Portals

by Brian S. Pratt

Holk stared at the creature. In his hand the metal of the sword felt cool; the ground beneath his feet firm and unyielding. All thoughts of fear and dread were banished to the nether reaches of his mind. Keeping his attention focused on those two things and the creature before him, he took a step forward; then another.

  When the dread hit, it was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It sapped his will and turned his knees to jelly.

  … cool steel… solid ground… creature… cool steel… solid ground… creature…

  His mantra steadied his nerve, returned strength to his knees, and enabled him to take another step. Each step was an eternity. Fear and dread assailed his fortress of will, seeking to bring it down. Another two steps and the mantra continued bolstering his courage.

  Ten steps and the creature vanished only to reappear farther down the widened passageway. Holk couldn’t help but force a grin. Nothing was going to stop him from reaching that creature. Nothing!

  Upon reaching where the passageway returned once more to its narrow state, the dread vanished. Sighing in relief, he leaned against the tunnel wall and wiped the sweat from his brow. The creature was moving away slowly down the tunnel.

  “Thought you had me there, didn’t you?”

  Pushing away from the wall, he set out after the creature.

  Fortunately, there were no further encounters with the veined, wide passageway sections. Not far after leaving the last one, the passageway came to an end. There was no doorway, opening, or other egress from the tunnel. The creature was trapped.

  It continued until coming into contact with the end of the passageway, then stopped.

  Holk paused thirty paces from the creature. Now that he had caught it, he wasn’t sure what to do with it. Taking a cautionary step forward, he halfway expected the creature to vanish and appear on the other side of the wall; but it didn’t. He continued forward with the sword and its glow-emitting gem held before him.

  When the distance between them had been reduced to fifteen paces, the surface of the creature began vibrating ever so slightly. At twelve paces, the vibrating intensified.

  A high-pitched keening split the air when only eight paces remained between them. Though barely audible, the sound cut through him like a sword. At seven, the keening intensified and he was forced to stop.

  “Gah!” he exclaimed as he put hands to ears in an attempt to shut out the noise.

  The vibrating of the creature was now quite pronounced.

  Somehow, he summoned the wherewithal to take one more step forward. The keening raised an octave and his pain increased tenfold.

  Crying out, he dropped to his knees.

  “You’re…not…going…to…stop me!”

  Lurching forward, he stretched forth his hand and brought the sword to within a single pace of the creature. For a moment, the keening increased to a point where he could no longer hear it. The pain increased still further and if he hadn’t already been lying prone upon the floor, he would assuredly have collapsed.

  Spots danced before his eyes, blood trickled from his nose, and throughout his body muscles spasmed. Just when he thought he may have pressed this too far, the pain vanished.

  In that moment of euphoric relief, he heard what sounded like the compacting of snow beneath the tread of a man. Looking up, he saw the creature vibrated no longer and had turned opaque. As the sound of compacting snow continued, the creature grew darker until finally turning a steelish-blue color. Once the color was uniform throughout its body, the sound stopped.

  Holk slowly came to his feet. Never taking his eyes from the still form of the creature, he stretched his sword toward it. As it came close, the glow from the gem suddenly winked out leaving him with only the dim light emitted by the walls of the passageway for illumination. The sudden disappearance of the gem’s glow caused him to dart backward three steps in startlement.

  The creature remained motionless. It was eerie in its motionless; to Holk it felt as if a snake was coiled and ready to spring. Moments passed and the feared attack failed to materialize.

  Taking a tentative step forward, he again reached out his sword to the creature, this time bringing the sword’s tip into contact with its midsection. It was solid and hard. Whatever the creature had been, it was now somehow changed. Holk lowered his sword but did not resheathe it.

  The creature’s surface was smooth. He brought his hand up to touch it but paused before his fingers touched the surface. There was something that didn’t feel right. Something… Bringing his hand back, he considered what next he should do.

  Was it the glow of the gem that had transformed the creature? Or could it have been something else? No way to know for certain.

