Shifting Planes- The Complete Box Set

by Jeff Sabean

  “A point well taken, my friend,” Hankish whispered back. “My friends,” he began a bit louder, speaking to the Brewdigger brothers, “I may have some potions of water breathing in my pack, when we are safely out of this water, we will attempt to salvage what we may.”

  “Bah, it ain’t worth it,” Bendiac stated, the disgust in his voice evident. “The wagon were smashed when it landed, and I ain’t fer carryin’ all them shields and swords out o’ this cave and the rest o’ the way to Eskanda. We kin make more, don’t ye doubt it.”

  As the last fragments of the cave-in above were deflected by the barrier, Abugraic let out a slight yelp, getting the attention of his companions.

  “Something bumped me leg,” he stated, embarrassed at his outburst of surprise. “We need to be getting out of the water.”

  “I have that covered,” Mialin stated slyly, as a shimmering green light surrounded her body and she climbed up to stand on the top of the water. “Why swim when we can walk?” she asked, as she waved to her sister, the same light surrounding her. She repeated the process for all present, until all eight were standing on top of the lake as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  They began to walk toward the northern shore of the lake, deciding they should attempt to head toward Eskanda as they searched for a way to the surface, the barrier above them disappearing as Ja’ade began to walk. It was almost a pleasant walk across the surface of the lake, until the first shark fin appeared in front of them.

  “Can’t ne’er be easy,” Bendiac growled, sliding his shield from his back to his left arm and gripping his well-worn axe tightly in his right.

  “Move quickly but carefully,” Aki recommended, “do not forget they can attack from directly beneath without any notice.”

  “Aye, easy for you to say, human,” Abugraic muttered, hobbling on the single crutch that he had maintained in the fall. “Don’t ye leave the cripple behind: if ye let meself die me ghost’ll haunt ye.”

  “No one gets left behind,” Zatus stated seriously, looking at the others as they picked up the pace. “Dead or alive, we all get to that shore. Leave no one as a meal for the sharks.”

  Before he finished his statement, the first shark attacked. It came from the side, mouth wide open in an attempt to attach itself to Mialin’s leg. Snorting with disgust, the lady slapped the side of the shark’s head with her staff, the golden crystal set in the top glowing fiercely as the force of the blow lifted the shark out of the water and sent it flying a dozen feet back the direction it had come.

  “That thing was bigger’n you, lass,” Thrazzoun stated, awestruck.

  “Keep moving,” was all the reply he received, as fins broke the surface in every direction, the sharks circling their prey.

  “I will not be a meal to unevolved Chondri this day,” Ja’ade answered the dwarf with a wink, “and my sister shares my sentiment.”

  “Unevol...” Bendiac began, then paused to sink his axe deep into the skull of a shark that mistakenly swam too close to the angry dwarf. “That’s what these be?”

  Laughing as she loosed a fireball into the water ahead, sending sharks scattering, Ja’ade nodded to the dwarf. “Do they not look familiar, good dwarf? They are simply Chondri without legs or the ability to speak, although the Chondri never seem to be able to do that well anyway.”

  Another fireball erupted into the water to the left, as Mialin growled savagely at the sharks tossed aside by the force of the blast.

  “If you think that was spectacular,” Zatus began, waving his hand to the right side, “watch this!”

  The water to that side began swirling in a counterclockwise direction, picking up speed and everything beneath it at the same time. A waterspout formed, with sharks being sucked in from all sides as it spun wildly out of control away from the group.

  “I’ve seen that movie,” Aki muttered, “I didn't believe it then, and I still don’t now.”

  Laughing as he ran, Zatus made a pushing motion with his hand, and sent the waterspout circling around the rear of the group, sucking up sharks as it went.

  “If they cannot reach us, they cannot bite us, Doc,” he grinned stupidly, then winked as a blast of color erupted in the center of the waterspout.

  “And what, pray tell, was THAT for?” an exasperated Hankish asked.

