The Ancient Lands: Warrior Quest, Search for the Ifa Scepter

by Jason McCammon

Chapter 21

  THE SHADOWLIGHT

  thought

  By the time they awoke, the sun had sunk well below the horizon and was replaced by the strength of the full moon. Farra woke first. She couldn’t see it from the corridor, but she could feel the energy from the moon surging beneath her skin. It certainly helped with the pain that her battered and bruised body felt.

  The man-made cave was dark, so Farra channeled some of her energy through her staff to give a soft glow. When she stood up, she woke Bomani.

  “I’m much better now,” she assured him. “I’m going to check out the temple. Wanna come?”

  “Yeah.” said Bomani. “I’m right with you.”

  No matter how well they tried to navigate through the tunnels, they found themselves lost. It was apparently designed that way. Farra was sure that the main chamber of the temple lay somewhere in the center, and if only they could make their way through this maze on the outer shell, they could find it.

  “While you warriors spend all your time swinging weapons and trying to toughen each other up, the Anifem insist on making us learn.”

  Bomani shrugged. “So what is this place?”

  “I don’t know a lot,” she replied, “I’m still young, and I have a lot to learn. I do remember my father speaking to me about it, and talking about the power of shape shifters.”

  “Shape shifters?” Bomani asked.

  “Yes, people that can change themselves into animals, probably like the ones that are at the top of the temple. I remember him saying that controlling the power of the shape shifters was like having ultimate power. Somehow, my people are descendants, or cousins, or descendants of cousins or something like that. That’s pretty much all I know.”

  “So wait a minute? You are one of these people?”

  “No, we’re not shape shifters, but we do have a bond with animals, as you know. There isn’t a lot that is known about the Man-a-morphs. I think they are all dead. So, to see this temple is actually a big deal.”

  “Well,” Bomani said while coming to an intersection and having no idea which way to go, “It doesn’t seem like we’re ever going to make it inside anyway. This place is a maze.”

  “Yeah, I think we are lost.” Farra then turned her attention to Pupa who was busy licking the water trickling down the side of the wall. “Oh! Pupa you found water!”

  Farra could already taste the water and feel its wetness on her tongue before it even reached her mouth. They rushed to the wall and put their hands up to the small trickle of water to capture a much as they could.

  It was more like rubbing the wall, getting their fingers wet, and then licking their fingers than drinking, but it served its purpose. They had not had a thing to drink for almost a day. The hot sun and the windstorm had left them parched.

  “If it is water you are looking for, I can provide you with much more than that crack in the wall has to offer,” a deep, horrid voice came from behind them.

  Farra turned and held her staff up to give this voice some light, and screamed. “Stinky ogres!”

  They could only see one, but if there was one thing they knew about ogres, it was that if there was one ogre, there were twenty more right behind him; though this one looked strangely different.

  They did not wait for him to attack. These tight corridors were no place to be bombarded by a pack of ogres. There was not much room for swinging or maneuvering.

  “Go!” Bomani yelled out.

  Farra was already on her way down the hallway. Bomani followed, and with the light from Farra’s staff in front of them, they could not see how far behind them the ogres were. The light stretched out a foot or so behind Bomani, and then faded to black. That did not stop them from frequently looking behind themselves in a panic for any hint of the beasts.

  “No, this way,” Bomani told her, which seemed to be the short conversation they had at every decision making intersection. They rounded a corner and stopped in front of something hovering in the air in front of them. It was like liquid, suspended in midair. Where the light from Farra’s staff reached its surface, it was black. Where it fell into shadow, it was wondrous shining silver. The thing moved in waves as water does. It was five feet long and over a half foot wide. This watery black and silver thing came to a point at the end and as Farra and Bomani stood in front of it, it seemed to be looking at him.

  With a look, they both agreed to go back the other way. They ran past their last intersection just in time for one of the ogres to grab Farra from around the corner. He had just barely got a hold on her, so with a few seconds of struggle she was free.

  “Wait,” the ogre said.

  But the words might as well have fallen on deaf ears, for the children continued to run the maze. They could hear the footsteps of the ogres behind them this time. Farra’s heart was pounding faster than her legs were moving. She channeled more energy into to brighten the hallway.

  Behind them, in the dark they could see the liquid metal snake flowing through the air, pursuing their every turn.

  “Faster,” Farra yelled. Suddenly they reached a point where even faster would have done them no good. They had reached a dead end.

  They had nowhere to go. Farra hit the wall and turned around, then Bomani did the same, behind her. The thing came closer now. It slowed its pace. It made the strangest hissing sound, like a snake under water.

