A single drop of cold fetid water landed on Shaa’s eye rousing him back to consciousness. He came to slowly, blurry things coming into focus but not clarity. The room he was in was dark, abnormally dark. Even with his night vision, Shaa could tell that the stone room was devoid of windows, fixtures or any kind of light. It was a large stone square room with a heavy wooden door and…something else that he couldn’t quite make out yet in the far corner. Then the something spoke.

Greetings! Greetings friend! I wondered when you would wake. I have not had visitors in such a long time. Shaa strained a bit at the figure who was speaking to him. He seemed friendly enough but there was something off about his voice. Something he couldn’t quite put his large finger on. Ummm hello yourself . He said carefully and slowly. Daniel. My name is Daniel. And who are you? My name is Shaa. The voice was quite for a moment and then continued. Ohhh The Wanderer in the Centaur language if I’m not mistaken. Shaa is taken aback by the voice’s understanding. Yes that’s right. Hmmm that’s very unfortunate that your wandering has brought you down here to the Citadel. Most of the wandering down here is done in tiny circles. Hahahaha.

The Citadel? If the voice was correct, then that would mean big trouble. The massive prison known as the Citadel stood as an imposing presence in Sol City. It was famous world wide for being nearly escape proof. Shaa had gotten into a lot of trouble here recently so he couldn’t say it was outside the realm of possibility he wound up here. But something was wrong. The Citadel was tall, big, a massive tower. Shaa had an uncanny sense of direction and spacial awareness. Wherever he was, it wasn’t in the air. It was deep, very very deep underground. No busting through walls to get out of here.

I know what your thinking my frieeeenndd. Came Daniel’s voice from the corner. And you are right! You are in the Citadel but not in the Citadel. There has been a lot of redesign and renovation over the years. The section we are in now is long since abandoned and forgotten. It’s why I’m so happy to see you…see anyone really. Hehe. That was creepy but it made sense at least. If this place is abandoned, why are you here? Why didn’t they move you up? Daniel was silent again and spoke. They…forgot I suppose. And I am not the only one. There are several more of the forgotten still roaming around the remains like flies on a carcass. That’s gross dude. But, not inaccurate. 

Shaa pushed himself up from the stone floor. His body ached for some reason but he seemed otherwise in good condition. Going so soon my friend? I am ever so lonely. Why don’t you stay? No one gets out anyway, so there is really no reason to go through the effort. Believe me, I know. They all go but all come back. Just stay, away from the guards, the pain…the…others. Shaa didn’t like Daniel’s implication that there were other people in the abandoned section. Well, you have been cooped up way too long man. Why don’t you come with me? I’m a Minotaur. Underground mazes are kind of our thing. If anyone can get you out of here, it’s me. Ohhh, that’s very kind of you. But I’m afraid that’s quite impossible now. But…could you do me a favor? Sure, what is it? I wrote a letter to my sister Diane a long time ago but they never let me deliver it. If you could take it to her, I would very much appreciate it. Sure, no problem. Thank you ….my friend.

Shaa walked over to Daniel’s corner. Even as he got closer, he was having a hard time making out any features on the man. Daniel? Shaa reached out into the inky black. His hand stopped when he touched bone. Moving his hand carefully along Daniel’s figure, he shudders a bit to realize that the person he has been talking to was no more than a pile of bones. Amongst the pile, he finds a single envelope that he places carefully in his …wait…his bag is gone. Ughh, of course it is. Not like they let prisoner s walk around with weapons and magic items. Shaa simply sticks the envelope behind his ear, says a small prayer and heads for the door.

Shaa puts his shoulder to the door, applies a bit of force to the frame and breaks the door down, setting himself free. As the door hits the floor, a deep rumble can be heard in the walls as well as an echo. This place was unstable. He would have to be careful and not be too “ Shaa” down here. Worst case he could cause a cave in. No problem for him but very deadly for anyone else down here. Best case scenario was the real guards of the Citadel could find him and stick him in the upgraded version. He didn’t need that hassle. He just needed to find his stuff, sneak out and call it a day. And apparently do a quick mail run for a specter. Ughh….every friggen time. Now where would they keep prisoner goodies? And, for that matter, who brought him here in the first place? 

Ak’ka…

The Bonegrinder was cold. It was not a feeling she enjoyed.

Cold, and hearing whispers of her name in the creaking wind. A hallucination? Tough to tell. Her entire body was sluggish, numb from the chill to the point her skin felt raw, like a thousand needles were poking her, tryin’ to wake her up. She cracked her eyes open with a groan, head throbbin’ like a clan of goblins made drums out of her skull. Holy Hell. She couldn’t think of the last time she’d ever had a hangover this bad. Orckin constitution pretty much meant she had to drink almost a whole barrel to get drunk, and down a second to make it hurt in the morning. And she definitely hadn’t had a drink last night as far as she could remember. Maybe.

It was difficult to remember much of anything last night now that she was thinking about it. She definitely hadn’t been drinkin’, given the fact that she’d been on a hunt in the middle of the woods chasin’ some beast for coin. She’d definitely not been piss drunk while making camp under the stars, and definitely not sleepin’ on some sort of stone slab in the middle of some fuckdusty, cold…

Where was she, actually?

The Bonegrinder pulled herself into a sitting position, rubbing at her head. No bumps, so it wasn’t a concussion. That was definitely the least of her concerns, though, considering the room she’d woken up in.

Stone on stone on stone, a dull color that almost hurt her eyes the longer she looked at it. Ak’ka pulled her owlbearpelt cloak tighter around her shoulders while she stood to her full height, an impressive ten feet, with the burly stature to match. Even standing straight up she didn’t reach the ceiling of this eerie room. There was no furniture ‘xcept for a door on the opposite side of the room, and chains bolted to the wall. The howling wind wasn’t even strong enough to rattle the wrought-iron metal. If she didn’t know any better, Ak’ka’d say she was in a prison. One that wasn’t kind to its guests, based on the partially-rotted arms dangling from a couple of metal cuffs and the ivory fragment chips littering the floor like hay.

