I immediately pointed an arrow at the door in front of the staircase, but nothing happened afterward. I felt that my heart would come out of my mouth, but soon I relaxed a bit… but soon I heard that noise again.
'Fuck… what the hell is going on?'
Fortunately, the sound wasn't that high, so it didn't reach the dungeon's exit. Leaving that place unprotected didn't seem like the best choice, but I had to check the origin of the sound. Maybe they forgot a dark elf there. I didn't check the whole place, after all.
Knowing that I came to that world almost ready to become a barbecue, I considered my chances of something happening as soon as I looked away from the door… they were pretty high. Still, I was probably going to die out of anxiety if I didn't solve that mystery already.
As I moved deeper into the dungeon, the noise grew louder, barely discernible at first. I strained to catch it, pausing to listen more intently. The sound was weak, almost like a distant whisper or a faint rustling. It was difficult to pinpoint, but as I continued my search, it gradually grew louder and more distinct.
I checked each cage thoroughly, peering into the shadows and inspecting every corner. The noise seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once, making it hard to track. I ran my hands over the cold, rough walls, hoping to find a hidden door or a secret compartment, but there was nothing. Just the same broken bars and filthy floors.
The further I went, the clearer the noise became. It was a sort of scraping accompanied by an occasional soft thud. But still, there was no sign of anyone hiding among the ruins of the cages. My mind raced with possibilities. Could it be a prisoner who had somehow hadn't managed to escape and was now trying to remain hidden? Or perhaps a guard who had fallen victim in the attack?
Eventually, I reached the end of the dungeon. There, amidst the wreckage, I found a pile of destroyed furniture, broken tables, splintered chairs, and old, decaying boxes. The sight was a chaotic mess, as if someone had tried to demolish the area in a frenzy.
As I approached the heap, the noise became unmistakably clear. It was coming from somewhere within the debris. My heart pounded in my chest as I edged closer, my torch casting eerie shadows on the shattered remnants. I could hear the scraping more distinctly now, along with occasional muffled sounds that sent chills down my spine. Whatever was making that noise was just beyond those ruined objects, waiting to be discovered.
I moved the pieces away a bit, and then the sound stopped… it looked like whatever was there found me as well, or someone had approached after hearing the noise. I readied my sword in case it was one of those bigass rats, but it wasn't that. It was a box that was old but intact, hidden behind the rubble… it was locked too, so it was probably another prisoner; the only problem was the fact that it was the size of my forearm…
'I don't like this. Better pretend that I didn't find anything.'
As if the box had heard my voice, it began to shake and tremble… that was weird. I just thought of leaving whatever the hell that was behind, a monster that could read minds? In the end, I sighed after grabbing my lockpicking set from my backpack and then tried to open the box. Maybe it was because of my dexterity, but that had been pretty easy.
(The Lockpicking Skill Tree leveled up. You received 10 Experience points.)
Before I could open the box, the box opened itself. I swung down my sword to cut down whoever was inside… I never heard of a mimic that had to be unlocked to be killed, but… Regardless, something else came from inside the box… it was a fairy that was chained to some sort of crystal.
I finally saw her, a tiny fairy, no larger than the size of my hand, sitting inside the small battered box. She wore a delicate green dress that seemed to shimmer even in the dim light of the dungeon. Despite the grime and the chains that bound her, she radiated an otherworldly glow, her wings fluttering with an iridescent sheen.
Her long, blond, silken hair cascaded down her back, and her eyes sparkled with a mischievous light, belying the harshness of her confinement. Even though she had clearly been chained inside the box for who knows how long, there was an annoyingly energetic air about her. She buzzed with a restless vitality, her movements quick and darting like a hummingbird.
The chains that bound her were crude and thin but pretty sturdy. They were clearly designed to suppress her magical nature since they were connected to a crystal. But they seemed almost an afterthought in the face of her unyielding spirit. She tugged at them with stubborn determination, her tiny hands pulling and yanking despite the futility. Her expression was a mix of frustration and defiance as if daring the world to keep her contained any longer.
When she noticed me, her eyes narrowed, and she paused for a moment, studying me with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. Her wings fluttered rapidly, sending a cascade of shimmering dust into the air. Despite her predicament, she exuded a sense of defiant energy, ready to spring into action at any moment.
"You look suspicious. What is with your aura?"
I closed the box again. Yep, I didn't see anything… what did I hear about fairies again? What I heard was about their goddess… Lysandra, the whimsical goddess of Fairies, was shown as a radiant figure with butterfly wings and a playful smile. Her domain encompasses meadows, sunlight, and the playful trickery that fairies are known for. Lysandra brought the Fairies into being, granting them the ability to fly and use magic to delight and confuse.
'Yep, my life doesn't need any whimsical magic or confusion. It's already confusing enough.'
Unfortunately, it looked like I already dug my grave when I opened the box since she kept trying to open it again. Trying to overpower me with her size was useless, and I decided to sit on the box to prevent the noises.
"Hey, stop it! Let me go! When did humans become as bad as the dark elves?"
Eventually, I grew tired of the noise. I opened the box… the dark elves probably had a reason to have left her behind, but Diran would have known that leaving her behind would be a problem for me, so perhaps he didn't know.
"If you stop making noise, I will let you go. If you don't, I will have to bury this box somewhere."
"Seriously, what happened to you humans? You were supposed to worship us and ask us for treasure."
I already knew too many bad stories involving fairies, and it is better not to trust anyone who offers you riches for no good reason.