spoke out, “By my command, oh lords of dawn, guide me through the darkest nights, heed my command, light”.
3 small motes of white light appeared over the man’s head, with a light flick of the wrist the man sent them out and had them slowly dance around him, providing him the light he needed to truly see what was happening around him. And what was around him was horrifying, the darkness seemed to have acted as a shield against what was there.
Mounds of half-formed skeletons and large centipede-like creatures began digging through the bones and skittering away from the light, yet the scariest thing of all was when he turned he saw a large door that towered over the man. The door was made of the same dark stone that made up the rest of the room. Upon the door there was the depiction of the sun, and within it was a man who seemed to be descending. The man looked to the door and shook his head as he took a deep breath and turned towards the darkness, towards where the screeching was loudest.
The man walked through the dark, the lights seemed to scare off all the creatures that seemed to lurk in the dark here. The creatures scurried into the mounds of bones, the light was soft, yet it cut through the dark enough to illuminate the mounds.
Each mound was filled with splintered bones, warped and worn armor, and shattered weapons. The man walked with firm footing, each step ground bones and glass underneath, the grunting from the man was muffled by his helm, yet to himself it was deafening. The man’s hand hovered to his side as he moved further and further, eventually the mounds became so large that they stood like mountains. The man continued forward, and now he began to cast a mote of light forward ahead of him to light the way and possibly spook anything in the dark, yet nothing seemed to appear.
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After countless hours of walking in a straight line, the man had finally reached an impasse, a wall. The man sighed as he placed his hand against it and he began to look to his left and right before deciding to turn left and follow the wall. He began his continued journey and then he began to hear screeching once more, and now, screaming. His head flicked up as he knew that was not a creature's scream but a person's. He began to pick up his pace, he picked up his feet as he began to run, the sound of metal and bone being pulverized and intense heavy breathing. The lights that were following the man were now struggling to keep up as the man ran towards the screaming, which led him to a staircase.
The man had zero hesitation the moment he saw the stairs he raced up the staircase as the screaming and screeching became louder and louder. Without hesitation or worry, the man took up his staff and held it to his face as he began to chant, “By my command”, the man was running up the stairs with such power that he was throwing himself up multiple steps with each stride. “Reach out and strike my foe clean and true for-”, the man had made it up the hundreds of steps in mere moments as he found himself face to face with one of the most formidable abominations of this accursed place.
This centipede-like creature was somewhere the size of 200 feet long and as thick as a small house. The creature is covered in thick reptilian-like scales and spikes across its body, with a more angular face to that of a lizard and multiple sets of small claw-like legs it uses to move erratically across the grounds and walls. This creature was given a name that most befitted a creature of this size and the horror one feels when seeing something like this, the Horror Dragon.
The man gritted his teeth as he looked and saw the target of the creature, a woman who had nothing on, much the same as he was, yet she seemed to have run into trouble and had now lost an arm and part of her torso from this. The man then restarted his chanting, seeming to alter it, “By my command, reach out and strike my foe with the wrath of all my might, care not what stands before you, heed my command, Bolt!”
The man roared out as light around him began to form and flow, it focused upon the head of the staff as he fired out a large beam of blue light energy directly into the face of the Horror Dragon. The screech it let out was terrible, yet it was stunned, it reeled back as the man rushed forward, scooped up the woman on the ground, and pivoted back to throw both himself and the woman back down the staircase. The creature roared and cried out as it began to bang against the entrance to the staircase to try and enter, yet it could not enter.
The two were safe from the Horror Dragon, yet they weren’t safe from gravity as they began to tumble down the countless stairs. The man tried to keep the woman close to himself, yet each time he landed, he could feel the blow nearly knock him out. The armor may have made him impervious to many mundane attacks, yet it made every landing feel that much worse as he could feel the impact reverberate across his entire body. Every moment he felt he was about to pass out, he held on tighter, he shifted his body to once again try and land on his back. Yet every time he fell on his shoulder, he could feel his arm break and a yell of pain come from the woman. Yet he weathered through the pain, it was all he could do, as it was finally after one final fall that he felt himself roll and finally stop. He was on his back and he could feel shocks of pain across his body, yet following them was a warm euphoria as he felt it all fade.
His eyes shot open, his head shot up as his hand shot to the back of his neck and took hold of something. He crushed it as a squelching screech was let out, it was one of those centipede-like creatures. The man slowly shifted himself as he winced and groaned in pain. He erected himself as he began to look around, he noticed he must have lost his staff from the fall, and with the woman on him, he could not possibly find it and leave her alone. The man just performed the same trick as before, snapping his gauntleted fingers until a small mote of light appeared above his fingers where it let off a soft light.
Once the light appeared multiple screeches were let out as the man could finally see the situation he was in, he was surrounded from all sides. Everywhere he looked he could see countless of these centipede creatures which were once hiding among the deceased here. These creatures are very easily identified, much similar to their adult forms, these are the young of the Horror Dragons. These simple creatures are afraid of the light, a very simple fear for many of the creatures within the dungeon. The man shook his head as he began to inspect the woman, she was injured, and it would be deadly. Yet her being down here meant one thing, she shared a fate with the man, and all he could do was make sure she could rest, as it was the only way.
The man slowly rose, taking hold of the woman in his hands as he began to move away from the wall. He woundedly shambled back to the door on this floor, there was no true safety, but if there was anywhere that they could be without needing to worry about the Horror Dragon spawn, then it was there.