Box of Runes An Epic Fantasy Collection

by J. Thorn

  “Bile rose in my throat and vomit shot from my mouth and onto the uniform of the guard.

  “‘You bastard!’ he screamed.

  “He took the blunt edge of a weapon and struck me in the forehead. Pain stole consciousness from my body. I awoke to a tugging on my sleeve. Another prisoner had entered the cell while I slept.

  “‘Who are you, and what is your rank?’ he asked.

  “‘I do not know what you’re talking about,’ I replied.

  “‘Who is your commanding officer? Where is your regiment?’ he asked.

  “Confusion gripped me, and the lump on my forehead made it difficult to think. I leapt across the cage and grabbed the man by the throat. His eyes bulged as I tightened my grip on his neck. Swift kicks met my legs and groin, but without much force. Life oozed from him.

  “‘You are one evil bastard, aren’t you?’ said the guard as he witnessed the scuffle. ‘You just made yourself dinner. Enjoy it, you piece of shit,’ he said.

  “He expected me to consume the man I had murdered. It would be some time before I felt so intense a hunger, but not as long as I had thought.”

  Chapter 15

  “I consumed the raw flesh of man. It satiated my hunger and seemed to entertain my captors. They took wagers on which parts I would eat and which ones I would not. Every ripping of muscle and tearing of gristle brought fevered responses from the onlookers. It had been more than eight days since I had killed the man, and my survival instinct had taken over. My longing for sustenance knew no boundaries. As I finished my meal, my captors set fire to my cell. Flame and pain weighed on my mortal flesh.

  “Sleep took me and I awoke in complete darkness. A flame caught my eye as another man lit a pipe. Others rustled near me, but they did not speak. I rubbed my hand over my smooth skin, having expected to feel blisters and charred flesh.

  “‘Stop moving or they’ll hear you,’ said a voice to my left. Muffled cries of battle mixed with the intermittent thunder of cannon fire. Hot, putrid words filled my left ear. ‘If they find us, you know what they’ll do, right?’

  “I could not discern whether the speaker was male or female, but I heard the fear and desperation in those words.

  “‘Kill us,’ I answered.

  “‘You will welcome death by the time they’re done with you. You will beg to be killed,’ the voice said.

  “Another voice came from my right, with greater volume. ‘I will put a knife in your heart this very instant if you don’t shut up,’ it said.

  “I tried to stand up and struck a hard surface with the top of my head. The noise echoed in the dark space, and a dozen sets of lungs exhaled fear in response to my movement.

  “‘Over here,’ a voice yelled from outside the cell.

  “The cell spewed wretched odors from the floor, which rose into the air with the prisoners’ movements. My hands reached down into a thick layer of human fluid.

  “A sharp object pierced my right bicep. I could feel hot blood covering my arm. Without warning, a white square appeared above my head, blazing with the fury of the Sun God. Silhouettes of two men appeared within the blaze. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw others in the darkened space, cowering from the opening above. They were dressed in rags and filth, white eyes piercing the black desperation of their faces.

  “The two figures above lifted long weapons resembling swords, and pointed them at us. Fire erupted in short bursts and my chest burned as holes of blood exploded in it. Wounds also appeared on the others. They materialized from nothing, and I could not determine their origin. A stench filled the space as those who were still awake began to cough, and the men who had appeared in the light retreated. A sudden crash rang throughout my head as darkness returned to us. Those sounds floated through the space like spirits of the damned. Men whispered, asking for their mothers. Some made gurgling sounds as if underwater.

  “‘This is your fault. They would not have found us if you hadn’t made noise. I hope you rot in hell,’ said a voice next to me.

  “A hand yanked my head backwards. Cold steel slithered across my neck, and the flowing blood scalded my lungs. I lost consciousness yet again, amidst the dead and dying.”

  “My lord, what you describe sounds impossible,” said Shane.

  “Yes, I realize that it does. However, you do not understand the power of the Dark One. If he so desired, he could snatch you at this very moment. He could take you anywhere, at any time, and do anything to you. The realization of my situation became clear. I was running the ‘gauntlet’ that the dark figure had foretold. I knew not where it began or where it would end. After my eighth trial, I wanted to feel the eternal embrace of death. I cried and screamed every time I woke from the cursed, immortal sleep. Trial after trial involved pain beyond imagining.”

