For the third time they came upon the Nelroar River, though not so distant nor brisk as the last, though a cool breeze drifted from its water to meet them, and forced Stryka and Hal to each carry a torch for everyone’s comfort. A large constructed bridge crossed the serrated chasm and was their only means of crossing to a path ahead that ascended constantly. The tired company took rest for the arduous climb, Landau's legs had never known such fortitude, after days traipsing the stone floor his feet ached and were swollen. He was bewildered that Vhalen could endure such strength to contest the more youthful, even with such little rations to sustain them. Nuts tasted foul beneath the mountain, Landau couldn’t explain why, but they did, when meal time came few were excited to feast despite their hunger, for all desired a hearty meal. They had lost all knowledge of time, departed from the sky for so long, they continued up the rising path, delighted with the thought of climbing higher to distance themselves from the dark depths of the mountain, and Landau did his best to keep pace.
Ahead a tiny ray of sunshine poured from the mountain canopy, and Vhalen abruptly stopped, and let his staff dim its flare, for the sunlight shone upon an ominous stronghold. They all paused to gaze upon the abandoned stronghold that stretched the entirety of the cavern, there was no going around it.
Thousands of bricks of pearl white formed a wall on the edge of a narrow chasm, where a large arch bore entrance in its center. Landau was startled, for beneath him a skeleton corpse lie mercilessly against the rocks, shattered into pieces.
"There's no other path which we can take," Vhalen concluded. "Ready yourselves."
The company unsheathed their weapons and moved forward to the entrance. The chasm divided the mountain and stronghold like a moat of twilight, with a wide slab of concrete the only thing that linked them, while tattered banners hung stagnant off the battlements, their Imperial logo now faded and scarred. Vhalen led them into the courtyard, and by Jema’s side Landau clung tightly to his arm, as all of them stopped to adjust their eyes to the devastation around them.
"Keep your calm Landau," Jema whispered.
The stronghold was vast. The northern wall stretched far from the south, and upon entering grand manor sized buildings were forsaken to their right. Within the courtyard a giant fountain towered in its center, surrounded by four large braziers spaced evenly around its girth. What warmth and light they once would've brought now lay decimated, and charred skeletal bodies now piled over them. The fountain was filthy and the water thick, and all around them the bones of the deceased littered the pavement, the smell so foul the company could hardly bear it.
Stryka was the last to cross the bridge, peering down below into the abyss where skeletal remains were hauled and disposed of, some caught in the crevice walls, while the rest stacked in the hundreds below. Living quarters had been destroyed and shops abolished, the further they proceeded the more horrible the destruction became. Wherever they stepped, remnants of a skeleton lay scattered across the blood-stained tiles, above them corpses dangled from the ceiling, be it from noose or hook or cage, their decayed bodies exuded torment.
"Such evil in this world," Hal couldn't bear it. "The eyes of man were never meant to look upon such horror."
Landau thought himself brave to witness the carnage, but his trepidation was too great. On the eastern wall another large archway presented a path to the lower levels, while a towering palace dominated the western wall, though none dare venture near it, for it was the likely tomb of Khasta Stuhl.
In the northern wall between a tavern and stable was the path out, their greatest fear realized to notice the rampart collapsed on either side, and two enormous turrets had fallen in its opening. Brom placed his axe on the ground and attempted to shift the large debris, but even his strength produced little effect.
"Come, help me with this," he asked. Through the wreckage there was no escape, the stone was heavy and the battlements were too high to climb over, alas nobody was tempted to explore an alternate path.
"It appears deserted," Jema speculated.
"We would be foolish to think so," Vhalen uttered, his mind stirred in the evil of the mountain.
Hal and Sam joined Brom to clear the stone clutter, but distant noises echoed in their worries, and Lyeanna's eyes focused on every window and doorway in search for a threat. Even Raminus stood idle, in anticipation of an unknown danger, for the terror before him was greater than even he had ever attested. Brom strained with bulging muscles to shift the walls of the turrets that covered the way out, but even with the men's help it barely budged. They took a breather to evaluate their options.
