The prison dungeons were worse than the adventurer’s dungeons. One would think the latter would be worse, as the forr was built by people and cared for by them. The truth couldn’t be further from this common perception. Amyra was no different.
The soldiers ca for her like Aedan said they would. She did not resist when they seized her and took away her weapons and gear. She let them put the heavy and bulky cuffs on her wrists. They were there to bind her movents and to suppress her magic. She was devoid of every ans to defend herself. And she let them.
His Grace had a plan, and she believed in him. She went with the soldiers without any rebuttal. She even kept her mouth shut when the soldiers made so unsavoury and inappropriate remarks regarding her and her faith. She knew where she was being brought to. She prepared herself. However, she did not prepare herself enough for the absolutely horrendous state of the prison.
The prison dungeon stank worse than a sewer. The floors were more uneven and annoying to walk on than the untended wilderness. The walls were filthier than a valley that housed thousands of corpses. The ceilings were leaking and dripping water everywhere. No matter where they were in the dungeon, there was always water dripping in sight.
The cells were even worse. The floor tiles had long since been ruined. Puddles were ford in the corners. There were no beds or chairs. There were chains on the wall, but even those were not in any shape or form to hold anyone.
The inmates were faring no better than the state of this god forsaken place. There seed to be so kind of constant physical torture as the prisoners were all in rough shape, not just because they were worn out by ti. They were all dressed in rags, but they were not prison garnts, Amyra noticed. They were the prisoners’ own garbs, as each of the rags differed between individuals. They stripped them of their defences, but not their garbs. The guards were confident that the prisoners would not be able to escape the dungeon.
Reaching the end of a corridor, the soldiers simply threw Amyra into a cell and were done with it. They didn’t even unlock the cuffs on her. They locked the doors and disappeared down the end of the corridor, leaving her to her own devices. Amyra looked at the iron bars that comprised her cell. They looked delicate and old. She approached the grill door and flicked at one of the bars. The bar ca right off, flying from the door and hitting the wall on the other side.
“This can’t be that easy,” Amyra mused. Even with the heavy cuffs on, it would be easy for her to simply force her way through simply with her strength.
“It isn’t.”
Amyra raised an eyebrow and glanced behind. There was a feeble man on the floor, leaning against the wall with a worn smile. He was in a state similar to the other prisoners she saw along the way. His clothes were ragged and murkier than the walls. He had no cuffs on him or any sort of binding instrunts. Most probably because it was needless. He was missing a leg and half his face. Sothing had torn half of his face out. It’s a wonder that he was still alive and smiling. “What’s the trick here?” she asked.
The feeble man chuckled with a worn smile. “Did you see any guards along the way when they were bringing you here?”
“Co to think of it, I don’t think I saw any guards at all.”
“Exactly.”
Amyra narrowed her gaze. “Is there a spell in place here?”
“No spell. Just a single monster.”
“What kind of monster?”
“...You won’t believe even if I tell you.”
“I’m an adventurer. Try .”
“So was I, lady. But even so, I didn’t believe the story. The night after I was thrown into this place, we tried to escape.”
“We?”
“My companions. We didn’t make it far. Hell, we didn’t even know how far we went or if we even went the right way. This place is a maze, and that’s not the end of our plight. The monster ca. It’s… It’s an abomination. It’s like… a man fucked a beast, or a beast fucked a woman, and gave birth to the monster.”
“So, it’s a half-man, half-beast, kind of monster?”
“It’s more than that. Look here, lady. Even if you lost the will to live, don’t try to escape. The monster is a sadist. It seeks pleasure in hurting the prisoners. It doesn’t kill its victims. It tortures them. You’ll be lucky if it kills you. So, just stay in your cell. For so reason, it doesn’t enter the cells. I think it can’t. Perhaps there is so spell in place. And the monster doesn’t attack the guards. In fact, it retreats into its burrow whenever the guards are here.”
“I gather your face and your leg are the work of the monster?”
The man nodded. “It is.”
“How are you still alive? This place is filthy. Your wounds would have been infected, and you would have long died from a painful fever.”
“The monster secretes so kind of… fluids from its body. It heals wounds pretty quickly. It kept us alive, just so it could torture us more.”
“...How is such a thing allowed?”
“Who’s going to tell the nobles ‘no’? The guards know. The nobles know. The king knows. No one said anything. No one cares if a prisoner dies here. When you’re thrown into this place, you are practically dead to the world.”
“It’ll take more than this to kill ,” Amyra retorted.
The man laughed dryly. “You’re not the first person with that kind of optimism. Even if you managed to escape the dungeon, you would still have to go through the guards above ground.”
“They are not a problem,” Amyra said and took a seat on the floor, the part that was dryer than any other parts. She made sure not to lean against the wall. All sides of the walls were stained with god knows what.
“Well, what did they get you for? Must have done sothing really bad for you to be thrown into this place.”
