by J P Nelson
Up the trail and over the edge, troglodytes came en force. What they expected, one cannot know, but they met with steel and fury.
Dessi saw one with Bobbet’s head on its belt as a trophy. With determination and rage he destroyed the creature.
Jha’Ley was weaving his dao-sword, deflecting the wickedly barbed lances and sliding the razor sharp edge from torso to torso.
Toagun’s Beckerson was loaded with those special heads. He aimed first to one troglodyte chest, then another, as both targets were knocked backward off their feet from force of the Mark VI weapon. He then let loose with combachete, severing one troglodyte’s leg and then its head before it hit the ground.
Rahno yelled, “The wounded teerex …” as a big lizard leaped over the edge onto the plateau, remains of a javelin in its neck. It caught one man in its mouth with a crunch, then hurled him over the side as it grabbed a troglodyte, tossed it up and chomped down hard.
A troglodyte slipped and fell as the beast absently stepped on it. Guen had leaped atop a ledge and was taking careful aim. Thwang! He shot at what looked to be a pulse in the creature’s neck.
TL Bowser had jumped to the top to give Guen cover. Guen focused to crank his heavy crossbow into position for another shot when Bowser yelled and shoved him to the rock. Guen looked to see the corporal trying to fight off a giant lizard with bat-like wings.
Guen drew his sword and was up as the creature flew off with Bowser tight in its talons.
The teerex began to stagger from the bolt in its neck, as Seedle ran about whirling a loop of rope. He caught the beast’s uplifted foot, dove under the big belly as it was screaming and slid past the other leg. Ducking under the belly again, he was knocked down as he was slashed across the face with a front claw. The teerex turned to bite at him but tripped and fell. Before it could get up, multiple pole swords and eight-foot lances had found purchase in its body.
What must be teerex bulls could be heard fighting it out close by.
Jha’Ley demanded, “Is everyone accounted for?”
Ottus was standing bloody by the edge, pointing down he said, “I saw Private Teffin’s body get swallowed by a big snake …”
Rahno said, “Sir, he died instantly when the teerex bit him … I saw it. Then he was thrown. No one could survive that fall, sir.”
Jha’Ley ran his bloody hand threw his hair. “Very well, the troglodytes are dead. Sergeant Dessi, let us get out of here before one of those big lizards come looking.”
Several men were wounded, but all were mobile. They made way down the back side of the plateau to the stream and followed it down current well into the next day. They made a short camp, when it was time to go, Sergeant Nei did not wake up.
In short order they realized he was dead. An examination revealed much bruising and a misshapen torso. They determined he had taken major internal injuries in the battle with troglodytes and teerex, but without revealing his condition.
Rufus was doing the examination and said, “My guess is he took a big wallop from the teerex tail. The armor is good against edge blades, but all that force busted him up pretty good.” He looked to Jha’Ley, “I think some ribs shattered and cut up his insides.”
Dessi made comment, “He knew we would not have let him march, we would have carried him.”
Mantel said, “And that would have slowed us down. He sacrificed himself for our safety.”
Seedle solemnly said, “One tough son-or’a-jym …”
Dessi nodded, “All Marine …”
Jha’Ley concurred, “Yes sergeant, all Marine.”
Time was precious, and the men exhausted, but Sergeant Nei was to be respected. They buried him there deep with his sword in salute, then covered him high with rock.
Jha’Ley passed words, then Dessi, then they gave salute and left.
Within two miles they found where the stream merged with a river of sparkling cold water. Far beyond they could see where the mountains rose up into the glacier.
Jha’Ley seemed tired when he said, “Today and two more, then let us go home.”
Late into the seventh day they rounded a bend and beheld a small lake, perhaps a quarter-mile in diameter. Dropping into the water was a cascading fall coming down a slight slope, perhaps five hundred feet high, from a rocky face a third again more. All about was a thick stand of straight trees around three hundred feet tall.
