by E K Baxter
At the end of the corridor they found a huge set of double doors that stood closed. The wood, although still strong, had the pock-marked look of great age about it and there were strange runes carved into the lintel. It looked to be from an older, earlier age, as though Honith’s lair had been built around it much later.
Max took out the map and consulted it. Sure enough, the entrance to the catacombs was marked by the same runes as the ones above the door.
“This is it,” Max breathed.
He put his hand against the rough wood and pushed but they didn’t budge. He knelt by a rusted keyhole and tried to peek through but only darkness met his gaze. Casting Stealth, he activated its Find function and scanned the doors, searching for any hidden traps or spells that might be tripped if he attempted to unlock it. Although the runes along the lintel glowed with an ethereal light, he detected no traps. It seemed that Honith herself was the guardian of this place.
Equipping his lock pick, he knelt by the key hole and set to work. Sam and Terra drew weapons and stood by his side, guarding his back, and in only moments Max heard the telltale ‘snick’ as the lock opened. Straightening, he put away his lock pick, equipped his spear, and pushed on the door.
It creaked open, revealing darkness beyond.
Quest: Find the entrance to the catacombs completed.
Congratulations! You have found the entrance to Myrlind’s catacombs. Dare you enter and discover the dark secrets it holds? You are one step closer to discovering the Devil’s Gate and Lord Mespar’s plans. Tread with care!
They received a bag of gold for completing the quest which Max stashed in his inventory before they crept inside, ears and eyes straining for any sign of an enemy. The only thing that met their gazes was darkness and silence. Once inside they paused, allowing their eyes to adjust to the gloom. Eventually Max began to make out their surroundings. They were standing in some kind of entrance vestibule with a high, vaulted ceiling and walls of worked stone. Several paces in front of them a staircase wound down into darkness. The air smelled stale, as though it hadn’t seen a living soul in countless millennia.
“I don’t like this,” Sam muttered. “I don’t like this one little bit.”
Max crossed to the far wall where a pile of torches lay. He handed them to Sam who lit them from his tinder pouch. As they flared to life, the darkness was banished and Max began to feel a little better. There was something comforting about the blazing flames.
Weapon in one hand, torch in the other, Max led them to the steps and they began descending. The steps were wide and grand, carved from a stone that seemed to have quartz buried within that gleamed in the torchlight. Max wondered why the ancients had bothered to make such a grand mausoleum for the dead when nobody ever saw it.
The stairs ended and they stepped into a vast, high-ceilinged chamber. Thick stone pillars held up a ceiling that was so far above them Max had to crane his head back to see it. Frescoes adorned the walls, scenes of battle from the city’s glorious past, although the paint was faded and peeling.
Down the length of the chambers, in a double row, lay huge stone sarcophagi, the tombs of the dead.
Sam whistled under his breath. “Boy, that’s imposing. And very creepy.”
They started forward, moving slowly, peering around as they went. Each of the tombs was easily as tall as Max and had a stone effigy lying on the top, no doubt a replica of who lay within, but they were too high up for Max to be able to see the faces. Runes and symbols were carved into the walls of the tombs, most in a language that Max had never seen before. He guessed it to be an ancient form of the local language although Sam and Terra couldn’t confirm it as they’d never seen it before either.
Max swapped his spear for his sword, clutching it tightly in one hand whilst holding his torch up with the other. He felt oddly vulnerable in this towering city of the dead and the back of his neck prickled as though they were being watched by unseen eyes. They paused only long enough for Max to check the map, crowding together in the lee of one of the tombs, Sam holding the torches whilst Max pored over the ancient parchment.
“This place is called the Avenue of Kings,” Max said, tapping the map. “It’s the top level and there are more below. There should be a door at the far end that leads down to the next level.”
Sam rolled his eyes. “And let me guess—we have to go down, right?”
“Right.”
“Of course we do. It would be too much to ask for the Devil’s Gate to be right here, wouldn’t it?”
