Seated on the frigid dungeon floor, the chill seeping into my bones, I struggled to sense anything in my numb hands and feet. Time seemed elusive in this dungeon, but it felt like I’d been here at least through the night—though there weren’t any windows to gauge if the sun had actually risen.

There was no semblance of due process, no trial—I hadn’t even been brought before the Baron. I’d been immediately ushered into the dungeon and the door was slammed shut behind me. What was worse was the fact that they’d taken my enchanted bag and stripped me of all my items. It was hanging on the wall just outside of my prison cell, painfully out of reach.

As the hours crawled by, I worried about my farm. The sprites could care for my crops for a few days, but it was close to harvest time, and I was pretty sure that I had to harvest them personally to earn the experience points. My concerns shifted to the orchard, as the spigot would need to be turned on and subsequently turned off every day for the fledgling applepeach trees to thrive. I knew Woods was there, but he couldn’t be everywhere at once, and he seemed more concerned with cleansing the forest of the corruption portals. The animals would be cared for, as the sprites mostly handled that chore anyway, but none of them knew how to milk Bessie. Hopefully, she wouldn’t get sick from a few missed milking sessions.

The thoughts of farm chores were merely a distraction for my mind. The grim reality was that I had almost no chance of leaving this dungeon alive. My mind skirted around that thought uncomfortably. I knew the odds of the Baron letting me out were nearly nonexistent. This wasn’t the first time I’d been in his dungeon, but it felt as though it might be the last.

Still bound by handcuffs, my options for escape were limited. I could have tried to pick the lock, but the cold stone floor didn’t offer any useful tools. Complicating matters, one ankle was tethered to the wall with a heavy chain. Even if I managed to pick the lock, I wouldn’t be leaving this dungeon unless I found a way to get the chain off as well. With a heavy sigh, I faced the stark reality of my captivity. There was no way out of this. Not by myself.

The sprites didn’t know where I was, as there were only a few people in Sagewood who knew of my incarceration, and they wouldn’t be venturing to my farm anytime soon. Hopelessness filled me.

I let my mind drift, and, like always, my thoughts turned to Leia. I’d known before that I’d probably never see her again, but now, sitting on the dungeon floor, it was an undeniable truth. Still, thoughts of her and our brief time together filled me with warmth, pushing back against the chill of my prison cell. She had been the one person who felt like home—not like my home back on Earth, which had been lonely, but like how home was supposed to feel.

The creak of a weighty iron door announced a visitor, and I strained my neck to see Baron Ramsguard descending the staircase. His countenance remained as affable as ever, and he greeted me warmly, as if we were old friends.

“Matt Miller! Welcome back to my home.” He gestured around, smiling as if he were showing off a beautifully decorated room. “We had to completely renovate the dungeon, after you and your friends destroyed it. I hope that it’s to your liking.”

I snorted dryly but didn’t answer.

The Baron continued. “You know, Matt, I don’t think I’m asking for too much here. All I want is your farm, and I was even willing to pay you handsomely for it. Not only did I offer you wealth, but I also offered to pay a wizard to send you back home.” A look of mock sympathy crossed his face. “You really should’ve taken my deal when you had the chance.”

A cold silence settled in the dungeon as the Baron awaited my response. I stayed quiet, refusing to give him the satisfaction.

A sinister grin spread across the Baron’s face. “Do you know how long a human can survive without water?”

I sighed, feeling the dryness in my throat. “Roughly three days.” Though I had only been in the dungeon for a few hours, the scratchiness in my throat was already unbearable. I regretted not finishing the cider I ordered on my date with Martha.

“Then it seems you won’t have to rot in here for long,” the Baron said, turning on his heel. “You see, it’s not great for my reputation to kill the well-liked farmer outright. But if you die in my prison a few days from now, I can tell the people you refused food and water, admitting your guilt and unwillingness to face the consequences of your actions.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I swallowed hard, knowing there was nothing I could do. The Baron was as corrupt as he was wealthy. He turned to my bag, hanging on a hook on the wall, and rifled through it, extracting the velvet bag of etherchips that Merrick had given me just days ago.

