Finding Monsters

"You do realize that monsters don't exist, right?"

"Yes, yes. Of course that must be true, but what if they did?" I countered. "My hypothesis would hold true, don't you think?"

"I mean, it could possibly hold true, but even then, the thought that they would be merely invisible to most seems preposterous," Winston replied.

"Well, just think about it for a second. Many of the monsters of old seem to be reptilian of some nature, or amphibian. I'm not proclaiming that every single fairy tale creature-- like a pixie or a leprechaun exists. But surely the idea that some squids or a few species of geckos can camouflage themselves to look perfectly like the environment due to evolution breaking off and allowing these beings to gain a mighty survival trait far beyond what would be considered normal is a plausible notion," I rambled. "Maybe the reason why no one has seen a dragon in this day and age is because they have a survival mechanism that allows them to perfectly hide their body by becoming indistinguishable from the surrounding environment."

Winston sighed and looked at the papers on his desk. "You're asking for the university's money to try and find monsters, Nolan. I'm sorry but I can't sign off on that."

"Yes, I understand," I stated dimly. I began to grab my folders and notebooks that were scattered the desk.
"Nolan, don't run off and try to find something that doesn't exist, okay?"

I finished packing up and replied quietly, but with a smile stretching across my face. "I'm broke as it is Winston, how could I?" I let out a small chuckle, and moved towards the door.

"Good bye Nolan, don't get into trouble," Winston said to me as I shut the door.

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I laid down on my bed in my small apartment overlooking a crowded, blackened street. The smoke was really changing the color of the city.

My notes and research scattered the room. Some of it smudged black with my fingerprints. Different creatures all over history were crammed into single notebooks, a product of me trying to figure out the science stopping the discovery of them. They ranged from the more realistic like the giant squid, only found washed up on coasts to the infamous Kraken, debated about for the time that sailors traveled the seas. There were land dwelling creatures too; the Basilisk comes to mind and if you get bigger in scale, the dragon.

All of these creatures share similarities by being in the same family tree as smaller animals like the octopus or gecko, and several species within these categories. The Mediterranean Octopus, for instance and Mossy Leaf-tailed Gecko. Many different insects have even adopted traits of plants to become impossible to find unless your eyes are particularly good.

I have spent a year on the subject and found no reason to stop. My studies have been stuck to small insects like the moth, but I want to travel and study the larger creatures known for their camouflage. Better yet, find a real life myth.

Now to be clear, I don't subscribe to the idea that there are beings found amongst this world that are incorporeal in nature.Tales of ghosts, beings that haunt the countryside, or beings inherently evil make no sense in science. To think that there are beings that are good, evil, or both because it depends on what mood they're in just seems absurd. Most creatures with the fitting name of "monster" tagged on them are obviously concoctions of cultures throwing things together. No better culture did this best other than Greek, with pages of different creatures who belong to specific gods. To think that all of them exist would be insane.

I believe any creature with human traits is outright false. On an evolutionary scale, they make absolutely no sense. Even the idea that such a creature as a dragon having human-like intelligence is absurd. Most myths would not have a basis in reality. Even the size of dragons would very much be impossible. If it were true, then the countryside would have an epidemic, unless they had already been brought to extinction. Either way, my notes and research have thrown away any thoughts of monsters that are half something and half other something, anything humanoid that isn't mammal, those with human-like intelligence, those too big to exist without a reliable massive food source, and anything with a spiritual background.

I sat up and got off my bed to move towards the desk. I pulled out the chair and sat down, making myself comfortable. To be sure I could still somehow find a creature that would be presumed by the general populous a "monster", I would have to find something close.

Any sea creature would be impossible since I can't breath underwater or survive that level of depth for long enough to discover one. Any creature that would live in warm climates would also be difficult since this is London, and it barely gets past 20 degrees on a good day. I'm sure I would have to find something that seems like a realistic creature that would be found near London. I went through my notes to figure out which animal suited this best.

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A week had past before I found anything. There was nothing that could come close as realistic. Everything was connected to magic or was just magic. Almost all of the creatures or "monsters" that are supposedly located nearby London were humanoid in nature and were incorporeal or magical. Nothing fit.

I had also found specific locations where weird sightings of strange things had been happening. All over the English countryside some strange things were happening, but most could easily come down to wolves.

