by Robert Day
For how long they ran, him blindly led by Alric's steady hand, he had no idea. His ears strained behind them for signs of pursuit, whether from the Haruken or the two Dwarves, but there was neither. Finally, Alric drew him up short in what must have been a small chamber by their slightly echoed footsteps. His heavy breathing seemed to reverberate through the chamber like the pounding of an ocean, but he calmed quickly. There was a tension among the silent Dwarves, most likely at the sacrifice of their two kinsmen. That there was one other missing, obviously a casualty of the melee, he did not realize until he drew out his brazier.
Alric's dark face was stern, as he accounted for those remaining. Moisture rimmed his tired eyes and Kyle realized whatever feelings he had felt for the losses must be felt ten fold for Alric. Only nine of them remained, plus Kyle.
“We make for Chul’Haka, now. If we discover anything we cannot get around, we hit and run. If anybody is separated, make for the south post.”
“What if we are followed? We cannot allow the Haruken and Dark Brothers access to Chul’Haka through the undercity.”
Alric's grim face twisted with concern, but he turned to address the others. “We can deal with that if it happens. With the amount of activity in these passages, it will not be long until the undercity is discovered, anyhow. Surely the Haruken suspect these passages link with the city, else they would not be here in such numbers.”
The remaining dwarves muttered agreement as the full weight of their situation sunk home. Kyle wondered briefly how their obvious danger could be compared with compromising city of Chul’Haka. ‘First things first’, is what he had always been told by his father. First get to Chul’Haka, and then worry about the safety of the city.
He began to muffle his brazier again, but Alric halted him. “Keep it out. Better that you see where you are going than risk turning an ankle in the darkness.”
“Here, then. You take this.” He thrust his axe into Alric's free hand. The dwarf began to protest, but Kyle cut him off. “Better you have it than me. You know how to use it. Besides, I can't walk with the light and fight. It will be better for me to just be ready to run.”
Alric looked on the verge of arguing again, but finally nodded. “At least take this!” He pushed the heavy knife he had carried into Kyle's hand. “That way, you can use the light and be armed. Just in case.”
Rather than ask 'In case of what?', Kyle nodded and hefted the knife. The blade was coated in some dark, non reflective material with only the thin edge gleaming. The hilt was of engraved wood, while the pommel was merely a heavy ball of the same dark metal. It was no masterpiece, but would serve its purpose excellently.
The fear of pursuit still weighed heavily on the group as they passed from the small chamber, which had only three passages running from it. The one into which they moved was tall and wide, the ceiling slightly arched fifteen feet overhead. Obviously it had once been a major route, though the once smooth walls were now overgrown with dark moss and lichen, while other growths and minor blemishes marred both wall and floor. The occasional damp patch of stone indicated a wet area, and they were able to sate their thirst at small pools where the cool water had gathered. It tasted very earthy, as if imbued with the elements of the ground in which it resided. It left a strange aftertaste in Kyle's throat, but Alric assured him it was nothing out of the ordinary.
The further they walked, the more it became obvious there were fewer chambers and therefore fewer passages that could hide an enemy ambush or patrol. This was offset by the hope the Haruken and Dark Brothers had not discovered this section of the undercity. Alric let him know occasionally where they were, but always the Dwarf seemed disturbed, so Kyle was loathe questioning him concerning several things he noted or was interested about.
“We are now in the halls once named ‘The Outpost’,” whispered Alric, breaking Kyle from dark thoughts of flight and combat. He gave a start before shifting his gaze to where Alric was motioning to the new passage they had just entered. The roof was the highest Kyle had seen yet, easily ten feet above his head, while the passages were wide enough for five to walk abreast with ease. The floor seemed to be more compact, with many sections of actual stone paving. Occasionally, a rocky niche or broken stone pillar would mark where once something had laid, possibly a light pillar or statue.
“Ahead lies the Chamber of Lights. From there, the passage leads to the South Post.”
