Sydell walked around the digging site, the archaeologist’s assistants were disappearing, and she was getting anxious. She had hoped they would find something interesting, but for now they had just found the rest of the known ruins. Exciting, but nothing groundbreaking.
Stretching her legs, she stumbled up on the most recent dig. The tower was still being excavated, but she was sure that she had seen the outline of a cellar in there. Since she couldn’t sleep anyway, she might as well continue the survey to see if she was right.
There clearly was an outline, so she brushed off the dirt and opened the surprisingly light trapdoor. There was no creaking. She climbed down into the cellar and saw that it was a collection of some kind. Instruments of some kind or another littered in the room, all around on tables and some on the floor.
The centrepiece of the room however, was a big, inscribed, iron cage. It drew her attention to it, almost entrancing her, and she slowly walked forward. She stopped herself from stepping in it and turned around. She had to get away from the cage, it was clearly something magical!
As she rushed away from the cellar, she saw the expedition leader. The archaeologist was bent over something, she heard a crunching sound coming from the archaeologist. Swaddled in cloaks as the archaeologist always was, the archaeologist turned around, showing monstrous eyes in a blood splattered face.
“Now then, what are you doing out here at night?” The terrifying voice suddenly made a lot more sense. She turned around and ran back towards the tower ruins, the ruined stairs crumbling underneath her, sending her tumbling down.
“Where, oh where are you, little snack?” The sing-song tone of voice only served to make it sound distinctly more horrifying, and as she ran towards the cellar, she heard it stalk off into a different direction.
As she quickly yet quietly pried open the hatch, she heard a sound like the air was being torn apart. Jumping the last bit down and closing the door, she ran. A crash and the cellar was torn open. Scared, she ran towards the only thing that might stand up to the monster, the magical device that scared her away from here in the first place.
As she stepped inside it, she heard the monster’s chuckle. “You think that the cage can save you? That the cage will keep me out?” It rushed towards her and clamped at the bars. Then backed off and started laughing as it saw the runes detailing its function.
“You… You entered into a magical artefact without knowing what it would do?” It pushed its claws through the gaps in the bars, scratching at her arms. “Oh, I can’t wait to figure out what it does!”
The ghoul picked up one of the implements and jammed it into a grove that she hadn’t seen before. She felt her arms slowly moving upwards, it left her feeling as if her hands were bound above her head. She was being pulled up by it.
A demented cackle came from the ghoul. “Oh, this is it! It’ll torture you to death! And then I can eat you and learn how this torture device works!”
The creature ran around in a delighted, torturing craze, jamming the various implements into the cage and twisting them. All that she was aware of though, was the pain that they caused.
Exquisite, delightful pain as her consciousness slipped away.
---
A/N: Thanks to @Varik Keldun for the title, and @Faceless Mike for the beta-reading.
This is the origin for my Wraith.
Stretching her legs, she stumbled up on the most recent dig. The tower was still being excavated, but she was sure that she had seen the outline of a cellar in there. Since she couldn’t sleep anyway, she might as well continue the survey to see if she was right.
There clearly was an outline, so she brushed off the dirt and opened the surprisingly light trapdoor. There was no creaking. She climbed down into the cellar and saw that it was a collection of some kind. Instruments of some kind or another littered in the room, all around on tables and some on the floor.
The centrepiece of the room however, was a big, inscribed, iron cage. It drew her attention to it, almost entrancing her, and she slowly walked forward. She stopped herself from stepping in it and turned around. She had to get away from the cage, it was clearly something magical!
As she rushed away from the cellar, she saw the expedition leader. The archaeologist was bent over something, she heard a crunching sound coming from the archaeologist. Swaddled in cloaks as the archaeologist always was, the archaeologist turned around, showing monstrous eyes in a blood splattered face.
“Now then, what are you doing out here at night?” The terrifying voice suddenly made a lot more sense. She turned around and ran back towards the tower ruins, the ruined stairs crumbling underneath her, sending her tumbling down.
“Where, oh where are you, little snack?” The sing-song tone of voice only served to make it sound distinctly more horrifying, and as she ran towards the cellar, she heard it stalk off into a different direction.
As she quickly yet quietly pried open the hatch, she heard a sound like the air was being torn apart. Jumping the last bit down and closing the door, she ran. A crash and the cellar was torn open. Scared, she ran towards the only thing that might stand up to the monster, the magical device that scared her away from here in the first place.
As she stepped inside it, she heard the monster’s chuckle. “You think that the cage can save you? That the cage will keep me out?” It rushed towards her and clamped at the bars. Then backed off and started laughing as it saw the runes detailing its function.
“You… You entered into a magical artefact without knowing what it would do?” It pushed its claws through the gaps in the bars, scratching at her arms. “Oh, I can’t wait to figure out what it does!”
The ghoul picked up one of the implements and jammed it into a grove that she hadn’t seen before. She felt her arms slowly moving upwards, it left her feeling as if her hands were bound above her head. She was being pulled up by it.
A demented cackle came from the ghoul. “Oh, this is it! It’ll torture you to death! And then I can eat you and learn how this torture device works!”
The creature ran around in a delighted, torturing craze, jamming the various implements into the cage and twisting them. All that she was aware of though, was the pain that they caused.
Exquisite, delightful pain as her consciousness slipped away.
---
A/N: Thanks to @Varik Keldun for the title, and @Faceless Mike for the beta-reading.
This is the origin for my Wraith.
