67 Finding the Dungeon (1/2)
Shuttling through the inner palace, Jack hurried through the corridors.
The guards should've been on high alert, but the announcement of a Hell-flame Fox appearing within the city was to scare most witless. Too distracted by the thoughts of imminent death and destruction, the guards in the inner palace weren't too difficult for Jack to pass. As long as Jack was patient enough, he could sneak past without detection.
Eventually, Jack found himself standing in front of a dismal, low-lit staircase. The stone floor became more uneven with every step as if those who built it didn't care enough to keep a standard of quality. Jack descended in hopes to find Slivia and other survivors in the dreary lower floor.
A foul odor further embedded itself in Jack's nostrils with every step. It immediately induced a fit of dry heaving, forcing Jack to hold back his gag reflex. The scent of rotting meat and flesh was prevalent throughout the lower floor.
Doing his best to ignore the smell, Jack looked around the dimly lit dungeon. The only light came from small azure clusters in the middle of the ceiling and spread out every seven meters or so, and to Jack's surprise, he didn't find a single guard.
There was enough light for Jack to see the crudely made cells carved into the stone floor beneath the goblin queen's castle. The rooms were blocked off by heavy, wooden slats that crossed each other horizontally like they were crossbeams used as prison bars.
Those cells surround Jack, forcing him to carefully look into each one to not possibly overlook Slivia.
Jack found that most cells in this part of the dungeon were empty, except for a couple rotting corpses that had been there for at least a few weeks. Not finding what he wanted, Jack pressed forward against the wishes of his nose.
The further into the dungeon he went, the more he longed to turn tail and leave. That hideous stench grew stronger with every step forward, almost overwhelming Jack's senses.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a new scent intermingled with that of rotten flesh. It was alchemical and its source was fresher than the rotting flesh, strong enough to singe nose hairs if smelt to vigorously.
Curious about what the source may be and why such a scent was in a dungeon and not a laboratory, Jack pressed forward carefully.
It didn't take him long to pass another half dozen cells with no success. His hopes were dwindling slightly, but Jack stayed levelheaded for the most part. As long as he knew Slivia was still possibly okay, Jack wouldn't stop to blame himself.
Suddenly, Jack heard coughing from a distant cell. Eager to find a living being, Jack ran ahead and quickly removed his invisibility.
The coughing spasm didn't stop, it got much worse the moment Jack appeared in front of the prison cell. Startled by Jack's sudden appearance the figure inside the cell did its best to stop coughing.
Realizing that he probably did more harm than good by suddenly appearing without warning, he spoke quietly, ”What is your name?”
There was no response at first, so Jack assumed that the figure might be too weak to do or say anything. ”Here, eat this. It'll help.” Jack held out a portion of jerky rations through the gaps of the wooden cell bars.
Without hesitation, the miserable figure pounced forward and dove to grab hold of the food presented to it. Like a wild beast, it tore the jerky apart piece by piece with its mouth.
Jack quickly noticed that it was a human female in her twenties contained within the cell, but something was off. She was stripped naked and only wore an iron collar around her neck that was attached to the wall by a heavy chain. Her body was covered in bruises, particularly around her joints as if someone had grabbed hold of her with too much force.
”What's your name?” Jack asked again.
There was no response from the girl, only a piercing gaze asking for more food. When she finished the scraps of dried meat Jack had already held out a second piece, which she snatched from him eagerly.
However, this again brought no response. For a third time, Jack held out a strip of dried meat. The girl lunged for the meat, but Jack pulled it back through the bars in protest. She wasn't mad or startled by not getting her food. Instead, she looked at Jack differently.
Before Jack could understand what that look meant, the girl sensually crawled toward the bars of the cell. She turned her rear toward the wooden slats and pushed herself up against them like this was a normal occurrence for her.
Jack was dumbfounded by what was occurring in front of him. He had never personally seen a naked woman in his life, let alone have one act so daring in front of him. But the sight of this girl appalled him and filled him with disgust.
In her eyes, Jack saw no life or intelligence. It was like he was staring into the eyes of a farm animal waiting to be fed.
”You won't get anywhere with her.”
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