Atticus And The Orb Of Time

by M K Drake

  “I guess we take the stairs then,” says Olof, “it seems to be the only way out of this chamber.”

  They climb the spiral staircase to the next level, which opens to a massive armoury. There are weapons of both gold and silver scattered over the walls, all gleaming against the flickering flames of the newly-lit torches.

  “‘Silver and gold,’” whispers Atticus, “remember the riddle? The lesser of two evils one must hold.”

  “Lesser… in what way? Weight, value, size?” asks Olof.

  “‘Evils,’ most regard greed as an evil,” says Ju Long, “I pick silver.”

  “So do I,” says Atticus.

  “Good enough for me,” says Khan.

  They each pick a weapon of choice made from silver. Olof favours a massive axe, Ju Long a pair of swords, Khan a large sabre, Safaya picks out a mace and a spear, while Atticus chooses a broadsword.

  They continue up the next flight of steps. As they ascend, the torchlight dims and the staircase darkens. The air becomes musky and stale.

  “It smells like death in here,” says Ju Long, “Olof, you did shower before leaving, right?”

  Olof gives Ju Long a little clip on the back of his head, “I wonder why the silver is so important?” he asks.

  Khan is the first to enter the next chamber; he waits for everyone to enter before responding to Olof’s comment, “In my experience, there were only two instances where silver was necessary,” he tosses up a fireball for Safaya to light the torches in this room as he continues, “Werewolves, they hate silver, and the other time was for…”

  “Vampires!” gasps Safaya.

  The torches, now alight, reveal open caskets all around them, rising from them is the stench of the undead. There are twenty or so smaller, closed caskets, and one which is about double the size of the others standing at the rear of the room.

  “Vampires,” mumbles Ju Long, “I hate vampires.”

  Atticus moves slowly towards the nearest casket, “It looks sealed,” he says as he checks it for any openings.

  “Careful, Atticus,” says Khan, “These beasts are very dangerous and incredibly strong; we must try not to disturb them.”

  Atticus steps away from the casket and back towards the others. He helps them all look for another exit out of the room, but the only one visible is the same way they came in. He spots Ju Long attempting to move a skeletal object out of his way, “Watch out!” he shouts, as Ju Long slips on another piece he did not see. He tries to break his fall, but in doing so he knocks one of the caskets to the ground.

  They all stand still, trying to not even breathe.

  Khan sighs, “I think we’re ok,” but just as he finishes speaking, the entryway into the chamber collapses and a shrill scream echoes around the chamber. The lids of the smaller caskets blow out to the ceiling, followed by several vampires bursting from their caskets.

  “Shield yourselves!” shouts Khan, “Make sure they do not bite you!” he looks at Atticus, “Be careful, they are much quicker than normal demons.”

  The vampires circle the ceiling, screaming and hissing. They are not what Atticus has pictured vampires to be − their human features are far from familiar, they are more like twisted reptilian faces, but covered in slime instead of scales. Their ears are pointy and fangs protrude from their mouths without disguise.

  One of them breaks off from their formation and heads towards the Majjai. Olof fires a spear of ice towards it, the vampire smashes through it and heads straight for Safaya. Khan steps in the way and stabs it with his newly-acquired silver sabre. The vampire squeals and screams in pain. It directs one last hiss towards Khan and then melts away, evaporating into charred dust.

  More caskets burst open and the entire ceiling is filled with them, circling above the heroes.

  “We need to find the master, this will continue until he is dead,” screams Khan. He points with his sabre to the larger casket at the back of the room, “He will be in there.”

  “How do we get to him?” asks Ju Long.

  “We have to kill enough of his children,” answers Khan.

  “Let’s get started then,” says Atticus as he leaps to the centre of the room and fires several fireballs to the ceiling, killing some of the fanged beasts; a swarm of the vampires head towards him. Using his telekinesis ability, he throws several back to the ceiling and decapitates the few that get through, always twisting and dodging their attacks, they burn to dust before their heads hit the ground.

  The other Majjai join the fray. Khan stays close to Safaya, and Olof to Ju Long. Several more vampires head towards them. Olof creates a dome of ice, shielding them from the attack before smashing through with the axe and killing his aggressors.