  As it came into Farra’s light, the silver turned to black liquid. Bomani lifted his shield and grabbed his spear. He thrust his spear at the thing. The tip entered the black exterior as easily as it would any liquid and when he pulled his spear back, the thing was unaffected.

  Then, like a snake, it drew its head back and lunged toward them. Bomani raised his shield, putting a barrier between the thing and them. Quickly, he learned that barriers, or solids of any kind, meant nothing to this liquid-beast.

  It penetrated his shield with no effort. Bomani flinched and turned his head. No closer than half a foot in front of Bomani’s face, the thing stopped and thrashed around. Something was holding it back, and it did not seem to like it.

  It jumped back, taking Bomani’s shield with it. The ogre they had seen before was holding the thing by the tail, pulling it back. The thing thrashed from side to side until Bomani’s shield fell to the ground.

  “The light,” the ogre yelled. “Turn off the light. It won’t stop as long as you keep the light on.”

  Farra thought it was odd they the ogre was trying to help them. He was holding the liquid thing, keeping it from getting to them. For a second, it made since to listen to the ogre.

  She turned off the light. The black monster immediately turned its black color to shiny metal chrome, now emitting its own light. It was bright enough to see the ogre still handling it, struggling to pull it back further and further.

  “Go!” The ogre said, as he pulled the thing back past the last intersection of hallways, struggling all the while. The thing was no longer intent on moving toward the children. It had wrapped itself around the ogre like a python trying to kill its prey.

  Farra and Bomani moved forward, toward the intersection. Farra once again channeled some energy to her staff for just a small hint of light – moving around in the dark was hard, and frightening for that matter. All she wanted to do was find that intersection so that they could dart down another hallway for their escape.

  It was a mistake. As soon as her light came on again, the thing’s attention turned toward it. It unwrapped itself from around the ogre and headed their way. Once again the ogre grabbed the thing by the tail and held it back.

  “The light,” he said. “I told you about the light!”

  The light went off.

  “Sorry,” Farra yelled back down the hallway, and for some reason felt a sense of embarrassment.

  Bomani and Farra let their free hands feel along the wall until coming to the intersection where they turned. Guessing in the d
arkness, they let their hands lead the way.

  The sound of the struggle between the ogre and the liquid thing echoed throughout the hall.

  “That thing has to be strong to get in a battle of strength with an ogre of that size, and give him that much trouble,” said Bomani.

  Then, they heard a familiar cry. The ogre screamed out in pain and agony.

  “We’ve heard that before,” whispered Farra. The terrible feeling she had in the bone yard crept upon her.

  “Yeah, when we were outside, I remember,” whispered Bomani. “What do you think it means?”

  “Maybe he’s dead.”

  It seemed possible, for when the screaming stopped, Farra could no longer hear anything. They stopped and listened even harder, but there was no sign of the liquid thing, and no sign of the ogre.

  They sat for about 15 minutes in the dark trying to figure out their next move. Then, ahead of them she saw the liquid thing, silver and shinning in the dark, heading their way.

  “It’s back,” Bomani whispered, “We should go.”

  “No.” A hand grabbed Farra from behind, followed by a voice. “Stay here, keep quiet. And please, keep that light of yours off.”

  The ogre gave the command, wrapped his arms around them, and held them still.

  “Watch your breathing,” he said. “Here it comes.”

  The thing came toward them slowly down the dark hallway, like a snake of mercury, and making that agitating underwater hissing sound. Farra’s heart thumped harder and faster with every moment. Part of her wanted to give the ogre a quick elbow in the side and break free. Fortunately, the smarter half of her kept her calm. She stayed still and let it get closer.

  Then, about five yards from the group, at another intersection, the thing paused, making its decision about which way to go next. Farra’s eyes widened. If the thing came to them, what was the ogre planning to do? Luckily it turned away and headed down a different corridor.

  With the thing gone, all light was gone from the hall. The ogre loosened his grip on the children. “Follow me if you want to live,” he said. “Take my hand.”

  In a train of handholding, the three made their way down the hallway. It only took a few minutes before they reached an open room. “Wait here,” said the ogre. A few seconds later, they heard the sound of stone sliding against the floor. Then, when a torch came on, they saw that they were in an enclosed room.

  The ogre must have spent much time in there. In the corner, there were shelves that had been carved out of the wall. On them were a mixture of cups and bowls made out of clay. He grabbed two of the cups and dipped them into what appeared to be a barrel that had been carved right into the wall. The bed too, was carved into the wall. On top of the rock there lay an assortment of clothing stacked on top of each other, seemingly to make the bed of rock more comfortable.

  “I still don’t trust him,” Bomani whispered to Farra. She watched him grab his spear.

  “What? Bomani don’t do anything stupid.”

  He raised his spear and challenged the ogre. “Who are you?” Bomani threatened.

