by Ben Hale
“Without a doubt,” Mae said, glancing back and nodding at him.
He sighed, feeling grateful for her comment and reminded once again why she had always been like a sister to him.
“Did I ever tell you what my master said about you, Taryn?” Trin asked.
When Taryn shook his head, Trin said, “After they put you in the preliminary rounds with students several years older than you, and you still won, he told me that you were one of the best students he’d ever seen.”
Surprised, Taryn was about to reply when the normally silent Kell appeared in their circle of light, his expression intense. “I hear footsteps.”
In less than a second, they had formed a circle and Siarra dimmed the light. Taryn scanned the large cavern they had entered, noting the side tunnels curving out of view. Straining his ears, he listened for the slightest noise.
It didn’t take long before he heard it too, but by then it was hard not to. Hundreds of bare feet scuffed the stone, shuffling their way towards them. It seemed like it was coming from everywhere. Glancing at Siarra, he saw her eyes widen, and guessed she was using her magic to look through the surrounding rock.
Then she blinked. “They are coming. Get ready.”
“Who?” Several of them whispered as they drew their weapons, but she just shook her head.
“They feel like fiends, or at least krakas and quare, but they are . . . different somehow.” Her confusion showed in her expression, but before anyone could ask more she threw her arms out. Magic light arced into the ceiling, flooding the room and causing them all to shield their eyes.
“Thanks for the warning,” Jack said, his voice laced with sarcasm.
She glared and him but didn’t respond, energy beginning to crackle up her arms. “They should be here any second.”
Just as she finished speaking, the side corridors exploded with dark forms. Tall and mighty krakas charged in front, followed by thin wiry quare, their red manes shimmering red—but their bodies seemed odd, twisted and misshaped. Taryn didn’t have any more time to wonder why. The next second, they were surrounded and several lunged for his throat.
Chapter 4: The East Tunnel
Siarra’s magic flared, launching balls of fire into the snarling fiends, giving the others time to form a protective circle around her. Then she began to attack. Stone cracked and sharp stalagmites rained down on the roiling black ranks.
Taryn's two long katsanas streaked out, cutting fiends down before they could close. Blue magic flared in his father’s blade as it cut through them, its sharpening augmentation causing it to slice deep.
On both sides of him, Liri and Mae fought with the skill and fluidity of their fair race. Both wielding short swords, they cut their opponents down with deadly poise. Glancing back, Taryn saw Kell’s massive sword hewing down a crowd at a time. Jack fought next to him, his long daggers making short work of any that dared come too close. Between Kell and Mae, Trin’s longsword swung in wide arcs, slaying many and holding the rest at bay.
“These aren’t fiends from Draeken!” Mae yelled, gutting a quare in front of her, and then spinning to avoid a retaliating strike.
“Does it matter?” Jack shouted over the din.
Siarra reached out and lifted an entire section of the ground, smashing a score of them into the ceiling and closing off one of the tunnels they were using. “I don’t know!” she yelled back,” but we don’t have time for this! We need to get away from here!”
“Just how do you propose we do that?” Trin said, darting forward to take down two quare that had just landed in front of him. “They are coming from every tunnel!”
Siarra’s eyes closed, and energy sparked around her. An instant later the ground around them began to shake. Stone snapped like wood, causing Taryn to look down. His eyes widened and he almost missed the next enemy that leapt towards him. Dispatching him as he sidestepped, Taryn watched dual cracks appear undefoot. A hands breadth apart, they arced around their group until it formed a circle.
“Stand close to me . . .” Siarra’s commanding voice rumbled past him, sounding distorted.
Taryn dodged back just in time. The ring of stone streaked upward, slamming into the ceiling with brutal force, crushing several fiends that had been crossing the threshold. The furious fiends could be heard pummeling the other side of the wall.
“Welcome to prison,” Jack said with a low laugh.
