The Ruins on Stone Hill

by F. P. Spirit

  “Good idea,” Titan said.

  He glanced over as she tipped the second barrel and rolled it across the room behind him. They had just deposited both barrels on either side of the door when the knob began to turn.

  Lloyd and Titan stepped back and drew their weapons. When the door opened, Brundon stepped inside.

  Aksel was the first to speak. “Did you find Seth?”

  Brundon put a finger to his lips, then closed the door behind him. He spun around and said in a soft voice, “There’s no sign of him. But you’re not going to believe—”

  His statement was cut short. Lloyd heard a shout from outside the room. It was followed by the sound of heavy thumping. It sounded far away at first but swiftly grew louder. “What is that?”

  Brundon slowly backed away from the door. “A stone golem!”

  “A stone golem?” Aksel’s voice rose in pitch.

  Brundon nodded vigorously. “A big one. Think ten feet tall.”

  Lloyd should have been terrified, but his instincts kicked in. He grabbed his pack and rifled through it for his warhammers. Swords would be useless against stone. He glanced over and saw Titan doing the same. When they stood up, they held hammers and maces in their hands.

  At that same moment, the thumping stopped. The companions listened in silence. A moment later, a scream sounded through the door. “Knock down the door! Kill them all!”

  Lloyd and Titan exchanged a quick knowing glance. As one, they dropped their weapons and lunged for the barrels. Each rolled a barrel in front of the door. As the duo stood back, something heavy crashed against the door. The wood shook violently, but the barrels held it in place.

  That is not going to hold for long. Lloyd braced himself against a barrel, adding his weight to it. Titan did the same. The doorway was struck a second time and the entire frame shuddered. He felt the reverberations throughout his body.

  That golem can hit! One punch from that creature could kill a man. It was going to be hard to fight such a monster in these close quarters. Titan flashed him a quick smile as they prepared for the next strike.

  Aksel began barking orders. “That door won’t hold for long! Our only chance is escape. Brundon, quickly, down the chute. Glo, you follow him.”

  The door was struck. Lloyd felt his entire body shaking. Behind him the wood of the doorway was splintering and cracking. Dust fell from the stone wall surrounding the entryway. A few more blows and the whole thing would split wide open.

  A voice cried out from the hallway, “Harder! Harder!”

  That had to be the mage, Telvar. Lloyd glanced over his shoulder but couldn’t see anything. Brundon and Glo were now gone. Aksel stood over the chute and called out to the two warriors, “I’m going next. Lloyd, you follow. Then Titan.”

  “I’ll never make it down that rope in full plate!” Titan cried. The golem struck again. The door shook and more splinters flew, but somehow it held. It would not be long now though.

  Aksel vaulted across the room and held out his hand to Titan. In it he held a ring. “Here, take this.”

  It was the ring of feather falling. A grim smile graced Titan’s lips as she took it from him. “Thank you.”

  “Thank me later.” Aksel sprang back toward the chute. He disappeared just as the golem struck again.

  Lloyd glanced over his shoulder as a big chunk of wood splintered off the door. Sunlight streamed through the hole, and he caught a glimpse of something big and grey outside the door. That must be the golem.

  The golem struck the door once more. This time the entire top splintered apart. The knuckles of a large grey fist protruded through what was left of the door. They could no longer hold it without getting pummeled.

  Lloyd and Titan stood back, grasping their weapons and taking a defensive stance side by side. He could clearly see the golem through the top of the doorway. It pulled back one huge fist, winding up for another blow.

  “Go, Lloyd! I’ll hold it off until you get down,” Titan yelled.

  “But Titan…”

  “My friends call me Delara,” she whispered. “Now go!”

  The golem slammed into the door. The frame cracked, and the rest of the wood pushed in against the barrels. Still the barrels held.

  Lloyd did not want to leave Delara alone to face the golem. Every instinct in his body screamed for him to stand and fight. Deep down, he knew it was not a battle they could win, especially not in these close quarters, maybe not at all.

