He left them cheering and shouting, some were pounding on their shields with their swords, others bellowing battle cries. Lorik could only hope they would be as brave and ready for battle when they saw King Ricard’s army.
In the fortress a meal had been laid out for him and as he ate doubts began to plague his mind. An army of over fifteen hundred fighting men would dwarf his small force. If the dragon didn’t come to their aid they might be defeated. Lorik knew he could slaughter hundreds of Ricard’s soldiers, but he didn’t know how his troops would hold up. They were larger and stronger than normal men, but could they fight? Would they face the battle with fearless enthusiasm, or with faint hearts? He didn’t know and wouldn’t know until they were tested. He wished he had more time, but also that the battle was already upon them. If they had to march too far they might end up exhausted and starved before they ever caught sight of the enemy. And what if King Ricard’s plan was to out maneuver Lorik’s forces? What if he rushed forward and led his men straight into a trap? He had no way of knowing what the future held, only that he couldn’t turn back. He couldn’t build his empire on empty promises and he would die before he let King Ricard or anyone else lay claim to Ortis. He would have to fight, no matter the odds, no matter how outnumbered he was. There was simply no other choice.
Chapter 9
Hours passed as they followed the bat figure through the dark tunnels. Jute never complained, always moving just a few steps behind Zollin. He could feel the dwarf’s dread growing—as was the bat’s. Something horrible was waiting for them, that much was certain, but Zollin had faced horrors before. What he feared was arriving too late. What if Brianna was already dead? What if Brianna was alive but she had lost the baby? Would she ever be able to forgive him? He didn’t know what he would do if he was too late, so despite the fear that was growing in the back of his mind, despite the numbing fatigue, he keep walking.
Eventually— time was lost in the constant gloom of the caverns—they came to what appeared to be a crack in the floor of one of the tunnels. It was narrow and jagged. The fissure seemed completely out of place among the polished and sculpted floors and relief=lined walls of the caverns. The bat creature laid down on the floor and squeezed through the crack, using the long, skinny arms to help it climb.
“I guess we go down,” Zollin said. “I hope that vice doesn’t make it too difficult for you to climb.”
“I could have used a hook or even a pick axe,” Jute grumbled. “I can still out climb a wizard.”
If the fissure had been wider, Zollin would have levitated down. He was skilled at lifting himself using magic, and since he had regained his power he could once again levitate himself several miles or hundreds of feet into the air before needing to stop and rest. There was no way of knowing how deep the fissure was. Zollin began climbing and was quickly shrouded in darkness. He wanted to use his magic to light the way, but the walls of the crack were so close he knew he wouldn’t be able to see much of anything beyond the stone wall in front of his face. Fortunately the wall was jagged, offering numerous hand and foot holds, making the climb down relatively easy.
The temperature rose dramatically as they descended, and Zollin was soon drenched in sweat. A dull light was glowing from below them, casting the bottom of the fissure in a shadowy gloom. Still, to Zollin’s mind any light at all was welcome and his spirits lifted. After a while they came to tiny tunnel. Zollin felt as if the walls of the fissure were closing in on him, but he followed the bat as it squirmed down onto its stomach and slithered into the tunnel.
When Zollin got on his hands and knees he could feel the heat rising up through the rock below. There were cracks on the ground and glowing hot magma flowed in a slow, viscous river somewhere below them. The wizard guessed the molten rock wasn’t close, otherwise the stone would be too hot to touch. He was forced to wiggle along on his stomach to follow the bat through the tunnel. It was hard to tell if the tunnel was anything more than just another crack in the bedrock, but there was just enough room for Zollin to crawl through. When they finally climbed out into a larger cavern, the bat creature was gone.
A golden light erupted from Zollin’s upturned hand as a melon sized ball of light blossomed into existence. It hung in the air as Zollin bent low and helped Jute out of the narrow tunnel and into the cavern.
“What is this?” Jute said.
“Looks like another cavern.”
“Not one carved by dwarves.”
