Kang kept his voice low as he explained. “Subterreth can be divided into three regions; Subsolaneus, Subterreus and Infernus. Subsolaneus is the region where we first met.”
“The name literally translates as ‘below the sun land’ and can roughly be described as the first mile or so below the surface of your land. This is the region with the most access to the surface world.”
Kang gestured at the rocky corridors around them. “Then you come to Subterreus, which translates as ‘below earth.’ It is the largest and most settled region. This is the area with nearly all of the cities of the Atrum Habito.”
“The what?”
“The Atrum Habito; loosely translated as the Dark Dwellers. It is the name for all the races which live in the Subterreth.”
Hawkeye nodded. “And Infernus? What of that region?”
“No one in their right mind travels to that region, at least not voluntarily. It is deep…very deep. The creatures which inhabit the Infernus are incredibly territorial and extremely dangerous. It is said that there are portals to other realms scattered throughout the region. I don’t know if it’s true or not. I personally have no intentions of ever finding out.”
Kang paused and studied the ground. Hawkeye mimicked his actions but didn’t see anything.
“Something has passed through here within the last cycle, we must proceed with caution.” Drawing his newly acquired short sword, the gnome scout resumed his journey but at a much more careful pace.
Hawkeye drew both of his weapons and did his best to mirror the slow and quiet pace of his companion. They hadn’t gone twenty paces when Kang held up his fist in the universal sign for stop. Hawkeye paused and strained to hear whatever alerted his companion.
Only the faint sounds of water dripping, nay pouring, into a puddle reached his ears. Then, he heard it…a hollow thump followed almost immediately by a splash. Once again the only sound was the water pouring into the unseen puddle.
Kang looked up at the barbarian.
Hawkeye shook his head. Judging from Kang’s expression, he didn’t know what the noise was either and in the dark tunnels of Subterreth, sounds which you can’t classify are automatically considered a threat. Not having many other choices, they continued down the corridor until it opened on to an immense fungi filled cavern. Hawkeye had never seen anything like it and stood dumbfounded at the sight.
The enchanted goggles that the barbarian wore granted him the ability of darksight but until this very moment, he really didn’t understand the true depth of that power. He’d had conversations with Rjurik before about the dwarven ability. It was a combination of being able to see without light and see the natural heat patterns given off by all things. Stone and dirt would be a cool grey while people would radiate in varying degrees of red due to their body heat. Understanding it and experiencing it were two completely different things.
The goggles had already proven a great boon in the last day as they traveled through the corridors but not until they reached this cavern did he really understand their value and the unparallel beauty of the underground. The cavern before them was probably two hundred feet across and at least half that in height; but it was the mushrooms which captured Hawkeye’s attention. They were spectacular. The smallest ranged from two feet tall and five across, to monstrous towering toadstools which nearly reached the ceiling. They also varied in colors from the ordinary pale white to bright yellow to dazzling pink to fluorescent green. Not only could he see their colors, he could almost feel the life in the fungi. Each mushroom radiated a slight halo of energy which seemed to feed the cavern around it. Small insects buzzed all around the glowing fungi. It was an oasis of beauty that Hawkeye was unprepared to find in the cold deadly world of the Subterreth.
Kang seemed happy to find the fungi forest, until the thump and splash sound echoed once more through the cavern. “That noise can’t be natural. Something is making it.”
Shaking his head to clear it, Hawkeye focused his attention on his partner. “Aye. It occurs too regularly.”
Kang looked around. “No choice but to go forward or go back. I’m for going forward, you?”
Hawkeye shrugged. “This is your land. I’m just following your lead.”
“Then, we proceed forward but with extreme caution. With the presence of the fungi forest that means three things are nearby, water, food and...”
“And?”
“Trouble. In the Subterreth whenever you have the first two present, you will find that someone or something has tried to claim the area as its own. The odds are not in our favor for getting through this area without a fight.”
