“We should not get ahead of ourselves,” Miles warned. “There are several ships, each carrying several teams. There is no guarantee we will be the ones to find the sword.” Although given his master’s luck, it would not surprise him if they found themselves next to the sword but beset by foes on all sides. “Or that we will get out safely even if we do find it.”
“I don’t know if you can see it,” Susannah said. “But there are bones scattered all over the shore. Most of them probably belong to dwarves. Their bones sort of petrify after they die, so they last longer than those of men or elves. But some of the bones do look fresher. From the size of them, I’d say they belong to adventurers.” Roger hopped onto the battered railing beside them, and his robes billowed in the breeze that had kicked up. He waved his paws around and made inquisitive noises. “No, Roger, I don’t see any raccoon bones.” She grimaced and pointed. “And if that’s not bad enough, the dwarves carved a warning onto the mountainside before they left although it has been partially worn away by time and weather. I’m not as good at reading dwarf as your master, but I think it translates to something like “Abandon Hope Ye Idiots Who Enter Here”.”
Miles raised one eyebrow. “Idiots?”
“It’s not an exact translation,” Susannah admitted.
Miles glanced up at the sky. The sun had finally set. “It won’t be long until we dock.” He could feel the first frissons of nervous tension run through his body, but he remained calm. This would not be his first battle, nor would it be his last. And like any battle, it was best to approach it with a clear mind, one resolute and unburdened by doubt or fear.
“I’m going to check all of my equipment is ready.” Susannah patted Miles on the shoulder. “Jonathan seems like a good guy. Keep an eye on him. He might be a vampire noble – which makes him pretty tough to begin with – but it’s clear he doesn’t have the experience the rest of us do.”
“I would give my life to protect him.”
“I think he’d prefer it if you didn’t have to.” Susannah’s brows furrowed. “Huh. Look at that. I can only see four ships. We left with seven. Either the other three are running late, or they had less luck fighting off their attackers than we did.”
Miles kept his gaze on the shore. Perhaps it was the twilight playing tricks on him, but he could have sworn that he saw something move. His fists clenched. If there was danger ahead, then he would see his master safely through it. “I can only hope they are merely running late. To lose almost half of our number so early on would be dire indeed.”
It wasn’t much longer before the ship docked at the remains of a makeshift pier that some previous adventurers must have thrown together out of whatever wood and stone they could scavenge. Roger was the first one off the ship, and he used [Wall of Ash] to improvise a sturdier pier. The molten ash cooled and hardened in the water, and the raccoon used a few more Words to sculpt and strengthen it. Miles nodded in approval. Like any truly skilled war wizard, the raccoon knew how to get the most out of his magic. He was not simply a brute hurling fire and lightning around haphazardly.
“Sir, it’s safe to come out,” Miles said.
Jonathan climbed out of his crate and eyed the area warily. “This… does not look promising.”
“No, sir, it does not.” Miles helped his master don his armour before handing him his sword and shield. Jonathan was no master warrior, but he was slowly improving, and his natural speed and strength were enough to make him an awkward but dangerous opponent. Unfortunately, dealing with bandit riffraff had little in common with what they would be facing here. Miles, though, kindly refrained from crushing his master’s hopes. The last thing he needed was for Jonathan to panic. “We should get moving. The captain tells me they will stay here to make repairs, but they may be forced to retreat.” He peered into the still, dark water. “There may be further horrors lurking beneath the waves. If they do leave, we are to light a signal fire when we wish to be retrieved.”
“Are you sure they won’t just sail away?” Jonathan asked. “Not that I’d blame them for wanting to leave.”
“I do believe the duke is going to pay them a hefty bonus if they successfully return with the team that retrieves the sword.”
“Ah. We should be fine then.” Jonathan looked over to where Eileen had summoned what appeared to be a small swarm of beetle-like creatures. The creatures lingered for a moment and then scuttled off in all directions. Perhaps they were scouting the area. “I wish Eileen could turn into a dragon. That would make this so much easier.”