  In the dim light exuded by the walls, he couldn’t get an adequate look at the creature. Taking out his sunstone, he struck it against the pommel of his sword. An explosion of kaleidoscopic light filled the end of the passageway.

  The sunstone’s light was being refracted by the creature as would a prism. It not only took the light and changed it to a multi-colored display, but amplified it as well, producing a greater intensity than the light from the sunstone alone could achieve.

  Passing the sunstone back and forth before him, he watched in wonder as the lights changed and moved to match that of the ‘stone. Unable to resist the temptation, he brought his hand up close to the glass-like surface of the creature and ran his fingers across its hard exterior.

  Pungent steam assailed him as he found himself no longer at the end of the passageway. The creature remained before him, but they were now in a cavern; stalagmites and ‘tites abounded. To his left came the splashing of water where it fell from somewhere in the cavernous reaches above to a small pool below. Off to his right, similar splashes indicated other falls of water freefalling into their own pools.

  Glancing to the nearest, he saw where its overflow ran into a steam-issuing fissure in the floor. Taking a step toward the fissure, he felt the heat of the steam being exuded. The steam from the fissures held no odor; this was not where the pungent smell originated. He had encountered this odor before. It took him but a moment to recall from where. It was the odor of Ti-Ocks. He was back.

  The creature had acted like one of the magical mirrors. It had brought him to this cavern. Could it be that the creatures were in some way similar to the translocating mirrors? An intriguing thought and the logic seemed sound. But why had the creature brought him to this specific cavern? Was there a reason, or just happenstance?

  Though the odor of Ti-Ocks filled the cavern, none could be seen in the area not obscured by the cloud of steam. He cocked his head to the side and listened for any tell-tale signs of their presence; there were none.

  He’d worry about Ti-Ocks when he encountered them. Until then, he needed to take care of business; namely slaking his thirst and attending to his gnawing hunger. After that, he intended to find a certain lad and this time, there would be no mistakes.

  Kneeling next to the pool, he cupped his hands and drank. The water was warm, but not uncomfortably so. His knees grew hot as he knelt, indicating the presence of a subterranean heat source, likely volcanic in nature. Though with everything that has happened since the Kiln, he would be a fool to make any sort of assumptions.

  The water did much to revitalize him. Now that his thirst was slaked, it was time to deal with his hunger. If he could find a cavern full of mushrooms, he’d be set. He glanced around.

  The mist filling the cavern obscured much of it. Not far off, he made out a rock wall riddled with natural imperfections. Starting there, he set out to see what there was to discover. The grumbling of his stomach said it hoped he’d find food.

  Not two paces into his exploration, he came to a stop upon hearing the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching. Dousing the sunstone by placing it within his pocket, he remained still and quiet. It soon became clear that there were two, maybe three, individuals. Considering the cavern was filled with their stink, it could only be Ti-Ocks.

  That
suited him just fine. He was ready for a fight.

  Light appeared in the direction of the footsteps. Two torches illuminated a trio of Ti-Ocks. Slung across the backs of each were the deadly looking, curved-headed axes that seemed to be the Ti-Ock’s weapon of choice. They were coming his way.

  Strike first and strike fast.

  Spurred on by more of Sergeant Wilkers’ sage advice, Holk quietly drew his sword and moved to intercept the three. When they saw him, they reached for their axes; the two Ti-Ocks bearing torches moved to flank him on either side while the third advanced straight toward him. Ti-Ock guttural speech passed between the beasts.

  Three to one? The odds didn’t matter to him. For far too long had he been out of his element. Now with steel in hand and opponents to overcome, all worries vanished.

  They closed rapidly. Holk sidestepped toward the one on his right so as not to be outflanked. About to launch an attack, the Ti-Ocks suddenly slowed, then came to a stop. Their attention was momentarily directed to a point in the cavern behind him. The one in the middle grunted to the other two and they re-slung their axes across their backs. It then reached into its jerkin and pulled forth a small sack. The creature said something to Holk, then tossed him the sack.