  “How did it end?”

  The Serpent King took a long drag from his pipe and nodded at the first rays of the Sun God. “I will not torture you with the details of my other deaths in the gauntlet. I do not want to relive them through the telling of the tale. Nevertheless, I will give you the resolution your curious mind desires. The dawn of my ninth rebirth would be different. I stood underneath a dying tree on a vast, open plain. The horizon teased me from every direction. Not another living being existed on this plain. Whether the Sun God was beginning his journey or ending it, I could not tell. A four-paned shield hung on the tree, each section a different color: Black covered the top, with blue on the bottom, white on the left, and red on the right. I glanced above the tree and recognized the Light of the Lady on the horizon. She blazed like a beacon in the sky and all the awakening stars bowed to her beauty.

  “From the west, the Light of the Lady wounded one of the stars and it caught fire. The smoking titan fell from its perch, chasing the Sun God beyond the Region of the Dead. My gaze moved from the horizon to the zenith, where I recognized the Star of the North. The tree in front of me shook, leaves dropping from its branches like the tears of a child. The heavens spun as the tree shrunk to the ground, branches and limbs snaking back into the Earth Goddess. When the last of the trunk disappeared, a gaping hole spread outward from where it had once stood. I glanced down into that hole and it chilled my soul. An utter blackness filled the space, so dark that not even hope could escape its clutches. By the time I realized my end in the yawning mouth of doom, it grabbed me and pulled me down. I do not know how far I fell.

  “When I felt a solid substance under my body, my beard had grown to the middle of my chest. My hair rested on the middle of my back and my fingernails had grown to ridiculous lengths. My eyes fought the encroaching light after many unknown suns in complete darkness. A wretched, red glow formed in my vision, a blur of evil crimson. The blackness landed me on top of a rocky outcrop. The red glow came from above, where it had eaten away the blue of the sky. Grey clouds slithered under what I assumed to be the Sun God. Bare, lifeless mountains spread to the horizon. A city sat in the valley of this mountain range, and I peered down into it with the eyes of a god. Even though I stood many leagues from its streets, I could observe movement. The white stone of the structures reflected the amber glow of the alien day.

  “‘Beautiful, isn’t it?’ asked a voice behind me.

  “I knew it to be the voice of the dark figure on the throne. ‘Beauty is measured by its creator,’ I replied.

  “‘You have made your way through the first eight trials of the gauntlet. Many do not get this far. However, your ninth and final trial will be the most difficult of them all. Do you know of the final test?’ he asked.

  “‘I know death’s cold arms cannot hold me in the grave.’

  “‘Maybe some time in the tapestry will help you to remember.’

  “The grotesque images of cannibalism flashed in my head.

  “‘That will not be necessary. What do I need to know of my final challenge?’

  “‘Survive until we speak again.’

  “The dark figure wavered and dissipated into oily smoke. My first thought w
as to sit on the outcrop until he returned, but my better judgment led me to believe more would be required of me to finish the gauntlet.

  “I worked my way down the outcrop, towards the city in the valley. The ground laughed at me from leagues below. I climbed until the Sun God, or his evil twin, sank behind the mountains. Darkness settled on this land with not a single star or beam of light to pierce it. With the night came the cold. I sat at the bottom of the rocky cliff, wrapping myself in rags. The wind tore at my flesh as the cold chill from the ground seeped into my bones. The city mocked me from a distance and sleep came in fits. After a few hours, the sharp ground dug into my soft parts. The Sun God returned to cast his sickly red glow on the barren land.

  “With scraps of leather from my tattered clothes, I tied my beard and hair back. A sharp, oblong stone became a crude weapon. I felt a dead hunger for sustenance from the living; my stomach told me so. A thin reptile ran across my path, and before I realized what had happened, it squirmed in my hand. My arm shot out and grabbed it. I shoved the entire lizard into my mouth and chewed. It squirmed until I clenched my jaw around its slithering body, its bones cracking like whips and the flesh tasting dry as ash.

