I drew my knife-sword. "Did I hear that right?" I muttered, scanning the shadows that danced along the ruined walls. "Or is it my imagination? Am I isolated for too long that I am beginning to hear things in this place?" I needed to be calm and calculative. "Hello?" I replied, my voice a little too loud in the sudden, echoing silence. No one answered.
I looked down at the handful of treasures I had just found, a small, tangible comfort in my burgeoning madness.
General Awareness: Black Scaled Leather Armor (Vest): Description: Flexible, dark leather armor, shaped like a muscle shirt. Features rectangular scales, layered and downward-facing, covering the front and extending halfway down the sides from the armpits. Surprisingly light for its protection. Status: UnidentifiedTanto Dagger: Description: A sleek, dark wood-scabbard dagger with a pristine, shining tanto blade. Lacks a hilt guard but shows no corrosion. Exceptionally sharp. Status: Unidentified
"Thank you, Lukas, for these, the tiny apple and the cash," I said to the skeleton sitting inside the chest, my voice barely a whisper against the silence. I thought of taking his cowboy hat, but it's not my style, and I didn't want to strip Lukas of everything he had; I'm not that kind of monster. I left him his trusty loincloth and pointy cowboy hat. At least he still has some kind of game when someone finds him again, not naked.
"Um, sir, I mean you no harm, and if you are not busy talking to yourself, can you help me, please?" The voice was faint, reedy, undeniably real this time.
I felt utterly silly for talking to Lukas just a moment ago. "Who's there!?" I snapped, my head whipping around, searching desperately for the source of the voice, my sword hand tensing.
"I'm Toni," he said, the voice muffled, echoing faintly, unmistakably coming from the rubbles that dominated the space.
I quickly shut Lukas's casket lid and looked around, pinching myself, just to be sure I wasn't losing my mind. I'd been busy surviving up until now, an endless cycle of threats and escapes, and this was the very first time I'd heard another living, speaking voice. Why was I so skeptical?
"Can you please help me push this boulder?" he asked, his voice utterly alien, muffled, almost echoing from behind the pile. I didn't know why, but it sounded... strange, like it was coming from somewhere deep and unseen.
As a generally good citizen – or at least a former call center agent trained to assist – I wanted to help. I immediately moved towards where the voice seemed to be coming from. "Where are you?" I called out, my own voice sounding harsh against the quiet.
"Um, under rubbles, you can see a big slab of rock which I collapsed to hide from the big snake-centipede," his muffled voice replied, a hint of genuine fear in the tone.
After what felt like a few more minutes of traversing treacherous slopes of loose rocks, dirt, and rubbles, my amulet's beam finally landed on a huge, flat stone that looked like a part of a fallen wall where the voice was clearly coming from. "I see a huge boulder or wall," I said, my guard still up, cautiously sweeping the area for any type of ambush.
"Good sir," he said, his voice closer now, less muffled, definitely from directly behind the rock. "I'm behind it. Can you help me move it?"
"Is this a trap?" I admittedly blurted out, my instincts screaming caution, sword held defensively.
"No, I was here for like three days. I am the one who is trapped. Please help me, I will be forever grateful and in your debt," he said, his voice now clearer, tinged with a palpable desperation that sounded genuine.
Okay, I was definitely not hearing things; this was real. I saw the boulder, and it was truly gargantuan, balancing precariously on top of another, smaller, unstable boulder. I also noticed there was a slim space where I could potentially yank my sword and pry it to the side. I went up the rubbles, my trainers (or rather, my new boots now) crunching on the loose stone, and called out, "I'll pry the boulder. Step back!"
"Sure thing, sir!" he said, his voice instantly lightening, hopeful and relieved.I used what little strength I had left and jammed my sword into the side of the stone, wedging it deep into the narrow crevice. I pulled, straining, and my sword squeaked a metallic protest against the stone as the massive rock began to tremble, then popped free with an audible crack and fell to the side with a trembling crash, revealing a dark, gaping hole. I immediately jumped down and went into an attacking position, blade ready. I'm not going to be the victim here if this is a trap, I reminded myself, my eyes narrowed. "Come on out, Toni," I said sharply, my voice laced with command.
"Please, sir, don't be alarmed if I come out. I am peaceful, whatever I look like. I am also in your debt," he said nervously, the words still slightly muffled from within the darkness.
"Sure," I agreed, my brow still furrowed in suspicion. But what did he mean by 'whatever I look like'? The words hung in the air, fueling my unease.
Moments later, pale, three-fingered hands began to emerge out of the hole in the rubbles, trembling visibly. His hands were thick, like a thumb with two disproportionately large fingers, eerily similar to E.T.'s. Then his head slowly came into view, taking my breath away in a very unsettling way.
My General Awareness skill pinged him as he emerged fully:
Name: Toni
Race: Troglodyte
Description: Cave dweller, pale skin, eyeless, can detect through echolocation using the hole where the ears are supposed to be.
"Troglodyte," I said, the word a mere whisper of shock.