“You seem to know much about this place, Alric. Who used to live here? These passages were surely not crafted by Urak’Hai hands.”
Alric nodded with a rueful sigh, the ensuing silence making Kyle wonder if he given some offence. “Indeed, these halls were once home to Dwarvenkind. Once a numerous race, both above and below ground, now our only home lies within in the depths of Karnhein. There we have resided since the War of Storms. Almost six eons, yet it seems like only a few generations.”
“It has a beauty that seems far older, almost primeval.” Kyle gave an uncomfortable shrug. “Maybe it is just the closeness of all this earth, but I feel as if it has a great history.”
Kyle was not looking at Alric, so he could not see the puzzling look the Dwarf gave him, both weighing and reflective.
“It is indeed steeped with history, though alas before even that of my kinsmen. The Hara’Daikar carved these passages. My people merely.... redefined and broadened them. Our Stonemasters are unmatched today, but they hold nothing on who once carved these halls. A pity we cannot see them in their past glory.”
Not strong on history, Kyle had always been under the impression the oldest of the races were the Elves and Dwarves, but recently, Valdieron had spoken to him of another, even older, the Kay'taari. How Valdieron knew of them or the extent of his knowledge was unknown to Kyle, only that Val was searching for some relic or item from these people's existence. It stood to reason if there had been one earlier race, there were probably others, but such thoughts were enough to make his head spin. It was beyond the likes of him to understand or comprehend the nature and ways of the universe.
“What happened to these Hara'Daikar?” He hoped he pronounced it correctly, but Alric did not correct him if he had not. Instead, the Dwarf's face darkened, as he seemed to stare distantly beyond Kyle.
“What is known of the Hara'Daikar is more legend than truth, but some few things are still known. For instance, from their artwork and some few relics we have found and studied, we know they were both intelligent and powerful. They were Masters of Combat and Magic, plus they were great Craftsmen. They were friend to the Dragon, creatures of considerable power themselves, and it was these two races who fought the Dark Forces in the Nexus Wars. They were benevolent, if such could be said about such beings, but a few of the histories relate a division amongst their numbers, which was the precursor to the Nexus Wars. It was this split that ultimately led to their destruction.”
There was a sense of awe mixed with hardness in Alric's voice, and Kyle suspected there was more to these Hara'Daikar than the Dwarf had mentioned. What it could be, he could not guess at, and Alric did not appear to want to extrapolate any further on what he had spoken. Kyle drifted into silence, and although Alric said nothing more on the Hara'Daikar, he did continue to point out pieces of interest for Kyle as they drew closer to Chul’Haka.
The Chamber of Lights proved a spectacular sight, though Kyle had to wait for many tense moments for his first view of it, as several of the Dwarves scouted ahead to make sure there were no Haruken or Dark Brothers waiting in ambush there.
The Chamber opened up from the twenty-foot high passage and disappeared into darkness beyond the dim radiation of the brazier he held. The floor was smooth, patterned stone of varying hue, with almost imperceptible joints, set in a sporadic pattern of pale orange. Thin dust and sparse rubble from the ceiling and walls permeated the room. The walls themselves were smooth, angled slightly to indicate it must have domed overhead. Mixed in with the hard grey brown stone were tiny particles that glimmered faintly in the soft
glow of the brazier, like small diamonds. He examined the phenomena closely, but could not discern the nature of the small particles. Even Alric did not know.
“They are unlike any stone or gem I and many others have ever seen. They look like diamonds, but are as soft as sandstone. The largest we have ever mined is about the size of a fist, and they are not easily extracted from the earth. They also have another interesting property!” So saying, he and the other Dwarves drew out their braziers and drew off the lids, throwing a greater illumination on the chamber.
The added light of eight braziers was enough for Kyle to see that the Chamber did have a domed ceiling, fifty feet high at its apex. Though not exactly circular, no two opposite areas of wall could have been less than a hundred paces apart. The extra light also showed that these strange sparkling stones covered the entire chamber.