  “I walked towards the city, and another three reptiles met their fate on the way. The Sun God had journeyed towards the end of his eternal path by the time I came close to the city in the valley. No other living things, besides the reptiles, had shown themselves to me.

  “I could see a massive wall surrounding the city, standing the height of five men. A closed gate and a sentry greeted me upon arrival. The sentry wore blood-red armor, his helmet covered all but his eyes, and the battle-ax he held demanded respect.

  “‘State the nature of your affairs.’

  “‘I must enter the city.’

  “‘He forbids your entrance,’ the sentry replied. His eyes glowed red and he tightened his grip on the battle-ax.

  “‘The Dark One sent me. I am the Serpent King.’

  “‘The Serpent King,’ he repeated.

  “He spun around and turned a stone wheel fixed to the gate. The gate wanted to remain closed and protested with ungodly scraping noises. The sentry stood aside and allowed me to pass, saying nothing and returning his gaze to the mountains on the horizon. I stepped across the threshold and through the Gates of Hell.

  “A courtyard spread out in front of me. Arched stone mouths surrounded the open space, and a fountain of fire roared in the center. Screams of agony escaped the blaze accompanied by an occasional melting face. Man-like creatures scurried everywhere. Most had arms and legs. However, bloody sweat covered their amber skin. Hair had left their bodies long ago, and many had horns rising from their foreheads. Some had wings attached to their backs, full of veins and oozing a slimy substance. The membranes of the wings allowed a distorted view from the other side. Screeches and mumblings ran from the openings on their faces that functioned as mouths. Some engaged in hand-to-hand combat, while others faced each other, conversing in some perverse way. Some tossed lifeless bodies into the fire fountain, and others copulated in the middle of the courtyard. My stomach turned as the reptiles attempted their escape from my body.

  “A claw grabbed my shoulder and spun me around.

  “‘Join me,’ rang in my head. I heard it without my ears. I brought a piece of stone from under my cloak and struck the creature in the head. Blood oozed from the wound as he lay on the ground before me, and I jumped on the creature, pummeling him into a pile of pink flesh. Other creatures gathered to watch the altercation. They appeared to enjoy the combat and dispersed when the creature stopped moving. A few pushed through the milling crowd, picked up my foe, and tossed his body into the fire fountain.

  “I did not wish to challenge every creature in the courtyard, so I walked towards one of the open stone arches. The activity of conversation, combat, and copulation continued as it had before. No other creatures attempted to touch me or to make contact. Torches threw light into the archway, and I took one down to walk deeper into the city. I remembered from my time on top of the outcrop that an entire city lived within these walls and that I had to continue moving towards its center. I walked a hundred paces into the archway, a tunnel. The poisoned red glow of the bastard Sun God stretched towards me from the opening on the other side. I stepped out into a bustling intersection. Creatures, like the ones I encountered in the courtyard, moved through the streets. I saw what I thought to be men, though when I approached one, I saw the unholy white orbs of his eyes. Grey skin stretched across his skull and dried blood caked his mouth. His right arm dangled at a bizarre angle. When he passed, I spotted the shafts of two arrows protruding from his back.

  “The building on my left appeared to be a tavern. Creatures exited the doors with mugs, and music shook its stone walls.

  A creature behind the bar saw me coming and poured a mug of dark liquid for me. ‘Courtesy of the Dark One,’ he said without moving his mouth.

  “‘What is the name of this place?’ I asked.

  “The barkeep’s laughter rattled in my head like shards of broken glass. ‘The Ninth Ward,’ he replied. ‘If you have not figured that out yet, you are indeed a dullard.’

  “My anger rose at his insult, but self-preservation took over and I calmed myself down.

  “‘Would you like some company this evening? I can provide a succubus of the finest caliber.’

  “‘I would like a room this evening. That is all.’

  “‘Oh, so you prefer the rod? Do you give or accept?’

  “I reached across the bar and grabbed the creature by the ears. ‘If you insult me one more time, they will be throwing your body into the fountain of fire. I do not wish to lay with a man. I do not wish to lay with a woman. I want a room. Can you provide one, or not?’

