The Way The String Goes - Dungeons And Dragons

Second Assault

Their steps sounded like beating drums, like explosions, like death in the deafening silence on their way to the whispering cave, Evan'geline was holding Evan's hand so tight that she could swear she heard the wooden hand crackle softly under her fingers and quickly used magic to mend any damage she would've done with her nervousness. Finally, they arrived at the entrance of the mountain that was on ground level and moved forward hesitantly, 4 friends and a stranger walked inside the cave, one will walk out wounded, one will be dragged out unconscious, two will be brought back and another will lose their life.

The space got darker and darker inside the cave and the howls seemed to make the whole world shake, or were they the ones who were shaking? They'll never tell. It was cold and it felt like they were collectively holding their breaths, it was almost certain now that they weren't going to find Crowley, at least not alive. Suddenly Rajeem's expression changed, he smelled something, something he had been looking for, it wasn't quite right but it was closer than anything he had found in the past years.

- It smells like a dragon. - he whispered, and suddenly like magic, like his words had opened their eyes, they started noticing rubble on the floor, but those weren't just loose stones, it was splintered wood, it was... bones.

They continued cautiously making their way through the cave as the wood, some metal scraps and bones continued to increase in quantity, and then their destination presented itself before them, a dimly lit chamber with ever-burning torches extended in about a 50-foot radius, the cavern walls were a pale boney gray and they looked like natural erosion caused it, except for the deep claw marks all over the space, a battle had taken place here, if not multiple ones. The air was awfully humid and it suddenly made sense once they noticed the river or lake that was on the side of the space, it seemed deep and maybe its running course was what caused this unique formation and there on the opening on the far right of the cave a terrifying sight caught Evan'geline's eye, a chain with links as thick as a human leg deeply embedded on the cavern walls and going into the water or beyond their eyes could see, this mountain had a series of comfortable crawl spaces that went deep into the mountain in and out this was a problem it made them feel small and vulnerable this was the perfect lair to anything, they were at a colossal disadvantage. Then the flashbacks came.

This wasn't supposed to go this way, we failed our mission, we were supposed to protect and find and here we are, fighting the biggest creature I've seen in my life and all I can think of is to run away, so I screamed to my friends.

-Eilrath, Abel! there is nothing we can do, I do not want to die here and I don't want to lose you either, let's just go! - I pleaded from the top of my lungs as the huge creature slithered around the cave stomping on our patron, Edgar Crowley's lifeless body was close to being unrecognizable and for the creature before us, he became just another stone in its cave.

-We can't just leave him here! I can still help him... i-i think-Abel insisted

-Nope, she's right, let's leave while we still have our lives friend - Eilrath with a smile that masked her fear almost perfectly grabbed Abel by the scruff of his shirt and started pulling him out of harm's way.

The chain jingled behind us as the creature followed them and screeched in such a horrible manner that it made us turn, big mistake, the yellow eyes shined in a sickening way that it felt like it nailed us to the ground, I felt like that gaze pierced through my skull and the voice, that voice it rang in our heads or was it in our ears? I couldn't tell, but I could've sworn I heard Evan make a sound of intrigue.

-Remember nothing of what you saw here, walk aimlessly and get lost you pitiful creatures- The thunderous voice felt like a shove and a stab as if we were strangers to one another we just walked and walked.