The Ruins on Stone Hill

by F. P. Spirit

  The rope by the chute jerked a couple of times. “I believe Titan is ready,” Aksel announced.

  Brundon offered to help Lloyd haul her up. The duo grabbed sections of the rope and pulled in unison, the thick cord piling up in front of the barrel. It wasn’t long before a tuft of dirty blonde hair appeared at the top of the chute, followed by the gleam of torchlight off steel.

  Brundon braced himself against the barrel and held the rope as Lloyd let go. He knelt down and offered an arm to his fellow warrior. Titan clasped arms with him and then Lloyd heaved hard. The tall warrior came out of the chute, landing rather solidly on one knee.

  “I think…you’ve put on…a few pounds,” Brundon huffed.

  Titan looked up, her eyes widening as they fell on him. “Brundon? How?”

  “Oh, you know, love, I get around.” He casually stepped forward and extended a hand to her.

  In one swift motion, Titan got up and swept him into her arms. She practically lifted him off the ground, grasping him in a steel bear hug. “I thought I’d lost you for good this time!” Her voice filled with emotion.

  Brundon gasped at the firm embrace. “I’m…fine…love, but I won’t be…if you squeeze me…to death.”

  Titan suddenly froze. She glanced around and saw that all eyes were fixed on them.

  “Sorry,” she murmured, dropping Brundon like a hot potato. Her face turned all shades of red as she took a step back. Without warning, her fist lashed out, catching Brundon square in the arm.

  “Ouch, what was that for?”

  “For making me worry, you jerk!” she said, mixed emotions playing across her face.

  Brundon was speechless. He glanced around at the others, clearly confused at her reaction. No one said a word until Seth finally broke the awkward silence.

  “Okay, okay, get a room, you two.”

  Glo nearly choked. Aksel raised an eyebrow, and Lloyd broke out into a wide grin. Brundon stared from the halfling to Titan, his expression incredulous. Titan said nothing. She folded her arms and glared at Seth.

  Seth was not phased in the least. He brushed by them all and strode to the door. “Now then, how about we get out of here.”

  The halfling examined the door. “Locked, huh? Not for long.” He went to work on the door mechanism and in a few seconds they heard a click. Glo heard Seth mutter under his breath. “Child’s play.”

  Glo was impressed. He was beginning to think there wasn’t a locked door or chest that was safe with Seth around. The halfling now had his ear to the door.

  “Quiet,” he said to them, even though no one was talking. “I hear something. It sounds like pacing. Heavy-footed, whatever it is.”

  Brundon dropped his voice into a hush. “Yeah, I heard it too. Whatever it is, the footsteps get softer for a bit, then get louder again. It repeats every three minutes.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. Timed it for about an hour. Didn’t have all that much else to do.” Brundon’s face took on a comical cast as he glanced around the small room.

  Seth cocked his head to one side. “Well then, a three minute round trip means that whatever it is will probably have its back turned for a good minute and a half—easily enough time for me to have a look around.”

  “Okay, but be careful,” Aksel cautioned.

  A mock innocent expression crossed Seth’s face. “Aren’t I always?”

  “Not really.” Glo barely suppressed a smile.

  Seth glared at the wizard. Before he could fire off a retort, he was interrupted by Brundon.

  “Um, before you go, you wouldn’t happen to have a spare knife?” He pointed to his empty scabbard and quiver. “All my weapons appear to be gone.”

  “Sure.” Seth pulled a knife from his belt and tossed it, hilt first, over to Brundon.

  The tracker caught the dagger with ease and hefted it in his hand. “Thanks.”

  Seth merely nodded and went back to listening at the door. Shortly thereafter he announced, “And there it goes.”

  Seth turned the knob and cracked the door open. Daylight streamed into the room, confirming that they were indeed above ground. Seth opened the door a bit more and stuck his head through the doorway.

  He pulled his head back in and whispered, “I might be awhile.”

  With that, he stepped through the doorway and closed it soundlessly behind him. Glo and Aksel exchanged glances, silently hoping their friend would be cautious this time.

  Stone Golem

  A true warrior makes due with his surroundings

  Seth eased his way into the hall, closing the door behind him. He stopped and surveyed his surroundings, listening carefully. The only sound that reached his ears was those heavy receding footsteps.

  The afternoon sun streamed through a small window high up on the wall, lighting up the hall. Directly across from him was another door. The hallway extended a few yards to the left, before making a sharp turn. At that end of the hall was another door.

  Seth crept forward, making no sound as he moved. He reached the corner and peered around it. A long corridor stretched before him with many doors on either side. In the center of the hall, perhaps ten yards away, stood a huge grey creature. Thankfully, the monster’s back was to him as it lumbered down the hall.

  So this is the source of the footsteps. A stone golem!

  The thing was huge. It was nearly twice the size of Lloyd, maybe nine or ten feet in height. Its broad shoulders were almost half as wide as it was tall. Massive arms hung down either side reaching to its knees. They ended in blocky fists as thick as those arms. The monster was quite intimidating, but Seth was not easily frightened.