  “The barkeep swatted my hands away with his claws. ‘It can be arranged.’

  “After three mugs of the foul beverage had filled my stomach, I climbed the rickety staircase to a room on the second floor. Artisans had constructed the stairs from human bone. A prison cell would have been more luxurious than that room. A bare mattress hid in one corner and a hole in the floor emitted a brutish stench. A single candle burned on the wall, and though the flame wished to die, it did not. I crawled onto the mattress and my weight dispersed an army of insects into the dark reaches of the room. I knew I would wake here in the morning, that this was not the end of my ninth trial. Sleep came to me in troubled bursts, accompanied by visions of ripping flesh and the living dead.

  “Some time later, two knocks rang from the dry-rotted door.

  “‘Come,’ said a voice from behind it.

  “I slid across the floor. My crude stone weapon found its way to my hand, and I opened the door to an empty hallway. The head of the barkeep disappeared down the stairs, and I followed him. The Sun God pestered the grimy windows of the tavern with his morning rays. Empty mugs littered the floor, not able to mask the smell of stale ale and dried piss. Several bodies of the man-like creatures were frozen in grotesque positions. A set of slimy membrane wings dripped blood into a pool on the floor. The barkeep continued his routine, picking up the mugs and dragging the corpses to a door behind the bar.

  “‘The Dark One sent a summons. He demands your appearance at the coliseum when the Sun God completes his journey,’ the barkeep said, never looking at me. ‘He suggests you entertain yourself until then, as it might be the last journey of the Sun God you ever see.’ A crooked smile flashed on the barkeep’s face and melted back into his hideous flesh.

  “I pushed the door open and stepped outside, taken aback by the bloody heavens. Although my mind knew they would not be there, my heart longed to see the turquoise sky and feel the regenerating breeze of the Eastern Kingdoms. Creatures stirred on the streets; some moved and others stood still.

  “I found another multi-storied structure, where a staircase stretched up to a narrow landing. Four women stood there, making grotesque faces and gestures. They beckoned me to come closer through m
y mind’s ear.

  “‘Enjoy us, Serpent King. It might be your last chance. Use us, take our bodies, and abuse them.’

  “The silhouettes of the women stunned me. Their hair fell down their backs and they sported the curves of lustful creatures. As I climbed the stairs, they appeared to be whores of the finest quality, but with a few exceptions. Each sprouted two black horns on the top of her head, and their eyes turned pure white. They came to me, stroking my hair and chest. A strange burning sensation started in my loins. This was my first experience of lust in my male form. The member that drained my urine grew, causing me great pain until the ache turned into desire.

  “I followed three of the whores into the building. The lobby held a fury of sexual activity. Man-like creatures copulated with the naked sirens. Sometimes, two or three of these creatures ravished a single love slave at the same time. I could not discern whether her cries were those of ecstasy or agony.

  “Following the three women to an unmarked door, my manhood threatened to burst loose. They crawled onto a soiled mattress and massaged each other with their tongues. The woman closest to me dropped to her knees and buried her face between the legs of another. Her ass undulated in front of my eyes. I dropped my coverings, and my member launched itself into the air and stood upright. Instinct guided my manhood towards the love opening of the closest whore. As I split her wet flower, a groan escaped her lips and entered the woman in front of her. I grabbed her tangled hair and pulled until her round bottom slammed into my groin. At that point, she turned to face me. She wore the face of my birth mother.

  “I stumbled out of the room and through the lobby to the sounds of laughter and derision. Every creature pointed at me, cackles vibrating in my skull. I stopped a walking corpse in the street and inquired about the coliseum. After several attempts, I found my answer.

  “‘Walk towards the city center, and you will see it rising above the plaza.’

  “On the way, I spotted two corpses that had been fighting, their lifeless bodies rotting where they fell. Man-like creatures and other living corpses did not attempt to walk around them. Next to a severed hand lay a short sword. I grabbed the sword and a dagger lodged in the other corpse’s throat. It came free with a gurgling sound and bloody ejaculate. I did not know if I would be able to use these weapons, but I felt better with them in my hands.