The Delving

by Aaron Bunce

  He shook his head, clearing away the cobwebs of mania that sent him into a frenzy, and swiped his face across a shirtsleeve, the torn and tattered remains of his jacket tearing further. A small, green glow stabbed through the darkness ahead of him. He waved his hand, the light moving along with it. The ring was warm, pulsing gently against his finger, the square emerald glowing with a gentle, inner light. The pain in his hip receded, leaving only a warm echo of discomfort, and the dull ache in his ribs and leg.

  “Mother’s milk! How…I…what was that?!” Gor stammered as the others moved tentatively behind and above him. The big man scooped his torch out of the ivy and straightened, the glow splitting the dark. “I’ll be,” the big man breathed, “I don’t know how, but you did it, Owl! Just as Iona said…just as you’ve done up till now! How did you do it? Was there a hidden switch or lever?”

  “It was a…” Thorben started and flinched, hastily pushing up to his knee and smothering the ring’s glow with his free hand. What would he tell them? What should he tell them? An image of the dead dweorg’s shanty flashed into his head, and their mangled, missing fingers. That would be him if Gor found the ring, and he would be alive when they cut it off.

  Someone grabbed him under the arms before he could muster a story and lifted him off the ground. Thorben felt the ring pulse against his finger a heartbeat before the dark space ahead came alive. Metal ground against metal, light blossoming in the heart of the deepest shadows.

  Thorben reacted, throwing his hands up to cover his face as the light intensified, a rumble like thunder shaking the ground beneath his knees. The others howled, and he felt someone fall down near him, the ivy shaking from their weight.

  Pulling his hands down and shrinking away, Thorben squinted against the glare, his eyes watering. Was it an attack? He pushed back up to his knees and then shakily to his feet, his imagination manifesting monsters hiding in the bright light, blades or claws ready to cut him down. A manic swipe of his sleeve cleared away some of the tears and the chamber came into focus.

  Looking around, Thorben found the others still on the ground. Jez and Iona were pressed together, their faces down and eyes closed tight. Gor half-stood just a few paces away, his massive palms covering half of his head. He spotted his torch, lost when he swung at the strange specter, now forgotten a few paces away. The stick smoldered, the fire smothered by the foul smelling and sticky dew covering the ivy.

  Thorben looked down. The ring still sat snuggly on his finger, the gem, although not as bright, pulsed green. He hastily tried to pull it off, but the band was tight. In fact, he couldn’t even turn it in place. He dug his fingernails under the band and wrenched on it as hard as he could, but it was stuck fast.

  “Death…and!” he grunted and wrenched on the ring, his knuckles popping from the force, “dust”. No matter how hard he pulled, the ring refused to move.

  “That light…my eyes!” Gor muttered, and staggered away from the wall. The big man swiped at his face, and then the air before him, clawing at it like an animal. The big man seemed to gather his senses a moment later, and opened his eyes. He squinted, his mouth pulling up into an uncharacteristic smile.

  “You did it, Owl. You did it!” Renlo said, coming up behind him and clapping his arm.

  “Clever as a fox, remember, Iona? That’s what you said before we let you leave to gather him up. Remember? Like we told you, this was your last chance, so you’d better make it count. And you said ‘If anyone can get us into that vault, it’s Thorben Paulson’,” Gor said, lifting his voice into a falsetto as he did a very poor imitation of the broker’s voice.

  Stuffing his hand back into his pocket, Thorben looked from the big man to the chamber, the sudden praise making him feel more than a little awkward, especially considering the company. The light surged one final time, before dimming to a comfortable glow, allowing him to open his eyes comfortably.

  Odd, metal lanterns hung from the walls. Shaped like massive insects, their swollen abdomens glowed like bright balls of fire. As he watched, one of the lanterns moved, its metal carapace sliding noisily open, just before its abdomen glowed to life.

  So, that was the strange noise, he thought.

  “It’s…it’s magnificent,” Hun howled, “Let us plunder everything of worth from this place! Think of the gold…the gold! We’ll be rich men. Rich!” The guildsman set off down the passage slowly, head swiveling from side to side, taking it all in.