  Zatus stopped running for a step or two to look at the halfling, his expression showing he considered that question ridiculous. “That, my friend, was because colored lights in a waterspout are pretty.”

  “And I thought me brother was crazy,” Abugraic grumbled, hobbling along on his crutch and occasionally pausing to stick his dagger into the back of any stray sharks that wandered too close to his side.

  ◆◆◆

  The run to the shore proved uneventful: the waterspout circled the group, sucking in sharks and removing them from their path. In between passes of the waterspout, the Xyrstiina sisters took turns launching fireballs into the water to push back any sharks brave enough to attempt a meal.

  With everyone safe on the shore, Zatus waived at the waterspout, which slowed gradually until each shark was returned to the lake unscathed.

  “Well, that was easy,” grinned Aki, “but now how do we get out of here?”

  Ja’ade stepped forward, the crystal on her staff beginning to glow as well. “Just stay close to my sister and me so you don’t get lost in the dark.”

  “I’ll find a way out,” Thrazzoun stated as he began walking toward the wall of the cave that was visible past the beach they were standing upon.

  “He ain’t much fer fightin,” Bendiac explained as the group fell in behind the dwarf, “but he can find a fleck of mithril in a ton of rock. If there be a way out, that ‘un will find it.”

  As if to prove his brother correct, the dwarf had already found a tunnel leading away from the beach before even reaching the wall. The tunnel had a slight downward slope, but after pausing in the entrance of the tunnel for a moment, the dwarf nodded his head and started down.

  “Fresher air coming from this way,” was all he said as he moved on.

  “Fresher than the huge hole in the ceiling of the cave?” Hankish asked.

  “Fresher’n the other two tunnels we passed and you ain’t seen,” Bendiac laughed, pushing past the startled halfling and following his brother down the tunnel.

  “Keep your eyes open,” Zatus said quietly, “there is something down here that doesn’t feel right at all.”

  “You mean like falling into an underground lake filled with sharks? In ‘Florida’? What could feel not right about this?” Aki complained, following the dwarves into the tunnel.

  The tunnel leading from the cave was unworked, with loose rocks littering the way and boulders sticking out from the walls at every angle, which sometimes made it difficult to navigate. The smell of rotting fish wafted down to them from the direction of the lake, getting fainter as they continued underground.

  A short time later, they reached a fork in the path and paused.

  “Douse the lights,” Thrazzoun requested, looking back and forth between the two possible paths, a confused expression on his face.

  As the lights disappeared, a faint glowing became visible from the path on the right, while the left side remained dark.

  “Why the confused look?” Zatus asked, his eyes glowing faintly silver in the darkness.

  “The path with the light leads deeper underground; the dark path has fresher air,” Thrazzoun stated simply.

  “Meaning the dark path leads out eventually, but there is light coming from the path that doesn’t,” reasoned Aki, nodding his head in the darkness.

  “Aye, human, that be the long ‘n short of it. Do we go out, or discover what’s down ‘ere?” Bendiac questioned.

  “Might be loot from highwaymen or pirates,” Ja’ade whispered slyly. “That would be worth losing the Brewdigger fortune....” She left the rest of the sentence hanging, the seductive tone in her voice causing every head to turn toward th
e faintly glowing tunnel.

  “Well, it couldn’t hurt to take a tiny look, could it?” Hankish asked innocently.

  “Took the words out o’ me mouth,” Bendiac answered before anyone else could argue against the treasure hunt. When none disputed the plan, he took his brother by the shoulder and nudged him toward the right side.

  “Just be careful,” Aki whispered at his back as he headed off toward the light, “if there is a light, there is someone using that light...”

  “Ye best be lettin’ me lead fer a while,” Abugraic stated, leaving no room for debate. “I know, me leg ain’t healed yet, but I won’t be trustin’ me neck to none o’ ye to find traps laid fer looters.”

  With that, he swung his single crutch ahead of him like a club, whacking his companions to the left and right until a hole was cleared for him.

  “Now, we’ll move slowly, so keep yer lights low for the humans,” Abugraic warned, hobbling forward as quickly as possible, the only sound coming from the dwarf being the light tap of the crutch when it connected with the ground.

