The Blackreach Experiments - Part 5 - No Way Out

Continued from part 4.

Celine cautiously explored her surroundings.

It was obvious that this place had not been used in a while.

“I wonder if I’m actually in the past or this is just a ruin in my time?”

As she made her way through the abandoned castle, she could hear foot steps. They sounded to heavy for a man or an animal. She peered into the next room.

“By the gods!” she thought, “What are those?!”

It took her a minute to realize what the monsters were and even longer for them to wander off. She eventually made her way to a long hallway. She rounded a turn, and a skeleton stepped out from the doorway! For some reason though, it did not even notice her. She was able to walk right past it.

The hallway emptied into a large dining area with more skeletons. Her heart stopped. She was unarmed and wouldn’t be able to take them all but like before, they just sat there. It was as if the undead did not even notice her.

Celine was feeling exhausted and knew she needed somewhere safe to rest. She saw the nearby room had a lock on the door so it seemed like the most logical place. “I think I’m going to be sick. This place isn’t as empty as I thought. This blood is fresh and these bones look…juicy. I’ve never seen bones wet like that before…”

The horror of the situation was setting in. Something here was eating humans.

*Grrrrrrrr* The sound came from down the hall. It was low and guttural, possibly a guard dog.

“Damn my luck!” She took off running and she could hear the animals getting closer. She had to hide but where! She jumped into the nearby water. She could see what looked like a demon dog walking around. It seemed to lose her scent and eventually wandered back the way she had come from.

This room as well as many others led to a large courtyard.

It gave her some much needed time to rest and process everything that had happened to her since she stepped into that doorway.

Celine felt her eyes close. She thought she could hear people talking but they sounded distant.

The voices changed and distorted until they became the voice of the Keeper. He seemed to be right in front of her, staring at her.

“Ah pet, there you are. Did you think you could escape me so easily?”

Celine knew she should be afraid of it. It was a cold malicious monster and....

“*master*” The word just slipped out. Celine recoiled, “No! I won’t ever serve you! I’m *your pet*” The words were flowing from her lips in a cold, melodic tone, as if someone else were saying them.

The keeper laughed, “When you wake, come to this place.” A map burned itself into her mind. “There you will open the path for me to enter your world.”

“Yes Master,” she purred.

She felt something jabbing her in the side but the smell is what roused her.

She sat up and looked around. “Great, I’ve traded one nightmare for another.” She tried talking to the people in the cell with her but they were mentally absent. “Well I’m on my own, again.”

It didn’t take long for her to realize the only thing keeping the prisoners in was that they did not have a desire to leave. She squeezed herself between the bars and snuck out of the castle.

The main floor was surprisingly devoid of life. It looked like a battle had taken place on the main levels. Vampires and knights lay strewn about the passageways, main hall, and even the bridge.

She looked around for anything to use to escape this place. Then she saw a green light off to her left. “What is this?” It couldn’t help her to escape so she kept looking.

“Oh thank the Divines! A boat!” It took every ounce of her strength to push the boat of the shore.

Once in the boat, she felt her body going numb.

“I will make it to the shore,” she told herself. Her body, however, had other plans.

Her eyelids became heavy and her vision blurred. She heard a soft *THUD* and wondered what it was.

The boat was caught in the current, slowly drifting away as the moon came up full.

“Welcome back. my pet.”