"The Black Hat" (A D&D horror story.)

Chapter 3: Opening the chest

Fredrick just sat there confused at what he was seeing. He scratched his head thinking "how did the chest get out there" he could've sorned that the chest was inside the carriage with Benjamin and Peter. He looked back to see the both of them still sleeping, he turned back to face the chest and looked back at benjamin and peter again trying to put two and two together.

"Perhaps they moved it out because they needed more legroom" whispered Fred to himself.

Fredrick decided to just forget about it until he got that strange feeling again this time the feeling was as if somebody was in the area watching him. He looked all around the dark cold forest and saw nothing but shadows. He was about to ignore it until he looked back at the chest and he could've sworn that he heard it call out to him in a dull quiet whisper simply saying........... "Let...me...out...let...me...out". Startled by that Fredrick shook for a second before calming himself down.

"i'm just tired," he whispered, "my mind is just messing with me I've been through a lot today".

Right, when he finished he heard it again this time a little bit louder yet still soft and quiet.

"Let...Me...Out...Let...Me...Out"

Now Fredrick felt as if he was moving not on command but as if he was being lured over by the hypnotizing whisper. He stumbled to the ground kneeling before the chest and knees now wet from the cold damped grass. He stared down at the chest waiting patiently for its next words before it whispered again this time even louder than before and it sounded as if it was coming from inside his head.

"LET...ME...OUT...LET...ME...OUT"

Fredrick suddenly picked up a big rock and started to hammer away at the chest, hitting the lock and causing it to make a loud metal clang waking up Peter and Benjamin in the process when they saw Fredrick hitting the lock they both ran over and Peter grabbed and held Fredick back while Benjamin took the rock from his hand and threw it aside to the bushes.

"Fredrick what in the hell are you doing why did you drag the chest out here?! shouted Benjamin.

Fredrick just sat there on the ground with a puzzled look on his face while still being held back by Peter.

"The fuck are you talking about?! and would you get off me?!" said Fredrick getting free from Peter's grasp.

"What am I talking about, why are you trying to open the chest out here away from the carriage are you trying to take all the gold for yourself?!" asked Benjamin.

"Ah don't look at me, I saw it out here while I was keeping watch over you'll sorry asses so I didn't move here it was one of you guys". replied Fredrick 

Both Benjamin and Peter exchanged puzzled looks on their faces.

"uh Fred," said Peter "Ben and I were both sleepings so we couldn't have moved it out here and you were the only one awake so it had to be you and..."

Before peter could finish, Fredrick interrupted him.

"I didn't move the damn chest!" yelled Fredrick.

"Okay okay just calm down Fred," said Benjamin "let's just move it back inside the carriage and go back to sleep will open it up tomorrow and head out of this forest.

"But it wouldn't be best if we went ahead and opened it," said Peter "I mean Fred already broke the lock so we might as well".

Benjamin looked down at the chest thinking about what Peter had said to him. He looked at it for a good second before saying.

"yeah, we might as well".

Benjamin walked over to the chest and slowly removed the broken lock from the chest and laid it on the ground. He stood in front of it and just stared down at it as if he could feel something coming off it like a presence, a strange and unusual presence one that Ben had never felt before. He felt as if he was stuck in deep thought just staring down at the chest.

"Are you going to open it or what?!" said Fredrick

Benjamin snapped out of his trance.

"Oh yeah right," said Benjamin.

Benjamin reached down and felt the cold steal of the chest as his fingers slid underneath the latch before lifting it up. The latch opened up and collided with the back of the chest Benjamin then took a look inside to find....................................nothing. Nothing but a hat just a plain black fancy hat.

"So what is it?" said Fredrick "gold?".

"Or is it silver?" said Peter.

"It's a......" said Benjamin before getting pushed aside by Fredrick.

"Move let me take a look!" said Fredrick he looked down and was instantly disappointed and pissed off.

"Are you fucking serious?!" yelled Fredrick as he reached down inside the chest.

"What? what is it?" asked Peter while approaching Fredrick. 

When he got to him, Fredrick had the top hat clutched in his fist tightly.

"This is what the king was fussing all about?! a stupid old hat you got to be shitting me!"
yelled Fredrick.

"What?" said Peter.

Peter ran over and examined the hat before bending over and looking inside the chest to see if there was anything else in it that Fredrick overlooked but in the end, there was nothing else inside. 

"That can't be all of it?" said Peter "there has to be something else?!"

Peter looked inside the now empty chest trying to see if there could possibly be anything else inside but in the end, there was nothing. Fredrick pulled him up out of it and forced Peter to look at him.

"Would you just stop it and face the facts this right here is all that was inside so just forget it" in a fit of rage Fredrick through the top at off into the woods, it disappeared into the darkness of the forest never to be seen again.

"So did the king trick us?" asked Peter to Benjamin who looked just as upset as Fredrick but was still keeping his cool.

"I believe so Peter I believe so" replied Benjamin.

"I can't fucking believe it!" yelled Fredrick "That rich spoiled bastard is probably laughing his ass off right now at us, he must have swapped the real chest out with this fake one!"

Benjamin walked up, grabbed him, and told him to get a grip. When everything calmed down the three bandits all sat back inside the carriage disappointed about what they found. Soon Benjamin said that they should all just go back to sleep and in the morning they'll leave this place and go back to their main camp where the rest of their gang was. Soon everyone was back to sleep.