“Well Franklin! If you weren’t so set on chasing after the
new barmaid at the Round Robin then we wouldn’t be here either.”
“Well I had a good chance with her.”
“Yeah she waiting for you back at the barracks is she?”
“Shut up! I think I heard something.”
“Well of course you heard something we are under the damn
city. There are all manner of rats, frogs, drifters and guttersnipes down here
Franklin.”
“Shut it!”
The two city guards stood with lanterns raised. The slow
drip of water could be heard along with Franklin’s heavy breathing.
“Hold your breath for a minute would ya?” Kenneth whispered.
“There is someone down the tunnel.”
Between the water drops the sound of something dragging or
shuffling could be heard. Both guardsmen heard it. They shared a look and drew
their swords.
It wasn’t uncommon to have a large beastie make their way
into the sewers. That is what this patrol was for. The city sweeps the sewers
monthly. No guardsman wants to do it. It is boring and smelly work and occasionally
they dredge up some angry forest creature that is lost and hungry. There are
even stories of horrible monsters, the living dead, fanatical cults, roving
bands of flesh carvers, guilds of assassins, and unnamed horrors just waiting
to devour one’s face. Truth be told, this patrol rousts some homeless people,
drunks, rats, opossums and the occasional big bitey lizard.
The two guards rounded the next corner and sway a couple
figures standing in the tunnel a small fire crackled at their feet.
“Relax Kenneth it is just some drunks or drifters. Look at
‘em. Just standin’ they is. Look at him sway back and forth. Let’s go roust
them up top and get them to one of the shelters or into a cell to sleep it
off.”
Franklin sheathed his sword and approached the two figures.
“Hey, you two! No sudden moves.’
“Franklin! Come back here. This doesn’t look or feel right.”
“Just relax Kenneth. Look they are so out of their gourd
they don’t even realize we’re here. Ain’t that right boys!” Franklin yelled
toward the two people standing in front of him.
Still there was no response.
As Kenneth approached he could see that the two men in front
of him were staring with wide eyes, breathing slowly, but they were not moving.
He waved the lantern in front of them, but they didn’t respond.
“Hey Ken! You need to see this! These two are just...it’s
like they are frozen. Come take a look!”
No response.
“Kenneth? What are you…..?” Franklin’s voice cut off as
turned to see that Kenneth was still standing a few feet behind him. Kenneth
was frozen in place like the two other men in the tunnel.
Franklin took a step forward, raised his lantern and noticed
what looked like a small white snake, worm or maybe a tendril retreating from
Kenneth’s leg. His hand dropped to his sword and took up a defensive position. That
is when he heard the sound of a soft “thump” behind him. Franklin went to spin
on the attacked behind him, but realized he couldn’t. It was then he realized
he was frozen like the other men in the tunnel.
He was still awake. He was still breathing. He could not
move. He could not make a single sound. He could see only what was in front of
him. He could still hear. He also couldn’t feel anything. Franklin had been
reduced to a living statue.
Then the sounds began. At first it was that soft shuffling
sound. That was followed by a wet crunching. Then dripping water. Followed by more
wet crunching. Franklin knew he was being devoured. His heart began to beat
wildly. His mind raced trying to find a way to escape. He screamed but there
was no sound. His vision began to blur as the crunching noise became more of a slurping
sound.
A single tear rolled down his cheek as Franklin Johansen of
the Stonekeep city guard was slowly devoured alive.
No comments:
Post a Comment