Prisoners Tale

It was a day much like countless others, the prison being a fairly quiet place. The Duncan would sit there in his cell, nothing more than time in his hands. He couldn't muster up the willpower to try and exercise, the cell not being accustomed to holding people of his sheer size making it a relatively cramped space. The floorspace was at least as long as the cell was tall, but it was narrow and the bed and bathroom facilities limited this area even more. He could fully stand up, though just barely. He could recall feeling his hair brush against the ceiling when he first arrived in this place. Thinking back, he was amazed at how much time has passed in this place now. The passing days became weeks, weeks became months, and months became years. This place had not been kind to him, both his body and skillset decaying from lack of use. Luckily enough it gave him an overabundance of time to think and reflect on who he was and just why he found himself here. 

Deep in thought, the buzzer would sound that informed the inmates that it was meal time. The pair of guards would come to each cell on the block, giving food to the few prisoners found here. They would slide back a metal latch and open what looked much like a mail slot at the bottom of the door, just big enough to allow the food to be pushed through on a tray before sealing it back up and moving to the next inmate. Duncan was next up, though the idea of this meal wasn't very appealing to him. The food quality was fairly poor, and there were many days where he simply refused to eat the garbage that was served to him. Luckily enough it was always accompanied by a wooden cup filled with water, which was usually the highlight of meal time for the giant. Even those days that he did actually eat the food, the meals were designed with the needs of a more standard sized inmate in mind. Because of this, he often found himself ravaged by hunger pains. Today was one of those days, and the massive man felt that he would need to eat something regardless of how closely it resembles the taste of soggy cardboard. 

The guard would tap his baton on the metal door, though Duncan would barely react. He knew the drill. The guard would open his mouth to warn the shinobi inmate, "Prisoner, keep back. You know the routine." Duncan didn't budge, having and and all willfulness stripped from him early on. The food was slid through and the slot closed. The meal today smelled like like some sort of meat resting on piece of bread that tasted as though it was stale before the meats juices softened it up some. Duncan wanted to start with the water, but knew better. It would likely be needed to wash the taste from his pallet. He would lift the small tray, its size compared to Duncan almost comical to anyone that would have been able to observe it. He lifts the bread smothered in the mystery meat up to his mouth, taking a cautious bite. Where he expected to be disgusted, he was pleasantly surprised. It tasted a bit like what he expected wet dog food to taste like. The texture was mush, much like he thought it would be. It wasn't particularly tasty, but it was far from the worst meal he was served and as such, he would consider this a decent meal. He would wash it all down with the cup of water. The giant would lie down on his side, deciding to rest his eyes for now.


wc:627

It did not take very long for the peace of sleep to fall upon the giant of a man, or at least it should have been peace. Everything started off well enough, the world vibrant and beautiful. His heart was content, this place far better than the unpleasant reality he would have to wake up to. This feeling of happiness was fleeting, though, as Dreamscapes quickly turned into the hellish world of nightmares. Duncan could look down and see that he was wearing his armor and holding his mace. Glancing up he would see what looked like some sort of creature emerging from the inky black waters, tentacles much like that of an octopus making their way to land first and pulling behind it a horrid amalgamation of the predators of the oceans. Duncan could feel the sweat building on his brow, for this was not the first time he had this nightmare. The creature would flail about, crushing buildings and killing people that happened to be in its path. It was making its way towards the large knight, slowly, but surely. The tentacles of the creature sprung forth, their speed almost too fast to track with the naked eye. 

wc: 200

The creature moved with speed and determination, flailing its tentacles at the large knight. The first was struck with his mace, the second parried with his shield. This assault continued, the relentless beast seeking to fell the colossal man with overwhelming force and ferocity. Duncan had been safe in his plate armor, but for how long would he be able to keep up this iron defense? Finally, it would land a mighty blow, launching Duncan off his feet and hurdling through the air, smashing into a nearby wall with almost enough force to topple it. The brunt of the damage was taken by the armor, yet he was still rattled. The monstrosity couldn't see it, but the knight was scowling beneath his helm, intent on taking the battle to it. 

Duncan would lift himself up, debris falling to the ground. His determination knew no bounds. This beast would die by his hands, or he to its. One of the pair was not going to walk away from this encounter, and he had no intentions to show this leviathan any mercy. The arcs of lightning would flash, crackling as they traversed from his eyes down through his armor and reaching their destination at his now electrified mace. It hummed with power, and he knew that this next move would end it. 

wx: 220

The crackling lightning arced and crawled along the mace which was now held firmly at Duncan's side, his shield in place to help parry the tentacles and secure an opening for a strike. This leviathan moved to attack, the first salvo of thrusts deflected by the giant's shielded stance. The knight would press in, relying on his armor to prevent the worst of it. The beast would wrap one of its tentacles around Duncan, lifting him up into the air as it he were light as a feather. Duncan would use this opportunity to press the electrified end of the mace against the flesh of the creature, causing it to writhe in pain and loosen its grip. Gravity would do its part and pull the heavy knight down with as much force as it could muster, speeding Duncan towards his oceanic enemy. With one heavy swing, the mace would crush the creatures head, pulverizing it into a substance similar to jelly. 

The knight would rise to his feet, quickly wiping the bulk of this beast innards off of him and his weapon. He'd lift his helm, sweat beading across his brow, the man's face slick with sweat from this combat. He would take a deep breath and turn towards the gates, secure in the feeling that the battle was over. As soon as he took a step the creature let out a piercing sound, and slammed the full force of its body into one final attack. The knight would find himself flung through the air and about to go skull first into the walls. The impact would surely kill him, and so he would make his peace. Right before impact...

Duncan's eyes open, the sweat on his brow a reality and not just a figment of his dream. Why did he have these nightmares? What was that horrid creature of the deep?

wc:312