Tartarus Beckons

by Edmund A. M. Batara

  The mage momentarily reflected on the effect of the einherjar’s absence on their group. Tyndur had naturally come into his own – a battle leader. Tyler had no doubt Kobu could serve the same purpose, but the exile had appointed himself as the mage’s personal guard. Habrok had always been a scout, and he didn’t know if Astrid was experienced enough to handle the leadership role.

  I guess Kobu would have to go on double duty when Tyndur departs, thought Tyler, considering the possible changes to the company’s structure. And Asem is still a question mark. I don’t know if she’s strong enough to come back. If she wants to rejoin us.

  “Now that is a problem. A big one. Fighting on a hungry stomach is never a good idea. Aside from spiders, any idea on what food could be hunted in this place?” asked Tyler. He knew everybody would be hungry in a few hours, if they’re not starting to feel the pangs now. The mage saw some food bags on Astrid and Habrok, but he doubted if the rations would last them more than a day. They had a lot of mouths to feed.

  “Well, cave worms, probably blind fish in that stream, other bizarre creatures, weird mushrooms. I really don’t know which ones are edible, poisonous, hallucinogenic, or whatnot. Magna and Hoenir could help with that, I guess. I know that some spiders themselves use venom, just as Kobu said. As to which kinds, I absolutely have no idea. All in all, I guess we’re in for an exotic, interesting, and probably dangerous diet,” chuckled the einherjar.

  “Ewww. That’s gross. And deadly. Can you work with the rest to prepare our supplies before we venture further into the cave? If there are any fish in that body of water, I guess they’d be good eating,” said Tyler. Now that Tyndur had reminded him about it, food was going to be an issue. A major one.

  It took almost four hours before Sford opened his eyes. The enforced break did give the company time to rest. Meanwhile, the distant sound of fighting reached their ears, echoing through the passageways. The first time it happened, everybody looked at each other and reached for their weapons. Habrok stood up, held up a hand to signal for everybody to stay where they were, and quickly retraced their path. After some time, the ranger came back.

  “Spiders, sire. A vast horde of them blocking the entrance and the field outside it. The jotnar army had tried to follow us but ran into them. There’s a lot of fighting going on, mostly out in the open. But I doubt if the jotnar would be able to defeat the arachnids. There’s too many and more keep on coming out of other holes on the mountainside. Some of the buggers could even jump long distances. Even if the jotnar came with a lot of mages, they’d be hard-pressed even to disengage from the battle,” reported the ranger, not without some sense of satisfaction.

  “Then I was right in assuming they’d block the entrance after we passed. In larger numbers. But for a change, these narrow tunnels are a lot better for defense. But I am surprised they didn’t go after us.”

  “I am guessing the jotnar got them distracted,” smiled Habrok. “Between the few of us and a vast army intent of entering her domain, even the mother of this spider colony knew which target should be her priority. But I admit I am uncomfortable about the idea of traversing the myriad, deep passageways of the cave. We’re going in blind,” confessed the ranger.

  “Let’s just hope the map Magna talked about is still there and can be of use,” answered the mage. “Let’s get everyone up. Time to move.”

  Nothing disturbed them as the party proceeded towards the shrine of Freyr. It was within a large hollow created out of a cave wall. As the rest formed a defensive perimeter. Tyler, Magna, Hoenir, and Kobu came closer and inspected the statue of the deity. It was made of basalt and portrayed a standing though pensive Freyr with full armor, with a sword with its point down and the shield upright, both supported by the ground. A hand held on to each of the items. The life-size statue itself didn’t suffer any vandalism, though the passage of time had eroded most of the details.

  Tyler examined the effigy and found that Magna was right – it was empty and bereft of any magic. The fervent prayers and arcane rituals which must have accompanied its installation should have left even a tiny speck of magical energy. But the mage discovered he was just looking at a piece of rock, A large one, he had to admit, but still a mound of stone, no different from the material of the cave. The map was there, embedded on the cave wall. Thickly coated with verdigris, it took them some time to clean the plaque, and then discovered that time wasn’t kind to it too. And it was written in dokkalfr runes.

