Clearing the Web

by Cary J Lenehan

  “Yes, for the present. At least until we are in the main complex I want to ensure that we know the way it is all put together, and make sure that we leave nothing behind us in a room that we didn’t search that can then attack us from behind. We have plenty of food with us, and if we do run out, we can return to the entrance. Astrid and Bryony will, I am sure, be happy to do some hunting for us.”

  She turned as she said it. They are nodding at each other and making hand talk already. Perhaps they don’t like the silence ahead of them. I don’t. Even to me, this is a different silence to that of the forests. Here in the underground there isn’t even the faintest murmur of a breeze, no sound of water, no whirr of wings.

  My ears are straining to hear something…anything at all. The smells around are all of dust and mould. It is hard not to sneeze. We may not yet have come very far, but we have already left behind us the feel and smell of fresh breezes and the scent of spring and growing things.

  Ahead there is a large widening of the corridor. Why? It then closes in again to the same size and keeps going further. Perhaps it is a place for wide things to pass. Pusan, guide our steps.

  They followed the same pattern of searching at the next three openings, but already, as Bryony and Astrid waited, they could see that there was a much larger space ahead of them as the main entrance corridor opened up into a vast blackness that the light behind them, and even that on their shields, seemed unable to penetrate.

  There is now little light left coming from outside and what there is left is only a dim sliver going into the dark ahead. It can only be seen clearly if we cover the nails. The next two openings are very much the same inside as each other, one bigger than the other, but of the same pattern.

  Thord is right…stables make sense. “T’ larger room is for visitor horses ’n’ t’ smaller is for sheep like Hillstrider. So far t’is is following t’ pattern of most Dwarven towns. If I am right t’ next should ha’ several large rooms leading off central one ’n’ smaller one, well away from t’ others, with running water ’n’ drain.” He was right.

  “So, what is that?”

  “T’at is where herd animals from outside ’re brought to be penned if need be, ’n’ t’ small room is for slaughtering t’em for food,” he replied. “T’ere would be spells ’n’ magics to stop sound or noise panicking ones not taken. If’n all follows right we’ll next ha’ t’ main gallery. It’ll be round ’n’ ha’ at least two levels.”

  “T’is is where t’ shops ’n’ t’ artisans who make small goods’ll work, not t’ metal smelters or t’ blacksmiths, or anyone else who is too loud or too…smelling…but everyone else. It is all so much bigger t’an home or Deafcor, which is north of Kharlsbane ’n’ t’e only other town I’ve been to, but it has followed t’ same pattern.”

  “We Dwarves ’re usual very traditional ’n’ Kharlsbane is unique in t’ way it is constructed. Even t’ere, with most of t’ construction above ground, t’ buildings ’re laid out in a similar pattern if’n you know how to look.”

  We’re at the end of the corridor, and the light from our shields only goes a tiny way inside, but it is disturbing something. As we approach and from above the entrance, I can hear a chittering sound, and there is the rustling sound of many flying creatures…bats? There is a foul stench coming from the cavern ahead and the floor is white with droppings covered in fungi. Yes, bats.

  Even I can see some trails in the fungi, as if animals come from outside after grazing. They disappear quickly into the gloom. We need more light.

  “Bianca, cast some of your pieces of wood into the room…cast some high so that we can see what is above, but from the curve of the room that I can see, you will also need to cast them long. Those at the front keep watching below. Don’t all of you watch where the light goes.”

  The first piece of wood, with its nail, went soaring into the air. As the partial globe of light, flickering as it flew as the wood turned and tumbled, went sailing up in a long arc, they could faintly see the room. It is a huge dome. The light is disturbing the occupants. A horde of small and large bats are showing their agitation by taking flight and letting out a chorus of squeaks and other cries.

  Some tried to come their way to the tunnel to the outside, but returned on finding it still brighter in the corridor. For a while bats flew all around them making their noises as they fluttered around. Eventually they fled further back into the darkness.

  Bianca cast more sticks into the dark, and pockets of light began to spring up in the centre and around the walls, disturbing more bats. One bounced off a flying bat and then caught on a projection and lit up a broad stone shelf with square openings behind it. The shelf has been carved out with the native rock left behind as pillars to help support it and to also leave a balustrade. I can see a set of stone stairs leading up and down from near where the stick landed.

