by Unknown
"Where is Lucien?"
Several peculiarly dressed men sitting at the tables jumped. Three large men with rippling muscles stood slowly, scooting their chairs back.
"Why do you want to see Lucien?" one asked through gritted teeth.
"It's no concern of yours." Shaz said, beating down his stair with his own.
"Hhheee's gggoing tto kkil me iff hhe ddoesnn't ssssee him" Deagan stuttered.
"So kill him already." said one of the other men, with a crooked grin on his face.
Laughter sounded from the other low-life scum. He held out his hands for applause. Shaz had never had to play the bad guy before and of course he wasn't going to kill Deagan. A sudden thought came to mind. An old trick grandfather taught him. Shaz let go of Deagan’s collar and pinched a nerve in his neck while he put two fingers at strategic places along his spine. Deagan fell limp, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he crumpled to the floor.
The room gasped, with a hushed tone, "Go get Lucien." the first man said to the other, "He's going to be pissed, he killed his little brother."
The lump in Shaz’s throat hit the bottom of his stomach, and then shot back into place. A short man came from the back hallway. His black hair pulled back like Deagan's. He gripped the plackets of the vest jacket, as he strode into the room. He didn't want to believe the man and so he had a half-smirk-half 'I'm-going-to-give-you-a-knuckle-sandwich' look on his face, until he found the crinkled body.
"You killed my brother." Lucien said, his face turning ashen.
"He's not dead." Shaz said, "But I won't bring him back until you agree to tell me everything about the dungeons."
"Not dead. What are you, some kind of freak?" Lucien said, his pulse growing at a rapid pace under his skin.
"Freak? Are you kidding me?" he grinned sideways, "What do you call them?"
More men stood up, one threw his chair back and it smacked the bar.
"What do you want?" Lucien asked.
"I said, I want you to tell me all about the dungeons."
"Why?" Lucien asked,
"Do you want your brother or not?"
"Fine." Lucien said.
Shaz reached down and pinched the same spot. This time he put three fingers on different spots along his spine. Deagan's eyes shuttered and Shaz helped him stand. Lucien's eyes nearly popped out.
"How did you do that?"
"Let's talk in the back." Shaz said.
He gripped the back of Deagan's shirt and jolted him toward the back. Deagan stumbled as his body regained its strength and the nerves once again began to send signals to his brain.
"What are you doing Deagan, I thought I told you to stay out of trouble." Lucien said.
"I have, I have, but this guy he-" Deagan said.
He fumbled a small statue sitting on the oversized desk in the room.
"I need information and I don't have time for this. How do I get in and how many guards?"
"I don't like you." Lucien said,
He took his two fingers and peeled Shaz's fist off his body.
"I don't care." Shaz said.
"What, or rather who, is so important to you that you would risk your life to rescue?" Lucien's eyes gleamed with disdain, "Must be a woman, yes, I think so, no man would risk everything for anything less than a woman. That or money."
He made himself comfortable in his oversized chair. Lucien's complexion was slightly paler than Deagan's and Shaz surmised it was because he didn't get out much.
"Fine, yes it’s a woman, and she means a great deal to me, enough for me to kill for." Shaz said.
Shaz gripped the hilt of the sword and began to draw it from the sheath.
"I'm not afraid of your sword." Lucien said.
His body language said otherwise. He scooted back and rested in the chair. Shaz stood motionless. His blood was beginning to boil underneath. A surge of energy rumbled in his chest as the heat of magic stirred with in him.
"You have five seconds to start speaking." Shaz said.
"Or what, you'll kill my brother again? Nice try but I'm not falling for that twice." Lucien said, twirling his thumbs.
"Have it your way."
Shaz raised his left hand. A surge of magic tingled in the center of his palm. A red hot glow formed in the center and swirled around. Lucien shifted in his seat. His face drained of any color as he focused on the swirling color.
"Alright, alright. The dungeons are a maze of tunnels under the main square. They're guarded at each opening, seven in total. One entrance is at the far end, near the back side of the city. It's the least guarded by men because of the beasts that live in the water. They make their homes there and they’ll eat anything that enters the water."