There was a castle though, and everyone who lived near the abandoned piece of cobble had said it was haunted. People dying or disappearing near the place. Now of course I could attribute it to the wolves again, but something struck me about it and with a few changes on my part, a certain creature could fit the hole very easily.

A wyrm, otherwise known as a european dragon, to be precise. Written down in myths as being a creature half and half, magical blood, so yes, it absolutely doesn't fit into what I would consider real. The catch is, it is still written down as a dragon, and people have very different visuals of Wyrms. Sometimes just normal dragons, but a bit smaller. An elephant's size at best. Their blood being magic was an addon given to all dragons, which can be easily forgotten. I'm getting very hopeful that it could work out. This would be my cheapest chance at finding what I've been working on for a year. I immediately started to write my letter to the university that I would be out.

Dear Dr. Winston Densmore,

         I write to you in this letter as to not waste more time on this matter.

I have taken serious consideration of your words during our rather embarrassing talk last week as to my research on the matter of impossible creatures. I have made up my mind that the research was the endeavor of my childish dreams about the possibility of lorish monsters living amongst us.

I have decided to take approximately 2 months to clear my head. I have family living in the countryside. I assure there will be no need to contact me during that time and I will appear for work promptly when I return.

I am sending all my notes and research on this matter to you, and if you do think it would make sense to burn this insanity in the furnace, then it will be so. You can read through it as it is and make sense of where I had come from. I do assure you I am not mad but rather just hopeful that we are missing out on many different species of animals roaming our world.

Sincerely,
         Dr. Nolan Fisher

I sealed the letter and packed all my things. I made copies of my notes very quickly and paid some children that were around the neighborhood to help me. They seemed intrigued in my work and kept asking things about the creatures I wrote about. It filled me with glee to find such young ones to be interested in the study of science. I handed them some coins for their work after making sure it was all legible. I took out my savings from the bank to hire a carriage to this abandoned castle. I bought some books that detailed castles' history (only found within estate encyclopedias) which was somewhat vague.

Most actual castles that had been abandoned were all bought up and either being demolished to make room for real estates, or renovated and to be used as tourist attractions. This castle however didn't even have a name, which is probably why no one bought it. Many think that the deed was lost, and none of the villagers remember the original owners. Most stay away from the place because of the mysterious deaths and disappearances. I'll have to take a look at one of the bodies to figure out if it's just wolves or, I might be onto something.

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The carriage stopped and I got out. The main road was still muddy and my boots weren't nearly up to the task. The Carriage man wasn't willing to go further because of the mud and was scared his carriage would get stuck. I let him drop me off if he helped with my luggage to the village. He agreed. I made my way to the farm I paid earlier for stay in his house. He was happy to take the money. When I got there he realized who I was and let me in. I set down all my things in the guest room, paid the carriage man, and started to unpack. I was lucky the rain had stopped. Because the entire surrounding area would have become muddy, and made my life very hard.

The Castle itself was about 3 miles away as the crow flies. Tomorrow I would make myself comfortable and check out the region, and do a quick inspection of the castle. Although the people are frightened because they think a ghost haunts the place, and murders trespassers, I have a bigger reason to be cautious. On the small chance I'm right there's an invisible Wyrm walking around the place like it owns it, and it might be very hungry. I bought a hunting rifle just in case, I am fortunately right. I would rather not kill anything but if push comes to shove, it would be a win win situation.

"You comfy?" the Farmer asked.

"Yes, very much. Thank you for letting me stay in your home for this time," I told him.

"You are very welcome. The coin you're giving me is a good incentive as well. You might want to settle in for the night soon, since we're getting up when the roosters start screamin."

"Thanks for the warning. Have a good night."

I quickly put all my things on the dresser, which would have to double as a desk for now. The night stand held a small lit candle which I put out before sliding into bed. It was actually more comfy than I would imagine from a farmer in the countryside. He must have put some effort into keeping me all happy since I'm from the city. The covers weren't very scratchy like back home, so I practically passed out.

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I had made acquaintance with the neighbors and asked them about the castle as well as the surrounding area, like the game or certain strange things. News travels fast and they all knew I was here and they most likely knew why. I was blueprinting the castle for its architecture, or at least what was left of it. I felt like it was a good enough ruse to get people to tell me about the castle and why I shouldn't go there. They all told me game was fine, the only strange thing was the castle, blah blah blah. You shouldn't go there, it's haunted, you'll die, the ghost will kill you, and all that. Really made me excited to walk to a castle that might kill me.