  “See…t’ concourse,” said Thord. “T’at one is caught two levels up and it looks like there ’re another three levels above it. This is huge. You could put every dwarf alive now into these shops and still ha’ lots of room left over. We once must ha’ had the largest city in the Land. Deafcor has two levels and even Copperlevy, our largest town, has no more, even if it is supposed to be much larger around. But it still is nowhere near as big around as this.”

  Bianca cast to the left and right. Two openings are leading off the main concourse. They are each as large as this one. Another long cast reveals another one also lies straight ahead. The two at the sides are opposite each other, and the four corridors form a regular arrangement. Bianca’s cast ahead has not reached the wall, but lies near a hundred paces closer to us. Only a fraction of that wall is lit up, and that dimly. The cavern is around four hundred paces across and possibly over two hundred high.

  “One of ’em, probable t’ one going to t’ left, but not always, ’ll be t’ way to t’ stairs up ’n’ down to other levels ’n’ t’ shafts where goods ’re moved between ’em. One’ll probable lead to another concourse with metal smiths or else to farms for fungi ’n’ other delicacies ’n’ t’ last should lead to where most of t’ Dwarves lived.”

  “Other levels ’ll hold t’ Royal rooms ’n’ meeting areas ’n’ caverns to practice combat in...’n’ temples. One’ll ha’ t’ main water store ’n’… Oh, I don’t know what else…treasure perhaps. T’ Masters ’ll be somewhere.”

  Thord is finding it hard to contain himself. He is nearly jumping up and down with excitement. At the moment, it is obvious that he doesn’t care where the Masters are. He is seeing Dwarvenholme. I am sure that no-one has ever seen a Dwarf, normally so reserved and inscrutable, both so animated and happy before. “I’m not sure what you’ll want to check next, but we’ll ha’ to leave t’is entrance behind us to see any more.”

  It seems like most of the place is covered in bat excrement. A bat cave is a very unclean place. Ganesh guide my thoughts. Rani felt the pungency hitting her nose and shuddered in disgust. “Let us stay under this balcony for a start. It is cleaner here. We will move to the right and try and explore this level a bit before we go elsewhere.”

  They set off. As we move, we have unconsciously drawn our formation tighter. It will be in response to the vast blackness that lies beside us with pools of light scattered around it. It sets up an eerie spectacle. As they continued, something fled from ahead of them. I only caught a glimpse of it. Even Thord isn’t sure. He moved ahead a few paces, stopped and pointed down.

  “Cave deer.” He is pointing at something that may have been faint hoof prints. “T’ey ’re like other deer, tiny ’n’ very shy, but t’ey have huge eyes. T’at means t’ere must be some light here. I’ll bet t’at, if we dowsed all of t’ese lights, we’d see t’at t’ere is enough light from fungi to see dim by. We might e’en find hunting here without going outside. If’n t’ere is deer here, t’ere might also be cave pigs—t’ey ’re not real pigs—t’ey ’re large fat
rodents like big rabbits, but t’ey run not hop. T’ey eat fungi ’n’ ’re good eating.” He rubbed his stomach.

  “We’ll ha’ to watch out t’ough. Not only are t’ Masters here, but if’n t’ere ’re t’ plant eaters, t’ere ’ll probable also be t’ things t’at eat ’em…otherwise t’ey would breed until t’ere was nothing left for ’em to eat. It’ll most likely be t’ animals t’at are leaving t’ tracks t’at we can see.”

  He looked around into the cavern for a while. Rani followed his gaze. The bats are hiding away from the light, but seem only to be agitated by our presence. They are not aggressive.

  Thord continued: “T’ere are two flying t’ings to real worry about, ’n’ a few nuisances. One is a bat t’at, while you’re sleeping, will land on you ’n’ drink your blood. They’re only small ’n’ you’ll only have major problem if’n t’ere are lot of ’em. We ha’ to watch for ’em when we sleep as they’re very quiet ’n’ ’ll even creep up on you on t’ ground.”