  “Alright!” he said finally, “but you better be right behind me.”

  Delara glanced over her shoulder and winked.

  Lloyd ran for the chute but did not grab the rope. Instead he jumped straight into the hole feet first. He reached for the rope as he fell, finally managing to catch hold of it. His gloved hand skidded a moment then held fast, but he didn’t wait. He began a rapid, hand over hand descent downwards.

  From the top of the shaft, he heard a loud crash and splintering of wood. The barrels must have finally given way. There was no time left. Lloyd loosened his grip and half slid, half fell the rest of the way to the bottom. If not for his gloves, his hands would have been stripped raw.

  He reached the bottom in a matter of seconds, barely maintaining his balance as he landed. He immediately yelled up the shaft, “Titan, jump!”

  Lloyd heard more crashing noises coming through the shaft. That was followed by a resounding metal clang. Titan must have been hit!

  Anger flowed through his veins. I should never have left her!

  Caution to the wind, Lloyd grasped the rope and began to climb back up. He heard a second metal clang then something fell into the chute above him.

  A light flashed behind him, and he heard Glo’s voice.

  “Wait, Lloyd! Look!”

  Lloyd stared at the thing falling down toward him and spotted a gleam of metal. A moment later he caught a glimpse of blonde hair. It was Titan! She had made it into the chute after all and was slowly floating down toward them.

  Lloyd jumped back down and out of the way as Titan floated down from above. She landed softly on her feet and grinned at them. “See, everything is fin…” All of a sudden, her knees gave out.

  “Delara!” Lloyd and Brundon cried at the same time.

  Lloyd lunged forward, catching her just before she hit the ground. Brundon was immediately at her side. The two men lifted her back up while Aksel examined her. There was a huge dent in the side of Titan’s armor.

  “You…should see…the other…guy,” she gasped, forcing a smile.

  “Hold her steady.” Aksel placed his hands over the dent and brilliant white light flowed forth. The reflection mirrored off Titan’s armor, lighting up the entire room.

  “You had us all worried for a second there, love.” Brundon tried to sound casual, but there was a trace of anxiety in his voice.

  She attempted a grin. “Nah, I’ve had worse.”

  Aksel grunted. “Maybe, but if you hadn’t been wearing full plate, you’d probably be dead right now.”

  “Why do you think I wear full plate?” Titan began to laugh, then abruptly halted. “Ow, ow, ow.”

  Aksel glanced up at her. “You might want to refrain from laughing, at least until I fix these cracked ribs.”

  Titan smiled wanly at the little cleric. “Now you tell me.”

  Boom. The ceiling above them shuddered.

  “What was that?” Brundon asked.

  Lloyd looked up and saw dust falling down out of the chute.

  Boom. The ceiling shuddered once more.

  He caught a glimpse of movement in the shaft. More dust fell down on them.

  Brundon sounded incredulous. “It’s the golem. It must have jumped into the chute.”

  Glo came closer and held his staff up to the chute. Something la
rge and grey blocked the shaft. “It must be stuck. Wedged in tight between the stone walls.”

  Brundon laughed. “Guess that thing won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.”

  A brief wave of panic struck Lloyd. Their escape route had been cut off. “So what do we do now?”

  Titan was the first to answer. “How about moving me from under all this dust? I’m going to need a bath after all this.” She tried unsuccessfully to brush herself off.

  Brundon grinned. “I’m sure there’s one around here somewhere, love.”

  Lloyd and Brundon helped Titan away from the chute. Aksel insisted she lay down until he finished healing her. She begrudgingly complied.

  Once she was settled, Lloyd brushed off his hands. “So then, how do we get out of here?”

  Glo shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not going to be easy, especially without Seth.”

  The Ancient Scroll

  This would give him all the power he needed

  Seth rifled through the bugbears’ belongings, looking for anything of use. Unfortunately, there was nothing. Abruptly, he heard a shout in the hallway.

