The Blood Lurker
From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki
Title: The Blood Lurker
Author: Krythan
The walls of the dungeon echoed with the screams of yet another adventurer foolish enough to challenge its dwellers.
The creature stomped the mangled corpse of Below the pit of bodies, in the deepest depths of the dungeon, an ancient temple stood; the ground around it was littered with the bones of brave souls who had the courage and skill to arrive there, but not to survive the horrors that it spawned. A pillar extended from the base of the temple through the roof, and connected to the cave ceiling. Inch deep grooves, resembling the ones in the pit above the temple, extended outward from the the pillar forming a web across the entire cavern ceiling.
A slight rumble shook the cavern, and momentarily, the roof of the cavern began to darken in color. Fresh blood began to ooze out of the ceiling pores, trickling into the ruts and slowly making its way towards the pillar. The area where the pillar and the ceiling met was rich in blood from the bodies that lay above it, and as the blood met at the pillar, it began to trickle down in a crimson spiral.
The blood dripped into a basin made of solid gold at the base of the pillar and began to collect in an odd shaped puddle. As more blood streamed down from above the puddle began to grow upward. The floors of the upper cave rumbled again as more blood was being squeezed from them.
The puddle quickly formed into a torso, then arms, shoulders, and with the last drop of blood, the head of the darkness, slicing through only air. The other party members jumped into battle stances, and the mages began chanting spells.
All went silent for a moment, and the group began to relax a little since the danger seemed to have passed.
While rummaging through his pack, a mage near the end of the party never noticed the blood dripping down from the ceiling onto his cape. He heard the same sloshing as earlier, and looked up in time to see the mass of blood fall from above. The blood creature engulfed the man in an instant, absorbing his blood and flesh and dissolving his clothing, leaving nothing left but a complete skeleton.
Arrows whizzed through the air, and bolts of fire and lighting rained down onto the Blood Lurker. It exploded with splashing sound, drenching the remaining adventurers with rancid blood. Cheers rang up from the party as they enjoyed their victory, accompanied by moans for the loss of their companion. The cheers soon turned to screams of horror as the blood dripping off their bodies began to boil, reducing them, one by one, to flesh-less skeletons.
The Blood Lurker leisurely regained his form, but this time larger than before from the fresh human blood. It seemed pleased as it surveyed it's work, and oozed back towards its temple to await the next victim.