The kinda place one might lock a real threat.

Ak’ka cracked her knuckles, bearing her tusks as she tried to search her memories again. Ugh… but the longer she looked the less she could see. Her memories was a hazy blur. No idea what she mighta done to get locked up in a shithole like this. Maybe she’d gotten to some city and got in a public brawl. Yeah. That seemed about right for her. Well, she didn’t take kindly to bein’ shoved into a little box like this. Resolve renewed, the half-orc stomped up to the door and rapped her knuckles against the side.

“Oi! For anyone out there listening, I learned my lesson, or whatever. Now are ya gonna let me out or are we gonna have a problem?”

Silence.

Impatient, Ak’ka rapped her knuckles against the wood again, louder this time. The sharp sound echoed through the hall and her room. Even the chains seemed nervous. “Hello?”

Still, nothin’. Ak’ka huffed and moved to turn away from the door when a slight movement outta the corner of her eye through the door’s single window caught her attention. Ak’ka turned, expectin’ to see some guard all decked out in shiny brass and armed to the teeth, but there was nothing. Just some kind of shadow, traipsin’ across the hall. At first Ak’ka thought it was some trick of the light, but the longer she watched, it almost seemed to solidify. If she squinted she thought she could see a person in rags, head hung low like he was marchin’ to the gallows. Before Ak’ka could call out to him, he took a sharp turn in front’a one of the other doors, and disappeared through it entirely.

What the hell…

Nah. Ak’ka didn’t like this place one bit. Whatever bastard saw fit to put her in this catacomb was in for a world of hurt when she figured out how to get outta here.

First, the door. Ak’ka grabbed it by the bars on the window as gently as she could, and pried it off at the hinges and lock - just enough to keep it intact. She didn’t use weapons, but didn’t hurt to have a little extra firepower while she figured out how to make her escape from… wherever this was.^[1]

The room cleared, there was no way for Ak’ka to go but forward. She’d guessed as much from her cold room, but there wasn’t another livin’ being in sight in these dusty halls besides her. The entire place was just dead. Still. Condensation dripped from the ceiling at an irregular beat. Drip-drip… drip-drip. But other than that, Ak’ka was pretty sure that the only things in this place were the dead who ain’t yet learned they weren’t supposed to still be walking.

This place gave her the creeps.

With ghosts on her heels, Ak’ka made her way through the halls at random, lookin’ for anything that might hold answers. Or her stuff. Or an escape.

---

1. Brawler- Improvised Weapon

SPOILER: Click to show

Quest Name: Trapped!
Participants: Two or more
Location: Anywhere
Post Requirements: 5 posts per person, 200 words per post
Reward: +1 Mystical Archive Ticket, +1 Mysterious Reward
Description: You find yourself as the main character in a Black Harvest story! Write out a spooky or scary story where you find yourself trapped in a dangerous or suspenseful manner. The location, villains, and details of the story are completely up to you, as long as this year's theme is obvious and consistent throughout the topic.[/spoilers]

As Shaa walked along the seemingly empty corridors, he was making mental maps of where he went. Back and forth systematically until the general shape started coming into view. Betwwen his instincts and his Geosenses, it didn’t take long for him to confirm that the underground structure was both circular and massive. The further and further he went, Daniel’s assertion that this was part of the Citadel seemed to gain credibility. He was happy to at least have a general idea of where he was but how he got here and the best way to get out were still open questions. Sure, he could just pick a wall and dig himself out, but that wouldn’t return his stuff or answer the first question. So tromping around in the dark it was, at least for now.

As he didn’t really have anything else to do, he let his mind wander back to the last few days trying to remember the last things he could remember. His mind was fuzzy about the recent past for some reason. He didn’t remember being in Sol City, that was for sure. The last thing he remembered was being on the road towards somewhere near StormGale Village in Dragon’s Cradle. He was walking along the road, by himself and then…nothing. Did he ever even make it to the Village? He didn’t remember anything about being there. What happened on the road?

Shaa yawned and seated himself on a pile of rubble to rest. With no items in his possession, he would have to get creative. He took a deep breath and thought tiny thoughts. Casting drizzle just above his hands, a tiny rain cloud forms and fills his palms with clean water. The mages who came up with this spell probably didn’t envision it like this but…. He drinks several scoop fulls and uses the rest of the micro storm to wash his face and hands. He didn’t mind being dirty really but the clean water helped him feel a little better which was a valuable commodity in a survival situation. He offhandedly remembers there was a spell to summon food as well and was kicking himself now for not taking the time to learn it. He might need to put it on his list.

Semi refreshed but still a bit on edge, he stands up and starts the next leg of his mental mapping. He only takes a couple steps when he notices that the ground is more uneven then it had been. Kneeling down, he feels that the dirt on the floor has been kicked up…recently. Very confident he had not been in this section yet, he breathes out a low flame to get a better look at the ground. Breathing low and slowly, the light of the flame lights the corridor showing a dirt floor. He studies the floor and notices that the dirt isn’t just kicked up, it’s a paw print. A very large paw print…of a bear.

---

Geosense
Drizzle
Flame Breath
Night Vision

The longer Ak’ka tried to dwell on how she ended up here - or where here even was, the more a budding headache built behind her eyes, dwarves driving jackhammers down in the back of her head while tryin’ to search for diamonds. She patted her pocket for her flask, only to find that it was gone, stolen with the rest of her things. Man. The second she found whatever bastard threw her in here, they were about to get the pummeling of a lifetime. But unfortunately, the more Ak’ka aimlessly wandered the halls, door tucked under her arm, the more it was dawning in her that there wasn’t another living soul in these cells. Whatever jail this was, this was the section where people had been left to rot.

And then, the building itself had been abandoned, decay wrappin’ its hand around the dusty rafters and the leaky roofs.

