Beasts of the Eternal City

Previously

…A heavy clang echoed through the corridor as what sounded like a massive bolt was thrown back. Archius braced himself, his heart pounding against his ribs. The door creaked open, revealing not a guard, but a hulking form silhouetted against a faint, pulsating light from the corridor beyond. It was a creature, massive and reptilian, its scales shimmering with an iridescent sheen. Its eyes, like molten gold, fixed on him with an unnerving intensity. It was chained, its massive frame straining against thick, iron restraints, and it was holding a crude, heavy bucket in one of its clawed hands. The creature dropped the bucket with a clang that reverberated through the small cell. It was filled