He slowly creaked open the door, peering out into the darkness. He didn't see anyone. He felt silly to be acting so carefully, so fearfully around a bunch of gnomes. They were a bunch of tiny little cupcakes. Yet there seemed to be something more sinister in the background. What was he saying? These gnomes have done nothing but dote on the two of them since they arrived here. He was being paranoid. Everything he could remember hearing about gnomes was matched by what he had experienced today. They were kind, way too obsessed with rocks, hospitable, vegetarians, lovers of theater...Wait. Vegetarian? Was that really a thing he had heard? Yeah. Something about sustaining themselves off of the vegetation and fungi that they can cultivate inside the caves in which they dwell.
Azrael puzzled on this for a moment before deciding to quietly make his way to Isaac's room. He slowly creaked the door open before stealthily moving inside. He crept to Isaac's bed slowly in order not to cause Isaac to become alarmed. He then placed his hand over Isaac's mouth as he held the index finger of his other hand up to his mouth. Isaac awoke in a start, crying out and struggling before finally being able to suss out just who in the hell had disturbed him. He sat up quietly, whispering, "What in the hell are you doing?"
"Are gnomes vegetarian?" Azrael quietly answered back.
"Of course not. Are you thinking of eating them?!"
"No! Shut up. I mean, are gnomes themselves vegetarian. Do they only eat vegetables?"
"I mean. I think so? How would I know? All I've ever heard about them is fairytales. They eat plants and mushrooms and stuff that they grow in the caves they live in. Something like that, right?"
"Right."
"So why did we eat..."
"Exactly."
"And they ate...
"Yep."
"So what does that mean?"
"I have no clue, but I feel like we might want to leave," Azrael warned.
"Well, maybe we are both wrong. Maybe they eat meat and vegetables and everything else," Isaac suggested.
Azrael stopped to consider this, saying "Maybe."
Isaac sat thinking for a moment. He ran his hand down his leg absentmindedly as he thought. Suddenly he felt a start of pain. He remembered that one gnome had bitten him earlier. He could feel the bite marks with his finger. His eyes opened wide as he quickly yet carefully grabbed his bag. He produced the mushroom he had grabbed earlier, its soft glow providing enough light to confirm to him what he had thought he had felt. Azrael looked at the wound, his eyes bulging as he realized what it meant. The circle of cuts looked to have been made by razor blades than by the teeth of any living thing. What disturbed Isaac the most is that it looked as though there was a second row of cuts in a slightly smaller circle inside the other one. Whatever bit Isaac had never eaten a vegetable in all its life.
"How did you not notice that before?" Azrael quietly whispered.
"I don't know! I mean, there was a lot going on and whatever bleeding must have stopped pretty quickly," Isaac responded hotly. "Either way, we need to get the hell out of here!"
"Agreed. Now get dressed and grab everything you brought. Maybe some nicer stuff in the room as well. We might be able to sell some of these gems and rocks for something."
Isaac got dressed as quickly and quietly as he could as Azrael made his way quietly back to his room to grab the rest of his things. It was dark in his room, the only light coming from the mushroom he got from inside his bag and a few small ones that were growing on the walls. Isaac could tell that the one he had was far dimmer than when he first grabbed it off the cave wall. As he continued getting ready, he heard his door begin to silently creak open. He almost fell over while putting his pants on in the shock before realizing it was probably Azrael returning. It was not.
Isaac quietly ducked out of sight when he realized that it was a gnome that had snuck into his room. He watched as the gnome quietly made its way to the foot of the bed he was sleeping in only minutes ago. Suddenly, it pulled out a dagger and began stabbing at the bundle of blankets on the bed. Again and again, the gnome violently thrust his blade into the sheets. Eventually, the gnome stopped, breathing hard from the exertion. Isaac then saw as the gnome felt the bundle of blankets. Suddenly, the gnome tossed the sheets about looking for his intended quarry. When it did not turn up, the gnome seemed to panic. It looked around as Isaac made sure he was out of sight. The gnome made its way back to the door as Isaac carefully peered out from where he was hiding. He was not careful enough, as he knocked his bag over, causing several items to spill out noisily. He saw as the gnome quickly snapped his head towards where the sound had come from. Isaac could see its eyes had locked onto him as the gnome showed its razor-sharp teeth in a horrid smile. Isaac watched as its jaw dropped unnaturally low, revealing a massive maw that contained row upon row of teeth.
The gnome made its way towards Isaac, saliva dripping from its teeth. It still held the dagger, holding it out before its body as an assassin would. It menaced towards Isaac, as terror gripped his mind. He was shaking, thinking of what he could do to possibly stop it from ripping him to shreds. Suddenly the gnome lunged, and in a moment it was over. The body fell to the ground as blood poured. Isaac was no longer breathing. His heart stopped.