Jha’Ley looked into the crystal clear water, handed his telescope to Dessi and asked, “Can you see anything evil in that lake?”
Carefully, he looked and slowly said, “No sir, I do not.”
With a deep sigh, Jha’Ley said, “Here is where we make our canoes, and I am going for a swim ...” he looked around with a challenge, “… a private swim.”
With that, he dropped his gear, stripped to pants, then secured his dagger-belt and tied the sheath to his leg. The sun glittered on the medallion he wore, given him by Lushandri. Stepping into the lake, he closed his eyes for a moment, then plunged in.
Chapter 49
JANN RAUL JHA’LEY was not happy. In fact, he hadn’t been happy for quite a while. Sure, you are supposed to take the bad with the good, but it seemed like it was more bad than good these days. What was he doing up there trying to lead these men, he had no clue what he was doing or what he was looking for, now they were being chased by lizards that could eat you in one bite.
The man dove down at a sharp angle. ‘Miu’Ganté Comveri,’ he thought, ‘this goes deep.’
He had a notebook, a couple of maps, and a head full of tales he had been questioning for … well … since that short conversation with Yeau and Rufus. Was there really more to this Dorian nonsense than a bunch of fantasy dreams? Maybe Greybeard was insane. Pop said he was definitely different, which was his was of saying strange. Did he get so far and realize he was wasting his time? Was Jha’Ley himself spending good men’s lives for a bunch of whale-shit ideas?
The whole of the lake was in a constant churning state, what with those falls. While it was not freezing, it was still cold. Jha’Ley took note, should he leave the water before returning to his men he would have nothing to dry himself with, or fresh clothing to wear.
He inhaled the water and swelled his chest with it … crisp, full of minerals, exhilarating.
Jha’Ley didn’t really like being a military man. Sure, if he had to fight in defense, no problem, but volunteering to have to fight … he did not like it. Well, fighting for your home, or freedom, but that was a type of defense. Some of his men lived to draw blood. If not in the military, they would be criminals of one kind or another.
Exploration was just a side duty, a thing allowed when war or policing the waters was not imminent. Someone had to do it, of course, but killing for the sake of killing made him sick inside.
He darted this way and that, seeing a wide range of vegetation and fish … o-o-ops … those have teeth, big teeth.
Why had he accepted the rank of commodore, anyway? What he should do was resign his commission, get out before he made any more stupid decisions, like this. If he stayed down here, just found a pocket and hid … they would think him dead. Of course, some would dive to find him. But he could go where they would never find him. Dessi would be in charge and could lead them out safely. Then S’Getti would have command.
S’Getti should be in charge anyway. Now there was a leader. The trouble was, the captain had no imagination. You could tell him what to do and he would get it done, but as his mom would put it, S’Getti only colored within the lines … to perfection, for sure, but there was so much more that could be done … like coloring in a background, or making new lines to add to the picture.
Jha’Ley eyed the torrent below the surface. It was like a massive curtain. There was absolutely no way to get to the wall behind without dealing with that curtain.
Could S’Getti figure out a way to get them out of the sea? Damn! Jha’Ley got them into it, he had to get them out; but how?
What was mom and pop doing rig
ht that moment? Jha’Ley wondered if pop would like having him help with study of the sky, but what would he do? He had helped explore and play with some of the equipment, but what help could he really be? Of course, there was the Sangora, he could start his old business up …
There just had to be space between the curtain and the wall behind. Jha’Ley got close, into the hammering curtain a bit, then back out.
What were those fish doing? Chasing him? Oh shite! The ones with the teeth; they were as big as his torso and … these waters were cold … were these piranha?
Jha’Ley turned on the speed and veered sharply. The growing school veered with him as they began closing in. There were two choices; he could do his vaulting thing, and have his men see him get chased out of the water … yet another defeat … or-r-r …
The man was enraged. Yelling had never been his release, but a sudden urge to yell his pent up fury swelled inside him. He whirled about in the water and came to a stop, inhaled deep, then contorted his body with an abdominal crunching motion and yelled as hard and long as he could in the water.
