by Sam Ferguson
His eyes closed and he took in a deep breath. His skin hardened into scales and horns poked out from his skull in a grotesque crown. His muscles doubled, then tripled in size and his bones stretched and thickened. His nose shortened and his teeth grew into sharp, pointed fangs. He opened his eyes once the transformation was complete and blinked his eyes. The pale blue trail glowed brighter now. He stepped forward and bent low to enter the cave.
A sudden pain ripped through his left side. He snarled and turned, flashing his sword and holding his left hand at the ready, a magical fireball waiting in his palm for release. He saw nothing. There was only the darkness. After a moment he glanced down at his side and saw a long, slender slice below his ribs.
A terrible sting shot through his right thigh. He looked down and spied the shaft of an arrow sticking out above his knee.
“Who is there?” he growled.
A flash of black and red leapt out from the darkness. Takala let his fireball loose. A great explosion erupted a few feet before him. He rushed in with the sword at the ready. A great lizard came out of the flames unharmed and flicked its tongue at Takala.
“Charmador?” Takala commented. He raised his sword to strike but something tore through his elbow. He looked up to see another arrow, this one directly through the joint and preventing him from striking with his sword. He moved to blast the charmador with another spell but the beast had already disappeared into the blackness. “Who is there? Show yourself, coward!”
A female voice laughed at him from the swirling darkness and sand. “You hunt a boy, yet you label me a coward. Tell me, would you have shown yourself to him, or would you murder him while he sleeps?”
Takala snarled and released a great wave of flame with a roar. The flame spewed out from his mouth and briefly illuminated the area beyond what his light orb could. He saw nothing. Neither his hunter, nor the charmador came into view. He whirled around, ready to attack, but nothing was behind him either. He turned around again and walked backward toward the cave. He was not about to put his back toward his assailant. He set a great wall of flame to ward off his attacker and then knelt and crawled backward into the cave. His feet and rump bumped into the rock after a few feet, so he shifted and stopped to sit and watch the flames before him. He stretched his neck up and looked out. There was no movement.
He exhaled. He moved his right arm in and grabbed the shaft protruding from his flesh with his left hand. He snapped the arrowhead off and then pulled it out from his arm. A normal man may have writhed in agony from the pain, but for him it was similar to when his body underwent the transformation. He swallowed the pain down and put it out of his mind. He then bent and extended his right arm a few times. It was tender, and certainly weaker than before, but he could use it.
A movement in the flames caught his eye. He looked back up to see the charmador walking slowly through the magical barrier. The lizard hardly paid any attention to the magical fire engulfing it. It moved on, slowly placing one foot in front of the other and swaying its head and tail side to side in opposite of each other as it flicked its tongue out.
“Come then, demon eater,” Takala said. “Come and taste the steel I have for you.”
A sharp pain pressed into his neck and a hand grabbed him from behind. “Dremathor sends his regrets,” a female voice said. Takala’s eyes shot wide and a knife cut the thread of his life as the charmador lunged in to help finish him off.
*****
Erik sat off to the side of the tunnel. Having woken from his sleep by strange noises he wasn’t sure what to expect coming through the opening, but whatever it was, he was not about to give up without a fight. He held his sword at the ready and his magical light hovered near the ceiling to ensure he could see any movement. Nothing came. He held motionless, watching the shirt he had hung to keep the dust at bay.
“Erik, I am a friend,” a female voice called out.
Erik didn’t recognize the voice. “Who are you?”
“I am Salarion,” she replied.
Erik’s heart skipped a beat and his breath froze within his breast.
“I have come to help you escape,” she said. “I know of a tunnel that leads to a pass under the mountains in the north. It will get you out of Verishtahng much faster than crossing east to Ten Forts. Aside from that, there are no orcs the way I plan to travel.”
“How do you know my name?” Erik asked. “And, how do you know I came from Ten Forts?”
Salarion laughed softly from behind the shirt. “Eventually you will have to decide whether you trust me. There is only one way out of this tunnel, and I am not leaving this spot until you do.”
