CHAPTER 14
Standing there waiting for us to follow was…well, a dwarf. Physically, he was just what I imagined from the various fantasy stories that graced the books and movies of my youth. He was a bit taller than Vector, standing around five-foot-three. But unlike our lean elf friend, this man was very stocky. He was almost as wide as he was tall. A knit cap sat on his head in such a way that it reminded me of a helmet. His pale skin showed off small dark eyes, an oversized reddish nose, and long brown beard that he seemed very proud of. Braided into two separate strands, his beard reached almost to his waist. He wore a leather trench coat over a black shirt and pants. The clothes all seemed to be a bit thick and bunchy, which made me think they were some type of Kevlar weave or something. While nothing was visible, I got the impression that he had a few weapons under his coat. His black boots were large and sturdy, dark fur encircling their cuffs. He nodded as we approached and spun on his heel and started walking.
We followed him up and into the main stadium walkway, a wide circular path dotted with closed concession stands, bathrooms, and various entrances to the bleachers. Traveling almost a quarter of the way around the stadium, we finally stopped at a door marked “Authorized Personnel Only”. The dwarf pulled out a set of keys, opened the door, and led the way down. This stairs were clearly still part of the actual stadium as there were florescent lights keeping our path lit. At the bottom was a small but extremely spacious room. It was maybe fifteen by twenty feet, with twelve-foot ceilings and five different doors. Although, to be fair, four of them were what you might traditionally call a door, each bearing a mundane plaque that said things like “storage” or “janitorial.” But the fifth door was clearly something else.
The word door might be a bit misleading. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a large stone slab set into the wall. It reached as high as the ceiling and was easily half that wide. There was no lock, doorknob, or visible markings of any kind on the slab. But even so, it felt very doors-ey. The dwarf walked up to it, pulled a small wooden doorknob out of his pocket, and held it where one imagined it would go. There was a click, a soft yellow glow, and he turned the knob to the right. A slow gravely sound filled the air, like stone was grinding on stone, as the door swung open. Behind it was another stairway. This one was a bit wider and taller than the door itself, and of course it headed down. Torches were burning along the wall and doing a good job of lighting the stairway. After we were all inside, the gravely sound returned to accompany the door sliding shut behind us.
These stairs had a slow curve to the left as they dropped. It was difficult to keep ones’ bearings and I couldn’t be sure exactly how far down we had traveled before they ended. But, it felt like we had dropped a few stories and made a full three hundred and sixty-degree rotation by the time we hit bottom, ending at another large stone door. The dwarf pulled the wooden doorknob out of his pocket and again placed it where one imagined it would go. But this time he turned it to the left before the gravely sound accompanied the door opening. What lay in front of us… was probably the world’s largest basement.
The ceiling was maybe twenty feet high, but the room itself stretched far enough that the other end was difficult to make out. If I had to guess, I’d say it was a little bigger than the field above our heads, although it was square. Torches lined the walls every dozen feet or so and large metal tripods held buckets of fire strategically placed around the room in order to keep things well lit. The sheer volume of fire in this place should have raised the temperature by several degrees, but it was comfortably cool, almost the beginnings of a night chill in the air. The dwarf continued on and we followed.
As we walked, I noted that the stone door we entered through was one of several entrances to this place. I was going to try and count exactly how many, when our path took us by something I could only describe as a cave. It was huge, almost as high as the ceiling, and just as wide as it was tall. Large hieroglyphic and rune-like characters were carved into the rock along its edges, the meanings of which I couldn’t begin to guess. I was trying to imagine which stairway this was, based on our relative position, and since I was curious and I knew Freddy would love to share things, I spoke out loud.
“The East Stairs right?”
“Very astute Mr. Chang, how did you know?” Freddy smiled.
“Spatial awareness and a bit of luck.”
“Two of the more important things in life,” Vector stated, his attention clearly on the symbols by the opening.
“What does it say?”
“You mean this?” Vector pointed at the symbols before speaking in a language the likes of which I’d never heard.
There were maybe a dozen symbols on each side, but it took him so long to read it I wondered if each character represented a sentence. Freddy looked on with interest, his lips moving silently as if he was reading along with Vector. After reading a paragraph of what sounded like German mixed with Chinese and Klingon, Vector finished, nodded, and gave what I imagined was a happy sigh. He was excited and there seemed to be a fair amount of information there. I’ll admit, I was actually curious. He didn’t answer immediately so I asked again.
“So, what does all that mean?”
Vector turned to face me before answering. His eyes met mine and his expression got very serious before he answered.
“It means ‘East Stairs,’” he said.
Kara, Danny, and Erika each turned away in an attempt to hide their laughter. Even Freddy cupped a hand over his mouth in order to hide his amusement. I half thought about joining them when the dwarf who had led us here gave a small chuckle. At that point, I decided they deserved my frown more than my laughter.
“Thanks.”
“No problem,” he smiled.
Freddy, who felt it was his job to solve conflicts and couldn’t help but get excited about sharing knowledge, had to speak up.