The hallways themselves were a damn labyrinth. Twisting and turning in a pattern Ak’ka couldn’t parse from her walk through, not without a map. She doubted one existed. Places like this were designed to torture and beat down the folks trapped inside, wear at their mental defenses so they didn’t even think of escapin’. And clearly, it worked. This place was choked with ghosts, spirits who were stuck here just the same as her. And they sure as hell gave her the creeps. Ak’ka tried talkin’ to a few as she made her way through the halls - some of them were walkin’ as if they were puppets on invisible strings, marched to a schedule ingrained in their souls. Some were in their cells, mutterin’ to themselves in languages Ak’ka couldn’t understand. In the distance she thought she heard pained wails. Faint, but agonizing, bouncin’ off the walls like they demanded to be heard. Instinct urged her forward, ready to help someone in need.

“Don’t bother.” A voice echoed, forcing Ak’ka to stop.

Wasn’t someone living. A ghost.

She could see their head stickin’ through one of the cell doors when she turned, though they didn’t leave their cell entirely. They were so incorporeal that it was hard to see much more than the outline of their skull and their eyeballs and teeth, almost just hoverin’ there. When she met their eyes, the ghost just kinda made a shrugging motion, nonchalant. “Those are just the damned trapped in the Inquisitor’s Room. Unlucky sad sacks died in there, and seemed to just… forget they’re not in pain anymore.”

“Torture chamber?” Ak’ka growled, narrowing her eyes. She ain’t ever heard of a local jail or even run of the mill prisons havin’ anything that extreme.

“The Legion takes treason quite seriously.” The ghost made another noncommittal motion.

The Legion. A shudder ran up Ak’ka’s spine. She knew what the ghost was talkin’ about, of course. You’d have to live under a rock to be ignorant to the black-armored hounds that had infected every part of the city on behalf of the crown. They were beasts dressed up in fancy weapons and armed with their blind faith in the crown. But if she was in one of their prisons…

“I ain’t ever done anything to piss of his Royal shitheel.” Ak’ka spat, venom pounding in her veins. The insult itself was treason, but hey. What were they going to do? Lock her up? “The hell am I doing down here? Did the Legion throw me here? Are they still lurkin’ around?” She demanded, a series of rapid-fire questions.

“How should I know? I’m just a ghost.” The ghost replied, and Ak’ka’s anger spiked. “All’s I know is that this place hasn’t been touched for years. Only things left down here are you and me, the Hunter, and the screams. Oh - and the Wanderer, yes.”

“The Hunter and the Wanderer. Livin’ folk, or spirits?”

“Beasts, like you.”

That didn’t help none, either. Now this motherfucker was speakin’ in vague riddles, and it was just makin’ Ak’ka’s head pound even more. “Yer no help.” She grumbled. “Alright. So do ya know the way out of here, at least? Throw me a bone, man.”

A bone off the ground dislodged itself from the gunk and grime, hovering through the air like thrown by an invisible hand, lobbing Ak’ka in the side. The ghost giggled.

“Ha, ha. Very funny.”

“A little gallows humor. You’ll understand when you join our ranks. Just another one of the abandoned. That’s what happens to everyone else.”

“Not to me. I’m gettin’ out of this shithole.”

“As you like.” The ghost murmured, and faded away. Unhelpful jerk. Just talkin’ in circles. Like everything else in this place. At least she’d gotten a bit of information from them. The knowledge that some others mighta been down here with her… and a landmark. She just had to follow the sound of the screams to find the Inquisitor’s Chamber. Maybe her stuff would be somewhere near there.

Following the wails, Ak’ka picked a direction and walked. Unfortunately for her, she wasn’t as adjusted to the dark, and she missed the bright yellow eyes that lurked in the shadows behind her. The Hunter mighta already found her, and being stuck down here this long, the beast was starving.

As he stood in the darkness considering the possibilities, his battle senses kicked into overdrive. Despite the bear print seemingly being out of place at first glance, there were a lot of pretty reasonable explanations for it. First and most logical, this place was underground and broken down. It could connect to an adjoining cave the bear lived in and he just wandered in. It could also be a leftover from a fight pit or secret mage’s lab or the warden’s pet or any other of a dozen reasons. It didn’t really matter though. The print was fresh, less than a day. That meant, whatever the reason, it was alive and down here with him, probably hungry. He would have to be on his guard. 

As he was basically naked without his bag of the infinite, there was nothing else left to do but keep mental mapping. But he wasn’t down trodden, not quite yet. Not by a long shot. He was by himself all the time, so being alone now wasn’t weird. He was underground all the time as well, his home also being a big underground maze. This place would practically be a vacation if it weren’t for all the dead guys creeping through the walls and broken rooms. That was just eerie and frankly a little unsettling.

Shaa was not a super fan of the undead. Every time he ran into a zombie or vampire or ghost or whatever, it was always a fight with those guys. Daniel was cool enough but he was definitely the exception. He had recently went on an adventure with a zombie elf. Tried to give him the benefit of the doubt but nope. Betrayed him, ate their employer and bolted. Ughhh Zombies. When his time came, there is no way he would go bug the living. He would just go into the next place and keep going, no looking back. But he wasn’t going anywhere yet. And he also had an ace up his proverbial sleeve.

A lot of people didn’t know it, but Shaa had a tiny traveling companion. Her name was Vulcana and she was a fire pixy that usually hung out around behind his horns. But if it got too boring or she wanted to take a nap, she would hang out in his bag of the infinite and play with his stuff. And, in all likelihood , that’s were she was now. She was tiny and loyal and a bit of a pyromaniac so he had a friend fireproof the bag for good measure. But, they were connected and as soon as she woke up and realized he wasn’t there, she would be drawn to him. It was only a matter of time before she found him. That is, unless she got into his stash of cookies or not. Crap. It might be awhile.

Minotaur in our maze….what a fine addition. Welcome to the pit o servant of darkness. Shaa rolled his eyes. It was hard enough trying to fix Minotaurs highly misunderstood but not wholly inaccurate reputation for being evil, but he didn’t need dead guys propagating the stereotypes. Sorry buddy, not evil. Just looking for my stuff. Haven’t eaten any babies or anything in a hot minute. If you say so. I can see right through you and you have a bit of a penchant for violence. Being violent doesn’t make me evil….little spicy maybe. I’m in the fighters guild, violence is kind of our thing, it’s in the name. Hanging out with other violent beings does not absolve one from evil. It is a blind justification. You know you are pretty judgmental for a dead guy in prison. One does not have to have clean hands to see that someone else is dirty, it’s just that we are evil together. 

