Dungeons Crawlers: Chapter 3 [Fantasy] [Monsters] [Demons]

Chapter 3

Cammy and Kate marched in the direction of the shrine.

Based on the information that the red-haired bard obtained from the barkeep, the shrine was the place to go and as soon as they were approved, they’d be on their way to slay demons and save the village (hopefully). 

“So, where’s this shrine, anyway? I know the old man said that it was over the hill, but it’s still nowhere to be found…” Cammy argued as she was unable to locate it easily. 

“I know where it is,” Kate, the rogue thief, informed her.

“Um? You see it? Where is it?”

“Right there between the trees-hidden!” Kate pointed out to her. Cammy looked up, squinting her eyes enough, and then she was finally able to see it. The tall trees shrouded the shrine over the hill, the bard-ranger began suspecting that those trees and vegetation might have been what hid and protected it from the dangerous demons. The dark creatures didn’t see it because they weren’t searching for it well and patiently enough. 

“Good job!” Cammy was proud of the party member.

“That’s nothing…”

“There’s an opening over there, let’s enter!” Cammy didn’t necessarily lead the way because Kate was much faster than she was and since she was smaller, as well, she was able to get through that opening a lot easier, and then thick-ass Cammy followed her through the branches, and they made it closer to the shrine.

“What’s the name of the priestess?” The halfling couldn’t remember, since it was such a strange name.

“Breasta…”

“Breasta… What kind of name is that?” Kate chuckled as she walked on four and stealthily approached the gate of the shrine past the branches.

“Right… I know… I know…”

***

Once inside the sacred and shrouded shrine, they discovered an angelic and holy sanctuary that was beautifully engulfed and drowned in nature.  

Vines and branches could be seen everywhere inside the shrine and this was difficult for Cammy and Kate to navigate through, but ultimately, nature led them to the last room of the shrine and this was where she was…

… The priestess! 

They found her! 

“There she is…” Kate saw her on the other side of the room. 

The priestess’ eyes were shut, and she had vines and tree branches all around her. She was sleeping. She was alive, but she was sleeping.

“That’s a priestess, alright…” Cammy realized that it had to be her, not only because this was the shrine of a priestess, but because this sleeping beauty wore a white and red priestess robe that only priestesses could wear. 

“We got her.” 

“There’s just one little problem… I feel like there’s something off about her… It looks like she’s held captive in that cage of vines or something. Look. We have to do something. We’ve got to help her!”

With that plan of action, the bard-ranger began running and rushing toward the sleeping priestess, without even considering any other options first.

“No, Cammy, wait!” Kate, the rogue, desperately tried stopping her before she started running, but the halfling couldn’t get to her in time.

It was too late. 

“I’ll be fine… It’s safe… Don’t worry…”

When Cammy arrived at the cage of vines and tree branches, she saw movements…

The vines and tree branches rose from the cage where the priestess was held. 

The vines slowly moved all around the bard until she was surrounded by them.

All of a sudden, Cammy couldn’t get to the priestess, and she couldn’t save her the way she was hoping to.

“Uh, no…”

“See? I told you, Cammy not to rush into things so quickly…” Kate was right all along, and the thief couldn’t help her anymore, since the two of them had been separated within the shrine thanks to those moving and evil vines.

“Back off!” Cammy was ready to fight those vines. 

“Stop! Let her go!” 

Then, all of a sudden, a woman’s voice was heard on the other side of the room. 

It was a soft voice that Cammy had never heard before.

The bard-ranger looked up and…

The priestess was now awake! 

Her eyes were wide open, and she stood up inside the cage of vines she was in. The vines and tree branches around her that formed the cage opened up and disbanded. The priestess was freed. She freed herself. 

She was not human.

The priestess was a cat girl.

She looked human, but she had various cat features.  

Cammy was able to see her long and pointy cat ears from this angle now that she stood up. Her cat ears weren’t the only feline elements she had because even the irises of her eyes were cat-like with thin irises. The priestess was seen with cat whiskers on her cheeks, as well. Finally, she even had sharp cat fangs and claws to match with the rest of her cat features. 

The longer she was able to see her, the more she realized that she was a cat woman with beautiful white fur all over her body, everywhere.  

“She’s a cat…?” Cammy said out loud.

“The priestess is a cat girl? Oh, she is…” Kate realized after that Cammy pointed it out, and then she looked up, able to see it by herself.

“Let them go! Meow!”

The priestess finally spoke, and her soft voice resonated deep within the two party members. Her voice might have been soft, but it was still plenty strong. 

She spoke to the vines and branches all around her.

The priestess commanded them to stop going after the bard and rogue, and they listened to her.

They let them go. 

“Thanks for that…” Cammy thanked the priestess.

“Yeah, thanks for not killing us…”

“Who are you?” The priestess gave the adventurers one mean glare.

“Are you Breasta the priestess?” Cammy simply wanted to make sure that it was her.

“I am her—my name is Nina Breasta. Don’t make me ask you again—who are you?”  

“We are adventurers, and we want to save this village from those horrible demons, but we need your approval first,” the bard-ranger bent the knee and officially made the request.

“What we want is the money…” Kate, the thief, shrugged and looked the other way, not caring about much else but the rewards they were truly after.

“Kate!” Cammy couldn’t believe that she just said that.   

“What?”

“What makes you think you can defeat the demons?”