The inkblot moved noiselessly towards the door at the end of the corridor. A trickle of light passed beneath it, dimly illuminating this part of the house with a soft orange glow.

The creature nudged the door with the tip of a tentacle, but it didn't budge. It looked at the treasures it was carrying for a few moments, before placing them gently on the floor. Then it slipped under the door into the room.

The room was a bedroom lit by an open fire. On the right was a bed and a closet. On the left, a small table and chair sat in front of the fireplace. Everywhere, old books were piled up in irregular stacks on the floor.

The ink blot eagerly approached the nearest pile and pushed the top book to the floor. It fell open in a great cloud of dust. The creature immediately began siphoning off the ink, not hesitating to turn the pages.

“Meow?”

The creature froze. Turned around after a few seconds. And found itself face to face with a white cat spotted with grey.

Each watched the other with fascination.

Then the cat decided to play with the strange thing in front of him. He nudged it with his paw.

The ink blot recoiled under the blow, its shape wavering before stabilizing.

The cat, finding it amusing, did it again. A little harder.

This time, the blow sent ink flying everywhere. The creature stepped back again and cowered, frowning. It didn't think it was funny at all, and it didn't want to go back to being as weak as it had been earlier in the day!

The next blow from his paw made it lose ink again, and this time, enough was enough. I'm going to make you stop wanting to attack me, you funny four-tentacled thing!

And the creature flung the cat away from it with a sweep of its tentacles. The feline, offended, responded with a clawing blow, which separated the tentacle from the rest of the body. The ink fell to the ground with a loud ‘Splash!’.

DANGER!

The ink blob realized that the cat's claws posed a real threat to its integrity. And it had nothing to defend itself with! It tried to form some kind of pointed claw in return.

In response to this attitude, the cat arched its back and growled, before lashing out with a second blow that sliced through another appendage.

The retaliatory ink claw largely missed its target, the agile cat having easily dodged the attack. But the hiss of the attack in the air still frightened the feline, who yowled. The creature's body was covered with long, sharp spikes in response, keeping the feline at bay.

Meanwhile, the tentacles were busy recovering as much of the lost ink as possible. And forming additional claws.

The cat yowled one last time before pouncing on the creature. Ink claws flashed in the air, trying to dislodge the feline from its body. Drops of ink and cat hair flew everywhere!

The stain blindly retreated towards the door and crawled under it as quickly as possible. Once on the other side, it retrieved its three treasures and bolted down the corridor without a second thought.

In the bedroom, the cat scratched angrily at the door, trying to pursue its adversary. The handle jerked violently under his attempts.

The ink blot leapt down the stairs, desperate to get away from the feline before it caught up. The creature crashed on the first step and immediately rushed to the next, leaving residue everywhere.

The bedroom door opened with a loud bang. As the feline came running, the blob continued its tumble down the stairs. It managed to lose less and less ink with each leap and finally reached the bottom of the stairs.

*****

The staircase opened onto a small corridor with three doors. To the right, the wide living room door was closed. To the left, the kitchen door was ajar, allowing the voices of Zokel and Gregor to pass into the corridor.

"What the hell is going on up there? I hope that damn cat hasn't made any more trouble for me! I've already got enough on my plate because of his master!" The mercenary growled as he opened the door. “I'm warning you, if he ever... SKELLUS!!!”.

Gregor let out an expletive and didn't finish his sentence, too horrified by the scene before his eyes. There, in the corridor, was a black thing the size of a loaf of bread with spikes and sharp claws!

"WHAT THE HELL IS A MONSTER DOING HERE?!!! ZOKEL, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE NOW?!!!"

Just then, Irno burst out of the staircase with a loud scream. He'd just slipped on the spread ink on the stairs, couldn't stop his run and knocked over the coat rack. Zokel's magician's hat fell on him, revealing only the tip of his tail.

“Meeeooooowww !!!!!!”

In reaction to the feline's arrival, the creature had moved closer to the kitchen, as if frightened. Is the monster afraid of this stupid cat? The mercenary realized with surprise.

Gregor grabbed the broom beside the door and waved it at the creature with great movements.

"Come on ! Out ! Keep away from us! " The mercenary delivered a violent blow to the creature... which didn't have the desired effect. The broom passed as if through its body, spraying a black liquid onto the walls.

"ZOKEL! What's this magic monster?! How do we get rid of it?!" Gregor exclaimed, taken aback.

