The guard pushed the door open, and I stepped into a tavern that looked like it had been through a war. Tables lay overturned, unwashed plates cluttered the bar, and dirt streaked the floor—muddy boot prints probably left by guards searching the place earlier. All the windows were covered with thick curtains, making the dim interior feel oppressive.

I circled the room, slipping behind the bar to search the shelves. A few papers caught my eye, so I pulled them out and spread them on the counter. They turned out to be useless—records of beer, wine and water shipments. Frustrated, I shoved them back and kept going.

“There has to be something here… something…”

My eyes drifted to the wall behind the bar. I recalled that Suzan had entered from a door back here when she first met me. But now, instead of a door, there was a bookshelf standing oddly out of place. I moved to its side and gave it a push, revealing a hidden door behind it. My heart jumped—but as soon as I opened it, disappointment set in. It led only to a tiny, empty room, barely large enough for a couple of toilets. To the right, a fancy-looking landscape painting hung on the wall, adding to the feeling that I was being taunted by dead ends.

“Damn it… nothing.”

Frustrated, I turned back toward the bar, gripping the counter as I leaned forward, mentally retracing Suzan’s every move. She’d once mentioned that the painting had cut her finger…

I froze, eyes narrowing at the painting. Without wasting a second, I moved closer, inspecting its frame and running my hand along its edges. A slight resistance met my fingers on the backside of the frame. Taking a breath, I pressed the hidden button—and the wall in front of me began to slide up, stopping at knee height to reveal a narrow opening.

I crouched, wincing as my injured leg throbbed, and shone my phone's flashlight into the gap. I’d have to crawl a couple of metres to reach the next room, but it was a risk worth taking.

“Please let this lead to something…”

Ignoring the discomfort, I crawled through the opening, the confined space adding to my growing anxiety. On the other side, I stood and dusted myself off, taking in the small, dim room. A tall, wide bookshelf dominated the left wall, packed with books and tomes. To the right of the shelf stood a wooden table, covered in papers, while directly across from it was a closed door. A metal chain dangled ominously from the ceiling to my immediate right, the shackles at its end crusted with dried blood. The floor beneath it was stained dark red.

“What… what is this place?”

I approached the table and sat, picking up one of the papers. It was a map of Kinowa and its surrounding areas, marked with red circles around certain spots, including a forest location connected to the city by a black ink line.

Setting the map aside, I grabbed another paper—a list of names with disturbing notes next to each:

✓Adeye Ur → Both legs

✓That bearded elf → Both arms and legs

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

✓Karayu Julie → Heart

✓Siblings → Head-arms-legs... I don't want to do this anymore. Gods help me.

“A… chopping list?”

I shivered, setting it down as I reached for a letter. I pulled out the paper inside, but it only mentioned a beer delivery scheduled for tomorrow—completely irrelevant to what I needed.

Turning to face the door across the room, I tried to open it, only to find it had no handle. Frustration bubbling up, I searched along the walls, feeling for another hidden button or switch, but nothing turned up. There had to be a way forward—I just hadn’t found it yet.

“Hmm.”

I threw my uninjured shoulder into the door, hoping to knock it down, but it barely budged, solid as if it were made of metal rather than wood. Frustrated, I took a few steps back, leaning against the bookshelf while I rubbed my chin. One by one, I pulled on the books, hoping they might trigger some hidden mechanism—just like in those old movies. Nothing.

Sighing, I gathered the papers from the table, stuffed them into my back pocket, and scratched my head. There had to be a way to get through this door.

“Alright… let’s try this.”

I braced myself, took a deep breath, then sprinted toward the door, kicking it with all my strength. But it held firm, leaving me sprawled on the floor, gripping my leg in pain. Grimacing, I started to push myself up when something caught my eye—a small lever tucked beneath the table, almost completely hidden from view.

I hobbled over and pulled the lever. A faint click echoed as the lock disengaged.

Grateful, I hauled myself up and opened the door, revealing a narrow ladder descending through a cramped opening, barely larger than a manhole. I shone my phone’s light below, assessing the drop. It wasn’t too far, but my battered body wouldn’t handle a jump well.

Gripping the ladder, I descended carefully, feeling the air around me grow colder with each step. Somewhere below, I heard water dripping in steady, echoing drops, the sound coming from deeper in the darkness.

“What fresh hell is this…” I muttered as I reached the bottom, casting my phone’s light around.

The space opened into a circular chamber, like a cave—cold, damp, and eerily silent. Bats clung to the ceiling, some taking flight as I disturbed the air. There wasn’t a single light source, and without my phone’s flashlight, I would’ve been lost.

I took a cautious step forward—only for my phone’s flashlight to flicker off, leaving me in total darkness. Cursing under my breath, I waited, letting the phone cool, then pressed forward blindly. Every step felt like a gamble, as if something could leap from the shadows at any moment.

Finally, my phone flickered back to life, and as I swept the light around the room, I froze, horrified by what it revealed. Along the cave walls were cages, each holding the remains of someone long gone. Limbs were missing, heads lolling at grotesque angles. The bodies inside were in various stages of decay, some with flesh clinging to bone, others reduced to little more than skeletons. There were at least ten cages, and not a single one held anyone alive.

My stomach lurched as I took it all in, bile rising in my throat. “Fuck me…” I managed, swallowing hard. “What… is this place?”

Scattered throughout the cave were severed limbs, likely taken from those unlucky enough to end up here. Every time my flashlight swept over a new section, it revealed something worse—a detached arm, a skull with hollow eye sockets. This was beyond anything I could stomach. I’d had enough of this nightmarish world.

Turning on my heel, I bolted back to the ladder, ignoring the pain that flared with each step, and scrambled up. Once I made it through the crawl space and back into the main tavern, I collapsed on the floor, panting heavily, my heart racing.

“Alright…” I mumbled, clutching my stomach to keep from vomiting. “At least I’ve got these papers… maybe they’ll have something useful. Some clue… I hope.”

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