“Pull the shirt down from the tunnel, but do not cross into this chamber.” Erik knew if he could see her, he could use his power to discern whether she spoke the truth and was friend or foe.
“I will do as you ask, but first I need you to know that I am not alone. I have a companion with me. When you come around to see me, you will see a large lizard at my feet. However, have no fear. He hunts only demons, and will have no interest to harm you unless you first attempt to harm me.”
The shirt moved back and slipped from the cracks it had been placed into. Erik slowly circled around the back of the chamber. His summoned light broke through the darkness in the tunnel and he spied a shapely woman crouching low under the rocks. Her eyes were violet, and seemingly burned with an ethereal fire as they watched him. Her skin was a pale gray, with hair darker than a raven’s feathers. A scimitar and several knives hung from her belt. Her leather attire appeared sturdy and thick, with iron rings woven over the top to guard critical areas of her body.
The black and orange lizard at her foot flashed its tongue out at Erik and then turned its head, seemingly disinterested in him. It dropped to its belly and crossed its front legs under its chin. Salarion looked down to the lizard and then pulled a pouch from her belt. She waved a hand over him and he shrank down to the size of a newt. The lizard then obediently moved into the pouch and Salarion replaced it onto her belt.
“They are easier to carry when they are small,” she explained. “Also, they don’t much care for the light. They are from the darkest reaches of the tunnels below Terramyr.”
Erik only half listened. His mind was focused on the she-elf before him. He summoned his power forth and tried to assess her. At that moment, she looked up and smiled at him. She turned and sat cross-legged on the stone and placed her wrists over her knees.
“You want to help me?” Erik asked.
Salarion nodded. “I will help you escape these lands.” He detected no lie in her words.
“Why would you help me?”
Salarion smiled wider. “I have a score to settle with the Black Fang Council.”
Erik took a breath and thought about her answer. “You hunt them?”
She nodded. “I should thank you,” she offered. “You slew one of them in Stonebrook.”
Erik shook his head. “I am not the one who killed her,” he said.
Salarion nodded. “I know. It was the dragon slayer Tillamon. Still, it was you who discovered her. Until you arrived, all had been deceived by her portrayal of Patrical. You have quite an impressive talent.”
“You seek revenge?” Erik pressed, still trying to discern what kind of woman sat before him.
“There is a bit more to it than that, but revenge is a large component of it, yes.” Salarion motioned behind her with a nod of her head. “In the tunnel there is another shadowfiend. The council that once had five, now only has two.” Her mouth closed then and she looked to the cocoon. “A gnome?” Salarion asked.
Erik looked to Jaleal and nodded.
Salarion knit her brow and looked to Erik. “May I?”
Erik studied her for a moment and then nodded. Salarion moved into the chamber and held her right hand out over Jaleal. The dark elf closed her eyes and took in a deep, slow breath. She moved her hand above the cocoon and then leaned back on her knees and looked to Erik.
; “I know of an herb that can aid his healing. I will lead you out through the underpass to the north and then I will go for the herb.”
“Why not go for it now, together?” Erik asked, eager to help his friend.
Salarion shook her head. “No, the herb grows in the tunnels. I can find it easily enough, but I will be faster without you in tow. The shadows are no place for a creature of light, such as yourself. Besides, we will be hunted. You will be infinitely safer on the north side of the mountains. Trust me.”
Erik called upon his power again, not quite ready to fully trust her. His power assured him that there was no deception in her words. Still, he had a nagging doubt in the back of his mind. Something about her was not as it seemed. They sat watching each other for a few moments and then Erik relented. “Very well, show me the underpass.”
Salarion smiled. “Follow me.” She turned and crept back out through the tunnel. Erik watched her go for a moment and then turned to gather Jaleal. He crawled out through the tunnel, stopping for a few moments to inspect the bloody corpse of a horrid figure with horns on its head and scales over its body. Its throat had been slashed and great claw marks marred its chest. When he emerged from the tunnel he saw Salarion pick up a bow and sling it over her shoulder.
