Novir was already grabbing a crossbow and quiver of bolts from the saddle pack, then a cloth sack before dismounting. Ryan got himself unbuckled, then helped Anna. He took the quiver and crossbow from his saddle despite not being sure how to use them. Then he climbed down the rope ladder to the ground, almost sorry to be standing on his own two feet again after that ride. Everyone soon gathered in one place, near the heads of the dragons. Even Jolian, with her benevolent attitude, was simply frightening this close to that gigantic mouth. Ryan could have walked straight into it and been swallowed whole.
“Where’s the cave?” Eric asked of Novir, looking around. Ryan didn’t see it either, just pine-covered, snow-capped mountains all around, the foothills covered in thicker foliage, boulders of every size gathered in old rock falls. They stood on uneven earth with more stone jutting up, most of it smooth from weathering. He had seen a trail leading past this spot and a way to climb down to it, and it made him wonder what had made it. Whatever it was wouldn’t be much of a threat to dragons, and likely wasn’t dumb enough to try something. They were taking a chance trusting the dragons, because if they left while they were underground, they would be lost without adequate supplies with who knows what nearby and a town a few hours away. He at least felt confident which direction it was from here, the trail leaving only two options.
“That way,” Novir replied, pointing past some trees. But when Ryan looked, he saw nothing. “I think it could be best for Brazin and Sebast to remain here. Jolian can change form and come with us? Good. I think one dragon might be helpful inside, just in case we run into more trouble than expected. When we come back, only having to put one saddle back on is better than three.”
Ryan was about to ask if they needed to at least loosen the saddle on Jolian when she whispered a few words he didn’t catch and morphed into the leather clad vixen he’d first seen. For a second, she had appeared as both, the humanoid form where the dragon head was like an illusion, close to the ground. She dropped a few feet to land nimbly and straightened. The saddle, reins, and halter fell to the earth, the bulky saddle landing with a thud and rolling sideways. He assumed they were designed for such impacts and for the first time, wondered how they got it up there, as he hadn’t been watching Sebast get saddled, and the others had already been prepared.
“Is there any chance of Sebast and Brazin being seen while we’re inside?” Eric asked.
“Some,” Sebast responded, his rumbling voice deep, “but boredom is our greatest threat.”
Novir added, “There are trolls and ogres in these mountains, but they are smart enough to stay far from dragons. It’s a long walk to the nearest town, and a deadly one. There’s a reason few come to this cave.” He gestured toward the faint trail leading up into the peaks for what seemed like an arduous climb.
Ryan scanned around them but saw no signs of movement. “What should we expect inside?”
Novir pulled a cloth sack off his shoulder and pulled two torches from it, tossing one to the knight. “A walk down a narrow tunnel. We can talk about the cave itself as we go. Let’s move.”
He started toward some trees and the others followed, Ryan and Jolian in the rear as they stepped around boulders and over the random fallen trees always lying in the wilderness. Ryan had no tracking skills to speak of, really, though he had learned some from Lorian, but he saw no signs of recent passage, including near the ten-foot-wide cave opening that was low so that he had to duck into it. After another few feet, it rose just high enough to straighten.
And part of a humanoid skeleton was the first thing Ryan saw. A glance around showed another set of bones from something bigger, then a pair of skeletal wings with some of the leathery part still on it. Most of the remains were partial, and he wondered if animals had gotten to the rest, as something had moved various bones around. The bodies not being fresh gave him some comfort that a threat was not imminent, but they left no doubt that danger lay here.
Novir lit his torch and then Ryan’s. Matt made the top of his wizard’s staff glow with a spoken word.
“I assume we should keep our voices down as we descend,” Eric said.
“Yes.” Novir stepped deeper into the tunnel, Eric right behind, then Anna, Matt, and finally Ryan and the dragon. “There is little to concern us until the cave at the end, but sound travels here and we want to silently do this so as not to disturb anything.”
As they followed on what looked like a natural passage, every surface rough and uneven, Eric asked in a low voice, “What is at the end, and is it really the end or just our destination?”
“The Kirii Cave is at least a hundred yards high, less wide and deep. And it is not the end. There are several passages deeper into the mountains, or in other directions. Some of these are above in the ceiling, and that is how the kirii fly out into the sky to hunt. They are nocturnal, which means they will be sleeping, hanging from the ceiling above the water. They should not disturb us. The leviathan is our concern.”
“What is it, exactly?” Eric asked.
“No one is really sure. Hard to get a good look at in the darkness, and partly because it has long tentacles and can pull you from the shore without showing its body. These appear to grow back, so wounds do not easily deter it.”
“Do normal weapons hurt it?”
“Yes. It is not supernatural. Our best tactic, aside from not waking it, is to retreat into the tunnel, or near it, and fight from there if we haven’t gotten what we need.”
Ryan had a thought and asked, “Disturbing it means disturbing the kirii, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does. One will awaken the others.”
They stepped around loose rock that had fallen from a wall. “And what will they do?”
“Attack.”
“Us or the leviathan?”
“Everything that isn’t them.”
They entered a natural cave with the ground falling away to one side. As they skirted around, Eric asked, “How dangerous are they?”
