People really seemed to like my entry for Day 3 (which you can read here, if you haven't already: Kinktober 2023 - Day 3 - Dungeon/CrawlThe first thing any woman unfortunate enough to be dragged into the dungeons of Castle Kronenburg would experience would be to crawl into her waiting cell on her hands and knees, an opening indignity designed to break her spirit and a mere prelude to the horrors she’d soon endure at the hands of Simon Kronenburg, the so-called “Mad Count.” Stories like those about the brooding, 13th-century fortress were commonplace, and as one of the many guides who lead visitors through the historical site, Claire could recite most of them off the top of her head. She hardly believed them, of course. Yes, the Mad Count had been a tyrant, and yes, many innocents had suffered in the extensive dungeon nestled in the bowels of the castle, but on the whole, the facts of the matter had been left utterly distorted, made the stuff of lurid fantasy by time, propaganda, and the need to lure in the tourists on whom the town depended on. He was a sorcerer who bathed in the blood of maidens to keep himself alive; he’d struck pacts with all manner of demonic entities, sacrificing innocents to them for the sake of power; he’d murdered the builders of the castle so that no other man might know its many secrets… It was stuff of old horror movies, not credible fact, and her historian’s heart never failed to cringe every time she was forced to repeat them.Yet knowing that truth did not nothing to keep her heart from pounding in fear, or offer some rational explanation to the madness that had befallen her. “Hello? Is anyone there?” the beautiful brunette called out into the darkness of the dungeon. “Please, is there anyone out there?”Once more, only the echo of her own frightened voice reverberating against the stone rose in answer, and Claire swallowed nervously, breath hitching in her throat. Where in the world are they? She’d been leading a dozen people through the Kronenburg dungeons, the highlight of the castle’s tour, and a routine responsibility she’d handled without the slightest issue. So it had been a shock when she turned the corner into one of the many corridors, only to discover that they’d all vanished behind her, as if they’d never been. No, more than a shock. An impossibility.As was her inability to find her way through the dungeon. She’d been working as a historical interpreter at Castle Kronenburg for over a year now, enough time to become familiar with its various passageways and chambers, the dungeon included, yet experience was of no comfort here. For in defiance of all reason, the layout of the dungeon seemed… altered, each corridor doubling-back in on itself and every entranceway leading back to where she started, until she found herself hopelessly lost. That none of the light switches seemed to be functioning certainly didn’t help matters either, and in the gloom, the various chains, restraints and torture devices exhibited in each room took on an ominous cast, transformed from historical artifacts to be displayed and examined to hellish instruments eager to be employed. A bleak vision suddenly flashed in her mind’s eye, of being shackled to the wall by her wrists, leather muzzle stifling her protests as rough hands tore away at her black woolen sweater, knee-length skirt, and opaque black tights, and a shiver that had nothing to do with her dank surroundings fell over her, eroding the last vestiges of her courage and hastening her efforts at escape.It was no use. Time slowed to a crawl, and after what seemed hours of fruitless wandering, Claire slumped down against the nearest wall with a groan, ample chest heaving with stress and exertion. “This is insane,” she whispered to herself, pale green eyes glancing about in the vain hope she’d finally arrived back at the dungeon’s entrance. No such luck; only brute stone greeted her, every hallway and vestibule looking increasingly identical as time went on. Not for the first time, the brunette checked her cellphone, and was stymied by the lack of signal. But I’ve never had a problem using it every other time I’ve been down here! God, what is going on?!“Is the little rat all tired from crawling through my maze?”Claire gave a start as the mocking voice echoed all around her, and she was on her feet in an instant, heart pounding at her breast. “Who are you?” she demanded, fear making her words hoarse. “What do you want?”“More than you can ever imagine, my sweet. But you will serve for now.”Gingerly, Claire began to sidle down the corridor, arms reaching out for anything she could use as a weapon. “Just leave me alone! I don’t know what you’re talking about!”“Oh, you will, my sweet. You will…”Then something shot out from the darkness, slamming into the lower half of Claire’s face and sending her recoiling as something sticky covered her mouth. “Mmppgghhh?” demanded the history student through sealed lips, and frantically, she tried to tear the substance away, fingernails clawing uselessly at the tar-like material. “Mmmppppggghhh!” Horrifying, it began to expand, crawling along her smooth skin like a living thing, growing until the entire lower half of her face was sealed away. Worst still, her efforts to try and dislodge it only permitted it to spread onto her hands, and Claire gave another muffled scream as they were glued into fists and sealed together so that her upper arms were bound tight in front her beneath a sheath of writhing, viscous black liquid. “MMMPPGGGHHH!” God, this can’t be happening!An unearthly word, something no human mouth was ever meant to utter, echoed out of the gloom, and in answer, Claire felt invisible talons seize her fast and force her onto her knees. Clammy fingers, each tipped with an absurdly long fingernail, ran through her rich brown locks, making her skin crawl in disgust, before seizing her by the chin and tilting her head up to meet her captor. “Welcome to your new home, my sweet,” the Mad Count Simon Kronenburg proclaimed, his free hand tracing arcane symbols made the stone blocks of the nearby wall pull back so that a new opening formed into being. “Now, it’s time for you to crawl inside…”), so here's a short little follow-up to it that I hope you all enjoy. Let me know what you think, and thank you for your support!

Another entry for