  “I never thought it possible, Owl. Time after time we trekked to that place and watched them fail to figure out the secret of the three keys – those damned things, and that damned gate. I wanted to smash them and crush that gate, but…I thought we would never get to see inside, let alone this place!” Gor said, stepping his way.

  If Thorben didn’t know any better, he’d swear the big man was genuinely appreciative. Fortunately, he knew the truth. He’d seen the dried blood and piles of bodies…of men just like him. They probably had wife and children, just like him. Hells, he almost joined them.

  “You’ve proven your value, Owl!” Gor continued, pointing at him with the copper coin and looking off into space. “I think I might have to give you a small reward after all. Now come along, let us claim our treasure.”

  Our treasure, Thorben thought sarcastically, rubbing the ring’s smooth band with his thumb. Thorben watched the big man move away, very aware that Renlo remained just off to the side.

  “Did I not tell you?” Renlo said, after a moment, “he gets what he wants, and you get yours.” The mule moved around him and towards the tall, lean statues lining both sides of the passage ahead. Despite his muscular build and taller than average height, they towered over him.

  Thorben walked lightly forward and stopped by the first statue, his fingers sticking together. He involuntarily reached down to wipe them clean on his trousers, but they were sticky, too. A quick glance showed that his hands were covered in what looked like reddish sap, the same sticky mess covering his pants and boots. It wasn’t dew on the ivy after all.

  “Why do you follow him? You recited Alrik’s passage with great care. You could be a lyric, or a playwright,” Thorben said, looking from the statue to Gor, the river guildsman moving just ahead of them.

  The chamber’s bright light glistened off the dark leaves covering the ground, the ivy’s blood-red stem and dark foliage wet with the sticky fluid. Thorben rubbed his fingers together. It looked oddly like blood.

  Death and Dust. The plants look and smell like death down here.

  “A lyric,” Renlo laughed and scratched his face. “Only in my fancies! But life ain’t about to allow someone like me to do that. My family’s been fisherfolk for generations. My grandad was, like his father afore him. Then my da afore me, and I, and so on. Ain’t a way to make much coin, but the guild looks after its own, and Gor is the guild. I give him my loyalty and the taxmen leaves me be. Without Gor and the guild, there is no respect. It’s simple like that.”

  Thorben thought on his words, chewing on the reality of it all. In truth, he didn’t blame the man. If someone had offered him the same protection just a few sunsets prior, he’d likely have considered it. Hells, who was he kidding? He probably would have agreed on the spot.

  Drifting off in thought, Thorben’s gaze followed the ivy up the legs of the nearest statue. The figure was tall, easily a head and a half again his height. The ivy continued its climb up past the waist, the intrusive plant apparently growing into the stone itself. The effigy’s head was larger than Thorben thought normal, an elongated jaw and nose contorting the carved features. A quick glance to the next statue confirmed it. Each was different, exaggerated and horrific in its own way.

  Renlo moved on ahead and disappeared around one of the statues. Jez drifted to his left, her arms wrapped protectively around her body. One of the monstrous stone totems loomed above, making her look so horribly small. Like a child. A pang stabbed into his middle, and he thought of his own daughter.

  Iona stepped up next to
him and stopped, taking the chamber in with a low whistle. He leaned to take the weight off his injured leg, and wiped his pale, sweaty face on a sleeve.

  “I thought you had gone mad back there.”

  “I don’t belong in places like this anymore,” Thorben said, and tried to pull the tattered jacket closed in the front, but the ripped garment swung open again.

  “I hope you can understand…” Iona started.

  “A man should do what is needed to keep his loved ones safe. It is why I am here, after all. To say otherwise would feel a betrayal,” Thorben replied, and promptly continued, leaving the small man behind.

  “I just mean to say…I am indebted to you now, several times over. I pulled you into this scheme, lied to you…when you were well away from this life. And then you saved me, when most men wouldn’t have. They could have killed you, Thorben. Hells, I thought they were going to. Men who interfere with the River Guild disappear all the time.”

