Approaching the little building known as the Little Black Castle, long rumored to be haunted, and from whence none had ever returned, the mighty dwarf, Quincy The Great, sensed evil, even a darkness within the area, that is present even at brightest noon-day. Still confident of his incredible strength, he reached the round building of odd construction, about 20' or so wide, a conic, dark-royal-bluish, almost black, roof of 7 flat edges growing narrower as they reached to the point above. Two wooden doors of strange design, coming to a point themselves in an archway, split down the middle. It seemed that dirt had build up in front of the twin doors but he was swiftly to the task of removing it, then to open the double-doors with his sword as wedge, for they bore no outward handles. Within was the blackest dark, smell of dankness nearly overwhelming him. Already, outside the beginnings of dusk but he thought, surely it's a small room and no great magic was sensed, just the ever-present great evil. Without thought of torch, he reached within with his enchanted etherial weapon (for him in form of a sword). Extnding the sword form of the weapon in, as if a blindman with a cane, the family treasured sprit-weapon was used to feel around, panned in slow sweeps, finding nothing. Still into pitch dark, he casually stepped in, only to fall 3' to a stone floor. Leaping to his feet to standing, in the blackness swishing his sword through the othrwise-silent dark. Only startled, he seemed uninjured & shrugged it off. Deciding to leave the doors open, for a clear path of escape, more than for light, he started onward, soon finding some stairs in the small dark & round room. All the floor, a greenish-bluish black, all the walls a dull grey. Cautiously stepping down to a bit of a straightway path to a T-section ahead, greyish stone benches on either side at the bottom of the stais. Turning to the right of the T-section, leaving the light from the open door, finallly getting out & lighting a torch, an iron-barred cell was found. Dank with smell of dust & straw, of bars of black-iron, with a brownish dark within. A strange buzzing being heard back behind the way he came but he ignored it, holding up his torch to the inside of the cell. A black figure lay in one corner, seeming to be a bundle of ragged cloth or maybe a large bag. Glancing around, on the wall back at the T-section, a ring of keys on a peg was seen. Shrugging, he walked over to reach for the keys, hearing the buzzing now louder. Looking up the stairs. Through the open doors or what now seemed a window, with the sky nearly dark, hovered a creature, pink or reddish, wings of a mosquito, body of, oddly enough, an aardvark, about 2' long; hovering in the air. Turning back to the keys, assuming such a rediculous thing could never harm one such as he, to his sudden shock, the later dubbed "Ardsquito" swooped at him. First missing, then turning & swooping again. Quincy The Great drew & swung his sword at the beast but missing over & over; his left hand holding the torch high. Then the agony of pain in his leg, as he looked from his last missed swing to see the Ardsquito had finally hit it's mark. Surely now it would be easy to cut the thing athunder, yet it thrashed relentlessly and blow after blow that would have cut steel in two, missed. Weakness and grogginess were overtaking him, dropping the torch from his other hand, as he realized the thing was draining his blood. Finally, with a desperate blow, he sliced the Ardsquito's body from it's head, blood still gushing till he realized to pluck the head quickly from his leg as well. Crumpling to the ground, more in surprise than pain, he thought how foolish he had been to ignore it and have left open the doors to the night. Pulling himself to the bench at the bottom of the stairs, he rested to regain his strength a bit. Pondering why such benches would be here, on either side of the straight section after the downward stairs. What did he find further on? What was in that closed cell? What was his fate? Await to read the next part to learn further of this tale.
Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
