The awkward silence hangs over the dimly-lit hallway like a veil. You look up the lit stairway and are glad that the spiders have decided to retreat - at least for now. You don't know how long that gate will hold. You look over at Leona, who is sitting on her haunches. She's playing with her hair nervously. We should really get moving, you think. Maybe Hardin will come down here and see that we're not dead, and who knows what he'll do then.
You're about to open your mouth and tell Leona that you should go back to the hallway when a low, dull, growling comes from down the passage you came from. It's followed by a heavy thump, then a scraping sound. The growl comes again, ragged, low, and full of malice. A sickening thump and a scrape. Leona's head whips in the direction of the sound and you watch as all the color drains from her face. She shoves you on the shoulder. "I really don't wanna stick around and see what's making those noises." She says. "Let's... well..." she stammers, getting up on her feet again. She looks down the hallway, and too the dark stairway leading down. "...go down." You finish for her. Nodding eagerly, she follows you to the top of the stairs.
You look back. The growling is louder than just a second ago, but not by much. The stairway is a curving one, that goes downward and curves to the right before going out of sight as it's obstructed by darkness. The growl, thump, and scrape comes again. "Just... go!" Leona mumbles from behind, giving you a shove. You're apprehensive about going down a dark stairwell in the castle given this place's track record, but here you have no choice. So you start down, in front of Leona. The transformative showed gripped tightly in you hands and pointed out in front of you.
Your feet and Leona's paws slap against the cold stone, creating eerie echoing noises in the stairwell. As you reach the curve, the growling, thump, and scrape sound much louder now - whatever it is must be right around the corner from where you and Leona sat after your escapade with the spiders. The farther you go down the staircase, the darker, damper, and more musty-smelling everything gets. You can feel a thin layer of slime covering the stairs as you get lower and lower. You hear a little yelp from behind you and turn to see, just barely in the very dim light, Leona resting her hand on the wall and going down slowly. It appears she slipped on the slime. Looking to your right, you notice the stairs have no guard rail, and given the unknown depth this staircase goes, you don't want to know how long the fall would be.
After what seems like forever, your foot hits the bottom step and you find yourself in pitch-darkness. A thump behind you indicates Leona has reached the bottom as well. You walk a few feet forward, putting the sword out uneasily. From high above you, the growling comes again, followed by the same heavy thump, but this time, instead of a scraping noise, a dull thunking noise, like something is being dragged down the stairs. Whatever has been slowly chasing you and Leona has reached the stairs. At the same time, your sword has struck something and you curse as the base whacks into your shoulder painfully.
"What happened?" Leona whispers from behind you. You put your hand out and feel smooth wood. A few inches up you feel some iron bars, and a few lunches down and to the right you feel a brass doorknob, "It's a door." You whisper back to her. Putting your sword in your bet loop, you usher Leona over. "Should we open it?" you ask in a quiet voice as a much louder thump echoes from much lower above you than you would like. "Well, it's our only option..." she whispers back. "Ok, but let me open it first..." you whisper back. You hear Leona taking a few steps back.
Reaching your hand out and taking a deep breath, you turn the brass knob and push the door open. Instantly, you are greeted by a bright light a few yards away, sitting in the middle of the slimy floor. It's a candle on a disc with a hole on the side for your hand. The light shoots through, illuminating Leona's face as she lifts her arms and shields her eyes an her snake hisses behind her. It's cold in the new room, with a whistling sound, like wind traveling through bars, from up ahead, followed by a heavy thump (different from the one on the stairs) from high above you every now and then.
Why does this all seem so familiar? You think to your yourself. Leona takes a step forward until her face is right next to your shoulder. "What do we have here?" she asks. I don't know...you whisper back, "...but this place seems awfully familiar". You shut the door quickly and wonder what to do as thumping above you gets louder.