With a reduced speed, the community around Agnar went to the dead tree and remained very vigilant. It was so quiet that it was hard for anyone to believe that something evil could be lurking in this place. The lava flows gave a bright red light and illuminated everything that was in the cave.
Suddenly, Gymir's army gathered around the old tree and stood there with disbelieving eyes. Agnar and Hjalprek pushed past the rock golmes and watched for the astonishment.
The naked horror was written in their faces as they saw what hung down there from the bare branches. Almost two dozen men hung with naked torso, upside down on the tree and had numerous wounds in the chest region. Their hands were tied behind their back and their legs were tied together with a thick cord. They had obviously been hung up and then bleeded out. Some of them seemed to hang there since a long time. It must have been very painful to die on this way.
After Agnar had digested the first shock, he went to the dead and looked into their faces. They were men of all ages. Young and old. There was no apparent reason why they were killed, but who it was, it was immediately clear.
Agnar had patterned more than the half of all the dead, when suddenly the air in his throat stuck. No! That can not be! That is not true! He stopped in front of one of the hanged and looked for a long time in his blood-smeared face. Despite his many scrapes and the clotted blood, he had recognized him again. It was Uller. His eyes were wide open and his chest was still.
For the first time Agnar did not know what to do or think. He was paralyzed and did not dare to approach the dead, let alone to touch him.
Slowly his sword slipped out of his fingers and fell rattling to the dusty ground, while he tried to suppress his grief. The man he had known all his life and who was always like a father to him was dead.
"It's my fault, if only I had went out sooner!", he said softly, placing his hands on his neck.
Then he thought of Geirröd again and looked at the other hanged, whom he had not yet watched. Fortunately, he was not there, but that did not mean that Agnar's mood was better.
After a while, Hjalprek came up from behind him and laid his hand on his shoulder. No one had to say a word to understand what was going on.
Shortly after Hjalprek, Gymir went to Agnar and lifted his sword from the ground. When he handed it to him, Agnar looked at it for a long time before he took it back.
When Agnar again held the two silver ravens, which formed the handle, a tear rolled over his cheek. A lonely tear, nothing more. His pain was far too great for words to describe him.
Despite all the circumstances, he could not fall to his feelings because he had something to do and had to be fully functional.
He wiped the tear from his face and focused again on the children. To find them was his biggest goal, but he did not want to left Uller hanging on the tree. With a quick strike, he severed the holding rope and dropped his dead friend gently into his arms. His body was cold and his skin felt like rubber.
Then he laid him on the floor and closed his eyes with his fingers.
"Forgive me!", he said softly to him, lingering for a moment.
Suddenly a shrill scream broke through the cave and broke the silence. The ground began to form cracks and a hectic flicker of shadows was seen on the walls.
Agnar quickly got up again and looked around with his drawn sword.
"CAUTION!", Gymir suddenly called to his men, but too late. A huge stone had broken from the ceiling and smashed six of the rock golems.
Unrest returned to Gymir's army; but their leader managed to get them back to order.
On the unrest followed an ominous silence. The world suddenly seemed to stand still. Then something happened. A vibration from the inside of the volcano caused the ground to shake. Large, heavy steps sounded behind the rock walls and came closer to the cave.
The tension rose and a cold tingling pulled over Agnar's back. It was not clear where the noise came from, but it had to be very close.
Suddenly a sound came from the east wall and the whole cave was shaking. There seemed to be something from the other side of the wall. Again and again there was a bang that released the dust from the ceiling. Slowly the rock wall began to form cracks and the first stones dissolved. The hell-beast!
"Get ready!", Gymir shouted to his golems, who promptly formed a wall and stood close together.
Hjalprek straightened his bow and pointed it to the spot where a long crack passed the rock wall. Every moment the wall had to collapse and the horror on the other side was visible.
Agnar had freed himself from his grief and could hardly wait for the wall to break. Unlike the others, he was not frightened, but hateful.
