Azerick led the party south once more but in the opposite direction from the way Maude said she had traveled to find the boots. His wards did a good job of protecting him from the constant blowing dust and the heat of the day. Maude had tried to draw information from him a few times about his history and what motivated him to go on this quest. So far, he thought he had done a decent job of talking without really saying anything.
He wore the persona of a quiet, secretive person as if it was his own skin, which really was not far from the truth. Azerick was not sure how far the woman trusted him or if his evasive nature had worked or put her more on her guard. She was big and strong for a woman but far from stupid. In the end, he decided it did not really matter so long as they did not become so suspicious of his motivations that they tried to stop him before he could carry out his plans.
She had told him why they were risking their lives to gain even one piece of the armor, and it made sense to him. However, if his plan worked as he hoped, his method would prove even more beneficial to the King and the kingdom at large, even though he would have to betray them to pull it off. He was not too worried about Maude and the dwarf. Simple fighters were easy to defeat if you sprang the trap on them first and they did not have some protection against magic. Azerick had checked and none of them did. The cleric on the other hand could pose a problem.
He was one of the few priests that a god had actually entrusted to wield a small portion of their power. A true cleric carrying the god’s divine favor was even rarer than a wizard, and a close second to sorcerers. He knew that many wizards turned their noses up at the divine power of clerics as being grossly inferior to their ability to pull power from the Source, but they were fools.
Wizards learned flashy spells that could kill a man even at the relatively minimal skills of a journeyman or apprentice, but a true Chosen priest, with a good affinity with his or her god, could call upon magic that could quickly ruin a man’s, or even an army’s, plans. They were not people to underestimate. As with the warriors though, Azerick should have the element of surprise, and that advantage should allow him to defeat the three without issue.
They had trouble finding the pass that would allow them to cross the Bloodstone Mountains into the Great Sand Desert beyond, but they discovered it early yesterday and made it through. It was the one time they found it necessary to travel during the blistering day. Even Maude had to appreciate the frozen beer treats that Azerick made then. Every time she glanced back at Borik, he would look up from the beer-based chunk of ice, smile like a little boy with a new puppy, and wave enthusiastically.
They spotted the unusual rock formation a night after crossing into the sandy desert thanks to the full moon illuminating the honey-colored sands. It took four more hours of ponderously slow travel before they reached the base of the hundred-foot-tall rock wall. They picketed the horses and the camel that made up for Borik’s lack of complaining with continual bellowing gripes of his own.
The rock formation was not hard to climb. It was steep, but with so many protrusions and handholds, it was like climbing something between a ladder and a massive set of stairs. The view from the top of the formation was impressive. The desert was so flat, with the exceptions of large dunes, that even in the moonlight they could see for miles around. However, the truly amazing view was directly in front of them. The rock formation made a colossal ring little more than half a mile across and a hundred feet tall with almost no visible variance in height.
Inside the ring were the remains of an ancient lost citadel and several crumbling buildings. The smashed remains looked like the remnants of some god’s meal sitting in the bottom of his soup bowl. Azerick could see how this would have made an incredibly defensible position, but he wondered what the ancient army did for a cavalry. It would be impossible to get them over the natural stone walls, and he could not imagine an army stationing out here without mounts.
The party climbed down the inside slope of the giant bowl. Their feet sank into the sand when they stepped off the rocky slope and onto the floor of the massive crater-like landscape. The soft sand beneath their feet gave them the perception of significant depth that left them feeling a bit unnerved at the thought of sinking below the soft silica.
Despite their misgivings, the loose grains only swallowed them up to the tops of their boot heels. The party stomped toward the ruins lying in the heart of the enormous natural ring. The sand pulled at their boots with every step making their feet feel as though they had large rocks tied to them.
The group was thoroughly exhausted by the time they reached the ruins of the ancient citadel. They took a seat on what looked to be a fallen section of wall and dumped out the sand that had managed to worm its way into their boots as they slogged through the dry morass.
“These ancients sure picked the darnedest places to build their castles and hide their empire-dominating artifacts,” Maude said in a voice heavy with fatigue.
“Just imagine trying to charge the citadel under a hail of arrows even if you were able to surmount what would have been well-defended walls,” Azerick replied.
Malek shook his head, sending his sweat laden blond curls dancing. “I still don’t see why anyone would bother building a fortress in the middle of nowhere.”
Azerick pointed to a low, mortared, circular stone wall about ten feet across. “It was the well. When it held water instead of sand, this was probably a major trading post. There were probably hundreds, even thousands, of tents pitched inside and outside of the stone ring. Whoever controlled this well held enormous power and influence in the region.”
“Well, let’s get this over with so we can get back to a place where the landscape doesn’t shift every time the wind blows,” Maude suggested and stood up.
It did not take long to search the few stone buildings whose walls had withstood the ravages of time. The citadel’s tower had fallen long ago as well as the floors within the fortress itself. Having finished looking within the few standing walls, they began searching through the rubble. Azerick and Malek created light and split up into two teams, peeking into the nooks and crannies and hollows created by the fallen walls and tumbled stones.