"Castle of a lord maybe? It doesn't have any defenses besides some walls. Building itself seems like it can house a family, a good amount of guests, and servants."

I talk to myself to remember what I say. I'm not a very good writer in the field. My thoughts fly by me quickly but I remember what I say out loud much better. I walked in through the front "gate" which was just a broken archway. The courtyard was full of broken bits of wall and building alike. It was still massive, and it was 60% of the land. The wall itself was pretty beefy. Next to the gate was some rotting stables, empty of hay. The house itself had a slanted roof, and an actual door. It didn't seem rotted, while being made of wood. The stone building itself seemed to be the cleanest part of the place. It did just rain though so that would be expected.

I moved towards the door and found that I was very wrong. The thing wasn't rotted on the outside weirdly enough, but completely destroyed on the inside. It was rotted almost completely. Things still cluttered the hallways, although most of it still looked rather rotted, dead, or full of webs. I closed the door with caution, since it could break at the slightest disturbance, and began my walk around the walls. In all fairness I was blueprinting the architecture but more so I could figure out the castle's ins and outs. I made a rough sketch of the outer walls and measured them for later.

I walked back to the farmer's house in time for supper and ate my fill. I thanked him again for letting me stay and walked up the stairs and took a right into the guest room. I started the work on a more comprehensive version of my rough outlines and went went over some more notes. It was then I realized my absolute mistake. I had done some notes on Wyrm's as well as where I was headed when I had them copied. Those were sent to the University dean. I made a mistake and if he actually reads through them, he'll know where I went. I allowed myself a few minutes of stress and calmed down. I picked up the Wyrm notes and flipped it open.

Wyrm's Traits
A european dragon is usually considered to be an evil entity.
A european dragon within lore collects treasure and holds it within their cave or castle.
They can breath fire.
Their wings are usually batlike but in many cases their wings are interchanged to be any kind of flying animals wings.
In many cases they have Ivory horns on their head and back.          
Their blood, believed to be magical keeps them alive for a long time.

What can be considered TRUE about the Wyrm
Can use already built structures as housing like many scavenger animals.
Could potentially fly but statistically would have to have a very different body structure to what is normally believed. May look more like a Wyvern.
They can't breath fire.
Very likely to have Ivory horns if real. Many animals have this like Elephants and Rhinos.
Can easily live a long time, but not nearly as long as what would be possible.
Could possibly use invisibility-like camouflage to keep itself hidden from the world.
Could be going extinct.

There aren't much about these things but folklore and fictional stories. If I was to be honest to myself I'm really just being hopeful. If anything it really is just wolves. No one died recently either so I'm on my own to figure out if it really exists. Within the past year, 3 people have disappeared from the area near the castle. From that evidence I can say safely that anyone found was probably killed by wild animals. The Wyrm could have a avian hunting mentality, where it takes its prey to the nest to eat it. The other problem is that it doesn't seem to actively hunt humans. Those people were probably eaten out of starvation. Their disappearances were during the winter when food is scarce.

That problem however is reptilians are commonly cold-blooded, and need warm weather to function properly. With this predicament, I could theorize that the myth of fire breathing could come from a chemical it makes to warm it up during winter. It could have similar tendencies to a bear. During winter it would slow its metabolism but it couldn't do it enough to keep it sated for that entire time. This is all speculation but I am looking for a "mythological" creature. I made sure to write everything down. I had already pondered over this for hours before realizing that the wake up tomorrow would destroy me. I jumped into bed and made sure to get more comfortable. My eyes drooped and I passed into a deep sleep.

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I spent two weeks taking notes and perfectly my blueprint on the castle. I hadn't checked out the inside yet since if a Wyrm really did roam those halls, well first thing is that it would only be as big as maybe a cow, if a little longer in its length, and I might as well ask someone to shoot me instead. The issue is that I had been delaying going in. I had spent a day just getting the dimensions of the stable right. I did, however make a discovery. The cobble in the courtyard is very much scattered as if a tower had collapsed. The wall seems to suggest it was created with a tower in mind as well. I figured the correct location and after a bit of digging I did hit some stone. I thought of maybe a potential basement to this castle, with an entrance in the tower. If I'm lucky enough I'll find something in the castle itself that points to this.