  “Come here!” the voice cried. It was followed by heavy thudding. It swiftly grew louder, then receded.

  Seth rushed to the door and opened it a crack. He saw the golem at the end of the hallway, down where the pantry was. He heard a voice yell out. “Knock down the door! Kill them all!”

  Telvar! It had to be the wizard. Seth scanned the hall, but could not see anyone. Either he was around the corner or—he was invisible!

  That isn’t good. If this wizard could make himself invisible, then he was far more experienced than Glo. In a straight out duel, Telvar would easily kill him. Their only chance was to take this wizard by surprise. Luckily, surprise was Seth’s specialty.

  Bang! The sound reverberated down the hall.

  The golem’s trying to break into the pantry! Seth had to hurry. He pulled out a grey cloak from his pack and swiftly wrapped it around him. The color was close to the walls of the keep, and would help him blend into the background.

  Bang! There was the sound again.

  The door will not hold long. Seth crept out into the hall and down toward the pantry. The banging continued, now accompanied by the cracking of wood.

  Seth strained his ears, hoping to hear the wizard’s voice again. If I can just pinpoint Telvar’s location…

  A disembodied voice cried out, “Harder! Harder!”

  The wizard was definitely nearby. Hopefully he would remain focused on the golem, but Seth had to be careful. He would only get one chance at this, and he needed to make it count.

  Bang!

  Seth reached the corner. The golem stood in front of the pantry door, hammering away at it. It was a mindless creature and would strictly follow its master’s commands. Seth halted, straining his ears for any sign of the wizard.

  Bang! Crack!

  The golem smashed through the upper part of the pantry door. Seth heard Titan’s voice from inside. “Go, Lloyd! I’ll hold him off until you get down.”

  Then a disembodied voice screamed right in front of him, “Kill them all!”

  Got him! Venom dagger already in his hand, Seth inched forward. He needed to be within quick stabbing distance to be sure.

  He heard Titan yell. “Go, Lloyd! I’ll hold it off until you get down.”

  “But Titan…” He heard Lloyd protest.

  There was a momentary pause and then Titan yelled, “Now go!”

  Seth tried his best to remain detached, but it was difficult. These were the first friends he had in, well, ever. The stone golem kicked in the bottom of the door. Wood went flying everywhere. He chanced a quick peek inside and saw Titan, shield up in front of her, mace in her other hand.

  Now that’s brave.

  The golem inserted its bulk into the doorway and blocked his view. Seth wrenched his eyes away and listened again for the wizard.

  Where was he? He forced himself to ignore the crashing and banging coming from the pantry. There! He could hear heaving breathing right in front of him.

  A loud clang resounded in the pantry. That sounded like stone on metal! A cold chill ran up Seth’s spine.

  The breathing began to move. Seth followed.

  A second clang came from the pantry, and then all sounds stopped. Telvar’s voice screamed out—right in front of him, “Don’t let them escape! Go after them! Down the basement! Kill them all!”

  Seth had caught a glimpse of Telvar when he burst in on them in the lab. He estimated the mage to be about five and a half feet tall. With that in mind, he guessed where his heart should be. Bracing himself, he stabbed at an upward angle as hard as he could.

  He was rewarded with the feeling of his dagger sliding into something. That was followed by a shrill scream. Seth ignored the cry and invoked the dagger’s magic with a single word, “Venenum.”

  He must have guessed right. There was a loud groan, and whatever he had stabbed slumped down. It fell forward and hit the floor. A body materialized on the ground in front of him. It was indeed Telvar. Seth withdrew his knife and checked the mage’s pulse. He was dead.

  Seth heard more banging sounds from the pantry. He looked up but saw nothing there—the golem had disappeared.

  Seth entered the room. The noises were coming from the chute. He went to the edge and looked down. There was something in the shaft. The obstruction began to move, thrashing around and banging against the walls.

  It was the golem! It had tried to climb down and was now stuck.