Taryn looked at Siarra, but her eyes were still closed. A moment later, the ground below them began to descend. Instinctively, Taryn crouched to get a better footing, but they only lowered thirty feet before coming to a stop in a new cavern.
“Welcome to freedom,” Trin said.
“Short stint in a cell,” Jack laughed.
Siarra grunted, but seemed unable to respond as she began to sway. Jack was first to reach her, catching her as she fell.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, bending close.
She waved at him feebly. “I used . . . too much energy . . . at once.”
Liri leaned down and handed her a waterskin. After drinking she seemed to regain some strength.
“Whew,” she muttered, “moving that much stone isn't easy.”
“Are you okay?” Taryn asked, his forehead wrinkling.
“I believe so,” she said, easing back to her feet, “but it doesn’t matter if I am or not. We have to move.”
The sounds of snarls and pounding feet began to echo up the western corridor. Seven heads turned to look, but Mae spoke first. “They will be here in minutes.”
Siarra stumbled to a standing position and began to hurry east. “Taryn, why don’t you take the lead?” she said.
“I will cover the rear,” Kell rumbled, and the two of them slid into place.
“At least we are still going the way we need to go,” Liri said, sidling up next to Taryn.
He nodded, listening to the sounds behind them. Where did these fiends come from? They bore a striking resemblance to the fiends of Dreaken’s army, but with enough differences for him to question their source. They just seemed . . . odd. The quare in particular appeared hunched and twisted, as if they were malnourished. Since he knew they fed off the dark magic that spawned them, it left more questions than answers.
His contemplations were interrupted as they reached a branch in the corridor. One angled east, where they needed to go, and the other one curved north. He glanced at Liri, but before she could respond, the unmistakable sounds of more fiends echoed from that direction.
Shrugging, Taryn turned up the east corridor, picking up the pace when Siarra said she felt better. Reaching another branch a few minutes later, they again chose the path that didn’t contain more of the enemy.
For the next hour, they hurried from one crossroads to the next, and each time continued down the only tunnel that was silent. Lucky for them, it also seemed to be the one that kept them moving east.
The faint sounds of fiends prowling the mine, and the silence of their own path, left Taryn feeling on edge, expecting an attack at any moment—but none came. Reaching a cavern that contained several new branches, Taryn checked the north openings while Trin listened at the south ones. At each one, Taryn heard the distant sounds that indicated their hostile occupants. Together they reached the portal pointing east, directly across from where they had entered the cavern.
Silence echoed back at them, but despite the reassuring quiet, Taryn felt uneasy. Unable to explain his concern, he led them into the new corridor and followed it as it sloped deeper into the earth.
The tunnel wound downward, indicating where the miners had followed a vein of silver. Bending back and forth, the passage abruptly gave way to open space. Coming to a halt, they stared into an enormous cavern. At least a mile across, the cavern was lit by a castle-like structure at the center. Covered in numerous points of reddish light, the building rested on top of a massive column that plunged into the pit.
Their path led onto a long bridge that spanned the abyss. Although it loo
ked like there had once been several arches that connected the fortress to the walls of the cavern, only two remained; the one in front of them, and one on the opposite side.
“What is this place?” Taryn asked, glancing at Siarra.
She shook her head, worry creasing her eyebrows. “I don’t know.”
“You can barely see the ceiling,” Liri breathed, her eyes lifting upward.
“You can’t see the floor,” Mae said, her tone dark as she peered over the side.
“What about that?” Trin said, stabbing a finger in the direction of the crumbling building. “If the lights are on . . .”
“—Then someone is home,” Jack said, his scowl deepening.
“Do you think we should backtrack and go around?” Taryn asked, jerking his head back up the corridor.
“There was no other way.” Kell rumbled.
“We could fight our way through,” Trin suggested, and then gestured at the ancient castle. “I don’t like the idea of going through that place. I doubt whoever lives down here is going to be friendly.”