"This will take some effort to clear a way through," Brom panted. "A test we can do without."
"We cannot stay idle for long," Lyeanna warned them.
"Well ye be welcome to help us sister."
"If we can make our way to the top of the wall and find some rope we could climb our way over," Halwende suggested, though Landau dreaded the thought of such a steep descent.
Stryka waved his torch across the fallen soldiers, spread across the dilapidated market square, and came upon a fallen warrior's cloven shield and sword. The weapon appeared in good condition, as though the soldier never had the chance to swing it. He flicked the sword to his hand with his foot to survey the blade, before he wedged it into his sheath, under the scrutiny of Jema.
"Hey if you're not going to give me a sword, then this will make do," he complained. Jema sneered before he continued to assess the wall.
Landau stood useless to help when he heeded a faint crack, his head twisted quickly to assess the noise. Nobody gave it attention, save Stryka who spun with his torch out in front. The mountain was stirring, and though Stryka gave it no mind, Landau listened intently.
Again the clattering ensued, to the attention of all, for the bones of a skeleton began to twitch on the floor, and moved as though pulled by some invisible force. They scraped together to reconnect until its skeletal body stood on its feet, clutching a damaged shield as its weapon.
"Look out!" Landau yelled to Stryka, who swung at its ribcage with his torch, shattering it from its legs to soar down the courtyard.
Suddenly in haunted unison the skeletal remains that encompassed them re-gathered themselves, bones fused together and stood before them in ghostly horror. Terror spread through the fellowship’s skin as the skeletons grinded their teeth in anger, grabbing any rusted, discarded weapon they could manage, even if it was wedged into their very corpse.
"Protect the boy!" Vhalen shouted, and the skeletal army dragged their feet towards them.
Jema and Vhalen guarded Landau with Halwende, who handed him his shield to hide himself behind, before he pulled free his second blade to duel-wield their undead attackers. Lyeanna unleashed her arrows to any who drew near, aiming at their legs to prevent them from moving closer, yet even with only a torso did they endure to claw their way toward them. Jema stood adamant before Landau, and with Aurora in his grip he demolished all that came near him, and though Landau tried to peek at the carnage, the barrage of bone shards splintered his shield, and forced him to cower in helplessness.
In front Brom wielded his mighty battle-axe with one stern hand and blasted bones into fragments with each merciless stroke, the weight of his axe cleared numerous corpses with each angered swing, yet they offered no relent.
Beside him Stryka was fearless, his hair flailed wildly and his body was a blur, his face undaunted as he cleaved a path through the horde of skeletons, his sword and torch on target as he drove the undead away from Landau.
Raminus resigned in wielding his daggers, and instead revealed a hidden blade, no bigger than a short-sword, from beneath his wrist. His moves were sharp and simple, and a hunger burned in every blow as one by one corpses collapsed before him.
Vhalen fended them off with the length of his staff, Sam's spear proved useful, though the constant onslaught started to weary him. The skeletons continued to charge, swinging their weapons recklessly, and offered n
o defense, though their strength came in their ruthless pursuit. Each time bones shattered they re-assembled like cursed magnets, some disfigured and unseemly, whatever empowered them to maintain their assault.
"There's too many of them!" Hal shouted. "We cannot hold this forever!"
Brom and Stryka continued their carnage by the fountain, when the giant skeleton of a horse charged aimlessly towards them and thumped Stryka to the ground. Brom's axe slammed upon it from above, and the heroes shielded themselves from the explosion of shattered bones. Lyeanna pulled arrow to ear and fired it past Stryka's head to delay his attackers as he re-gathered his footing, sending a skull rolling out across the stronghold bridge, where down in the abyss a thousand skeletal corpses all clambered over each other in an effort to scale the chasm.
The army became relentless, from every door and corner they converged, even the decrepit corpses that hung from the ceiling writhed in frustration to free themselves. On the western wall the doors of the palace pounded, from atop the battlements several undead wielded a bow, and though their aim was dire, the fellowship was exposed.