  Holk instinctively caught it and felt the weighty contents within. A tear along the side revealed the glimmer of…. Gold? They gave me gold? The unexpectedness of this action preempted his attack. He kept his sword at the ready as the now non-threatening Ti-Ocks moved past and toward the massive, glass-hardened creature he had chased through the passageways of the bubble.

  One of the torch-bearing Ti-Ocks produced a small, black object and placed it against the hardened side of the creature, held it there for several moments then removed it. After handing its torch to the other torch-bearer, it and the third Ti-Ock rocked the creature on its side and lifted it from the floor. As they carried it back the way from whence they had come, the Ti-Ock now bearing two torches glanced his way and said something in Ti-Ock speak, then moved to follow his fellows.

  Holk contemplated attacking them anyway, but had never been one to attack just for the sake of bloodshed. Besides which, his interest was piqued as to what the Ti-Ocks planned on doing next.

  After allowing the trio of Ti-Ocks to move off until their torches were but indistinct blurs in the mist, he moved to follow. Keeping the light in sight proved relatively easy, and the mist filling the cavern provided ample cover to keep his presence from being discovered.

  The Ti-Ocks wended through a forest of stalagmites and ‘tites before the mist thinned and the cavern grew brighter.

  Once he could distinctly discern each individual Ti-Ock, Holk slowed to allow more space between them. Towering ‘mites provided additional cover as he continued trailing the beasts.

  They came to, and entered, a naturally-formed archway that opened onto what looked like the bed of a now dried-up underground river. The tunnel was somewhat rounded, and other than the floor, rough. Torches burned in wall sconces approximately every twenty feet.

  At this point, the mist had all but dissipated; and with the torches burning at even intervals, following the Ti-Ocks would prove nearly impossible without being detected. Holk didn’t care. If they discovered him and battle ensued, so be it. Resting a hand on the hilt of his sword, he paused a moment to allow still greater space to develop between him and the beasts, then entered the tunnel and continued to follow.

  Chapter 18

  Holk hid within a naturally-formed recess in the passageway wall. Through an archway directly across and down a bit, Ti-Ocks busily worked. The trio of Ti-Ocks had delivered their burden to this room where half a dozen Ti-Ocks wearing purple robes took charge of the now-solidified creature. After that, the trio departed and continued down the passageway to parts unknown.

  The cloth with which the robes of these new Ti-Ocks had been crafted was identical to the piece Holk discovered during an earlier exploration that even now rested within his pack. But it was not the similarity of the cloth that intrigued him and kept him secreted in his stony nook. Rather, his interest had been piqued by the way the purple robed Ti-Ocks had begun a systematical sectioning of the creature.

  Two placed the creature upon an elongated wooden table. While they held it in place, another used a thin tool the length of a man’s arm to slowly slice off sections. After a dozen or so pieces, each the width of a knife’s blade had been removed, two of the remaining Ti-Ocks removed them to a place deeper within the room and out of Holk’s line of sight.

  He had a pretty good idea what they did with them, for not long after the first batch had been removed, a Ti-Ock reappeared with a mirror in its hand. The creature, now transformed into a crystal-like substance, was being used to create mirrors, mirrors Holk felt certain were identical in nature to those encountered throughout this underground complex.

  Four times batches of creature-slices were carried off. Each time Ti-Ocks would reappear with mirrors and place them in a growing pile along one side of the room. The number of mirrors was less than half that of the sections taken back. Holk concluded that not all sections survived whatever process they used to transform them into mirrors.

  Just like those previously encountered, each bore a different border that varied in width, thickness and color. Some mirrors were rather large, larger in fact than the sections being removed. Others were of the hand-held variety; those having the same wooden borders as the three he had possessed earlier. Holk would give his right arm to know how they did that. For if they could create mirrors that transported a person from one room to another, then certainly one could be made to take him home?

