Look around [Majority vote]

You looked around and shook your head. There was no way you’d be leaving this mess alone to go look for something you probably didn’t even have any concrete leads on. You walked out of the room and told the nearest maid to inform Lysia that you wouldn’t be able to handle whatever you were sent to do. Turning your attention you eventually found a guard and commanded them to stay alert for whatever had caused the commotion.

Once you felt everything else was taken care off you went back to lor Targon’s room. Closing the door, so no one else would get scared by the scene, you began looking around trying to find any more clues.

You knelt down and picked up both the sword and the helmet of lord Targon. The weapon was clearly enchanted in some way, but you were not versed well enough on magic to know the exact nature. However when looking over the helmet it showed a clear dent on a side, bending the visor in a way that would have definitely made it difficult to see. He probably discarded it himself trying to keep on fighting, you could respect that.

The spot where you had found the scroll showed a bloodstain covering the ground. It was small, but a few drops showed that whoever was hurt had moved to the window. The shattered glass was mostly on the inside of the room, but as you looked out more shards were noticeable on the outside. Either Fern had walked out trying to escape his assailant or he was dragged by it.

You found an old sheath and placed it on your belt, ready to add the magical sword to your arsenal. You thought about going back and gathering some of your own weapons, but you had already wasted enough time last night. With a deep breath you walked out and circled the palace until you were back on the scene.

Following the bloodstains didn’t lead you too far into the back garden, however the grass shower clear signs of heavy footsteps to follow. Not many guarded the back garden, but it was still strange that no guard reported seeing anything suspicious. You ignored the idea and continued moving along.

The tracks lead you to a fountain in the middle of the garden at which point they completely disappeared. You looked around for a while trying to see where your mysterious monster had moved, but there were no signs. With a groan you returned to the fountain and trailed your fingers on top of the stone surface. It was a very ornate stone construction, the small statue of a dragon spewed water from its jaws.

You continued to look around the stone carefully until you felt something strange. One of the bricks on the outer circle of the fountain appeared to be loose. Moving it around, however, made it clear that it was still stuck from a small point. Wiggling the brick around you eventually pulled on it hearing a click come from down below.

Slowly the fountain began to slide backwards, seemingly floating on top of the grass as it revealed a circular entrance to a staircase. The steps continue to go down into the darkness with some strange fungi illuminating the corridor. Taking a deep breath your began to walk in, ready to face whatever might be hiding under the king’s own home.

Walking down the dark stairs the steep incline eventually lead to a dark tunnel. Walking around it was eerily quiet, the faint sound of the water flowing through the fountain slowly disappearing form your senses. You kept on moving, ignoring all the alarms this situation was giving out.

As you moved deeper and deeper in you heard strange noises coming from further inside. You were not quite able to put a finger on what they were, fleshy squashing in a rhythmic fashion. For a second you were worried it might be something like your experience last night, but then shook your head trying to get it out of the gutter. Your breath became slower and more careful, making sure to not give away your position.

Eventually you reached the opening to a much larger cave. Staying down you poked you head in and stared into the room. You eyes widened at the sight before you.

The wall at the end of the room seemed to be made of a strange putple fleshy material with large eyes present in what seemed to be random spots along its form. Strange tendrils shot out of the wall and crawled through the floor and ceiling, seemingly trying to expand its form further. Pacing around the room was a creature that seemed to be mostly humanoid, but on closer inspection showed a more monstrous appearance. It wore a black robe that hid most of its features but as it turned slightly you saw that its head appeared to be similar to a squid with various tentacles resting on its chest. You thought back to what this creature could be, but nothing clicked on your mind.

However, what disturbed you the most was not the wall itself or the monster walking around. Stuck to the fleshy mass, seemingly stuck on the wall were two forms. You recognized the first one as Fern, the young half-elf was stuck knee and elbow deep on the creature, his green hair fell on his face wildly and he was breathing heavily. Nex to him rested an armored man seemingly sunk even deeper inside of the mass. He appeared to be human with short black hair and a sight stubble on his face, his face was darkened and hidden form your view.

After a few moments of watching you noticed the squid monster walk towards Fern and the tentacles on its face move up. As the appendages wrapped around Fern’s head you heard a scream. You were ready to jump forward but as you kept on listening in you were surprised to hear the scream slowly morph into what appeared to be a moan of pleasure. This made no sense and began to worry you. Whatever was going on you had to put a stop to it, but you still didn’t know exactly what you were going up against. At this point you found yourself on a crossroad.

Do you

Look for help?

Or

Go in alone?