“Stop complaining and let’s go,” Terra said, looking around wide-eyed. “I don’t like it here. Something doesn’t feel right.”
Sam snorted. “Maybe that has something to do with the fact that we’re surrounded by the dead. You didn’t really expect—”
He cut off at the sudden sound of scraping stone.
Max froze. Slowly he turned around.
A flash of fear ripped through him at the sight that greeted him. The stone effigies that had until so recently adorned the tombs of the dead were slowly shuffling down the aisle of the mausoleum towards them. There were dozens of them. Hundreds, even.
“Oh, shit,” Max said.
The effigies moved with slow, ponderous strength, their footfalls echoing hollowly on the flagstone floor, an eldritch light in their once-lifeless eyes. Each of them carried a weapon, be it a rusty blade, scepter or a staff.
“Since when did statues come to life?” Sam muttered. “I’ll take Honith over walking gargoyles any day of the week. What are we going to do?”
“Take a few of them with us when we go,” Terra growled. She stepped forward, brandishing her swords.
Sam went to stand beside her, holding his new shield in front of them both. It might hold the stone warriors up for a second or two but it wouldn’t stop them. If Max and his friends didn’t get hacked to bits by those rusty weapons they would probably end up trampled under those stone feet.
Think, Max, he told himself. You’re the leader. Find a way out of this.
He examined his new abilities. Acid Rain might chew through a few of them but he would run out of mana long before he was able to stop the tide and those that remained would easily wipe them out. That left Winter’s Breath. He might be able to freeze them all in place for a few seconds and buy them all some time but with the huge number he’d have to freeze, Max doubted it would hold them long enough for them to make good their escape.
We need an escape route! Max thought. Somewhere they can’t follow!
He quickly cast Stealth on himself and as he faded out he activated its Find function. Everything sprung into stark clarity. His friend’s weapons glinted with an otherworldly light as they held them at the ready. The eyes of the effigies glowed with an eldritch light. Even the tombs themselves seemed to shine like polished bone.
The first line of stone warriors reached Sam and Terra. A huge man swung a hammer at Sam who took the blow on his shield. The impact was hard enough to send Sam staggering back but Terra put her weight against him, steadying him.
“Max!” she cried. “Can you distract them somehow? We won’t last long against this!”
“I’m working on it! Just keep them off as long as you can. Retreat when you have to.”
Terra nodded then darted out from behind Sam’s shield and struck at the stone warrior with her samurai sword. It was a wholly inappropriate weapon for dealing with such a creature but swords and knives were all she had. The weapon clanged against stone, sending a chip flying but otherwise causing no damage. The stone warrior raised its arm for another blow. Sam equipped his own war hammer and swung it around in an arc against the statue’s arm which shattered in a cloud of dust but still the statue advanced, forcing them back a step.
“Hurry!” Terra bellowed.
Max looked around desperately. There had to be something here. His eyes roved over the mausoleum, looking for anything that might indicate a hidden exit. The main door was a no-go as there was no way to lock it be
hind them and Max suspected that the statues’ attack range would be big enough to cause them to follow. Then he spotted something–a darker shadow on the far wall that was only showing up because Find had outlined it in silver light.
He pelted over and realized it was an iron grille over a tunnel that led into darkness beyond. There was a winch next to it with a heavy chain that could be used to raise the grille.
An idea began to form. He could use Winter’s Breath and Acid Rain – but it would be risky.
“Max! Whatever you’re going to do, do it quickly!” Terra yelled.
She and Sam were being forced to retreat by the tide of living stone. Already they’d been forced back several paces towards the door and Sam’s shield was showing some large dents.
“Just a few more seconds!” Max shouted back. “When I say run, run!”
He dropped Stealth so they could see him and then grabbed the handle of the winch. It was stiff and his muscles strained as he tried to turn it. For a second he thought he might not have enough strength to raise the grille but eventually, after much straining and grunting, the winch began to turn and the grille to lift. It seemed to take a lifetime as it inched slowly upwards.
