"Klaus!" Valeria's shout echoed in the gloom, a strangled call of desperation and fear.
She had barely taken a handful of steps toward the dungeon entrance when Klaus vanished into the darkness beyond.
"An adventurer has entered the fortress," a voice, cold as the grave, reverberated through the air. "The rest of you have a thousand breaths of time to decide your fate. Should you fail to choose, the fortress will choose for you."
No words were spoken, no decision announced, but the denizens of the cemetery felt a chill wind of foreboding. They intuited that the fortress' choice would be far more merciless than the two previously presented alternatives.
Valeria stood frozen, her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides. Her face was a mask of fury, and she stared at the dungeon entrance, her lips pressed into a thin, bloodless line.
The question that spun in her mind was simple yet monumental: 'What do I do?'