I made my way over and took the path I found to be the best. These weeks were very cloudy with a bit of rain, but I was able to get a better pair of boots from the farmer. They fit well enough and really kept out water and mud. My trek got much less disgusting after that. I passed through the archway once again and made my way over to the tower foundation. I inspected it for a little bit before finally taking a deep breath and moving towards the door. I opened it and inspected what I could see. It was 3 different paths leading away from the door, into different parts of the castle. I had noted this very roughly in my blueprint before.

There were some broken doors littered around each corridor. I could see some tables housing candlesticks and bowls. All of them covered in dust. I thought in my mind quickly of what a real life Wyrm would look like walking down the hall, and it terrified me. It could probably navigate these halls much better than I, and I would be walking lunch to the thing. If anything the Wyrm's probably seen me come here everyday. It knows that I'm here. I took a quick breath and told myself it was going to be ok. I have a gun it will be... I had forgotten the gun. Now another issue had risen. I had nothing to defend myself with. I stood there for another 5 minutes or so, making sure nothing in the castle was moving. I took the biggest gulp of free air I could, and stepped in.

Immediately I let the air out and sighed with relief. I was scared of just being killed almost instantly, like the place was cursed or something. I slowly closed the door behind me with a nervous chuckle. The front hallway was calling my name so I moved down to it's end. The Castle was much smaller inside than I had realized. Calling it a castle was too much of a compliment. It was more like a small mansion with castle-like features. Down the straight hallway led to a circle room with a staircase leading up. I wrote this in my notes. Moving a little back I opened a doorway to my left, which just led to a large empty kitchen. One of the doorways led to the right hallway while the other in the room led to a food pantry.

I went back to the opening and walked down the left hallway, which led to a door and another corridor leading down to a broken plank of wood on the ground. The room behind this door led to the main chamber, where a large table was set, along with some paintings and small tables cluttered with old artifacts from days long ago. It was very strange the place was never looted with this stuff just lying about. That's when a chill went down my spine. It might have never been looted because those who tried were killed and eaten.

I ran out of the castle and into the courtyard and let my eyes dart around. Nothing seemed to be there. I stood up straight and gained some composure. That was enough for today. I began to walk home certain that the Wyrm was just a few meters behind me and ready to strike. I made it to the farm with little issue, however. The farmer was out tending to the animals he owned as I went inside and got as clean as I could. I sat down at my desk and saw a small dish placed on my desk. The farmer was nice enough to leave me some food for me when I had gotten home. I ate most of it and brought my dishes back down. He was inside already, counting eggs.

"Thank you for the meal sir."

"No problem. Them boots work good?"

"Yes they're great. Thanks for letting me borrow them."

"Aw it's nothin. Couldn't help but see your progress on that castle map you been doin. Looks good. Doesn't look like you been inside yet though."

"Did today. The place is still full of the last owners stuff. Any reason why it hasn't been taken by anyone?"

"Place's haunted. Ghost of t' last lord doesn't want his place disturbed. Best be careful. If you put one thing out of place he follows you to where you sleep. I don't want no spirit knowin where I live."

"I'll make sure not to take anything. Good night Randall. Again thanks for the food."

He nodded towards me and went back to counting the eggs. I obviously messed him up, as he started over again. I walked myself back into the guest room and moved aside some of my notes. The farmer obviously only looked at the massive sheet of paper rolled over most of the desk for the castle blueprint. In a way I was lucky. If he had seen the different notes on creatures that may or may not exist, he would have realized I was lying to him. The absolute mystery of the castle itself was still intriguing me. Usually it wouldn't be this hard to find out who owned a castle such as this. The place was obviously a Lords place. Probably the man who was keeping the townsfolk safe around here. How nothing of his was taken is surprising. I would set my sights on learning it's history in the morning.

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It took about 2 hours to walk into town, and finding any actual documentation was...difficult. Asking around get me nowhere except the local legend of, "oh it's haunted and no one knows who owned it," which was frankly getting old. The town center had no library, and really the whole place consisted of a few houses bunched up just a little closer than normal. There was a small tavern where I could only hear the same thing about the castle over and over again. At last someone mentioned some documents might be held in the town hall, which felt like music to my ears, and I ran along to investigate. The problem was, there wasn't a goddamn town hall.