"What are you talking about, Gregor? It's impossible for there to be a monster here, the town is protected by an impenetrable magical barrier!" Zokel retorted, approaching.

"I know what I see, Zokel, there's a black monster in the corridor, covered in spikes and claws! I'm not crazy! Get over here and immobilize it with your magic, physical strength doesn't seem to... ARGH!!! Damn cat!!!!".

Irno, still entangled in the hat, had jumped with claws out at what he thought was the creature and had in fact planted his claws... in Gregor's shins. In an instinctive reaction, the mercenary let go of the broom with one hand, and the broom hit Zokel in the head. The magician fell like a stone.

The creature took advantage of the distraction to rush towards the front door, through which daylight could be seen. It squeezed through two slightly parted planks and fled outside, leaving behind a fine mess.

*****

Outside, it was daytime. The midday sun was beating down, lighting up the streets filled with passers-by on their way home for lunch or nibbling on something they'd bought at one of the city's many stalls.

The inkblot moved as far away from the house as possible. It glided swiftly across the cobblestones like a silent shadow. A man carrying a wooden crate filled with fruit and vegetables gasped as the creature swiftly passed his feet. "Skellus! What on earth is that?" he exclaimed, trying to catch himself without letting go of his precious cargo.

Several other residents, alerted by his cry, turned their heads and saw the shadow fleeing down another street. Everywhere, people pointed to the creature as it fled, calling for help and alerting others to the presence of a monster in the city.

A magician attempted to cast a fireball spell at the monster to reduce it to ashes. The first cast fell by the wayside, while the second set fire to a cart parked nearby. The monster was fast! And the more time passed, the more nimbly and discreetly it moved, gradually approaching the lesser-known districts. These were narrower and less visible, offering him better hiding places and more shadows to hide in.

Eventually, the creature took refuge in the shadows of piled-up barrels and garbage bags. It remained there until nightfall. Numerous magicians spent the afternoon scouring the town, searching for the monster. The creature remained hidden.

*****

By nightfall, the creature had learned many things by observing the comings and goings in the alleyway. The large creatures that walked on two tentacles were called ‘humans’. No human liked to go near its hiding place, which made it an excellent hiding place. Humans covered in long strips of cloth were more dangerous than those with spikes. The strange things with five tentacles were called ‘cats’, and their tentacles were called ‘paws’. Cats roamed the streets freely. And the humans seemed to like them. They even gave them things! Whereas they squealed loudly at its approach!

The ink blot sulked. It looked at its tentacles. Then looked at the nearest cat.

It formed an ink paw. Then two. Then four. Hid its spikes and tentacles. Formed some kind of head. With its eyes, it made a strange creature.

It tried to move like a cat. And promptly fell down on its face. The creature spent the whole night learning to walk, determined. It tested its camouflage several times with the few humans still outside at this late hour.

In the dark, people didn't look too closely when the creature came out of the alley. But when it came closer to them, the same name rang out with a loud shriek. Each time, the ink blot would quickly flee on all fours, a little awkwardly, but better and better each time. It added details that were gradually missing, until it looked like a real cat at sunrise. When, for the first time, it managed to walk down the street without the locals paying any attention to it, it felt an immense sense of pride.

"Kitty, kitty, kitty! Come here!" A voice called. A little girl was standing behind the creature, not far from her father who was buying fabric in a street stall. "You're so cute !!! What's your name? I'm Iris!" she said, pointing at herself.

The little girl smiled broadly.

The creature imitated her and smiled broadly in response. A little too wide. With many sharp teeth.

The little girl's smile became more uncertain and her father, who was approaching, suddenly paled before running towards his daughter.

"Skellus! Away from my daughter, demon!

The creature walked away quietly, without the slightest concern, glad to have obtained a smile. All it had to do was work on its smile and it would be fine next time.

I'm Skellus.

*****

This night marked the beginning of a new urban legend in the City of Mages, of a phantasmagorical monster that would haunt the lesser-known alleys at night. It would appear only in front of the most inebriated inhabitants, and after staring at them for long minutes, it would flash them a wide, toothy smile that would send a chill down their spines. The aforementioned inhabitants would quickly forsworn alcohol.

In its hiding place, a certain ink blot had no idea that its legend would fuel the wildest rumors for centuries to come.

*****

What will the inkblot do?

Choice 1: Continue to observe the inhabitants of the town
Choice 2: Try to make new friends
Choice 3: Go in search of more ink