  Ju Long uses his combat skills and swords to bounce around the chamber, taking the fight to the vampires in the air, slicing and dicing his way through them.

  Atticus feels strong, he has learnt much during his training, his abilities are more developed now, enough to hold his own against these dark creatures of the night. He uses the silver broadsword with deft skill, staying just far enough away from the deadly, infectious fangs of his foes.

  The vampires are no match for the Majjai, and they are soon defeated.

  “Any more?” asks Ju Long.

  Before anyone can answer, the large casket at the rear of the chamber begins to move. Loud impacts can be heard and felt through the floor.

  “Stick close,” says Khan, “A master vampire is very, very, powerful. They can transform into many things, all of them deadly.”

  The casket bursts open, filling the room with dust and debris. As it settles, the Majjai try to peer through. The sight is horrid; the beast is massive, much larger than the casket containing it. Its fangs drip with saliva, the thirst for new blood is all-too-apparent. Its body is muscular, its skin pale. The hands of the master vampire are large, with huge claws at their ends.

  “Its heart is its weak point, we need to pierce it with silver,” says Khan to the others.

  The beast stomps its feet onto the floor, roaring into the air; as it does so, a pair of large, dragon-like wings appear from behind it. It flexes them, slime dripping from the thin, bat-like membrane. It charges forward, rocking the chamber with each heavy step. The Majjai scatter, trying to surround it.

  The master soars into the air, hovers near the ceiling and peers down towards its prey. Focusing on their positions, the beast crosses its arms close to its chest and then flings them outwards, throwing five separate fireballs towards the Majjai. Olof immediately cancels out the fireballs with blasts of ice. The master roars again and swoops downwards towards Ju Long, who takes to the air himself just before the beast reaches him. The chase is on. Ju Long dives and turns, trying to shake the huge vampire off his tail, but to no avail. The master is quicker and more agile than Ju Long so Olof sends more spears of ice in the vampire’s direction, trying to slow it down.

  “Bring it here!” screams Khan.

  Ju Long flies towards him, the vampire in tow. Khan leaps into the air and smashes into the back of the vampire leader using as strong a blow as he can with his Majjai powers. The beast crashes to the floor, sending rubble into the air. The beast is dazed, but far from out. It jumps up again.

  “This bird’s wings need to be clipped,” says Atticus. Before the vampire can gain too much height, Atticus runs forward and slices at one of its arms. The beast screams in pain and crashes to the ground again. It charges towards Atticus who just manages to roll out of the way, dodging a swipe from the vampire’s massive claws.

  Khan hits his fists together, a blue aura surrounds them, and he charges towards the vampire leader. He blocks and punches into the beast, dodging its blows and counter-attacking it with guile. With one final blow, Khan jumps high and lays a devastating uppercut, sending the vampire into the air.

  “Quickly, Olof, grab its arms,” shouts Khan.

  Olof swings round and creates a handcuff of ice holding the beast in the air, arms aloft.

/>   Khan sends out another command “Now Safaya!”

  The princess throws her spear with pinpoint accuracy, piercing the outer flesh of the vampire and stabbing its heart.

  Olof relinquishes his grip and the master vampire drops to the floor. It emits one final deafening roar.

  “Quick!” screams Khan, “Take cover! He’s going to blow!”

  The Majjai quickly hide behind anything they can find, caskets, rocks, and crevices. The roar from the Master gets louder and louder; the Majjai cover their ears as the scream overwhelms their senses. Then, in huge flash, the chamber is engulfed in a massive silver flame, with smoke and heat bellowing through any gaps in the chamber’s rocky walls. As suddenly as it appeared, the fire and smoke rumble back towards the centre of the chamber, sucked into nothingness, leaving only a pile of ash behind; as a final gust of wind blows away the ash, the silver weapons that the Majjai accrued earlier, melt from their hands and disappear into the floor.

  “Guess we don’t need those anymore,” quips Ju Long.

  “Indeed,” says Olof, “We should keep moving.”