Then, finally, the grille clanked into place, the winch stopped, and the grille had risen enough to give them space to crawl through.
“Now!” he yelled at his friends.
They ran at him.
“Quick! Into the tunnel!”
The stone warriors, without Sam and Terra to hold them back, came pouring after them like a tsunami. Max stepped to meet them as Sam and Terra pelted past him and scrambled into the tunnel.
Max stood his ground and raised his hands as the stone tide bore down on him. His heart was thumping in his chest and sweat trickled down his brow.
Well, here goes nothing.
He waited until they were only two steps away, close enough that he could see the feral gleam in their reanimated eyes, could feel the ground shake under their feet.
Then he cast Winter’s Breath.
A cloud of freezing fog rose up from the ground like a shroud, enveloping the statues.
For one heart-stopping moment nothing happened. The stone warriors kept coming, the nearest statue swinging that enormous stone sword right at Max’s head.
I’m dead, the thought flashed through his head. We’re all dead. The spell wasn’t strong enough.
But then the statues suddenly froze, many with their weapons raised. A thin layer of ice travelled up their bodies, covering them in a sparkling coat of hoar frost.
Max lost no time. With his rookie magic ability, he guessed he had only moments before they thawed. He sprinted to the grille and ducked through, crouching in the tunnel beyond with Terra and Sam. Then he reached through the gaps in the grille, grabbed the winch handle and released it, allowing the grille to snap back into place over the tunnel entrance with a loud metallic crash.
He checked his mana which had replenished just enough for what he needed.
“Back up,” he ordered his friends. “Stand well clear—this might get messy.”
He knew the iron grille wouldn’t be strong enough to hold the statues. They would simply smash through it. A more permanent solution was needed. He cast Acid Rain. A small grey cloud, no bigger than Max’s head, appeared and big fat raindrops that looked like molten metal began to fall. As they hit the tunnel floor the stone fizzed and spat. Max directed the spell upwards so instead of falling on the floor, the raindrops rose to strike the ceiling instead. Stinking smoke formed as the acid rain ate through the stone. Cracks began to appear. A groaning noise filled the air.
Max glanced at the frozen statues in the room beyond. Already the ice covering them was starting to melt and Max’s mana was empty after casting Acid Rain, meaning he didn’t have enough to freeze them again.
“Come on. Come on!” he cried.
With a groan of tortured stone the roof came crashing down just as the statues thawed. Max, Terra and Sam scrambled back as the stone monsters came lumbering towards them but they were soon obscured by rocks, dust and debris that filled the tunnel, blocking it from floor to ceiling.
Sam whistled under his breath. “They can’t come after us now. Max, you’re a genius. I could kiss you.”
Max raised an eyebrow at his friend. “How about we stick to a friendly man-hug instead?”
Sam barked a laugh and did just that, thumping Max on the back hard enough to make him stagger.
Terra raised an eyebrow. “Would you two like to be alone?”
Sam grinned at her. “Jealousy is an ugly trait.”
Max took out the map and examined it. He couldn’t see anything that showed this entrance. The room beyond, where the stone statues had come to life, was clearly marked as the Avenue of Kings, but there was only one exit and that was the main one. This small tunnel didn’t show at all.
“That can’t be right,” Max muttered. “Hang on, let me try something.”
He waited with ill grace until his mana had replenished enough to cast Stealth again and everything faded to grey. He activated the Find function and then peered at the map once more. Sure enough, this time the tunnel entrance was clearly marked to one side of the Avenue of Kings. Max traced his finger along the tunnel, following it until it came to an intersection, then scanning the lines and drawings.
“There!” he said, jabbing his finger at a symbol drawn in the top right corner of the map. “There it is!”