  It must be patrolling this hall. The question is why? All Seth could see were those doors. Since golems only did their master’s bidding, it stood to reason that there was something of value behind one of them. His curiosity got the better of him. He needed to find a way out of here anyway, didn’t he? He could easily duck through one of those doors before the golem turned around.

  Convinced he was taking a reasonable risk, Seth snuck down the hallway toward the pacing creature. He passed a few doors along the way, but something told him to keep going. He was used to trusting his instincts; they hadn’t failed him yet. Halfway down the hall, he came across a flight of stairs. Ahead of him, the golem had almost reached the end of the hall. It would turn soon.

  Seth made a swift decision. He darted toward the stairs, reaching them just as the golem began to turn. He flew down the stairwell to the landing below and stopped. More stairs led to a hallway below. Seth climbed down until he had almost reached the bottom. Leaning forward, he peered around the corner. The hall opened into a wide room that ended in an archway with two large doors—most likely the entrance to the keep. A huge grey figure stood between him and those doors. It was another stone golem! Thankfully, it was facing away from him.

  Okay, this is starting to get serious. The huge rock monster was nearly identical to the one upstairs, but this golem was stationary. There were two more archways on either side of the foyer, but there was no way to get to them without passing the golem. On the other side of the stairs was a door barely hanging on its hinges.

  Seth watched the stone creature for a minute or so, but it did not move. It must be standing guard.

  Keeping one eye on the golem, he crept over to the broken door and peered inside. It was a large room with a long table surrounded by chairs, all rotted now. This must have once been a dining hall. There was another doorway leading off of it. Seth went over to that door and peeked into the next room. This was a smaller chamber with cabinets, a counter, and a large hearth at one end. It must have been the kitchen. There were no other doors in here. So much for that.

  Seth snuck back out into the foyer. The golem still had not moved. With nothing more to do dow
n here, he headed back up the stairs. He stopped at the landing and waited until the heavy footsteps went by, then hurried up the second flight. Peering out into the hall he saw the first golem heading toward the end with the pantry, where his friends were hidden. Directly across from the stairs was a door. Seth silently crept over to it and tried the handle. It wasn’t locked. He opened the door just enough to slip into the room, then gently pulled it closed behind him.

  This room was also rather large. There were at least a dozen cots in here. Backpacks and gear were strewn all over the floor. Across the room he spied a fire pit—it had been hacked out of the solid stone floor. Seth snorted. Leave it to bugbears to make a pit inside. Why use a kitchen when you can ruin a perfectly good floor?

  Seth stole between the cots. Without warning, something grabbed his leg! He heard a high-pitched squeal from underneath the cot next to him. He looked down and saw a small furry hand holding onto him.

  Seth bent down, grabbed the arm, and gave it a hard yank. A young bugbear came tumbling out from underneath and sprawled on the floor in front of him. He almost laughed, but was stopped by the sound of sobbing. It was coming from under that same cot. There must be another little bugbear under there.

  Seth had to silence them. If the golem heard the noise, he would be done for. He jumped on top of the bugbear, pinning it down with his knees. Seth nearly reached for his knife, then stopped himself. He was no assassin; that was his family’s way.

  He glanced up and spied a stray cooking pot just within reach. In one smooth motion, he grabbed the pot and conked the little bugbear on the head. It went silent. The second bugbear stopped crying, staring out at him from under the cot. Abruptly, it began to wail again, this time louder.

  No help for it. Seth reached under the cot and dragged the second little bugbear out. He banged it on the head, and it too went silent, slumping down next to its companion. That should keep them quiet for a while.

  Seth stared appreciatively at the pot in his hand. It was a handy little weapon, but he preferred his knives. He got up, threw it onto the cot and continued sneaking across the room.

  Brundon sat on a barrel, ostensibly inspecting the knife Seth had given him. He preferred his bow and arrows, but if push came to shove, he was fairly handy with one of these. Every once in a while he would glance over at Delara, or Titan as she preferred to be called these days. Delara leaned silently against the wall, arms folded across her chest, her eyes straight ahead. Her expression was stony, as if wearing it would erase her outburst from before.

  Brundon had gotten used to that look. It was her talk to me and I’ll break your face expression. It meant Delara was livid about something, though he wasn’t sure what. One minute she was hugging him, the next she had punched him—rather hard, too. Still, for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what he had done wrong. The wizard was the one who had captured him. He had no control over that. The fact was, he was lucky to be alive…

  Oh. It finally dawned on him—she’d thought he was dead. He knew now what he had to do. He had to apologize to her, but not while she was in that mood. No, he knew better than that. He would wait till later, when Delara had finally calmed down.

  In the meantime, Brundon gazed around the room at this odd little group they had fallen in with. They were not your run-of-the-mill mercenaries. On first glance, Lloyd might fit that bill, but certainly not the others. Yet they exhibited a wealth of hidden talent, including phenomenal fighting techniques, creative spellcasting, imaginative battle tactics, and strategic planning.