  Behind the master vampire’s fallen casket, they spot another staircase and walk up it. Another chamber lies at the top. This one has a smaller dragon statue, its two horns point to two separate tunnels. Both tunnels are dark, and look virtually identical.

  “Now what?” asks Ju Long, “Do we split up?”

  “No,” says Atticus, “Remember the riddle again: ‘step left, step right, the wrong choice means you lose the fight. Step up, step down, the secret lies beyond the dragon’s crown.’ If we take the wrong tunnel, we lose.”

  “Let me try something,” says Safaya. She raises an arm towards the right tunnel, forcing a mound of earth to tear itself from the ground and fly through the entrance. Before the mound of earth can get too far, a massive jet of fire shoots out of the tunnel and burns it.

  “Well, looks like it isn’t that one,” says Ju Long.

  “Wait,” says Olof, “try the other one as well Safaya.”

  Safaya does the same, and another mound of earth heads towards the left tunnel. The Majjai watch in anticipation, hoping that they are right. Just as they are about to cheer, another jet of flame appears, destroying their hopes along with the mound of earth.

  “Damn it!” says Atticus, “We don’t have time for this!!”

  “Calm, Atticus,” says Safaya, “We will save her. Repeat that last part again − the bit about the crown.”

  Atticus sighs, “‘Step up, step down, the secret lays beyond the dragon’s crown.’”

  “But this dragon has no crown,” says Khan.

  “No,” replies Atticus, “But the one at the entrance did!”

  “The jagged line on one of its horns,” says Olof.

  “But which side was it on?” asks Safaya.

  Atticus closes his eyes and thinks back to the entrance, “Left side!” he shouts, “We go left.”

  Atticus steps forward, but is stopped by Khan.

  “Let me go first my friend,” he says, “you are more important than any of us, If we are wrong, at least you get to make another choice.”

  Before Atticus can reply, Khan steps through the tunnel entrance. A jet of flame shoots out.

  “Nooooo!” screams Safaya, thinking the fire is heading straight for Khan. But instead, the flame circles him as if judging his worthiness to enter. Then it soars into the ceiling of the entrance on the right side, collapsing it.

  “You worry too much princess,” says Khan, winking towards Safaya.

  Safaya runs to him, “Don’t do that again without my permission, ok!” she orders.

  “As you wish,” Khan grins, “Now, if you let go of me, we can hopefully finish this quest.”

  The Majjai all step through the tunnel tentatively. As they travel deeper, they begin to hear a constant humming sound, and notice a faint light. They walk in the direction of the light and reach the end of the tunnel in a few moments. The room is totally bare, apart from the far wall. A large swirling portal spins invitingly. The Majjai look towards each other, knowing what they must do. Standing side by side, they step through together.

  Chapter 23

  Fire Mountain

  The portal opens and the Majjai step through and onto their next challenge.

  “Hekla,” says Olof, looking up at a nearby mountain.

  “The volcano?” asks Khan.

  “Yes,” replies Olof, “We are in Iceland,” he looks worried. Safaya wraps herself a little tighter in Khan’s robe.

  “What is it?” asks Ju Long, disturbed by Olof’s reaction.

  Olof looks to the top of the large volcano, “This is a dangerous place. This volcano is very unstable.”

  “So we should be careful and ready to teleport out just in case,” says Atticus.

  “It’s more than that,” says Olof, “During the Middle Ages, the people here had another name for this place − they called it the Gateway to Hell,” Olof looks around ominously, “We should hurry. Hel herself watches over these lands, she is the guardian of the Underworld.”

  The others are visibly concerned at Olof’s words, except for Atticus. He knows that he needs to return the focus to the quest at hand, “Ok,” he says, “Which way now?”

  A small orb of light has remained from the portal’s closure; it hovers briefly, then shoots across the air, towards Hekla.

  “Quickly, follow it!” orders Atticus.

  The Majjai pursue the orb of light, the air is strange here, even though the volcano itself is not erupting, a strong smell of molten rock taints the air, making it heavy and unwelcoming, their pace slows as breathing becomes more difficult and by the time they reach the base of the mountain, they are almost spent.

