groggy from being roused so early in the morning, I trudged out of bed and proceeded with my usual routine of hunting in the swamps for breakfast. I was gradually becoming more proficient at fishing, but I soon discovered that simply gathering crabs and shellfish from the banks was more efficient. As I headed for the cave's exit, I passed by the laboratory and caught a glimpse of a large, covered object on the center table. The object appeared large enough for an average-sized human to be lying under. My brow furrowed in curiosity at the new addition to the laboratory since the previous night. With Master Dagg apparently gone to gather his daily supplies, I was inclined to take a peek underneath the dirty cloth, but my hungry belly protested. I reluctantly succumbed to the persistent hunger and left the cave to proceed with breakfast.
The swamps were still dark, with the morning sun not yet risen enough to provide its modest light through the blanket of overcast. The air was moist and thick as though it had rained recently. Despite the ideal weather conditions, the crabs and shellfish that usually washed up along the banks were quite scarce this particular morning and I had no choice but to resort to fishing for the remainder of my meal. After a somewhat mediocre catch of trout, crabs and prawns, I retreated back to the cave to eat.
As I passed by Master Dagg's laboratory, I discovered a notable difference. Whatever was on the table before, was now gone. All that remained was the dirty cloth, crumpled in a heap.
I suddenly stopped eating when I spotted slight movement in the shadows near the cave entrance. At first, I thought nothing of it and figured it was Master Dagg returning from his daily errands. However, as I resumed eating, the movement seemed far more erratic than Master Dagg's usual steps. Setting the half-eaten fish down, I stared into the darkness warily.
“Who's there?” I called.
The sound of something dragging slowly across the cave floor towards me was suddenly heard in response.
Frowning, I stood up and inched towards the darkness to confront the strange sound, which I had continued convincing myself to be Master Dagg.
“I didn't think you were a man of practical jokes,” I said, narrowing my eyes at the moving shadows.
I suddenly stopped in my tracks when a foul stench hit my nose. My eyes watered from the nauseating smell of acid and rotten eggs as the dragging sounds grew louder. Covering my mouth and nose, I took a few steps back to regain my composure.
Emerging from the shadows in front of me, I caught the wavering image of a human-sized figure limping slowly in my direction. I knew the thing wasn't a human when it suddenly let out a low, guttural growl. I trembled in shock and was rendered immobilized as the creature dragged its way to me and breathed its foul breath in my face.
My skin felt cold to the creature's touch when it grasped my bare arm and pulled itself to me. My terrifying screams for help echoed throughout the caverns, but fell on deaf ears. I was truly alone.
My attempts to fight back against the creature that had overpowered me were futile. As my vision became clearer, I found myself staring at a humanoid abomination covered in rotting flesh.
Within its empty eye sockets were two, similar, glowing orbs of dark magic. It growled furiously as it kept trying to pin me to the ground.
I screamed again and attempted to struggle against the creature's firm grip, though my actions only fatigued me. As my face hit the cold ground, I was momentarily knocked unconscious, but was immediately roused by a sudden sharp pain in the area between my neck and collarbone.
The creature latched its acidic-drooling fangs into my bare skin and began feeding hungrily upon my blood.
As soon as the acidic substance came in contact with my skin, I felt a hot, burning sensation. My eyes stung from the tears that welled up, but remained frozen — much like the rest of my body. I was paralyzed, helpless and unable to scream any further as the creature continued to drain what little blood I had. Soon, I felt my eyes grow heavy and darkness began to consume me.
Once I shut my eyes, I immediately felt a great weight being lifted from my body, followed by the sounds of hisses and guttural growls nearby. Though I was severely weakened, my eyes managed to flutter open slightly — enough to gaze upon the silhouette of another larger figure.
The humanoid abomination was grappled and restrained single-handedly by the larger figure that let out subtle hisses of annoyance.
As the stranger stepped into the dim light of the cave, I recognized him to be Master Dagg. His ebony eyes reflected an eerie glow from the cave's dim light and for a moment, they appeared as though they were slit like a feline's.
Sensing that my eyes were, perhaps, deceiving me, I closed them and tried to shake off the uneasiness that rose in my body. When I reopened them, I saw the abomination bite furiously at Master Dagg's hand, attempting to break free of the man's iron grip, but its efforts proved futile.
Amazingly, Master Dagg's skin absorbed the acidic substance that drooled from the creature's mouth and he remained unscathed. In retaliation, Master Dagg's hand punctured effortlessly through the creature's neck, which spilled blood everywhere. Upon retracting his hands, the blood that covered them converged to a sharpened point on each of his fingers before dripping down to the ground.
My eyes narrowed curiously at the strange sight, wondering if either my mind was playing tricks again, or if Master Dagg really had long nails.
Tossing the remnants of the creature down in a heap, Master Dagg approached me and knelt down to examine the gash in my neck. Afterwards, his blood-soaked and seemingly claw-like hands reached out to feel the wound.
Though his touch sent chills through me, I sensed his concern. I felt him carefully pick me up and carry me off to his laboratory where he continued his examination.
He gently pulled my eyelids open and gazed upon me pensively for several minutes. After what sounded like cursing in a language I was unfamiliar with, he hurried over to one of the shelves and retrieved some items.
I continued staring up blankly at the stalactites, meanwhile, unsure of what exactly was happening.
Moments later, Master Dagg returned carrying a serum in one hand and a syringe in the other, both items containing equal amounts of an unknown, colorless liquid. He placed the glass vial to my lips and poured the tasteless contents down my throat, which he later massaged his fingers gently around to make me swallow. Simultaneously, as I ingested the strange, tasteless liquid, he injected the syringe's contents into my wrist.
For a brief moment, I felt the sensation of my body's paralysis subside. The sensation was suddenly consumed by the feeling of my innards being on fire. I writhed uncontrollably and my vision began blurring at random intervals. I caught a glimpse of Master Dagg standing over me, watching briefly before extending his hand over my large wound.
Closing his eyes, he concentrated and uttered incoherent words until his hand gave off a strange, crimson glow of magical power, which felt hot against my skin.
The paralysis suddenly returned to my body, coupled with my eyes going blind and I was rendered helpless once more. Amazingly, however, I was still able to scream in lieu of the traumatizing experience.
“S … Stop! Stop it, you madman!”
Master Dagg said nothing in response and continued his strange ritual.
Only after a few minutes did I feel the paralysis permanently leave my body and my vision become clear once more. I focused my gaze into Master Dagg's ebony eyes, confused and flustered of all that happened.
He finally pulled away from me then retrieved the empty serum and syringe.
“You are lucky I returned when I did, Jasmine,” I heard him say. “It seemed my undead experiment had caught the scent of your warm blood and decided to have a snack. Such a shame, really. It took me quite a while to find an ideal, ghastly creature for my newest experiment.” He sighed.
As he spoke, I laid on the table, staring at the stalactites, dumbfounded. Now that I was no longer paralyzed,