“It would,” Aria agreed. She nodded at Miles and gave Jonathan’s armour a quick lookover. “Believe me, she’s tried. Apparently, there are certain restrictions on what she can transform into, and turning into a dragon isn’t something she can do – yet.” She nodded at each of them in turn. “Remember what I said earlier. We need to stick together and look after each other. We also need to keep an eye on our surroundings. This place may well be full of things that want us dead. If you see something, then say something even if you’re not sure it’s important. This place is evil, and the easiest way to end up dead is to get caught off guard.”
The others nodded back with Susannah, Eric, and Roger also offering jaunty salutes. Miles’s lips twitched. It was reassuring to see them in good spirits. As they made their way up past the bone-strewn beach, Miles ran one hand through his hair. It was entirely grey now, a constant reminder of his age. Had he been twenty years younger, he would not have doubted his ability to keep his master safe. Now, he would have to rely on the others to assist him. A few lesser bone creatures emerged from the ground in front of them, but they dealt with them easily. The true horrors – the ones that had laid low the dwarves and slain countless adventurers over the years – would not be found outside. No. They would be found lurking in the ruins of Mordrath itself.
“Eric, you’re up front. This place is considered cursed for a reason. Blue Scales, you’re behind Eric. Since you and Eileen are the only ones who can breathe underwater, I want to know if you sense any large bodies of water nearby, especially if they’re moving. I do not want to drown. Eileen, you’re up the back. I want a clear line of retreat available at all times. If we have to run, then we’ll run, and I have a feeling that whatever is in there will try to ambush us too. Roger and Susannah, I want you in the middle with Miles and Jonathan.” Aria looked sternly at the raccoon. “I know you’re powerful, but be careful. I do not want you bringing the ruins down around us. The dwarves built this place to last, but it’s been millennia. Drowning would be horrible, but being crushed under tonnes of rubble wouldn’t be nice either.”
Roger waved his paws around and made raccoon noises. Miles could already tell that this would be troublesome. Perhaps they could craft a translation charm for him later. He was confident that his master could make one with the Blood Emperor’s help. Susannah translated. “He says he’ll ask before using anything too crazy. He’s not keen on getting crushed either.”
They continued to pick their way past the bones and the sand, stopping briefly to drive off some strangely malformed sea lions that sought to bar their path. There was something distinctly unwholesome about the knowing malice in their gazes and the way their pelts seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it. It wouldn’t surprise him if they had been mutated by whatever powers lurked here and in the wretched seas nearby. At last, however, they reached the broken gates of Mordrath. Miles couldn’t help himself. Despite everything his master had told him about them, he still stopped to gape in awe. Words were one thing. To see it with his own eyes was another, and he was glad he’d used some Words to see more clearly in the growing darkness. This was not a sight he would soon forget.
“Behold,” his master murmured as he used a Word to ensure the sight never left his memories. “The gates of Mordrath, greatest city of the dwarves.”
The gates were more than a hundred feet tall, each of them so massive he could barely imagine how the dwarves had crafted and operated them.
What kind of devices must they have used to open and close them? It must surely have been some cunning combination of magic and mechanics. Each was fashioned out of several pieces of metal that had been pieced together to give the appearance of a single unblemished whole. Now, though, the gates were in pieces, chunks of them scattered here and there from some enormous impact. Judging from the way the gates were bent, the impact must have come from within. Given what the doors were made of – his master claimed they had been built to withstand even dragon fire – he could only wonder at what had been responsible for doing so much damage to them. As they walked closer, he could make out the remnants of runes and seals on the battered gates, along with carvings that depicted the fallen kingdom’s golden age.
“Damn…” Eric shook his head in wonder. Up close, the doors shone with a colour somewhere between silver and gold. “The dwarves sure knew how to build things.” He shivered. “But it make you wonder, doesn’t it? If whatever they fought could bust these gates down, how are we going to fight something like that?”