The walls were chipped and cracked, the floor littered with stone chips, dust, and debris. Above them they could see where something had tried to dig upward through the stone, but from Zollin’s perspective it didn’t appear as if the attempt had been successful.
“An unsupported dig,” Jute said, peering upward. “This cavern could collapse on top of us.”
“That’s a cheerful thought,” Zollin said.
“Where is our guide?”
“Gone, presumably to warn the Fire Giant we are coming.”
Jute grunted and they moved into a side tunnel. It didn’t take Zollin long to realize they were in a completely different part of the unground caverns. The halls of the dwarves above had been carved with precision and extreme skill. But Zollin found himself in a tunnel that looked as if it had been formed from flowing lava. The walls were rounded and smooth. Zollin was glad that he could stand up straight, but the heat and dread were stifling.
“We must be close,” Jute said. “I don’t recognize this tunnel, but the heat is familiar.”
“Your people survived a year down here?” Zollin asked.
“Not everyone, but we’re a hardy folk.”
“You must be,” Zollin said, wiping the sweat from his face with the sleeve of his shirt.
“This is nothing compared to the heat of a dwarf forge,” Jute said proudly.
There were connecting tunnels, some larger, some smaller, but Zollin continued in the arching tunnel the bat had led him to. He wondered about the terrified creature. Perhaps it had gone ahead to warn the being that held Brianna captive, but Zollin also thought that it was possible that the bat creature had simply fled. It had not wanted to take Zollin and Jute down into the underworld. Perhaps it feared the Fire Giant as much or more than a wizard.
After a while they came to a much wider corridor. To one side the floor fell away, forming a cliff that went down hundreds of feet to a river of molten rock. Jute looked around. Orange light rose up from the lava below, casting the walls of the corridor in a strange glow.
“I know this place,” Jute said, looking around to be certain. “You can douse that light of yours. We won’t need it anymore.”
Zollin let the magical light fade away. “Are we close?”
“Yes,” the dwarf said. “I’m surprised we can’t hear the screams from here.”
They moved off down the corridor and eventually Zollin heard screaming. It was a lone wail, sad and scary. He didn’t bother to ask what the sound was. He could feel a sense of malice ahead. Something old and powerful and full of hate was waiting for them. Zollin guessed that the Fire Giant, whatever it was, had sensed his approach. There was no sign of any more groslings, which was suspicious. The walls of the corridor opened wider and wider as they progressed. Eventually the ceiling rose up and they came to a huge cavern. The floor of the tunnel they had been in continued forward, arching up slightly as it bridged out over a great expanse. The molten river still flowed below, but just to one side. On the opposite side of the bridge the ground fell away completely. There was nothing but darkness far below.
Zollin worried that he might fall off the bridge, even though it was wide enough for a wagon to pass over. There was no railing, not even a lip along the edge of the stone bridge, and it made the young wizard nervous. Jute seemed unfazed and Zollin couldn’t tell if it was because he had been there before or simply because such places were commonplace to dwarves. There were tunnels in the network of caves in the Northern Highlands that were just as terrifying to Zollin, and
despite the fact that he could levitate himself up if he fell, he still felt an inexplicable fear that he would be lost forever in the darkness.
“We’re close,” Jute said when they got to the far side of the stone bridge. An archway of stone led to another cavern and Zollin could see the unmistakable wavering light from fire dancing beyond the portal. “The Fire Giant will be in there.”
“What else is in there?” Zollin said. “Describe it to me.”
“It's a huge cavern, as big as this one perhaps. The Bollark sits on a huge throne and before him is a large pool of molten rock. All around the cavern his minions sit and pay him homage, sometimes sacrificing themselves for his pleasure.”
“Where will Brianna be?” Zollin asked.
“I don’t know,” Jute admitted. “We were kept on the cavern floor, surrounded by groslings. Brianna would not have been bound the same way.”
“Alright, I’m going in there. I’ll face whatever is waiting for us. If you come with me, you have to stay close.”
“I’m coming,” Jute said, his voice firm.