“It is beautiful!” breathed Kyle, marveling at this wonder. There must have been many thousands of the strange stones to cover the vast chamber, and each seemed to sparkle with their own perfection, large or small. The chamber itself added to the visual spectacle, with three of the exits lined with marble arches also set with the stones. In the center of the room, a squat pillar rose three feet off the strange spidery tile work, its top concave like a small bowl, only its surface appeared to be one large face of these same sparkling stone. It drew in and reflected the brazier light, however, almost like a pale moon.
“This is nothing,” warned Alric with a sly grin, and as Kyle turned to him wondering, the Dwarf motioned for him to replace the lid on his brazier. Suddenly anxious the Dwarf had heard or sensed something, Kyle did as he was told, as did the other Dwarves, though without haste born of concern.
The light winked out almost instantly, and where Kyle had expected to be greeted by absolute darkness, he suddenly thought he had been teleported outside under a cloudless sky at night, as the thousands of stones continued to throw off their small radiation. Each, like stars, glowed with only small strength, but together, Kyle could see well enough to make out the wonder on the other Dwarves' faces. He wondered what his own face looked like at the sight as he spun slowly, gaping at the marvelous spectacle.
Yet the glowing stones were not the only thing to cause him to gasp in astonishment. Where the floor had appeared a maze of stonework, now some of the tiles also glowed with golden aura and where tiles were joined, spidery silver lines traced like dew covered spider webs. It took him a moment before realizing the tiles made up some sort of picture. He gasped when he understood, for he had read and heard of Dragons as creatures of legend all through his childhood, but to see one here, a hundred yards across etched in silver, he could not even begin to describe the sense of wonderment he felt.
The pillar that held the foot wide face of sparkling stone was actually set so that it appeared to be clutched in the claws of the creature, and it glowed like an opal moon, flawless and perfect. Shifting silently to the pillar so as not to disturb the silent perfection of the scene, Kyle knelt and reached his hand towards the inviting glow. The smooth stone seemed to draw him like a moth, and he felt like he needed its touch, for his very survival. His shaking fingers caressed the surface, tentative yet strong like a lover's touch, yet he was not prepared for what happened.
His eyes closed as light surged around him, all encompassing yet not painful, and passing quickly to reveal an image.
He saw himself lying, chained to a great Anvil in the form of a fiery Dragon, flat backed yet alive where he himself looked dead, unmoving and silent. The chains holding him were not exactly chains, but bonds of energy, their nature unknown to him, but they held him as fast as any steel. He was naked, and a fiery glow flickered off his sweat soaked body. His eyes were open, though their dark depths were not easily visible, and he was looking above where a great fiery hammer was inexorably descending towards him. Its glow was what bathed him in light, though it showed nothing beyond except darkness absolute, extending in all directions. The hammer did not appear out of the ordinary, though intricately carved with symbols and runes he did not understand; yet it dwarfed both him and the anvil. By all reasoning, it would likely crush both him and the Anvil, even at its slowed descent.
“Are you all right, lad?” The voice penetrated his senses, and like a bubble the image burst with the distant growling of thunder, as Kyle opened his eyes in shock. He spun to find Alric lightly grasping his shoulder, concern and curiosity mixed on the Dwarf's face. Kyle shook his head, the afterimage of what he had seen still visible to him, yet it was the feelings he had experienced that unnerved him. He had both witnessed the image and been in it, watching from two angles as the hammer inexorably descended. He could still feel the warmth on his skin from the fire, and felt his every nerve tingle with excitement and anticipation. Whatever he could try and make up, he could not dispel the feeling that what he had had just witnessed was more than an image.
“I...I am fine, thanks.” A glance around showed that long moments must have passed from when he had reached for the glowing stone. All but the larger of the stones were still visible, the others losing their refulgence to the darkness that would never be overcome here in the underground chamber.