  At least Magna was able to determine, after eye-straining efforts, which of the several gaping entrances surrounding the hollow was the one leading to the exit from the mountain. It might be blocked by rockfalls and cave-ins, but Tyler was sure he’d find a way. Beyond that, the eroded stile was useless. If it was magically prepared beforehand against the ravages of time, then the protection vanished the moment the object entered the cave.

  “Thanks, Magna. I appreciate what you have done,” said Tyler, sympathizing with the warrior who was rubbing her eyes. Several minutes of microscopic examination wasn’t kind to them.

  “That was hell on the eyes,” she laughed. “Worse than poring over ancient manuscripts for three nights. And those were written in tiny ancient runes.”

  Luckily, Habrok and Astrid discovered that the pool of water formed from the cascade did have fish and that the water was clear and drinkable. The party had to pause again to fill up their provisions. Tyler’s scrying spell didn’t show much change in the disposition of the spider hordes, except that some groups were now smaller. When he cast the incantation in the direction of the cave entrance, the magical view revealed that the battle was still furiously going on, and Habrok was right – more spiders were on their way to join the fight, though, for some reason, their circuitous routes to the surface avoided or bypassed the location of the party.

  It was a massive conflict. Tyler could see that the jotnar had really come in force, but the number of the spiders in the arachnid colony seemed inexhaustible. Many appeared to come from locations beyond the range of his scrying spell, and the battle outside had already extended down to the ruins of the fortress. He reflexively shuddered at what he saw. The entire area was crawling with arachnids of all sizes.

  Shit. That could have been us. Though that’s one stupid jotnar commander. That’s clearly a battle that couldn’t be won. Unless strict orders to get us had been issued, or their forces couldn’t disengage even if he or she, or it, wanted to withdraw. Better you than us then, thought Tyler as he took in the macabre yet incredible sight. Eventually turning his attention from the battle. The small shrine of Freyr caught his eye. Glancing back, the mage saw the companions were busy with the preparations for their attempt to break out. Kobu and Hoenir were the ones on watch duty.

  Five days. I don’t think it’s going to be just five days, thought Tyler. He decided to check the alcove again. They might have missed something, and for the moment, he had the time. Moreover, the shrine was but several feet away from the water. The mage stood up and walked toward the statue. The exile was the one positioned between the campsite and the shrine.

  “Didn’t join the wet excursion, Kobu?” Tyler asked as he passed the man.

  “Fishing was never one of my strengths, sire. I believe our aquatic friends have an instinctive, almost magical, revulsion to my presence. They all flee the moment my foot enters the water,” laughed the exile. Tyler gave a chuckle as he continued on his way.

  A few feet away from the crumbling statue, the cave floor suddenly opened up and swallowed him whole.

  The mage was too shocked and surprised at the unexpected event to be frightened. The mage had full confidence in the tried and tested abilities of his magical barriers to be unduly concerned about the possibility of immediate death. He did have the presence of mind to ask his AI guides on the strange anomaly as he slowly dropped down a deep tunnel. The speed of his descent was enough to inform him that what happened was not an attempt to kill him. Somebody or something wanted to talk to him. Stran
gely, what was happening was reminiscent of the experience he had when Rumpr and Hrun opened those portals in the stone wall of the mountains around Scarburg.

  But this time, he wasn’t walking through them. Instead, he was being pulled down into the mountainous depths by the spell of an unknown entity. Tyler could sense that a magical bubble had surrounded him even as he was drawn into the dark and innermost recesses of the mountain. As the unknown swallowed him, the mage had the consolation that, for the moment, whoever was responsible didn’t want him dead, and he had his staff with him.

