by Noah Layton
But as I reached the bottom of the steps, I still had all of my limbs. Nothing had attacked.
The muffled sounds of the warriors outside had grown dim.
I didn’t know whether it was down to the distance that I had moved, or whether they had fallen to the unknown threat outside.
I raised my torch to look ahead and found myself at the end of a short passageway that opened up ten yards ahead.
I gritted my teeth, hunched my shoulders, bounced my heel off the final step and launched myself forwards like an Olympic sprinter.
‘Aggghhh!!!’
In mere seconds I crashed through the end of the passageway and into the open space.
I checked myself rapidly for any wounds.
Nothing.
Quickly I turned my attention to the room, casting my torch ahead of me.
I was standing in a large chamber around ten yards long and eight yards wide. The ceiling stood ten feet over my head, and along with the walls it was comprised of tough, weathered stonework that looked like it had been built decades ago.
Upon the walls I noticed the same shelves that had been present in the underground passages beneath the land of the sun-elves.
I pressed my torch to it, and a long flaming line ran along the edge of the room until it was sufficiently lit.
Only two small structures resided in the chamber.
The first was a stone pedestal that stood in the dead center of the room. It reminded me of the totems that surrounded my tree back at the land.
Just like those, an object sat atop it; in this case it was a box, just like the one that I had pulled from the trap back at the land of the dwarves. This was very obviously made of bronze, but the markings upon it were the same.
The second structure in the room was a large stone sarcophagus. It stood just behind the pedestal, its contents covered by a heavy stone lid that must have weighed hundreds of pounds at the very least.
I scanned the ground for any signs of a trap or a false panel. They all looked stable.
I approached the box and examined the symbols inscribed upon the lid.
Just like on the map, they changed form. This time it was in a swimming pool of swirling metal, finally transforming into English.
Take the first and meet yourself.
‘Take the first and meet yourself…’ I read quietly to myself. ‘What the hell does that mean?’
I frantically searched the room once more from where I stood.
There was nothing else.
Can it really be this easy?
I clasped my hands around the box and shifted its weight slightly.
It wasn’t bolted to the platform.
One final check. There were no threats around me.
Fuck it.
I yanked up the box and stepped back, searching for an attacker.
Nothing.
I held the weighty bronze box in my hand and turned to the exit.
Suddenly I received the answer to my question.
No, of course it wasn’t this easy.
A tall stone slab suddenly descended from the ceiling over the entrance to the passageway, blocking my exit and sealing me into the room.
‘Shit.’
A cloud of dust ushered into the air from its base.
What now?
Then, suddenly, the sound of stone scraping on stone began again.
But this sound wasn’t coming from the door.
It was coming from the sarcophagus behind the pedestal.
The stone slab that covered it was shifting out of place, sliding to the side before its weight reached the precipice of its balance.
It slammed to the ground heavily, so hard that the ground beneath me vibrated and shuddered.
I gulped.
From the innards of the sarcophagus, two huge gangly hands emerged. They clamped down on the stone edges and propelled their owner upwards as if his body was on a hinge.
At first I thought that the flames were too low for me to see my enemy; his figure was distorted and formless, taking on a grey-blue sheen.
But as my eyes adjusted, I realized that that was his form.
He stared at me from the sarcophagus as if weighing me up.
I had half a mind to rush forwards and drive my sword through his neck.
But this could all easily be another trap.
The creature suddenly jerked violently. It snarled at me with a painful squawk, identifying me as a threat, and dragged itself in a series of sharp movements from the sarcophagus like a predator that was quickly learning to walk.
The featureless monstrosity landed upon the stone floor.
The moment it touched down, its body began to change.
Features bubbled up to the surface; a tanned skin tone, darkened hair and darker eyes, lean musculature covering its arms, legs and torso.
Then, from the muscles, fabrics began to grow.
And from its hands, a torch and a sword almost identical to my own were forming.
The creature hunched its back as its body changed, lowering its head from my sight.
Then it finally raised its head and body, sizing itself up and staring back at me.
I was looking back at a near-exact mirror image of myself.
‘What the hell…?’
I took a step back, and my double did the same. I steadied my grip on my sword, and the creature copied.
The delay was momentary, only a fraction of a second behind me.
I tossed my torch aside – the doppelganger moved to do the same, but the torch remained in its hands.
It couldn’t be thrown – it was part of its body, and it couldn’t split apart from itself.
I raised my sword over my head and took a quick step forward.
My double did the same, the sword and the torch clamping together as it halted.
They melded into a combined form of blade and torch.
If I attacked, it would attack too, mirroring my movements.
At least that’s what I thought.
I jolted forwards in another movement to attack but paused.
It did the same.
I repeated once, twice-
And on the third time, it continued its path.
I retreated sharply and readjusted my grip on my sword.
The doppelganger’s sword slammed into the ground, clanging off it and sending sparks flying.
