The moon hung low in the sky as Emmeline pushed open the doors of the tavern and stepped out onto the silent streets. Though tired, and certainly full of enough mead for a small family of Dragons, she was still more than able to remember the way back to the inn she was actually staying at, and not the place she had discovered by following the guidance of an empty stomach and the smell of fresh food.
As she sauntered happily down the road she glanced around at the buildings on either side, swaying slightly as she watched those within snuffing out candles and lanterns to make ready for bed. Indeed her own bed called loudly to her now, waiting in her room at the inn for her to flop into. And with the warm breeze blowing through the street leaving goosebumps on her exposed thighs and arms, she slowly but surely made her way towards it, heading towards the town square.
She hummed quietly to herself as she entered the wide open marketplace, now devoid of the earlier bustle of the day. Bathed in moonlight she tottered past the ornate fountain that dominated the centre of it, gazing up at the cold celestial that gleamed down at her. It was then that she noticed a faint sensation in the area, like the night air was growing heavy around her. Emmeline glanced around her surroundings, peering down the empty and shadowed streets that led out from the square.
Darkness clung tightly to them, and it seemed like the moonlight dimmed ever further before her eyes. Soon the cobbled roads were swallowed up by the encroaching night, and that oppressive air began to thicken around her. Something was truly wrong, and even full of drink she could see that. She hefted her sword from her shoulder, keeping it ready should anything lunge for her.
Night crept ever closer to her, as faint whispers began to sound in the blackness. They grew in intensity as she whirled on the spot, trying to see where the source may be. Shadow swept across the square, till all that remained was her and the fountain, isolated in their island of moonlight. A thrumming sound rose in the dark, seeming to filter through her very bones as it grew louder. Though it was faint at first, soon it was nearly unbearable. Deafening almost. And still she saw nothing around her.
Her heart pounded in her chest as the noise caused her head to throb. A shadow passed over her small pocket of moonlight, and she glanced up at the full moon in time to see a shape drift across it, before the noise intensified once again. Spikes of pain lanced in her brain, and she found herself falling to her knees clutching her head. Her vision swam, and her eyelids felt like lead. Though she tried to remain awake, to fight whatever force was affecting her, the blackout took her in the end and she tumbled forward to the cobbles below, finding darkness waiting for her there.
Emmeline awoke from her dreamless sleep to find herself in near complete darkness. Her body felt stiff and cold, and when she tried to move she found almost completely herself unable to, as if her limbs were made of stone. At first she could barely even lift her head or move her shoulders. Panic rose in her chest as she tried in vain to shift her body, to thrash her arms and legs about, even to wiggle a toe, all to no avail. Even were she tied or chained she could have managed that, yet here she was completely immobilised no matter how she strained against her unknown bonds. Her helmet was missing and her hair tumbled into her face as she desperately cried out for help, shouting into the dark.
"Hey! I need some help! Anybody there?! I can't... I can't move! Somebody?? Anyone? Hello????"
Even now she tried to move and free herself, but still she couldn't figure out how she was being held so tightly and completely. With one final heave of exertion she stopped trying to rip herself free and instead tried to assess her situation. Heart still hammering in her chest, she found her eyes now beginning to adjust to the darkness she was in.
While she could still barely raise her head she was slowly regaining control, and the details of her surroundings began to take form. As her eyes adjusted she could see the floor below her, telling her she was at a slight angle, and given how far from it she seemed it became clear to her that she was being suspended aloft from the ground itself.
Beyond that details were almost impossible to discern, though she was able to see that the floor had a strange design to it. It didn't look like stone but she couldn't tell enough for now. Emmeline did her best to look around, though for now there was little she could make out and even when she strained her ears, she couldn't hear anything. It was almost like she was suspended in a void.
She turned her attention quickly to herself, and when she leant her head down her chin brushed against the top of her chestplate, so she was still armoured at least. Looking to herself she could see her shoulders, and discovered her arms were being held spread upwards, elbows bent past her head and out of sight into the darkness.
Craning her neck to look down she could see her legs were held in a similar way, knees bent into the dark behind her. When she leant her head back it connected with something, presumably whatever wall she was bound to. Its surface was hard and yet oddly flexible, if only a little, and as she pressed against it the back of her head was left feeling disconcertingly damp and slimey.
As she opened her mouth once again to all out she was cut off by a noise behind her. It sounded like something cracking open and suddenly the room changed. Surrounding her the walls of the room began to pulse, as thick strands of purple light ignited throughout them. They curl in seemingly random patterns, twisted and tapering out. Revealed now, the walls themselves were made of a black material with ridges and grooves across their surfaces. In many places the walls were slick with a black substance, dripping and pooling throughout the chamber.
With this newfound light Emmeline glanced around herself, and found that she was suspended high off the floor in a circular room, her arms and legs sunken into a pillar formed of the same black material as the walls, explaining why she couldn't move. Above her there were several small openings and recesses in the roof, including one directly above her. And on the floor were several misshapen circles arranged beneath the others, all surrounding a small podium in the centre.
Even though the light brought her some relief, the fact it had been preceded by an unknown noise worried her still. Moreover an oppressive feeling once more pervaded the air, and she had no doubt that something had just entered the room. The thrumming that had stunned her in the village returned, and though far less intense it was slowly getting louder. Even though she was convinced of a presence in the room, the lack of footsteps disturbed her and she tried once again to look around past her arms and saw the lights on one wall dimming slowly, before her eyes widened in shock and horror at the cause.
Slowly a creature drifted into her field of view. The more she saw of it the more her eyes widened- it was like nothing she had ever seen before. Entering her sight was an unnervingly thin creature, spindly hands hanging loosely at its sides. Its frame was tall, easily taller than she was, and a flowing black robe covered most of its body. Where its onyx skin was visible she could see wisps of some dark essence drifting off of it. Its head resembled a squid or some kind of octopus, with a long face and an elongated, rounded skull covered in ridges.
It had no visible nose, and bottomless black eyes gazed at her from beneath plated eyebrows. She couldn't see a mouth either, for it was likely obscured by the six long tentacles that hung from its face, twitching and flexing subtly. Stunned by its ghastly visage and finding her words failing her, Emmeline could do little but look it up and down. She noticed that not only was it tall, it hovered a foot or so off the ground, clawed feet dangling to the floor.
Finding her voice she tried to stammer out a sentence: "I-I- I don't know what you want with me, but you'd better let me go right no-"
She was cut off as the creature lazily raised a hand and gestured with a clawed finger in her direction, sending a flare of pain through her head. It drifted closer to her, arm still raised and Emmeline's head was forced backwards by the will of the beast in front of her.
"Silence."
