Quietly, Quiggly stepped into the darkness as he stealthily approached and steeled himself for battle against the monster. It slowly turned its head and a beam of light from its yellow eyes reflected off the walls of the corridor. It opened its mouth and let out an earsplitting growl that made Quiggly instinctively cover his head with his hands. The door to the room started to shake, revealing a silhouette of the shadowy figure in the room as he crept closer to the monster. The shadows in the room began to move, revealing the red monster approaching Quiggly. He stood a foot taller than Quiggly and was larger than a bear. The walls pulsated and the room continued to shake as the creature came closer and closer. Quiggly could hear the monster's footsteps as it silently made its way toward him. He crouched down and placed his hands behind his back, hiding his hands as he did so. The creature continued to stalk towards him until the walls stopped shaking and a moment later the monster disappeared. Quiggly stood up and ran into the room. He looked around in complete darkness, until he found a switch near the wall. He turned it on and began to look around the room, finding no one around. “Hello?” Quiggly called out into the darkness. He listened to silence and turned around. “Hello?” Quiggly called out once more, although this time louder. “Who's there?” “My name is Quiggly,” he announced as he heard something run across the room, making the floor vibrate. “May I help you?” Quiggly sensed there was another being in the room and thought about going to alert his fellow party members. However, a noise alerted him to the fact that the creature was getting closer. Quiggly got on his hands and knees and slowly got ready for the creature. When the creature had reached him Quiggly stood up and faced it. It stood behind him, breathing heavily, as it leaped on Quiggly. Quiggly let out a yell and jumped backward. He quickly stood up, and, though dazed, managed to turn around. The creature stood on the floor, breathing heavily, but the creature’s right arm was broken and outstretched towards Quiggly. The door to the room opened and a figure stepped into the room with its back to Quiggly. The shadow had on a hat with red and green stripes, giving it a clown appearance. It was followed by the monster, which now stood by the shadow and slowly turned around towards Quiggly. Quiggly and the shadow both stood still and faced each other, unmoving and silent. “I must say that you are quite fast,” the shadow said. “That last move looked very dangerous and could have knocked you out. I suggest that you not do that again.” Quiggly looked at the shadow and then at the monster that stood behind it. He decided not to challenge them for two reasons. First, he thought that they were friendly and was convinced by their presence. Secondly, he was afraid of making things worse and fighting them on the spot. He slowly edged away from them and the shadow moved next to him and slowly turned to face the monster. The monster stopped in its tracks and stared at the shadow and then back at Quiggly, before returning to look at the shadow once more. The monster took a step towards the shadow and then towards the door. Then he turned around towards the shadow and then back towards Quiggly. It looked as if the monster was deciding whether to attack Quiggly or the shadow. Quiggly decided to wait for the shadow to act first, as he was more familiar with the monster. Meanwhile, the shadow was staring at Quiggly as if he was talking to himself. “The shadow just turned into a monster,” Quiggly thought. “Of course. He is one of them.” The shadow came closer and Quiggly backed up. The shadow slowly walked towards the room’s door, reaching to turn the handle. He grabbed the door with his left hand, causing it to be pushed open by his right arm. The monster walked out and the door closed behind it, sealing itself. Quiggly and the shadow looked at each other and the shadow walked toward Quiggly, who walked away from him. They both looked at the door to the room that the monster left through. Quiggly then went over to the door and began to open it, looking into the room from the crack. The room was completely dark, save for the light streaming in from the corridor. Quiggly walked around the room, trying to find the source of the light. The other door had now swung open, revealing five more party members and two demons. Quiggly walked over to them. “Hello,” he called out. “You seem to have company.” The party members who were in the room seemed confused, as they stared at the shadow in bewilderment. The other party members seemed to think that the shadow was a demon or monster that appeared in their room. “Did you really do it, Quiggly?” Quarrick called out. He was the party member who had been the only one in the room when it was opened. “If so, we have to help you get out of there.” “Of course we will,” said Rennella. “You did help us, so we are indebted to you.” “And we will repay you,” said Quarrick. “So give us your gratitude.” “Of course,” Quiggly said as he scratched his head. Quiggly noticed that the room was shaking. “Are we being attacked?” he asked. “I don’t know,” said Quarrick. “Maybe.” “No,” Rennella said, as she was staring at the shadow. “That shadow isn’t real. It’s the shadow that Quiggly was afraid of. He was under the shadow’s spell.” Quiggly’s heart was pounding as he looked at the shadow. “It cannot be,” he whispered. “He came into our room by accident. I saw him leave the room.” “He came to get me,” the shadow whispered to Quiggly. “He came in to save me.” “How do you know I was there?” Quiggly called out. “Because I was there too,” the shadow said. “He was the only one in the room. He saved me. I was his only hope of survival.” Quiggly ran over to the shadow and pushed the shadow to the floor. The shadow sat there, with his arms around his knees. “No,” the shadow said. “He did save me.” “You are lying,” said Quiggly, as he grabbed the shadow by his collar and held him at arm’s length, as if looking at him for the first time. “You are a demon. How did you get in our party members’ room? How did you get in the house in the first place? You came here to destroy us, didn’t you?” The shadow looked over his shoulder at the door to the room. The door had swung open, revealing the room’s other four party members and a couple of demons standing in the doorway. Quiggly looked at the shadow and then glanced at the other party members and then back at the shadow again. “He is a monster,” Quiggly whispered to the party members, who were still bewildered. “He cannot be trusted.” “That’s true,” said Quarrick. “We’ve seen what the shadow can do.” “You are mistaken,” said the shadow. “I came here to save Quiggly. He is my friend.” Quiggly sighed and dropped the shadow to the floor. ʽ “I will not let you have him.” “We will keep Quiggly,” said Rennella. “Our trust cannot be easily shattered.” “No,” said the shadow. “He has a new life here. It’s the life I saved him from.” Quiggly glanced at the other party members who were talking about him. “Quiggly is right,” said Quarrick. “We don’t want to hurt anyone. And we don’t want him to be hurt.” “Quiggly will protect you,” the shadow said. “He will protect the shadow.” “Quiggly will protect us,” Rennella said. “We won’t allow anyone to hurt us.”