Miko allowed the quivers produced by James’ crossing to subside before he crossed over. This time he landed much more balanced and kept his feet.
They were close to the pit now. The rising structure was definitely organic; its sides could be seen undulating ever so slightly. Dark green veins coursed throughout the outer skin. Making their way to the pit’s edge, they discovered the structure vanished into the darkness below. All along the sides as far down as the light would reach, anchor lines held the structure in place.
James stood at the edge and peered down. “That’s a ways.” He glanced to Miko. “Can’t even see the bottom.”
“The Star is down there,” he said with absolute surety.
“Wouldn’t we be able to see its glow from here?”
Miko shrugged. “I do not know.” Closing his eyes, he felt the Star’s presence. “It is waiting.”
“We could use those anchor lines to climb down. Not sure how this thing is going to take us clambering all over it.”
Just then the structure gave a shudder. James and Miko backed away from the edge; all the while looking for the cause. A bulge appeared in one of the six large tubes where it connected to the main structure. Unlike the others, this one was being pushed outward. It traveled through the main tube, making its way past several of the smaller conveyance tube branchings.
James hopped over a tube to avoid losing sight of the traveling bulge.
At roughly fifty feet from the pit, it came to a short off-shoot extending less than five feet from the main tube and having a diameter over half again that of the conveyance tubes. The bulge slowed its progress then stopped just before the off-shoot. A shudder went through the tube and it throbbed like a heartbeat along the area surrounding the bulge.
Green ichor oozed from the end of the short off-shoot as the bulge was pushed into it. Then a flood of the green fluid was expelled as a slimy mass squeezed its way out. It plopped onto the ground with a squish.
“What is that?”
James ignored the question for it began to move.
An outer membrane split open and an animal’s leg emerged; another quickly followed. Then came a head with four stalks upon it.
“A stalker,” James said. “This is where they come from.”
It stood on wobbly legs, took several hesitant steps, then headed out toward the Waste. It got two feet before a stone took it down.
James turned to Miko. “Couldn’t just let it walk out.”
Miko nodded.
Moving to the pool of green ichor, James asked, “Can you tell if this is radioactive? Or at least has a higher concentration of radiation than this area?”
Morcyth’s glow surrounded Miko, then extended to the green ichor. It remained for several moments before vanishing.
“I would say the concentration is very high.”
James nodded. “Then we should try to avoid coming into contact with it. These suits will protect us from heightened ambient radiation but I doubt how well they will do if they were deluged with it.”
Miko’s gaze turned toward the large structure filling the pit. “That is full of the stuff.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“And if it should rupture or otherwise expel the green ichor while we are down there…?”
“Then we would die.”
Miko considered the structure. “Perhaps you should stay topside while I go down.”
About to argue the point, James took a second look at the anchor lines he would have to climb down, then back up. “You may be right,” he finally said.
“Make sure nothing sneaks up on us,” Miko said. “If you are up here, you will also be in a good position to see if this thing decides to do something unpleasant.” He jerked a thumb at the structure.
James nodded. “Just be careful. Those gloved hands are not going to work as well as your own hands.”
“I figured as much.”
Moving to the side of the pit again, Miko looked for a viable way down. The anchor lines were spaced fairly evenly in a rotating pattern. Looked as if each successive level of them were skewed slightly out of line with the ones immediately above and below. He sat on the edge of the pit near one connecting to the pit wall only a foot below the top and set his foot on it. Firm yet pliable, it took his weight without snapping.
“Here I go.”
“Good luck.”
“Be back up before you know it.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Miko slowly worked his way down through the tiers of anchor lines. By the fifth, Morcyth’s glow surrounded him to provide a little light.
James watched from the top. It looked as if the pit went down quite a ways; the glow had yet to reach the bottom.
Testing each hand-grip, Miko would make sure it was secure before stepping down to the next level. The anchor lines were not slick, but the plastic coverings of his feet and hands made the descent treacherous at best. By the time he had reached the sixth level, his feet had slipped out beneath him twice and his hands had lost their grip no less than three times. Reflexes developed on the streets of Bearn proved adequate to the task and he had been able to recover.
After Miko’s fourth nearly fatal slip, James was glad he had decided to remain on top. The way down would have been bad enough; trying to come back up would have been a nightmare for him.
He alternated between observing Miko’s progress and scanning the horizon for trouble. The structure seemed oblivious to Miko’s encroachment into its lower regions. It quivered at one point and caused him no end of worry, not until the tell-tale bulge emerged from the central structure and traveled to one of what he thought of as a birthing port. He dropped the stalker that emerged and returned his attention to Miko who by now was more of a glowing form in the shadows.
“Come on,” he murmured. He wished to have Star in hand and be on their way back.
He had the hang of the anchor lines now. Periods of slippage had all but vanished, what remained was manageable.
