I felt a pang of guilt. After all, I was the one who suggested she go first. If she died, it would be on my head. I wanted to turn away, but couldn’t take my eyes from the spectacle. Though it was many years since I had last prayed, I spoke to the gods, even begged them to help her, for without their aid she was doomed.
She stood stiff as a board, the claws missing her taut body by as little as a fraction of an inch. In fact, it looked almost as if some of the ones in the front were touching the very tip of her tunic. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the scrambling fingers. She had to relax or she’d never make it.
Apparently she knew it too, for as soon as I thought it, she opened her eyes and began to inch her way toward the other side. There was nothing we could do to aid her. Theona was on her own. Several times a sharp claw almost snagged her, but on each occasion, she managed to steady herself, regain her balance and continue onward.
By the time she reached the other side, some of the arms had already withdrawn to their lair and others were following fast. Finally safe, Theona collapsed on the ground. Even from this distance, I could see the sweat glistening on her face. I released my breath and noted the others in our party were equally relieved.
She lay there and we let her be. It wasn’t as if we were in a particular hurry and she certainly deserved a break. Finally, after a number of minutes, she climbed to her feet, walked to the lever and pulled it.
I readied the Sword of Truth as the sound of sliding metal reached me. At first, I thought the bars on either side of the corridor were ascending. Fortunately, it was just a momentary illusion born of fear. Instead, a heavy metal plate dropped behind each set of bars, protecting us from further harm. They struck the stone floor with such resounding force it seemed as if the entire Labyrinth shook. The clamor was so unexpected my hands instantly moved to cover my ears. Even the echoes were devastating.
After I recovered from the shock, I looked at my two companions and started walking. Graham and Jeren followed behind. With the plates down, the corridor’s guardians could not reach us.
We soon caught up with Theona. I didn’t have to meet her gaze to know I was in trouble. Theona looked at me, then turned away and continued down the corridor. I suppose she was angry I had suggested she risk her life. I certainly couldn’t blame her. I would have to make it up to her, somehow.
I turned back to regard the corridor that had almost cost me Theona. A strange feeling settled over me. So rarely had I had to deal with such emotions that at first, I didn’t recognize them. And then I knew. I wanted to take out my frustrations on the creatures.
A strange idea began to form in my mind. I approached Jeren. “Would you happen to have an extra one of those spikes?”
“I have plenty, why?”
“May I have one please?”
He nodded and reached into his pack. Theona stopped to see what I was up to. Even Graham seemed curious.
I took the proffered spike and walked to the lever on the wall. When I pulled it up the metal gates rose, albeit somewhat more slowly than they had descended. I waited until they were all the way up, then tossed the spike. As soon as it struck the stone floor, hundreds of skeletal arms emerged from their lair to tear apart whatever hapless intruder happened to be there.
I waited only a second longer, then pulled the lever down. The extended limbs did little to slow the metal plates. Within seconds, countless severed arms lay on the corridor floor. Theona turned away in disgust. Graham looked uncomfortable. Jeren walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“That was relatively brilliant. I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“Thanks … I think.”
“Don’t mention it.”
He turned and strode off to join Theona, who was still somewhat ahead of us. Graham walked over to me.
“I want to thank you,” said the giant.
“For what?”
“What you did back there. I wouldn’t have made it across alive.”
“Then we’re even.” I smiled at him. “Come on, or they’re going to leave us behind.”
As we hurried after them, I began to wonder why this place was called the Labyrinth of Kerrenar. Certainly the single passage we currently traversed couldn’t be called a labyrinth. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, the corridor seemed to come to an abrupt end. One second there were walls on either side and then nothing. Theona cursed. From my angle I couldn’t see what she was looking at, so I walked forward until I stood beside her.
The floor ended just ahead of us. Beyond was a huge cavern, so large, I could see no boundaries. Far below, a maze of corridors and passageways, stairways and inclines, rooms and even buildings, formed what amounted to a huge underground city. Under normal circumstances we wouldn’t have been able to see it, but enough of it was glowing to illuminate the rest. I turned to Jeren.
“What’s that green stuff?”
“Several subterranean races raise a type of phosphorescent lichen, which they use for light. Apparently there is no shortage of it below.”
I nodded, because I didn’t want him to know I had no idea what he was talking about. Theona, however, had no such compunctions.
“Fosforeswhat?”
“Phosphorescent lichen. Sort of a glowing mushroom.”
“Oh.”
I shrugged. At least one of us knew what was going on.
I looked straight down. Directly before us was a steep slope with what looked like giant purple tree fungi jutting out from it. Dozens and dozens of them. The first shelf was close, perhaps ten feet away. A short slide down the slope would place us right on top of it. Then we could step off left or right and slide another ten feet or so to the next one. I was already thinking ahead, trying to calculate a path to the bottom.
Apparently Theona was thinking along the same lines.
“Watch this,” she said.
Before I could stop her, Theona stepped off the edge and slid toward the closest shelf. Jeren let out a shout of surprise. Graham looked concerned, but said nothing.
