Dungeon of Doors

~ Andy, Flathoof Haven ~

We spent some time resting in the antechamber before continuing our journey in the dungeon's newly revealed depths. Flathoof Haven is a mystery to us. No one expected the plateau in Wildwood to be climbable in any way. Yet here we are.

Will leads the way with his mace held in one hand. We follow him across the stone bridge, squinting as the sunlight from the grate overhead is blindingly bright. Once we step through the doorway on the other end of the bridge we're met with a set of stairs. We ascend, Will poking his head up first. He lets out a quiet gasp before motioning for us to follow him up.

One by one we climb out of the structure set into the ground and onto the surface. The sunlight is more tolerable up here, somehow, and we can see a vast expanse of flat grassy ground. Some crumbling stone ruins break up the monotony. One ruin in particular dominates the space—a tower, broken halfway up and yet still standing.

"That's probably our goal, right?" Teddy postulates.

"Yeah."

The tower is our destination, and all that sits between us and it is a vast plain. There are creatures in the distance. From what I can see they're quite big. Hopefully we can sneak into the tower without alerting any of them.

After we get our bearings we start moving. I often find myself staring upwards as we trudge through the tall grass, observing the massive fluffy clouds surrounding us. The sun looks bigger up here—not that I stare at it—just an occasional curious glance.

The whole space is dominated by the sound of wind. It isn't strong enough to push us around, but the grass is constantly waving like the surface of a lake. I'd hate to be here during a storm.

"We're getting close to a ruin." Teddy announces as he follows Will closely.

Ahead of us is a small ruin, one resembling those we often explored in the Wildwood. It is nice to see something familiar in a place so different from the forests below. Unfortunately that familiarity is lost when we hear an ear piercing cry from the heavens.

All four of us wince and cover our ears as a wailing cry resembling that of a hawk's fills the air. The group looks around in confusion, but I quickly spot the source of the noise. My hands tremble against my ears as I watch a bird of unknown size soar overhead. It is far away, so it doesn't look too large, but the sound alone makes it clear this isn't just another large bird of prey like the great hawks were. This is something far more threatening.

"What is that awful racket?!" Mary whines.

"We need to move!"

My warning is drowned out by another cry from the bird. I grab Mary's shoulder and gesture to the sky. I do the same to Teddy, but Will has already noticed it himself. Everyone stares up with their mouths agape as the monstrous bird wheels overhead. The scale of it only truly sets in when its shadow passes over us. It's like a cloud looming over us for several long seconds.

"S-Shit, we can't fight that thing," Teddy mumbles.

We start moving toward the ruin as a group. None of us make the decision to do so, it is more an instinctual move to get away from the open sky. It is during this hurried walk that we feel something change in the ground beneath us. Mary is first to notice, her eyes darting down then behind her as she looks around. I feel to next. The ground is shaking, rumbling like some great storm is rocking the whole of the earth beneath us.

I glance around in search of the source only to find the very same monsters we had seen in the distance are moving in our direction. I can finally make out more of their features as they bear down on us. They're massive hulking mammals with shaggy fur and horns upon their oddly wide heads. Their wide flat faces don't reflect killing intent. They're afraid.

Behind the stampeding herd of monsters is a dark shadow. Above them the form of that massive bird swoops with obvious intent. It is hunting these huge monsters, and we're about to be caught in the crossfire. I grab Mary by the arm and pull her along. She lets out a frightened yelp as the boys move with me. The ground is shaking harder the closer those huge beasts get.

"L-Let go of me!" Mary shouts over the braying of the monsters.

"But we have to move, Mary!"

A particularly angry growl is followed by Mary yanking her arm away. I stumble and turn to give her an appalled look. She glares at me whilst raising her staff up slightly. Before I can react she starts to work her magic on the tall grasses surrounding us. I let out a gasp as I'm lifted off my feet. Will and Teddy are caught up in the flattening pushing grasses as well, and a sense of deja vu hits me as we glide over the grass like we did in the Wildwood earlier.

The rumble of the stampede has my teeth chattering as we're shunted into the ruin just in time to avoid an oncoming wave of monsters. Harsh groans of pain from a monster fill my ears just before we slide into the ruin on our asses. The pained noises fade with the buffet of wings. The giant bird got its prey.

The four of us wait for the rumble to stop before we say anything. We huddle close, the narrow doorway giving us a view of the hulking beasts as they charge past. Eventually the rumbling fades, and we collectively exhale in relief.

"That was terrifying."

"No shit, Andy. Ugh… And here I thought the woodwalkers were bad!"

There's a brief pause before Mary clears her throat.

"I still think the woodwalkers are worse than those things, and that bird."