“Let us hope that the evil within is slumbering,” Blue Scales replied. “Great evil – the kind that can destroy even a place like this – rarely stirs for long. More often than not, it is content to let lesser evils do much of the work. We should do our best to keep from rousing it.”
They continued past the gates and into the city itself, their footsteps echoing through the darkness. They were fortunate to be able to use Words to enhance their sight. Not all of the groups were so lucky. Some had to rely on torches and lanterns, and though the warm light they cast was comforting, it was also far from ideal.
“It’s nice of them to act as bait,” Eric drawled. “Because if there is anything in here that wants to kill us, I guarantee it’ll go after whoever is waving around a lantern or a torch first.” And sure enough, it wasn’t long before the first signs of trouble emerged.
A host of lesser bone creatures appeared. These ones were roughly humanoid in shape, and some even wielded weapons. If Miles had to guess, they were made from the bones of the long-dead dwarves and more recently dead adventurers. Still, they shouldn’t pose too much of a threat to experienced adventurers, provided they could avoid being surrounded and overrun.
“Be quick and efficient,” Aria said. “We don’t want to waste too much energy here.”
The group retreated to a part of the hall framed by a handful of colossal pillars that spanned the yawning gap between the floor and ceiling. Lines of silver, platinum, and gold spiralled up each pillar and glinted in the light cast by the torches and lanterns. Further up, they formed images from dwarf legend, and Miles saw his master’s gaze flick from pillar to pillar, eager to burn the sight of each into his mind.
“Focus on the battle, sir,” Miles cautioned. “We can take a closer look later.”
“Ah. Right. Fight first – look later.”
“Indeed, sir.”
With the pillars to prevent them from being surrounded, the group’s task was fairly simple: keep their formation and wipe out any bone creatures that shambled toward them. The battle, such as it was, lasted longer than Miles would have preferred. Their foes were not particularly strong. Much like the lesser bone creatures they’d faced on the ship, a single stout blow from his fists or his feet was enough to defeat most of them. Even the ones with weapons posed fairly little threat, provided they were careful. Without the dexterity of a dwarf or a human, the bone creatures could only flail about with their pilfered weaponry. In a way, this was a good thing. Had they faced strong opponents immediately, his master might have lost his nerve. As it was, Jonathan got a chance to settle his nerves by defeating several of the bone creatures with some well-placed strikes of his sword.
“Well done, sir,” Miles said as the group pushed forward. Eileen led the way, and her bear claws made short work of the remaining abominations.
“Thank you,” Jonathan replied. He breathed a very visible sigh of relief. “I’m just trying to remember everything we’ve been practicing.”
“You know I tried to organise with the other groups.” Aria had lowered her voice to keep her words from echoing through the vast expanse of the hall. The other groups had seemingly dealt with their own share of the bone creatures, and the hall was once again still and silent save for the adventurers. “Nobody wanted to stick together. Everyone is focused on finding the sword, and everyone wants to do it without help. It’s stupid. Splitting up will make it much easier for us to be picked off group by group.”
“Greed makes men do foolish things,” Miles replied. The detritus of ancient battles littered the hall: broken armour, petrified dwarf bones, and weapons. From the looks of it, the dwarves had favoured swords, spears, axes, and war hammers. The few projectile weapons he could see consisted of some bows and battered crossbows.
“Well, it’s their loss.” Eric glanced back at Roger who was perched on Susannah’s back and peeking over her shoulder. “Because I’m with all the awesome people.”
The raccoon snickered and gave what passed for a thumb’s up before gesturing.
“What did he say?” Eric asked.
Susannah chuckled. “He says having a noisy werewolf in the group is good – it means he won’t get targeted first since you’re drawing all the attention.”
“Just make sure you blast them before they can kill me.” Eric waved one hand at their surroundings. “This must have been something special before it all fell apart.”