I looked for maybe hours. I asked around, and no one seemed to have a straight up answer. As it turned out, the Town Hall was an empty barn. I had to ask permission to go on the property, if I didn't want to get shot, and even then, it felt like there were eyes drilled on the building by 20 people at all times. The inside was mostly empty. The farmer who owned it, really didn't use it all that much since he built a better, bigger barn for his storage needs. This one was pretty empty except for some places to sit and a big desk for papers. I began to sift through them. Most of the paperwork was new, mostly just proof of purchase, different deeds, and all that stuff. Something in the papers did peak my interest though.

Mostly stained from time, but it seemed to be something written from the late 1700's. It was a list of different paperwork that was written down to be burned. All of the paper too old for any of it to have any real use. It had copies drawn up, and this paper listed what the names of each of the copied documents were. While vague in naming, I was able to pin down some documents in the desk that had reference to the castle. Some talking about the place was off limits, others mentioning a crumbling tower (guessed it), and something very vague. A report detailing the execution of Lord Dunstan the 4th for unrighteous conduct. It didn't mention when. Well not a year. It does state that the 'chopping' took place on a wednesday. Only thing that seems to point to anything like a lord living around these parts.

Now I can easily understand why none of the villagers now could read this old english malarkey, but even then folk tales of the ghost wandering the old castle, murdering those who would steal his possessions had to have a name attached onto them. At any rate I still got all that I could really find that would lead me in the right direction. I stepped out of the barn, thanked the farmer and head back home. It took most of the day to find this information and the trek back was exhausting. I walked inside the farmer's house, ate my fill at dinner, and passed out on the sheet covers. I had finally got a better understanding of the castle, even if it wasn't much. I knew the owners name.

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For the next few days I played out in my head the ways I would be eaten by a real life dragon while walking through the corridors, drawing rough sketches of the castle. I had learned I was somewhat right about there being a basement. The only problem was it had caved in a long time ago. The place was blocked off. A servants quarters were next to this blocked off entrance. The stairs led to a second floor which housed about 4 bedrooms in total. One seemed to be a guest bedroom, two normal bedrooms, and a master bedroom. This bedroom was especially magnificent, with paintings that were hundreds of years old just hanging, untouched for centuries. They held up well since little light or contact was given to it over the years.

There was a library next to the stairway as well. The room itself a pretty big, with each wall housing massive shelves filled with books. There were some strewn across the large table in the middle or on the ground since they couldn't all fit on just the shelves. Most of the books were of a historical nature, explaining different findings from all over. From the more recent studies, the finding of North America, the castle seemed to be in operation for much longer than expected. Maybe into the late 1700's. The nature of how this castle disappeared from the annals of history still irked me. There seemed to be no trace of who owned this castle, even in the library. All I had was a Lord named Dunstan getting his head cut off.

The stairs went up one more floor into what looked like attic space. It was mostly old items and extra furniture up there. I had essentially searched the whole castle and found nothing that would indicate an animal presence. Hell there weren't even mice or rats. The place was empty. Spiders were already dead. Nothing lived in here. There was a small place in the kitchen that I had started to set things up. I gathered books that might mention the castle, anything that talked about a Lord Dunstan, or something that could mention anything about the place. I was getting curious. I grabbed one of the paintings from the living room and set it down on the kitchen counter. A picture of what looked to be the lord, his wife, and his child. If I remember the "ghost" won't kill me as long as I don't take anything.

I scoured through the books, different scrolls, anything with a picture or a sketch. I tried finding anything similar to the man, woman, or boy on the picture. It felt like I had gone through and skimmed every single book the library before getting my hands on the goldmine I was looking for. It took me two 2 week to find the family tree. The damn book was thrown away behind one of the shelves. I wouldn't have even seen it if the shimmering cover didn't catch my eye. The book detailed a family tree of Lords who lived within the manor. It had gone all the way back to the early thousands. Definitely before 1100 AD. The last member of the family was the boy in the picture, named Dunstan the fifth.

He wasn't the last family member born. A reason for the third bedroom was because A daughter was born as well but died within the week. She wasn't even given a name. The mother went to die of "disease" in 1720. Dunstan the fourth had a death in 1727, at the age of 82. He lived a long time. Dunstan the fifth's death wasn't recorded and I can guess what happened there. It's still not clear why he was executed though. He got his head carefully taken off his body for unrighteous conduct, which could mean anything. He could have done something horrible against a human, killed a man, broken a law, and a plethora of other things. This whole thing had me intrigued. It felt like I was delving into a time long forgotten by man, and I'm discovering again.