“While Mr. Richardson is correct…” Freddy started, before Vector cleared his throat, “I mean, what Hunter…” Again Vector cleared his throat. “Vector?” Freddy tried with a raised eyebrow. Vector nodded and Freddy continued, “As Vector was saying, it does indeed identify itself as the East Stairway. The rest is simply well tidings. A wish for calm and clarity to those who travel the stair of the east and a hope that they will not return this way, but rather find their answers and ascend from the south.”
I looked over at Vector first, “So, I guess you’ve taken to the nickname, huh?”
He shrugged his shoulders and smiled. I figured I’d count it as a victory and move on. I turned back towards Freddy.
“Thanks Freddy.”
“Anytime Mr.…” Freddy tried before Vector cleared his throat. Freddy raised an eyebrow and pondered for a moment before giving Vector an understanding nod. Looking back at me, Freddy had a wide smile upon his face, “It was my pleasure, BD.”
Vector gave a small chuckle and the rest of the team joined him. I gave him a dirty look.
“Totally worth it,” Vector smiled.
“Sweet,” Danny cheered, “Now we’re all calling him BD.”
“I hate you all.”
I still didn’t like the nickname, but I didn’t manage to put any venom behind my words. After all, if something that small helped team morale, I’d live with it. Besides, with my penchant for giving everyone else a nickname, I guess it was only fair that they got to return the favor. I was done fighting it. It was the name I used in my darkest hour and it represented the darkest part of who I was. So, maybe there was only one way to balance the scales. I’d build my road to redemption under the guise of “BD”. I took a deep breath and gave everyone a half-hearted smile. Danny patted me on the shoulder and everyone else looked pleased. At that moment, I turned at the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.
The flicker of torchlight further down the stairs revealed a pair of dwarves heading towards us, wearing outfits almost identical to our guide’s. Upon reaching the top, they took guard positions on either side of the ent
rance. Their knit-looking caps also looked like helmets and their trench coats also had that same bullet-proofed thickness about them. One of them carried a halberd while the other had a long spear. But as they shifted into position, I caught a glimpse under their coats and noticed the sub-machine guns that they each had holstered under their arms. I assumed the weapon bulges on our guide were of the same variety. Somewhere, deep down in my gut, I was really hoping they at least referred to their guns as axes. Just for old times’ sake.
Our guide gave us a bow and gestured towards the north end of the room. I assumed he had arrangements to make for the other guests, so we gave our thanks and started walking. It wasn’t really like we were going to get lost in here anyway. Even though the room was huge, there didn’t appear to be any sneaky turns or corners. As we walked, we passed a stone door embedded into the east wall and then passed another on the north wall before we reached the stairs. Again, there were two dwarves, dressed like their brothers, standing guard next to the entrance. I noticed the same type of hieroglyphic writing on the wall just as Vector patted me on the shoulder.
“You want me to read this one too?” he asked.
“No, I’m good. Thanks.”
Vector just showed me his satisfied smile and my facial expression made it clear what I thought of his jokes. I wanted to take a look around and this seemed a good a place as any to stash the team while I did.
“I’m gonna check things out. Why don’t you all chill here while I do?”
Freddy was reading the characters on the wall and waved me off happily. Kara wandered a bit off to the side, her hands caressing the air as if she was letting the magical energies of the room flow through her fingers. Erika seemed content to wander off with Kara and I suddenly found myself wondering about their choice of conversation topics once I left. Danny glanced my way and smiled. He gave me two big thumbs up before speaking.
“We’re good here, BD,” he smiled.
I nodded, sighed, and said a quiet “yeah” to myself as I turned to walk off. Vector decided to tag along. The layout was fairly simple, a square room, the floor, ceiling, and every wall seemed to be carved out of solid stone. In the center of each wall was a stair entrance to the room below. The north, east, and west entrances were all the exact same shape and size. The southern entrance however was much bigger. A perfect semi-circle, it was twice as wide as it was tall. Three times as many hieroglyphic-y runes covered the walls surrounding it and I refrained from asking Vector to translate. Standing at the edge and peering down showed at least four torches ablaze on each side before the curve of the stair obscured further view. I nodded to the two dwarves guarding the entrance and moved on.
A full lap around the room told me that there were eight stone doors in total, one on either side of each of the directionally named stairs. The doors were placed perfectly in-between the stairs and the corners. One thing was for sure, the builders of this place liked symmetry. While I didn’t care much about balance, I did appreciate having options. Eight doors to the top meant it was less likely that someone on the surface would know which exit we were using. If we kept the enemy forces out of this room, I liked our chances of reaching the surface relatively unscathed. In fact, I was starting to think that guards at each surface entrance made far more sense then bringing people into this room. Securing the breach points was tactically more important. But, before I made any decisions on trusting the security of this room to its builders, I figured I’d see what Vector knew about them. I waited until we were close to the center of the room so that none of those in question would overhear us.
“Have you had much experience with our dwarven friends here?”
“Nope, just met these guys,” he replied, deadpan.
I gave him a look and his expression broke into a wide smile before he continued.
“I’ve had a bit of experience with warriors of their stature yes. They’re a tough bunch. They’re faster than they look and can really take a beating. Working in teams, they are vicious. I saw a six-pack take down a giant one time. It was amazing.”