“You could say that,” Amyra responded dryly.
“My companions and I were fucked over by a noble. We did sothing for him, and he refused to pay for our service. When we demanded our money, he frad us for a murder we didn’t commit. That was how we ended up here. What about you? Prejudice?”
Amyra kept silent.
“Co on. I told you so much about this place. The least you can do is to entertain this old and weary bone. It’s only fair, won’t you say?”
“Fair?” Amyra scoffed. “I wasn’t aware you were making a transaction. I’m the kind of person who honours a transaction. However, you did not make clear that this was supposed to be a transaction. Therefore, I am not obligated to tell you anything.”
The man chuckled inwardly. “Fine then. Don’t tell . But I can guess what you’re in for. With that tongue, I wager you offended so powerful people.”
Amyra said nothing and closed her eyes. She had no ti to be conversing with a stranger. There was much to do. She wouldn’t be in this place for long. She needed to conserve her energy until the ti to act. The man continued to talk, but she had long shut him out of her mind. She was no stranger to ditation. It was sothing she learned by necessity. It was dangerous to sleep in a conventional manner in the wild and in the dungeons. Danger was afoot at every turn and corner. She needed to be in a position where she could rest and also take action in a split second should the need arise.
The man talked for hours, and Amyra let him be. There was no point in interacting with the man other than to stave off boredom. She was not bored. She was restless. She waited patiently for her master’s signal. There was no window here as they were underground. It was difficult to keep track of ti, but she had years of practice to keep track of ti without seeing the sun or the sky.
It was an hour before dusk when a guard ca before her cell, bringing with him a tray of food, two pieces of stale bread and two bowls of murky water.
“Hey, lass, if you don’t mind, can you pass at least half of a single piece of bread? You can have the rest.”
Sothing caught Amyra’s eyes. Sothing was sticking out from one of the breads. She picked up the bread and delicately pulled out the curious thing. It was a rolled-up parchnt. She took the parchnt and pushed the tray to the man.
“Oh? You’re giving everything? You sure you don’t need anything from this tray?”
Amyra gave no response to the man. She was focusing on unrolling the parchnt. There was only one word written on the parchnt.
Now.
Amyra smiled. “That was quick, Your Grace.” She crumpled the parchnt and tossed it into one of the many puddles in the cell. She rose to her feet.
The man was hastily gnawing and devouring the bread, and he stopped when Amyra stood up. He gulped down whatever he was chewing and spat out his question. “Lady. Don’t tell you’re thinking of escaping this place.”
Amyra continued to ignore the man’s words and presence. She walked up to the cell door and simply yanked it off its hinges, which crumbled into rusty bits afterwards.
“Damn it, you crazy Augur! Did you not hear what I said? Are you in a rush to get tortured by that monster?”
Amyra made no attempt to be subtle and silent. She cast the door aside, letting it crumble into scraps and parts, while the noises bounced across the floors, walls, and ceiling.
“What are you doing?! Are you trying to announce to the monster that you’re escaping!? Have you truly gone insane? Maybe you can take on the monster if your hands are not bound and you are free to cast your spells. But you can’t! The cuffs suppress your magic! Do you not know that?!”
Amyra lifted her arms above her and bent her knee slightly. Then, she swung her hands down and her knee shot up. The cuffs and her knee clashed. She winced as the cuffs broke into pieces. The noise reverberated throughout the corridor.
An eerie growl returned from the depths.
“Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck! The monster… It’s coming! It’s coming!” The man dropped the tray that he placed on his lap as he scrambled into the corner of the cell as if to hide himself from the monster. “Shit! Shit! Shit! The door’s gone. The cell’s wide open… What if the monster cos in and…” He trailed off in terror.
The man wasn’t the only one musing in horror and fear. The prisoners in the other cells were also clamouring in fright and in silence. All of them had so experience with the monster, and none of them was pleasant. Whatever the monsters had done to them, it had been etched into their minds, hearts, and souls. The re growl sent them cowering. Their fearful gazes followed Amyra as she strode through the corridor with a steady and firm gait.
The corridor gradually widened as it went on, until it could fit three individuals walking side by side without feeling cramped. It was then that the monster erged from the turn at the end of the corridor.
“Eew… Why, hello there,” Amyra greeted with disgust and also fascination.
The monster was humanoid, and it had so human features. True to what her short-term cellmate’s explanation, it was as if a human had fucked a beast, and gave birth to this abomination. The monster’s entire body was crooked, as were its limbs and neck. It looked like it could barely walk. It was limping with every step. However, it limped as fast as a person jogs.
“What the fuck are you?” Amyra muttered.
The monster cocked its head to the voice and saw Amyra. It’s physically distorted face brightened with curiosity and excitent. It scampered towards Amyra like a roach scuttling into the darkness from the lights.
“Oh, fuck!” Amyra cried as she hurriedly prepared to retaliate.
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