I closed up all the books and brought them back up to the library, and placed them all on the middle table. I closed the doors and walked out. Light was quickly dimming. For every day that I was living with the farmer, the days had grown longer. Winter had gone and I came when spring was in full gear. Things were getting warmer. It hadn't rained in a long time though, and that's what everyone's farms really needed. I got back to the farm just before the sun descended and brought a large darkness over the farmer's fields. The farmer cooked up a meal, and I inhaled it.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"Of course. You always make good meals," I replied.

"Thanks for the compliment. Onto another thing, we need to talk about your living situation."

"Hmm?"

"I've been countin the days and you really only got about a week left with me. You planning on leaving, right?"

"Yeah I'm leaving soon. Don't worry."
"Oh it's not a problem for you to stay a bit longer, but it had seemed you finished your big map a bit ago. Why you still here?"

"Uh. Ok. Sooooo... I think there is a basement, so I've been trying to get in there to find out its dimensions."

"Alright then. Hard to tell me that?"
"Oh no of course not, just a weird question."

"I understand. Bet most wouldn't be interested in a man pokin around in a haunted castle, and he hasn't died yet."

"Oh. I guess the ghost likes me. And about that; Have you heard about a man called Lord Dunstan the fifth?"

"Oh you found his name have you? We all thought was Lord Demon," He laughed.

"So you did know something of it? Is there a story behind it, because all I can get out of people are 'Oh it's haunted'."

"Well it's mostly the story of a child born into the lord's family, who grew to be a madman. When his mother died, he snapped and had to be locked in the attic. When his father eventually died, he planned revenge on the family for locking him up all those years, and went to the cemetery. He dug up their graves and tried to make a bonfire out of their bones, and kill himself inside of it. They caught him of course, with all the noise. They executed him for trying to destroy the bones of the dead, and that was it. They say though he haunts the castle to this day, and murders those who would try and take his father's belongings."

"Quite a story. Sounds interesting."

"Most of it's real too, even if you don't believe in the story"

"Well thanks for telling me. It could help a lot. I'm thinking of pinning down the castle's history since no one knows a thing about the place."

I finished gulping down my meal and thanked the farmer. I walked up and got to the guest room. The paperwork I had put about the place needed to be cleaned up, and I got to work. Everything got put back into boxes and packed up. The farmer was right that my time here was running out. I was closing in on my paid time here, so I had a plan. I grabbed a few things and shoved them into some bags for the morning. I got into the bed and began dreaming of the amazing things I could discover whilst living at the castle.

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Over the course of the week I brought my stuff to the kitchen in the castle and got things unpacked. I had asked for some extra food, some blankets, wood and other things like this. The days were sunny and the trek was easy even with an extra 20 pounds. I got myself fully set up on the last day and finally thanked the farmer. If I was ever nearby I could always stop by for a friendly hello, he told me. It was a nice gesture and I told him that I would. It was a firm handshake and I had finally moved out of the farmer's house. I was on my own. I was going to be living with an insane ghost.

Well of course ghosts aren't real so that wasn't a big problem. I still wanted to go through all the books in the library and then I would be off. Maybe take a few with me. The place itself was creepy at first but cleaning it all up really gave the place (the kitchen at least) a homely feel. I broke open the windows, which sadly crumbled from the pressure and got some light coming in. I grabbed some sheets from the servants quarters and made some curtains out of them for the windows. I set out to clean the first floor, where I would be staying for most of my time. It was a chore, but by the end of the week I had gotten most of the dust out, and things began to look just beautiful.

I wasn't really thinking about the Wyrm anymore. It was still a fear in the back of my head, but as I could see from the place, there was no sign of anything living here. As I finished cleaning the bottom floor the light dimmed outside and it began to lightly rain. I was relieved a bit for the farmer. It was too sunny for a bit too long for the crops. I started to light up the torches in the hallways and get a sense of what the place looked like when lit up with fire. As it turned out, a bit spooky. The place was still easy to get around though. I wanted to start cleaning the second floor soon and maybe make the place more livable, but I had a better idea. The rocks blocking the way into the basement were a bit small and I could lift most of them. I spent the day and a ways into the night clearing the path for myself.