  Of course Brundon was no novice at spotting hidden talent. That is how he met Delara, in fact. No one in Ravenford would take her seriously. She would have ended up as some low-rank guard up at the keep. Brundon saw her true potential. She was tall, strong, and could handle a blade better than any man in town. It didn’t take much prodding for her to enter the mercenary business with him. They had done alright for themselves this last year. Even Delara’s father begrudgingly acknowledged their success.

  Aksel broke the silence. “He should have been back by now.”

  “The gods only know what trouble he could have gotten himself into,” Glolindir agreed.

  Aksel looked over at Brundon. “Can you go out there and find him?”

  “Me?” Brundon feigned disbelief. “You want me to go out there?”

  The little gnome’s expression was one of genuine concern. “Please, Brundon? Seth could be in real danger.”

  “I think you underestimate your friend. From what I’ve seen, Seth can handle himself.”

  Delara spoke up for the first time in a while, “Oh go ahead, Brundon. Can’t you see how worried they are?”

  Brundon turned to face her. Good, she was speaking to him again. Her expression was still somewhat flinty, but maybe if he did this for them, it would put him back in her good graces.

  He gave her one of his best smiles. “Very well, love, since you asked so nicely…”

  He noted a flicker of amusement in Delara’s eyes. Pleased with himself, Brundon sheathed the dagger in his boot, then jumped off his barrel.

  “Thank you,” Aksel called after him as he strode to the door.

  Brundon turned and nodded. “Now, if I can have a bit of quiet? It wouldn’t be good to walk out there without timing it just right.”

  The room fell silent as Brundon pressed his ear up to the door. The heavy footsteps were getting louder. He continued eavesdropping until they began to recede. When the footfalls had grown soft enough, Brundon pulled the door open. With a nod to the others, he slipped out into the hallway. It was bright out here. He noted the window high up on the wall and the sharp turn in the corridor opposite.

  His eyes focused on the door directly in front of him. He crept over to check the knob. It was not locked. Brundon put an ear up to the door but heard nothing from the other side. He slowly opened it and eased his way in, gently closing the door behind him.

  This was a well-lit room with a number of shelves. They were lined with swords, maces, lances, chainmail vests, and even full body armor, all rusted through. He had found the armory. With nothing of value left in here, Brundon went back to the door and listened.

  The footfalls were still rather faint. He quietly opened the door and slipped back into the hall. There was another door where the hallway turned. He crept toward it, but when he reached the corner, his heart skipped a beat.

  That is one big golem. The stone creature was near the end of the hall. It would soon turn around and head back his way. Brundon zipped across the hall and tried the other door. Luckily it was not locked. He hurriedly opened it and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him.

  Brundon breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He spun around and surveyed his surroundings. There was a large four-poster bed on the opposite wall with a night table next to it. A dresser and wardrobe stood against another wall, and a desk with a chair was against the wall next to him.

  He stepped further into the room. The bed had relatively new sheets on it, but the covers had been thrown aside. It appeared as if it had recently been slept in. The door to the wardrobe hung open. Brundon glanced inside and saw some long black robes there.

  So this is the wizard’s bedroom. Yet there was no sign of the wizard or Seth. Brundon shrugged. Onward then. He placed an ear to the door. From the sound of it, the golem was right outside. Brundon gulped. He waited until the footfalls began to recede, then he opened the door a crack. The large golem trudged back down the hall away from him once more. Brundon stepped lightly out into the corridor and closed the door behind him.

  There were more doors further down the hall. He had some time; he could probably get to the next door and back again if it was locked. He crept down the corridor and was almost to the next door when he heard a creak behind him. He spun around, his hand going to the knife hilt in his boot. The door to the bedroom stood
open. He could have sworn he shut it. Maybe he didn’t close it tightly enough, and it had swung back open. Either way, he had to close that door. If the golem saw it open, there would be trouble.

  Brundon hurried back to the door, grabbed the handle and pulled it shut. He spun around and gazed at the large stone golem. It had reached the end of the hall and was just about to turn around. Brundon scurried across the hall and slid the last couple of feet, making it behind the corner just in the nick of time. Brundon let out a long sigh, then strode over to the pantry door. He would hide back in here until the golem made another round and then try farther down the hall.

  Lloyd had watched the door since Brundon left. They had been cooped up in this little room for too long now, and his nerves were on edge. He was not normally like this, but that maze in the basement had made him anxious. Lloyd did not like confined spaces. He was far more comfortable in open spaces where it was easy to wield his swords. He knew he was being foolish—he could just hear what his father would say.

  “A true warrior makes do with his surroundings. One must adjust their fighting style and even weaponry. To depend on the sword and fancy maneuvers is a sure fire way to get yourself killed.”

  Lloyd took a deep breath and calmed himself. He was a warrior. He had earned the right to be called a spiritblade. Feeling more settled, Lloyd began assessing his surroundings.

  These were close quarters. He and Titan would have to fight side by side to defend it. That meant no spin attacks or wide counters on his part. He would stick to simple slashes and parries. His eyes fell on the barrels at the back of the room. They might make a good blockade if need be. He strode over and tipped it slightly. It had some weight to it.

  “What are you doing?” Aksel asked.

  “Just being prepared.” Lloyd rolled the barrel toward the door.