Audrey is stalked by Shadows

Audrey Ashgrove dozes on the lounge of her home inside the secure walls of The Citadel, the Cheshire Cat laying limp and panting softly on her lap, as the midnight hour approaches.

A sudden noise, a scratching and scraping outside the window, has her alert and awake within seconds, her hold tightening on the withering feline, so that it lets out a barely audible mewling at the unexpected pressure.

Audrey Ashgrove stands noiselessly, the cat held gently in her arms and places it tenderly in its basket near the fading fire.
"No need for alarm," she murmurs quietly, whether to the Cat or herself remains unknown. "Gabe should be home from his work with ArchDruid Fitheach soon," she tries to sound reassuring as she strokes the moist mottled fur, barely containing her gasp as the scraping continues along the house wall towards the door after a short pause.

Audrey Ashgrove goes rigid, her focus entirely on the eerie noises coming from outside. She gathers her courage and moves cautiously towards the window, peering into the murky darkness outside.

Without warning a spine-chilling shadow passes beneath the window, a creature half crawling, sneaking and searching in the gloom and Audrey presses her hand to her mouth to quell her rising panic and stop herself from screaming. 

The sinister shadow moves in near silence around the house and Audrey falls to her knees, sliding back across the rug towards the Cheshire Cat as the ghastly scraping begins again, whispering in despair to the near unconscious feline, "I f-f-ear the Drow have found you, my friend. What am I going to do?"

To be continued...