The next morning, the sound of the prison guard settling into his wooden chair could be heard creaking. His mood seemed to be quite good this time, because when he had distributed the food for the inmates earlier (a bag was thrown into the cell, filled to the brim with contents that could easily fill up a toddler), he had hummed and whistled like an innocent cartoon character. When his colleague attempted to whistle, he pressed his lips too tightly together and accidentally spat on the guard.
He wiped the moisture off his face, shuddered in disgust, grimaced, and took a deep breath.
"Walter! That is absolutely disgusting, stop your disgusting whistling!" he wanted to complain to his colleague (Walter), but there is something about Walter that makes it hard to stay angry with him - not at all, and definitely not in a way that he would notice - if one wanted to live.
This was indeed the case for him, so he simply said, "Walter. We need to focus on the prisoners now, so they don't escape!"
Walter looked confusedly at the cell and then back at him, repeating, "Uh..."
But the guard gestured for him to be quiet, which immediately made him regret it.
Sometimes, true empathy only requires a black eye.
CLICK - CLICK CLICK- CLICK - CLICK CLICK CLICK - CLICK - CLICK
Something clicked from the direction of the cell. Were the criminals trying to break out?
The guard made a mental note to check in the next few hours and voluntarily fell asleep, as Walter accidentally punched him in the face while he was looking at his wallet.
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Quincy and Adán were bored in the cell, and Adán was even starting to smell a bit, as Quincy thought.
[Quest!]
What did Quincy see there?
[Be quiet!]
But Quincy was quiet, he didn't say anything. Adán grinned mischievously at him.
[Quest: Keep listening to the story.]
[Reward for success: system access]
[Punishment for failure: death.]
"What? Death?" Quincy thought in mild panic. He wasn't ready to die! "Take someone else!"
[Apology - punishment for failure: headache]
[Accept quest?]
[Yes/No]
Quincy hesitantly pressed [Yes].
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The cell guard dreamed of colorful meadows and green sand, yellow flowers and a dancing, pretty girl - with Walter's face.
Sweating, the cell guard woke up. It had truly been a shitty dream.
"Walter, how are the prisoners doing?" he inquired of his stout colleague.
"I'm doing well."
That was not his question, but instead of risking another dream, he got up and went to the cell himself.
Three steps later, he was there.
He looked into the cell and saw Adán doing his business.
He quickly looked away. Not that he hadn't seen it before - but there was a little decency in him even after all these years NOT to look when someone exposed themselves for necessities.
A window appeared in front of one of the prisoners.
[Quest!] was written on it. What was that? Why didn't he, the cell guard, have that?
That was really unfair, he thought.
Nevertheless, it wasn't his problem - but of course he had to notify the authorities accordingly. Which he did with the help of magic.
A few minutes later, a man accompanied by two women arrived. The man wore a ceremonial garment in red and gold, while the women were dressed entirely in green. It was a truly royal sight - but the man was not a king, he and the women were the authorities. One of them was more powerful than the other.
"Speak," commanded one of the women, and her eyes glowed with a turquoise shimmer.
She raised her hand and the cell guard began to speak:
"I already mentioned that I saw a kind of window in front of the prisoner, on which 'Quest' was written. It was a blue window and I have never seen anything like it. Therefore, I ask for your help because the prisoners must not escape!"
A glance that could be interpreted as dismissive, but wasn't, pierced the cell guard as the other woman replied:
"You don't have to worry. The prisoners won't escape."
Then the authorities raised their hands in the air, muttered something, and a strong glow escaped from their hands. The result was that a magical barrier formed, which then enclosed the entire cell and then lost its visibility - but the barrier was still there. This had to be confirmed by a rat that ran into the barrier and lost one of its teeth.
"That should be all for now. If there's anything else, you know what to do."
Those were the last words of the first woman who spoke, and then the authorities vanished as if they had never been there.
Only the cell guard and Walter remained behind. Apart from the prisoners in the cell.
The cell guard sat back down on his chair.
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Adán approached Quincy.
"So," he addressed Quincy. "It seems you're ready to hear the rest of the story, right?"
He looked at Quincy intently. Then he ran his hand through his long white hair and gestured towards a stone that was just high enough for someone to sit on. Quincy understood the gesture and sat down on the moss-covered "seat."
"Before you begin, can you tell me what that creature was, and how it could eat people if there were only eyes?" Quincy asked.
Adán shrugged in response. "You'll find out everything soon. So listen up."
And Adán continued his story.