He couldn't seem to drag his eyes away. Deagan stepped back until he hit the closed door. His mouth dropped and eyes widened. He shoved both his hands under his armpits to keep them from shaking.
"Go, on." Shaz said.
"I have a map." Lucien broke away from the magic and fumbled through the top side drawer of the desk and produced a map. He shoved everything out of the way and laid it on the desk. Shaz moved to the desk. Lucien pointed to the different spots on the map. "If you go in here you have the best chance of getting in, but I don't know how you are going to get out. There's just no way."
"Why can't I go the way I came?" Shaz asked.
"They say once inside there's some kind of force which blocks every entrance. It paralyzes your body." Lucien said.
"The legend says the original inhabitants of this city put a magic spell or curse on the dungeons, to secure an evil necromancer, but he was too powerful and escaped. He added his own magic to the curse in hopes of trapping the king." Deagan said.
He moved closer to the desk and was peeking over Shaz's shoulder. Deagan's well colored skin was now ashen and his eyes were half glazed over. Shaz stood back and ran his hands through his hair pulling the locks out of his face.
"Gavin Rhill." Shaz said.
“Who?” Lucien asked.
“Nothing.”
The sword whispered to his mind 'the medallion is a passcode, use Shadow magic’. Shaz studied the map again for moment.
"I'll need some help." Shaz said.
"Didn't you hear me? No one gets out."
Lucien leapt out of his chair and slapped his knuckles on the old polish.
"Leave that to me." Shaz said.
"How?" Lucien asked.
Shaz held up his palm again and said, "Trust me."
"Alright but you have to do something for me." He said, with a greedy glint in his eye.
"What?"
"Here," pointing to a room at the far end of the main corridor, "There's something in there that I want. Get it." he said.
"Fine. We leave tonight." Shaz folded the map and shoved it in his pocket.
"What about me?" Deagan asked.
"You stay. Put. Here." Lucien said, pointing to the floor.
"We'll need his boat."
Lucien shot Shaz a seething glare and then said, "Fine, but if anything happens to him I'm blaming you."
Shaz followed Lucien back down the hall. Lucien barked orders to his men. Shaz wondered what this little man had on them that made them follow his orders.
“You’ll be my lookout once inside.” Shaz said.
“Inside?” Deagan said.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you get stuck in the curse.” Shaz said.
“That’s just great, we get to get eaten by the creatures and he gets to be the lookout.” One of the thugs said.
“Just think you’ll go down in history as a hero.” Shaz said.
The thug smiled.
“Let’s go.” Lucien said.
Shaz gave the medallion to Deagan, “This will get you out, so don’t lose it, and I want it back.”
Deagan nodded and shoved it into his pocket. After Lucien and his thugs lead the guards away from the door, Shaz and Deagan slipped through the heavy gate and into the corridor. Shaz felt the m
agic force-field only a few feet from the entrance and hoped the sword was right about the medallion. Shaz moved quickly taking the correct turns and halls from memory. At the last hall, Shaz stood with his back against the wall, waiting for the sound of sharp boots on thick stone pass by.
"Shhh," whispered Shaz.
He held his arm out and pushed Deagan against the wall. Deagan listened to the swoosh of the executioner’s cloak. Waiting until the echoes of each foot were no longer distinguishable, Shaz tiptoed from behind the large pillar. He darted across to one of several large pillars throughout the vast opening. They were used as a support system for the large castle above. Each column attached to a rounded vault. They connected with the others, creating an acoustically sound design, to muffle the cacophony that came from the torture chambers. Deagan followed behind, racing to another pillar.
"Keep your nerve Deagan. Do not wretch." Shaz said.
He ran out in front of him and stopped behind another pillar.
"I'll try not-" Deagan lurched forward, relieved his body of the once cherished stew. Shaz grimaced with the splatter, "Sorry." Deagan said, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt.
"Come on." Shaz said. “We’re almost on the other side.”