  ◆◆◆

  Half an hour later, the tunnel around the group began to smooth out, showing signs of being worked by an intelligent being. Abugraic slowed the pace more, his nervousness becoming evident the more the tunnel smoothed and the brighter the light became. There had been no other forks in the path, and the fact that it was taking so long to find the source of the light was unnerving the group.

  Turning a corner, the rogue fell flat, curling into the fetal position, and weeping profusely, a slight whomp whomp whomp sound drifting around the corner to where the rest of the group were still catching up.

  Instantly, Mialin’s crystal flashed to life, bathing the area in a golden light, followed a split second by a crimson light as Ja’ade burst into action as well.

  Aki sprinted to the downed dwarf, but before he could assess the casualty, he was hit with a wave of intense paranoia.

  Whomp whomp whomp whomp

  The sound could be felt more than heard.

  He felt panic hit him in the chest like he had never felt in his life, and although he had been trained by the Special Forces to control his fear and use it for his advantage, he found himself laying on the flood beside Abugraic, sobbing like a child. He looked up just in time to see a shadow slithering across the floor toward the two, a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth hanging open. As he watched, paralyzed by fear, the shadow slinked closer, acidic saliva dripping from its jaws and leaving a trail of scorched rock behind as it edged closer to the fallen dwarf.

  Out of the corner of his eye, Aki could just see Thrazzoun sprinting toward him, but he could not warn the brave dwarf in time.

  Whomp whomp whomp whomp

  The sound was getting louder the closer the shadow got to Abugraic, and Aki could not hear anything but the rhythm of it as his chest vibrated in time with the sound.

  Down fell Thrazzoun, struggling to stand back up to reach his fallen comrades, but failing as the two before him had.

  Whomp whomp whomp whomp

  The three on the floor writhed in agony, unable to respond in any way other than utter fear, each picturing his own death and the deaths of his friends.

  Then, out of nowhere, Aki heard a new sound. It was faint at first, but he could hear the strumming of a lute. As the sound of the music grew, the gripping fear rolled off him like water, and he could feel strength returning to his limbs. As he heard Hankish’s voice break through, he felt rejuvenated, hopping to his feet like a man half his age, and ripping his tonfa from his bag where he kept them strapped.

  The shadows curled angrily from his tonfa as he put them in motion, loosening up his muscles from the constricting evil that had permeated them.

  Bright yellow eyes appeared from the shadow as its prey stood up, shaking off the fear that had been holding the three down. It shrank back for a moment, then lurched toward Abugraic in a final attempt to take a bite of the dwarf.

  He rolled to the side at the last moment, still shaking off the temporary paralysis as Hankish played louder and faster, speeding up the recovery of the three.

  Aki slid forward, a blade popping from the side of his tonfa as he swung it into the mouth of the shadow, cutting through the semi-corporeal being in front of him, but doing no real damage. He followed through with an uppercut with his left hand, the spike at the end of his tonfa bursting from the weapon at the time of impact, sticking through the jaw and out the top of the head of the shadow.

  He grinned and retracted the spike, stepping back and beginning to turn to his companions, when a claw swung from his left, digging into his armor and sending him flying into the wall. He looked back to see the shadow shaking its head, the hole from his spike closing as he watched in horror.

  “These must be killed with fire,” Ja’ade scolded, a flame building in intensity in the palm of her hand.

  When the flames turned blue with a bit of white flicking around the edges of the ball, she hurled it at the shadow, smashing it in the face and setting the beast ablaze. Its mouth opened wide in a silent scream as it fell back, burning a permanent shadow shape into the wall behind it.

  “Now that’s not something you see every day,” deadpanned Aki, picking himself up from the floor and heading to check Abugraic for injuries.

  Chapter 9 – Finally Some Treasure!