It quickly recovered and glared at me in the firelight with darkened eyes and a psychotic smile.
It was done copying me.
Now it wanted me dead.
My double rushed me and I swiped out hard, striking my blade against its own before dodging to the right.
‘So that’s how you want to play it?’ I barked, my deep voice echoing around the chamber. ‘Fine.’
I switched rapidly to my power stone selection wheel and brought up Arcane Fire. The stone landed reliably in my palm.
‘See what you make of this.’ I aimed at the double. ‘Arcania!’
A plume of purple flames exploded towards the creature. I watched as the fire engulfed the mirror image of myself, remaining on the defensive.
A purple sheen lit up the walls.
The fire wasn’t having the desired effect, though.
The creature didn’t flail or scream; it simply stood and stared at me.
And slowly the flames started to vanish.
As the flames disappeared, my double’s body changed in tone; it became awash with the same shade of purple.
Until the final flicker it continued, and the creature’s smile slowly became wider.
Then-
BOOM.
Flames exploded from the creature’s body.
I barely had time to dive behind the sarcophagus to avoid their path.
I crashed to the ground as they rushed over my head.
‘No spells,’ I panted. ‘You got it.’
Footsteps rapidly approached.
I jumped to my feet and brought my sword before me. The creat
ure followed, attacking with its sword in an overhead swipe.
I barely blocked it in time. With a clang our swords struck once more.
We sparred painfully, pressing against each other.
It can match my strength.
I delivered a sharp kick to its shin. It shuddered away and I regained my composure.
Attack now.
I raced forwards and delivered a sharp series of strikes. The creature blocked each of them, and suddenly I found myself in another parry.
But this time it wasn’t me who delivered the kick.
The sharp pain in my shin came out of nowhere.
‘AGHHH!!!’
I staggered away, the rush of pain exploding through my leg brutally.
It isn’t just copying me.
It’s learning.
The more time I spent attacking this thing the less chance I had of defeating it.
What had the clue said?
Death surely awaits the warrior without strength.
I couldn’t use my bare hands to fight this thing. If I cast aside my sword it would still keep its own, grafted to its singular form.
Its strength still matched my own.
But I could catch it off-guard.
‘Okay,’ I panted. ‘Let’s do this.’
I charged forwards, the creature mirroring me. Our swords clanged together, and immediately the doppelganger attempted to kick at my shins.
I dodged back, pressing against the ground before propelling myself at the creature.
It might have been just as strong as me, but I knew how to throw myself off balance.
I crashed to the ground atop my doppelganger, the flat edges of the swords sandwiched between us.
It had struck its head against the stone and was disoriented.
My window opened.
I slammed my head hard into its forehead, feeling the crack of my skull against its own head.
Cuckoos might as well have been flying around my head, but I shook it off fast and ripped my hand away from the handle of my sword, delivering a resounding, ear-splitting punch straight to the center of its face.
My hand ached with pain, but I couldn’t slow down now.
I punched again and again and again.
The double’s face changed beneath my strikes, concaving inwards like tough clay against an even tougher force.
It was no longer fighting back. The image of my face was distorted and savaged, smeared like putty.
I grabbed my sword and pushed to my feet, slamming one foot down onto the creature’s sword-hand so that it couldn’t catch me off guard.
Delirious and angry, I raised my sword over my head and brought it down over its neck.
The creature’s head toppled away with the force.
‘Fuck you,’ I muttered gruffly, wiping away a smear of blood from my head.
I staggered back from its form. A moment later the monster’s body began to shake.
The discerning features of myself that it mirrored vanished and it returned to its blue-grey form. Its head re-joined its body, rolling across the floor and sliding up its body before attaching itself.
The monster’s whole form then rolled sharply across the floor like it was toppling down a steep cliff, sliding up the side of the sarcophagus and disappearing inside.
The tomb’s lid ascended from the ground and sealed it within once more.
And just as the echo of the slamming lid faded, the sound of stone scraping against stone began behind me.
The door was opening.
I rushed back to the box upon the pedestal and tipped the lid.
Bronzed orange light filled the room, emanating from within. As the glow subsided a little, I set eyes on the contents – a shimmering bronze orb.
This was the key to the location of the next challenge.
But I didn’t have time to figure out its secrets now.
I checked the orb and the box in my inventory and dashed for the exit, racing along the passageway.
I took the stairs three at a time, ready to rush to the warriors’ aid.
My sword had no place in its sheath; my men needed me, and I wasn’t going to let them die.
I just prayed that they were still standing.
I reached the mouth of the skull, finding the stone slabs that had been blocking my way to be gone.
In the moonlight all three of the warriors stood at the ready, looking out to the assailants still unknown to me.
I reached them and readied my weapon to confront the threat.
A sea of creatures standing no more than two feet tall stood before us. There were hundreds at the very least, stood in rank upon precarious rank.