Hawkeye nodded and sheathed his melee weapons. Pulling out his great horn bow, he strung it with practiced ease and laid an arrow across the rest. Kang nodded his approval and lead the way into the fungi cavern.
One of the strangest and hardest things for Hawkeye to get used to while traveling through the underground corridors was the overwhelming silence. In the wilds of the Highlands, there is always some sort of noise; bird song, the chirping of crickets, the creaking of the trees, the rustle of the leaves overhead as the wind blows through, something….anything. But in the underground corridors of Subterreth it was quiet, deathly quiet. Not so in this cavern. The pouring water, thump, splash echoed through the darkness creating a constant noise which the barbarian actually found comforting.
The two friends cautiously followed a slight trail which wound its way through the fungi. Even considering the way sounds echo in the corridors of the underground, they both knew that they were approaching the source of the water. It was still a slight distance but every step took them closer.
Hawkeye caught a glimpse of moving heat on the cap of a nearby towering mushroom.
Trusting his instincts, he let fly an arrow and was rewarded with a howl of pain. The spear the creature was in the process of throwing landed several feet to their left. Any relief at foiling their ambush was lost as numerous monkey-like creatures jumped off the mushroom caps and quickly surrounded them.
Kang hissed. “Kobolds! Kill ‘em quick!”
Hawkeye had never heard of a kobold but trusted his companion’s judgment and fired another arrow before dropping his bow and drawing his weapons. Even as he waded into battle with the diminutive humanoids, he found himself studying the kobolds.
They were small, less than three feet tall and very slender. They had reptilian faces with two short horns and glowing red eyes. Their skin and tails were scaly and hairless. But to the barbarian the worst part was their smell. It was somewhere between a wet dog and stagnant water.
As skilled a warrior as Hawkeye was, there are times when the odds are so stacked against you that you know you are going to lose. This was one of those times. They were outnumbered by at least fifteen to one and even though their every strike killed or knocked one of the kobolds out of the battle, another one happily took its place. It was only a matter of time before their superior numbers overwhelmed the companions.
Then it happened.
Fatigue had slowed Hawkeye’s reactions just enough that he missed a block and spear tore through his furs and lodged itself in his right shoulder. Pain flooded his body but he twisted quickly to the right, pulling the spear’s shaft out of the kobold’s hands and thrust out with his left hand. He was rewarded with a gush of warm blood as he left his knife in the eye socket of the dead kobold and fell to one knee in pain. Expecting the remaining kobolds to rush them, Hawkeye struggled to regain his footing but was surprised to find that the reptilian humanoids had backed up a few steps. They were still surrounded but the kobolds weren’t attacking, at least not yet.
Hawkeye glanced over at his friend and found that he was also sorely wounded. Moving over to the gnome’s side, he noted that he had a spear sticking out of his gut. “How bad is it?”
“I don’t think it pierced anything vital but it sure hurts like hell.” Kang managed a weak grin. “I’m beginning to think you’re bad luck.”
�
�You might be right about that.” Hawkeye returned the grin before nodding toward the kobolds. “What are they waiting on?”
Kang shook his head. “I have no idea. Kobolds are scavengers and usually lead by the strongest pack member. I can only guess that they are waiting for their leader to come and finish us off.”
At that moment, the kobolds parted and in walked a creature Hawkeye had never seen before but guessed that it was the ogre. It was nearly eight feet tall and broad shouldered. It moved to the edge of the small clearing and planted its axe blades down in the dirt. Reaching down, it rubbed its hands in the dirt and rolled its shoulders around to loosen them up. It didn’t seem in any hurry, not that it needed to rush. The two companions weren’t going anywhere.
Kang grinned weakly. “Well, I guess that answers that question.”
As Hawkeye studied the new opponent he asked, “What’s that?”
“If you’re bad luck or not…this settles it. You are.”