I made some headway and hit the hay, letting that problem be finished the next day. I woke up and got right back to work. The light coming inside was pitiful since it hadn't stopped raining. It was coming down harder now, and the courtyard looked like a mudpit. If it kept going like this I would have to use rations I brought instead of going into town for food. I still had plenty savings. I went back to work opening the basement, and after hitting what appeared to be dusk through the rain, I was rewarded. I was able to crawl through and get into a dark room. I brought a torch and lit the place up. There was very little actually going on. Many places in the ceiling had fallen and the place itself looked like it would crumble at any moment. There was a rotted table to the side which was in a few pieces on the ground. In a dungeon-like manner there was a small cage to the side, with nothing in it.

The place reeked of rotten wood and stale air. I tripped over some stone going over to the broken table. The stone was really wet, and got my shoes drenched. I got back up and brushed myself off, walking over to the table in the process. From what it looked the table broke from weight and rot. There were some metal tools on the table, as well as a little book. The weight must have crumbled the thing when it was rotting. Dust had settled so it must of been a while ago.I picked up the wet notebook and put it in my bag. Best not try and open it when the thing could be extremely damaged. I backed myself out of the room and got upstairs to the kitchen.

I got a fire going and set the book down near it. I dried it out in front of it and got myself warm. The Temperature was going down steadily from the rain and the castle itself was not a good insulator. I had to stay in the kitchen to keep warm. The notebook looked a bit more dry so I picked it up and flipped to the first page. It wasn't legible. I started flipping through and found some spots that seemed to be more readable. A page accidentally tore. I closed the notebook again and put it down near the fire.There might be some useful things in the book but it's still too wet and that water seemed to have messed with the ink.

I could hear the rain outside even louder now, as began to pour out of the sky. It looks like I would be eating some bread for a few days. I laid down and got ready for sleep. The sound of rain lulled me right into it. I couldn't help but think something was coming though, and had a nightmare about being chased by the Wyrm. It cornered me and nipped at my ankles. I couldn't even clearly see it, only the outline, as it jumped on me and tore me to shreds. I was ripped apart, piece by piece.

I woke in a sweat and realized it was just the excitement of the notebook and the heat of the fire that triggered the night terror. I let myself a moment to rest some more before going through the notebook again, while it was dry. I searched every page for some literate text, something that could give me insight into who wrote the notebook. I was able to decipher who the owner was at first. Dunstan the fifth in fact owned the notebook. The problem was after a full read and making out the best of each word it was sadly of no use. I could correctly state that the story from the farmer was at least right though. The book was mostly just full of the ramblings of a madman.

=====================================================================

I awake to a crack of thunder. A boom that I can feel reverberate through me. The wind is blowing violently and I can hear the castle's wooden roof squeal in pain. I move out into the main hallway and towards a window. I look to see the massive amounts of rain flying everywhere. From what I could see it must be morning but the clouds just don't feel like showing that. I peered into the courtyard and tried to make sense of what was happening. No lights lit up the sky, even though seconds before there was some thunder. At that moment I see something moving through the rain. Something big. It was hard to make out and at first it just seemed to be the rain hitting a small bump in the ground but, the courtyard was flat. It lumbered closer to the castle, and in a flash bounded up with a large 'fwoosh'. A large crash in the attic and my worst fears were realized. The Wyrm was real and I was stuck inside a castle with it.

I understood everything now. The Wyrm didn't live in the castle it probably lived in a cave someplace in the woods, but during a storm or a blizzard it would probably get stuck inside. It runs to the castle in these time to escape the elements. People have the same mentality if they're in the woods. This castle is basically impenetrable from rain or snow so if you're about to get snowed in or the rain would kill you before you could get home, this place was a god send. The issue is, this is the dragons emergency spot too. They disappear because this is where they would come. Then after the rain or snow clears, the dragon would take the remains to its real lair.

I move away from the window and bound into the kitchen with speed. I close the doors and force the tables to block them. I get the fire lit, and grab the gun. I move to the corner and sit down, pointing at every entrance. I have to be alert, or else I'm a dead man. I wait, and I wait. Minutes go by, and then it turns to hours. I stare at both doors with tension. Maybe the Wyrm doesn't know I'm here. It could easily be staying in the attic, and won't come down to the first floor. My fear of being eaten only grew as the hours passed. The fire dimmed a little but I won't move from my spot. It had to be the end of the day as time progressed with a crawl. My paranoia heightened with every minute and I began to see and hear things that weren't even there. Small insects, shadows of people, moving tables, creaking wood. I won't let my guard down.

