by Max Anthony
“I could murder a roast chicken,” said the wizard. “Washed down with a tall mug of cold ale.”
“That sounds delightful,” said Viddo, downcast to have been wrenched away from his bed-sized pie. He noticed Rasmus was staring at him. “What?” he asked, a trifle defensively.
“How come I look like a chimneysweep’s brush, and you look clean enough to go to your own wedding?”
Viddo looked over his clothing, finding that it was almost unmarked. There was a line of black dust on his posterior from where he’d sat on the ledge, but when he gave it a little pat, it fell away, leaving his trousers pristine. Even his boots, previously soiled, looked remarkably smart. Rasmus, by comparison, was filthy from head to knee, with only his boots looking clean. Grime was in his hair, all over his face and his hands. It was impossible to see what colour his robes had been underneath the soot. The wizard batted forlornly at a sleeve. A cloud of black dust rose into the air, but the cloth underneath remained stubbornly filthy.
“Is this another thief’s trick?” asked the wizard accusingly.
For once, Viddo was lost for words, and felt guilty for no reason he could think of. “I don’t know why,” he muttered.
“Gah!” exclaimed Rasmus. “Let’s be on our way. I now desire a bath more than I desire that roast chicken!”
Viddo didn’t say anything more, and they exited the room through its single doorway. Rasmus wasn’t upset at Viddo so much as he was feeling put-upon himself. Soon he was back to his usual self and chatted to his friend.
“It hasn’t escaped my notice that you seem to know where you’re going,” said the wizard.
“Your eyes have not failed you. I have found a place of great interest and we owe it to ourselves to fully investigate my findings, for I only had the briefest of glances within.”
“O-ho! It is a room of some sort, then is it?”
“It is a room, though only in the broadest sense of the word.”
“My interest is piqued,” said Rasmus. “The room you describe so fleetingly sounds to be a fitting destination for us. Am I going to like what I find within?”
“No,” said Viddo, without giving further explanation.
“Oh,” said the wizard, scrambling for more words. “Can you explain exactly why I might not like the contents of this room? In order that I might be better prepared with an appropriate spell or two?”
“You’ll need to wait and see,” said Viddo cryptically. “It’s not too far ahead of us.”
They’d travelled over half a mile by this stage, with Viddo taking them left and right without hesitation. The walls around them were still of the same dark yellow stone, and they’d walked past dozens of rooms, with varying quantities of uncomfortable furniture. Rasmus had peered along each of the turnings that Viddo had ignored, seeing more and more of the rooms.
“There must have been thousands of people living here,” he said eventually. “Tens of thousands, perhaps.”
“We’re only seeing a tiny fraction of what there is,” said Viddo, whose flight last night had taken him much further away than this. “And that in itself is but a tiny fraction of the whole. I could not hazard a guess at how many people have lived down here.”
“I wonder where they buried them all,” said Rasmus. “We’ve seen a few skeletons, but nothing that would encompass the numbers of ten thousand years’ worth of civilisation.”
“I dread to think how many perished in that dungeon we escaped from,” said Viddo. “And how many died to feed whatever it was that came from the hole beneath. Perhaps there is a creature that consumed them all, leaving not a trace.”
“Could it be that the people in the cells were there to feed this unknown being?” asked Rasmus. “Maybe they were captured by another, stronger race of people and used to appease its lust for death.”
“And when this supposed stronger race could no longer find enough of their enemies to feed it, the creature turned upon them.”
“Killing them in the same way that they had killed others.”
“It would be a fitting punishment if it were true,” said Viddo.
“I fear there are events down here that we might never uncover the truth of, nor even discover the existence of in order that we might speculate. We on the surface have lived in profound ignorance of these things. Could it be that our ignorance is for the best?”
“Definitely!” said Viddo at once and with passion. “Who knows what could happen if these caverns become the destination of thousands of adventurers? It would only be a matter of time until someone did something stupid, like set free a trapped god. Or worse.”
“Of course, we would not be so foolish,” said Rasmus, without irony.
“No indeed,” said Viddo with a similar lack of reflection. “We are simple men, looking for naught beyond the excitement of adventure, and to obtain our rightful rewards for doing so.”
“Aye!” replied Rasmus. “Not for us the ignorant actions of the many. We are old and with our years we have obtained wisdom beyond the ken of others!”
And so they went on, convincing each other that they would never be foolish enough to do anything that might anger the long-forgotten omnipotent beings that may or may not have existed in these seemingly endless tunnels. Before they could whip themselves up into a full-blown whirlwind of self-justification, they arrived. They entered a corridor that looked just like any of the others, albeit slightly narrower and with a lower ceiling.
“We’re here,” said Viddo in a low voice. “End your light spell.” He put a finger over his lips and Rasmus nodded his understanding.
There was a yellow glow ahead – brighter than Rasmus could recall seeing from any of the light balls. The pair of them crept along, with Viddo in the lead, keeping close to the wall. Rasmus did the same, even though it didn’t make him any less visible than he already was. The light got brighter and brighter until Rasmus had to squint to protect his eyes. He realised it was probably much dimmer than normal daylight, but his light spell wasn’t this intense and his eyes weren’t used to the brilliance.
