Broken World - Part I - Awakening of the Beastmaster - #8CCMay24

Chapter 4 : The Castle Under The Mountain

As I walk down the stairs and into the basement, I try to summarize the situation.

"Énama has been preparing something and has been doing so for years. I have no idea what exactly he is up to, however, I feel that a big change is coming. Things will never be the same again."

I finally escaped my pursuers and found myself in a large room in the basement. The reinforced concrete walls that I hadn't even bothered to paint give a rustic look to this underground room. I head for the fortified door at the back of the room. I find myself in front of this massive circular door embedded in the wall. That massive door looks quite impenetrable. I open a box hanging on the wall near the door and pick up a key. A silver metal alloy key. I look at the other four keys in the box and decide to leave them there.

"No one knows the existence of this basement. Moreover, no one but me can open the secret hatch that leads to this underground chamber." I tell myself, convinced that it is useless to take the other keys.

After picking up the key, I also pick up a flashlight. I close the box and head to the center of the door. I insert the key into the lock. As the key sinks into the lock, it lights up and the lock also lights up. Bright streaks appear on the door and the huge locking wheel starts to spin. The key inserted, I step aside. Just after, the huge door slides forward letting in a current of air and then opens to the right, finally revealing the entrance to the catacombs.

I remove the key and walk through the entrance without hesitation. The concrete walls were immediately replaced by stone walls. Not stones piled on top of each other but a passage carved into the rock. As I walk into this dimly lit passageway, the door closes behind me. At that moment, I think I see a figure behind the door closing. I look behind me and I don't see anyone.

"I really thought I saw a silhouette, a female silhouette? I think I'm getting paranoid. No one but me knows about the existence of this room."

I turn around and walk into the mountain.

Since the discovery of this entrance, I have often visited these catacombs. I haven't fully mapped them yet, but I know them quite well. This time, unlike the others, I went even further than on my previous visits in the hope of finding another way out.

"There certainly is." I say to myself.

The sense of familiarity I had developed during my previous explorations was completely replaced by a mistrust. A justified mistrust. I feel like I'm in a totally unknown place. After passing through corridors and rooms with only skeletons and burials as residents, I find myself in front of what looks like a huge castle, a vestige of a forgotten past that stretches for several kilometers in the mountains. Some parts of the castle give the impression of having merged with the mountain while others look like normal constructions.

After more than an hour of walking and sometimes even climbing in this castle which is very far from its glory days, the idea of having landed in another world crosses my mind. After what I have just heard, I have an open mind.

As I climb a wall to get around some damaged steps, my lamp slips out of my way and breaks when it falls to the rocky ground.

"Shit! How am I going to do now... Oh yes, I still have my phone...'' I exclaim, irritated by everything that is happening to me today.

At that moment, as I think about taking my phone out of my pocket to use it as a flashlight, I realize that I can see everything around me without difficulty. There is no modern lighting or torches but I can see. Like never before, it is possible for me to see this building in all its splendor. The castle is old but it is obvious that this is something extraordinary. Was it the castle of one of those royal families of which Enama spoke? I probably won't have the answer until I can confront him. This is impossible for the moment. I am in the most advanced ignorance about who I am, about my family. On the other hand, my grandparents seemed to know a lot about it. They told me stories about a castle, about the family estate, about intelligent beasts with unimaginable abilities. Were they just stories?

As I move forward trying to get as much information as possible out of this place, I find myself in front of what looks like the main building of this castle. The home of the master of the house. I climb the steps and enter the building hoping to find an exit beyond it.

As I progress through this rugged terrain, I feel more and more that I am not alone. The guards may have found the trapdoor and followed me. I inspect the place but I find no one. Not even a lost cat. However, the results of this research reveal something else. Even this structure, which was obviously built with more attention than the previous ones, is also a victim of the ravages of time. However, some damage is reminiscent of something other than natural erosion.

"Clashes perhaps. Against whom... Or what?" I say to myself as I inspect massive stone pillars lying on the stone floor.

"Claw marks? It's a joke? It's certainly an extremely sharp weapon." I say to myself as I inspect more closely.

I stop the inspection and continue my progress. I finally arrive in what looks like a large inner courtyard. A large courtyard, having four gates and what looks like flower growing spaces and four fountains that overlook canals. In the center sits a magnificent pavilion that has kept its splendor after all this time. The courtyard is silent. I cross it to reach the other side of the building. I wish it was as empty as all the other rooms I've been through so far.

In the distance, I see what looks like a big hungry dog. He is lying on the rocky ground. He raises his head and looks in my direction. He slowly stands up and takes the first step towards me.

"Has he found his next meal? There must not be much to eat in this castle. I certainly look like a great dish for him." I then tell myself that I observe the beast with suspicion.

As the beast advances towards me, I notice three others approaching on the sides. The first one leapt towards me to catch me before the other three could. I expect it and I dodge him quite easily and give him a powerful kick hoping to make him flee. He's going to bump into the one on my left. The one approaching from the right is very close to me. In an acrobatic movement, I fly into the air to reach his height at the moment when I have my head down and my feet in the air totally vertical. I grab him by the ribs to take advantage of my momentum and I throw him on the fourth which is getting dangerously close. Thinking it's enough and feeling that I have a chance, I get into position for the next round.

"If you don't calm down, I'm going to go harder next time." I say firmly when addressing these beasts whose nature I do not know.

Surprisingly, these beasts lower themselves in submission.

"What's going on? I don't think I've done anything in particular to deserve your submission. Maybe it's a ruse." I speculate seeing this strange behavior.

I apparently still have a bit of luck. Suspicious, I start to walk towards a large corridor while they follow me. I meet more and more strange beasts that move away at the sight of my escort.

A few moments later, it is my escort's turn to get scared. They take a few steps forward and then back off, they growl but are visibly more frightened than the target of their growls.

"One problem after another. I was just looking for an exit and now I find myself involved in a fairy tale." I say I am irritated by the scene that is unfolding before my eyes.

At that moment, I understood that what was coming was anything but cheerful. One of the beasts tries a preemptive attack but is pushed back by something lurking in the darkness. I can't see what it's all about. I can feel a deep darkness, an abyss even deeper than the one I am in.

"I can't back down."

My escort growls and takes one step forward and two steps back, but I can't relent. If I do, I'm sure to lose.

"My instinct tells me that an unyielding will and conviction are the keys to the success of this expedition. Coming back to the surface is not an option. Enama and his army are firmly waiting for me. On the other hand, this experience can teach me things about myself, about my family, about our lineage."

I know that these unknown beasts are morerobust and stronger than I am, but they recognized my determination and decidedto follow me, even to serve me. I don't really understand what is going on, butI know that I have to move towards this bottomless darkness to impose my willon it.