To be honest, all he really intended was to vent his rage at these shiking stupid fish. He was quite confident he could outrun them, or rather, outswim them. But he needed this angry release. Jha’Ley had never tried yelling underwater before, and didn’t even know if he could, but he let loose.
Jha’Ley still did not know how he made the water immediately around him work to amplify his speed or strength, he just knew it worked. Apparently, that same whatever it is that happens, happened when he yelled. All that water inside his lungs came out as a jet-stream of incredible force. It hit one of the fish fourteen rods away and blew it to pieces. Rivulets of force and baffled sound caused the school to scatter.
Suddenly lightheaded, Jha’Ley thought for a moment he was going to faint. Shaking his head he thought, ‘Wow, what did I do?’ Looking up, he remembered he was more than thirty fathoms down and wondered if the men heard that. They were at the other end of the lake, though.
The fish had scattered, but they were regrouping. He looked to the forceful curtain, then back to the predators. Enough games; Jha’Ley swam in an arc to get some distance, then as the fish made another try at him, he went full speed to the bottom of the fall and shot through, hoping dearly he did not slam into the rock wall.
Hitting the curtain with a spinning motion, the force of the fall was still vicious. Following the roiling water, Jha’Ley came up on the back side and put his hands on the rock wall.
Blowing the water from his lungs he looked about. A few feet above waterline, he saw holes spaced in an irregular pattern, about seven marks in diameter and bored into the rock. Some were quite high, as much as sixty feet.
Dipping down in the water, he propelled himself up onto a ridge he could grab, then looked into one hole. It angled up in a steady incline, but beyond what he could see. Back in the water, he moved sideways of the fall and counted sixteen such holes at various heights, all well concealed behind the falls.
While moving side-to-side he brushed up against suction and found two holes about four marks in diameter under the surface. Reaching into one, his fingers felt a screen of some kind. He found two more such holes about twenty feet apart, from which a steady stream of water drained.
The spray from the falls was pummeling his body, but where he was the wall sloped inward and under a few feet from the curtain. He dove back down to see what he could, and at twenty-three fathoms he found the entrance to a small cavern.
The cavern wasn’t large in height or width, but it travelled deep. In many places he saw stalagmite and stalactite formations. There was an occasional side cave and some rises in the ceiling, but he was focused on how far back this went.
A strange light emanated from all around in a web-like pattern. On close examination, Jha’Ley was amazed to find seams of gold embedded in a network of softly glowing quartz. Sometimes the cavern floor was polished smooth, as much as eleven or twelve feet below the ceiling. Sometimes it was dirty, gravelly, and only three or four feet below. Was that a bluish glitter from one of the gravels, and over there he thought he saw something pink? He was curious, but more curious about a movement he saw from around a stalagmite.
His dagger out and ready, he carefully swam for hundreds of rods, twice seeing long, flat eel-like creatures with nasty looking teeth. One had to be fifty feet long, the other longer, but he couldn’t tell how long. Jha’Ley was watching the creatures slowly circle about, but still at a distance, and he was about to turn and go back when he found a tunnel leading up, a tunnel made by tools.
It was clearly a matter of should or shouldn’t, but with a glance up he swore he saw something he really wanted to see. The glowing quartz did not go this way, but he thought he saw … a hatch door.
The tunnel led up for around seventy odd feet … a long way in a cavern, let alone an underwater cavern … with what may be two hungry fish stalking on the prowl. But sure enough, it was a door; a hatch door with a turn wheel to open it with.
Putting hands on the wheel, it would not move. Jha’Ley felt the current move beneath him. Looking down he saw one of those nasty eel-like heads looking his way and open its mouth, then start up the tunnel. Was that some kind of lamprey?
Okay … Jha’Ley was now wishing he had practiced using his amplified underwater strength more often. With nowhere to go, he closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, then growled as he put all he had into turning the hatch wheel, a spray of bubbles pouring through his gills. He was growing faint and getting almighty concerned when suddenly it broke loose.