“It is time to go. The South Post is not far from here. With luck, we will be in Chul’Haka in time for supper. Then we can drink and thank Karn for keeping us safe.”
Kyle let himself be led from the chamber, casting his gaze back to the pillar, though he knew he would not soon forget the image he had seen. He felt almost free for some reason. If the image was portentous in any way, only time would tell, yet he felt it was something he could not talk to any other about, at least until the time was right.
“What is that?” A flickering of darkness caught his attention across the chamber at one of the smaller exits, barely visible in the fading light, yet he could have sworn he saw something outlined in the dark passage, a pale shape too fleeting to give form to. Alric and the others turned, sensing his fear, but whatever it was, it was not the prelude to any attack as a long silence ensued. Finally, Alric order them to continue.
“Eyes can play tricks on you after a while underground,” he mused lightly, though Kyle knew it was not a joke. By the way Alric clutched the axe Kyle had lent him, the Dwarf did not doubt he had seen something, taking the rear position in their line, with Kyle before him. Kyle was not sure it had not been a trick of the strange chamber, yet the more he tried to think on it, the less he seemed able to give form to what he had seen, until finally he gave up. He looked over his shoulder more often than not, though, but saw nothing save the stern figure of Alric. Shaking his head at the strange events of this day, he followed the Dwarves towards the south post, and Chul’Haka.
At the chamber of lights, the Soul Seeker waited at the dark exit, shielding his blind eyes from the force of the light that emanated from the foul room. It could feel the purity of the room, felt its touch like the wind itself, and shivered, and although the masses of Haruken and Dark Brothers trailing it were anxious to continue towards their destination, to the Soul Seeker, movement into the radiation of the chamber would be like wading through stone itself. Every fiber of its chaotic being cried out to be away from this Kay’taari place, yet despite the dread it felt, it was nothing on the fear of what would happen should it fail on its current mission.
The room was all but pitch before the Demon moved his followers forward, shadowing the small band of Halfmen. Eventually they would find a new way into the walls of Chul’Haka, and therefore another handhold on the siege they had on the city now. If all went as planned, the Soul Seeker would have this city and its human occupants all bowing to the Lord of the Dark before the next cycle of the twin moons.
Chapter 20
The South Post was actually a small chamber, circular but less than ten feet in height, its dusty dirt floor rising sharply away from the entry, up to where a dark metal door was set in a flat stone wall. The door was circular, taking up the entire wall in height, and was reinforced with bands of darker m
etal, perhaps brass or copper, tarnished with age. The hinges appeared to be solid silver, however, showing little signs of deterioration. What unsettled Kyle after a quick study of the Portal was there was no visible handle.
Alric stepped up to the Portal, obviously not concerned with the lack of lock or handle, and Kyle assumed the Dwarf must know how to open it. He half expected the Dwarf to pound on the heavy metal door, waiting for somebody without to open it, but instead he drew out a short length of steel from his shirt and began caressing the surface of the door near its center, searching for something.
After a time, he must have found what he desired, and with an 'ahh' of satisfaction, he inserted the steel rod into the door, disappearing as if by magic into what must have been a hidden compartment. After an accentuated twist, Alric withdrew the key, though the door remained closed and there had been no discernible unlocking of any mechanism. Kyle arched his brow curiously as Alric lifted his foot to nudge the door, as he replaced the heavy key inside an inner pocket. With barely a groan of protesting hinges the Portal swung away, a thick arc of firelight bathing the small chamber from beyond.
The room beyond was spacious, thirty feet square with a ceiling that loomed high over even Kyle's head. Braziers were set in niches carved into smooth stone pillars set in the walls, which appeared to be of even stone bricks. In the center of the room, a wide stone stairway ascended into a chamber above, it also aglow with flickering firelight. The eerie atmosphere of the room made Kyle's skin crawl as he moved quickly for the stairs. Set in horizontal niches in each wall was a stone sarcophagus, each set with different reliefs. Twelve in all, there were four niches yet to be occupied.