“Alright, let’s get this done.”
They walked through the portal. Zollin had been in the underworld before. He had seen powerful dark magic and the horrible consequences of it, yet nothing he had seen or imagined prepared him for the Fire Giant or the hellish cavern it called home.
The cavern was oval shaped. At the far end of the enormous room sat the fire giant, a flaming figure with no discernible features, yet Zollin knew the creature was staring straight at him. A huge pool of lava was in the center of the room, and all around it were groslings. They were nightmarish creatures that made the bat they had followed down into the underworld look like a cuddly pet. There were creatures that looked as though they were part reptile, part animal, and complete abomination. None of the groslings looked the way Zollin thought they should. Most had oversized mouths, but many hung slack. The entire cavern was filled with the awful creatures. The walls rose up like a vast arena, with level after level of long walkways that were open to the great cavern. Each walkway was filled with more creatures. They watched the wizard and the dwarf soundlessly.
Zollin took everything in at a glance, then focused his attention on the Fire Giant. Jute had called it a Bollark, but it looked to Zollin like the devil himself. The flames that made up the creature’s body jumped and leaped like the tongues of flame from a bonfire. And in its oversized hand he could see the huddled form of a person. Zollin knew instantly that it was Brianna, even though he had trouble seeing the person clearly.
“I have come for her!” Zollin said, pointing at the figure huddled in the flaming fist.
The Fire Giant stood and tossed Brianna forward. Her emaciated body tumbled into the pool of lava. Zollin didn’t hesitate, but sent a blast of magical power toward the giant. The blue energy crackled through the room like a bolt of lightning and hit the fire giant in the center of its body. The blast was powerful enough to kill a full grown human instantly, but the Bollark seemed unfazed.
“I hope you have more tricks up your sleeve,” Jute grumbled behind him.
Zollin wanted to answer, but all his focus was on the fiery creature who held the wizard’s wife captive. The Fire Giant called out to its minions in a booming voice that sounded to Zollin like a roaring wind. The ground seemed to shake and the groslings burst into frenzied activity. Zollin was shocked by the noise that erupted all around him as the demons began to chatter and screech. They rushed toward him and Zollin waved his arm over his head, sending a blue tongue of magical energy whirling around him like a long whip.
He cracked the energy spell down on the groslings leading the charge. The power from Zollin’s spell seemed to explode and sent the demons flying back into their companions. The Fire Giant had been unfazed by Zollin’s spell, but the groslings were killed by the powerful magic. Zollin pulled his arm back and the lashing, blue energy flew around his head. He snapped the magical whip down again and again, the magic destroying nearly a dozen of the creatures with each blast and booming like the clash of thunder. The sound echoed around the chamber and with each powerful blast the creatures screamed.
“Start back,” Zollin said. “We have to fall back.”
Jute began to run back and Zollin followed more slowly, blasting the groslings as they came at him. Under the right circumstances the creatures did not seem to be a threat. They were neither intelligent nor powerful, yet their sheer numbers made it nearly impossible for the horde to fail. They were like rain drops in a storm, a seemingly unending mass of mutated, horrifying creatures intent on nothing less than ripping Zollin and Jute to pieces. He was forced to fall back, step by step.
The magic inside of Zollin was like a raging tempest, but he held it in check. He couldn’t defeat all of the groslings, but he had a plan. Slowly he retreated back to the bridge that stretched over the great chasm. It didn’t take long for the sound of more groslings to echo across the expanse.
“We’re surrounded!” Jute shouted.
“Stand with me,” Zollin called back to the dwarf. “I have a plan.”
They sprinted down the bridge and Zollin could see that he only had a few moments before the hordes of monsters caught up to them. When they reached the center of the bridge, he knelt down by Jute and looked his friend in the eye.
“You have to trust me,” he said. “No matter what happens, just remain close to me and don’t try to fight.”
“I’m with you, wizard. Do what you must.”