  Despite the nagging hunger and the return of nearly overpowering fatigue, Holk hunkered down in his crevice and waited.

  The creature had been reduced to half its former size when, as if on some unseen signal, the Ti-Ocks left the room en masse and departed down the corridor just as the trio had earlier.

  Holk waited until they vanished from view then emerged from his nook and crossed to the room’s entrance. There he peered around the corner and saw that the room was larger by half than he had first guessed.

  In the rear of the room where the Ti-Ocks had taken the sliced-off sections, laid two blocks of stone, each long enough for him and another man to stretch head to toe and still not be able to touch the ends. Three bowls sat upon each; one large and two small. The sight filled Holk with trepidation and dread. It didn’t take him long to realize they were very similar to those encountered in the room with the greenish glow.

  Four sections of the creature laid upon the block on the right. Three were stacked in a haphazard pile to the side while the fourth had been placed prominently upon the block. The larger bowl sat just above its top and the two smaller ones had been placed to either side.

  Keeping his eyes averted from the bowls and the feelings of dread they elicited, Holk entered the room. He first went to the remaining chunk of the creature resting upon the table. Next to it laid the long, thin tool that had been used to remove sections. He passed it by and went to view the pile of mirrors.

  Now that he was within the room, he saw how the mirrors formed two separate piles. One held the large mirrors; next to it had been stacked the hand-helds. Visions of light-worms kept him from coming too close to the hand-helds.

  Bracing himself, he crossed to the twin blocks of stone and moved to stand before the one with the sections ready to be transformed into mirrors. Dread filled him, but he fought it back and continued forward. Not looking directly at the bowls helped reduce their affect.

  As he approached, he noticed something that had escaped his attention before. In a small pile next to the three haphazardly stacked mirrors were four black, dodecahedral objects. Each of their twelve faces held runic markings.

  Holk’s hand went to his pouch and felt the object resting within. It too was black, dodecahedral and bore runic markings. Could it have come from here? What was its purpose? Always more questions with little in the way of a
nswers.

  With their placement on the block in such close proximity to the bowls and creature-sections, it was a certainty that they were somehow involved with the mirror creation process. The how of it remained elusive. He needed answers and there was only one person from whom he might acquire them. Streyan.

  Somehow, he had to find that boy, but how? His eyes returned to the stack of finished mirrors lying near the wall…

  …for some, if you stare into them long enough, it will give you a foreshadowing of what you will find on the other side…

  …with Kiernan’s words playing across his mind, Holk made his way to the stack of mirrors, giving the hand-helds a wide birth.

  A rectangular one rested on top, its width measured an arm span across while its length was that and half again. Bordering the reflective surface ran a narrow strip of red that sparkled at the corners.

  “Now, let’s see what we can find.”

  Focusing upon the mirror, he stared at it for several minutes with no results, then removed it from the stack and set it aside.

  The next was a third smaller, circular, and had what appeared to be a knot-filled, oak border. He again gazed into its reflective surface in the hopes of discovering a way to find the boy. With the growling of his stomach and the incessant ache of starvation, he added a room filled with mushrooms to what he hoped to find.

  As the moments passed, a vision within its reflective surface grew to clarity. Flames, bursts of flame shooting upward dotted the image. They came from fissures marring a cavern floor. Armed Ti-Ocks could be seen passing along a trail that wended its way through the flames. Holk set this mirror aside.

  The third mirror held no image, nor did the fourth. Picking up the fifth that was twice the size of a hand-held and boasted a border of pearly magnificence, he soon saw a pool filled by a cascade of falling water.

  Several large boulders bordered the pool. To one side he saw the unmistakable caps of mushrooms. His stomach cramped; hunger increasing tenfold at the sight of sustenance. Setting the mirror to the side, but not with the previously discarded ones, he vowed that if his quest to find Streyan in these mirrors failed, he would use it.