“Very, especially because we are where they live. They do have young to protect and will see us as a threat. Expect a vicious, nasty battle if one happens.”
“Are they animals or smarter?”
The passage continued, tightly closed on all sides so that they had to turn sideways to continue, but it didn’t last long. Ryan wasn’t feeling quite claustrophobic, but a little uncomfortable when the passage got too tight.
Novir answered, “Oh, they’re smarter. They have weapons. Small crossbows, slings. They understand tactics. One of them is two or more of them grabbing you and carrying you away. You are as good as dead if this happens, whether they tear you to pieces in the sky, drop you to your death, or save you for food. It is more reason to retreat if needed.”
Ryan asked, “Will they follow us through this tunnel? I saw the one skeleton outside.”
“Not sure, but they know where the tunnel leads. The one we saw probably flew out and came around to the opening.”
“So they could trap us inside.”
“Yes, they could, but they don’t fight well in small spaces. And they aren’t likely to enter the tunnels very far.”
“Still leaves you trapped. They can wait you out.”
Novir said, “Let’s not worry about it. We have a wizard and a dragon in here with us and two more dragons outside. The kirii would see Brazin and Sebast and turn around at once.”
They descended in silence from there, the tunnel sometimes getting wider or taller but seldom much smaller. They passed through several small caves and a cave-in, which made Ryan wonder how stable all of this was. The possibility of getting trapped or lost underground wasn’t something he had considered until now, and the number of natural tunnels branching out from caves made him want to concentrate and memorize the way. Only a few looked to have been created manually, as evidenced by chisel marks and scattered debris, but they sometimes came upon multiple openings of different sizes and leading up, down, level, or in other directions. It was not obvious which
way to go, and their reliance on Novir bothered him. What if something killed him? Ryan had been making a point of always looking behind him when they reached a cave, to visually identify whether other openings were there and which one they had just exited. He couldn’t see Eric up ahead until then, but his friend was doing the same. They finally stopped, gathering close.
“We are near,” Novir whispered. “Around the next turn. It is best to ready ourselves here.”
He wound the crossbow he had been carrying, as Ryan did after watching to see how he did it. He needed to learn these things back on Earth and practice everything related to it. He hadn’t opened the weapons that had arrived. He’d been loading them into the house when he was summoned. Confidence that he was an excellent shot would have eased his nerves, and maybe those of his friends. Eric had already drawn a throwing knife, and Ryan knew his friend was deadly accurate. He wanted the others to rely on him the same way he did on Eric right now. As he stood thinking about this, Matt was fumbling in his robes for what turned out to be a vial he held up, nodding that he was ready.
Ryan turned to Anna, asking, “Have you been able to reach a god?”
She nodded. “Yes, on the way here.”
“Then I guess we’re ready.”
Seeing agreement, Novir quietly led them another ten paces and around a curve. A bit farther and it appeared to end in blackness. They continued forward, Novir the first to step out a few paces and then aside as the rest joined him. Ryan exited last and looked around, but there wasn’t much to see in the dark. Seeing Novir put a torch on a wall sconce someone had fastened beside the opening, he looked for a second on his side and put his there. The light being in his hand wasn’t helping his eyes adjust, but now they all stepped forward on the stone, which extended twenty feet out and to the sides as the cavern opened around them. While most of the lake appeared to be directly ahead, some of it lay to either side of their position.
Two dim shafts of light above revealed two openings to the outside. Against them, they could see dark shapes hanging from the cavern roof, scores of them by one shaft and more by another. Given the room’s size, Ryan guessed that well over a hundred kirii were here, most out of sight, and he knew that the number could be far higher. They seemed small from here, but he knew they were four feet tall. None appeared to be moving.
One small, somewhat flat island lay off to one side, but a large, rockier, and taller one stood farther away, jagged spires of rock straining upward. Both seemed to have various shiny items laying on them, and he wondered if they were “treasure” to lure people out there. A rowboat lay on the shore. Another rested off to one side of where he stood, available to them if needed. A third floated aimlessly on the still waters, and the wreck of a fourth jutted up from beneath the dark surface nearer to them. He saw no bodies, but from what Novir had said, maybe the leviathan or kirii carried away anything left here. Nearby, he saw a rusting sword, broken arrows, and loose stones that might have been fired from a sling.
“You’re up, Soli,” Eric whispered.
Matt sighed and moved carefully on the dark, slick stones, stopping at the water’s edge and resting the crook of his staff in one arm. Ryan moved toward him in case Matt needed physical protection, but his eyes were on the kirii, not his footing, and he stepped on a loose rock that slid out from underfoot. He nearly fell with what would have been a loud clatter, but caught himself. The rock wasn’t so fortunate, rattling over the other stones and into the water with a small splash. He cringed and watched helplessly as ripples of water spread out and away. He knew Eric’s incredulous eyes were boring into the back of his head without bothering to turn around to confirm it.
Ryan asked in a whisper, “Any chance you can direct a focused beam of light from the staff? I’d like to know what is out there.”
“What if I wake something up?
“Good point. Maybe right before we leave. Or maybe not.”
“Hold the staff, please.”