Green ichor oozed in droplets around the twelfth tier. Dried buildup coated the lower section of the structure and had even somehow managed to coat the anchor lines in places. Maneuvering along the lines to avoid this new, deadly obstacle proved a challenge. The next level of anchor lines was not always situated in a suitable position for him to easily reach; and with the green ichor reducing the available hand and foot holds, he was forced to take more chances than he would have liked. Instead of a steady climb downward, he would have to at times leap laterally in order to gain a position above an anchor line on the next level.
At level twenty-one, he had to do just that. The anchor line directly below him was nearly covered in the green ichor; the one directly to its left held only a fraction. He had to leap laterally to the one above it, then climb down. Only problem was the one he had to leap to was itself fairly covered in the green stuff. One side was relatively clear and he aimed for that section. Readying himself, he leapt.
Soaring through the darkness, he hit the anchor line hard. Arms wrapped around it for dear life, he stayed his momentum and kept from falling to the depths below. Taking a moment to recover his balance, he continued holding on while turning his attention to the anchor line on the level below where he planned to go to next.
Had to scoot left half a foot in order to avoid a smear of green ichor on the one below. Moving a hand leftward, he felt the anchor line drop downward a miniscule bit. Eyes darting to where it adhered to the wall, he saw that it had begun to come loose. His impact must have dislodged it somewhat.
Very slowly he scooted his hands to the left; first one hand, then the other. Inch by inch he worked his way over. Each time he felt the anchor line shift ever so slightly with his movement. Then just as he reached a point where it would be safe to descend, the anchor line gave way.
Miko let go of it, twisted and came down hard on the one below. Again, a death-grip saved his life.
Above him, the anchor line hung nearly vertical from wh
ere it remained attached to the structure. Green ichor ran down the line from where its dislodging from the wall and subsequent new downward angle had ruptured the outer surface to the end and the ichor now dripped precariously close to where he hung.
Spying the next anchor line to which he needed to go, he saw it had most of its surface clear of the ichor and swung down to it. From his new perch, Morcyth’s glow revealed the bottom of the structure. Not much below that was the bottom of the pit. It was clear that filling the bottom was a pool of the green ichor. One more section of anchor lines remained below where he hung.
The main surface ended in a curvature that was symmetrical. However, there was a tumor-like protrusion extending downward for another five feet. It was about two feet in diameter, pale and slightly luminescent. The protrusion throbbed and vibrated in regular intervals leading Miko to believe this may in some way be its heart.
About to descend to the final level, he paused when something tugged at the back of his mind. It was the Star, and it was very close. Gazing to the ichor-filled bottom of the pit, he wondered how he would manage to retrieve it without losing his life. The pool of green ichor could very well continue down for a long ways; only one way to know for sure.
Summoning the power of Morcyth, he sent his senses down into the green pool. The liquid turned out to be only a few feet deep, but the Star was not in it. Then his gaze turned toward the protrusion and its luminosity. Sure enough, he sensed the Star within, lying a third of the way up from the bottom of the growth. Furthermore, now that he was concentrating on it, and being so close, he could tell that this thing that filled the pit fed off the Star’s power. To take the Star would in all likelihood kill it, or at the very least seriously hamper its ability to flourish.
How to take it? Now that was a problem. Any incision made to retrieve the Star would assuredly cause copious amounts of green ichor to be expelled. It would be all but impossible to avoid contact, and James’ words as to the lethality of such an eventuality stayed his hand.
The anchor line he stood upon connected to just above the tumor-like growth. Those just below hooked to the section which contained the Star.
Indecision stayed his hand. So he did what he had done the last five years when the road proved unclear; closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and sought Morcyth’s guidance.
“What is he doing down there?”
The glow was now far below. James had watched Miko traverse the layers of anchor lines until all he could see was the movement of Morcyth’s glow. He glanced to the structure rising out of the pit. Where had it come from?
That question had plagued him ever since first encountering it. It was unlike anything he had seen on this world, or Earth for that matter. Was it natural? Left behind after the destruction of Ith-Zirul? Planted here by a malignant entity as yet unknown? No time to waste worrying about the whys and wherefores, he put aside the question for the present.
Every few minutes, another bulge made its way in along the conveyance tubes. Twice since Miko had begun his descent, bulges had emerged from the main body of the structure to travel outward through the large main tubes. One passed from view while the second traveled to a nearby off-shoot and another stalker was expelled. James dropped it as he had the ones before.
The area remained clear of stalkers and any other creature for that matter. Aside from himself and the intermittent bulges, nothing moved. He returned to the pit’s edge.
“Come on,” he mumbled, looking down to the stationary glow. “Haven’t got all day.”
Peace. Absolute peace and contentment was what he felt. Always did when communing with Morcyth. Neither asking nor begging for help, he merely made his mind a void and opened himself up to whatever his god decided to give. Morcyth had yet to let him down.