"Vhalen we must leave!" Jema shouted, but where was his worry. Landau continued to cringe at the sound of crushing bone. "Brom, Stryka, Raminus, let's go!"
Vhalen grabbed Landau and headed for the stone stairs through an arch in the wall that led to a turret, with Sam and Lyeanna in his wake. Brom and Raminus rushed behind them while Jema, Hal and Stryka stood shoulder to shoulder, slowly backing towards the entrance to give them cover.
The three used their incredible skill of the blade to deter the enemy. Jema's claymore was sharp, and his arm still capable, and he hammered his foes with no restraint. Hal sliced his opponents with either hand, whilst Stryka's blade was a flurry of force. They regressed to the stairwell, suspended in a cylindrical tower. Upward a swarm of skeletons rallied upon them from the top of the turret, and forced the heroes to retreat downward. Landau gripped Hal's shield tightly as Vhalen ran down as hastily as the stairs would allow. The fellowship were quick to outpace them, and forced the skeletal demons to plunge down the stairwell walls, and crash to the lower levels beneath, gathering at the bottom to meet them. If Lyeanna's arrow didn't break them then Brom's axe did, the company focused on scaling the decrepit stairs with haste, eventually descending into a large hallway below, straight and broad, scattered with crumbling debris. Stryka at the tail ran at Halwende's back, the deluge of the deceased was overwhelming, and forced them to outrun it.
Through the cracks in the walls the undead emerged to give Landau a fright, the fellowship swung their weapons quickly and never stopped running. Barracks and living quarters dominated the lower levels, and from every room undead lunged upon them, but the company relented their skirmish and sprinted down the corridor. Behind them a thunderous sound blasted through the stronghold and forced their gaze, for skeleton after skeleton plummeted down the spiral stairwell like a waterfall of bone from the courtyard above, and crashed into the hard stone floor.
The bones once more joined together, but to the company’s horror the insanity of the undead presented itself, when the skeletal pieces formed one giant deformed skeleton. Like an avalanche it charged through the hall, a mix of bones and skulls and flailing weaponry molded together that rolled towards them. Landau was frightened, for the sound was deafening and knifelike. Vhalen urged the others forward as he stood before it. Poised he settled, and clutched his staff with both hands, the higher he raised it the more it began to quiver in his grasp. Stryka moved to grab him, but Jema halted him, the colossal debris of undead drew close before Vhalen swung his staff like an axe to the ground, and with it a torrential wind blasted the skeletal horde down the hall in an entangled wreckage. Like an invisible wave the undead washed out of sight, and the decaying walls crumbled around them.
"That would've come in handy earlier," said Brom.
"My magic is drawn from life and light, and I am void of such things here in this cursed mountain," he replied with exhaustion. "Quickly now, we must flee."
With only Stryka's fading torchlight to guide them they hurried down the corridor, noticeably removed of doors or crossroads, one that lead to a greater darkness. Jema stopped them, for here he could see no further, and behind him the waking undead had ended their pursuit.
"What mischief be this? Where have they gone?" said Brom.
"Perhaps they've fallen back," Halwende proposed, though Jema did not favor such fortune.
"They would be foolish to do so. We cannot endure their onslaught for long, powered by some relentless evil. Perhaps they are blocked from us."
"Which leaves us trapped in here then," Raminus stated.
The longer they lingered a smell devastated them and forced many to cough in its offensive presence. Scattered across the floor in the dim light were the shredded carcasses of bats and other vermin, the bones of men dwelled here also, though remained inanimate. Once more Stryka removed a vial from his bandolier with his flint knife and rod, sparking a flame to arouse his torch with more fire. In the darkness ahead a soft sneeze whispered in the twilight, followed by the rattling of heavy iron.
All peered into shadow, Vhalen with limited strength illuminated his staff once more, and in the growing light they found themselves in an old prison, with bars bent and broken, lining the scratched and time-worn walls. The glow of his staff traveled to the far wall, and a silhouette emerged, growling in irritation of the light.