Shaa stops for a minute and stares at the door the voice was emanating from. You are lucky you don’t have a face to punch anymore buddy. More violence? What a surprise. Says the voice sing songy and highly laced with sarcasm. Whatever. Have fun rotting in there. All sorts of fun today. The entire place has been buzzing about our visitors. Shaa rolls his eyes again, not impressed by the obvious taunt to get him to engage. Yeah I saw the bear print. It will be fine. The disembodied voice laughs wickedly. You think it’s a bear? And that it’s the only other thing down here today? Oh I can’t wait to see how this all plays out. As you are my evil buddy now, I will root for you when the conflict comes. Stop calling me evil! The voice starts singing coldly. You say PO TAY TO, I say PO TAH TO. You say TO MAY TO, I say TO MAH TO. And your’e an idiot, I know a bear print when I see one.

But when is a bear not a bear? Hurry hurry, you are not as alone as you believe. Shaa turns from the cell and goes back to his mapping, trying hard not to let the voice bother him. He can hear it’s laughter trail off as he continues stomping through the darkness. PPPPOOOO. TAAAAHHHH TOOOO…..

---

MEANWHILE….

In a dark stone room, there are several weapons, bags and other items laying all around. The room is well lit and in good shape but devoid of any people but there are voices that can be heard outside the door. On one of the tables sits a small leather bag that belongs to a certain wandering Minotaur.

Vulcana is waking up from her nap in a cozy spot inside Shaa’s bag of the infinite. It takes a lot of will power but she is careful not to burn anything in here or she might lose her nap privileges. Stretching her arms out a bit, she shakes her wings and gets ready to emerge and greet her companion. She loved being with someone so deeply connected to the world. He got into so much trouble it was always entertaining. She wondered what nonsense he got himself into today.

As she poked her head out of the bag, she is surprised to see the bag is on a table. There is no sign of her companion anywhere. A twinge of panic hits her stomach. Shaa would never leave his bag alone like this. Where was he. She could hear voices outside door.

I don’t care if it’s boring, you are being paid aren’t you? A couple of days down there and it won’t even matter. We will sell off the lot in here and make even more…..

The sound of screams gettin’ louder only meant Ak’ka was gettin’ closer to this torture chamber. The agonizing wails were grating on the half-orc warrior’s ears, and only served to make her damn headache worse. But she was grumpy, hungry, without any of her things, and had been wanderin’ these halls for what felt like damn hours now without any sign of life or change. Ak’ka was not a gal who felt fear. Unease, or uncertainty, but as she stomped across dead cobblestone, the only thing she felt was annoyance.

How long did these balls stretch on for? Did they just move in circles and circles until prisoners and guards died of madness down here? If Ak’ka’s old buddy from the cell was right, then this place had been run, maybe even built, by the Legion of the Black Sun. If that was the case then even the design itself musta been made for torture. All for the sake of givin’ their prisoners a sense of hopelessness, a never-ending despair until they died, and rotted down here.

No wonder the ghosts left behind were batshit insane.

Eventually, Ak’ka found the point where the screaming was the loudest, agonized howling from folks who’d forgotten everything but the pain. A door marking the end of a spiraling offshoot from the main stretch, markedly different from its brothers - namely, ‘cus it was made of metal instead of wood, so aged that it looked brittle to the touch. Abandoned, just like everything else in this godsforsaken place. Probably meant Ak’ka wouldn’t find her things in here - because whoever or whatever threw her down here clearly hadn’t even wanted to touch a place as decrepit and horrifying as this. As Ak’ka shrugged the door aside and entered the room, she could see why.

The only furniture in the room was a chair stained with rusty blood and other fluids Ak’ka wasn’t about to name. Leather straps slackened, just waiting for someone to be tied within them so they could be stuck like a pig with the instruments of torture lined against the wall. Only the racks upon racks of equipment looked pristine and untouched - like whatever inquisitors used this torture room before took great care to clean the only pieces that mattered. Chains ending in deadly hooks hung from the ceiling at various intervals, allowing prisoners to be hung from any angle.

“Eugh. What a grim place.” Ak’ka sneered, stepping closer to the chair. She ran her finger along the thick layer of dust, wrinklin’ her nose to prevent from sneezin’. Yeah. This place was ancient as fuck. And her stuff definitely wasn’t here, so there was no need to stick around-

That was when the Bonegrinder heard a sound behind her - somethin’ low and menacing and definitely not undead. Predator recognized predator. She knew the sound of a hungry beast when she heard it, and this one, whatever it was, had just found its meal.

Ak’ka didn’t hesitate. The second she heard nails scrapin’ against stone, and a feral snarl, the warrior whirled around and smashed her attacker straight in its ugly maw. The piece of shit snapped straight in two, leavin’ fragments of wood chips in her hands - no matter. Ak’ka’s fists were far deadlier, anyways. The beast recoiled, putting distance between them as its lips curled in disgust, revealin’ a line of crooked, yellow teeth and angry reddened gums.

A bear?

The hell was one of those doing down here?

Damn sure was bigger than any bear she’d ever seen, though - thick pelt matted with rot and maggots, decayin’ in certain places, and scars marring its face. Milky-white eyes that mighta once been yellow, now blinded with hunger and rage. No, this wasn’t a normal animal. But if Ak’ka got caught up on the where, why, and how, she’d be bear chow in seconds. Now wasn’t the time for thinkin’.

She leapt for the ceiling as the bear lunged again, claws and teeth bared. The Bonegrinder grabbed hold of one of the dangling chains secured to the ceiling, muscles straining as she hoisted herself up - the chain, mercifully, held - and brought her boot down in a devastating kick that shattered a fraction of bear skull with a CRACK. The bear howled, rapidly recovering. Even the pain didn’t seem to affect it for much.