  The tunnel dead ended into a cave, the walls had been smoothed to some degree by a stone worker, but never finished. Scattered throughout the cave were stalactites and stalagmites, reminding Aki of the razor-sharp teeth that had almost made a meal of him not so long before. In the center of the cave, halfway between the floor and ceiling, a crystal was suspended, shedding light around the area. Adding to the disorienting effect of the suddenly bright crystal, the shadows bounced around the room as the sisters walked with their staves, red and gold light surrounding them, further enhancing the illusion of a mouth full of teeth.

  Noticing his discomfort, Zatus slapped his friend on the leg to get his attention: “Hey, old guy, you ok?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine, just a bit freaked out is all. I’ve never experienced terror like that in my life,” Aki replied, never taking his eyes from the flickering shadows surrounding them.

  “Don’t get soft on me now, Doc,” Zatus replied, smacking his friend in the leg again. “I have a feeling we have a long way to go before we see sunlight again, and I don’t need you acting like a scared kid down here. You understand?”

  Aki slowly turned his head to make eye contact with his friend. “Since when do you talk to me like I’m the kid?”

  “Since you found out I’m twice your age,” Zatus said with a grin, seeing his friend starting to return to normal.

  “Yeah, and half my height,” Aki grumbled half-heartedly. “Now pay attention before I punt you across the room.”

  Abugraic, still leading the group across the cave, came to a sudden stop, waiving back for the companions to do the same. He bent low to the ground, gently sliding his fingers along the edge of a straight section of rock, wiping sand from the edge as he went.

  “What’s that?” Aki asked, looking over the dwarf to the ground in front of him.

  “Shouldn’t be no straight line on the ground in a cave,” Abugraic stated matter-of-factly, implying everyone should know this.

  “I know that, I do have a bit of experience leading teams in combat,” Aki retorted, rolling his eyes at the dwarf. “I asked what it is, not why you are looking at it.”

  “If I knowed that, I wouldn’t be takin me time to not step on it. Now shaddap an let me work,” he grumbled, finishing with something that sounded like “stupid humans,” but Aki couldn’t tell for sure.

  He found the corners of the straight section of stone, carefully wiping away sand as he went. The section in front of him was four feet wide, and he gradually worked his way around the edges and cleared another section about five feet long before hitting another corner. When he finished clearing edges, he had a rectangular piece o
f stone that appeared to be a door that lead straight into the floor, but there was no handle or lock or anything visible.

  “Well, smart guy, there ye have it, a slab o’ rock. You wanna ask meself what it is?” the surly dwarf snarled at Aki.

  “It looks like a trap door, we just have to find the opening mechanism,” Aki replied, staring the dwarf in the eye and daring him to answer flippantly again.

  “Yes, my friends, that is a trap door,” Hankish interjected, calming his volatile dwarf brother. “If you would allow me?” He gently pushed the two back to the sides and stepped closer to the edge of the door, pulling a small flute from the bag on his waist.

  The music began softly, the notes being swallowed by the deep darkness around the halfling. His eyes closed as he concentrated on the song, and gradually increased the volume. The notes of the song seemed to hang in the air, then reverberated off the stone surrounding the group.

  Aki wasn’t sure exactly what was happening, but he assumed the wily bard was using the song as a type of sonar, feeling the vibrations from the stone to “see” what was out of place. As this continued for some time, he found himself wrapped up in the music, feeling the highs and lows of the tempo, and the terror from earlier was swept away as he listened.

  “Man, this guy is good,” he thought, listening intently. "The VA hospital could use someone with his talent back home...”

  Thinking of home snapped him out of the semi-trance state he had slipped into as he listened to Hankish play.

  “Too bad, that was kinda cool.”

  The song ended, and Hankish opened his eyes slowly, his vision slowly panning the stalagmites around the door.

  “There,” he stated, pointing to the furthest from them. “Clear me a path to that one, brother.”

  Abugraic, still grumbling despite the calming effect of the music, led his brother around the outside of the door, slowly searching for any sign of traps as he weaved his way around the rocks and sand on the floor. When he reached the appointed rock formation, he stepped to the side to allow his brother access.