Landau cowered when it revealed itself, three times the size of Brom it loomed, and stood on two hoofed legs with the torso of man, covered in fur. The head resembled a bull apart from two withered tusks, and a pair of large ivory horns that protruded from its side. Its hairy skin was ravaged with decay and blight, its leg imprisoned in a thick iron shackle left it scarred and covered in dry blood, and it hungered toward them wielding a rusted, chipped axe.
"Vhalen…what is it?" Landau frightfully questioned.
"A Minotaur," he replied startled. "Such creatures do not dwell in the darkness of the mountain." All were readily armed before Vhalen opted to converse with it. "Creature of the Horerrim, Lord of the Yanal Mountains, we bid you no malice!"
"What are you doing?!" Jema protested, yet Vhalen ignored him.
"Lay down your weapon and we shall do the same."
The Minotaur sneered at them while the others stood attentive to the wizard’s conduct. Vhalen gazed upon it with a gentle face, but the Minotaur grew restless, and breathed heavily, before it erupted a loud roar that resounded through the decaying prison.
"What is it?" Sam worried, and Vhalen hung his head in defeat.
"He's hungry."
The Minotaur could not contain its reluctance any further, and with a fierce downward swing it hammered its axe between them, the impact cracked the pavement and knocked them from their footing. Lyeanna released her arrows, and their bodkin tips lodged into the Minotaur’s skin, yet did little to deter it. The beast's rapid agility forced them all against the prison wall, and it now stood braced at the entrance to prevent their escape. Hal and Jema protected Landau in a corner, where its shackle could not reach, though Halwende now wielded his shield, for the Minotaur swung wildly, and no blade could parry its blow. Raminus from afar launched his daggers into its neck, and in its struggle Stryka chanced his sword, slicing at its knee and burning the wound with his torch. Lyeanna dabbed her arrow in the oil and put the tip to Stryka's torch flame, firing it square into the creature's chest, and it blistered in the impact.
The Minotaur wiped every arrow and dagger from its skin, as though they were thistles, and its vigor only grew. Sam and Landau continued to cower behind Halwende, while Brom and Jema yelled to distract its attention. Vhalen could only shine his light, for without it they were blind. Raminus aimed for its eyes, but so wildly it moved neither he nor Lyeanna could position a crucial blow. Stryka snuck behind it, and jumped to swipe high on its back, but the Minotaur’s chain caught his leg, and hurled him to the ground. The Minotaur turned and rai
sed its axe to devour the mercenary, but with incredible strength Brom charged between them to parry its blow with his own axe, and the clash of their steel was piercing. Stryka rolled away as Lyeanna edged closer to fire an arrow deep into its temple, the blow forced it to stumble toward Landau, Hal and Sam, who now found themselves cornered before the glaring beast. The Minotaur lifted its weapon high to come down on the pair, when Brom and Stryka charged behind it to give a strong pull of its chain, jerking the beast backward, the tip of its axe narrowly scraping against Halwende's shield as it fell.
In the Minotaur’s unbalanced state Jema hacked at its axe-bearing arm, but the back of the Minotaur's hand soon flung him against the tattered bars of a prison cell, while Raminus caught the end of its hoof that heavily burrowed into his stomach. The amazon’s arrows poked it relentlessly, and with malicious craze the Minotaur lowered its head to charge her with its blade-like horns. Barely she evaded the Minotaur as it collided into the wall, and allowed Brom the chance to carve a giant wound into the back of its knee. It stumbled, and the fellowship moved away, yet the beast gave no wail, its aggravation was too great. The heroes grew terrified, for the Minotaur's skin was like armor, and no victorious blow seemed to slow it down.
Across the room Stryka noticed Jema idle against the prison bars, he rushed over to see a mangled iron rod piercing through Jema's blood-soaked doublet, his face was gaunt. Stryka dropped his torch and tried to free him from the bar, and his screams echoed through the prison, everyone was quick to realize his dismay.
"Jema is hurt!" Stryka cried out to the others.
The Secret of Azuron (The Sword Empire Book 1) Page 35