  “If I wanted you dead, I would have let the shadowlight get you.”

  “Shadowlight, is that the thing we saw, the water-looking thing? The one chasing us?” asked Farra.

  “Yes,” said the ogre.

  “What did it want?” she asked.

  “Oh, only to drain your life from you.”

  “Kill us?” she said in fear.

  “Yes.”

  “My spear. It went right through it; didn’t hurt it, not one bit,” said Bomani.

  “When it comes to the shadowlight, there isn’t much you can do. All your weapons and shields will be useless, and the last thing you want it to do is touch you. Death is not instant. It will drain you, and then leave. Your face and skin will turn pale white. It’s like a poison that takes twenty minutes or so. Many people have been strong enough to stumble their way outside, but it doesn’t matter. They all fall within eyesight of the temple.

  “You didn’t,” Bomani said. “You fought the thing. It touched you. You struggled with it for minutes.”

  The ogre handed the children cups.

  “Water!” Farra shouted. “Oh my, I’m so thirsty.”

  “I figured as much. As I tried to tell you when you were busy licking the walls, there is a river that runs underground for about 150 miles or so. It empties out into Death Canyon. This temple was built right on top of that river.

  “Who comes up with these names?” Bomani asked shaking his head. “You still didn’t tell us how the shadow thing didn’t kill you.”

  “Shadowlight. And you’re right,” said the ogre. “I am the exception to the rule. It cannot harm me. As far as I know that exception goes for me, and only me. If I were you, I wouldn’t try and test that. I’ve seen hundreds that have let the shadowlight touch their skin. Now, all of their bodies lay outside the temple, scavenged by animals, insects, and time. For some reason, a decade or so ago, there was a rush of people coming to the temple. So many that a terrible battle was fought on the grounds outside. Many died in the battle, the remaining, came in here and were killed by the shadowlight.”

  “But why you?” asked Farra. “What makes you different? Who are you?”

  “My name is Torik.”

  “Well, Mister Torik, I don’t mean to be rude, but you seem much different than any ogre that we have met before.”

  “Ha ha,” Torik chuckled. “Yes, I would think so.”

  “She’s right,” said Bomani. “Are you here alone? We thought we saw another one, but that was you, wasn’t it.”

  “It’s just me and the shadowlight. Though even living with an enemy, is better than living alone. Sometimes, we even sit in the same room together. He’ll hover above me as I sit on the floor and watch him, like watching fire; his shape is constantly rippling and changing. From time to time, I’ve even reached my hand up and run it along the shadowlight's length. Are you hungry?”

  “Oh yes, please,” said Farra.

  “That sounds more like a friendship,” Bomani said.

  “Make no mistake, it would kill me if it could, and I, it. You wouldn’t happen to be able to make fire with that staff of yours, would you?”

  “No,” Farra replied. “Why do people think I can make fire? No, just tell everyone that Farra cannot make fire.”

  Bomani snickered.

  “Hey, Bomani, you’re not without faults, let’s not forget who handed who over to you know who.”

  “Not fair Farra, I was never going to let him hurt you.”

  “Sounds like you two have been through a lot. Don’t worry, I can start my own fire.”

  “Yeah, I guess we have,” Farra said.

  He proceeded to strike a couple of fire rocks together and once a fire was started, Torik placed a bowl on top of it. “You’re in luck. I usually scavenge off of anything in the bone yard. Most of them are humans. Now that would make you cannibals if I fed them to you, wouldn’t it? But it just so happens that this is strictly the bones of an animal.”

  “Hmm, what are you making?” Bomani asked with a fearful curiosity.

  “Bones and water boy. Just bones and water.”

  “Okay okay. Since you live here, I bet you know your way around. I bet you could lead us inside the temple,” said Farra.

  Torik was busy stirring the soup, mixing the heated parts with the unheated. He stopped for a minute and glared over his shoulder. “I could do that. But I don’t think it would be wise.”

  “You mean you won’t? Well that’s not fair. It’s not fair at all.”

  “Fair?” he replied. “It has nothing to do with fair. It has to do with what would be right.”

  “I think we are missing the important questions here, Farra,” said Bomani. “I’ve never seen an ogre by himself. Nor have I seen one that wasn’t intent on killing or capturing us. And you don�
�t talk much like an ogre.”

  “Yeah,” Farra added. “Ogres are kinda dumb.” As soon as she said it, she understood her insult. Her thoughtless blurting embarrassed her. “What I mean is…”

  “I know what you mean,” said Torik. “And no, I’m not like any other ogres. As ogres go, you might say that I am the smartest, somewhat of a unique anomaly. I suspect that every class of being produces an entity that is different from the rest.” He gave Bomani a determined glance. “Perhaps, I am looking at a warrior, though young, he just may be a unique entity that separates him from the rest. Hatari sensed uniqueness early and quickly promoted me to his general, leader of all his minions.”