  “I couldn’t just stand by and watch…” Thorben admitted, unsure how to put the experience or his thoughts into words. He was angry with the man…angrier than he’d ever been, but they had history. He didn’t know Iona had a family, let alone a daughter. In reality, it came down to that. Thorben looked at Iona and saw himself, and saw Dennah, not Jez.

  He ran his thumb over the ring in his pocket, and considered showing it to Iona, but though better of it and casually slid it back into his pocket.

  “Like you said…we need to watch out for one another, and wait for our moment.” He turned away from the broker and hoped that the ring’s light didn’t shine through the fabric of his pants. Iona nodded, before turning back to the chamber, his face haggard and still a bit pale. Renlo meandered a short distance ahead, but seemed unwilling to go too far.

  The dark ivy crawled halfway up the walls and statues, branching off and hanging like tree limbs in the air. The narrow space looked oddly forest-like. With the odd lanterns and ivy-covered figures around them, Thorben could almost forget they were so far underground.

  “This place doesn’t look like anything delvers have described before. What have we stumbled upon?”

  “I’ve never seen anything like it…older and stranger,” Thorben said, his fears only growing more profound. He continued slowly down the passage, examining and cataloguing everything in his mind. It was miraculous and terrifying all at the same time.

  “Whatever this place is, my plan is the same. I give them what they want…fill their pockets with relics and gold and make them rich men. If I do that, they’ll let you and Jez go free, and me back to my family. It’s my hope, and what keeps my feet moving forward,” Thorben said,

  The broker considered him for a moment, and then looked back to his daughter, who stood a dozen paces away. Jez hovered beneath one of the strange statues, her arms tucked in tight. She looked small and fragile beneath the stone monster, like a frightened animal about to be consumed.

  “Don’t let him fool you, old friend,” Iona said, suddenly, leaning in close, “Gor may smile and praise you now that you’ve gotten him here, but he cannot be trusted. He is an animal – a barbaric and violent killer only concerned with the guild’s interests and elevating his standing. If given the chance…”

  Renlo cleared his throat and Iona abruptly pulled away.

  “Stop yer whispering,” the guildsman grumbled, “I can hear you.”

  Iona nodded and limped on ahead, giving a particularly gruesome statue a wide berth. The beast was wide and strong, with a horrific set of small arms sprouting from its chest. Spiny ears jutted out of its long head, its splayed jaws filled with far too many sharp teeth.

  “I’ve found something! Come…come quick!” one of the men yelled from ahead.

  Thorben and Iona moved forward, Jez waiting and following in their wake. Gor and Hun talked ahead, their voices echoing loudly. Maybe they spotted the strange floating lights. Perhaps then they would believe him.

  They passed underneath the statues, the stone denizens’ seemingly hollow eyes following him with each step forward. A creeping, crawling sensation worked its way up Thorben’s back, and he knew that it wasn’t bugs this time.

  The passage curved down ever so slightly, the ivy covering the ground thinning out. He searched the shadows warily, his growing desire to turn and run almost stronger than his curiosity. And yet it was his will to survive, to see his family again that kept him moving forward.

  The vines grew in size, branching together, until the strange, red plant was as large around as his forearm. They passed into a round chamber, a dozen massive doorways leading off into different directions. Thorben spotted Gor and Renlo immediately, their torches glowing warmly straight ahead. He paused, considering each of the dark portals, hesitant to put so much unknown to his back.

  Iona urged him forward, and together they approached the closest doorway, the arch of the immense portal carved in ornate fashion. It was a woman, her flowing garments and feather-covered limbs wrapping around the entirety of the wall. They stopped just short of the opening, the woman’s legs coming down on either side of them. Thorben didn’t find it as perverse as the fertility statues they erected in the springtime, but it was close.

  He knew she was just a statue, but she’d been carved in such amazing detail that he half expected her to move, or speak. Hells, in different light he thought most would mistake her for a giant, working diligently to keep the mountain of stone from crashing down. The ambient light revealed similar statues carved into the other doorways, different but the same. All beautiful figures wrapped around and into the stone.