  The volcano itself is dark and dirty. The smell of burning rock surrounds them, more intrusive than ever. Knowing the poisonous nature of volcanic gasses, Olof tells everyone to steady their breathing and pace themselves.

  The orb hits the side of the volcano and draws a circle, cutting into the blackened surface of the volcano’s outer wall. The entire section fades and melts away, revealing an entrance. Atticus walks through first, followed by the others. Khan lights another fireball, which hovers just in front of them, lighting the immediate area. The entrance seals itself behind them as soon as the last is inside.

  “So much for a quick getaway,” says Ju Long, “Should have brought my camping gear and marshmallows.”

  Olof gives Ju Long another little clip on the back of his head, “I’m sure there is another way out,” he says.

  “Whatever you say, Goldilocks,” replies Ju Long, rubbing his head, “Tell that to the three bears when they gobble us up. Or this dragon you keep worrying about. What is it with Majjai and dragons? They’re not all bad you know!”

  The Majjai all look at Ju Long curiously, wondering if he has had experiences with dragons other than bad, but before anyone can contemplate much further, Atticus pulls them all forward to follow the passageway into a large clearing. Khan fires a few more fireballs in the air to light the new chamber they find themselves in. There seems to be nothing on the walls apart from the entrance.

  “It’s empty,” says Atticus.

  “Perhaps not.” says Safaya, as she kicks at the dirt on the floor of the chamber, “The surface is loose, from centuries of volcanic activity,” she raises her arms and concentrates. A light breeze begins to move around the chamber, then the earth below them begins to shake, breaking up the loose covering of the chamber floor to reveal another layer. Safaya creates a small whirlwind, sweeping the free dirt to one side.

  “There are markings here. Like the script on the scrolls.” says Khan.

  Olof reaches into his robes and pulls out a communication orb. He holds it up to activate it.

  “Elric?” he says as a communications window opens back at the manor.

  “Olof. How go things?” asks Elric, his face appearing within the window above the orb.

  “We need another translat
ion,” he moves the orb around so that Elric can get a good look at the floor.

  “Interesting,” says Elric, then translates the lines:

  “Walk through the door unseen, to reach the hidden dream.

  Hammer and Orb, the goals as taught;

  the weapon you need is speed of thought.

  Below the wings of Pegasus lays their bed,

  but take care not to wake, the Eater of the Dead.”

  “Nithhoggr,” says Olof, “He sleeps here, and I can sense him. The ‘Eater of the Dead’ must refer to him.”

  “Maybe,” says Elric, “As for the door unseen, maybe I can help you with that. Are there any rock formations that look out of…”

  Before Elric is able to finish, a gust of wind blows through the chamber, smashing the communications orb to the ground.

  “Hmmm,” says Atticus, “I don’t think he is allowed to help from the outside. This is our task alone, it seems.”

  “But how are we supposed to see the unseen?” asks Safaya.

  “Maybe we can’t, but what if the unseen are able to see the unseen?” says Khan.

  “What do you mean?” asks Atticus.

  Ju Long steps forward, “I know,” he says, “My invisibility works differently from what one would consider normal. I move to a different phase of our dimension, and see things that do not exist − that are ‘hidden’ from our view. It also allows me to walk through things.”

  “Cool,” says Atticus, “And you never told us, why?”

  “That is dark Magic, how is it you are gifted with it?” asks Safaya pointedly.

  “Didn’t think much of it; only Khan knew,” replies Ju Long. He disappears from view before giving anyone else to question further.

  “Atticus, use your gift of insight to make sure he is ok,” says Khan.

  Atticus nods and closes his eyes; he thinks of Ju Long and suddenly sees exactly as if he were Ju Long.

  He scans the chamber. Ju Long sees his friends, and pokes Olof cheekily in the ribs. His hand passes through the chamber walls as he feels for a change in density, a sure sign that there is something different about the fortification. It is not long before he finds it. Popping his head through, he sees another room and walks into it. Returning to his normal state, Ju Long examines the rock and finds a lever, covered in cobwebs, “Yeuch!” he splutters before pulling it.