Chapter 4: Into the Fire
The sword felt good in Dolin's hand.
He rolled his shoulders, still aching from being slammed into the wall. His throat burned where the awakened man had been crushing it.
Behind him, his audience was still shouting.
"What kind of trick was that!"
"The sword just appeared!"
"Open the cells!"
Dolin was too busy scanning the corridor.
Men shouted and some screamed.
Others began to argue loudly.
Idiots…
All this noise would drag creatures straight down here.
He stepped carefully around the corpse of the awakened man, blood pooling on the floor.
Dolin avoided looking at the ruined eye.
The wolf-like monster that had killed the guard was nowhere in sight, but that didn't mean it was gone.
"Hey! You! Open my damn cell!"
"Let us out before that thing comes back!"
Dolin grimaced.
Too late.
A scraping sound echoed from behind.
The prisoners were still yelling until one of them noticed Dolin's expression.
"...what?"
Another man followed his gaze. Then his face went pale.
"Oh gods…"
The scraping grew louder. Something moved, emerging from the darkness.
Stepping into the torchlight, the nightmare creature that had killed the guard made its return.
Its wolflike body stretched low across the floor, supported by too many legs to count.
Its skeletal body was even more unsettling up close. Its hide clung tightly to its bones, stretched thin across a frame that looked unsettling.
And its legs. Too many of them.
Its nostrils flared, locking its gaze onto the corridor.
For a moment the creature simply stood there.
Dozens of prisoners froze, and then some screamed.
The monster lunged.
"It's back!"
"Don't let it come this way!"
Dolin stepped forward.
Better to deal with it now.
The monster rushed at him, legs scraping violently on the floor.
Dolin waited until the last second.
Then he stepped aside.
The creature slammed into the wall, claws gouging deep grooves into the wall.
It let out a ferocious snarl, but it was too late.
Dolin swung his sword, cleanly slicing across one of the legs. Black blood sprayed across the corridor, the creature shrieking.
The creature's body twisted, several of its legs lashing out at once.
One struck Dolin square in the ribs, sending him flying into the bars of a nearby cell.
Pain exploded through his chest.
"Shit…!"
The monster lunged again, teeth baring.
Dolin just barely raised his sword in time as its jaws slammed shut against the blade, shaking it ferociously.
The force nearly tore the weapon straight from his hands.
Dolin shoved forward with everything he had. The blade ripped free and he stepped forward.
In a downward arc, Dolin swung the sword. It slashed right into the creature's shoulder, causing it to scream. One of its legs shot at him again, knocking him backward across the floor. He rolled back again, barely avoiding another snap of its teeth.
His audience was shouting hysterically now.
"Kill it!"
"Stab the fucking thing!"
Dolin pushed himself to his feet. The creature growled, blood dripping from its shoulder.
Its balance was uneven from the missing leg.
Good. It's slowed down.
The monster lunged forward.
Dolin stepped forward, getting into a defensive position.
He straightened his sword, catching the creature's throat right on his blade.
He did not stop there. Black blood erupted across the floor as he slashed upwards, splitting the creature's maw.
The monster's steps staggered, leaving it open.
Dolin drove the blade forward with both hands, driving it straight through the screaming creature's face.
For a moment the two stood there together, but then the creature collapsed. Its many legs convulsed wildly against the stone.
[You have slain a dormant beast, Carcass Stalker.]
The prisoners fell silent.
One of them whispered, "He actually killed it…"
Dolin pulled the blade free.
The metal of the blade was dyed black from the creature's blood.
The prisoners stared at him, waiting in hope and anticipation.
Dolin sighed.
"Fine."
He tossed the keys into the cell of the scruffy man, causing them to clatter loudly across the stone floor.
The prisoners burst with cheers.
Dolin turned away from them. He had more important things to worry about. Most of all, the goal of this nightmare.
A part of him had believed that it would be finished after killing the Carcass Stalker, but here he was.
His mind went to the screams and roaring he had heard earlier. The creatures ahead would probably be much worse.
Dolin adjusted his grip on his sword.
Then he started walking, disappearing into the darkness.
Behind him the prisoners were still shouting.
The scruffy man had managed to open his cell and now went to the others.
"Open my cell first!"
"No, mine!"
"Move, you bastard!"
Dolin ignored the chaos.
Their survival was their own problem now.
The corridor stretched deeper into the dungeon, lit only by the flickering torches mounted on the walls. The flames danced weakly, casting long shadows that twisted across the floor.
The further he walked, the more signs of violence he found.
A bloody corpse laying beside a shield smashed in half.
Blood stained the stone in long smeared streaks, as if someone had been dragged across the floor.
Dolin slowed. Something had come through here recently. He tightened his grip and continued onwards.
Several bodies lay scattered across the ground.
Guards.
Their armor was torn apart like paper, and one was missing an arm.
Another's head had been crushed so badly, his helmet folding inwards.
A distant boom shook the walls, dust falling from the ceiling.
Metal clashed, mixing with the sounds of screams and roars.
Dolin's eyes drifted to a narrow staircase at the far end of the chamber.
Dolin hesitated only a moment before climbing up it.
As he went up, the noises of the war raging above grew louder.
The air grew warmer, smelling of ash and fire.
By the time he reached the top, the sounds of battle were deafening.
Dolin pushed a heavy wooden door in front of him slightly.
Heat rushed over him. The castle was burning.
Smoke filled the corridors, drifting through the halls.
Far in the distance he could hear soldiers shouting orders, followed by the roar of something massive. The fight he had in the dungeon suddenly made him feel very small. Whatever was invading this castle was for worse than that monster he had faced in the prisoner corridor.
Dolin tightened the grip of his sword. Then he made his way into the corridor.