The Second Duel
Not all roads lead to Rome
Dr. Lecter felt his body lifting suddenly. Colors and images swirled by in a blur, then suddenly he was in the dark.
"Hello intruder. You have trespassed into my domain, therefore you must pay. But since I believe in fairness, I'll give you a chance to find me and defend yourself before you die. Only two hints I shall give, and then you're on your own. Beware of the Siren for her song will surely kill you. Keep your hand at the level of your eyes. Until we meet, Adieu."
Hannibal looked around for a source of light, his maroon eyes on alert as well as his ears. He heard water lapping a few yards in front of him and the slightly musty smell told him that he was underground, probably in a cave. He spread his arms out, feeling for a wall to support him should he trip over something. Spiders crawled over his hand, which he crushed.
"Hmmm," he sniffed deeply. "There must be a lake somewhere over there, which means there must be a boat nearby."
He felt his way along the wall, eyes adjusting to the darkness. A few yards ahead, he saw a dim bluish light.
"Okay-dokey then, here we go," he muttered to himself.
Sure enough, there was a boat waiting for him. He smiled as he looked the boat over. "Eighteenth century at least, those designs must have been taken from a cathedral. Used often, by more than one person."
He felt the boat for any bumps or holes. Finally satisfied, he jumped in, took the pole and began rowing.
To a lesser man, the darkness would have fooled him and he wouldn't have gotten past the lake. But Hannibal Lecter was not a lesser man. His sense of smell, hearing, and sight are extraordinary, and it was with these gifts that he carefully maneuvered through the lake, dodging the many unlit candelabras, gothic statues, and rocks. He whistled "Row, Row, Row your Boat" cheerfully. As he passed a statue of a mermaid, a faint singing interrupted his whistling.
Come to me, Hannibal Lecter, and I will make all your darkest dreams come true.
His ears pricked up, but he continued to row steadily. The voice got louder.
You will have all the flesh you can eat. All the books that you want. You will be able to roam as you wish. All you have to do is come to me.
Hannibal smiled.
"And what if I do not?" he asked while continuing to row.
You will be miserable. Why wouldn't you want to have the perfect life?
"Sirens very seldom offer true satisfaction, unless one enjoys drowning," he said.
Very well, you're smarter than I imagined. Well done, for now.
And the voice was gone.
Hannibal stopped rowing, sniffed the air, and prepared for the landing.
Once he was sure that the boat was halfway onto the cave floor, he carefully got out. He could see and smell candles ahead.
"Ahhh, a man of good taste," he muttered to himself, noting the expensive scent that the candles gave off. He walked towards it.
"I certainly hope you aren't going to try any petty torments, like expecting me to fall through the torture chamber and hang myself because of insufferable heat?" he asked the thin air.
He felt the walls carefully, noted where the obvious cracks where and avoided them.
"I know there is another entrance here." he muttered to himself.
He sniffed the air, smiled, and pressed a spot on the floor. The stone in front of him opened, revealing a long tunnel, flooded with light from the music room.
"So I see you decided to take a shortcut," the Phantom said. Candles were stuck everywhere, the only source of light in the room. The flickering caused evil shadows across the Phantom's mutilated face.
"I see that you have been using the same skin for quite a while now, don't you that no matter how good you try to take care of it, you don't have the necessary resources to keep it from decomposing?" Hannibal asked.
The Phantom's face indeed had many scars from when the devil had mutilated his face after he had traded his soul to the devil in exchange for his music being known to the world.
"And so you, sir, are the skin expert?" the Phantom said, withdrawing a lasso and a small blade.
"More than you are," Hannibal said with a grin.
"You have been very shrewd, Dr. Lecter, but your luck is over."
With that the Phantom darted behind Hannibal and started swinging the lasso. Hannibal, equally nimble on his feet, despite all the years of no activity in his cell, dodged out of the way and ran towards the organ.
"NOOOOOOOOO!" the Phantom screamed, throwing the lasso again, but missing. Hannibal grabbed several manuscripts and held them over several candles. As they ignited, the Phantom fell to the floor, writhing in pain.
"Not my music!" he wailed, as his body began to decompose. Hannibal dropped the burning music, grabbed a candle and threw it at the Phantom. With an unearthly shriek, his body ignited and dissolved.
You've successfully completed Level 2. How much longer until your luck runs out? The next Level is much more challenging. Very few who have played have passed the next level. So on to Level 3!