“I think I got something over here!” Borik shouted.
Azerick and Maude looked up from the fallen stones they were searching under and saw Borik and Malek on their hands and knees wiping several inches of sand off something on the ground. Azerick saw that they had uncovered what appeared to be a large stone slab about eight feet by four feet trapped beneath a couple of large blocks of stone that had fallen atop of it.
It took all four of them to shove the blocks off the stone slab. For once, the sand was actually a help instead of a hindrance. Once they cleared the blocks and sand from the slab, Borik identified the stone as grey granite someone must have hauled hundreds of miles from where it had originated. The slab was set flush into the bedrock with such precision that Azerick doubted he could slip a piece of parchment between the seams.
Maude looked at the slab dubiously. “Anyone have any ideas on how to pry this thing up?”
“There’s no way you’re gonna pry that thing out with the tools we have available,” Borik pointed out. He then laid atop the slab, pressed his ear to the solid surface, and gave it several sharp raps with the pommel of his dagger. “That thing weighs at least two tons, maybe more depending on how thick it is. I put it at about eight inches thick, give or take about an inch. The goods news is that there is definitely a chamber or a passage beneath it.”
Azerick studied the stone for a moment. If it had been natural stone and not carved, he could use the spell he had used in the dragon’s cave and disintegrate it. However, since it was worked stone, the natural energies had been changed, and that spell would no longer have an effect on it. Instead, he went to work on it with his sunder spell. It strongly resisted his tampering but, in the end, his persistence won out over the stone’s stubbornness, and he managed to sink a couple of flaws into it.
Azerick borrowed Malek’s shield, propped it against his legs, and had everyone else stand back. He summoned his staff to hand and struck the slab with all his might. Several runes flared brightly the instant the arcanum ball struck the granite surface. A sharp crack, like a large tree snapping in strong winds, echoed across the sands as jagged pieces of stone flew up and clattered against Maude’s steel armor and the shields protecting Azerick’s body.
The majority of the stone slab broke into large chunks and toppled down the stone stairs that lay hidden beneath it. The rest had turned into a blast of tiny projectiles, and Azerick’s arms bled from several places where the sharp stone shards pierced his magical wards and ruined yet another of his shirts. Malek helped him wash the wounds out and used a minor healing spell to close the mostly superficial injuries.
“Nice trick with the stick, wizard. Can you pull a rabbit out of a hat too?” Borik asked sardonically.
“No, but I could probably pull an untold number of creatures out of that wild habitat of a beard hanging from your chin.”
Borik looked offended at the slight against his beard and used his hand to try to pull out some of the tangles and smooth it down.
“It looks like we go down from here,” Maude stated, looking down into the gloomy interior.
“Nice choice of words, Maude,” Borik grumbled
The party descended the stairs single file and soon reached the broken remains of the stone slab. A long, dark corridor waited for them at the bottom of the steps nearly thirty feet below the surface.
Small alcoves held statues of men in strange armor and billowing clothing similar to robes. Most held weapons, commonly large, curved swords, but others held open tomes and stared sagely down at those who walked between them. Larger alcoves created small rooms where old wooden desks, stools, and beds still stood, almost untouched by the ravages of time.
The passage continued for several hundred feet, at the end of which were a brassbound set of double doors, each standing ten feet tall and four feet wide. Ornate brass rings hung in the jaws of a brass lion’s head at chest height near the split between the doors.
“Looks like maybe you get to play sapper again,” Borik told Azerick as they stepped up to the closed doors.
Azerick pulled on one of the rings, and the door swung open, dislodging a small amount of dust that floated down in a multitude of motes illuminated by his light.
“Darn, too bad.” Borik grumbled.
A soft beam of light shone through an unseen opening at the far end of the large chamber, highlighting the statue of a warrior in a softly glowing aura. They saw more statues standing in silent guard along the walls as they walked toward the moonbeam and the figure it illuminated.
The statue was made of a pure white marble, unmarred by any other colors or patterns. On the warrior’s proud head, standing in stark contrast to the white stone, was a helm of absolute black, its edges traced in gold. The white marble of the statue glittered under the moonbeam, but the helm seemed to absorb it, not letting any of it reflect off its liquid black surface.
“I think we found it,” Malek said unnecessarily.
“So that is what we have been searching for,” Maude stated in awe.
Borik elbowed Azerick in the hip. “Coming up is the part when the statues come to life and try to kill us, or ghosts appear to devour our souls.”
“I guess we had better be ready then,” Azerick said as he climbed upon the large marble plinth upon which the statue stood.
Borik pulled several wooden wedges from his pack and lodged them firmly beneath the open bronze door. “Because you know it’s gonna slam shut and lock us in with a horde of baddies.”
Azerick looked to the dwarf. “Good idea.”
“This ain’t my first dance at the ball.”
Azerick reached up and lifted the helm from the sculpture’s regal brow. As the sorcerer stepped down from the pedestal, a low thrum like a single giant heartbeat echoed through the floor, a deep vibration they all felt roll through them, setting their flesh and bones to tingling.