“This should suffice to settle the fines you managed to avoid last year and cover the cost of demolition of all buildings and fields when your farm inevitably falls under my ownership.” He chuckled as he turned and ascended the staircase, but paused near the top. “But I’d be a terrible host if I left you alone for so long, so I’ve arranged for you to have some company.”

The hairs on the back of my neck raised as an unsettling presence materialized in the dungeon with me. The shadows contorted and writhed until a familiar figure emerged. Locking eyes with me, his gaze unnaturally lifeless, he wore a grin that stretched too wide across his face. Corruption. The Baron chuckled again, sealing the thick iron door behind him and leaving me alone with the shadowy being.

“Hello, Matt,” Corruption said, his voice gritty.

I didn’t answer but kept my gaze fixed on his milky white eyes. He seemed to radiate darkness, absorbing what little light the dungeon had. I steeled myself against his unnerving presence, squaring my shoulders. This being had corrupted Woods, the strongest of the sprites, and could likely do far worse to a mere human. I tried not to shudder.

Gracefully, he glided up to the edge of my cell, the darkness enveloping the iron bars, and his form spilled into my prison. He opened his hand and revealed some shiny black stones, each roughly the size of a marble. They looked to be made of obsidian, perfectly smooth and polished.

“These are corruption stones,” he purred, obviously proud of his creations. “I’ve meticulously crafted one for each of your sprite friends. With the help of the forest stone, they’re much stronger, so the corruption process will be expedited.” He closed his hand around the stones and retracted it back into his body.

My stomach clenched. One corrupt sprite had almost ended us, I couldn’t imagine what would happen if all of them were corrupted.

“It’s truly amazing what magic can do. Once I have the other two nature stones, there’s no telling what my power will be.” He narrowed his pallid eyes at me. “Of course, I’ll have to do something about all those pesky townspeople. The living tend to impede the corruption process. But not to worry. Once I have an army of corrupted sprites, cleansing Sagewood will be a quick affair. And once that’s done, I can turn my vision outward—to the city, and beyond.”

My heart sank, images of all my friends flashing through my mind. They were good people, and the thought of them all being killed by the sprites… my stomach churned, and I worried I’d lose what little contents I had in my stomach.

I met Corruption’s piercing gaze again and set my jaw. “You’ll never get the other nature stones. They’re hidden away.” I tried to keep my voice from shaking.

“Hidden away, you say?” A too-wide grin split the entity’s face. “Perhaps adhered to a statue of a certain Goddess that’s been tucked away in a cave, forgotten for millennia?”

My mouth went dry. I knew Corruption had been on my farm, he’d sown all those portals that Woods had diligently sealed in the past weeks. Apparently, he was more aware of the things happening on my farm than I knew.

“Don’t worry, Matt Miller. You’ll be gone before that day arrives. You won’t have to witness the corruption of the other sprites, and you won’t have to watch the destruction of Sagewood. I’m not that heartless.”

With that, Corruption blended back into the shadows, leaving me uncertain whether he had truly departed or was merely concealing himself from my sight.

I tugged on my chains again, wracking my brain for any way out of this situation. Even if I were to escape my bonds, I would still be trapped in this cell, still trapped in this dungeon, miles from my farm and anyone who could help me.

Suddenly, a prompt appeared in front of me, drawing me out of my thoughts.

Quest Cancelled: Help Tyrannox Escape the Cave.

Tyrannox the Bloodspiller is now free! You were unable to complete this quest.

“What in the world?” I muttered, dread filling me as I reread the prompt. I hadn’t even ventured into the cave since meeting the dragon, and I certainly hadn’t given any thought to freeing him yet. I felt my heartbeat quicken. What’s happening back at the farm? Is everyone safe? My stomach knotted as my mind raced through the possibilities.

With newfound resolve, I strained against the chains binding my wrists and ankle, pulling with such force that they bit into my skin. I had to get back and figure out what was going on. Would the dragon leave my farm peacefully? Woods had been wary of the dragon. Would the sprites step in if, for some reason, he was a danger to Sagewood?

The timing of my arrest couldn’t have been worse. I groaned as my attempts to break free yielded nothing but stinging cuts on my wrists and a throbbing pain around my ankle. There was no getting out of this. A low chuckle emanated from the shadows, sending a chill down my spine.

Corruption was still here, reveling in my hopeless state.