"There they are!" Cried one of the rock golems, as the wall collapsed with a last great jolt in a thick dust-cloud.
As the dust blow away, it was not as expected the burning hell monster that came to the fore, but the Orcs, the reinforcement had. They came rushing along with one-eyed giant beasts, which were not dissimilar to an Orc.
"Make them down!", Gymir shouted, whereupon his men stormed into battle.
With a lot of noise, the two armies struck each other and went to each other's throats. The one-eyed ones were armed with thick morning stars, with which they beat the stone beings into small pieces.
Agnar fought with Gymir on the front line, while Hjalprek shooted his arrows from the background.
The one-eyed ones proved to be very stubborn opponents in the fight. Not only that they were strong enough to conquer the rock golems, they also had such a thick skin that Hjalprek's arrows simply stuck in them without any effect. Even as he shot them in the middle of the eye, they just shook and fought just as if nothing had happened.
The battle was brutal and promised no good end for the stone beings. Agnar fought bravely, but he had to realized that no victory could be won.
"Agnar!", said Gymir. "Keep going and find the children. We do this here."
To move away from the battlefield displeased Agnar, but Gymir was right. But how can I go on? Still the entrance to the tunnel was surrounded by a lava wall and could not be entered.
Gymir thought as he fought for and had an idea. With a straight right punch, he struck an Orc's head from his shoulders and took him his sword. Then he ran to one of the one-eyed ones who had just entered the cave and rammed the blade into his stomach with all his might.
The giant beast let fell with a terrible roar his morning star and held his belly with both hands, while Gymir caught up the weapon in the fall and slammed it against the one-eyed. Immediately the monster was dead. His action aroused in the rock golems new hope of victory and insecured at the same time the Orcs.
Subsequently, Gymir threw the captured morning star with a lot of power on the opening of the lava wall and managed to stop the flow of the river for a while and to let the entrance of the tunnel free.
"Quick, it will not hold long!", Gymir called to Agnar, who promptly put the invitation into action.
Agnar ran as fast as he could towards the tunnel, hoping that Gymir's plan would work, when there was suddenly a shake that caused the morning star to dissipate and the lava to flow again.
No more than five yards separated Agnar from the entrance and he did not intend to stop his run. With a huge leap forward, he flew into the tunnel and landed hard on the ground; before the burning barrier closed behind him. Done! Just a second later and he would have had a cruel death. The noise of the battle fell silent behind the hot lava wall and Agnar was again on his own.
After he had stood up, he knocked the dirt from clothes and followed the course of the tunnel. The path fell steeply, only to connect again to rise and led him even further in the direction of summit. Everywhere glowing coals lay on the ground, which illuminated the path, weakly but sufficiently. There was a dead silence in the tunnel, which was almost too quiet to trust her.
For a long time nothing happened and Agnar was able to went more deeply into the Firemountain,
until a clattering sound came from behind him. He looked back, but could not see anything because of the cornering.
As it did not sound a second time and nothing else happened, Agnar decided to just ignore the incident and went on.
After a while he came to an old copper mine, which obviously had already the best times behind. There were many rails that were bent or otherwise destroyed and mining machines that were completely or partially in ruins.
Neither the children, not the Orcs were to see and slowly it began to get really uncomfortable. The heat continued to increase and the air was polluted with sulfur.
Suddenly the same rattling sound came from behind him, but this time it seemed much closer. Agnar drew his sword and looked back into the tunnel, where a shadow shaded at the edge of the illuminated area. Quick triple steps were heard at once. Something seemed to be approaching.
The shadow grew ever greater and out of nowhere came a strangely moving creature. Agnar got ready and was about to swing his blade when suddenly the creature began to speak to him:
"No! It's me!", said Hjalprek, who had followed him. He limped lightly and held his right arm, where he had strong burns.
"Oh my God, do not scare me!", Agnar said, pushing his sword back into the belt buckle. "What happened to you? How are the others?"