Miles nodded and glanced at his master. With danger averted – for the time being – he was busy studying everything with a scholar’s keen eye. He would doubtless commit everything to paper once he had the chance, perhaps even submit an article to a prestigious journal. Certainly, few scholars could honestly say they had set foot within these halls.
“I wish I could take more time to study this. Think of all we could learn.”
“Another time, sir, when it is less infested with ancient, kingdom-destroying evil.”
Jonathan gave Miles a fond pat on the shoulder. “You have a way with words, Miles.” He paused. “But the lack of ancient evil so far worries me. I’m not complaining about being able to defeat some of our enemies, but it seems…”
“Like a trap?” Miles found it unsettling as well. He hadn’t expected some kind of nightmarish hell beast to attack them immediately, but if the bone creatures they’d faced were the worst Mordrath had to offer, then there was no way this place could have acquired such a fearsome reputation. “We should keep our guard up. For all we know, the creatures we slew answer to something else deeper within – something that may be watching us right now.” It would have been the intelligent thing to do: use weak, expendable troops to scout the enemy’s strength before attacking in earnest.
“Good point.” His master smiled. “But this place is a true marvel. I’ve never read a complete version of the Ballad of the Blazing Mountain. Even the dwarves have lost pieces of it.” He pointed. “Yet it’s right there – complete – on that pillar. I’ll have to transcribe a copy once we leave.” He looked around at the rest of the hall. “This place was undoubtedly built by dwarves, but until now I never understood some of the comments scholars have made over the years. The style here is different from other dwarves. Look at how slender the arches spanning those galleries are. Look at the abundance of smooth, flowing lines amongst the columns and other decorations instead of the usual hard edges dwarves are known to favour. The dwarves here reached a very different aesthetic peak to their peers. Was it due to their wealth and prestige, or did they simply have different tastes and ideas about art? I doubt we’ll ever know, but it is absolutely fascinating to think about.”
Miles bit back a smile. His master was truly a scholar at heart. Perhaps one day, they would be able to return in less dangerous circumstances. Of course, he’d scarcely finished that thought before they ran into another complication.
“I’ve got some bad news,” Aria said. “See that passageway?” They had made their way to the far end
of the hall where a number of passageways led deeper into Mordrath.
Jonathan nodded. “You mean the one that’s flooded with water?”
Miles eyed the churning waters and grimaced. They had made their way to the far end in search of a path to the lower levels. “Remember, sir, that passageway was supposed to take us to the lower levels.” He glanced at Blue Scales. “How bad is the flooding? It seems to be completely full.”
The merman strode forward. His magic shifted, like a man groping his way through a dark room. “The passageway is flooded as far as I can sense with my magic.” He frowned. “The water here is even duller than the water we crossed to get here. It does not respond to my magic the way it should.” He paused and tilted his head to one side. “Do you hear that?”
Miles listened intently. “I…” He couldn’t be certain he was hearing anything, or perhaps it was simply his ears filling the sudden silence as they all stopped to listen. However, he could have sworn he heard something on the very edges of his awareness. It sounded like whispers in the water. A shiver ran through him as he remembered the discussion they’d had with the duke. The dwarves had claimed to hear voices in the water. “I think I do.” The others nodded in agreement. “What do you think it means?”
“I think it means we should steer clear of the water,” Blue Scales said.
“It’s a trap,” Jonathan murmured. “Even I can see that.” He paused. “We should probably back away from the water. What if something comes out of it?”
“I agree.” Aria scowled as they backed away to what ought to be a safe distance. “Even setting aside the issue of breathing underwater, we’d be at a horrible disadvantage if we were attacked. Only Blue Scales and Eileen would be able to fight at anything close to their best. However, if every passageway is flooded, we might not have a choice.”
Attempted Adventuring (The Attempted Vampirism Series Book 2) Page 13