Well. The bigger they were, the harder they fell. And Ak’ka was pretty damn good at punching hard.

She dropped to the ground, ripping the length of chain from the ceiling with her as she went. Ak’ka wasted no time rollin’ her shoulders back, the tattoo on them lighting up with arcane energy - and a second pair of arms sprouted from her torso, just as deadly as the first.^[1] As the bear recovered she wrapped the long chain around one of her arms, givin’ her punch an extra bit of bite behind it.^[2] Good thing she did, cus the bear lunged at her in a second - Ak’ka clocked it in the jaw with a metal covered fist, one pair of arms grabbin’ it’s ears and yankin’ it to the ground.

THUD!

Dust rattled, dislodged by two tons of giant bear hittin’ the ground. Ak’ka grinned, spat on the ground - but her moment of triumph didn’t last long, as the bear picked itself up and caught her off guard, sinkin’ its teeth into her shoulder.

“FFFFFFFUCK!”

Pain blossomed in her shoulder where the bastard ripped out a chunk of her flesh, but Ak’ka pushed through the haze of pain, delivered one-two-three punches against its side to crack its ribs, get its grip to slacken on her. After a few agonizing seconds that felt like an eternity, its teeth slackened, lettin’ her wrap a pair of fists around its thick throat and hoist it in the air, muscles screaming in agony - and slam the beast down onto one of the hooks.

It wouldn’t hold the bear for long. But long enough for Ak’ka to grab at her bloody, torn shoulder, and fucking run. She turned on her heel, slamming the iron door behind her.

---

1. Extra Arms Tattoo (arms enchanted with Heavy and Double Strike)
2. Brawler - Improvised Weapon

Freaking cryptic ghosts and their nonsense. Probably just messing with me because he doesn’t even have anything else better to do. A chill runs up Shaa’s spine as he mapped and continued to ponder the vague words of the spirit. When is a bear not a bear? When it’s an owl bear? Stuffed bear? He did not have the time to fiddle with word play. This dungeon was getting old fast. He just needed his stuff and he out. Maybe he should invest in one of those skin pocket things from Madam Eva’s. He had considered the alteration before but it still weirded him out a bit. He would have to think on it.

In the distance, he can hear something loud. Like really loud. Bear loud? The echos in the halls made it hard to distinguish or pin down where the loud noise was coming from. He could only really tell that loud was getting louder and some of sounded like words. A talking bear? That seemed really unlikely but not altogether impossible. He had seen a lot weirder in his days. Maybe he was kleptomaniac bear and that’s why they threw him in jail. 

Making a few more mental notes, he decides that the best action is figure out the noise. Better to be proactive about it then for it, whatever it was, to come looking for him later. Who knows? Maybe it was tasty.

Listening carefully to the sounds, he carefully works his way closer until the noises become clearer. There were two voices not one. And it sounded like one of them was in pain.

Ak’ka hated retreating.

She hated it like a bloodsucking vampire hated the sun, or a werewolf hated silver. But right now a tactical retreat was all she could manage. Busted up by that furry motherfucker, weaponless and without any escape, she had no choice but to make a tactical retreat. Just long enough to find somethin’ to wrap up this wound, gather her bearings. Those hooks wouldn’t hold the beast for long, and Ak’ka had a hankering for revenge. Blood for blood.

But gods, the wound on her shoulder burned like it’d been touched by hot iron. She’d had chunks taken out of her by wild animals before, but none of them had ever hurt this bad. Was it infected already? Hard for her to tell. The extent of Ak’ka’s medical prowess was slapping some bandages on something and toughing through the sickness. This cut, somehow, felt… worse, searing with a damn heat but still leaking blood through her fingers. Yeah, she needed to find some bandage, fast.

What she found instead was a big minotaur in the middle of the hall. Ak’ka forced herself to a halt before she could run smack into the big guy, startled by his sudden appearance. She thought she’d been alone down here. Ak’ka skidded to a full stop right in front of him, breath ragged from the fight and the runnin’. She stared at the guy, eyes wide with surprise.

And then she bapped him on the nose.

Her hand met solid skin - not a hard hit, but enough for her to tell that the guy in front of her was flesh and blood, and real. Not a ghost. Ak’ka breathed a sigh of relief, shoulders slumping. “Oh, good, yer real.”

She grinned, patting him on the shoulder like they were old friends, and not strangers thrown into this graveyard together. “Man, I’m glad to see another livin’ person around here. So far it’s just been a fuckton of ghosts. And the bear. Speakin’ of, dunno how long that guy will be stuck in the room back there, and he sliced me up pretty good. So, uh, not sure if ya wanna get outta here and face that thing head on, or what. Oh. Name’s Ak’ka, by the way.”

Even with her shoulder sliced to shit, how dead and strange the situation was, and the monster trapped behind her, Ak’ka still seemed pretty nonchalant about the entire situation.

Shaa has seen a lot of very strange things since he woke up. Having a bleeding female Orc boop him in the snout was, oddly enough, not the weirdest thing that had happened to him so far. In truth , lots of strange things happened to him all the time so he had grown a bit desensitized to odd occurrences. Running into more than one deity in the space if so many months will do that to a person. The orc seemed friendly enough and not looking to stab him, yet, so he decides to just roll with it.

Yeah hey there. Yup I’m real and solid and such. My name is Shaa and it’s ahhhh you are really bleeding there aren’t you? As Shaa gets a better look at her, even in the dark he can see the wounds are very severe. Did she say a bear did it? Probably the one that left the foot print but, if the spirit was correct, there was more to the bear than meets the eye. Shaa’s battle experience in triage kicks in. Ummm let’s take care of that wound first and we’ll deal with Mr Grumpy Pants later. Shaa stamps on the ground hard and summons a wall, effectively sealing the hallway. There we go, even if he gets out, he’ll have to take the loooong way around. Hehe, suck it bear..thing. Umm, follow me, let’s see if we can get you cleaned up a bit. 

