Author Note: Don't own Amnesia: the Dark Descent. Sorry for the super long wait. But now that it's summer I'll have more time to update. I will be going to California though, and won't be able to update during that time. But anyway, enjoy!

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Scene 7: Cuprite and Orpiment

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Still shaken by learning of the gruesome murder of the men, Daniel left the room, fighting back waves of nausea and horror. It was starting to sink in that he was most likely the only person in the entire castle, except for Alexander. And Daniel was sure he didn't want to meet him. What kind of man killed people like that, or had the power to kill so horribly with only wine?

No, don't think about it, Daniel thought. I have to keep going, and I can't afford to lose it.

It didn't help much (his inner pep talks weren't exactly making him feel any better) but he knew he was right. He had to keep going.

Daniel walked out into the room with the staircase and went across it to another doorway. Something on the wall caught his eye. Lifting the lanturn to it, he saw a kind of map of the cellar carved onto wood hanging on the wall. At least, Daniel thought it was a map. It certainly looked like the layout of the wine cellar. He studied it for a moment, then went for the room next to it. Inside was a table with a hammer, some kind of glowing green substance staining the wood, and a bottle. He lit the candle on the table, then picked up the bottle. The label said "Cuprite". Relief filled Daniel. He was glad to have found something useful at last, one of the ingredients for the acid he needed. Now he just had to find Calamine, Orpiment, and Aqua Regia. He carefully stowed the bottle of Cuprite in his satchel, filled with new hope.

As he turned around, however, his fear immediately returned. He heard a growl and the door closed on its own. Daniel immediately ran for the corner, fighting once again to control his breathing. He heard heavy footsteps above him, which only made his heart hammer even more.

Steeling his nerves, he headed for the door and slowly opened it a bit, trying to control his shaking hands. Daniel looked through into the main room with the staircase but saw nothing. He glanced around the room he was in, seeing nothing but barrels, the table, and a rack holding several tools on the wall next to it. Taking a deep breath, Daniel opened the door all the way and walked out into the main room, then hurried beneath the staircase. Seeing another door, he tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. Fighting the urge to curse with fear and irritation, he abandoned the locked door and went across the room to a corner with a pile of boxes. He heard more noises and, already nervous, started and went toward a different door.

This one was unlocked and led to a long room with several shelves, foggy light, and boxes laying out on the floor in random positions. He heard what sounded like items being thrown on the floor above him. Daniel instinctively looked up and half ran into the right side of the room, which, he realized was more of a short hallway than a long room. It opened up into a fairly large room with a winerack on one wall, and the usual shelves and crates. He quickly scanned one of the shelves and the winerack but they were both empty. Another shelf held only a tinderbox, which he stowed away for later use. Aside from that, the room contained only the stacks of boxes.

Daniel was feeling anxious, as though he was being watched. He couldn't quite understand why he was getting steadily more nervous just being in this room. Of course, he had been hearing strange noises...

Daniel walked back into the hallway, lanturn off to conserve precious oil, and went to the left side of the hall. He got to the end of the hall and found a Laudanum on a shelf when he heard a loud growl. He saw a vaguely humanoid shape in the foggy light further down the hall but his desire to see another being vanished. He certainly didn't want to meet a monster. He might not completely believe in monsters, but anything that made a sound like that was something he didn't want to meet!

Daniel quickly ducked behind the shelf and crouched there, praying the strange creature wouldn't see him.

His breathing was growing ragged with terror, but he made himself stand up and walk down the hall. He had to face his fear, instead of let it control him. To his surprise, there was no one (or nothing) there. But he could have sworn he saw something...

I must be going mad, Daniel thought. He tried to shake off his unease, but it was proving nearly impossible to do. It's fine. The lighting down here is terrible, and you're petrified. You're just seeing things, that's all. Eager to calm himself, he lit his lanturn briefly to prove there was nothing there then went back to the large room at the end of the right side of the hallway. He paused for a moment at an open doorway in the corner of the room, then cautiously went through it, his breathing still harsh from his earlier scare. He lit his lanturn and saw in the new room shelves and shelves full of bottles. This room actually appeared to be three adjoining rooms. Ignoring the first part of it, he went to the larger section of it, which contained even more shelves and bottles. He scanned the shelves but they appeared to only contain wine. Walking into the third part of the room, he turned off his lanturn and stood there for a moment, trying to control his breathing. He was glancing around when he saw something that caught his eye: a bottle similar to the Cuprite bottle. Fear turned to excitement and he quickly picked it up. The label on this bottle said, "Orpiment".

His heart leapt with excitement. He now had half of the ingredients he needed to create the acid! He double-checked in the paper he'd picked up which described the acid. Yes, there were four ingredients, two of which he had. Daniel put away the Orpiment next to the Cuprite in his satchel. Daniel was beginning to feel real hope that he could make it. He was halfway to his goal, which made him feel much better despite the terror raging through his mind.

I can do this, Daniel thought, feeling somewhat more confident now. Just two more ingredients and I can make the acid.

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Please review! Hope it was good, and that I'll update soon (instead of, you know, months later). I've stopped at 3:09 on Part 4.