Forest Nightingales - The Forest Wants to Play

Dragons Keep - Mythical Guardian

The castle seems to be one long labyrinth with no distinct passageways leading me to the great hall as I carefully walk down each passageway and the thickness of the dark does not help for each passageway looks like another. I come to the end of a passageway and a stairway greeting me, but the stairs go up and down. When I take a look down the stairs, into yet more darkness, I feel that there is something down there and as I take just the first step I hear something move sharply with a thud.

I hear what seems to be the sound of clanging wood, a wind charm made of wood blowing in the wind, and I wish to not be discovered so I take the higher choice of going up stairs, which seems to be a little brighter. As I reach the top of the stairs I hear a deep breath followed by growling grunt coming from behind me and the clanging of wood is faster as something quickly moves away from the light coming from a high window. The slam of a door fills me with a fear that I have not felt since entering the forest and so I make my moves swift ascending the stairs.

The stairs lead me to the roof and the rain, the light from the moon goes as the dark clouds cover it. I am blind to my surroundings, the only glimpse that I get is when the lighting breaks through the darkness. In the distance I see a door leading off the roof and apparently my only way of the roof without meeting with the fearful being that is following me. I make my way across the slippery stone rooftop, the raining poring, the sudden cracks of lighting breaking the darkness, and sudden rumbling begins emanating beneath my feet.

The closer I get to the door the more frequent and more violent the rumbling becomes. In time the rumbling is joined by the sound of cracking stones and when a large break of lightning strikes the roof a terrifying sight burst through the stone of rotten bones and decaying flesh. What stands before me was never human nor was ever an animal, what stands before me is that rattling bones of an undead Minotaur, a monster, the offspring of Pasiphaë and the Cretan bull, that had the head of a bull on the body of a man.

As it stands there glaring at me, jaw hanging, swaying loose, eyes rotten to the core and the muscles of its arms barely hidden by what is left of its decayed flesh. It holds in its right hand a large jagged edged blade, as it walks towards me I back away slowly and I make a sharp move which breaths life into the creature as it bellows a monstrous roar of a bull. Running through the rain I hear every single weighty foot step from the Minotaur as it bellows towards me and when I get to the door to my fearing heart in demise the door is locked.

I rattle the door handle, striking at it with the brunt of my shoulder but it is too late with the creature bearing down on me and so I jump out the way watching the creature plow straight through the door taking some of the stone wall down with it. I look to see where the creature stands only to be met by its blade being thrust to me but missing and so I shove several stones hitting it as it lays in the rubble.

I take my chance as it appears, I run back for the stairs where I came from to get onto the roof with the creature sternly following behind. Glancing beyond my shoulder I see the creature throwing the stones at me causing me to sway and In my haste to avoid the the stones being hurled towards me I slip on the rain drenched roof and fall into the gaping hole the creature had burst through.