“Aaaaaahhhhhh!”

“Ash! Are you okay?” Luke shouted into the pit.

“Aaarrrhhhggg!”

“Oh Moons above! He’s dead. He’s been impaled!” Luke cried out to the heavens.

“Iiieee’mmm not dead you jackass!” Ash shouted back.

“Ash! You’re alive!” Luke dropped to his knees at the edge of the pit.

“No! But I am in tremendous pain.” Ash called back.

There was a crackling sound like someone walking on peanut shells.

“What was that noise?” Ave asked from up above.

“Pinecones!” Ash hollered.

“The pit was full of pinecones?” she said.

“No! The pit was full of spikes.” Ash bemoaned from below. “As I fell I dropped my torch. I could see that the bottom of the pit was full of metal spikes. So one microsecond before I hit the bottom I panicked and pulled whatever I could. Now the pit is filled with a layer of pinecones.”

“Good thinking!” Luke said. “You stay there. I’m going to try and find a rope or something to pull you out with. Don’t go anywhere.”

“I won’t…” Ash growled from the pit.

Luke jogged off into the dungeon. Ave sat down at the edge of the pit. She rubbed her leg.

“Why? Why! Why did I summon pinecones! I could have summoned hay bales. Or maybe pillows! Why pinecones?” Ash groused from the bottom of the pit.

“Are you okay?” Ave asked passively.

“There is a pinecone lodged between my buttcheeks! But I think that it’s the only thing preventing a metal spike from impaling my drainage ditch. So I can’t move it!” Was the reply.

“Hmmm.”

“You don’t sound very concerned.” Ash grumbled.

“I’m not.”

#

Luke ran back into the corridor. Ave raised her torch.

“I did it. I found some rope.” He showed her a coil of rope he was holding.

“Where did you find a rope?” she asked.

“Down the other passage. I was running along when I heard a voice telling me to stop.”

“You heard a voice?” Ave raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. And when I stopped, there was. A door built into the side of the hallway. I opened it up and I found all kinds of supplies inside.” Luke continued.

“What kind of supplies?”

“Nails, tools, pots, pans, and this rope.” Luke started coiling the rope around his waist.

“Huh? Does that sound strange to you?” Ave asked.

“Why should it? According to the legends, Dungeons were used to hide all kinds of things. Weapons, or treasure, I guess someone put some rope in this one.” said Luke.

Luke moved to the edge of the pit. “Ash! I’m throwing a rope down.”

He tossed one end of the rope over the edge.

*Thump*

“Ah! My face!” Ash yelled.

“Grab hold of it.” Luke called down to him.

“Okay! I’ve got it. Pull me up.” Ash yelled.

“Heave!” Luke staggered back a few steps.

“Aaah! It hurts!” Ash screamed in pain.

“What’s wrong Ash? Is it the spikes?” Luke stopped and called out.

“No! You’re dragging me across a bed of pinecones!”

“Should I stop?”

“...uuuggghhh… keep going…” Ash sobbed.

Luke hoisted the rope. He took a few more steps back. There was a crunching and scraping sound from the pit.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

#

After a few minutes Ash was finally dragged over the edge of the pit.

Ash’s entire body was covered with a fine layer of scratches. The edges of his pants were frayed. Bits of pinecone were stuck in his hair. Ave and Luke politely brushed some of the seeds from his clothes.

“Okay. *Cough* So that direction is flubbed.” Ash took a deep breath. Pinecone dust rolled off his shoulders. “Does anyone else *Cough* want to take over?”

Luke put a hand on Ash’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ve got it.” He pointed off to the other corridor. “If we follow this direction we should be able to find a way out.”

*Stomp*Stomp*

Everyone froze in place.

*Stomp*Stomp*

“What… was that?” Ash asked.

“Sounded like, footsteps.” Ave said.

*Stomp*Stomp*

“Heavy footsteps.” Luke added.

“There isn’t anything else down here we need to be worried about is there?” Ave asked.

“No.” Ash said.

“Only the Shadowbeasts.” Luke offered helpfully.

“No don’t say… you said it.” Ash groaned.

“You don’t think it’s a Shadowbeast?” Luke asked.

“No I do. But I was trying to avoid saying so out loud.” Ash replied.

“The footsteps are coming from the way we came. What do we do?” Luke asked.

“Let’s… keep moving.” Ave said.