“He was after me, wasn’t he?” Erik asked with a gesture back to the cave.
“His name was Takala,” Salarion said. “He would have killed you and absorbed your energy, for that is what shadowfiends do.”
Erik shrugged. “I might have won,” he said. “I did just defeat Tu’luh, after all.”
Salarion nodded as she checked vials and pouches on her belt. “You have done well,” she said. “You have defeated many powerful foes, however, I don’t think you can take credit for them by yourself. I understand that you have always had help, am I wrong?”
Erik was taken aback by the comment. It wasn’t wrong, but it felt like an unnecessary jab. He thought back over the past couple of months and nodded. Dimwater and Lepkin had helped with Tukai. Al had been there to help with Janis. Though he slew the warlock at his home alone, he had many champions there to help him. Even when he tangled with the Blacktongues or the senate members, he had had ample help. Tu’luh was no different. The first encounter he had an entire army of champions. In the second battle, the dragon was already crippled from the first, and he still had needed Jaleal’s help to succeed. His head dropped slightly and he looked down at the ground.
Salarion moved in close and slid her left hand under his chin, pulling his eyes up to meet hers. “It is not wrong to have help, nor should you discount your own courage and abilities.” She paused and looked at him firmly. “But, beware of pride, for it has brought down many mightier than you.”
Erik nodded. Salarion moved on, motioning for him to walk with her. He moved quickly after her, and for the first time noticed that the sand and ash had stopped swirling around. The wind had subsided entirely. Some dust and ash still fell from the sky, but it was not the harsh storm from before. Now it was as gentle as snow.
They moved through the darkness, Salarion out in front and Erik jogging to keep pace with her as he depended upon his summoned light to uncover his path. They traveled for hours, but there was no way to know when the morning came. The heavy cloud above them entirely blocked any light from the surface of Verishtahng. Even the red glow from the various streams of lava or the open vents was dampened by the thick blanket of ash. If not for Salarion’s magic the two of them would have likely suffocated. Every once in a while they would pass a mammoth carcass covered in ash, with only the tip of its trunk or tusk visible to identify it. Every pool of water they approached was filled with ashen mud, and no life survived within. Crocodiles and fish alike were cast in a macabre bed of gray.
Neither of them stopped until they reached the base of the mountains in the north. Even there the ash was thick. Salarion had to maintain her sphere of protection until they finally uncovered the entrance to the tunnel. The charmador was let out and it excavated through the ash and gave them the opening they needed. Salarion went in first, and then Erik followed. The ash had spilled into the tunnel for more than fifty yards, but then there were a series of twists and turns around which the gray ash had not reached. Salarion dropped her spell once they were free of the ash and turned to Erik.
“This is where I must have you extinguish your light.”
“But, then I won’t be able to see,” Erik argued.
Salarion nodded. “Where we go, the light is foreign. Some creatures below are draw to it out of curiosity, others because it is a signal of something to hunt. Either way, none of the creatures will be friendly. It is best to pass through the night in shadow, so as not to disturb the natural balance here.”
“I thought this was just a cave?”
The she-elf smiled and offered a minute shrug. “It is, and it isn’t. Some call it the underdark, others call it sub-Terra, but to us it is known by a different name. It is Iverglendar, the land of the shadow. We will travel down, into the bowels of Terramyr, and then we will cross along the corridors of Iverglendar to the north. We will tread on a knife’s edge between the world of the Blessed Races, and that of Demons. Do as I say, and all will be right. Vary one inch from where I tell you to walk, and monsters as you have never imagined will pull you into the abyss and none above shall ever see you again.”
Erik swallowed hard. Even without his power he could tell she wasn’t jesting or exaggerating. Whatever he was going to walk through, he was going to be tempting fate, and death itself. He let his light die out and the two of them waited for his eyes to adjust as much as they could. A moment later the lizard moved alongside Erik and slid its tail into his left hand.
