Interrogation & Troubled Dreams

The main room is quiet except for the constant dripping sounds which seem to fill every waking moment in this swampy underground environment.  The torch light burns on unwavering in the still, stifling, humid air.  Nadia has been on watch by the bared door for an hour, Castor and Jimini are both sleeping on their make shift pallets in either corner.  The bound and bloodied figure in the middle of the room groans in pain as he comes to.  Nadia swiftly crosses the room and checks their prisoner’s bonds finding them tight and secure. Jimini does not seem to notice the commotion and does not stir from his slumber. Castor, wakened by the noise, rises and moves to the captive grabbing him roughly by the tunic he questions the injured man.

“Where does the boat go?”

“Sod off ya big lout I ain’t talkin to the likes of you!”

Blood and spittle fly as Castor drives his fist into the captives mouth. Castor asks a follow up question.

“Is there a second floor to this dungeon?”

To this the captive responds by spitting his bloody broken teeth into the barbarian’s face.  Castor backhands the man and more blood and teeth fly across the room. At this point Nadia steps in to intervene.  She places a hand on Castor chest and requests calmly.

“Allow me.”

Castor releases the man’s tunic and Nadia deftly clamps her left hand over his mouth while simultaneously driving the forefingers of her right hand between the lower most floating ribs on his left side.  The man’s howl of pain is only muffled by her iron like grip on his jaw. She twists her fingers, separating his ribs and he squeals in agony. She looks in his eyes and very calmly says “You are going to answer my friend’s questions, understand?” He gives a short nod; Nadia releases him and he collapses back to the floor gasping in relief. The captive sucks on his broken teeth and spits a glob of mucus and blood to the ground, he mumbles through swollen lips.

“The boat is to cross the lake, and the stairs down are south of the lake.”

“Is there anything dangerous in the waters of the dungeon if we take the boat?” asked the barbarian.

“The giant crocks won’t bother ya long as ya stay in the boat.”

Castor asks “What do we face in the lower level?”

He replies “I hate going down there. The hallways, they crawl with giant vermin of all sorts, and I figure there must be an entire colony of them stinkin troglodytes, and that’s not even the worst of it. That crazy sicko Primo’s got his lab somewhere down there. That’s were all the folks what resist the charm go.  Nothing and no one who goes in there ever comes back out, at least, not alive.”  As he is speaking a dreamy faraway look overtakes his demeanor and he continues “And then, then there is the Lady Explictica herself.  She lurks below as well.” A look of manic frenzy rising in his eyes, the tone of his voice becoming shrill as he rants on. “She is an unkillable god! She knows your coming! Your dead walking and you don’t even know it! Haha… Hahahaa.” The man’s maniacal laughter is cut off sharply as Castor smashes his fist into bound captive’s face sending him collapsing the ground again. After a moment of sobbing the man speaks. “You have to let me go. I’ll leave and you’ll never see me again.” He goes on pleading “If he finds out I squealed I’m as good as dead. I’m worse than dead. If, if she finds out… If she… my torment would never end.” He collapses, whimpering.

Nadia steps forward and speaks.

“Double his bindings and gag him. When we come back, we’ll take him back to Orlane and turn him over to the authorities. They will deal with him as is fit.”

Pleading, he starts screaming “No, No you can’t! They’ll Ki…” his rant is cut short as Castor clubs the man into unconsciousness, and silence follows.

Later, having finished her watch as she takes her turn sleeping, a troubled dream comes to Nadia. Dark clouds chase her every foot step.  Thunder rolls and lighting flashes all around as she struggles through a swampy wasteland hopelessly in search of some kind of shelter from the raging storm. And worse still is that thing she can’t seem to lose, constantly at her heals.  She cannot see it. She only catches vague impressions of an alien looking triangular head and pincer like claws constantly reaching for her. Through the chaos of the dream she sees her Master approach her, his old deceptively frail form and dark skin an immediate comfort to her unusually chaotic state of mind.  He smiles and speaks.

“Nadia my dear one.  It is a blessing to see you.  You must not stray from the path of your true self.  Mind you show compassion to those pawns of the true evil with which you struggle. A word of caution, your former classmate has defiled the hidden temple and stolen forbidden Jujitsu. Beware, the evil is greater than we feared. Be safe young one.” And with that the Grand Master fades from her view as the dream ends and she awakens.

In the other room. Thorgrim tosses and turns in a feverish fitful sleep.  Images come to him from long ago, interspersed with nightmares and visions of demons.   He sees his mother and his father and the images fade slashed apart by ghouls. Other loved ones and relatives mixed with scenes of torture and gore. Fond childhood memories mingled with those things that haunt him most.  Above it all a darkness building, bearing down on all of it as if to blot it all out.  And throughout all of it he wanders a land of giants far away were everything seems upside-down as he searches endlessly for the great unseen evil that somehow threatens it all. Suddenly, the dream breaks and Thor awakens to the cool hand of Brother Thimble on his forehead. The fever broken, finally feeling his right dwarven self again.