Without his bag, he was missing his small med kit and bandages. Everything else down here was so old and dirty he could almost guarantee an infection trying to use something. He might have to go a bit old school. Finding an old iron rod, he picks it up and points to a low pile of stones. Take a seat. Umm I’m going to use this rod to cauterize your wound…and it’s not going to be pleasant. With no bandages or clean water, it’s going to be the fastest way to stop the bleeding. Most orcs I know would like the scar though so… bonus. But, it’s up to you. Want me to give it a go? 

Shaa touches one end of the rod and it starts to glow red hot. He didn’t want to say anything that would freak her out, if he even could, so he tries to distract her. So… I don’t live here or anything. Woke up in a cell less than a day ago. Not sure how I got here. How about you? The end of the rod is white hot now, only waiting for the orc to decide.

---

Summon Wall
Heat Object
Hands are Weapons

Ak’ka didn’t seem really that bothered about her lack of manners. Even with a fucked up shoulder, she managed to shrug, as if to say my bad without really feeling all that bad about it. “Sorry. Been dealin’ with too many spectral bastards around here today. Got me jumpy. Glad yer real and so not keen on attackin’ me.” In fact, he was even offerin’ to help her with her wound. Ah, that was pretty nice. Ak’ka brightened, givin’ the minotaur - Shaa - a tusky grin.

“You got yer shit with ya?” She asked while Shaa summoned a protective wall in the hall. Yeah. That would buy them a few minutes. Lookin’ at him, though, he seemed to be as unarmed as her - nothin’ but the clothes on his back. Ah. Magic, then. Well, she couldn’t give less of a shit so long as this wound got taken care of. She’d shrugged off injuries, but this one was startin’ to burn like an infection, and she heat was makin’ her sick. She needed to get this taken care of if she was gonna be any use to Shaa when that bear came back.

“Thanks, man. I appreciate the help. I’d clean it myself, but I ain’t got anything to do it with.” She nodded, findin’ a dislodged piece of stone and takin’ a seat. While Shaa found a metal rod, Ak’ka went through the process of picking out one of her belts. She’d been down this road before. Never with a wound this bad, but, first time for everything, right? And he was right, it would leave a pretty gnarly scar along her body, one that would serve as an excellent trophy once they got out of here. There was no question whether they would or not in Ak’ka’s mind. There was only goal, and then execute.

First thing was first. This injury.

“Yeah. Let’s do it.”

Belt in hand so she could bite down on it when the pain got hard, Ak’ka settled back as best she could, spitting out a bit of blood on the ground nearby. Shaa spoke in a calm voice, tryin’ not to spook a wounded beast. She angled her shoulder so he could get a better look, leather already in a death grip. Anticipatin’ the hurt. Cauterizing was a quick solution but damn if it wasn’t always pleasant.

“‘Bout the same, pretty sure. Dunno how long it’s been, since there are no windows in this place.” She replied, looking anywhere but at the fire stick, waiting for the jarring, searing pain. “Don’t remember anything before that. I was in the woods, I think. That’s where my memory stops.”

In the distance, she could make out the haunted, pained wails from the torture chamber, and the THUD. THUD. THUD. Where that bear was tryin’ to free himself.

“Ghosts said this place is run by the Legion of the Black Sun. Or, used to be. This shithole-“ She rapped her knuckles against the wall behind her for good effect - “Is abandoned. Whoever threw us down here ain’t no guard, that’s for sure. I wonder if we’re being sold off to the fighting pits in Lilicors, or summat.”

But even if that was the case there was still one thing she didn’t quite get. If they were just being held here until they were fucked off to parts unknown, why not do a better job of locking up? Why let them roam? Seemed a pretty shoddy kidnapping job… unless their captors had meant for this to happen. When you locked starving wolves in a cage, it was only so long before they snapped and tried to devour each other. Maybe they were the wolves. A little show before they were sent off.

“Shaa, you ain’t seen anyone else down here, have you? Anyone livin’, at least? I’ve only seen ghosts and the bear, and they’ve all been as helpful as a bucket of hot coals to a T’saya.” She grunted.

The big Minotaur examined the wounds carefully, forming his plan of attack. He was all together very familiar with battle injuries so he felt that he could be pretty quick and effective with the rod. He could also tell when wounds were starting to turn and this one, if left untreated down here, would likely be fatal. Even if he was successful, he would still need to get her out of here and to a decent healer to be sure she didn’t lose an arm or something.He can hear some noises in the distance but shakes it off to focus on the gruesome task at hand.

Nope, you are the first living thing, aside from the odd bugs and rats, that I have seen down here so far. Well…and that bear apparently. What’s up with that by the way? Do you owe him money or something? Orc humor was tricky but it tended to be pretty close to Minotaur humor, blunt and usually ending in violence. Ok, try and stay still as you can. I am going to try and move quickly but if I go too quick, it might not seal or I could knick an artery or something worse. Feel free to pass out if you need to, I won’t let anything eat you, I promise. One…two…. Shaa started to work. The sounds of sizzling flesh erupt. He can feel his big hands start to sweat a bit but he stays steady and even. Looking over, he can tell it’s working, the wound is closing. There is now a bit of a rotten stink in the air. Ignoring it and focusing on his work, he estimates he will just need a few more minutes…. Shaa reheats the end of the rod and continues.

---

ELSEWHERE

Vulcana, never one to panic, flits around the room considering what to do. On the one hand, if someone is lost, the best thing to do is stay still. But she had the bag, so technically she wasn’t lost, he was. Does that mean she needs to go look for him? She would have to leave the bag and he would be really grumpy if he lost that. Ugh what to do. He was probably in trouble and needed her. They were bonded so she could find him, no matter how lost he was. Crazy Minotaur. He needed her.

Fixed in her decision, next thing was to get out of this room. The voices outside were loud and obnoxious and might be a problem if she tried to open the door. She flies over and finds that the gap at the bottom of the wooden door is just wide enough for her to fit through. Exhaling hard and tucking her wings up under her, she rolls across the dirty stone floor and right under the old door.

