Ending of the Fool
Adrian decided to take the left door, the one marked by the lizard man warrior. It led into a darkened hall, lit only by the moonlight. The elaborate iron structures in the windows cast strange shadows on the floor, like snakes frozen on the ground and waiting to strike. In the darkness, there were forms of things: tablecloths draped on tables, unlit chandeliers, claw footed couches, and some things that he couldn't fully identify. One time, he thought he saw a knight waiting to attack. But the flickering light of the candle revealed that it was just an empty suit of armor.
With the candle giving a yellow circle of light around him, Adrian moved through the room, looking for some clue, or a map. He found several parchment sheets with strange yet interesting drawings on them. One showed a number of people in a church, including a king, a queen, and a devout family. While they all seemed pious and good in that picture, the others showed very different sides to these people. The king was shown with a hoard of gold and jewels, but ignoring them in favor of trying to get another diamond off a courtesan. The queen was shown beating her servants and holding a woman captive, seemingly just because the other woman was prettier. The father was shown drunk, while his wife was dancing scandalously for other men. Their children were setting fire to a rabbit hole and tormenting the poor creatures.
Those pictures bothered him (except the one with the dancing woman, which was intriguing in its own way). But a piece of text with them tried to rationalize them as normal. 'All people are hypocrites; I have learned this lesson all too many times. In front of others and before the symbols of goodness, they will claim to be good and honest people. But once they are free to be themselves, they are tainted by the darkness, sometimes to corruption, sometimes to being dark to their very core. This hypocrisy causes much grief. I say, why should we play this charade at all? We should open ourselves to the darkness and accept ourselves for who we truly are. Then, we can enjoy the pleasures and the powers of the world without feeling needless shame and guilt. Do not lie to yourselves, humans. You want what you call vices more than what you call virtues. Accept this and open the way to a world of dark pleasures.'
That wasn't right. Adrian knew it was so. One shouldn't enjoy themselves at the expense of others. There didn't seem anything else in this room of interest, so he started to leave. A clank of metal moving behind him caused him to freeze, then turn around quickly.
It was that suit of armor, emerging from its place. Strange vapors came from it, things that he could barely see. It moved slowly, but it was definitely coming for him. Fighting off a panic, Adrian hurried to the door and opened it. When he was through, he shut it firmly. He still heard clanking footsteps, so he walked into the room he had entered.
But this one was completely dark. Only his candle gave light. Lifting his lantern up, he saw that the candle inside was almost out, on the last bit of its wick. He needed to fix that, soon. Seeing a form in the darkness, he stepped forward and found a small table with nothing on it. That would work. He placed the lantern there, opened the door to it, then reached for the sidebag to get a new candle out.
"Prudent of you, bringing a lantern in here," a strange thin voice came out of the darkness.
Adrian stopped. "Who's there?" he asked, trying to sound braver than he was.
"That's the only thing keeping the Grues from eating you right now," the voice said, ignoring his question. "They're keeping out of that candle's range, but they're out there." A few footsteps sounded, coming up near him, but not close enough to be seen clearly. "You're a strange boy, now. You… you smell like… his blood." The voice turned into a hiss at the end.
"What do you mean?" Adrian asked. But then a cold wind struck him, snuffing out the small flame.
It was dark, and there were Grues out there…