We don't argue with her. The vision of a woodwalker is enough to leave a person with nightmares for weeks. I still get them occasionally.

With the danger passed we start exploring the small dilapidated ruin. It's less intact than the ones found in Wildwood, but is less overgrown. The only plant life inside is the occasional patch of grass rooted between the floor's stone tiles.

It doesn't take long to find a treasure chest hidden away in a corner of the small two room structure. There are no traps, thankfully, so we pop it open without incident. Inside are some copper coins and a single healing potion. Once we've pocketed the loot we are forced to poke our heads outside.

"Any sign of it?" Teddy mutters.

I search the skies for any sign of the massive bird. There's no obvious signs. I can't hear a single screech nor caw of the giant thing, and from this angle I see no shadows nor silhouette of the massive bird of prey. I shake my head at Teddy and his face hardens with determination.

With a few hand motions Teddy signals that it is time for us to move.

I have my eyes on the sky as we start inching our way toward the tallest of the ruins—the tower. Unfortunately there are no more small ruins between us and our goal. At least not in convenient places. We're forced to take the risky trek across the unprotected pasture.

We're about a third of the way to our destination when I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The others don't feel whatever I do, and I look up, squinting to minimize the amount of sunlight getting in my eyes.

The bird is directly above us, so high that its shadow isn't anywhere near us. If the sun were at its apex we would easily have spotted it by now. But it isn't. I frantically slap Teddy on the back and motion for us to hurry up.

"What? Is it coming?"

"The bird is following us! Look up!"

"Following us? Wouldn't we hear it or see the-"

An ear ringing shriek from the sky shuts Teddy up. We start running, our pace frantic enough that the grass is slowing us down as we trudge forward. Mary is struggling just as much as us. Her mask keeps almost falling off as she follows us, her hair sticking to her face in a few places. She doesn't have the energy to push us forward like she did before.

There's a heavy push of wind on my back as I move forward. I stumble, nearly tripping as I realize the bird is coming down. I chance a look up and see the bird's face looking right at mine. It's talons look huge, and as it swoops low I realize it is truly massive. Big enough to compete with a city lord's estate—at least the one in Daywark.

"Fuck! We have to go faster!" I warn between breaths.

Another squeak rings in my ears as the shadow of the bird engulfs us. It is about to make contact. Teddy and Will are managing to keep ahead of the pack, but Mary and I are falling behind. Unfortunately for me, this bird seems intent on hunting me first. Is it because I noticed it?

Wind hits me hard enough I fall forward, my face hitting the dirt and a grunt of pain escaping me. I attempt to roll over only to catch sight of the bird's huge talons descending toward me.

Grass grabs at me like claws and I let out a startled grunt as I'm sent rolling several meters to the side. The earth where I was just lying is gouged apart by the bird's talons. It lets out a few disgruntled squawks before flapping its great wings enough to rise up into the air. Teddy and Will have both fallen down from the wind of it rising back up into the air. Mary is collapsed in the grass. She looks uninjured, so I can only guess she used the last of her magic to throw me to safety.

"Run to the ruin!" I shout over the wind.

My muscles burn as I pull myself up and rush to Mary's motionless body. She's still alive, but her mask has fallen half off her face. I don't recognize her, but she looks familiar somehow. Like I've met or seen her in passing once. I don't bother thinking on it further before grabbing and pulling her up over my shoulder. She's light, thankfully.

Another loud squawk announces the bird's intentions to attack us more. I don't wait around, sprinting as fast as I can with Mary's weight added to my own. Each step I take feels like it will be my last. The sound of dirt being tossed up by an attack is heard just behind me. I pant, heart beating heavily against my ribcage, as I grow closer to the ruin. Teddy and Will stumble into the ruin ahead of me.

An especially unpleasant feeling twists its way into my gut. Fear comes through as a cold sweat as I stumble the last few steps to the ruin. An intense numbness hits my back as I collapse just within the threshold of the stone tower.

My heartbeat is making my ears thump, and I fall face down onto the tile. Mary's body slides off me and rests beside mine. She's breathing, and so am I. With each breath I feel a pained rattling in my body. Something warm and sticky pools around my stomach. I can't get my body to listen to me, so I can't see what the source of that fluid is.

"G-Get a potion out!" I hear teddy, but he sounds muffled.

"I don't have one! They're in your bag-"

Will's voice sounds strange. Like I'm under water. My eyes are open but my vision starts to fade as if I'm falling asleep. Through the strange fugue I'm in I come to a grim realization. I know exactly who Mary is, and she isn't someone we should be giving the staff to.

I open my mouth to tell the others only to realize I'm truly paralyzed.

Whatever that bird did it made it impossible to move.

Darkness takes me as the others struggle to bring a potion to my lips in order to heal me.