  Seth laughed. The mindless creature followed its master’s last command faithfully. It tried to follow his friends down into the basement. When Seth finally stopped laughing, he yelled down the chute, “Are you guys down there?”

  “Seth? Is that you?” It was Aksel.

  “No. It’s the Soldenar. Of course it’s me!”

  There was a slight pause, then Aksel yelled back, “Where were you?”

  “I was searching the rooms. How did the golem find you?”

  There was another pause, then Brundon said, “I think it was the wizard. I went looking for you and found his bedroom instead. Watch it though—I think he’s invisible.”

  “He was,” Seth yelled back, “before I killed him.”

  “You did what?” This time it was Glo.

  “I killed him!” Seth shouted, feeling rather pleased with himself.

  His enjoyment was cut short though when he heard Brundon cry. “We got trouble! It’s another golem!”

  Blast! The other golem was still following its master’s last command. It went down to the basement to kill his friends.

  Seth’s mind raced. Golems were controlled by their master; that control was exerted through an item. Since Telvar was commanding the golems, he must have been carrying those items.

  Aksel’s voice traveled up the shaft. “Quick close the door. Lloyd, Brundon, try to hold it!”

  Seth rushed back out into the hall and bent over Telvar’s inert form. Fortunately, he also had some skill with magic. He normally didn’t need to use it, but now his friends’ lives depended on it. Seth concentrated while moving his hands over the mage’s body. When the magic built enough, he said the words, “Nullam Deprehendere.” The two rings the wizard had been wearing began to glow, as did the cloak he was wrapped in. The spell had worked!

  The cloak could wait. Right now he was concerned with the rings. They had to be the control items, one for each golem. He bent down and slid them off the dead mage’s fingers, then spun around and ran back into the pantry.

  Seth heard pounding coming up the chute, followed by Brundon’s frenzied cry. “We can’t hold it. It’s gonna break through!”

  Seth yelled down the chute, “Telvar had two magical rings. I have them now.
”

  Glo cried frantically up the shaft, “Destroy them. Quickly!”

  Of course. Destroying the rings should destroy the golem!

  “I’m on it!”

  Seth spun around, looking for something to smash the rings with. In the corner lay a twisted piece of gleaming metal. It was the remains of Titan’s shield. It was all bent up, but Seth could still use it to crush the rings. He held them out, one in each hand. They were both plain ribbons of gold.

  A crash resounded up the chute followed by Brundon’s desperate cry. “It’s breaking through the door!”

  There was no more time. He placed the ring in his left hand down on the ground, then grabbed the heavy metal shield. He lifted it high over his head and with a swift heave brought it crashing down on the ring. There was a crunching sound as the metal slammed into the stone floor.

  Down below everything went still. Seth stood frozen, listening. All at once, he heard screams.

  Gods! I smashed the wrong ring.

  Then he heard Aksel’s voice. “You did it, Seth! You did it!”

  A wave of relief washed over him. Those weren’t screams of agony; they were cries of joy! “What happened to the golem?”

  Glo answered this time. “It turned to dust.”

  The other golem started thrashing around inside the chute. Seth laughed. That one wasn’t going anywhere. He looked at the second ring, still in his right hand, then pocketed it.

  “I’ll be right down,” Seth called to his friends.

  “Okay,” Aksel yelled back.

  Seth returned to the hall and removed the magical cloak from Telvar’s corpse. This could come in handy. He also searched the mage’s pockets and found a small book. He flipped through a couple of pages—it was a book of spells. Glo should be able to make good use of this.

  Seth smirked. Things had turned out just fine after all. He was still smiling as he walked down the hall and descended the stairs to find the others.

  It was midafternoon when Glo, Aksel, and Seth reentered the wizard’s lab. Seth found the entrance to the basement easily from the first floor. Once down there it was only a short distance to the storage room where his friends were holed up. If they had just proceeded a bit farther in the first place, they would have stumbled across the exit. It was probably just as well. If they had taken the stairs up, they would have run into the golems out in the open, and things might not have gone so well.