  “I knew it,” Bomani said, standing and curling up his lip. “You’re in league with him.”

  “You don’t give much promise to someone who just saved your life, gave you clean water, and is willing to feed you, do you boy? Now sit tight, and don’t interrupt me. I may be smart, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t have a temper.”

  Farra reached out to Bomani and pulled at his arm. Gesturing for him to come back and sit on the bed. “Let’s just listen to him.”

  Bomani nodded, returning to his seat and dropping his guard.

  “Yes, I was part of Hatari’s army. It seems that I became too smart for my own good. I began asking questions, giving opinions, questioning orders, things that he didn’t want any of us to do. I started to question the validity of our race bowing down to him and following his every order as if he were a god. The others began to think that I was the stupid one, because I had my doubts. You see, they just followed orders, it didn’t matter what the orders were, it didn’t matter who got killed, or how many. All that mattered to them was following the orders of their leader; in this case Hatari.”

  “So you became an outcast?” Farra asked.

  “Yes, way before I even left the clan. Things had already been tense, but Hatari kept me around, still as their leader. Deep down, he valued my opinions, and didn’t want to get rid of me as long as I was serving a good purpose. After all, he had no council to run his ideas by. Seeking the power of the Man-a-morphs, that changed everything.”

  He peered deep into Farra’s eyes as if to warn her. “Many have come to command the power of the man-a-morphs, and if you are a sorcerer of any kind, you are even more susceptible to the allure. I’ve seen them, with their staves and their hunger for power, unaware of the hold that the temple had on them; unable to resist its call. It is that desire to become more than what you are meant to be that will destroy you.”

  “What do you mean destroy? All I want is to learn more about the temple and to understand its history.”

  “As did all those in the bone yard. Some of them didn’t even make it that far. I’ve had to dump the bodies from the temple myself —clearing my home. So many bodies where here before I even arrived. A small few, like myself, and Hatari’s brother, Onoc, did not receive death, but a curse.”

  Bomani took a sip of the hot soup and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “We have dealt with Onoc; killed many of his clan and left him wounded.”

  “Then you were fortunate to survive. His clan cannot die. They would have risen again by the next sun. Cursed by the… the...” Torik’s discomfort was apparent in his face and body. His eyes squinted shut, his hands became tense and shaky, his mouth cringed as if he was struggling to fight something, and then he grunted and yelled in agony.

  Bomani stood up, grabbing his blade, and Pupa began to bark madly at the ogre. Farra was confused and scared as they watched the top of Torik’s body shift and bubble.

  Torik dropped his bowl of soup and fell to his knees in obvious pain. Soon; the top half of him resembled a Gorilla.

  Farra and Bomani had heard that scream before. It was the scream they had heard in the bone yard. This solemn ogre was a monster.

  When his screams stopped, he was bent over, still on his knees –the top of his body, a gorilla, the bottom, still ogre. He was breathing heavily, his body almost doubling in size with every huge breath. “This is my curse, an uncontrollable shifting halfway from animal to animal.” He paused and observed the fear he had just put into the children. “There is no warning before it comes. Huh huh huh.” –Gorilla sounds.

  “But…what...what about the bottom of you?” Farra asked, trying her best not to stutter, but the words just would not come out smoothly.

  “I told you, I don’t control when or how it happens. Nor do I choose shape. It is painful for me to hold any shape that the curse hasn’t promoted, and so, I simply give in to what it wants. Even then, I can only shift half of my body. Hoo huh hoo.” He grunted, sounding like a gorilla.

  “That’s terrible,” cried Farra.

  “And this is what happens to those who seek the power of the man-a-morphs without the gods’ approval. You’re either dead, or you are cursed! Huh haa”

  “But there is a way,” Bomani added. “There is always a way that a curse can be broken.”

  Torik’s face dropped into disappointment. “Only the one can free me from this curse; only he that has been approved by the gods.”

  “How do you know that I’m not the one?” Farra asked.

  Torik snapped toward her and crinkled his eyebrows in anger. “The one is a true Man-a-morph. Not some distant descended cousin. If that’s what you are.”

  “With or without you, we are going to get into the temple. My people have long searched for its secrets. I would rather you help us. We have no way of fighting the shadowlight.”

  Bomani mounted his shield on his arm and gripped his spear, pointing it at Torik. “If Farra says she needs to get to the temple, then that is what we are going to do. YOU will take us there.”

  Torik seemed more amused than frightened by the tip of Bomani’s spear, but he agreed to take them where they wanted to go.