Hawkeye glanced down at the spear jutting from his shoulder. He was in a quandary. Depending on the spearhead, he knew that if the spearhead was barbed removing it could cause him to bleed out so fast that he would be unable to staunch the blood flow and he would die. But with the spear protruding three feet out from his shoulder, he wouldn’t be unable to defend himself or his companion and the ogre would kill them easily. Knowing he would rather die fighting, Hawkeye struggled to stand and faced his companion.
“Pull it out.”
Realizing what the barbarian was going to do, Kang grabbed the spear shaft and tugged with all his might. The spear held fast for a brief second before sliding free. It wasn’t barbed but still left a thumb size hole in the barbarian’s shoulder.
Hawkeye fell to one knee with the pain as he fumbled in his belt pouches and pulled out a wad of peat moss. Gritting his teeth, he shoved the moss into the wound and watched as it slowed the blood flow.
Hawkeye was the eternal optimist. He had always tried to look for the bright side of every situation. Even when he was nailed to the tree and left for dead by Blackfang, he had never given up hope that he would survive. Even in the dark moments before the attack on Itasca, it wasn’t his fear of his death but the upcoming loss of so many of his friends which had threatened to overwhelm him. However, this was different. He and Kang were tired and wounded. Plus, they were surrounded and now he faced a fresh opponent who was both larger and stronger. Things didn’t look good.
He contemplated shifting to his hybrid form. He would be stronger and faster but without the aid of the enchanted goggles, he would be blind. Of course, he knew that his sense of smell would also increase which many times could be enough to direct him to his prey. But with him injured and the two of them completely surrounded by the kobolds in the pitch dark of the underground, it just didn’t seem to Hawkeye to be enough. Tucking his right arm into his belt, he stood back up and readied his tomahawk.
The ogre had watched all this and waited. Once the barbarian seemed ready, he snapped his axe up into a ready position.
Seconds later, the ogre attacked with a rush. Taking one stride forward, he closed the distance between them and swung his axe in a downward arc. Hawkeye dove to his left and felt the tremors of the mighty strike in the soil. The ogre immediately spun and swung his axe parallel to the ground. Hawkeye jumped up and back as it barely missed him a second time. The ogre’s mighty swing only stopped when he buried the axe blade deep into the nearby towering mushroom.
Wanting to take advantage of the awkward position the ogre found himself in; Hawkeye threw his tomahawk and leapt to the attack. Unfortunately, the beast was expecting an attack and dodged the hastily thrown weapon and lashed out with his backhand.
Hawkeye felt it connect and knew he was flying backwards but his world had gone dark. Not the comforting darkness of unconsciousness but the frightening blackness that comes with the knowledge that he’d just lost the enchanted goggles which allowed him to see. This didn’t bode well for him and he expected the ogre’s death blow any second.
Suddenly, a loud yell echoed in the cavern.
Hawkeye couldn’t see what was happening but he could hear the whack and smack of something hitting someone. From the increased chatter of the kobolds and the roar of the nearby ogre, he could only guess that something else had entered the fray. Rolling to his right, Hawkeye’s hand grazed against the fallen goggles.
Fumbling around for a second until he found them again, Hawkeye rapidly placed them to his eyes and blinked in disbelief.
Chapter 7
From the moment Midach and company entered the underground they knew they were in trouble. Typically the Subsolunes is reasonably deserted but not today. Oddr, the company scout, returned with news that there were signs that many feet had passed through the corridors recently.
Finding an entrance to Subterreth wasn’t difficult, at least not to a dwarf. Most surface dwellers never consider that there is a whole realm beneath their feet and to the Atrum Habito, the Dark Dwellers, which is fine by them. Although the dwarves are technically considered Atrum Habito, they typically don’t associate with the other Dark Dwellers but use the underground passageways to move across Terreth unseen by the surface dwellers.
Midach held up a closed fist and his company stopped quietly and waited for their leader to speak. Oddr kept a watchful eye on the passageway ahead of them as he listened.
“Okay mates, it seems there be some trouble ahead and none of ye are beholden to Hawkeye. I had the honor to walk Tatianna down the aisle, so I feel responsible on helping him find his way back to his mate. None of you have that obligation.”
