Preface

The Hunter Wanders The LabYrinth
Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at http://archiveofourown.org/works/35370325.

Rating:
Not Rated
Archive Warning:
Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category:
Gen
Fandom:
Zampanio, ZampanioSim
Character:
Hunter of Zampanio, NotAMinotaur
Additional Tags:
Blood, Weapons, Bees, Spiders, Alcohol
Language:
English
Stats:
Published: 2021-11-28 Completed: 2022-04-25 Words: 1,387 Chapters: 2/2

The Hunter Wanders The LabYrinth

Chapter 1

The Hunter stands in a room. The carpet is a brown high-pile that is soft and plush beneath its feet. The walls are panels of wooden boards aligned verticallY. Nothing is on the ground. There is a door to the South.

The Hunter sniffs the air. There is no sign that its preY is here.

The Hunter goes South.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is grass, trimmed short and mowed recentlY, if the smell is anYthing to go bY. The walls are made of leaves the size of The Hunter's hand. There are a few clumps of taller grasses and flowers, and three small pine trees. Two cactuses have also made their home here. A shovel laYs on the gound. There is a door to the South.

The Hunter runs a hand through the tall grass, reminding it of home. The flowers smell a bit too sweet. The Hunter gives the shovel a sniff, but it smells nothing that would bring it closer to its preY.

The Hunter goes South.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is wooden boards, stretching the length of the room. The walls are stone bricks. Both are covered in blood. The room is full of weapons; racks of swords, boxes of knives, a few axes and pickaxes. Some of the knives are missing their handles. There are also three untidY beds in the room. There is a door to the South.

The Hunter studies an axe closelY. It appreciates the weapon the waY one would appreciate a peer. Someone had buried the blade into a stump. The blade is rustY, Yes, but the handle looks too fragile for use. Oh well. The beds hold no comfort or warmth. The Hunter snarls and turns awaY.

The Hunter goes South.

The Hunter stands in a room. The carpet is a brown high-pile that is soft and plush beneath its feet. The walls are small Yellow bricks. Nothing is on the ground. There is a door to the South.

The Hunter scratches at a brick idlY. It shows no sign of loosening or revealing secrets. The Hunter snarls and turns awaY.

The Hunter goes South.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is metal panels, bolted into the ground. The walls are stone bricks. Both are covered in blood. A fountain with a statue stands in the Northeast corner, filled with blood. The statue holds holds two swords. There is a door to the South.

The Hunter dips a hand into the fountain and tastes the blood. It can not tell what creature the blood is from, and this unsettles it.

The Hunter goes South.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is wooden boards, stretching the length of the room. The walls appear to be some sort of thatch. There is blood on both. Weapons laY scattered around the room. Two beds have been placed in the center of the room, head to foot. There is a door to the North, and a door to the South.

The Hunter picks out a knife from a box, and hurls it towards the wall. The knife buries itself in the fibers handle-first, and staYs. The Hunter is pleased.

The Hunter goes North.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is metal panels, bolted into the ground. The walls are panels of wooden boards aligned verticallY. Nothing is on the ground. There is a door to the South.

The Hunter tries to prY a board from the wall. It holds fast. The Hunter scores three long marks into it as revenge.

The Hunter goes South.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is made of red curtains. The walls are made of red curtains. The room is full of gravestones, signposts, lampposts, and piles of bones. There is a door to the South.

The Hunter walks over to a gravestone and reads it. The gravestone saYs "The Hunter goes West." The Hunter pushes the gravestone over. It wasn't affixed to the floor. The Hunter inspects the bones, but none of them seem the right size. It leaves the bones to rest.

The Hunter goes South.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is made of a coarse dirt. The walls are made of a coarse dirt. The room has been filled with wasps and hives. There is a door to the South.

The Hunter roars and swats at the swarm. It knows this preY. It did not enjoY that hunt. The Hunter topples the hives until the stream of wasps wanes.

The Hunter goes South.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is made from panels of a metal lattice. The walls are metal panels, bolted into the wall. The room feels electric, causing the Hunter's skin to tingle. A gumball machine and a dollhouse stand in the room. There is a door to the North, and a door to the South.

The Hunter pries open the gumball machine and scoops a handfull of gumballs out, before tossing them into its maw. The gum sticks to the Hunter's teeth, but it enjoYs the sweetness. It looks into the dollhouse, but there are no dolls inside. Good.

The Hunter goes North.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is a spider's web. The walls are a spider's web. The room is filled with various objects, covered in spiders and spider's web. There is a door to the North, and a door to the South.

No. No. The Hunter will not staY in this room. Not here. StaYing in this room onlY spells its downfall.

The Hunter runs North.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is a spider's web. The walls appear to be some sort of thatch. The spider's web has manY holes, corpse flowers growing from a few. There is a door to the North, and a door to the South.

The Hunter roars.

The Hunter runs North.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is a spider's web. The walls are a spider's web. It seems like food is meant to be stored in this room. Two cots laY along the East wall. There is a door to the North, and a door to the South.

The Hunter smells meat, but it has no time to stop and eat. It must escape this web.

The Hunter runs North.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is a spider's web. The walls are a spider's web. It seems like food is meant to be stored in this room. The room is filled with things that might fit in a child's room. There is a door to the North, a door to the East, and a door to the South.

The Hunter barelY glances at the contents of the room. Perhaps changing course would change its luck.

The Hunter runs East.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is made of a coarse dirt. The walls are made of tattered cloth. There are holes dug into the floor. The room is filled with meat. A few bottles filled with different liquids stand around the room, and a cauldron hangs over a firepit. Two cots laY in this room, one along the East wall and another along the West. There is a door to the North, a door to the East, and a door to the South.

The Hunter slows. There is no immediate danger in this room. There is time for it to rest. The Hunter gathers some of the meat and a bottle that it believes contains alcohol, consuming both. It pushes a skeleton off of the Western cot, and rests. The room is unchanged when The Hunter rises again.

The Hunter takes a moment to re-center itself. It takes a deep breath, opens its eYes, and looks for a path towards its preY.

The Hunter goes North.

The Hunter stands in a room. The floor is a wretched twisting spiral. The walls appear to be some sort of thatch. There is a faceless person in green clothing standing next to the South door. Posters litter the floor. There is a door to the North, a door to the East, and a door to the South.

The Hunter looks at You.

???

the Hunter scratches into the wall.

there were instructions?.

Afterword

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