I.
The man stared at the decaying corpse of the rat before him, his mind not fully his own. He had awakened a few moments earlier, thoughts muddled and slow moving, to see the rotting flesh being defiled by a variety of carrion beetle. A sense of fiery light and a hint of burning remained in the outskirts of his ruined memory, but it refused to be summoned. The man watched the bloody feast for a long time.
Hours passed, and the night outside began to fade into a dim morning. As dim strands of light began to filter in, the man continued his fixation upon the corpse, unable to break his focus. His weak will was incapable of anything else. Unable to regain composure, the man would eventually waste away until nothing remained. He would be brought down by his own deteriorating mind. Were only he to be so lucky. Unfortunately, his limited focus was suddenly stolen by the scraping and screeching of hinges above him. As bright light shown down upon the man, he glanced up, and briefly noticed the sun-bathed helm of a knight before his simple attention was again grabbed away. Light shown down upon the prisoner, and a leathery skeletal corpse fell before the man. Overwhelmed with a sudden sense of urgency, the man's simple thoughts forced him to move from his long-seated position and explore this new intrusion.
Knees creaking, and with a groan of pain, the man forced himself up and approached the body. In his state of mental incapability, his focus could only be brought solely to the shiny key upon the corpse. Clumsily thrusting his hand against the key, the man attempted to bring his stiff fingers around it, but found himself unable to do so. It took many tries before he found his digits able to finally obey his command, and with a grimace he clawed the key from the leathery filth before him, bringing shreds of dried flesh and ruined cloth with it. As he took the key, something began to rise within him. His murky mind began to clear, hints of fire with pain vanished, and for the first time since his awakening, the man could finally take in his surroundings.
He found himself enclosed in a small cell, shut in on all sides by green, mossy rock. Mold grew all around the foundations of his prison, and beetles scoured the rough floor as though his movement had disturbed their feast. A rusted, iron-bar door stood to the left of him, leading into what seemed to be a series of cells deep within a prison complex. Above him, a jagged portal opened to the outside, frosty air blowing in. He could remember nothing of the cell before grasping the key, but he had a chilling sense of attachment to the opening above and chose to brush it aside before he lost his nerve. He took note of himself to free his mind of the fear he felt mounting within him.
He realized his pained body was masked by a solid framework of dull metal. From chest to toe he was clasped in thick armor, padded with cloth for comfort. Chained gloves imprisoned his hands, and a heavy helm rested upon his brow. As his awareness grew, the armor felt heavy upon him; almost as if it were suffocating him. He knew not its origins, but in a mind still wakening, he feared consequence were he to remove it. Still weak of thought, the man was unsure how to proceed. Tired, he contemplated taking a brief rest. His mind began to slow again, and his focus was drawn to the corpse of a rat; something that had escaped his previous intake of the cell around him. He began to watch the resumed feast of the beetles, his will waning…
Not far from the deteriorating prisoner, a terrified scream burst forth into the new daylight. A massive, beastly creature slammed into a helmed knight, roaring victoriously. The victim crashed through the roof of the prison, falling hard upon his knees in the cell below. Choking with pain as bone burst through flesh and a flood of crimson exploded out from him, the helmed man gave into darkness and collapsed. The beast bellowed above the cell as it triumphantly returned to its conquest of the complex.
II.
The feast was disrupted as the entire cell shook around the man. Suddenly awakened from his daze and in a panic, the man cowered against the wall as an ear-shattering roar was heard throughout the prison. Quickly following the monstrous distraction came the piercing sound of a terrified shriek, and then silence. The man found himself too afraid to remain complacent any longer. He rammed his body into the cell door, fists slamming against it as he yelled in frustration and fear. He begged his jailors to help him. He heard only the echoing of his own shrill cries, and began to sob. The sound of clinking metal below him reached his ears – the key! He snagged the fallen key from the floor and shoved it into the rusted lock of the door, praying it would open. With a painful moan, the lock gave way and the rusted hinges gave way just enough to allow the man to force his body out of the mossy cell. Flying into the hall before him, he fell hard against the body of another.
The man cried out, jumping back from the body in front of him. The body turned towards him, horrifyingly thin; grey, leather-like skin drawn tight across bone; all the signs of a man long after his expiration. With black, hollowed eyes the inhuman thing sighed towards the freed prisoner, but made no other move of its own.
The man shrank against the wall opposite of the creature, slinking past the horrible monster. Relief washed over him as the thing he feared stupidly observed him, making no movement. Eventually the creature returned to leaning against the wall, doing nothing. He felt emboldened by the timidity of the beast. If this pathetic being were the source of the roar he had heard earlier, there was no reason to hold on to the fear he had been feeling ever since the initial shaking of his cell brought him awake. The man turned his back on the docile beast and continued forward, wondering about the prison he found himself in.
Far above the prison complex, unbeknownst to all inhabitants, a great shadow circled the area. Drawn by unseen roars, the crow, several times as large as any man, curiously watched from above. Perhaps it would soon be able to make a meal out of something below. Seeing movement on the roof of the complex, the crow shot downwards, hungry talons poised to make a strike…
The man couldn't move, paralyzed by disgust and fear. Before him stood the wrecked body of a dried-out corpse enveloped by armor too large for its thin, rotting frame. As the man stared at the moving corpse, the moving corpse stared back at him. Flickering in the torchlight, the man slammed his fists into the reflection before him.
What have I become? This can't be me! I am not one of these accursed creatures!