  “T’ other is far larger ’n’ t’ey ’ll attack at any time. T’ey ’re like bat, but t’ey have hard beak ’n’ t’ey fly very fast ’n’ bury themselves into a body ’n’ ’ll drain blood until t’ey ’re full like tick ’n’ t’en t’ey ’ll drop out ’n’ crawl away or fly slow. T’ main problem is t’at, when t’ey bury themselves, it could be in something vital ’n’ you’ll die. T’ey not bright. Oh, ’n’ if’n you see what looks like black parrot, kill it. T’ey ’re mainly nuisance, but t’ey bite —hard—’n’ t’ey eat flesh.”

  “T’ere ’re many flesh-eaters on t’ ground. T’ best rule is; if’n it moves towards you, try ’n’ kill it fast. Some’re very nasty. Usual, you only find ’em in big cave systems with exit outside, but…” he waved his hand towards the cavern beside them and started off again to the right.

  Next tunnel we need a break for food and to regain focus. “Hulagu go to the limit of light and plant a nail somewhere.” Now we will all have some food.

  Astrid

  I don’t feel much like eating. I have never ever gotten seasick. I have dealt with the stomach contents of a whale. Why does the smell of this bat shit make me feel queasy? She forced some food down, but she lacked her usual hunger.

  Time to stand up, and I nearly throw up. We just get to the first side corridor of the main avenue and I can feel my stomach rebelling. Damn it. Astrid dropped her spear as her gorge rose, and she knelt down and vomited. She stood up again as Father Christopher came rushing up.

  She raised her hand. “I feel better now. I know it sounds silly, but I do.” The priest handed her a cloth to wipe herself with, “Thank you,” she muttered as she cleaned her mouth. Next, he is handing me a small green ball. What is this?

  “Suck on this,” he said.

  “No, I feel better.”

  He grinned: “It is not for the illness, we don’t know what that is yet, although I might have an idea…but it is for your breath. Lakshmi made me some from mint before we left. You wouldn’t want to kiss Basil like that now, would you?” Good point. She took it and began to suck. When he came back, she had to explain to a very worried Basil that she felt fine.

  Rani

  They went to the next passage leading off and searched. It looks to have a single large round room at its end, but I don’t want to go into it, so other things may lead off the far side. “Possible practice area, or meeting room,” said Thord. So far nothing dangerous has appeared. Either the rooms we are seeing are empty, or else they just contain fungi, lichens and dust…lots of dust. I am a little worried. In the empty rooms, the dust lies thick and causes people to sneeze. I know of diseases that start that way.

  As they prepared to go into the next hallway things changed. A small cloud of flying creatures came boiling out. They are flying straight at the four of us nearest the entrance. Basil is the first to be attacked, but he is facing the door and uses his shortswords to cut two out of the air.

  Thord has managed to get his shield in the way and one ended up impaled in the timber, while another is deflected up. He has swatted it with his hammer as it spun in the air. Aziz deflected one with his shield, but grunted as another one has speared itself into his stomach. Damn. Ayesha is concentrating on dodging three of them rather than trying to hit any.

  Rani raised her voice. This I can deal with. “Archers, watch each way. Spears face out.” Damn, all I am doing is hopping around, trying to get a clear shot with a wand.

  More coming out of the door…but not making it to their victims. Bianca and Verily have started throwing knives and these put up a wall of steel, impaling squealing creatures. Most of them haven’t died, but the blades stuck into them stop them flying. They can only flop around on the floor making high pitched squeaks until Christopher is able to dispatch them with his staff without getting too close.

  I am still unable to do anything. Basil has looked at the two women drawing blades and throwing them as fast as they can, and turns his back to the entrance, dispatches first one and then a second of Ayesha’s attackers. She has used her shield to drive the third against the wall. Basil has turned around again in time to cut another out of the air. It is the last. Thord squashed the one stuck in his shield against a wall.

  “Sorry,” said Bianca, “we ran out of blades before we ran out of them.” Verily and Christopher are already moving towards Aziz. He mutters in Hobgoblin as he grasps the thing with his hand to pull it out.