“Something isn’t right . . .,” Siarra murmured, her gaze lingering on the decrepit fortress. “I can sense something in there, but it’s like looking into a fog. Normally I can see objects this close with greater clarity.” Her eyebrows knit together as she turned back to the group. “But I don’t think there is a way to go back either. There are too many of those fiends behind us, and the battle at Azertorn has already begun. We don’t have time to fight our way around this place.”
“So we have to go through it?” Liri asked.
“At least it's going the way we need to go,” Trin said with a shrug.
Mae's eyes snapped to Trin, “What did you say?”
He shrugged and pointed across the cavern. “I was just saying that is the way we need to go—.”
Mae growled and clenched her hands. “Why didn’t we see it earlier?”
“What? What is it?” Liri asked.
She grimaced when she looked at them. “Don’t you think it odd that every time we had a choice of paths to take, there was only one tunnel unoccupied?”
Jack groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. “They led us here.” Cursing he spun and gestured back up the tunnel. "The fiends filled every route except this one."
Taryn closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. Now that they had pointed it out, he felt he should have recognized it as well. The fiends had allowed a solitary path where they could go safely, and had guided them to this cavern. Such a strategy implied leadership—and intent.
“What do we do now?” Jack demanded. "Where do we go from here?”
“Can you get us around it?” Mae asked Siarra.
She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Not with so many of us. Stone magic is just too draining. Maybe with enough time I could put together a stone platform that we could move around the side . . .”
“So the only path is the one forward,” Liri said. “Let’s quit bickering over who should have seen what and get this done.”
Taryn stepped onto the arching bridge. “Let’s go then, before they come from behind and we have to retreat our way across.” When no one suggested an alternative, the others reluctantly fell into step behind him.
Without handrails, the smooth stone felt unsure and disconcerting, even with the bridge wide enough for a few wagons. As they drew close to the structure, Taryn began to make out what had once been a formidable castle. Crumbling battlements lay empty where tall parapets had once stood. Towers adorned the outer wall and the high keep, but many tilted dangerously. Devoid of life, the only sign of habitation was the reddish lights that held back the dark.
As he approached the structure, the feeling of unease peaked, causing Taryn’s mouth to go dry. Reaching an open portcullis, Taryn took a fast step under, trying not to imagine the rusted spikes coming down on him. Dodging to the side, he stepped into a shadowed alcove and scanned the courtyard. Broken stones littered the uneven ground, and a layer of dust blanketed most of them. Sensing movement, Taryn looked upward, expecting to see something in a window of the keep. Scanning dark openings, he saw nothing.
“Think we can go around the keep?” Mae whispered.
Siarra pointed left. “That gate looks broken. Why don’t we follow the wall and see if we can find a way through?”
Taryn nodded and led the way, darting from one shadow to the next. As he moved, he had difficulty suppressing the urge to run. With its red lights and scattered stones, an intangible darkness permeated the castle. The scent of decay mingled with the mold, heightening his feeling of panic. Forcing it down, he reached the last alcove and slid to the shattered remnants of a door. A glance assured him that no one was on the other side, so he stepped through, motioning for the others to follow.
The red light seeped into the ground and walls of the ancient training grounds they faced. Several hundred feet across, the flagstones were littered with bricks and rotting weapon stands. Taryn swallowed as he scanned the area, an increasing dread crawling across his skin. On the other side of the yard, he could see where the gate to the north courtyard had once stood. With the supports gone, the entire wall had collapsed, leaving no easy way past.
“Want to backtrack and try to go around the other way?” Liri whispered, jerking her head the way they had come.
Siarra shrugged and turned to back through the opening, but just as she took a step towards it, the stone under their feet quivered. Taryn darted into the shadows with everyone else, checking every opening around them, fighting the surge of fear.
At first nothing presented itself, but a moment later the ground vibrated again, stronger than before. As loose stones fell from the keep, Siarra turned to them, her expression wide as she hissed, “We have to get under cover!”
“Why?”
“What is it?”
“Where can we go?” Liri asked, her eyes searching the alcoves and dilapidated barracks.