"Gymir is doing well. He and his army have been able to push back the Orcs and still fight them. I walked through the tunnel in the same way as you did; but in contrast to you, I came into contact with the lava."
"Can you fight?"
"Yes, it's all right. It's not as bad as it looks."
"Good!", said Agnar, relieved to have a companion again.
Then they went together through the narrow mine and watched for the children. Hjalprek seemed to have a strong pain in his arm, because he was making a tense face all the time. Still, he did not make any complaints and followed Agnar's steps.
The heat gradually became intolerable and heavy fumes of smoke took the two more and more the view. Suddenly a snarling smacking noise appeared in front of them. Cautiously they crept forward and bent over a large box, as without warning something fast crept in front of them.
A lioness-sized lizard, with a thick head, was sitting on a flat stone, not two yards away. She had a gray, spiky back armor and a long tail, with two tips. From her outward appearance she looked quite menacing, but did not make a particularly wild or aggressive impression.
Then the lizard looked directly into there faces and begin again to give these snapping smacking sounds from itself. Agnar wondered how he could best defend himself against this beast, and noticed a thick steel hammer lying directly in front of him in the crate. Slowly, he stretched out his hand to the grip and locked it with full force.
Agnar and Hjalprek waited tensely for an attack of the lizard, but she seemed to have no interest in the two and disappeared through a crack in the rock wall.
Suddenly the tension vanished again and the two could go on. Agnar took the steel hammer with him, because with his heavy, naked head he offered himself as a weapon and one could never know whether one could still use it.
Then they followed the course of the bent rails without really knowing where they were going. There were many alternative ways through which one could go, but only one path showed such a clear destruction that it was clear that Orcs had to be marched through. At the latest, when the two found a dead wild boar at the edge of the way, it was clear that they were on the right way.
After a while the copper mine ended and a round tunnel led the course of the rails. The trail was getting steeper and Hjalprek was obviously struggling with his feet. The pain in his arm improved, but he was anything but fit.
As they walked through the tunnel, the climate changed and a fresh draft of wind blew around them. The bright light that the lava gave off disappeared and was replaced by a friendly glow at the end of the tunnel. The heat went away and Agnar got a sense of security, as he had last felt in Kerli's house.
The tunnel was gradually coming to an end, and Agnar's and Hjalprek's eyes seemed to smile. They had reached the summit of the volcano and were finally able to breathe clear air again. It had already been night and a large, bright moon shone with many sparkling stars on the broad surface of the crater.
"Look!", said Hjalprek, pointing to a large rock were was right in the middle. High up was the cage with the children, which the Orcs had previously brought into the Firemountain.
"Thank the Lord!", said Agnar, relieved and ran happily toward the rock.
Since Hjalprek had enough to struggle to stand on his feet, Agnar had to try alone to free the children somehow. He leaned the steel hammer against the wall, rammed his sword into the ground and began to climb.
Step by step, he climbed the rock and reached the cage within a very short time. The children were weak and tired, but they were doing well. Their spirits reawakened when they saw Agnar and a chorus of pleasures sounds sounded across the summit. Agnar opened the door with a few precise kick and helped the children to turn out.
When they had arrived the ground, they were warmly received by Hjalprek and thanked them again and again.
When Agnar had solid ground under his feet again, he packed his belongings and went back with the other's. At last it was done and the children were able to return to their homeland.
While Hjalprek and the children had already gone to the tunnel, Agnar remained a moment, looking at the moon. It was only at this moment that he slowly realized what had happened in the last days. Especially the death of Uller was no longer out of his head. He couldn't believe it. How is it going to go now and how can I tell Sigurd that his brother does not live anymore? Over all these questions was the uncertainty about Geirröd's whereabouts? Did he survive? Is he dead? Was he also hanged on a tree and left to die?
"Come Agnar!", the children shouted cheerfully.