Midach paused and stared hard at his men, trying to read their emotions and thoughts. Twelve of his men had fallen in battle at Itasca, including Balder. His brother Ander, stood ten feet away from him, wounded but with such a serene look on his face that Midach had no idea what the young warrior was thinking.
“The king should know that the Atrum Habito are roaming the Subsolunes. They may be planning something against our homeland. A messenger should warn the King. Any volunteers?”
Midach knew that this was a gamble but it was the right thing to do. He was giving his men an honorable way out of what was looking more and more like a suicide mission. If the gnomes were patrolling the passageways, then the odds that Hawkeye was dead or captured were high. Midach had sworn not to return without him, so he was committed to the task of rescuing him or recovering his body.
After a moment when no one stepped forward, Midach inwardly grinned and began to assign roles. Within minutes, the company was off. They weren’t five hundred feet down the passageway when they ran into their first gnomish patrol. It was only a small group of five gnomes but they didn’t hesitate to attack the larger and better armed dwarves. Midach’s company made short work of the gnomes but not before one had sounded an alarm which echoed through the dark corridors of the Subsolunes.
Midach scratched his beard. “Well, there goes any chance of a surprise.”
Agni, his second in command and a fierce warrior, rubbed his hands together in excitement. “Good. I hate sneaking around.”
His brother Brandr added, “I always prefer a straight up fight, especially when it’s these damn diggers.”
Ivarr, the other scout and the company’s best archer, spit in the dirt and reloaded his cheek with crushed tobacco. “You would. I would rather shoot them full of bolts before they ever reach us but then, that’s just me.” He spit again to punctuate his statement.
Before Agni or Brandr could comment on their ongoing discussion of the virtues of their preferred battle tactics, Midach ordered the company to move forward once again. The moment the order was given the eleven dwarves became serious and all business.
The dwarves continued throughout the day and had to fight for every mile they travelled. Their one advantage seemed to be that the gnomes were completely disorganized and never attacked en mass. But the nearly constant attacks wore them down. They would finish off
one group of gnomes and begin moving forward when they would be jumped again.
Sigurdr was the first to fall. Not only did he fall to the gnomish blades but they lost his body when a second group of gnomes arrived in such numbers that Midach had to order them to retreat to a more advantageous position. As much as it pained them to admit, their mission wasn’t to kill gnomes but to find Hawkeye. Hakon and Ander were the next to fall but not to gnomes but to a rock troll that had made its home in an alcove off the corridor the dwarves were using in their hasty retreat.
When the dwarves passed a rocky outcropping, they didn’t give it a second thought; at least not until it unfolded itself and attacked. Trolls are basically made of living rock and servants of Nox, the goddess of death, and considered anything and everything fair game. The remaining dwarves made short work of the troll and only took a moment to mourn their lost companions.
By the time they reached the underground pool where Hawkeye had entered the Subsolunes, they were down to six able-bodied warriors. Three had died in route and two were severely injured.
Of the eleven which entered the underground, only the two archers were unscathed. As the dwarves tended wounds and ate a cold supper, Oddr went scouting. Now that he was at Hawkeye’s starting point, he felt that he would be able to track his movements through the underground.
Midach knew what needed to be done and approached his second in command. “How are you doing old friend?”
Agni looked up with his one good eye. A gnome’s sword had broken off during the battle and slashed across his face. His helmet’s nose guard had saved him from losing the other eye but his left eye was completely gone. “I’ll live.”
Midach pointed at his injury. “You know that will slow you down a bit.”
Agni spit. “Aye. Damn gnomish steel. Well, at least Bromios gave us two eyes, so I’ve a spare that still works.”
Even though Agni was making light of his injury, Midach could see that he was in great pain. Midach nodded his head toward the pool and moved a few steps away from the rest. Seconds later, Agni joined him.
Tales of the Wolf: Book 02 - Enter the Wolf Page 5