Trin pointed towards the keep, his voice reluctant as he said, “The door is open . . .”
“That's not a good idea,” Mae growled.
Without warning a thundering roar shattered over them, shaking the ground and causing Taryn to flinch. For several seconds he stood frozen, fighting to contain his fear as the reverberations faded into a tense silence.
“We have to get inside the keep!” Siarra barked in a harsh whisper.
“Are you sure—,” Jack said.
Kell shifted, his deep voice rumbling with unease, “It feels like a—.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Siarra hissed. Then her eyes lifting upward. “Go! Now!”
Jack opened his mouth to respond, but she had already launched herself from the alcove. Sprinting, she raced towards the keep with the others scrambling in her wake.
Taryn burst into the open, his question dying on his lips as he saw an enormous shadow sweep across the cavern roof. Throwing a look up, his breath caught as he saw a massive black dragon bank out of a curve and plummet towards them.
— a harsh, high-pitched roar boomed throughout the cavern, rattling stones loose and causing Taryn's heart to thunder in his ears. Glancing back as he neared the doorway, he saw the black dragon’s mouth open. Black flames streaked towards him, closing the distance far faster than he thought possible. Galvanized into action, he threw himself across the intervening space and lunged through the door.
Just as he landed in the darkness, the ground rose up behind him, closing off the portal and taking the brunt of the attack. Even from inside, the thundering dragon could be heard, bellowing his rage as he slammed into the ground outside. Clawing at the keep, it sought an opening. Roaring its challenge, it launched itself back into the air, leaving the group trembling in the silent dark.
Taryn heard someone breathing hard, and then realized it was him. Taking a deep breath against the tingling fear, he blinked as a ball of light flared above them.
“Excellent job, Siarra,” Liri said, panting, “But that acid fire won’
t take long to eat through the stone.”
“I didn’t close it,” Siarra said, her voice hollow. “Just as I was about to—.”
Taryn’s eyes flew to his sister, but her eyelids had begun to flutter. “Siarra!” he yelled, darting to her side in time to catch her as she collapsed.
“You must . . . out of . . . here,” she mumbled, her eyes closing. “Sleeping spell . . . too strong . . .”
Taryn’s eyes widened in horror as he watched Siarra slip into an unnatural slumber. Then he heard a thump, and wrenched his gaze from her in time to see the massive body of Kell strike the ground.
“It was a tra . . .” Mae said, slumping into the arms of Trin.
Trin eased her to the ground, yelling and shaking her form. Then his voice cut off as he collapsed next to her.
Liri and Jack had drawn their weapons, but they clattered to the floor as first one, and then the other were hit by the sleeping spell. Laying Siarra down, Taryn managed to catch Liri as she lost her strength.
“I’ve . . ." she said before succumbing and going limp.
Helpless, Taryn bellowed his frustration. Then he felt the tug of sleep yank his mind downwards. Feeling like he hadn’t slept in weeks, his eyelids drooped, too heavy for him to hold up. His strength waning, he eased Liri’s still form to the floor, cradling her to him.
Siarra’s light spell began to fade and the darkness crept closer. Swaying, Taryn fought the encroaching darkness, but there was nothing left. Even as he called on his limbs to respond, they didn’t answer.
As his eyes closed, he saw a door open and twisted fiends leap towards them, howling in gleeful delight . . .
Day 2
Chapter 5: Behind the Lines
“It’s time for you to get some rest commander,” Newhawk said, approaching behind Braon.
Wearily Braon turned and blinked at the charismatic druid before looking to the enchanted ceiling to gauge the time of night. The lines had switched hours ago, and he had chosen to stay through the transition. By now it would be almost dawn. Nodding at his second in command, he asked Thacker to inform all his generals that Newhawk would be in command for the next few hours. Rather than going to his quarters, he moved to the room that had been his office throughout the gathering. A small cot had been placed there at his request, and he collapsed onto it, welcoming the immediate sleep.