“Oh great, here we go,” Borik growled, unlimbered his axe, and prepared for the inevitable fight for their lives.
Azerick dropped the helm into his magic bag and prepared to defend himself. The adventurers unconsciously formed themselves into a circle looking outward and waited for any signs of attack. After several minutes with no sign of any foes, everyone started to relax. The statues stood just as rigidly as a statue was supposed to, no monsters came charging down the halls, and no ghosts or spectres appeared.
“Well how about that, it’s about damn time we catch a break,” Borik said brightly and hooked his axe back onto the harness on his back.
Azerick was not quite as optimistic as the dwarf was. He had no idea what the ominous pulse heralded, but he sincerely doubted that whoever had created the effect would have gone to the trouble without good reason. Perhaps whatever guardians it was supposed to summon were long dead, or the trap that was supposed to have sprung had crumbled to dust ages ago. Maude led them back toward the surface and wisely remained alert as they traveled down through the long, gloomy corridor and back up the stairs.
“If we hurry we can get out of here before the sun rises and tries to bake us like a loaf of bread,” Maude said and stepped out onto the sand.
A tingle of warning shot through Azerick. Without pausing to think, he grabbed Maude by the collar of her breastplate and pulled her backward with all his strength, dropping her unceremoniously onto her backside by his feet.
“What in blazes—,” Maude started to shout.
Two brown and sand-patterned snakelike creatures burst out of the sand right where the woman’s feet had been a split second before. The creatures were as big around as a large man’s thigh, but Azerick had no idea how long they were. Part of its length was hidden below the sand. Their mouths were enormous. Their jaws were hinged at least a foot back from the tip of their snouts and filled with long, sharp teeth.
“Holy cripes, that thing almost ate me!” Maude cried, as she jumped back to her feet and drew her huge, two-handed sword from her back.
The party stared out at the expanse of sand all around them and saw the flickering movement of the sandworms gliding just below the surface like a huge school of fish amidst a feeding frenzy. Azerick picked up a fist-sized stone and threw it out into the sand as far as he could. The instant the stone thumped into the sand, numerous sandworms struck out at it, the fastest worm snatching it up in its jaws and pulling it below the surface. The sand all around them for as far as they could see, writhed and undulated as untold numbers of the sandworms swarmed toward the thrown rock.
“Gods in paradise, they’re everywhere,” Malek said softly.
“Wizard, I hope you got a spell to fly us all over the ridge or a flying carpet in that bag of yours,” Borik said.
Azerick shook his head. “I have nothing that will span that distance. I have a gate spell that allows us to step across a wide expanse, but it reaches only three or four hundred yards at best. It is several times that distance to the ridge.”
“Why aren’t they trying to eat us right now?” Maude asked.
“The fortress was built on a bed of sandstone. The sand is only a few inches deep here. It looks like the sandworms cannot or will not come all the way out of the sand.”
“So how do we get out of here?” Borik demanded.
“I think that is the purpose. The helm was not difficult to get to; it did not need to be since the thief was never going to leave here alive. That pulse we felt probably woke the creatures who act as natural guardians. It is quite ingenious and effective.”
“Well I’m so glad you’re impressed with the method of our death, wizard. I would sure hate to think we were going to die in some boring fashion like old age in our own beds,” Borik complained. “Got another icebeer?”
Azerick pulled out a skin of beer, cups, and small sticks he had collected for the task and froze everyone an icebeer. The so
rcerer then sat down on a block of stone, nibbling at the frozen treat, and wracked his brain for a solution to their current problem.
Maude could tell that, despite appearances, the wizard was deep in thought, so she followed his example and sat down as well. She only hoped his ponderings were focused on getting them out of here. If it were Tarth, the gods only knew what would be going through his mind at a moment like this. Then again, even the gods probably feared to tread in the elf’s mind for fear of going mad themselves. Thinking of her lost friend brought a new wave of despondency, but she let it come, having no pressing need to shove it aside at the moment.
Azerick finished his ice beer and stood up. He took small steps forward, shoving the tip of his staff into the sand. Even that slight vibration set the nearest sandworms into motion a few yards away. He drew a long line with the staff where he felt the bedrock end. He then grabbed his staff by the end and rhythmically thumped the ground with the arcanum ball.
Almost immediately, several sandworms struck with the speed and aggression of barracuda. One of the creatures bit down on the end of the staff, swallowing the gleaming orb at the end like a fish on a lure. Azerick triggered one of the engraved runes on the staff, which briefly flared with a blue light, sending a powerful jolt of electricity through the arcanum sphere.
“Help me hold onto this!” Azerick shouted as the creature involuntarily clamped down and began thrashing about as the electricity coursed through its body.
Maude leapt up, grabbed the staff just above Azerick’s hands, and heaved back so that she was not stepping across the line. The frantic writhing immediately caught the interest of the other sandworms that began attacking their wounded and flailing brethren. Borik and Malek darted forward and used their weapons to hack at the sandworms that were intent on cannibalizing one of their own.
The Sorcerer's Path Box Set: Book 1-4 Page 105