Deagan followed Shaz around the pillar and dashed to the next and then the next. Shaz stopped short of the next room and put his back against the cold wall. It felt good on his warm skin. He rested his head and calmed his heart beat.
"Drakkar wants the girl to be brought in." said a guard.
"But she hasn't even been questioned yet." A deeper voice said.
"I'm not going to argue with Drakkar, are you?" the first said.
He screeched a chair against the gritty floor. The second guard shook his head. His eyes glossing over when he imagined would happen to himself if he did.
"I'll get the chair ready while you get the girl." he said.
Deagan darted back the other way but Shaz grabbed the collar of his shirt and jerked him into a small alcove built into the wall, then squeezed in after him. The heavy boots clunked down the hall, echoing into the distance as the guard disappeared.
"Shouldn't we go after him?" Deagan asked.
"No, let’s wait until he brings her up. Then we snatch her and run. I'd rather only fight two guards." Shaz whispered.
"Who's there?" asked the guard in the room.
Deagan held his breath and covered his grimace. Shaz rolled out of the cubby and tiptoed against the wall to the edge of the door. He peeked one eye through the opening between the door and the wall. The guard fixed the straps on the arms and screwed in a loose spike into the back of the chair. Shaz's heart raced with the sight of the chair. Oh my, he thought. Small spikes were screwed into the seat, back and arms of a heavy wood chair. Shaz crept around the door and stood behind the guard. He cleared his throat. He gripped the hilt of his sword and drew it from the sheath. The whoosh of the blade resounded around the room.
"Oh good your back." the guard said. Realization cascaded over his face. "Who are you, how did you get out?" the guard said.
He reached for his sword but Shaz was quicker. Shaz cut the belt that held the sheath, sending it clanging to the floor. The guard stood there dumfounded. A complete lack of intelligence in his eyes. He reached to pick up his sword.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Shaz said, holding his sword toward the guard.
The guard’s eyes nearly crossed as he peered at the point of the blade less than an inch from his nose.
"What do you want?" he asked, "Who are you?"
"I want the girl."
"What girl?" the guard asked, "There's no girl."
"The one your partner went to get." Shaz said, leaning forward closing the last half inch.
"Oh, that girl." said the guard.
He swallowed hard. A small bead of sweat dripped off his brow and plopped onto Shaz's sword.
"Sit." Shaz said. The guard moved slowly in the direction of his chair. "No, there."
Shaz pointed to the spiked chair behind the guard. The guard’s eyes widened and his lip began to quiver.
"Please." the guard said, holding his hands locked together in front of his chest. "If I sit there, I'll yell alerting the other guards. Don't you want to be quiet in order to escape?"
"Fine, sit there."
The guard moved to the chair and sat down.
"Who are you?"
"It's not going to work you know, trying to get me distracted."
Shaz took some leather straps from the spiked chair and tied the guard’s wrists and feet. He then took a cloth sitting on the table. Half-drenched with some substance he didn't want to know about. The guard cringed as Shaz shoved it into his mouth. Then Shaz leaned against the recessed wall. Shaz shuddered as he thought about what went on here. Deagan stood quietly, nestled in the recessed compartment listening, on the other side of the wall. He nearly chewed his first finger nail off and was rubbing it from the pain. Low clunks became audible as the guard returned down the hall. Deagan's heart quickened and sweat formed at his hairline. Shaz sensed his anxiousness and whispered through the hole.
"Everything will be fine, take a deep breath."
The clunks grew louder as did the swooshing of the cape they had heard earlier. Shaz rose from the wall. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, and his stomach dropped.
"Oh no," he whispered, "Deagan, run, back to the boat, NOW!" Shaz said, grabbing the hilt of his sword.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Selket
The sun climbed the sky outshining the three moons. The purple haze surrounded them and mixed with the soft blue of the sky, creating a gentle blur of colors that danced in the sky as it faded. Azrak listened, finding it hard not to laugh at the image of the cloth in the nostrils. Helios and Pontos spent most of the night preparing several hallucinogenic bombs.