Ryan took it as Matt crouched to the water, opened the vial in one hand, and emptied it into the waters as he spoke words of magic, which Ryan only understood thanks to the spell Lorian had cast on all of them on Honyn.
Into the waters you seek and find
All the creatures, make them mine
Bring them here, all of one mind
Caught like a fish on hook and line
Matt made a gesture as if to spread the liquid out, and then another toward himself, as if bringing back fish. Only now did the knight realize he hadn’t noticed Matt getting the fishing cantrip, as he thought of it, from Denir. Matt straightened and took the staff back.
“How long does it take?” Ryan asked.
The wizard shrugged. “Not sure. A couple minutes?”
They waited in silence, Ryan casting a look behind. Eric and Anna stood together as far from the water’s edge on three sides as they could, and the opening behind them, as if concerned something might come from there. Or at least, that’s what Ryan suddenly thought of. But Novir stood just before the torches, as if expecting it, too, so he had their back. Jolian had walked to the water’s edge and crouched, eyes staring off into the dark as if she could see things they could not. She sniffed the air several times, making Ryan wonder what she smelled.
His thoughts were broken when a surge of water a few inches high moved toward them from out in the lake. It came in waves, something under the surface clearly moving closer to them, as if undecided about doing so and starting and stopping, each time causing a new rush of water. Ryan gripped his crossbow and loaded a bolt into it. Another surge started to one side, closer to Jolian, who turned toward it. The first surge came again, this time larger and with an audible sound of moving water. Ryan’s eyes darted up to the cavern roof, and he thought several red glowing eyes were visible, but maybe it was his imagination. The earliest waves reached their feet, lapping at the stone shore, but so far there was no sign of the cause.
“I wonder what else is in these waters,” he whispered to Matt, watching the source draw nearer. “What if it’s not just the one type of fish and this monster?”
The wizard looked back at Novir, who was too far away to ask. “Wish we had thought of that earlier.”
“Let’s get away from the edge.”
“Brilliant idea.”
They cautiously backed up, and as they did so, more waves came from the side near Jolian, one being noticeably deeper than the shallower ripples. He couldn’t see her face, but Ryan had the impression she was watching intensely.
“Soliander,” began Eric, who had approached them silently and startled Ryan, “how exactly does this spell work?”
“It brings nearby sea life to–” He stopped, a look of alarm on his face.
Seeing that, Ryan asked, “What is it?”
Eric asked, “Does the spell specify fish?” Matt’s wide eyes turned to him and Eric swore.
Ryan began, “Why does that… oh shit.”
“What?” asked Anna.
Eric answered, “The spell summons sea life. That might include the leviathan.”
Suddenly splashes came from the first source of movement and a few silvery fish broke the surface as they approached chaotically. Ryan relaxed at the sight. The rush of water grew louder and more intense, which made him look up again. For a moment, he thought one of the kirii that had been a silhouette against the dim ceiling lights had disappeared, but then he realized he was the one who had moved. A quick step to one side to change his angle and he confirmed it was still there.
But now the noise grew uncomfortably loud as a swarm of fish surged toward them, the shallow water causing waves to crash and echo in the cavern. And it only got worse when the hundreds of silver fish reached the shore and began flopping both in the water and on land. Each was about as long as his hand and narrow, but together they were making Ryan nervous with the noise. He saw other fish among them, red and smaller, and large black ones. Something that looked like a turtle was hard to see with the other fish flo
pping around on top of it. No leviathan, at least.
“Which ones do we want?” he asked Matt, who was pulling out a pouch. A glance at Jolian showed her still watching the other, unseen source of movement, which had come closer, too.
“The silver ones. Just grab a bunch and throw them in here.”
The sound of rushing water near Jolian made them turn. A two-foot wave surged forward, and she stood up, her wary posture showing alarm. To the left and right of the surge, two thick, black tentacles broke the surface, one lashing out at Novir near the exit, but missing. The other swung at Jolian, who did a backflip over it, and when she landed, long nails had sprung from her fingertips. Novir fired his crossbow at the place where Ryan suspected the body of the leviathan was, the bolt slicing into the water to vanish. And then several more tentacles sprang from the water.
Ryan hefted his crossbow and wondered where to aim. The tentacles were moving too fast, but then Jolian spoke a word and they slowed to half their speed as if stunned. He fired into one and it recoiled. Novir did the same, but Ryan shook his head. Crossbows would not deter this thing.
“Ryan, back away from Matt and get your sword out,” said Eric, coming closer. The knight turned and saw him leading Anna to the wizard, telling her to scoop up some fish into the bag and quickly get to the exit and wait there. Eric was right. She had to get out of harm’s way and wasn’t much help in a fight, as far as he knew. Just then a tentacle flew toward him and he swung the sword, cutting deep into it as black blood splattered around him and on his armor. The wounded limb came back, and this time he cut it clean. And then a horrible screeching sound erupted from the roof of the cavern, and Ryan turned in realization. The kirii were coming, dozens of flying silhouettes against the rays of dim light from above.
The Light Bringer: An Epic Fantasy Adventure Novel (The Dragon Gate Series Book 2) Page 9