  “Don’t do t’at,” yelled Thord. “Let me. If’n you do it wrong, it’ll leave bits of itself ’n’ lots of poison inside you.” Thord knelt, and grabbed the beast around its beak, and twisted it and gently pulled. It comes clear with a wet sucking sound…twisting and struggling and squealing like an upset pig. Its wings are furiously trying to get it free as blood now flowed out of the wound.

  Christopher dived towards the wound with a pad. He held it there for a while and then grabbed a crying Verily’s, hand and replaced his hand with hers so that he could wrap a bandage around the Hob, lifting his leather jerkin to do so and reaching around his body. Thord has been left with the blood-sucking beast flapping like an enraged rooster in his hand trying to get itself free. Its squealing is continuous.

  He put his hand down and squashed it with his boot carefully near the wall. Blood still squirted around—its own and Aziz’s—as the furred flying creature gave a bleat like a baby goat and expired with a popping noise.

  “I suppose that you warned us about them,” Rani said to Thord.

  “Yes. They ’re t’ cokhane, but I’ve never seen, or even heard anyone tell, of so many. T’ere were…what…over twenty?” Usual you only see one or two, t’ most I’ve heard of is six. T’is lot…may’ve been sent.”

  When he had finished with the bandage, Christopher reached down and took a flask off his belt and pressed it to Aziz’s lips. The Hob took a small swallow, and then Christopher looked at him for a while and felt his pulse before making him take another. Aziz coughed and sat up, colour already returning to his cheeks. “Spicy…thanks.”

  “Another thing I had Lakshmi make up. One thing our valley produces on its flanks is Healbush. The potion you can make from it does not produce a major curative effect, but I have a lot of it.” He pointed at several flasks on his belt. “Bianca has another flask if it is needed and there is more in my pack.”

  He turned to Aziz. “I will leave the bandage. The damage inside you should repair over a little while and you will feel better already, but the wound will stay soft for a little while yet and may tear again. You will be tired from your body healing itself so quickly. Even the best herbs take a while to work and I think that you have a mild poison in your system from your pulse. It is running very fast. I want to see you each time that we stop.”

  Bianca came up to Verily and handed her the knives she had thrown. Absentmindedly she put them away, her attention on Aziz. “There, there, I am fine, don’t cry. Makes face all
wet,” he said and kissed her. She gave him a hug, and a loving look, and stood again, looking on the floor for her knives. “You have them,” said Aziz and pointed at her side. She patted her sides and, realising that they were there already, blushed.

  Anahita let go an arrow back towards the main room as Stefan yelled. “We have visitors. God’s blood…what are they?” The arrow exploded.

  Rani looked back towards the main concourse. Bounding towards us are two large, cat-like creatures that seem to be made of a golden metal. Their eyes are glowing like Theo-dear’s do, and they have a series of spikes along their backs. Another arrow exploded against one of them.

  “Spears,” called Rani. Astrid and Bryony reached Stefan just as the two metallic beasts roared and leapt into the air. All three grounded their spears, without dirt to dig them in, putting a foot against the butt spike and crouching down as they felt the others take position behind them.

  One arrow hit each of the beasts and exploded just before they reached the points of the spears. Flame wrapped around Rani, as she let go a bolt from her wand. Got a bolt in this time. There is a whooshing noise and the other cat rocked a little. So did my Princess…and their attempt to leap the spears failed as well. Stefan and Bryony have pierced one, Astrid the other.

  “They are still alive! Keep them pinned with your blade as you would with a boar,” yelled Astrid as she tried to wrestle it onto its back, her hunting spear buried to its cross-hilt in the beast’s chest. She is sliding backwards. A normal spear would have been useless in this fight.

  Hulagu and Thord pushed past and attacked the beasts with mace and hammer, as the spears kept them off balance and did more damage. They were dispatched. Thord immediately drew a dagger and started prying out their eyes.

  “What are you doing?” asked Theodora, with a hint of disgust in her voice. Thord didn’t reply, but he held up the eye he had gouged out. When it had been pulled out, they could all see that it was a gem, resembling a star ruby, but brighter. He removed the other three and straightened.