In one of the rooms, a hairless creature larger than the others lay on a stone platform. With fear and servility, they brought the gathered mushrooms to it, and it took them—sometimes in silence, sometimes with irritation, sometimes with malice—throwing them aside and striking with its long limbs. The others, struck by the blows, were sent flying into the walls, hitting them hard. Some remained lying there, motionless.
A grated hatch was set into one wall.
The Cursed moved toward the large creature. It glared at him with malice. The Cursed raised his sword. The creature raised a long limb to strike. The sword cut it off, and it flew aside into the hairless, scrawny creatures gathered near the wall. Green blood flooded everything around, spraying in a fountain from the wound.
The Cursed prepared to end the creature's existence, but suddenly he was thrown back by a blow that came from nowhere. As if the very space itself had struck him, hurling him against the wall. The Cursed rose instantly and, with vampiric speed, was at the creature's side. He drove his sword in, piercing its pale body. The creature let out its final breath. The scrawny creatures stared at him in horror.
The Cursed approached the grated hatch. The door opened, letting him pass.
He moved through the dark tunnel and entered a chamber that seemed vaguely familiar. The opening of the well lay in the middle of the floor. The very one into which several hairless creatures had thrown him. His gaze swept over the dark passages from which the creatures had emerged before. Movement stirred there. The Cursed readied himself.
But this time, a tall, lizard-like creature stepped out from one of the passages. She wore a tricorne hat on her head, and a dark livery over her scaly body. The creature came out, looked at the Cursed, then turned and walked back into the dark passage. He followed it.
Through the dark corridors, it led him into a vast underground hall. At the far wall, on a raised platform reached by several steps, a woman in a black dress sat on a black throne. Long black hair, eyes closed beneath dark lids. In her black hair, a crystal diadem shaped like a star with long rays. In her slender left hand, the Mistress held a staff topped with a glowing red stone. Several lizard creatures in tricornes and livery sat at the base of the platform.
The guide led the Cursed to the Mistress, and she opened her eyes. Dark, piercing.
"You have proven that you are capable of existing at the foot of the black throne of the Dungeon Mistress," a cold, merciless female voice rang out. "You came up from the lowest level—the Sewage Pit—proving that you can kill and that you became its leader. You passed the second level, ruled by the Telekinetic, took his place by killing him, and now you are here, on the third level. You are worthy of becoming my servant. Sit. A new task will be given to you soon."
The Cursed did not intend to obey, but the Mistress pointed her staff at him. The red stone began to pulse faster, and he felt an unknown, alien will drag him downward. He sat on the floor among the lizard creatures.
The Cursed sat and watched the Mistress and the grim surroundings of the underground world with detachment. She sat again with her eyes closed. Only a few steps and a few stairs separated him from killing the one seated on the throne and moving further north along his cursed path.
In the dark air, the outline of a large skull in a dark hood began to form. Two dark streams stretched from it toward the black throne of the Mistress. The lizard creatures in livery jumped from their seats, drew knives, and rushed at the emerging figure. The Mistress opened her eyes and raised her staff. The dark streams recoiled and could no longer approach her. The red stone atop the staff pulsed rapidly.
The lizard creatures gathered around the spectral head and relentlessly struck it with their knives. A dark, massive half-disc appeared on one side of the giant skull and swept through the ranks of the lizards, cutting their bodies in two. Blood-soaked remains fell to the floor.
The one seated on the throne pointed her staff at the Cursed, then shifted it toward the giant skull.
"Go and kill it," a cold female voice said.
Under the influence of an alien will, the Cursed took several steps forward and stopped. Two streams of black smoke erupted from him and pierced the giant skull. It opened its massive jaws lined with sharp teeth and let out a wild scream. Then it vanished.
"You have killed the Black Executioner! You are a worthy servant to become my Favourite. We have lost much power in this battle, and it is necessary to replenish our reserves. Come with me on a journey through the dark tunnels of the dungeon, and I will show you where and how I replenish my energy."