“Hold fast to his tail, he will be your eyes.”
Down they walked, into the belly of the world. The air grew damp, cold, and thick. The musty odor of mildew and mold assaulted his nostrils and made him frown, but Erik kept his mouth closed. Given how Salarion introduced this place, he was not about to speak unless necessary. They curved around through the tunnels and Erik was careful to follow the lizard’s every turn. When it moved, he moved. When it stopped, he stopped.
To Erik’s surprise, the farther they traveled downward, the warmer the air became. At one point the tunnel emptied out into a grand chamber illuminated by a roiling pool of lava that came and went down a long chute. Perspiration turned to sweat in the blink of an eye and Erik was only all too happy to leave the chamber behind as they skirted around to another tunnel on the opposite side. After they left the magma pool, he found there was much more light in the darkness than he had thought possible.
A butterfly, or at least something that looked very much like a butterfly, flew up in front of him with turquoise wings that glowed brightly in the darkness. Salarion placed a hand on Erik’s chest and whispered for him to watch. He kept his eyes on the fluttering wings and watched as it stopped to land. A moment later a grand flower with soft, long petals opened to the butterfly. The flower matched the butterfly’s intense glow. Its red blossom marking where the creature had landed. The butterfly then flew onward and landed several more times. Each landing awakened a new flower. Some were purple, others a bright red.
“We can eat the seeds,” Salarion said. “Come, we will rest here.”
“I thought you said light attracts other monsters?” Erik asked.
Salarion nodded. “Light from above, yes, but this is a light native to the shadow. Besides that, this is the Ivengar, a flower that actually wards off predators.”
“How can a flower do that?”
Salarion moved away and soon Erik saw a shadow plucking at the inside of a blossom. “Better you don’t know, probably.”
A moment later Erik felt Salarion place some seeds in his hand. Instead of being hard, as he expected, they were soft. He placed one in his mouth and crushed the soft outer shell with his tongue. The tart juice gushed out and left a minute kernel on his tongue. He chewed it and found the taste to be like tha
t of a pine nut. He swallowed and took another couple.
“Do you like them?” Salarion asked.
“Better than I anticipated,” Erik said.
“I will gather more for us.”
“I can help,” Erik offered.
“Better that I do it,” Salarion said. “The technique is difficult to master.”
“Let me guess, it squirts poison if you harvest it wrong?” Erik surmised. “Sounds like a waterstack.”
Salarion let out a soft chuckle. “No, that isn’t it,” she said. “If you trigger the plant’s defenses, the petals will grab your hand and the flower will pull your arm into the ground. The flower is like a tentacle. What lies beneath the surface is a mess of acid and barbs that would make short work of your arm. The plant would then feast upon your blood until either you die, or manage to rip your arm free.”
“And that is why other beasts stay away from this plant?” Erik asked.
“I told you it was better not to know.” Salarion moved on and continued to harvest the seeds. Erik sat and watched, half expecting her to cry out in pain, but she never did. None of the flowers grabbed her.
When they finished eating their seeds, Salarion told Erik to get some rest. The charmador stood watch over them as they slept. Erik laid his head on a nearby rock, careful to look and make sure he was nowhere near any of the flowers. His body was eager for the rest. No sooner had he settled down than he fell into a deep slumber. There were no dreams, only rest.
Some hours later Erik woke. He blinked his eyes and rubbed the sleep from their corners. At first he was startled by the blackness, but then he remembered where he was and he sat up slowly. The lizard was not near enough to him to be found, so he remained still. He was not about to go feeling around for the lizard’s tail with a nest of blood-sucking flowers growing around him.
“Finally awake,” Salarion called out softly. “Come, I have scouted the way ahead. If we go now, we should be able to reach the exit within a few hours without danger.”
Erik pressed himself up to his feet and grabbed Jaleal. The lizard scampered up next to him and slapped Erik’s leg with its tail. “Has he always been with you?” Erik asked about the charmador.