She hit the ledge and came to a perfect landing. I breathed a sigh of relief. For a split second, nothing happened. Then the shelf bent downward and she lost her balance. Theona toppled off and continued her descent. The shelf returned to its original position, blocking our view.
Theona’s screams continued for at least another minute.
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Chapter Twenty-one
No one said anything for a long time, not even after the echoes of Theona’s screams had faded. Graham, who had no reason to like her, took it as hard as Jeren and I. Suddenly, it wasn’t just a fun adventure anymore. The Labyrinth of Kerrenar had claimed the woman I loved.
Jeren looked at me. He wanted to offer his sympathies, but didn’t know how to go about it. I looked down and considered following her. At least I wouldn’t have to be alone. Graham must have sensed my intentions for he pulled me gently from the edge. I didn’t resist. I wasn’t sure I could bring myself to do it anyway.
We sat for a time and tried not to look at each other. None of us wanted to see our pain so keenly reflected on the faces of the others. We had come to get rich. We never really believed one of us would pay for that privilege with their life. Now, faced with the harsh reality, there hung between us the question of continuing. And yet, what choice did we have? The corridor behind us was a dead end.
Strangely enough, it was my sword that spoke first.
“Tough break, huh? So you suffered a loss. What are you going to do, sit down and die?”
I answered aloud, not caring that the others heard me. “You got me into this. I should throw you from the ledge and be done with you.”
“Go ahead. It will place me that much closer to my goal. You won’t make it anyway.”
Jeren and Graham were both staring at me. It was Jeren that spoke. “Alaric, with whom are you speaking?”
I held up my hand, signaling for him to wait. “I spit on your goal. If it wer
en’t for you, Theona would still be alive.”
“Theona is not my primary concern. Nor are you for that matter. Leave me here, or throw me over the edge. It doesn’t matter. I’m in the Labyrinth of Kerrenar. I will succeed. What you do now is your own business.”
Jeren spoke again, louder this time. “Dammit Alaric, what’s going on?”
“My sword is sentient. He’s been speaking to me for a week.”
“And you didn’t think it was worth mentioning?”
“I didn’t think anyone would believe me.”
“Certain magical items are suffused with the life force of their creators and, over time, do become beings in their own right. Hardly an uncommon occurrence.”
“Depending, of course on who made the item,” said a voice from behind us.
There was an audible snapping of necks as we turned to look. An elderly creature stood in the corridor. At least he seemed elderly to me. It was hard to tell, with the grayish white fur covering most of his rat-like body. In fact, he looked very much like a rat, except he was just about my size, had no tail and walked erect.
“Who are you?” asked Jeren. He beat me to the question by only a second.
“It is I who should be interrogating you. Which one of you, if you’ll pardon the pun, disarmed my trap back there?”
I thought about hundreds of severed arms lying on the ground writhing. “It was me.”
“Do you know how long it took me to grow them? Do you know what you’ve done?”
I almost felt guilty, until the anger kicked in. Perhaps losing Theona had pushed me over the edge, but I didn’t care what happened to me. I stood up and walked toward the creature.
“What I’ve done? What gives you the right to jeopardize the lives of others? What kind of maniac are you?”
The thing smiled, displaying rows of sharp teeth. “I’m not certain. What kinds of maniacs are there?” Its chuckle came off as more of a short bark.
I took another step toward it. “You’re about to find out.”
I raised the Sword of Truth over my head, ready to bring it down with all my strength on the rat-man’s head. Graham, however, had other ideas. Before I knew what was happening, he stood behind me, both of my wrists held tightly in one massive fist.
“Not now, Alaric. This is not the time.”
I tried to turn, but didn’t have the strength.
Jeren spoke before I could unleash my wrath on the giant. “He’s right, Alaric. The corridor behind us is a dead end. Where did that come from?” He gestured to the creature.
I continued to struggle to free myself from Graham’s grip, until I caught the meaning of Jeren’s words. I stopped squirming and he released me.
“Okay, where did you come from?” I asked.
“From down there. And I’m going back now. Would you like to come? I can take you if you like.”
Every bit of intuition I possessed screamed at me, but what choice did we have? I looked at Jeren and he nodded. I can’t imagine how it happened, but suddenly, I was the leader of this expedition. I turned to the rat-man.
“You have a name?”
“Max,”
“Max!” I repeated, incredulously.
“Short for Maxikendalous Ulanthrotus.”
“Okay, Max,” I said, never taking my eyes off him. “Lead on … but be warned. If this is a trap, our next meal will be your liver.”
I heard Jeren choke at my words, but didn’t turn.
The giant spoke. “Actually, Alaric, I’m a vegetarian. I have plenty of dried fruit with me.”
“Can it, Graham! Now Rat-man, Max or whatever the hell you are. Are you going to start moving, or are we to stand here all day?”
Max chuckled, but turned and set off down the corridor. We followed quickly behind. When we reached the area with the severed arms, Max turned toward the lever. He pushed it halfway up, then pulled it out. The handle grew about a foot longer. Then he pushed it all the way back in. To my right, a section of the wall slid inward, forming a new passage running almost exactly parallel to ours.
