Bottom Left Staircase

Tame followed the stairs down as they spiraled in a tight circle to a lower level. The ambient light from the moon outside faded quickly and he stopped at the second turn to let his eyes adjust to the gloom. It was quiet as a tomb, his breath and heartbeat extra loud to his ears. Tame reached out and touched the wall to his right before he started down again, cautiously. A fall here in the dark could be just as deadly as any monster, and he really didn’t enjoy the idea of having to field splint a broken leg or arm while in a dank stairwell.

Dank? Tame tested the air again, the scent of the old ruin cloying his snout with who-knew-how-many years of dust, but he could definitely pick out a faint hint of wetness, like old stagnant water. Or almost dried mud. Unless there is some magical bullshit going on here with the stairs, there is no way I’ve gone far enough down to be at the bottom of that gorge outside.

Tame continued to ease his way down the stairs until the floor suddenly leveled out into a murky hallway. The carpet under his hooves crunched oddly and in the distance, at the far end of the hall, he could see a wee bit of flickering light. Along the hallway, he could make out several darker, doorway shaped shadows that probably lead off to rooms or more hallways. The hall itself seemed empty except for a few overturned bits of wooden furniture and what were likely paintings that had been knocked from the walls.

He kneeled, running his fingers over the suspiciously crunchy carpet. It felt rough, the fibers stiff and pointing in every direction, and they were covered in a layer of grit that hadn’t been on the floor upstairs. Tame pinched some between his fingers and held it up to his nose. It smelled like mud. Flooding maybe? Did the castle have a moat once and it drained? This stuff makes me think of rivers and ponds, so was it natural, or magical means that coated the floor with it? He frowned and tossed the grit aside, standing up again as he decided what to do.

Author's Note

Go Back Up Stairs (links back to the original Monster's Curse CYOA story)

Check Out the nearest Doorway

Check Out the far Doorway

Check Out those fallen Paintings

Go Down the Hall towards the flickering Light