They emerged into the room that Viddo had spoken about. Rasmus gaped as he’d found himself doing with uncommon regularity since they’d fled the soldiers pursuing their arrest over the stolen hat. They were on a wide, deep balcony, with a stone balustrade around it. Following Viddo’s example, the wizard crawled after his friend, keeping himself lower than the three-feet-high wall. They both looked over the top.
The room was vast – far bigger than anything they’d seen so far on their travels. It was over one hundred yards wide and nearly two hundred yards long. The walls on both long sides were decorated with carved pillars, clad in the same marble that they’d seen in the much smaller temple rooms earlier. The pillars had gaps between them, in which stood tall statues – fifteen or twenty feet in height. Some of the statues were almost human – there was a resemblance, but the people represented by these carvings had something about them that was distinctly not human. Their limbs were too short and thick, their shoulders too broad, with faces of undeniable cruelty. There was a quality to these statues alone that spoke of how little value these people had placed on their own lives or those of others. There were other statues too – twisted snakelike creatures with clawed limbs, armoured skeletons and other creatures, clearly demonic in origin.
Rasmus looked at the rest of the room – it was tiered, with three levels in addition to the floor. These tiers were evenly spaced for height and the wizard almost felt giddy as he looked up at the highest level. There was a wide walkway along the longest two walls of the room at each tier, apparently unsupported and in defiance of the brittle nature of stone. These walkways cut smoothly through the pillars, giving a clue as to how they might be held up. There were many exits from these walkways – corridors big and small, with no indication as to where they went.
The adventurers were at the height of the first tier up from the floor, on one of the two shorter walls. Rasmus saw that this entire wall was ta
ken up with balconies – likely where the privileged members of this society could stand in order to observe whatever happened in the room below. He exchanged glances with Viddo and saw that the thief was just as astounded as he was.
At the furthest end of the room, on the second of the shorter walls was one last statue. This one dwarfed all of the others – it was over one hundred yards tall and depicted a broad, humanoid creature, with thick-muscled arms. Its legs were similarly stocky and were spread apart as if the creature it depicted was braced for battle. The rest of its body was covered in what Rasmus took to be stone representations of metal plates, with the breastplate covering a barrel chest beneath it. Its arms were held out in front, and a stone axe rested in its palms. The double heads of this weapon hung out into space, looking far too massive for unsupported stone. The figure’s face was visible through an opening in the horned helmet it wore. It looked similar to the smaller cruel-featured statues. Do gods make their people in their own image, or do people assume that their gods look like they do? came the thought into Rasmus’ head as he stared. Whatever held this statue together, the wizard was sure there was magic involved, or a skill with stone that was far in advance of anything he’d ever seen before.
This statue was on a huge dais, thirty yards off the ground and reached by a set of steps fifty yards wide. Atop this dais was another altar, similar to that which they’d seen before, though even from this distance, Rasmus could see that the design was different – more ornate, with indistinct carvings and etchings. This altar was at least ten yards high and wide, and twenty long.
The last main feature of the room told Rasmus why his friend had suggested he wouldn’t like this place. The floor was covered in figures. Without standing up and becoming more visible than he’d have liked, the wizard could only see a section of the floor level, but there was not a single part of it that did not have a grey-fleshed man or woman standing there. No sound came from them whatsoever. They stood in perfect order, shoulder to shoulder, with each facing in the direction of the huge statue. Rasmus supposed they could have fit a few more people in there, but it would have been something of a squeeze. He ducked down behind the parapet.
“Are they human, do you think?” he asked. “There must be ten thousand people in there,” he gasped.
“More,” said Viddo. “Many more. I am sure they are not human, though it is difficult to tell what they look like, since I can only see their backs.”
“Do you suppose they are all dead, reanimated to stand attendance on this forgotten god forever?”
“I am sure they have been placed here for that very purpose,” said Viddo. “What manner of cruel god would wish such servitude from his people?”
“The whims of god are usually spoken from the mouths of his self-appointed favourites,” said Rasmus, wondering if Viddo’s cynicism had started to rub off on him. “Such as his priests.”
Viddo had something else he wanted the wizard to see. He pulled him by the arm and asked him to look at the statue once more.
“Can you see those?” he asked.
“See what?” asked Rasmus, looking hard to find out what it was that Viddo wanted him to see.
“Look at its eyes.”
Rasmus’ had good vision, but it seemed as though Viddo’s sight was even better. The wizard squinted, but he couldn’t make out what it was that he was being asked to find. Seeing Rasmus’ confusion, Viddo whispered to him once more.
“Move your head slowly left and right as you look.”
Rasmus was puzzled, but nevertheless did as he was asked. The movement of his head allowed him to see something sparkling within the statue’s eyes.
“Are those what I think they are?” he asked.
“There are diamonds embedded into the pupils!” whispered Viddo. “As big as my fist!” He clenched his fist, which was only quite small given that Viddo was more wiry than muscular. “Bigger than my fist!” he corrected himself.
