by Tyler Wild
We scaled the sheer face and pulled ourselves onto a narrow ledge. From there, the path looked a little easier, but it still wasn't for the faint of heart. The ledge wasn't quite wide enough for my feet.
Both Sophia and Cassandra possessed far better balance than I, and they navigated the slope gracefully. They were expert climbers. And Lily didn't have to climb at all.
I was the one slowing us down.
My hefty size came in handy during a fight, but not so much when scaling a mountain.
My goal was to get up and down the mountain by nightfall. I didn't want to be caught near the summit after dark. Temperatures would plummet and we'd be exposed to the elements. With no shelter, we’d likely perish.
Unfortunately, it was taking far longer to ascend the mountain than I had anticipated. It was almost dark by the time we crested the ridge.
The sun hung low in the sky, casting long amber rays. The west face of the mountain range soaked up the afternoon sun, keeping it warm. The east face was bathed in perpetual shadow.
As we crossed the ridge, I got my first glimpse of the desolate landscape that contained the entrance to the underworld. The ground was mostly flat and cracked like a dry lake bed. The breeze coming from the east smelled charred. Glowing embers floated through the air like fireflies. The air was thick with soot and ash.
It felt grimy.
Multiple rivers of magma crisscrossed the scorched landscape. It looked primordial and prehistoric. It was hot and dirty down there, but up here it was still brisk and cold.
Far on the horizon, I could see the entrance to the underworld. A small, temple-like structure peaked above the ground, not even revealing a fraction of the eerie catacombs contained below the surface.
We began our descent by creeping down a narrow ledge. Once again, I found the rock beneath my feet barely wide enough to cover the width of my foot.
I only made it a few steps when tragedy struck.
The ledge gave way, and I plummeted down.
The slab beneath my feet tumbled along the sheer cliff face and smashed the rocks below.
Somehow, I managed to grab hold of the ledge during my fall. I hung from my fingertips, clinging on for dear life.
The girls shrieked in horror. Their shrill voices echoed off the side of the mountain.
My fingertips were sliding across the ledge, and it felt like it was going to give way completely.
When I tried to pull myself up, the small fragment broke free, and I was in a free fall.
My eyes widened, and my stomach launched into my throat. I scratched and clawed at the air, but no matter how hard I tried, I wasn’t going to sprout wings and fly.
45
Kron
I was fully prepared to die. I thought this was it. There was nothing between me and the jagged ground several thousand feet below.
Lily’s hand grasped mine.
She hovered in the air above me, having grabbed me in the nick of time.
But my weight was too much for her to sustain.
We sank down the side of the mountain, despite her efforts to keep me up. We glided to the bottom below like I was holding onto a weak hot-air balloon. I tumbled to the ground as we hit the bottom, and Lily fell on top of me and into my arms.
She giggled with relief. “I guess that’s one way to get down the mountain?”
“And not a bad way at that,” I said.
“Certainly a lot faster. I’ll go get the others.”
She leapt into the air and flew up the side of the mountain. She brought down Cassandra and Sophia in the same fashion. Since they were considerably lighter than I was, their descent wasn’t nearly as fast, and their impact on the bottom not as abrupt.
As I had anticipated, it was considerably warmer down here. It would get hotter the closer we drew to the underworld.
I brushed the dirt and debris aside, and we continued our journey. Soon, a slimy film of sweat covered my body, and our faces grew grimy from the soot and ash in the air.
A thin mist covered the land. Sometimes the path was clear. Other times, visibility dropped to no more than a few feet as the milky haze drifted about the wasteland.
We walked past barren trees, across the cracked earth, running into the occasional undead corpse. They limped along, fueled by their craving for living flesh. They were easily dispatched with the quick slice of a sword. They weren’t true demons in the traditional sense and were more of a nuisance than anything else.
The wasteland was a sort of purgatory. These undead were the souls of those whose crimes didn’t warrant an eternity in the underworld, but whose deeds didn’t merit everlasting life in Valinsmor. It was for the unambitious. Those who refused to take a stance, make a choice, or do anything of merit.
We came to a river of molten lava that halted our forward progress. The glowing magma oozed, flowing slowly. It popped and crackled, and occasionally spit scalding drops of magma. The steamy air hit my face like a furnace. Stand too long by this river of fire and your skin would surely blister.
“How the hell are we going to cross that?” Sophia asked. “You are certainly too heavy for Lily to lift across.”
Out of the mist, the ferryman appeared, rowing a boat across the molten river. Shrouded in a black robe, the deathly figure stood tall in the vessel. His withered skeletal hands clutched the oar.
The boat was made of dragon's hide and was impervious to the molten lava. I was hesitant to step aboard when the ferryman pulled ashore. The narrow vessel looked unstable. Capsizing in the middle of the fiery river didn’t sound like my idea of fun. But if we wanted to reach the underworld, we would have to take the ferryman up on his generosity.
Though he wasn’t going to work for free.
The ominous figure held out his craggy hand with an open palm. He waited for me to fill it. I dug into my pocket and handed him the coin Phaedra had given to me.