Most were hunched, but their angered faces spoke for the violence that they intended to inflict upon us.
Rags covered their rough, scaly, purple bodies, and the rusty tools, scraps of metal and sharpened sticks that they clutched tightly were matched in ferocity only by their squat, snarling faces and sharpened teeth.
‘What the hell are these things?’ I asked.
‘Hobgoblins,’ one of the warriors spoke. ‘Not very dangerous in small numbers, but this many? We will struggle to make it out alive.’
‘How do we get past them?’
‘They worship gold and bow to that which shines.’
I pulled up my inventory and retrieved the orb. It landed in my free hand, its bronze glow immediately shedding light on the forest.
I stepped forward and raised it above my head.
A hundred angry and monstrous faces lit up in the glimmering bronze light, a hundred faces that quickly transformed to expressions of wonder and fear.
Those immediately ahead retreated before me, and those to the side backed off, desperate to escape the gleam of the light.
Those more fearful bowed down before me, while those at the front were still willing to admire this entity.
A step forwards was all it took.
Those blocking my path dispersed immediately, and those already bowing lowered their heads further, practically cowering before me and the light that I commanded.
I led the warriors through the clearing and into the snowy forest, keeping the orb held high until we reached the river and we were clear of the creatures.
‘Are you well, Master Jack?’ One of the warriors asked. ‘You look bloodied and beaten.’
‘Just had a little disagreement with myself,’ I smiled.
‘Was is that object in your possession? Its light was powerful enough to ward away even the most ravenous of those feral beings.’
‘Hopefully this is the thing that will take us to the next piece of the puzzle,’ I said. ‘Come on, we don’t have any time to waste. We can make it back to the land before sunrise if we get moving now.’
Chapter Eight
‘More scars to add to the collection,’ Santana said, scooping water up in her hands and pouring it over my shoulders.
‘I’ve had worse,’ I smiled, more than happy to let her continue washing my body down.
After returning to the land with the warriors and getting a few hours’ sleep, I had awoken around midday and decided to head to the hidden caves just beyond our borders with my wives.
Ariadne and Talia were out in the forest swapping fighting techniques, leaving me with the welcome company of Elera, Santana and Lara.
Elera was floating in the water on her back, much to her enjoyment, treading at the surface occasionally to keep herself afloat – that was all it took for a nymph who had spent much of her life in the rivers of Agraria.
Lara was lying on her back on the sandy bank by the pool that the water from the underground river flooded into, dressed in nothing but her bra and underwear, her wet purple hair scooped behind her head exposing her beautiful face as she examined the bronze orb in her hands.
‘Any idea what that thing is?’ I asked her.
‘I have no idea,’ she responded. ‘There seems to be some kind of substance inside, like smoke… Something is shiftin
g, anyway. Occasionally I can see solid shapes within, something carved, but it’s no use.’
‘Could we not crack it open?’ Santana asked, wiping the last of the soap from my body before descending into the water herself.
‘It’s too risky,’ Lara replied. ‘We already know that this blacksmith is capable of incredibly complex machinery. If we try to force our way in so easily, it could have some kind of anti-tampering trap that causes it to destroy the clue inside.’
‘Let me take a look,’ I said.
Lara threw the orb deftly to me and I caught it, examining its surface again from where I stood in the water.
‘This is ridiculous,’ I muttered, searching the smoke trapped inside. ‘There has to be some way to access this. Read the clue back to me.’
Upon returning to the land, the swimming letters upon the bronze lid of the box had changed from the original instructions. Now they had become another riddle.
Lara flipped the lid closed upon the bronze box and turned onto her stomach, her large breasts pressing against the sand as she read from it.
‘Where worlds a-wide lay ‘bove the head,
Mere mortal men look to the skies,
Earth beneath should now be read
To see what descends, this must arise.’
‘That first part’s talking about the sky, obviously,’ I said, feeling like an idiot for saying something so basic. ‘But earth must be read? How can you read the earth?’
‘You know that I’m a tracker,’ Lara said. ‘We literally read the earth below. But I don’t see how we can track something that we’ve already found. I mean, we already have this.’
‘What about to see what descends?’ Santana added. ‘Maybe it’s telling us that the next location is beneath us.’
‘There’s a decent chance,’ I replied. ‘The last one took me way underneath the land. But that doesn’t tell us where exactly to look beneath the land.’
I sank into the water with the orb in my hand, plunging it beneath the surface. Its bronze glow was still visible beneath the water, but nothing changed.
This must arise.
I brought the orb up out of the water, wondering if its submersion would result in any changes.
Much to my annoyance the smoke within continued to swirl tantalizingly. No change.
‘Any luck, husband?’ Elera asked, her blue form slinking up behind me and wrapping her arms over my chest as she propped her head on my shoulder and examined the orb.