Rasmus found himself getting excited also. “Are you sure they’re not glass?” he asked.
“Glass doesn’t sparkle so beautifully. Those are diamonds. I know it!”
“I assume we are planning to steal them?” asked Rasmus, having already forgotten their recent conversation about foolish adventurers.
“I could not live with myself if I did not try,” replied Viddo, with a similarly selective memory when it came to his thieving habits.
They crawled away, until they were once more in the tunnel that had led them to the balcony. Then, they stood and went back the way they’d come.
“Do you think you can find a way to the statue from here?” asked Rasmus.
“I can – follow me,” instructed Viddo.
“Since you came upon this room several hours before I did, can I assume that you have come up with a plan to appropriate those diamonds?”
Viddo nodded approvingly at the wizard’s use of the word appropriate, in acknowledgement that he considered it impossible to steal from the already dead. As far as he was concerned, the diamonds were there to be taken by the first people brave enough to dare the endeavour.
“I have a plan, of sorts. Do I recall you telling me that one day you would demonstrate the use of magic as a way of removing stone in a hurry?”
“You do recall me saying such a thing,” said Rasmus. “I have one spell available that will cause stone to crumble instantly to dust. I keep it in reserve in case I need to beat a hasty retreat from somewhere by means of a hole in a wall, where previously there may have been no such hole.”
“Splendid! We may require the services of such a spell. I shall let you know if it becomes important.”
“Don’t hold any details of your plan from me, Viddo! I do not like to be kept in the dark.”
“A plan may have many branches, dictated by necessity. I could not burden you with all of the possibilities. Suffice to say, I will not surprise you.”
The corridor split and Viddo went to the right. Shortly thereafter, it went to the left, and Viddo took this new route. As far as Rasmus could tell, they were now in a passage that ran parallel to the longest wall in the immense worshipping room. The wizard was wary, expecting there to be patrols of undead, or wandering people, but all was still.
“Why is there no activity?” he asked.
“Don’t ask me,” shrugged Viddo. “It was like this when I came along here earlier. The throng in the main room seems content to stay within - as if they have been compelled to do so. The undead are entirely lacking in imagination and have no thirst to explore.”
They arrived at a stairwell of sorts. There was a flight leading up and another one leading down. The corridors were narrow, but smooth and Viddo wondered if they had been meant for the privileged few who were granted the use of a balcony for their viewing of the temple.
“Up we go,” Viddo said at once.
These steps were arranged in flights of twenty-five, which went upwards to a small platform, before doubling back on themselves. Rasmus knew that the temple room had been huge, but there were rather more steps than he’d imagined.
“That’s the most detailed statue of Gach the Soul Plunderer I’ve ever seen,” said Viddo.
“Gach the Soul Plunderer?” enquired Rasmus. “Earlier on you said that this place was devoted to Gungok the Ghastly.”
“You are correct,” said Viddo. “I have also mentioned other names on a speculative basis. These caverns are vast, and I’m convinced that there have been multiple competing gods worshipped in this place. Perhaps at the same time, or perhaps subsequent to each other as one god has fallen out of favour and a new one risen to replace him.”
Rasmus stared at Viddo. “You’re talking a load of tosh, aren’t you? You haven’t got a clue who that statue represents and you’re hoping that something you tell me will eventually make sense.”
“That’s not so!” protested Viddo, though in truth he was walking on shaky ground with his utterances.
Rasmus made a pshaw sound to suggest that
they’d resume this discussion at a more appropriate time in the future. Viddo made a mental note that he’d visit a library before this discussion took place, in order that he might bamboozle the wizard with some well-researched facts.
At the top of the steps, Viddo peered warily into another of the narrow corridors. “We need to go this way,” he whispered.
“Where exactly are we going?” asked Rasmus.
“Did you notice that the mouth on the statue was slightly open? I don’t think it was so that we could see its teeth, more so that a suitable representative of the god could speak through the mouth in order to command the masses.”
“I see,” said Rasmus, with instant understanding. “You think that the head of the statue is hollow, to permit the ancient priests entry, so that they might perpetrate fraud upon their god’s followers?”
“I’ve seen it happen before on more than one occasion. There’ll be a little walkway that leads into the back of the head – it’ll look like nothing more than an anchor when viewed from below.” said Viddo. “The whole scam works beautifully. All you need is a horn that will magnify a voice so that the speaker sounds suitably godlike.”
“I can’t imagine they allowed everyone to just swagger into the sensitive areas which concealed these secrets.”
“Of course they won’t have!” said Viddo. “In the past, there’ll have been a round-the-clock guard. Or magical barriers, which is where you’ll come into it.”
“I only have a single dispel left in my repertoire,” said Rasmus. “If it’s needed, I hope that it works on the first time of asking.”
“If it fails, we’ll be leaving this place without our diamonds.”
With increased caution, they headed along the corridor. There was no adornment to the walls, but when they’d travelled for another hundred yards, they found a stone arch. It was simple and plain, with no need for it to be there.
