The sound of a heavy wooden door slamming shut jolts you awake. From the other side of the door, you hear a growling and muffled voice;

“Enjoy your last night in Spadonia, you filthy little maggot!” the voice chuckled to itself, “Tomorrow, Onefang, will be having you for breakfast… She’s going to like you… You’ve actually got some meat on your bones.”

 

And with those words, a loud clank echoed from the iron handle of the door, suggesting it had been locked. You were now trapped in a dark and unfamiliar place.

You feel the back of your head and find a swollen lump, tender to the touch. Clearly, something or someone had struck you hard, but the details of how it happened and how you ended up in this predicament elude your memory.

“Spadonia?” you ask yourself, puzzled. “Where am I? Wait… Who am I?”

In the dim light, you survey the small room, but there isn't much to see. Your head is reeling. The floor, ceiling, and walls are all made of rough stone blocks—some small, some large. These stones appear to have been quarried from a cursed mountain, destined to be laid in place with mortar and bone in this sorrowful and abandoned cell. It's clear that unfortunate souls, like yourself, were once compelled to construct this prison against their will.

The room is windowless. The only light comes a long shaft in the ceiling. The damp walls and the height of the shaft, suggest that you are deep underground. Across from the wooden door, where the voice came from, another doorway is barred with heavy iron. Behind the bars, in the darkness, two glowing eyes fixate on you. Their gaze is accompanied by the sound of deep rhythmic breathing that pierces the silence.

In a corner of the room rests a strange wooden bucket, its surface marked by scratches and patches of dried mud. Inside the bucket, clear water ripples gently. You gaze into the water, amd your reflection stares back at you. Suddenly, on the side of bucket, a face appears in wooden knots and the bucket begins to speak. It asks with curiosity, “Who are you?”

You answer, I am a…