It only takes a moment but soon she finds herself dirty, dizzy but on the other side of the door. Looking up from the floor, she can now put faces to the voices. There are two men sitting in chairs. She is surprised to find that the men were actually kobolds. Leathery faces and medium scaled armor, they looked bored and generally unhappy. 

How much longer do we have to wait, this is intolerable! I told you Scarn, just a few more days. We just have to wait for the boss to show up. Ugh, we’ll be here forever. Don’t let her hear you say that. I’m. Not afraid of her. Yeah right! I would rather lick the bottom of a Gnoll’s foot than mess with her, she’s crazy! I just don’t like waiting.

As the two went on complaining, Vulcana wondered who they were talking about. One thing was clear though, she needed to find her Minotaur and fast. He could take care of these knuckleheads no sweat. She got a small ping in her stomach. She really did not like being apart from him. She can feel him in the dark, far away and below her. But she would find him. But before she left…maybe a little present for the jerks that separated them and stole their stuff. She quickly runs over to the wooden chair leg of one of the Kobolds. With a quick swish of her hand, she lights the chair leg on fire then flies away into the darkness. WHAT IN THE WORLD! GRAB A BUCKET!

Ak’ka huffed out a laugh that echoed through the eerie silence of the hall they’d taken refuge in. She woulda slapped her knee if her damn arm didn’t hurt so much. The pain didn’t seem to bother her, or the situation they were in; so long as she was still breathing, still movin’, she was fine. She was tough. She’d survive. And her chances of that were much better with Shaa at her side, who seemed to have a good amount of battle experience under his belt, too.

“Ghosts didn’t seem to think there were many people down here, too. But they’re all mad so who knows how much they say is true?” She tried to shrug and winced at the pain. Yeah, this wound was infected. If this wasn’t taken care of then it’d probably rot. Made her all the more grateful to Shaa for saving her ass. “And I dunno. You’d think it had a blood grudge against me or somethin’ based on the way it tried ta maul me. I’ve fought starving beasts before, but…” That thing didn't just seem hungry.

It was pissed.

If there was any other thought the Bonegrinder had to spare for the monster, it was halted by Shaa’s instruction that he was boutta start. He sounded pretty calm as he spoke, which mighta made some other folks nervous; not Ak’ka. When any wrong movement meant he could fry her blood and do some serious lasting damage, a steady hand was pretty damn reassuring. She nodded, and placed her belt in her mouth before clamping down with thick tusks.

Good thing she did, too.

‘Cus the fire burned with the fury of a thousand suns on her skin.

Ak’ka mighta bit down on her scream so hard she snapped the belt in the first second - hard for her to tell. The pain made everything hazy, and it was hard for her to focus. The empty, creepy hall was filled with the sound of sizzling and the smell of someone frying meat. She knew it was her wound, but she didn’t wanna open her eyes and look. Maybe she passed out, maybe she didn’t. The only witness was Shaa and if he ever spoke about it - if word got around that the fearsome Bonegrinder passed out from a little fire - then she’d know who the rat was. But Shaa didn’t seem like that type of guy, and Ak’ka couldn’t exactly mutter half-baked threats in her current state, so the point was moot.

At least it made the pain easier to deal with.

It was probably a good thing she tried to muffle her scream, though. With the bear still scratchin’ at the wall Shaa built, and Avasha (may the poor bitch rest in peace) knew what else was in these halls. And who knew what the sound of her agony might’ve attracted?

It felt like an eon of waiting for Shaa to finish, when in reality, it was probably only a few seconds of time. The patch job was as good as it was gonna get - and Ak’ka wasn’t gonna die from bloodlust, which was a pretty damn big plus. Still delirious from the pain and the blood loss, Ak’ka grinned up at the big guy and offered him a weak thumbs up on a shaky hand. “Thaaaaaaaanks.”

There. Shaa finished the gruesome patch job and examined the results of his labor. Well, it’s pretty clear I am not destined to be a medic. But, on the plus side, the bleeding seems to have stopped. You should be ok, for now at least. He tosses the rod to the floor where it lands with a metallic clatter. He wipes his sweaty hands across his side and catches himself staring at the wound. It made sense that it was a wound from an animal attack but there was something about it that bothered him. He couldn’t quite place it but tried to put the disquiet out of his mind. They already had a bunch of other mysteries to deal with. Adding another wasn’t going to help anyone.

From the side, Shaa can hear that the bear had gotten loose and was trying to claw through his makeshift wall. Rest here a sec, I’ll be right back. He walks over to the wall and places a hand on hits cool surface. Don’t say I didn’t warn you fuzzy. The Minotaur uses his wall creates rows of spikes on the other side, firing them presumably into the grumpy bear on the other side. RRRAAAAWWWRRRR screamed the very angry bear from the other side. Shaa could hear it bounding away from the wall and off somewhere in the distance. Shaa wipes his hands again satisfied.

Well on the bright side, your buddy isn’t trying to claw through the wall anymore. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure he’s still alive and more pissed off than ever. Man, that’s a gritty bear. Anyway, we should be ok. The big Minotaur stretches and cricks his neck a bit, causing small pops to be heard. K, so I was mapping this place before I ran into you. It’s probably best if you follow me while I work. That will let me keep an eye on you in case that wound goes south. Up for a walk?

---

Elsewhere

It had been over an hour since Vulcana had left her little present for the kobolds. No one came after her so she did not believe that she had been seen fleeing the now fiery scene. Even if she had been, pixies were seen as more of a trifling nuisance rather than a real threat to anyone. No one would bother trying to hunt her down. Perhaps they would have taken her more seriously if they knew who her travel buddy was. Where could he have gotten to?

She soon finds herself at a winding stone staircase headed down. This is exactly what she needed. She could feel the Minotaur somewhere below her but had, as of yet found a good way to descend. Unlike her companion, she was no digger and need to more direct route.

She quickly and quietly cruises down the long staircase, leaving a tiny bright trail of flame behind her. As she reaches the bottom, she finds a small room with two more guards flanking a much newer and reenforced door. The guards, a Kobold and a Gnoll respectively, were sitting in a couple of rotted wood stools. They sounded about as excited as the other ones about being there.