“Did you just say six-pack?”
“Yes I did. Seems fitting right?” he said.
“Oddly, yeah it does. So, they work well as a team, carry automatic weapons, and possess weird magic doorknobs that I hope are the only way in here. This room is starting to feel a bit safer than I originally assumed.”
“Well, this is a major place of power. Hypothetically, they are going to do everything they can to keep it safe.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I figured we’d post guards up in the stadium, at each of the entrances down to the stone doors. If those are the only ways down here, they should give us a nice heads up if anyone tries anything.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Vector agreed.
We slowly made our way back to the northern stairs to find the team milling about. Freddy had pulled out a small notebook and some wax paper. He was in the process of taking some rubbings of the characters carved into the walls. The dwarven guards didn’t seem to be paying him any mind. Kara and Erika were slowly walking back our way, their conversation hushed and the occasionally giggle making me think that their discussion didn’t have much to do with our current situation. Danny was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, his eyes closed, and a small thin smile on his face. I figured I’d let Freddy finish up and check on Danny while the girls were making their way over. I stopped a few feet in front of him and was about to call his name when he opened his eyes and looked right at me, his smile turning creepy.
“Amusement, concern, and then curiosity,” Danny said.
“Sorry?”
“Your surface emotions as you approached me. I was practicing.”
“Impressive. I didn’t even notice your mind scanning mine.”
“Well, I was barely reaching for surface thoughts. If I pushed any deeper you probably would have noticed. But, I think I’ll be able to give you what you want down in the room. I should be able to sense their general mood as things progress,” Danny smiled.
“Awesome. I knew you could do it, kid.”
I patted him on the shoulder after I said it and walked back towards Freddy and the approaching girls. Before I turned away I noticed Danny’s smile and the look of pride on his face. He looked away fast, but not before I realized how much my compliment had meant to him. I was used to treating people roughly so that they were prepared for the ugly that we had to face every day. Maybe I had been wrong on Danny. The occasional compliment and encouragement might be the way to get the results I needed, something I’d be more aware of as we moved forward. I stopped next to Freddy who noticed me and folded his wax paper up before safely tucking it into his notebook.
“A truly breathtaking site,” he smiled.
“Glad you approve. Now what do you say we head downstairs and look things over?”
Freddy’s entire body tensed up in excitement. At about that time Erika and Kara showed up. Vector stood quietly next to me as Danny slowly wandered over. Freddy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He slid a hand down each sleeve, smoothing them out. Then he gripped his suit jacket and pulled it tight before he straightened his bowtie. He looked at me and gave a confident smile.
“I’m ready,” he said.
“We’re walking down a few stairs Freddy, not going on a date.”
“You’re wrong, BD. We have a date, and it’s with destiny,” Freddy stated.
How do you even respond to that? He was so excited that I almost envied him a bit. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been so excited about something. My life didn’t lend itself to many Hallmark moments. The closest I ever got was when my parents would visit me at the temple after a long absence. A smile crossed my face as I thought back to those times. Back then, I was a bit like Freddy. I worried about looking my best. Grabbing my nicest robe, trying to pull any wrinkles out of it. Sometimes I can almost fool myself into thinking that I’m not so different from everyone else. But I know bett
er. BD is far from normal.
I gave Freddy a smile and let him enjoy his moment. I guessed that for him, visiting places like this was almost the same as spending time with family. I looked back at the team and they all gave me a nod to make it clear they were ready to head down. Then, after a quick glance at the dwarven guards, who gestured for us to proceed, Freddy and I started down the steps, side by side.
CHAPTER 15
The excitement practically exploded from Freddy as he skipped down the steps. I maintained a decent pace, but as he pulled away, the occasional throat-clearing was enough to get his attention and bring him back. The stairs themselves weren’t much to look at. Just like the room above, the stairs and walls seemed to be carved out of solid stone, with torches every ten steps or so lighting the way. Our descent felt very shallow and the stairs were slowly curving to the left. It was easy to imagine that we were making huge circles around the room below. The “corkscrew” stairs felt like a very fitting name. After the first two sets of stairs, which took us to the dwarven waiting room, I really didn’t think we had much further to go. I was guessing The Circle was maybe a hundred feet below us. But the wide circular nature of the stairs meant that the trip took quite a while. Finally, just as I was thinking the stairs would never end, we found the bottom.
The last torch sat in its wall holder about five steps from the bottom. There was no door, simply an opening cut into the rock, almost as big as the stair-tunnel we were currently standing in. The light from the torch was enough to see the landing in front of us, but none of its light ventured into the room itself. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was afraid to go any further. The entrance to The Circle was rounded, which seemed fitting, the bottom of the entrance not quite small enough to make a full circle. There were large runo-glyphics carved into the rock, circling the edge, and giving the whole thing a very Stargate vibe. It truly felt like a portal into another world. Freddy glanced up at the writing and let out a happy sigh. A quick glance behind me confirmed that the team was all there and ready to go, so I gave Freddy the okay.
G.H.O.S.T. Teams (Book 2) Shifters Page 13