At least it felt as though it had. Isaac quickly processed what had just occurred. There he was, crouching as the gnome launched itself at him, his blade ready to strike. As the gnome sailed towards him, Isaac had quickly moved to kick him out of the air, sending the would-be assassin flying backwards into the wall. Looking at what was on the ground, the gnome was pretty dead. Thinking it over, Isaac remembered that he was in fact probably twice to three times the size and mass of a gnome and therefore did not have too much to worry about. Even the dagger the gnome wielded wasn't even large enough for Isaac to use as a knife.
Isaac then got the rest of his clothes on and his gear ready before opening the heavy stone door stealthily. In the hall, he met Azrael.
"Did a gnome just try to kill you too?" Isaac asked.
"Oh, it tried," Azrael answered in a whisper that made Isaac's skin crawl. He did not want to know what horrible fate befell whatever gnome had been chosen to kill Death itself. The two then stepped softly towards the direction of the main chamber of the cave. They both hoped that the gnomes would assume their assassins had succeeded and would therefore not be in any stage of alert. This proved to be accurate, as the two could make it to the main chamber with no guards or defences getting in their way. In the main chamber, it was darker, as it seemed the bright fungi of different colors had dimmed down to a soft beautiful glow. Isaac wondered if the light output of the mushrooms changed in some day and night cycle that the gnomes in turned lived by. Or maybe the gnomes cultivated the mushrooms in order for them to switch at a time that fit in with their circadian cycle.
As Isaac looked around the chamber, he saw what seemed to be small twinkles of reflected light. The effect made it look as though they were stars in the night. The jewels or crystals adorning the different gnome buildings must produce the effect, Isaac thought. It was haunting. As Isaac stood there looking, he noticed that the twinkles seemed to always happen in pairs. As one briefly was extinguished, so too would its nearest neighbor seem to go out. Then, in just a small moment, they would be back into his view.
"Kid, what are you doing? Let's go!" Azrael whispered from Isaac's side. Isaac turned to look at him. Azrael was motioning him to move, and Isaac could see the annoyance in his face, somehow. He knew he should get going, but it was all too beautiful to ignore, if at least for one moment. Isaac could even see the glimmers coming from behind Azrael. They seemed to be surrounded by them. Isaac looked to the tunnel they had just come from, and sure enough he could see the same twinkles. To Isaac's surprise, some of them seemed to move, again in pairs. Isaac looked back at the central part of the main chamber and looking closely, he saw that some glimmers had moved or were moving. It almost appeared they were moving closer towards him. Looking at Azrael again, he was noticing more and more twinkles moving, getting closer, as though they were surrounding them.
"Come on, kid!" Azrael quietly snapped.
"Azrael. Quiet!" Isaac replied as he produced a jar of gunpowder from his pack. He poured some powder into a pile on the ground before him. Next, he produced a piece of flint and a steel piece to strike it with. Quickly, he struck the flint, sparks flying onto the pile of gunpowder he had made. Isaac quickly shut his right eye as the powder burned, filling the cavern with light and confirming Isaac's fears once his left eye could adjust. The two of them were surrounded by gnomes, and for the first time, Isaac could see them in a brighter light. Their skin was nearly translucent in its color. Their eyes looked larger and more bulging in the light. In their hissing mouths, Isaac could see their terrifying teeth. While he may have been able to fight one off easily, over a hundred might be downright impossible.
"I'm sorry it had to end this way," a voice coming from the exit apologized. It was the leader of the gnomes. As the powder flickered out, the elder gnome came out before them. "I hope you two won't be too angry at us. Our family needs to eat and we rarely get prey who just walk right up to us. If you two cooperate, I can promise we will make your deaths quick and painless. Just a quick cut to your artery, young man, and you'll be gone in an instant. As for you, we can offer a quick bludgeoning. One swift strike to your temple and off you go. Think about it, will you? Otherwise, well, you will be torn apart in agony by thousands of tiny mouths. Even you, my skeletal friend, will be consumed."
"What in the hell kind of gnomes are you?" Azrael spat out angrily.
"Gnomes?" the old gnome said with a laugh. "Who said we were gnomes? No, my friend, we are Red Caps, and we will eviscerate you. Prepare to die."
Isaac watched as the gnomes converged on them. He could only see out of his right eye, as his left eye had gotten adjusted to the bright light of the burning powder. He looked to Azrael, who had produced his revolver in a flash. Isaac could tell from the movement of his head that he was trying to come up with a plan in the few moments they had before the horde would reach them. Isaac sprung towards him, grabbing his left arm and pulling him in the direction Isaac headed. Fortunately, the two of them slipped through the crowding gnomes before they could form a proper obstacle to their escape. Isaac did not know where the tunnel before him would bring them and could barely even see anything in the darkness, but it was better than being torn to ribbons. There was a mass of red caps storming behind them. One false step, one moment of hesitation, and they would be finished. Gobbled up in bite-size pieces.
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