Ash and Luke nodded in silent agreement. The three of them started walking down the corridor.

#

Luke was walking down the hallway. Ave was staggering along beside him with her arm over his shoulder.

Ash was walking ahead. He held his torch out in front of him. The thick smoke was stinging his eyes.

“See anything?” Luke asked.

“No. Nothing yet.” Ash wiped some sweat from his forehead. “There has to be a way out somewhere.”

The group reached another branching corridor in the Dungeon.

“Which way now?” Ash looked back and forth.

*Ghhhrrr…* There was a deep rumbling growl from the tunnel behind them.

“Right! Go right.” Luke shouted.

They hurried on, faster than comfortable.

“That was the wind. Right?” Ave said.

“Right.” Luke nodded.

“Definitely not a Shadowbeast.” she followed up.

“Of course not. Shadowbeasts are creatures from ancient fairy tales.” Luke affirmed.

Ash shook his head. “That’s right. No one in Star Town has ever seen a Shadowbeast. It’s the safest city in the Kingdom. And this is the safest Dungeon. Haha, Shadowbeasts aren’t actually real.” He swallowed hard. “Are they?”

“There are a lot of old legends about them.” Luke let on.

“Legends? Is that all?” Ash swiped his torch left and right into the shadows of the corridor.

“The legends have to come from somewhere.” Ave stated.

“But have you ever seen one?” Ash asked.

“No.” Luke responded dryly. “But, I've been living in a castle for the last four years. The only animals I’ve seen in all that time were the rats.”

Ash raised an eyebrow. “There are rats in the castle?”

“There are a lot of rats in the castle.” Luke replied. “It’s actually a huge problem.”

“Where do they come from?” Ash asked.

“Nobody knows. Somewhere up from the cellars I imagine. You can find them in every part of the castle. They leave little pellet shaped poops everywhere.”

“That’s hard to believe.” Ash paused to listen.

“Well they’re small creatures so their poops are more about quantity than volume.” Luke nodded his head.

“No not the poop. I mean it’s hard to imagine that there are rats in the castle.”

“Why is that?” Luke raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know.” Ash itched his neck. “I mean, it’s the castle. It’s where the Royal Family lives. I always thought that it was kind of… special.” he shrugged. “I used to imagine you there, living a life of luxury. On a bed with silk sheets. Bathing in a pool filled with honey and lemon. Strolling through a garden with all kinds of exotic roses while you drink tea with the Princess. You know, the good life.”

Luke had a far away look in his eyes. “Don’t get the wrong idea. The Capital is an amazing place and the castle is a truly impressive building. All of those beds and baths and gardens, they’re real, and they’re splendid.” Luke brushed his hair out of his eyes. “It’s just that they’re also full of rat poop.”

“What about you Ave? You’ve been quiet this whole time. Do you believe in Shadowbeasts?” Ash asked.

“I don’t believe in fairy tales.” Ave replied. “But I do believe in large animals. Wolves. Maybe bears.” Ave looked over her shoulder.

“In those fairy tales, do Shadowbeasts live in Dungeons?” Ash looked over her shoulder as well.

“I don’t know if they live in them, but they are strongly associated.” Luke tried to keep his voice under control. “I’ve been misinformed about a lot of things lately. I’m not going to guess on this one.”

#

The group shuffled down the corridor.

Ash blinked. Smoke billowed in front of his face. There were tears in his eyes.

*Stomp*Stomp*

“Where is that coming from?” He said to himself.

He reached another split path. There were two directions they could go. He looked down one hallway.

“What? Is that?” he said. Ash narrowed his eyes.

There was a dog standing in the middle of the hallway at the edge of his light.

“Bark! Bark. Bark.”

Ash rubbed his eyes. The dog was gone.

“Was that real?” he said.

*Stomp*Stomp*CRUNCH*

Ash stopped.

*Deep breathing*

He turned. He looked down the other hallway.

It was a beast. Shadows played across its skin like ripples on a pond. It was so large that the fickle light of the torch couldn’t even reveal all of it. The monster had a thick shaggy mane that brushed the roof of the corridor. Four clawed legs scratched the stone beneath it. A whiplike tail with a barbed stinger could be seen thrashing behind it.

Ash gulped.

The yellow slitted eyes of the creature narrowed on him.

*gggrrrrrRRRRR….*

“run.” Ash mumbled.

“What was that?” Luke asked from behind him.

“RUN!”