Azrak dismissed them and they each started barking orders to their soldier. Helios and Brigdon slipped on their armor with the others, cinching it tightly around their broad chests and strapped on their girdle and belts. They slipped their helmets on, tucking in their feathers. With the soldiers standing in formation, Pontos took his soldiers and arranged them at the sides of the battle field.
Brigdon and Helios flew just under the tree tops until they broke the edge of the trees then leapt upward. Azrak, Ralti, Nasr and Tog slipped through the trees to the east taking cover until they reached the edge. They crouched low and crawled across the open field. They found shelter behind dirt hills and ruins until they reached their waiting point.
Helios and Brigdon hovered high in the sky until the first unsuspecting scorpion crawled out of a tunnel. Almost in unison, they both bent at the waist and dove beak first toward the ground. They pulled in their wings allowing a small crest of wind under them to keep them in a straight dive and plummeted to the earth. The gryphton's lifted up their hind legs and released their talons.
Brigdon’s claws screeched through the tough outer layer of the scorpion's shell. A loud shrill blasted the air. Brigdon's nose wrinkled as the raw stench of blood spurted. He whipped the scorpion upside down with his muscular hind legs and released his claws allowing the scorpion to hit the ground. As Helios was about to grip its belly armor with his hind claws, it threw its tail backward to sting Helios.
The stinger stopped dead center on Helios's chest but was unable to penetrate his armor. As Helios jolted backward his razor sharp claws ripped through the scorpion’s armor. Helios felt his claws enter the soft flesh underneath. He gripped it tightly and jerked the armor plate off. The scorpion lay writhing, his legs flailing about. With one last effort before it lost conscientiousness, the scorpion reached up with its pinchers and snapped. A loud clack sound thudded the air, but both gryphton's were hovering too high for it to reach them.
They flew back into the sky and waited for the rest to come out. Scorpions soon spilled out of the tunnels. Brigdon and Helios again dove back toward the earth and the rest of the gryphton's followed.
************************
"Is the ground trembling?" Ralti asked.
He could only assume it was the sound of thousands of legs from the scorpions running to the other side.
"It would seem so," Azrak said. "Let's go"
He slipped out from behind a dirt mound. They crossed the clearing stopping every few feet and listened to re-determine any changes. They quietly made their way into the tunnel and blinked a few times, to allow their eyes a chance to readjust.
"What is that smell?" Nasr asked.
All four gryphton's crinkled their noses.
"Something dead," Ralti said.
"Something awfully dead," Toth said.
"Do you hear that?" Azrak asked.
"What is it?" Ralti said.
"Let's hurry. We need to keep going and quickly. I don't know how long they will be able to hold them off," Azrak said.
They made their way through the first tunnel with help from little green glowing mushrooms that grew on the sides of the tunnel walls. The tunnel opened up to a small cavern with another tunnel on the other side. Azrak reached the tunnel and realized that it was smaller than the first.
"Take your armor off. We will have to go in crawling," Azrak said.
He lifted his chest plate off. The others took theirs off and followed Azrak through the next tunnel. At times the tunnels were small and others they were large and formed with four walls of stone. The glowing effects of the fungi allowed them to see the old remains of what was once a great hall. Human and Gryphton shaped shadows darkened the walls.
At one point they had to cross an old rope bridge. Several towering pillars had been destroyed. They had fallen, clashing against one another, just above the bridge making it so they couldn't fly over it. The bridge was narrow and swung uneasily under their weight. Using their paws against the wall and their ears, they shuffled through the tunnels. The deeper they went, the colder it became. The glowing mushrooms became fewer and fewer. Ralti took out a small torch and struck a rock against another, sending small flicks of sparks onto the oil soaked cloth.
After a few strikes the cloth burst into flames and he picked it up and held it out front. It was small so it didn't give off much light, but it was enough. Several times as they descended they reached adjoining tunnels. Once it seemed that one tunnel had gone in circles but it also went deeper into the ground.