The hatch opened upward and he vaulted through, still in water, fresh water at that. He took no time to view his surroundings as he slammed the hatch on the nose of the creature, then turned it back to lock. Pausing, he tried to determine where he was, but it was totally pitch black with no light at all.
By making “pah---pah---pah---” sounds he could tell from rebounding sound he was in a cylindrical room short of twenty feet in diameter, but went up another sixty odd feet to … to what … an empty space? The water also had a slight left-wise swirling motion to it.
Cautiously reaching the top, his hands broke water into what must be a sizable room. Easing his weight up and onto a rock floor, he listened intently for anything he could hear. The only sounds were the gentle lapping of the water.
Running his hands back and over his hair to squeeze water out, then down his pant legs as if to dry his hands, he wondered why he did that … his pants were soaked, too.
Jha’Ley reached into a belt pouch and got his compass. It was not outright cold, but cool enough with him soaked of cold water. A chill went through his body, but he shook it off and focused on deep breathing Tai’Jhi exercises to warm himself.
Flipping open the watch, he pressed the tab making the faces glow with that green light. It was not bright, but in a lightless room it was a lot. And his eyesight was beyond that of a normal human. He could see with a minimum of glow, much like a cat.
Fifty-seven minutes past three o’clock in the late noon … he clicked the timer to begin, just in case he blacked out, had an accident, or whatever. He wanted to keep track of how long he was gone from the team.
The room was not square but elliptical, about forty feet long, just over half that wide and nine or so feet high. He saw a lever next to the wall and he noticed four tube-like structures in the pool. Two opposing each other had holes in the top. He believed they were pushing water into the pool. The other pair also opposed themselves, but he got the feeling they had holes in the bottom. Did these connect to some of those holes in the rock outside?
To one side was a tunnel opening seven feet high and showing a wall six feet thick. Jha’Ley then realized the air was good, but he could detect an air current of fresh flowers … really?
He saw the tunnel went left and right, but he turned toward where the flower scent came. The tunnel was actually a winding corridor of fairly level grade. How far he had followed the cavern dow
n, he wasn’t sure, but Jha’Ley was reasonably confident he was about the lake’s surface level.
He passed a couple of room openings, looked in a couple, but was intent on finding the source of the flower scent. An opening led into an irregular, but winding staircase leading both up and down.
Was there a hint of light somewhere up there? He paused and considered … but … what the fenko? Fenko? Miu’Ganté … he had not heard that word in, in, since he was a child. Where had he heard that word? Ah, a boy at the child-home used it a lot. Jha’Ley wasn’t even sure what it meant.
Padding even more carefully, he made way up the staircase. Jha’Ley came to an intersection with another corridor to left and right, and across the way was another stone staircase, but this one led only up. What was more, there was a one-foot-tall candle on a pewter base, sitting directly in front of the first stair … and it was freshly lit.
Now, this was getting strange. Thus far, everything he had seen suggested total abandonment, like, maybe centuries or more ago. The air should be bad he thought. It looked completely shut off and there was no growth. With the candle light, he saw the rock had a red look, indicative of iron, which will leech the oxygen right out of the air, given time. As weird as it was, his curiosity was high. Looking from candle to staircase he thought, ‘Someone knows I am here.’
Standing before the candle he thought he smelled an emanation of pine. Raising his eyebrows he thought, ‘Mayhap I shall find myself with an awaiting harem, anxious to give me …’ he shook his head, took up the candle and began up the stairs.
Three more flights of stairs, transit through two rooms … the second room had a hole in the ceiling which drew his candle smoke into it … and eight corridors later he found the source of the fresh air. At the end of one corridor he saw a circular slab partly opened to the outside. Level to the wall was a winch fashioned like a ship’s wheel, its connecting cables leading into the stone floor, the slab resting in a track which led into the wall.