I jolt up quickly from the nap I fell into. I look around frightened, before sighing, relieved. I lower the gun from the position I held it for hours. I stand up from the stool I used for so long and began pacing around the kitchen, quietly. The Wyrm must have not moved from its sleep in the attic. So I could potentially escape and try to get to the farmer's house. That wouldn't exactly work though since I'm betraying one shelter with a monster to no shelter with a potential monster. I'm not sure if it would follow me. I turn around and look at the kitchen. I've got my gun with a few shots to spare (so it's useless if I miss my first shot), some rations that I could bring with me to get to town, and some coals I could bring to keep me warm for as long as possible.

The fireplace suddenly explodes as a massive weight falls from the chimney. A writhing thing screeches on the ground as what seem to be floating burn marks flailing around the floor. I take the gun and shakily, with adrenaline blasting through my body, take a shot at the Wyrm. A howl rings itself into my head as I run and bump myself into the table. With the strength of someone double my size, I force the table out of the way and hurl open the door. I slam it behind me and run down the hallway and give myself a choice. I can either run upstairs and eventually be followed by the Wyrm or try and block myself into the basement. With the obvious choice I head into the servants quarters and skip down the steps into the basement.

I fly through the hole and look back on it. The rotted table wouldn't stop a Wyrm, but some stone could. I turn to pick up the stone on the floor that I had tripped on to be greeted with a dead, decomposing body. Its chest cavity mostly fluid and after a second of thought, my foot was drenched earlier in organs. A body lay in the cage, mostly just bones. He holds the key in his hand, meaning he locked himself in. Another lay on the broken table, stabbed by the metal tools, and by the looks, self inflicted. I back up to the small hole and start to feel sick, just as I feel a sharp tug on my shin. I stumble and fall on my back and the foot I felt seconds before is gone from my sensation. Another sharp tug and my right leg is gone. The Wyrm, now in full view, begins to crawl up on top of me.

The creature growls, and I feel its vibration go through me. In an instant it rips my arm off, and then pulls off the next. There is no pain, I'm in shock. The scales on its belly shimmer and reflect, as well as being somewhat translucent. I was right. No one will know but I was right. Blood seeps over the ground and my sight slowly goes red. I watch the Wyrm raise its head, chewing on my arm. I wouldn't get to witness it killing me. All I wanted was to know that for once I was right, and this proves it. The Wyrm finishes eating my arm, and looks down into my face, my eyes. He gives me a sly grin before lunging for my throat.


Dear Dr. Winston Densmore,

         I have found a lead on the disappearance of one Nolan Fisher. As you know five months before, he went on a trip to the countryside to visit family. For two months he remained there but never returned. You hired me to find out where he could have gone.

         Through quick investigation I am sorry to say that Nolan Fisher does not have family in the countryside. His entire immediate and extended family lives in Cornwall. Anything he could have told you about leaving to the countryside for family is a lie.

         Reading through the notes he copied over for you brought me to a small town in the middle of England. I asked around and found where he had been staying, but he left exactly two months after arriving. The farmer he stayed with was home when I was looking for more leads, but sadly, he died of a heart attack in his sleep.

         Most of the villagers said Nolan was intrigued in the forgotten castle about 4 miles away from town. After digging through their documents kept in the "town hall" I found a mention of a Lord Dunstan. This castle is to be presumably owned by an old family known as the Dunstans. However, the lineage ended with the man executed, unfortunately.

         I checked out the castle and found everything that Nolan owned in the kitchen. He seemed to clean up the place rather well. The entire castle was intact, and the wood roof had no holes. There was no sign of Nolan, but I have recently discovered a collapsed staircase leading to a basement. The collapse was very recent. If Nolan was in the basement when it collapsed there is no way he is alive. I will dig my way in just to make sure.

         This note is meant as a check up and that I am very close to finding Nolan, however he was probably the victim of old architecture. Another note is that there is a clear lack of life in this castle. There aren't even cobwebs, but Nolan might have my thanks. I would have found it hard to walk around if I knew spiders were everywhere.

Sincerely,
         Investigator Jay