“There’s what?” Terra said, a hint of exasperation in her voice. “We can’t see you when you’re using Stealth, remember?”
“Oh yeah. Sorry.”
He dropped the spell and held the map up so they could see it then pointed to the symbol drawn in the top corner. Except there was nothing there.
“What the hell?”
He cast Stealth again, activated Find, and the symbol sprang into existence. It looked like an iron portcullis and a tiny label read, excavation works, dangerous area.
That has to be it, Max thought. Lord Mespar was digging in this place and requisitioned Sam’s family’s mining gear to do the job. It must be this Devil’s Gate he’s looking for.
“I think I’ve found the place we need to go to,” Max said, his disembodied voice echoing in the small space. “But I can’t show you as it only works when Find is activated. I’ll have to keep using Stealth to check the map as we move to make sure we don’t get lost.”
“Won’t that use your mana?” Sam asked.
Max took a long look at the map, memorizing the first few turns they needed to take, and then dropped Stealth. “Yes, which is why I’ll only use it when necessary. We need to get to the Devil’s Gate without alerting Mespar that we’re coming. I’ll use Stealth to scout ahead and if we encounter any large bands of mobs, we’ll avoid them if we can and only fight if we have to. Okay?”
Terra nodded tightly. “Okay.”
Sam frowned, clearly not liking the idea of avoiding a fight, but he eventually nodded. “Okay. You’re the leader, Max. Just as long as we get to take down Lord Mespar, I’ll be happy.”
Max smiled grimly. “You’ll get your chance. At the end of this tunnel we’ll find an intersection with five other tunnels leading off. We need to take the third one. When we get there I’ll use Stealth to check the coast is clear.”
They set off. Max went first, the map in one hand, a knife in the other, with Terra and Max padding silently behind him. The tunnel was narrow and Max could have touched both sides with his arms if he stretched but it was tall enough for them to stand up in. A faint odor wafted on the breeze that Max couldn’t quite place. It smelled a little like rusty iron.
They slowed as they reached the intersection, pressing themselves flat against the wall whilst Max looked out. He activated Stealth then stepped carefully out, activating Find to see if there were any hidden traps. He didn’t find any.
“Come on,” he whispered and the three of them darted into a passageway.
This was hig
h and wide, the crumbling plaster on the walls showing carvings from Myrlind’s glorious past. Battle scenes and strange beasts marched along, many with holes where the plaster had fallen out or gaps where the paint had faded. On the other side of the tunnel squatted a row of crude, ugly tombs. They were built into the wall and were little more than stone shelves that housed the bones of those long dead. Max, remembering the animated statues in the Avenue of Kings, eyed the bones warily, expecting any minute to hear them rattle as they rose up to challenge these trespassers in their domain.
But the bones stayed dead.
The further they walked, the older the catacombs seemed to become. It was as though they were walking back in time. The frescoes were replaced by runes and then by hieroglyphs. The tombs themselves were replaced by row upon row of funerary urns with dusty grave goods piled next to them.
Several times they came upon enemies. At one intersection they found five of Lord Mespar’s mercenaries crouched in a circle around a chest that they’d obviously robbed from a grave. It was filled with jewelry that sparkled in the light of the torches. They were so engrossed in their discovery that they didn’t notice Max and the others sneaking up on them from behind. Max killed two with arrows through their throats, Terra finished one off with her garrote, sneaking up behind him and choking him to death before he even heard her. Sam put his sword through another and the last one dropped like a stone with one of Terra’s throwing knives through his eye.
They carried on like this for what felt an age. Whenever they came across mobs they avoided them if possible—Max checking the map and taking them on an alternative route if they could—or else they attacked quickly, in formation, taking out their enemies before any of them had a chance to escape and warn Lord Mespar that they were coming.
They paused to take a breather in a small room crowded with bits of old furniture and clay pots filled with embalmed body parts. Dust covered everything and in the flickering light of their torches, it seemed like some macabre junkyard.
