STORY ARC #4 HERO OF PENDOWN
Inspecting the Prison Hold
“Oh! The beasts have escaped the Hold!”
This is a continuation of The Small Man On the Giant Ark and Trust is Earned, part of a collaborative ‘Choose Your Own’ tale titled The Hero of Pendown. Check out how you can contribute, as well as read other amazing entries here.
The vortex energies subside, and you and Eshami immediately assume a defensive posture.
This room apparently houses the extra-dimensional prison hold. Anything could happen in here!
The lights are dim, and there is smoke filling the entire room; you have no idea how big it is, but you surmise that it is large enough to get lost in. “Stay close,” you whisper softly to your companion, who has her hand crossbow drawn.
Eshami spots movement ahead first, and signals you to stop. You thumb the trigger on your sword, and it begins to ooze a black smoke, empowered by your own feelings of anger, hate, and malice. If anything lurks in the smoke, this dark blade might give you the advantage you need.
Finally, a lithe feminine figure comes into view. She looks human, and wears the same kind of uniform as Ketal and Olear. Her face is beady from sweat or tears, and her uniform has a few rips, likely from a fight, though her — supple — skin appears undamaged.
“Hello?”
You risk another step forward to see her more clearly. Her collar and lapels have been torn clean off, revealing her rather voluptuous bosom. Her hair is wild, like she had just been in a fight, and a drop of blood is slowly running down from her lips to her chin.
She seems to notice you suddenly. “Oh! The beasts have escaped the Hold!” she cries, diving into your arms. “I fought them but they were too strong! They’ve run off somewhere…”
“Did you see what they looked like?” Eshami asks, trying hard to ignore the half-naked woman in your arms.
The woman shakes her head, grasping onto you tighter. “Let’s get as far away from here as possible!”
“Not yet,” you respond, and she squirms a little in your arms. You feel her intense warmth through what little clothing she has on, and you turn away, your cheeks flushed. Your reaction did not escape an observant Eshami.
“We’re here to make sure that the Hold is secured,” you continue. You catch a glimpse of Eshami’s expression and nod briefly. “We must accomplish our mission above all else. Stay back with Eshami, I’m going to inspect the Hold.”
She pouts in protest but moves away as you instruct. You step forward through the smoke gingerly, your sword drawn and ready, black tendrils of darkness flickering at the air and dripping inky bubbles into the floor.
You finally reach the entrance to the Hold — it is barely large enough to hold two people, but like everything on this ship, you surmise that there is a much larger extra-dimensional space within.
“Ketal, are you there?” you query the smoke, assuming he was, in fact, there.
On cue, his dramatic entrance appears through the smoke as he spins up out of the flooring. “It appears you have secured the Hold,” he states matter-of-factly, ignoring the obvious destruction of the outer room.
“Yeah, but is the Hold intact? Nothing broken or…tampered?” You gesture vaguely to the pod in the middle of the room as if you had any understanding of its inner workings.
Ketal’s eyes glow white, and visible sensor beams fire out, scanning the surfaces of the Hold with expected precision.
The beams cease, and he blinks twice before turning back to you. “There were several microfractures in the containment unit that have been sealed. There was also a discrepancy in the diagnostic log that states it was briefly set to test mode…”
“That crewmember may have done something,” you say, pointing to the general direction of where Eshami and the woman stood, invisible in the smoke. You don’t really understand much of what Ketal said, but you imagine it wasn’t good!
Ketal makes a short whirring noise. “There are no crewmembers on this level, excluding Eshami and yourself,” he answers.
You curse silently. You had hoped that this wasn’t the case, but while flesh and blood creatures could be fooled, Ketal understandably, couldn’t.
“Hero,” you hear the woman calling as both she and Eshami appear out of the smoke. “Is everything all right?”
For an instant, you could swear you see what looks like a tail behind the woman, but you can’t be certain.
How do you proceed?
- Unmask the imposter by force (click here).
- Reveal nothing… yet (click here).
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