The man began to whimper in horror, but no tears came. His dry as death skin reacted not to his despair. The man slammed his fist again into the disgusting display before him, splashing murky waste water all around. His actions gathered the attention of another of the stupid creatures, one resting in the dirty reservoir, and it too sighed at the man, almost as if in acknowledgement.
I am not one of you pathetic, mindless beasts, and I will make sure you understand that.
With a frustrated howl, the man jumped towards the docile monster with every intention to end its life with his hands alone. Instead, he fell hard into the stinking water around him; brought down by his burdensome armor. Polluted water poured from his personal prison as he stood, gagging at the stench and freezing cold. Were he more man than corpse, his weak composure would have left him spewing. Even more enraged than before, he stepped towards the creature and slammed his armored fist into the wretched thing. Its skull crumbled around his fist as years of decay came to an end, and corpse-dust flew in all directions. Disgusted and losing his ferocity, the man stumbled his way towards a nearby ladder, desperately hoping for an escape from the filth and chill around him. Shivering his way up, he began to see a shimmer of light, and the smell of ash assaulted him.
III.
As the man reached the peak of his climb, he breathlessly fell forward onto the solid ground. Glad to have reached the outside, but worn out, the man stared hard at a new sight: what seemed to be the still smoldering remains of a small fire built around a sword. Eagerly seeking warmth in this cold place, he rushed forward to try to stir the embers of the flame to life. As the man placed his hand near the embers, the embers burst into a blaze of fire without warning. Taken aback, the man fell hard on his armored rump and scrambled back from the hot flames. Beginning to calm from his panic, the man gratefully scooted back up towards the fire and happily felt its warmth. He began to doze off under the comfort of the daylight and warmth of the flame.
The crow continued its motion. Seeing the figure perched upon a ledge, the great bird smashed hard into it. Without even a second glance at its prey, the crow slashed its sharp talons across the flesh of its opponent before taking to the skies again. An angry roar sounded as the crow's intended victim stumbled towards its enemy.
The man awoke to a terrifying sound, something akin to a crow but much larger. Immediately following came the roar that had shaken his cell before. The man panicked and knew he could no longer stay there. Leaping up, he began rushing towards a giant set of doors that seemed to offer security. The man shoved against the entrance, forcing it to open. Racing into the room, he discovered only an annex open to the sky. Nothing but a few dozen pots and the remnants of some pillars remained. As the man stepped further into the room, the doors behind him suddenly slammed shut. Fear overwhelmed him and he began to look for another exit, expecting an ambush. He searched the sides of the room, terror filling him as he heard more of the bird-like cries above him. Unable to contain himself any longer, the man began to lose control of his senses. Blindly running around the area, he lucked upon an open gateway and threw himself inside.
Releasing a maddening screech, the bird went for a second attack against its prey. Letting out a gloating cry as its talons pierced into flesh, the bird prepared to feast, but it had gloated for naught. The crow's target was not quite the prey it imagined and not a moment after his talons found their mark a second time the crow realized it was piercing into something very powerful. With a furious roar, the beast slammed a fist into the crow. Smashed against the stone flooring, the crow squawked in pain and surprise; attempting to escape back into the sky. Wings extended and black feathers flying everywhere, the crow shot off – only to be hit hard by a weapon wielded by the large attacker. Bewildered and hurting, the crow flew without thought into the beast, causing it to stumble from its perch and fall far into the large annex below.
Hurrying into the enclosed room, the man heard the gate behind him slam shut. At once, an enormous impact shook the room. Debris rained from the ceiling as a massive and pained roar came from beyond the sealed gate. Pure fear took over as the man ran into an adjoining hallway, seeking to escape whatever lay behind him.
IV.
Running into the hallway, the man heard the sound of metal against brick. Clink. Again he heard the sound, right behind him. Then came an unbearable pain in his shoulder. The man cried out in shock and fell to the left, landing in a small cell similar to his own. Rolling on the floor in anguish, eyes clenched shut as the pain wiped out the fear of the roaring behind him, the man slid his hand up his shoulder. Panic took him when he pressed up against what felt like a piece of wood embedded in his arm. Forcing his eyes open, the man came to realize something was protruding from his arm. The small shaft of an arrow jutted out from a cloth fold in his armor, staining the aged linen a deep red.
The injured man reacted out of fear, doing anything to remove that pain. Grasping the wood, he pulled hard on the missile lodged in his arm. The head of the arrow tore free, wrenching his flesh and shredding cloth as it came out. A small stream of blood flowed forth from the wound, and the pain only increased. The man dry-heaved at the sight of his blood, corpse-like body unable to fully wretch. His vision grew blurry as the sound of a failed arrow came again from the hall, and the man almost lost consciousness.
As his injury induced panic began to subside, the man began to look for another way to go. Fearing the hallway, he felt all around his cell. No other exit awaited him. He could only move on ahead to the unseen archer ahead, or go back and face whatever had sourced the outrageous roaring in the annex…
The corpse of the fallen knight lay amongst the wreckage from the collapsed roof. The attack of the beast had broken in a large section of the top of the cell, leaving brick and other rubble dispersed throughout the room. A large pool of blood spread around the dead man, his armor heavily dented and his limbs a mangled mess. Held weakly in his cold fingers lay a corked stone vial, and a small key lay not far from the body…
In the distance, an angry roar sounded and the complex shook. The crow felt it from a distance, burrowed in its nest. Heavily injured and unable to leave the locale, the crow had settled down in its new makeshift home to recover. The bird slept, already forgotten by its attempted prey raging in the massive building nearby…