  Yet the thought that on this world, there were many ways of meeting a fate worse than being merely dead, kept nagging at the back of his mind. He was sorely tempted to forcibly kick the fearful idea to the end of the long queue of tumultuous and troublesome thoughts all clamoring for attention in his mind, but decided against it. Fear could keep one alive in certain circumstances.

  “Guys, being kidnapped again. Any help?” he asked his guides.

  “Our senses are being blocked, sire. A strange form of magical energy. If we’re right, it’s of First World origin. Though a dark taint is unmistakable,” answered X immediately.

  “Let me guess. Demonic?”

  “Something like that, sire. Though, in this world, the distinction between that classification and similar powerful beings of the mad and inane persuasion could just be a matter of semantics,” Hal replied.

  The speed of the clearly measured descent of the mage finally and conspicuously slowed down. The darkness which engulfed the tunnel he was traveling through began to be suffused with light. The mage estimated that only a few minutes had passed since he was unceremoniously abducted, but those few minutes meant a long distance, if he was to go with his experience with the elementals of earth and stone – Rumpr and Hrun.

  “It appears we’re nearing our destination, sire,” said Hal needlessly.

  Leave it again to Hal to state the obvious, observed Tyler amusedly. Yep. The AI is doing nicely on his way to becoming a human. Annoyingly so. Good thing he comes with an off switch.

  Tyler not so gently landed standing on his feet. Assured that his barriers were still in place, the mage found himself in a grotto-like spot, a similar though smaller version of the cavernous hollow he had left behind. Reflecting again on the distance he must have traveled during his downward descent, the mage noted that the cave was surprisingly ventilated and well-lit, albeit in an eldritch blue illumination. The mage expected nearly unbearable heat in the limited space, but the air was fresh.

  But he could sense magic. Black, malign, and extremely potent. Yet, it felt slightly off. Like a single and faint discordant note in the tapestry of magical energy which surrounded and engulfed Adar. Over such dark power was a vastly more powerful net of magical energy, and this one strongly reminded him of Adar’s natural magical power. Its physical emanation dwarfed even Rumpr’s, and the mage couldn’t even begin to assess the level it represented.

  Tyler quickly looked around him. Though the space looked empty, the mage knew that the strange presence he sensed was within the cave. He right away released a scrying spell and immediately felt a magical backlash of agitated energy. It was as if the power of the incantation was instantly repulsed by some entity or its defenses. It wasn’t painful, more like being suddenly rocked violently. One positive result of the jarring experience was that the mage finally located the location of the anomaly he was searching for in the cave.

  Off to a corner of the rocky and enclosed expanse was a dark figure radiating cold, ravenous hunger. Tyler didn’t sense hatred or any animosity from the creature, though he didn’t think that mattered under the circumstances. Unfortunately, the mage could also detect the waves of malevolent magical power rolling off the entity. It was like he was facing a sentient, living battery of magical force. Tyler doubted if the being noticed the phenomenon.

  Just my luck. Another unknown and powerful deity. A dark one? The questions ran through Tyler’s thoughts as he promptly prepared for battle. His staff was mercifully still with him, and he noticed it began to get warm, a sign that Birki wanted to talk to him.

  “Yes, Birki? In the middle of a possible battle here, if you noticed. Just waiting for the other guy to make the first move. I assume it’s belligerent, but I can’t decide on mere assumption alone,” said the mage with some annoyance.

  “That’s why I wanted to talk to you urgently. Rumpr had encountered these demonic creatures before. An infestation from your world. Rumpr’s memory of its magic show it had a slightly different color, sense, wavelength, or whatever you call it. Such deviation from the normal, however miniscule, could have far-reaching effects on how powerful it is or how it could affect you. And this one is an exceptional example of its kind.”

  “Thanks, Birki. Any unusual abilities?”

  “It does have a peculiar behavior. It always tries to enter another entity’s body. Possession of creatures must be its natural tendency.”

  Shit. Just when I was getting used to the familiar.

