The Grasping Tentacles Seth Estlow -Part 1Wulfgrim Wulfing awoke in fright.

It seemed that all of his dreams for the past week were nightmares. He began to wonder if there was not more to these dreams. It could not have been a coincidence that he suddenly was plagued by continuous nightmares after the meteor struck the field near his village last week. No one had inspected the area since the meteor struck, but he decided to investigate. First he thought it would be best to ask the people of his village if they, too, were having ominous dreams. He went through the village, asking the people one-by-one. It was 592 AD and Wulfgrim lived in the Black Forest with the rest of his tribe, the Kazza. They were a warlike but simple tribe, ruled by a chieftain whose closest friend and advisor was an old shaman. No one knew exactly how old the shaman was, but it seemed he had been an old man for as long as Wulfgrim could remember. It seemed everyone Wulfgrim asked had been having bad dreams for the past week, including the chieftain. At last, Wulfgrim asked the shaman about it. Yes, the shaman said, I have been plagued by the nightmares, too. I know what you are thinking. You want to explore the place where the meteor struck. Do not. I have already summoned a hero to attend to the problem. Please, stay away from the place where the meteor crashed. Of course Wulfgrim did not listen. He was a man of the legendary Wulfing lineage, spawned by the ancient Wolf God Kaisar Wolffather. He had the heart of a wolf, and in his mind, there was no other man among the Kazza worthy of exploring the place the shaman had told him not to investigate. He immediately set out eastward, toward the edge of the forest. He did not have a horse, so he went on foot. He walked for days, and whenever he stopped to rest the nightmares returned, and as he got closer to the place where the meteor struck, the nightmares became more vivid. Just as he slept at the edge of the forest, the images that haunted him became surreal and disturbing. He was bombarded with constant scenes of rape and murder, but it grew worse. Demonic creatures would appear to him. Monsters from beyond the stars would rape and devour innocent women and children. The scenes grew so incredibly horrible that he awoke in a cold sweat. He did not even try to get back to sleep. He dreaded more horrific nightmares. He got up and took his weapons and gear, heading toward the place where he was told the meteor struck. As he passed through a small village, day dawned. He asked the people of the town where exactly he could find the place where the meteor had struck, as he had heard it was somewhere near that place. When he asked the townspeople, they seemed horribly sick and disturbed, and they babbled incoherently. The man whose words were most intelligible said this to him: The meteor it is evil, very evil! A thing from beyond the stars! Yam-Shogath, Lord of Madness he will devour us all! The meteor it crashed east of the village near the rune-stone of Irmin but stay away! He is coming Yam-Shogath! The young warrior knew not who this Yam-Shogath was, but if he was creating these nightmares and driving people to madness, he had to be destroyed. The warrior did not give a thought as to whether he could destroy such a creature, but he felt someone had

to. He knew where the rune-stone was. It was a monument to the hero Irmin who drove the Romans out of the country. The young warrior walked to the edge of the woods where the rune-stone was, and there he saw the huge crater that gaped in a huge field outside of the woods. As he walked nearer to the crater and looked down into it, he saw that there was no meteor there, but a hole that continued down, down into the ground. He took up his spear and lit a torch, and then he leapt down into the hole. The ground was still warm from the fiery plummeting meteor. Where the meteor went, the young Wulfing could not tell. Perhaps it grew arms and burrowed its way downward, into the ground. The young warrior made his way through the tunnel. It seemed to him that the meteor was not just a rock from the heavens. It was a creature that could burrow tunnels beneath the earth. Whatever it was, it had to be stopped. It had caused too much madness on the surface world already. The Wulfing continued down through the tunnels. It was not long before he encountered a group of hideous green creatures. They seemed to be masses of tentacles with a pair of arms ending in lobster-like claws, sliding about like a snail on a bloated, slimy body. The warrior did not know what these things were, but he knew they were not friendly. He took his spear and charged the creatures, but they quickly slid out of his way and extended their tentacles to strangle the young warrior. The Wulfing took his torch and drove it into one of the creatures grasping tentacles. The monster shrieked as its slimy flesh hissed and bubble. The warrior began waving the torch around, singeing the tentacles of the monsters until they drew back, screeching in pain and terror. Hah, you ugly things! Go where the fiends take you! the warrior cried out, continuing down the tunnel. Wulfgrim rushed through the tunnels, but soon became lost in the tangled corridors. Tunnels wound and twisted in every direction, and he did not know which way to go. There must have been more than one creature. The small monsters he had fought before were not big enough to dig the tunnels themselves, unless they did it together, in which case, why did they make the tunnels so big? There were many questions. The questions, however, did not seem important after what happened next. As the young Wulfing turned a corner, he was blasted in the face by a thick green vapor. The bitter smell made him gag, but soon the more dire affects of the gas became apparent. The warrior fell to the ground and began to writhe and shriek, assaulted by nightmarish visions