We climbed into the boat, avoiding the hot magma. The ferryman pushed away from the shore and shuttled us across the molten river. It was like paddling a boat across the surface of the sun. The soles of my boots grew uncomfortably warm from the heat that radiated through the dragon-hide. Sweat covered my body, and my garments were soaked.
The grim figure didn’t say anything. The boat creaked and groaned as he paddled through the glowing sludge. The trip across the river was hot and uncomfortable, and one step away from disaster. Every wobble of the boat set my heart aflutter. We were all one clumsy mistake away from becoming deep-fried. I couldn’t imagine what it was like to shuttle people across this river of lava for all eternity. You’d think the ferryman would have been more talkative. But I don’t think he was used to ushering living souls across this river of fire.
We reached the other side, and I climbed from the vessel. I helped the girls out, and we continued our journey across the wasteland.
By the time we reached the temple, I was thirsty and hungry. I figured this would be our last respite before the chaos began. We all took this opportunity to indulge ourselves in ale and have more of the enchanted beans.
The temple was nothing more than a gateway to the underworld. The entrance resembled a large mouth. Fangs were carved into the stone, and viper like eyes gazed at us, like a predator observing its prey.
In front of the mouth, a towering statue of a three-headed hydra guarded the entrance. At first I thought it was a symbolic figure.
But it was much more than that.
The stone gave way to a living breathing creature. It transformed before my eyes into a serpentine monster covered in scales. It had arms and legs like a man. Massive shoulders and rippling biceps. Legs like tree trunks, and a thick, wiggling tail. It had sharp black claws and fangs that could tear through flesh with ease—and no doubt loaded with venom.
Its three heads undulated, flicking their forked tongues at me. The beast eyed me with derision and hissed, “I am Typhos, keeper of the underworld. Only the dead may enter!”
I smiled, hoping to set a jovial
tone. “As you can see, we are not dead.”
“Then I suggest you turn around and go about your business. I will see you soon enough.”
“I’m afraid we can’t do that. We must enter the underworld.”
“In that case, let me hasten your demise.”
The creature hissed again and took a combative stance.
We drew our swords and prepared to fight the monster. Typhos had guarded the underworld for eons and had never been defeated. Though, I don’t think people often fought to get into the underworld.
Lightning was slow in comparison to the strike of the hydra.
One of its heads rocketed toward me. All I could see was a flash of fangs and its forked tongue.
I sidestepped and hacked at the creature’s outstretched neck. Asgoth pierced through its scaly skin, severing the serpent’s head clean off. It flopped to the ground, oozing blood onto the dirt.
For an instant I thought this was going to be easy.
That was wishful thinking.
In a fraction of a second, a new head regrew from the stump, hissing and striking.
46
Kron
There was a reason Typhos was undefeated in battle.
He was damn near impossible to kill.
The three of us hacked at the serpent’s heads as they struck repeatedly. We narrowly avoided doom, dodging out of the way in the nick of time.
Despite our best efforts, the beast kept regenerating. And the ground was littered with serpentine heads.
It was clear to me that we were going about this the wrong way. There had to be a way to kill the beast, and trying to lop off its heads wasn’t the way to do it.
Lily hovered above the monster, taunting it. It would occasionally strike at her to no avail. She’d fly out of the way just in time as its massive jaws snapped.
She was the only one who could gain an advantage over the creature.
I staggered back and tossed my sword to Lily as she hovered atop the creature.
She knew just what to do.
She plummeted down, stabbing Asgoth through the beast’s spine, plunging through its thoracic cavity, skewering its heart.
The tip of the blade broke through the serpent’s chest plate, spewing blood onto the dirt below. The beast collapsed to the ground, writhing and flailing.
It bucked Lily away.
Typhos could regenerate his limbs and heads, but he couldn’t grow a new heart while the blade impaled it. At least, it appeared that way. Soon, the squirming beast lay still, its forked tongues hanging from its jaws.
I climbed atop the creature and pulled Asgoth free.
That was another mistake.
With the blade no longer in its chest, Typhos regenerated his heart. His lungs filled with air, and the serpent staggered to its feet.
My eyes widened as I backed away from the creature. “I think it’s time to run!”
We dashed toward the temple as the creature rose to its feet and chased after us. My heart pounded, ready to punch through my chest. My boots smacked the dirt, and the wind rustled my hair. I ran as fast as I could.
The creature’s heavy footsteps rumbled the ground as it pursued us.
I glanced over my shoulder at the serpentine monstrosity. Its long strides and powerful legs drove it forward at a fast pace. It made up the ground between us in no time.
We darted through the mouth of the temple, into the inky blackness. The ground sloped down, and I almost fell.
Typhos followed, but the creature’s broad shoulders were too thick to squeeze through the mouth of the temple. His heads extended as far as they could, each taking one last snap at us. The creature’s hot breath blew across my the back of my neck, standing the hairs on the end. His jaw clamped tight, echoing off the stone walls.