Images flashed through his mind; bits and pieces of what was and possibly what was yet to be, he could never be entirely certain. Most came and went making little impression. A few, a very few held strength and power unlike any before.
…the Star lying amidst the shattered ruins of Ith-Zirul…
Miko nodded to himself; the aftermath of Ith-Zirul’s destruction. “Yes, I understand.”
…now enveloped by a cocoon…power being drained…being fed upon…
This thing had come and used the power of the Star to grow and spread.
…he and James running across the desert, the Star in hand…
I will get the Star. But how?
…sun rising with the new day…
Is the sun supposed to be the Star? Unclear.
The visions grew in clarity.
…warmth…hope…rebirth…
…families thriving…
…communities at peace…
…hope, love, and a dawn of brotherhood the likes this world had never seen…
…no beggars for all were fed…
…no sickness…no disease…
Miko’s heart sang to see the ills of the world banished. Then the tone of the visions…changed.
…crops withered…famine…
…stillbirths…deformities…madness…
…corpses in the street…in the homes…everywhere…
…Miko wept in the twilight…bodies and rubble surrounded him for as far as he could see…he was alone…
…the ground shook…fissures opened…light erupted from the fissures…blinding light…
The power of the visions began slipping away.
“That cannot be!” he cried.
Before the visions faded completely, he envisioned standing with blade in hand, James at his side. Like in the previous vision, bodies and rubble littered the surrounding area as far as the eye could see, but this time, they were not alone; others had survived.
Struggling to hold onto the visions in the hopes of gleaning further wisdom proved futile. They slipped away leaving only a sense of great foreboding. What did it mean? Often, Morcyth’s visions left him with a sense of purpose, a sense in which direction he was supposed to go. This time there was only confusion.
The part of the visions that remained steadfast in his mind as a true course of action was of him and James running through the desert with the Star. In that, he knew that he would successfully retrieve the Star. Didn’t tell him how to do it however. Miko had known it would be a longshot in any event; communicating with gods was never like a regular conversation. James once commented that the mind of a god could hardly work like the mind of a man, so any actions predicated upon that supposition would assuredly be in error.
First thing first; get the Star. There would be time later for vision pondering. Putting them aside, he got back to the task at hand.
One thing he had learned that would help him now was that the tumor-like growth was not an abnormal extension. Rather, it was the creature itself. Everything else, the structure rising above them and the conveyance tubes were constructs it crafted whereby it could propagate and thrive. Like a plant putting forth limbs and leaves to gather nutrients, this creature put forth conveyance tubes and stalkers.
A few moments contemplation left him with the realization that there would be no way in which to retrieve the Star without coming into contact with the green ichor.
“There’s nothing for it,” he said to himself.
After saying a small prayer for Morcyth to watch over him, he drew his sword and plunged it to the hilt through the outer skin of the creature several inches above where the Star lay.
“Have half a mind to go down there and hurry him along,” James mumbled to himself.
The glowing form of Miko had remained stationary for some time. Twice he had picked up a stone and considered dropping it in the hopes of having it land on Miko, thus knocking him out of whatever reverie might have claimed him. Worry of damaging the radiation suit stayed his hand.
Then another thought occurred to him. What if Miko’s suit had become damaged? Or what if the radiation down below was of such a high concentration that the suit failed to shield him properly? He co
uld be dying or already dead!
James paced back and forth along the edge, alternating glances to the sun growing ever lower in the sky, to the surrounding area for any movement, and to the glow down below. On his fourth pass along the lip, he sent his senses down to the depths. No sooner had he begun than his skin started to tingle and tingle hard. A vast shimmering field had sprung to life in the sky above him. He managed to cancel his spell before it could be altered.
“Damn!” he cried.
The shimmering field quickly dissipated as had the tingling. He couldn’t do anything to help Miko; not without running the risk of making the situation worse. There was only one option remaining. Crouching down, he sat on the edge of the lip and made to descend to the first anchor line.
He set a foot upon it and flashbacked to gym class; they weren’t pleasant memories. About to continue, he felt the anchor line shudder; then detach from the side of the pit. James scrambled back from the edge as the anchor line fell away.
The entire structure rising out of the pit shuddered in powerful convulsions. Cracks formed and green ichor oozed forth; in a couple places it jetted out in lengthy streams.
A quick glance below showed that Miko was on the move. Not only that, but the glow had increased tenfold. James grinned, He’s got the Star.
Shudders rocked the structure time and again. More and more fissures cracked opened, spilling forth more of the green radioactive ichor. One crack opened directly before him and only a quick dive to the right saved him from being doused by a large stream.
Coming to his feet, he noticed tremors coursing throughout the system of conveyance tubes. A two-foot crack ruptured in one nearby. James danced back to avoid the growing pool of green ichor. Another nearly split apart from a violent series of spasms; green ichor fountained in all directions.
Tides of Faith: Travail of The Dark Mage Book Two Page 43
