CH30: Dungeon

A massive beak slammed down beside his head, bit a deep gouge into the wooden floor of the train car, and ripped up half the floorboards. The owl's massive head swiveled around, filling up the mist-filled train car, snapping and pulling like it was degutting a mouse. Every time he moved, the owl snapped and nearly got him. Its massive yellow eyes glowed like headlight reflecting pale moonlight into the mist, and it was everything he could do to stay out of the monster's mouth. He looked over at Zacharia, the rank 3 alchemist and quite possibly the only one who could do any damage to the monster.

The man raised, and circles filled with runes appeared around his hand before the beak came down hard. Elizabeth barely pulled the man out of the way to avoid a fatal bite. Unfortunately, the bird managed to bite through the alchemist's hand, and blood poured from the wound before stopping. A new hand was already forming from the stump, and Silas watched it in fascination.

Silas thought about getting down the bird's throat to feed on it from the inside, but it was already full of parasites. Besides that, the monster didn't breathe, and Silas couldn't sense any heat from it either. From what he could gather, they were dealing with a parasite-animated corpse. The door opened behind them, and it was the hobgoblin with the red cap.

The little green mob shook in fright but showed he could be brave. It handed Zacharia a vial of something, and the alchemist quickly uncorked it. Silver light blasted out of the vial before the alchemist threw it at the creature.

An explosion of silver fire lit up the ruptured train car, and black blood flooded down from the creature's burned form. Silver flames burned across its body, and geysers of black blood squirted out of it in every direction. Elizabeth jerked his shoulder, and he quickly followed while they fled from the burning vehicle.

No sooner had they left the train car; than he felt more than a dozen of the creatures. Zacharia quickly opened the second train car, grabbed a suitcase full of supplies, and strapped belts filled with different potions over his clothes.

"How many do you sense, Lizzy?"

"Dad, you haven't called me that since I was four."

"Shut up, and answer the question," Zacharia said.

"Four, but there could be more. I can barely hear them, and they have rank 3 stealth capabilities. I think they're assassin specialized monsters." Elizabeth said.

"How many can you sense, Silas?"

"12, and they aren't alive."

Zacharia cut him off. "No time for an analysis; we're out of cover and won't be safe until morning. We're close to the old Zen mansion." He pulled a map from his suitcase, which shined under the moonlight; they could see their location and the Zen mansion.

"We're ten minutes away at a sprint." Elizabeth said

An owl broke off from the encirclement and flew towards them. "Get down," Silas yelled after pulling Elizabeth with him.

Powerful talons gripped one of the train cars, lifted it off the ground, and tossed it rolling toward the mansion.

"The car won't protect us from those things. We need to get some distance."

"But what if that's what they're waiting for," Elizabeth said.

She was shaking, her hair stood on end, and her eyes blazed gold, reflecting the moonlight. While he wasn't sure what to do, all Silas could do was try. Silas reached out and took her hand.

Even if she was his captor, they were in the same boat. "I know when they're coming, so stay with me, and you'll be safe." Her shaking didn't stop, but she nodded.

"If we run and can't get in, then at least we can use the walls to block one direction they can attack us from," Silas said.

Zacharia gave him a disapproving look and turned back to the map. "We're going to move quickly and stay together. Anyone who breaks will be picked off."

As a group, they scrambled off the road through the dark forest, and the owls flew silently over them through the trees. They formed a perimeter as they traveled towards the mansion, closing any chance of escape. He could feel them as the noose tightened, and they came upon a massive, sprawling mansion.

5 stories tall, half sunk into the black mud of the bog, and crumbling their refuge from the undead owls looked haunted. Windows were broken, letting the elements in. An air of unease poured lazily from the sprawling mansion to caress the shiver running down his nonexistent spine. It looked like a mix between a super haunted house and a vampire hostel.

"This is a dungeon," Zacharia said.

"You mean like the place where prisoners are kept and tortured?" Silas asked, hoping it was that one instead of a sapient building that feeds on people.

"Think of it like one big monster that feeds on adventurers and offers treasure. Places like this are normally regulated by a guild. There should be a high master or a low monarch here to keep the dungeon under control." Elizabeth said as they ran for the door.

"If there isn't a guild representative here, what does that mean." Silas was sure he knew the answer but wanted to make sure. "Did someone attack them?"

They reached the door as the owls rested on 12 pillars overlooking the mansion's courtyard. Understanding dawned on Silas after seeing them get comfortable as the door to the mansion opened for them.

"No, this is a new dungeon with a death alignment. If this was discovered, an academy of necromancy would be opened here, followed by a town."

Black candles lit up at their approach, alighting sofas and comfortable chairs. Despite the dreary atmosphere, the room practically oozed comfort. Silas concluded it must have been a safe room. All dungeons had them in games, and they were the place adventurers could rest and heal. He let his shoulders sag as he felt himself relax. He turned to look out the window before looking back at them.

"Can't we just rest here until morning and leave. Undead are supposed to be weaker during the day."

The hobgoblin sat on one of the chairs, and Silas suddenly felt a fluctuation. The chair turned into a monster's mouth and quickly closed on the hobgoblin. Before any of them could react, blood was everywhere, and the comfy chair had devoured one of their party members. There were only three of them.