The three now stood in front of the cellar door that led underground. Briar hesitated. Her hands trembled slightly, but her face remained friendly and open, yet unapproachable. She gestured to the innkeeper to move forward, and as he moved, she followed. 

     The tunnel echoed with each of their footsteps. The ground seemed peculiar to Clovis. Even though the ground looked like dirt and mud, it was solid and pristine as if it had been worked on and maintained for a while. Clovis glanced at the innkeeper and saw that his face was in complete ecstasy, you could almost see hearts in his eyes.  They walked further, and the closer they came to the end, the voices began to be heard. The innkeeper, on all fours, picked up his pace and finally reached the end.  Lights burst on to reveal the sound and sight of what was underneath the inn. 

     In a gaudy open space, cages swung from the sky, and many more dug into the floor. Each cage was full of people from the elderly to those who were just toddlers. There was no movement from many of them, just a glazed-over look with tears in their eyes. You could see small movements as they tried to get up, but the cuts, bruises, and iron marks caused them to go back to a beaten-down state. Others yelled and screamed, shaking the cages to be let out or pleading for others' lives.  Beautiful lights shined upon certain cages that held the most unique of people, and ostentatious furniture decorated the room to insinuate wealthy guests. The scene imitates what would be a human display or a human zoo. 

       The innkeeper saw as the beauty holding him down was in a trance at what she was seeing. He quickly loosened the rope and gasped for air, vomiting his innards when air reached his lungs. Then, as the group of three was spotted by the many masked guests, the innkeeper stood and gestured toward Briar. "Here she is, one of the most beautiful specimens I have collected, and if you can defeat her, she is yours!", he screamed with delight as multiple people came out and gazed upon Briar. 

     A being that entranced all your senses, so beautiful it seemed that you had gained entrance to an ethereal plane. Her beauty grew the more you saw her body, heard her voice, and inhaled her scent. Nothing in this world mattered if you held her in your hands. Everyone began to rush towards Briar, their eyes crazed, each mind having a plan of its own. Whether it was to befriend her, to love her, to assault her, to tear her apart, it did not matter to Briar. Only one word came to mind when she saw them, "Filthy". The ground began to shatter as Briar gestured toward them. People began to fall through the dense dirt and even cages collapsed on themselves, crushing the people inside them. 

     Blood spewed and bones cracked, screams filled the ears as each mangled person pleaded anything to get them out of their misery. Clovis couldn't stand by any longer as he saw mangled bodies again peeking out of the ground. Clovis quickly tackled Briar and pinned her to the ground, her attack stopping mid-air. "STOP IT! STOP IT! STOP IT! You don't have to go this far!", Clovis yelled trying to get a point across. Briar kept an indifferent face and gave her response, "I did not ask for your input. Let me remind you that you are a guide, and you do not need arms or legs to tell me where I need to go. Now I suggest you remove yourself or I will be forced to carry a stump of a person", Briar said threateningly. Clovis felt the pressure on him, but he refused to buckle. He decided to change his approach. "Please, all I ask is that you let me get everyone out of their cages, nothing more". Briar gestured for him to get off of her, he knelt at her feet with fear and panic in his eyes as she stood upright. His eyes screamed for this favor, but Briar wanted to continue despite everything. However, she caressed his face and spoke softly "The moment the last person steps out of their cage, I will continue, but, I warn you, I am not as patient as I look". With that last word, Clovis ran to the cages, everyone begging to get out as everyone got a shot of adrenaline when they saw the carnage. They wanted to live and each found the energy to run, walk, and even crawl to the exit. 

      Briar held a tight grip on the guest who were there for the individuals in the cages. Her smile was sweet and inviting to those who gazed upon her, it caused everyone to keep trying to touch her. Clovis kept screaming to not look at the person standing in the middle of the carnage. As he freed as many as he could, in a special cage were the last pair: twins, a boy and a girl with colored eyes. The boy was injured, and his sister tried to pick him up and carry him on her back. Clovis smiled at the pair and climbed into the cage with them. Clovis wrapped the boy in a blanket and tied him to his body, carrying the girl in one of his arms. He began to climb out of the cage. Clovis stood on the edge and saw as Briar stared at him, droplets of sweat on her brow. Clovis closed his eyes, jumped, and ran, and, as he did, the ground rumbled. 

     Clovis screamed for everyone to run and urged them not to look back. But, the girl in Clovis's arms did. She saw Briar drag each person down, squeezing them into a hole that made their eyes bulge out. She then saw as the Innkeeper was caught by her vines, Briar stretching his limbs causing him to be torn apart. Briar dangled his limbs in front of him, but before the girl could see the rest, Clovis called out to her. "Don't look". The girl did as she was told, but for some odd reason, she was not scared. She glanced at her brother as she saw him open his eyes. The first thing he saw was his sister's smile.