Argh, I hates thissss place, is feels the dead’s downs here. No good, no good. Hisses the Gnoll. The creature looks young but his scars tell the story of a fighter who has survived many battles. And apparently was not a big fan of ghosts. Calm yourself you coward. What if there are dead? What can they do to you but moan? The Gnoll shook his shaggy head. His bone necklace making clicking noises as he does so. The dead must rest. They no get rest here, makes them angry. I don’t want to be with angries dead. The Kobold rolls his eyes. It doesn’t matter if they are dead or not. Our only job is to make sure nothing gets through that door from below. Me saw. They put livings things down there. That’s right, and if anything tries to open this door, we make them unliving. You get it. The Gnoll gruffs a bit and shifts slightly in his stool. Why we even here? Guards are everywhere! The boss is looking for something, that’s all you need to know. Once she finds it, we are out of here, we will go sell the stuff in storage and head back to the base. 

There was that boss again. What was she looking for and what did it have to do with her buddy? The feeling in her stomach got worse. She needed to find him, and soon.

---

Stone Creation

The orc warrior was no stranger to wild animals and crazed beasts. The wound patched up on her shoulder seared with a different kind of heat now - felt like Shaa had burned away most of the infection, but there was still something… ancient in it. Maybe the pain was just addling her mind. Strange, ‘cus Ak’ka was used to pain. She could normally bounce back pretty good. Yet, as Shaa got up and made his way to the wall, Ak’ka struggled to pull herself into a standin’ position. Damn, this wound was sappin’ all her strength.

The freshly-burned skin was still tender, so Ak’ka awkwardly shifted her cloak to her other side, lettin’ the cool air hit it rather than fabric that chafed. Wasn’t the most ideal solution, but without bandages, she’d make do. She had to.

She took a step closer to the wall, wobbled dangerously. Ak’ka caught herself before she could fall - clutched at her skull with a groan. Ugh. She felt lightheaded.

Just had to persevere.

“Pretty sure it’s some kinda… skinwalker in a bear hide.” Ak’ka grunted, staring at the wall warily. Her face was still flushed with pain. “Moves like a bear, roars like a bear. But it don’t… don’t hunt like a bear.” It had been deterred from the wall, but Ak’ka was certain it wasn’t the last they’d see of that beast.

“Oh, good. You’ve got a map.” Ak’ka breathed out through her nose, a puff of cold air and relief. She’d been movin’ based on memory with no rhyme or reason. “Dunno how many exits to this abandoned place still exist, but I bet if we… keep followin’ the chambers she might find somethin’.”

Ak’ka’s brows furrowed, lookin’ at Shaa thoughtfully. An idea brewing in her mind, born from her years of experience spent in the mountains, learnin’ to read winds and the rise and fall of smoke while takin’ shelter in cavern systems. Probably wasn’t somethin’ she could manage herself, but she’d just stumbled upon a minotaur that could manipulate fire and earth at the tips of his fingers.

“Oi… if there are any big chambers with stairs, it’d be a big open space, right? Air likes to move from a small space to a big space. Creates a big WHOOSH, yeah? Bet if you lit a small fire we could… follow where the wind takes the smoke. Might bring us to a staircase. Might bring us to a big chamber. Either way, it’d give some direction.”

A skinwalker? Shaa wasn’t sure he was quite familiar with the term. Beast men, in the other hand, he did know very well. There were true beast men, like Minotaurs and Centaurs, who were born that way. There beasts with human like intelligence. Then you had the infected like vampires and werewolves and the like. Was the creature on the other side of the wall a man in disguise? Shaa regretted not getting a better look at it before sealing him in. He would have to take his new companions opinion on the matter. Was he the reason they were down here? Or just another victim perhaps? Yet another question he didn’t have good answers for. 

You think he’s got man brains do you? Interesting. Well brains or no, it’s best to keep our distance from it…as long as we can. They needed to get moving but Shaa looked and saw that speed was not on their side. Best not to rush it or risk making his company’s situation worse.  Map? He chuckles a throaty laugh. Well, yes and no. My map is here. He says tapping the side of his large head. When your running around underground in the dark as much as I do, having a good sense of direction is important. I know exactly where I have been and let me tell you, it’s all pretty bleak. Mostly hallways and chambers so far. There is a section that could be what you are describing. I can create fire no problem…just need something else to burn…

He looks around the sparse room and finds an old broken candle on the floor. Egh, not the greatest but it should work for our purposes I think. Seeing where smoke is blowing in the dark is going to be tricky, even for me. But, as we are currently short on any better ideas, let’s give it a try. Shaa offers his shoulder to lean on as he starts down an unexplored hall that seemed somewhat breezier than the others. He blows a small flame to light the broken candle and holds it out in front of him like an old miner. That reminds me, I need to restock my torches back home.

Time passes slowly as the two continue walking down the dark hallway, their tiny light burning it’s way in the thick darkness. It seems monotonous but then, he stops suddenly. A cold chill runs up the Minotaur’s spine like the icy hand of death itself. Do you feel that? Something is here…something..wrong. As a Berzerker, he was very familiar with concept of generating fear. There was natural fear, with its levels of variance. Them there was magical feet. It was deep, penetrating, absolute. He could imitate it fairly well but there were some creatures in this world that oozed magical fear. Dragons did…but there were other, darker forces that did as well. Dragons fear felt big, oppressive, like something gigantic that was trying to smother you. The other kind was vast, empty. Like looking down into a bottomless pit and having the feeling of being swallowed up into eternal nothingness. This fear….was the second kind.

He was unsure of his next move. The space ahead of them definitely felt more open. But something was there, waiting for them. Something…very old. A low voice creeps it’s way into Shaa’s mind.

I see you….the voice intones. Even in the inky black, I can seeeeee youuuu. You cannot hide from me. The words were so loud and clear, he felt that the creature could be right next to him. But there was nothing there. Just that feeling that was there and everywhere. It was official. Shaa hated this place. Everything about it said the living wasn’t welcome and he would certainly oblige them if he could. Shut up stupid voice! I see you….