  Just as the thought entered his mind, a stream of the strange energy unexpectedly erupted from the being and headed directly toward him. The quickness of the occurrence left him with no chance to react. Then the speeding mass of power hit the repulsion barrier of X, the mage’s first line of defense. It violently bounced off.

  A stream of unknown words echoed through the ether. Tyler couldn’t understand the words, but the tone, pitch, and way they were uttered gave clear clues about what the creature was doing – cussing his heart out. A tortured feeling of agony and pain accompanied the litany of curses and expletives that were being said.

  Must have hurt. Serves you fucking right, grinned Tyler.

  He immediately formed a force construct of his own, infused it with a tiny bit of Elder energy as insurance, and gave the creature a mighty whack. The mage had no reservations about giving the entity the hammered response guaranteed to teach a harsh lesson. From what he could tell, it was a spirit presently in its real form and it would take more than a giant ethereal maul to cause it to depart from this plane of reality. But it would bring pain. A ton of it.

  The creature forcefully slammed against the cave wall from the impact, half of its body phasing into the rock. But Tyler had no desire to dispose of the being. Yet. Despite the outright hostility it displayed, the mage still wanted to hear its story, and hopefully, glean valuable information. If the being indeed came from the First World, then it must be an ancient creature. Who knows what the long years had taught it and what it had learned?

  He watched and listened as the creature, now visible, continued with its harangue after it had released itself from the wall. Surprisingly, it didn’t retaliate, instead, it went back to its tirade. Tyler could imagine the long outburst was full of insults and imprecations. The entity had taken on a male human form, though the shape was ghost-like as Tyler could see right through it. Fortunately, it appeared that the continuing diatribe was still not directed against the human mage, but to somebody or something, as the entity kept on looking above, raising his fist at times.

  Man, this guy’s furious as hell. I wonder who is it angry at? observed Tyler warily, though now greatly puzzled by the being’s behavior. He could be mad. Crazy as a loon. High as a kite. Such a puzzling reaction.

  Finally, the creature got tired of expressing his frustrations and rage, and turned his attention to Tyler. But this time, the male spirit stood where he was and said something to the mage in a noticeably calmer voice. The young mage couldn’t understand a word of what was being uttered, and seeing Tyler’s ignorant reaction, the entity again went back to cursing and hurling expletives at its unknown tormentor or tormentors. The being finally got a response, but not the one he wanted. A massive pair of stone hands, glowing with immense power, suddenly materialized and promptly slapped against each other, squashing the being in the middle.

  Ouch. Like a mosquito. That hurt. A lot, thought the shocked Tyler.

  Another entity holding
a staff which looked like it was made of some white, hard material materialized on the far side of the room. The newcomer promptly sat on a chair which rose from the rocky floor of the cave. The entity had the appearance of an old man, though with black hair and beard. It winked at the mage. The demonic entity slowly and shakenly stood up, clearly staggered and utterly dazed from his sudden and punishing encounter with the pair of magical hands.

  “You still haven’t changed a bit, Asag. But I blame your nature. Yet even mountains could turn to pebbles with the help of time. At least, you didn’t start destroying the place again or even repeat that tantrum of throwing boulders around. It’s a bother rebuilding this place,” said the old man in a gravelly voice. Another wink again at Tyler after the comment, though this time the being had a smile on its face.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Parole Officer

  “Ah, my esteemed jailer,” the demonic entity addressed the old man sarcastically. “Quite nice and proper of you to drop by. But I do believe inviting a mortal to my austere chambers is not a violation of the terms of my imprisonment. He’s not a deity, that’s clear as the long-missed light of the day.”

  Inviting me? That long drop was an invitation? And he didn’t mind being half-buried in the cave wall by my magic? thought the now-thoroughly confused Tyler. Yet he felt that the focus of the little drama had changed to the relationship between the two other occupants of the space.

  “Assessments?” the mage asked his two guides. He kept quiet, waiting for the tense scene to play out. Any discussion or exchange between the demon and the old man was bound to result in valuable information.