-Part 2What is this? he cried out. What has become of me?! What hell have I been thrown into?!! Someone, help!! HELP!!! He covered his face with his hands, rubbing his eyes and coughing. The vapor was thick and disgusting, though the smell was vaguely familiar, as if the smell which had been hanging in the air for the past week had suddenly hit him in the face at full blast. Of course, this did not occur to him just at that time, since, at the moment, it was as if all the nightmares that had invaded his mind since the meteor fell were all back to haunt him at once. Soon he began clawing at his face as he shrieked unintelligibly. He could have lain there for hours until, at last he opened his eyes, and he was approached by a demonic figure with bug-like eyes and long trunk-like nose. The monster cried out in a demonic tongue and tried to cover the young warriors face. He was convinced the demon was trying to kill him, so he lifted up his spear and rushed toward the creature. The monster threw a ball of flame at the young warriors face, and though he was sure his face was beginning to melt, he remained conscious, convinced the demon would kill him if he showed any sign of weakness. The warrior leapt into the air and drove his spear down toward the creature, but the demon quickly dodged, grasping a card and throwing it down. A weird phantom emerged from the card, and there was a flash of light. The warrior remained conscious, but he was sure the bug-eyed demon was trying to stun him, perhaps to dissect him later. The phantom returned back to the card, but the demon drew another card. A giant shining star appeared in the air above the warrior and the demon, and there was a sudden flash of light, blinding the Wulfing. He was still conscious, however, when he felt a mask cover his face. He tried to pull it off, but his hands were restrained. The cursed mask he thought. The demon is trying to make me like him.Ive been bound! I cannot fight against him! He has picked me up! Hes carrying me to his lair to be to be devoured! At last the warriors vision cleared. He was wearing a mask, but he no longer saw a demon. He was being carried in the arms of a man who wore a mask with some kind of visor, and a tube connected to some kind of pack upon his back. Who are you? the young Wulfing asked. You can call me the Stranger, he said. The shaman told me that a creature came here and is causing madness on the surface. How is that possible? the warrior asked. You mind if I put you down? the Stranger, ignoring the question. Thats fine, the warrior said. The Stranger set Wulfgrim down and he began walking at his side. So, how can this creature cause madness on the surface? Is it some kind of curse or sorcery? the Wulfing asked again. The creature is the spawn of Yam-Shogath, Lord of Madness, the Stanger answered. The gas that his you was a concentrated cloud of spores. Yam-Shogath can produce these vapors to cause madness in human minds, and then he feeds upon the resulting abundance of certain brain chemicals. Huh? This creature, the spawn of Yam-Shogath, came to earth to burrow underground and release his gasses, causing madness in the surrounding human population so that he

can devour their minds. The shaman is an old friend of mine, and he alerted me to the creatures presence. Now youre coming with me, because I have to destroy the creature. What I want you to do is stay in one spot and hold my torch. If any of the creatures minions come toward you, burn them. Do not wander off! Since this man claimed to be friends with the shaman, the young warrior decided to do as he said. He had already gotten into enough trouble by disobeying the shaman. Were getting close, the Stranger said. Wait here while I enter the cavern. The Stranger handed Wulfgrim his torch as he ducked through a nearby doorway. Wulfgrim stood there with his torch, but soon he began to hear loud, rumbling growls and crashes, and he gazed through the doorway to see what was happening. There was a long tunnel and Wulfgrim saw nothing but flashes of light shining on the walls. Still, he had been told to stay in one place. Suddenly there was a huge crash and the Stranger came running out of the doorway. Lets get out of here! the Stranger exclaimed. The lair of Yam-Shogaths spawn is collapsing! Ive defeated the monster and now, with what power remains in him, hes trying to bring the lair down upon us! Hurry! The warrior ran at the Strangers side, but the roof was caving in. Stones plummeted down from above as the men rushed through the tunnels. Tentacled creatures rushed, screeching, for some kind of cover. The Wulfing warrior began to lag behind. Im going to have to pick you up again, the Stanger said. Weve got to get out of here soon or well be crushed. The Stranger lifted up the warrior and blasted through the cave like lightning, driven by powerful electricity. At last they emerged from the crater. The shaman was waiting for them there with a disappointed look upon his face. Wulfgrim, I told you not to go down there. I already contacted the Stranger and told him to fight the monster himself. The young warrior hung his head in shame. Yes, I know. Im sorry, the warrior said. Anyway, Im out of here, the Stranger said. Until next time! And then he shot up into the air, vanishing far, far into the distance. As for Wulfgrim, he did his best to forget about the whole horrible incident and go on with his life. He got married and went on to have a son: Haduwalt the Hairy, who grew to be a mighty warrior. Wulfgrim, however, never saw the Stranger again.