I looked at Max suspiciously. “Where does this lead?”
“To a different part of the slope. Come, it resets quickly.”
He ducked inside and we followed. Several seconds later, we heard it slide shut behind us. This corridor was lit with the glowing lichens Jeren had mentioned. It was one thing to hear about them, but another entirely to see them up close. Had I not been so angry, I’d have been amazed.
We followed our guide down a long, straight corridor. As he’d claimed, it soon opened onto the same slope which had taken Theona’s life, a mere fifteen feet further along. Fifteen feet spanned the difference between life and death. From where I stood, I could clearly see the place where she’d stepped from the edge. Below us, an identical purple shelf jutted from the rock wall.
I looked at Max. “Now what?”
He smiled, or maybe it just looked like he had. It was hard to tell with all those teeth. Then he stepped off the edge and slid down, until he landed on the shelf. I watched, half expecting the ground to give way beneath him. It never happened. This was the only way down. The only way we could have made it was knowing about that secret door, or happening upon it ourselves.
“It’s not difficult,” said the rat-man, “but I think you should slide one at a time. I will go to the next pad and wait until one of you follows. Then I will vacate that one and one by one, we will descend.”
With those words, the rat-man stepped to the left and disappeared from sight. I sighed, looked at Jeren and Graham, and smiled weakly. Then, like Theona, I stepped off the edge.
For a panicked moment, I thought I might pass the shelf, but I landed squarely on it. I held my breath, until I was certain it would support my weight. Then, I looked to the left and down. Below me, about fifteen feet, stood Max, looking up expectantly.
“You see, it’s easy. All you need do is follow me.”
He stepped to the right and vanished. I sidestepped left and followed him. Above me, I heard Jeren screaming as he descended. I was glad Graham was going last. We still didn’t know whether or not the protrusions would support his weight.
I looked over the edge to the right. The rat-man had already moved on. I sighed, held my breath and slid downward. Jeren and Graham would follow after.
Once I landed, I immediately looked down on both sides. The rat-man was nowhere to be seen. We were still pretty high up. If I chose the wrong pad, I would die, just as Theona had. Suddenly the idea of joining her didn’t hold much attraction.
Above me, Jeren called down. “What’s the hold up?”
“Our Rat double-crossed us. He went on ahead and I don’t know which way to go.”
Jeren cursed. The ledge above him and to his right shuddered as Graham landed upon it. Suddenly I realized the Giant was directly above me. If the shelf couldn’t support his weight, I was a goner.
“I think you should keep going,” boomed Graham, “I don’t want to stay in one place for too long.”
I looked at Jeren and he shrugged. “Well, we can’t go back up. You’re going to have to make a decision and take the risk.”
“And if I’m wrong?”
“Then you’ll die and I’ll go the other way.”
“That’s comforting.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
I shook my head and turned away, but Jeren was quite correct. I simply had to choose a direction, take a step and pray for the best. In a worst case scenario, I’d be joining Theona sooner than I’d anticipated. I looked back up and nodded.
“Okay, here I go.”
“Good luck,” he called down.
I drew a deep breath and stepped off the pad to the right. As I slid down to my uncertain fate, the Sword of Truth spoke.
“You should have asked. I knew how to get down all along.”
I’d have replied, if I hadn’t been busy screaming.
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Chapter Twenty-two
As I slid down the stone slope heading toward the hopefully sturdy protrusion, I felt certain it wouldn’t support my weight. Even after I landed solidly, I still braced myself, waiting for the inevitable fall. It never came. Jeren alighted on the ledge above me and to the left.
“So far so good,” he called down.
“Easy for you to say.” I looked over both sides of the ledge, then spoke softly to my sword.
“Okay, my faithful ally who is about to be stranded on this very spot. Which way should I go?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Come again?”
“It doesn’t matter. All of the ledges from this entry point are solid.”
“You might have said as much and saved me the worry.”
“After the way you’ve been speaking to me, you’re lucky I talk to you at all.”
“Is that a fact? Why is it then that I don’t feel lucky?”
The Sword of Truth chuckled. “Perhaps a more intuitive man would understand just how precarious his situation is.”
“Why are there so many of them, if all the ledges are solid?”
“So many people can descend at one time, without waiting for the ledge before them to be clear. Sometimes a party of fifty will have to make their way to the bottom and the proliferation of shelves lets them attain their destination more swiftly.”
I tried to picture how a descending army might look from the ground, as they flowed like water from the top of the incline. I shook my head at the thought of it.
“It’s okay, Jeren. They’re all solid on this part of the slope.”
“And how did you come to that conclusion?”
“Call it a hunch.”
“Good, then shouldn’t we be getting on with it?”
I nodded and without hesitation, stepped off to my left. Jeren followed immediately. Further up the slope, I noticed Graham’s giant shadow. Jeren didn’t wait. He stepped off the protrusion to his right and landed about ten feet away from me, but at the same altitude. We still hadn’t reached the halfway point.
“This is really insane,” he called to me.
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