We reached the bottom of the incline. Cassandra used a magical stone to light the narrow passageway ahead. Its blue glow revealed stone walls etched with glyphs. Cobwebs dangled from the corners, and creepy crawly things slithered between the slabs, disappearing into cracks and crevices.
As soon as we stepped into the passageway, wall sconces flickered to life. No longer needing the glowing stone, Cassandra put it back in her bottomless bag.
I moved cautiously down the hallway with my sword drawn. I knew that every step in the underworld could be a precarious one. I fully expected the floor to give way at any moment, or poison darts to shoot out of the walls. But neither of those things happened.
Yet.
At the end of the passageway was a stone slab. An inscription was carved into the stone in the ancient language of Zaakrit—the tongue of demons. The same backwards language Phaedra had used.
“What’s it say?” Sophia asked.
“It’s the Tomb of Yertos,” I said. “Phaedra said the temple was built on top of the tomb. It is the way into the underworld. We will find the Ring of Ulnör buried with Yertos.”
“The inscription says a blood sacrifice is required to enter,” Cassandra said at the same time Asgoth did.
“How do you know that?” I asked, surprised.
“My father wanted me to be well-versed in a variety of languages as well as history,” Cassandra replied.
“What’s so great about this ring?” Sophia asked. “Why does Phaedra want it?”
Asgoth knew the legends. He had been alive for eons and witnessed many things firsthand. He decided to make his voice known to the rest of the girls. “It’s all because of a woman.”
Lily and Sophia face twisted with confusion.
“Who said that?” Sophia asked, glancing around the passageway.
“That’s Asgoth,” Cassandra said, flatly. “Kron’s demonic sword.”
“No shit? I thought I was going crazy for a moment, hearing voices.”
“He’s annoying, but you’ll get used to him,” Cassandra said.
“I am not annoying. I’ll have you know I am well respected among demons.”
“Is that why you got banished from the underworld and imprisoned in this sword?” Cassandra asked.
“A series of unfortunate events and misunderstandings,” Asgoth replied.
Cassandra rolled her eyes.
“I’d like to hear the story,” Lily said in a cheerful tone.
“Thank you,” Asgoth said. He pretended to clear his throat. “As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted—”
“Save it,” I said. “Let’s get into this tomb first. There will be time for stories later.”
“I beg to differ,” Asgoth replied. “You never know what the future might hold. You all will probably be dead in a moment. Then who will I tell my story to?”
47
Kron
“Let me see your sword,” I said to Cassandra.
Her curious eyes gazed at me, but she complied. She handed me the blade, and I promptly sliced the palm of my hand.
Red blood flowed.
Cassandra’s eyes widened. “What are you doing?”
“Blood sacrifice.” I smiled, then rubbed my bloody palm against the stone slab. The heavy door rumbled and slid open. The sound of stone on stone grinding echoed throughout the tomb.
A gust of wind smacked us in the face, smelling of thousand-year-old corpses.
I handed the sword back to Cassandra. I didn’t want to use Asgoth. I didn’t think he would poison me, but why take any chances—especially after I had just cut off his storytelling? He could be rather temperamental, and he certainly had anger management issues.
Cassandra took my hand and worked her healing mojo on the small gash.
More wall sconces magically flickered to life as we pushed into the hallway. A low groan filled my ears. It was as if the tomb itself moaned.
It sent chills down all of our spines and raised the hairs on the back of our necks. The goosebumps on the girls’ arms made their skin look like that of a plucked chicken.
The walls began to rumble, and dust fell from cracks in the slab. The bugs scattered, knowing what was about
to happen.
The entire hallway begin to close in on us. We’d be stains on the walls if we didn’t move.
We sprinted down the passageway, running as fast as we could. The hallway grew more narrow with each step. The walls rumbled, and dust fell from the ceiling. It was a long sprint down the passageway, and I wasn’t sure we were going to make it in time.
My heart pounded, and I sucked in huge gasps of air. But with each inhale I was breathing in eons of dust. I coughed and hacked as I sprinted down the ever narrowing passageway.
As I reached the end, I dove into an antechamber and tumbled to the ground. Sophia and Cassandra followed behind me, and Lily flew through just as the walls slammed shut.
We were trapped in the tomb.
There was no turning back.
If anybody had second thoughts about this little adventure, it was too late now.
The antechamber was lined with skulls embedded in the walls. There were thousands of them. Amber flames from the wall sconces illuminated the ancient skulls.
I gazed at them for a moment, wondering who they were? What kinds of lives they led? How they ended up in this tomb?
Then something eerie happened. It was both beautiful and unsettling.
Angelic voices filled the chamber, singing choral chants. The melody was pleasant and the voices immaculate. I could listen to the sound for hours.
It was surprising to hear something so beautiful in a place so wretched.
I looked around at the others, they were equally astonished by what we heard, and somewhat transfixed by the skulls.
Asgoth said something, but I didn’t quite pay attention to him. His chatter seemed to fade away, and the only thing I could concentrate on were the beautiful voices dancing in my head.
The demonic sword kept nagging. And I remember telling him to shut up on more than one occasion. I didn’t want anything to disturb this auditory bliss.
