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Prompt 8 - Confronting the Creature (2) : This plot can only be pursued by players that have fought the creature and lost. After you are knocked unconscious, you will awaken in a dark cellar full of cobwebs, stale water, and darkness. A faint gray glow barely illuminates the room and seems to have no source; there is a crate of vegetables and fruit to sustain you but no one ever refills the crate, it simply seems to have enough for whoever is needed. There are a few bowls, and a trickle of water through cracks in the wall; it sounds as though there may be a river very close. The room is cold and has no window; it can be inferred that it is underground, as there are steps that appear to lead up but the door is shut so heavily it is impossible to break down. Every night, the fog rolls in and for a short period of time everyone falls unconscious. The creature only comes and goes during this period of time, and it will leave all fallen warriors down here. The cellar feels almost like a dungeon, though there are no shackles or cells. You can interact with newcomers or deal with the fog or try to force your way out, but the cellar seems too sturdy to escape. The cellar is predominantly only a single large room, however there are hidden, connected chambers where prisoners may wind up (if you prefer your character to have less interaction). You cannot teleport in or out of the cellar once you are captured!
He was fortunate not to be a picky eater given the rather dire choice he had been provided with in his current quarters. A dungeon for want of a better word, the moment in which he had lost his battle had seen him deposited here. Having taken a while to come to it had only be as he came to terms with his predicament that he realised those who had gone missing in the night had also wound up down here. Suffice to say that it seemed, for the most part, that those who had been reported missing had all lived...but that didn't necessarily explain why they were down here.
Cold, dark and otherwise stagnant, this place left much to be desired.
It was just another thing to add to the list in the end, one that had grown considerably longer in the last few weeks. Between the weather, the food, the general atmosphere, the fog and everything else; Athalia could safely say that he would not be recommending this place on trip advisor. Nevertheless, now that he had recovered enough to very gingerly get to his feet, he had taken his leave from the immediate company he had found himself in and set about exploring the rather expansive room. Given he wasn't the most welcome of faces for some he didn't anticipate he would be missed as he picked his way about.
An initial check of the doors that blocked the way out made it abundantly clear that in his current state he stood little chance of opening them, and even then, the hint of fog seeping from underneath made it even more apparent that it would be unwise to do so anyway. Or rather, if he were even to attempt to pull it open then he should at least be prepared for both an onslaught for himself, as well as whatever the fog did to the others in the room too.
Exasperating to say the least, but unsurprising.
Defeated for now, his next stop was to feel his way along the wall, poking and prodding at each brick and rock in an attempt to expose any form of weakness. A small crack gave him pause, a sign of 'give' in the wall that he had hobbled passed and at the time, failed to acknowledge. A cursory step back to reinvestigate what his finger tips had disturbed and with a more forceful press of his palm the wall gave way to reveal a more hidden part of the cellar.
What had this even been for?
He had no doubt he could probably come up with something if he were more creatively inclined but as he stooped inside to observe what might lay beyond there was very little else to greet him. Like much of the dungeon-like cellar it seemed to be lacking in style and had no regard for present company. At least he could be under no illusions that he was to be treated kindly here, if his injuries or the cold didn't take him, then eventually infighting and insanity was likely to do so. After all, what did one do when there was nothing to do and nothing to see?
His lips pursed and it was with a small sigh that he lowered himself to take a seat on the ground in the smaller and now revealed room of the cellar. It was one thing to be comfortable on your own, quite another to be in total isolation. Realistically speaking there seemed to be very few options to allow for escape at this time and save for a monumental discovery on the part of those trapped within here (some of which had been here for a while), it seemed unlikely he would be leaving any time soon.
...At least he had managed to ensure that Shaowei had escaped. Given he had yet to find her down here he could only assume that she had managed to evade the creature and return home safely. If that was the case, then at least those who were particularly important to him weren't on their own and could take comfort in one another's presence.
He on the other hand would be an entirely different story.
This would be a challenge he had never prepared for and based on his current state of mind, he wasn't feeling as confident as he might once have been in weeks gone by.
Eyes closing, he afforded himself a moment of peace and some much needed rest. When his mind was clearer and the pain of his injuries had subsided slightly he would revisit and reanalyse his options, but for now he was in no condition to push himself any further. On this day patience was required and for once he was prepared to give in to that.
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