《The pale dungeon (dropped)》Ch6 Bloody nightmare, bloody clovers.
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Fanv stifled another sob and took another look at her hands to make sure that she was not dreaming. Hands. Human hands. Clawless and furless, although a bit bloody. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She concentrated really hard and for just a moment she was able to visualize herself sitting in her bed at home. The tears and the aching feeling was a result of a nightmare that had shaken her awake. A horrible dream where she had turned into a monster and preyed on others without a shred of remorse. Yes, she could imagine it all perfectly, her cozy bed and the fading memory of the dream.
She almost cried again when she opened her eyes and saw the blood stained cave. Cruel, cruel reality. But she is human now. She could go back home. Probably. She should go. Maybe not home but suddenly staying in this cave seemed like a terribly bad idea. Partly because the stench of blood and death was making her feel sick and partly because The Voice is back, urging her to start walking.
The Voice had saved her life before and it was something nice and comforting about it. Obeying it sounded like a good idea. Fanv didn't really feel like making any decisions right now. Because if she started thinking about her current situation and choices then she'd probably break down crying again. She'd much rather someone else give her instructions until she recovers from her sour mood.
The human stood up and started walking down the tunnel. She barely noticed the stone shifting in the walls, turning smoother and covering any holes that got exposed as the fake-stone materials crunched and fell off. It was hard to see at all actually. Somehow the cave seemed darker than before. She stopped for a moment and watched the stone around her. It was moving, and the light is slowly disappearing. It gets harder and harder to see in the tunnel but she doesn't waver as she starts walking again. It's as if the ground is guiding her, dirt and gravel moving gently against the pads of her feet. It's the same feeling as when walking down a sloping hill except the ground here isn't sloping at all...
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Must be magic. Her father used to blame magic for anything he didn't understand. To him, magic was a miracle that made life brighter and more wonderful, and all new things were magic. Expect dark magic. Monsters, sickness and bad luck were dark magic. Harmful and evil. Is being a werewolf good or bad magic? Probably bad...
Fanv wiped at her face, sniffling. She missed home, and her father and friends. Would they want her back? Do they know what she became that night? Of course they do, her village could spread rumors quicker than wildfire in a dry forest. Do they know about the dungeon?-!
Fanv stopped in her tracks. Do the village know about the dungeon. Memories of her what people had told her of dungeons resurfaced as she thought of that. Dungeons are dangerous locations full of monsters and rare materials, therefore any dungeon found near civilization must be explored and conquered to prevent the monsters escaping and wreaking havoc among cities and villages. Goblin raids, human eating beasts, undead armies, spirits who possess others and spread curses, the list of terrors born in dungeons can go on forever.
Is this a big dungeon? How old is it? Is it spewing disasters already? No that can't be... No one had noticed the dungeon before she fell into it and even then they didn't follow her into the crevice so it's possible that they didn't find out at all... This is bad. If the dungeon goes unnoticed it will breed monsters that will invade and then-...
But what of it. Fanv stopped walking again. If they find the dungeon they will destroy it. Something about that doesn't sit right with her at all. If they came to destroy the dungeon she would be bothered by it- no angered. She couldn't explain it but she suddenly felt an overwhelming need to protect the dungeon. It was hers, it belonged to her. As stupid as it might sound, she felt that the dungeon was hers to protect and the thought of someone trying to take it from her was infuriating.
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She felt her bones begin to pop. No! Not now! No transforming, calm down. Deep breaths. Haaaah. No, if anyone was going to explore the dungeon it should be her. That's why she feels mad right? She found the dungeon and nearly died for it to boot, so she should be the one to explore it and reap its riches. Right? Greed is a basic human feeling so that must be why she's so attached to this place. Right. She might not be human but she was raised as one so she must be at least partly human. And greed was the most human reason she could come up with for wanting to keep others away from the dungeon.
She kicked at a loose pebble as she walked. Knowing that she still felt human emotions while in human shape was comforting. She hadn't lost her sanity completely yet. These stone walls really are getting smoother though. She walked up to the one on her right and felt along its surface. All the stones and corners that had jutted out of the stone wall had smoothed out and receded back into the wall, covering any holes or openings as it went. She noticed the black clovers when they started brushing against her bare feet. It's darker than before but that's probably because the clovers aren't blooming anymore. No red glow to light up this cursed cave.
She bent down to pick one of the clovers to inspect it closer. The plant was surprisingly sturdy and needed a firm tug to snap free from the floor. And it leaked. A thin watery substance that reeks of... blood? Without thinking the action through, Fanv put her hand to her face and licked at the stain to confirm. She immediately spat it out and rubbed her face. It tasted slightly like blood and holy hell why did she taste it?! She must still be pretty out of it since her breakdown. And the liquid didn't only taste of blood, it had a strong bitter taste not too unlike grass. If you shoved a fistful of it into your mouth and chewed that is. Disgusted she dropped the plant and scratched at her face. The plants made her face feel itchy.
Why weren't they blooming now though? She remembered the scene of the mashed up cadaver and the red glowing flowers crowding around it-... No way.
She peered at the black clovers at her feet suspiciously for a moment, then scratched a bit harder at her arm until she drew blood. She winced but still determined to see her experiment through. The same second she let the first drop of blood hit the floor the nearest clovers began moving. It was disturbing to see the plants swirl around and then the tight, closed buds she hadn't noticed earlier opened up and revealed brightly glowing red flowers. They all faced her and her bleeding arm as if innocently asking her to give them more of her blood.
She turned on her heel and ran further down the tunnel. She didn't get far however, because at the end of the tunnel stood something that took her breath away.
Maker looked at the human with what she assumed was a mild and friendly expression. She felt slightly smug after seeing how the human could only stare at her with what she assumed was admiration. Then she jumped in surprise as the human gave a small shriek and passed out right before her. Dumbfounded, she wondered what she did wrong.
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