Chapter 13: The Cavern Beneath

*********

Yes, there is a monster in the basement of this building so be quiet Christopher. If it were to find out you had managed to break free of its entrapping illusion, it will come and kill you. Explained Fel with a touch of worry and concern. You must be wary. A Hagraven is a type of witch. Changed and warped by the effects of cruel and dark magics. Their bodies are disfigured from a curse their power inflicts upon them. They are a dangerous foe.

“Alright Fel. Thanks. I think I got it. But how do I defeat it?” I asked as I lifted the ax in my hands, noticing that the cut on my leg had already healed. Just like magic, I thought as I moved away from the table and started to cautiously walk towards the doorway leading down into the darkened basement.

Fel's response held an anxious edge to it. You’ll need the element of surprise young Christopher. The Hagraven is a foe beyond your current abilities, but it is not impossible. You must take advantage of the tools at your disposal to defeat it. A blow to the neck to sever the head will kill it, but with the monster’s speed, the window will be small. The safer option would be to cripple the monster and finish it off. Do not underestimate the Hagraven.

Not wanting to reply out loud, I nodded. I knew Fel understood my reasonings for silence as I braced myself against the wall and grabbed onto the banister with one hand as I clutched the hand ax towards my body with the other. I didn’t want the ax to get caught on anything as I ducked under cobwebs. and struggled to see, even as I tried to disburse my weight enough to prevent the boards from creaking too loudly.

My heart beat fast in my chest with every step I took as I went down into the dark. Thankfully I was able to get through it without tripping over and making much noise. When I reached the bottom, I felt a sense of relief as my feet stepped down onto the solid ground and tensioned rolled off me, thankful that I’d managed to avoid making any loud noises.

It was with no small sense of wonder that I congratulated myself on keeping quiet. I paused at the base of the stairs and waited for my eyes to adjust before moving. The basement was fairly normal. Old boxes and furniture stacked up on each other that looked as if they had gone without attention for decades. The walls were filled with old canning material and the large shelves were lined with empty and broken jars with piles of the blackened rot of the long since wasted food that had turned to ash. A single window let in light from the ground floor outside, but of the Hagraven, I saw nothing, and where it was I had no idea.

Creeping around the room, I kept my ax raised ready to attack at a moment's notice. Trying as I did to keep my back towards the wall and slowly began to circle about the room, shifting through the old furniture and boxes for things to use and signs of the monster, and though I found a few pelts, they were unusable from age and decay. The process took a few moments as I was trying to be cautious, but after I’d done a full circle around. I still had no idea where the Hagraven had gone.

Christopher! Exclaimed Fel in frustration. The Hagraven uses illusions to trap its victims and to protect itself. You should have figured this one out on your own. Ground yourself and dismiss the illusion.

Those words echoed in my mind. Rattling something deep within me as a brief memory of the feel of a leather couch against my skin can to mind, a memory of setting in a therapist's office after school, those same words echoing. I need to ground myself. Fel was right and there was something lingering in my mind that was wrong about the room. It should have been musty at the least from the trapped air, or rank from the rotted food in the jars, or even full of the smell of dirt and dust. But I smelled nothing.

An idea struck me and I put the ax down and ran my fingers against an old desk, picking up a bit of dust as I left a thick trail in my wake. It was just an idea, I rubbed it underneath my nose and breathed in deeply as I closed my eyes. This will have to do to ground me, I thought as I opened my eyes back up.

The room I was in, wasn’t a basement at all. What I’d thought were stairs were just a series of broken boards leading down from a bedroom into a small cavern beneath the Farmhouse. How did I not break my neck walking down those? I couldn't help but wonder. There were no shelves, only broken and stacked furniture that looked like it had fallen into or been thrown into the cave. It was almost completely empty otherwise except for pale green magic fire that illuminates the small cave.

The window I'd mistakenly believed was letting light in was gone. Replaced by a tunnel carved into the rock and it was down that tunnel I knew I’d find the Hagraven. I could smell the monster and the scent of death carried by the breeze.

This way it is. I told myself as I prepared to face the monster.

Next chapter