Not all roads lead to Rome
Dr. Lecter felt his body lifting suddenly. Colors and images swirled by in a blur, then suddenly he was in the dark.
"Hello intruder. You have trespassed into my domain, therefore you must pay. But since I believe in fairness, I'll give you a chance to find me and defend yourself before you die. Only two hints I shall give, and then you're on your own. Beware of the Siren for her song will surely kill you. Keep your hand at the level of your eyes. Until we meet, Adieu."
Hannibal looked around for a source of light, his maroon eyes on alert as well as his ears. He heard water lapping a few yards in front of him and the slightly musty smell told him that he was underground, probably in a cave. He spread his arms out, feeling for a wall to support him should he trip over something. Spiders crawled over his hand, which he crushed.
"Hmmm," he sniffed deeply. "There must be a lake somewhere over there, which means there must be a boat nearby."
He felt his way along the wall, eyes adjusting to the darkness. A few yards ahead, he saw a dim bluish light.
"Okay-dokey then, here we go," he muttered to himself.
Sure enough, there was a boat waiting for him. He smiled as he looked the boat over. "Eighteenth century at least, those designs must have been taken from a cathedral. Used often, by more than one person."
He felt the boat for any bumps or holes. Finally satisfied, he jumped in, took the pole and began rowing.
To a lesser man, the darkness would have fooled him and he wouldn't have gotten past the lake. But Hannibal Lecter was not a lesser man. His sense of smell, hearing, and sight are extraordinary, and it was with these gifts that he carefully maneuvered through the lake, dodging the many unlit candelabras, gothic statues, and rocks. He whistled "Row, Row, Row your Boat" cheerfully. As he passed a statue of a mermaid, a faint singing interrupted his whistling.
Come to me, Hannibal Lecter, and I will make all your darkest dreams come true.
His ears pricked up, but he continued to row steadily. The voice got louder.
You will have all the flesh you can eat. All the books that you want. You will be able to roam as you wish. All you have to do is come to me.
Hannibal smiled.
"And what if I do not?" he asked while continuing to row.
You will be miserable. Why wouldn't you want to have the perfect life?
"Sirens very seldom offer true satisfaction, unless one enjoys drowning," he said.
Very well, you're smarter than I imagined. Well done, for now.
And the voice was gone.
Hannibal stopped rowing, sniffed the air, and prepared for the landing.
Once he was sure that the boat was halfway onto the cave floor, he carefully got out. He could see and smell candles ahead.
"Ahhh, a man of good taste," he muttered to himself, noting the expensive scent that the candles gave off. He walked towards it.
"I certainly hope you aren't going to try any petty torments, like expecting me to fall through the torture chamber and hang myself because of insufferable heat?" he asked the thin air.
He felt the walls carefully, noted where the obvious cracks where and avoided them.
"I know there is another entrance here." he muttered to himself.
He sniffed the air, smiled, and pressed a spot on the floor. The stone in front of him opened, revealing a long tunnel, flooded with light from the music room.
"So I see you decided to take a shortcut," the Phantom said. Candles were stuck everywhere, the only source of light in the room. The flickering caused evil shadows across the Phantom's mutilated face.
"I see that you have been using the same skin for quite a while now, don't you that no matter how good you try to take care of it, you don't have the necessary resources to keep it from decomposing?" Hannibal asked.
The Phantom's face indeed had many scars from when the devil had mutilated his face after he had traded his soul to the devil in exchange for his music being known to the world.
"And so you, sir, are the skin expert?" the Phantom said, withdrawing a lasso and a small blade.
"More than you are," Hannibal said with a grin.
"You have been very shrewd, Dr. Lecter, but your luck is over."
With that the Phantom darted behind Hannibal and started swinging the lasso. Hannibal, equally nimble on his feet, despite all the years of no activity in his cell, dodged out of the way and ran towards the organ.
"NOOOOOOOOO!" the Phantom screamed, throwing the lasso again, but missing. Hannibal grabbed several manuscripts and held them over several candles. As they ignited, the Phantom fell to the floor, writhing in pain.
"Not my music!" he wailed, as his body began to decompose. Hannibal dropped the burning music, grabbed a candle and threw it at the Phantom. With an unearthly shriek, his body ignited and dissolved.
You've successfully completed Level 2. How much longer until your luck runs out? The next Level is much more challenging. Very few who have played have passed the next level. So on to Level 3!