He breathed deeply and then went on the way to the tunnel. He knew that later he had enough time to break his head and did not want anything more than to left this volcano.
Suddenly there was a loud crash that caused the crater to tremble. At first it was uncertain what it was, but it could not have been good.
Then it crashed a second time and Agnar turned slowly. The big rock on which the cage, with the children stood seemed suddenly to shine. Again and again it flashed in a bright red. It was almost like a heartbeat streaming between the grouting of the stones.
Then it crashed again and the rock began to move at once and changed the form. The children were screaming, while Hjalprek almost stopped his heart.
From the rigid rocks, arms and legs began to sprout and a head seemed to form at its highest point.
Agnar was paralyzed with fear as he watched this strange mutation. It all went so fast and suddenly a huge rock creature stood before him and looked at him with big, yellow eyes.
One moment later, the beast gave a shrill scream and broke into flames.
"RUN !!!", shouted Agnar to Hjalprek and the children, while he himself did not dare to move even a step.
The Flaming Creature burned so brightly that the light of the stars darkened and the moon remained behind a black sky.
Hjalprek ran with the kids without turning around in the tunnel; which was in the interest of Agnar, who was more concerned about their lives than about his own.
It was truly a hell beast that awoke before his eyes. An indescribable, frightening creature, with long pointed horns and thick black claws. His mouth was huge and full with pointed teeth, which were unevenly one behind the other. The flames that it produced, burned incessantly and involuntarily into the sky.
Agnar drew his sword with all the rest of quiet he could muster, while the beast began to circle him.
Suddenly, the flaming devil began to run and stomped aimlessly through the crater. At each of his steps the earth trembled, causing a part of the ground to collapse.
Then it happened and Agnar was attacked. With hi
s two sharp claws, the hell-beast gave a series of punches, which Agnar could block and jump to the side. He tried to defend one of the blows by beating with his steel hammer; but this turned out to be unwise in hindsight.
The force that came from the blow of the fire devil was so violent that Agnar flew with a high arc through the air and fell hard on the ground. The landing was painful, but he was except for a few bruises okay.
He could quickly get up again and look his opponent in the eyes. The hell monster stared at him, but did not move from the spot. Also Agnar remained for the time being on the spot and was planning his future doings. There was apparently nothing to defeat the flame devil.
Only a few seconds later, Agnar noticed a small gem on the beast's forehead. The pulsation that flowed through his body seemed to have its origin precisely at this point. There must be a connection between this gemstone and the life energy of the Hell monster.
Suddenly the Flame Devils took a deep breath and spewed a wide-area heat wave through his mouth, which came to meet Agnar quickly.
Agnar tried to get away as quickly as possible (which proved to be very difficult, as there were not many evasive possibilities) and ran to one of the freshly opened holes in the ground. Without thinking too much, he jumped in, while the flames rumbled over him.
He fell just three meters deep until he managed to hold onto the wall. The abyss was deep and led directly into a lava lake. Agnar had been lucky again, but now he heard the flame devil beating again.
BANG... BANG... BANG... The flaming devil came nearer and Agnar had no protection.
With great difficulty he managed to pull himself up on the wall again and to get out of the hole, before the beast could grab it. The Flame devil raged with anger and took another breath, when Agnar recognized the chance at the moment and hit him with the steel hammer on the foot.
A beating scream escaped the beast from the throat while it lost his balance and wavered. Now fast! Thought Agnar and attacked a second time; but this time against the knee.
The hell-beast shouted again and swayed much more and more, until it could no longer hold his balance and fell to the ground. The gem stone on his forehead was just before Agnar's eyes as he swung his sword and rammed it into the monsters forehead. A huge blaze of light blazed up, while the gem stone broke into a thousand small pieces and mixed with the dirt on the ground. The heat at the sword's grip was so strong that Agnar burned his hand and had to let go.
The Kingdoms of Wala: Agnar and the battle of the Firemountain (1) Page 11
