The body of the Undead hive-mind lay before me, split in two by the power of my longsword. Animated skeletons and zombies that surrounded me fell over; their controlling force was now dead. I looked with dismay at my snapped bow, crushed under the body of a zombie. With a heavy sigh, I picked myself up and walked towards the exit. My job was done, the village was safe.
As I climbed the steps to daylight, I tripped upon the bone of a skeleton and quickly reached out to the wall to steady myself. At first nothing had happened and I was about to continue on my way when the section of wall I grabbed began to move upward. I stared in amazement at the secret passageway. Cobwebs lined the walls and horrible stench accompanied by a cool breeze drifted my way.
Without thinking, I set off down the tunnel cautiously and when I reached a set of stairs leading down, I turned to look for my exit. The door was still open. With newfound confidence, I turned once again walked straight into a web.
Clawing at my face in a crazy attempt to get it off, I heard the scuttling of small creatures. Suddenly the door began to shut and cut off my escape. With no choice but to continue, I wiped away the last of the web and descended the stone stairs. Fear began to grip my heart as I realised the situation I was in; no escape, barely enough light – save for the glowing mushrooms on the wall – and no food rations. The cold atmosphere raised the hair on my arms and neck and fear sent shivers down my spine.
After the last step, my boot felt the odd touch of wood. The out-of-place material confused me for a moment, but I journeyed on regardless. The next room was gigantic and I wondered if this place was an old Dwarven mine. I stared upwards to see if there was any tell-tale signs of Dwarven inhabitancy, but what I saw chilled me to the bone.
Above me was a giant spider, staring right at me with sixteen different eyes. It shrieked at me and the sound forced me to cover my ears. Instinctively, I reached for my bow but my hand simply grabbed air. Wide-eyed with terror, I began to panic; I had absolutely no control over this situation.
I began to race around the room, but to my horror, I noticed too late that I was crushing spider eggs under my feet, which only enraged the monster. I moved slowly, but the spider let out an odd sound. Glancing at it, I realised it was about to spit something at me.
I rolled to avoid the projectile, but I felt the cool air come off it as I realised it froze surface it hit. The ice-spider geared for another shot. As I rolled again. I had an ingenious idea.
I stood up again and unsheathed my sword. Holding it like a javelin, I threw it at what looked like the spider’s squishiest part. The blade flew magnificently and made direct contact, but to my absolute disappointment, it deflected off the monster’s exoskeleton and bounced to the floor. The attack simply upset the creature and it fired three shots in quick succession.
As they flew, I knew this dungeon would be my final resting place. Time slowed as I said my goodbyes. Eyes shut, I awaited the shockingly cold impact, and then, darkness….
By Arya Mendonca