  Gor, Renlo, and Hun stood a few paces back from the doorway, their eyes locked on the adjacent space. He skirted around them and passed between the massive, carved woman’s legs, his shadow disappearing as he stepped into the chamber beyond. He gazed out over a wide cavern, odd pillars forming a ring at its gloomy center. Fallen leaves covered the ground at his feet, creating a plush layer under his boots.

  Where did the leaves come from?

  It wasn’t the columns, the leaves, or even the woman carved into the doorway that had garnered the mules’ attention, but something just visible through the ring of dark columns.

  It was a single, gray sarcophagus.

  “This is it!” Thorben whispered, and turned back to the others, a shiver coursing up his back.

  Jez ran through the doorway for a better view, just as a strange, animal howl echoed through the tunnels behind them. A heartbeat later another sound followed, not unlike the scrabbling of claws against stone.

  Gor and Hun turned as one to track the noise, their spears held ready. Thorben moved back, pulling Jez behind him. He caught a flash of green from the ring on his finger, just as something shifted above them, dust and rock raining in a powdery cloud. Thorben impulsively looked up and caught a face full of grit. He coughed and sputtered, just as a massive form fell from above.

  “Look out!” Jez yelled, and pulled him. They tumbled together, sprawling amongst the leaves, a deafening crash washing over him.

  “What…was that?” Thorben mumbled, wiping leaves off his face and pushing up to his knees.

  He looked to the doorway, to see if the others were all right. But they weren’t there…no, the open doorway wasn’t there. The statue stood before them, her posture tall and majestic.

  Thorben stood and helped Jez to her feet, blinking frantically to clear away the tears and dust. They slowly backed away from the statue…where the arched doorway had stood just a moment before.

  “Where did they go?” Jez asked, her dark eyes flitting from the stone to Thorben.

  “I don’t know.” He reached out and tentatively touched the statue and the wall. It was cold, and damp, just like the stone next to it.

  “Father!? Father?!” the girl screamed, rushing forth and pounding on the statue’s legs. “Where did they go? Where did they go?” Jez screamed until her voice broke, and then fell to her knees, gasping for breath.

  Thorben spun on th
e spot, his gaze drifting over the circle of columns, the distant sarcophagus, and then back to the statue. He tried to block out the sound of the Jez’s sobs while ignoring his own panic at the same time, but his heart pounded like an overbearingly loud drum in his chest.

  His hands shook as he searched up the statue’s legs, moved sideways across what had been the open doorway, down to the ground, and moved back across, rifling through the thick layer of leaves. But there was nothing.

  “Hells,” he spat, struggling to even identify the statue’s mortared joints in the poor light. “It’s impossible!”

  Thorben muttered quietly to himself, tapping the stone with his hammer before jumping back and viewing the wall from a distance.

  “I knew it…I knew it…I knew this would happen,” Jez moaned, her shoulders bobbing and cheeks wet with tears.

  The arch was in fact gone, as if the statue had come to life and pulled the wall closed behind it. Don’t even think it. That is impossible…it’s impossible, he thought. Thorben grasped the ring and tugged before dropping down next to Jez.

  “Hello! Can you hear me? Are you all right?” Thorben screamed, and then smashed his ear up to the wall, listening for a reply. He couldn’t hear anything, save his own loud breathing.

  “You knew what? What did you know, Jez?” he asked, turning back to the girl, his gaze nervously flitting up to the stone burial.

  “I told him…I told him that there was nothing waiting for him in here but death, but he refused to listen. He wouldn’t…he wouldn’t. I wanted to run away…I told him we should run away and find my brother.”

  “You have a brother?”

  Jez nodded, sniffling. “Yes, he’s just a boy. Just five winter thaws old.”

  “What about your mother…his, mother?” Thorben asked.

  “She ran off, almost a season ago…took the thief’s share of dad’s money with her, and Sam. She took my brother and we don’t know where she is,” Jez said, wiping her nose and eyes.