Zollin stood back up, Jute moving behind him and facing the opposite direction. Thousands of the groslings rushed toward them. Zollin raised a bubble of magical power around them, an invisible shield that would protect them from the evil creatures rushing toward them. Zollin waited, wanting his plan to be as devastating to the groslings as possible. The horde crashed into them like storm-tossed waves against the shore. All around them the creatures snapped and growled, their arms and legs scratching, clawing, and kicking. Everything inside Zollin told him to strike back, but he waited.
The creatures pushed and shoved, scrambling to get onto the bridge and carry out their master’s desire. The bridge was soon crowded, but Zollin held his ground. Jute was pressed up behind him and on every side the monstrous groslings jostled and shoved, but Zollin’s magical shield held them at bay, keeping the wizard and dwarf safe. As more of the vile creatures rushed onto the bridge some were pushed toward the edges.
Zollin felt panic rising up inside him. Jute was squirming behind. They were in the middle of a nightmare, but he had to wait. As more of the creatures crowded onto the bridge there was less and less room. Zollin began to let his magic flow out. Keeping two spells going was difficult, especially when the invisible, magical shield was being pummeled.
“Zollin!” Jute shouted, his voice barely audible over the din of grosling roars and screams.
“Hold on!” the wizard called back. “It’s almost time.”
Dozens of the groslings were knocked off the bridge as the others scrambled to get closer to Zollin and Jute. The wizard sent his magic out, finding every crack and weakness in the ancient stone bridge. The weight of hundreds of groslings made Zollin’s plan even easier. It only took a small push in the right places for the bridge to collapse. Above the roar of the groslings a tremendous crack was heard, then the bridge fell. Hundreds of groslings fell with it and their shrieks of panic echoed up from the chasm to where Zollin and Jute hung in the air, levitated by the wizard’s powerful magic.
Zollin could feel Jute pressed against him, the dwarf’s body was rigid and trembling slightly. With a thought Zollin swung them back toward the far end of the bridge, away from the vast hall where the Fire Giant ruled over his minions. There were nearly two dozen of the mutated groslings waiting for him, but with a swipe of his hand Zollin shoved the menacing creatures into the abyss with a wave of magic, making room for himself and Jute to land. Once the dwarf’s feet were on solid ground again he whirled on the wizard.
&nbs
p; “You could have told me your plan, wizard!” he shouted.
Zollin was breathing heavily, the magic inside him was so hot it felt like he’d swallowed glowing coals. He sagged to one knee and looked at his companion.
“Would it have made things better?” he asked.
“Of course not, but I would have been ready instead of scared out of my mind.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why did you fly us here? We’re on the wrong side of the pit.”
“I needed the groslings on the far side to see us come this way. They’ll be racing around the tunnels to reach us here and then we’ll levitate back across.”
There were more groslings in the tunnel beyond the great chasm chamber. Zollin could see them gathering their courage. More were coming to join them each minute and Zollin knew that once they had enough numbers they would attack again. He slipped his hand into his pouch and pulled out a sliver of dried meat.
“You’re eating?” the dwarf said.
“While I can,” Zollin said, taking a long drink from his canteen.
“This is madness,” Jute said.
“Yes, well, it gets worse. I need you to get Brianna out of that cavern. I’ll deal with the Fire Giant.”
“She’s dead, Zollin. He threw her into the molten rock.”
“I’ve seen her swim through molten rock before.”
“But she wasn’t moving. We shouldn’t—”
“No!” Zollin shouted. “She isn’t dead. I’ll get her to you. Can you carry her out?”
“Yes, of course. I’m sorry.”
“This is our one chance,” he said. “You get Brianna and I’ll find a way to get us out of this hellish place.”
Jute nodded, but he looked doubtful. Zollin looked across the great chasm. He couldn’t see any more groslings. They had to be moving to the far side of the chasm through other tunnels, he thought. Zollin had no idea how much time that gave him to rescue Brianna, but he knew he had one chance to save her and he wasn’t going to waste it.
Chaos Raging (The Five Kingdoms Book 11) Page 7
