Along the rear of the creature, on the side nearest to the thieves, the hind leg is curled; the heels of the creature’s foot rest on the stone floor, with three large phalanges accompanied by thick claw like nails.
The light from the ceiling dimly illuminates the light brown leathery texture of the creature’s skin. Large boulder like warts line its exposed hide and rise up and down as the creature breathes. A carapace covers its back, full of two rows of protruding spikes that continue until the carapace ends midway along the tail of the creature. The light gently reflects from the hardened surface, further illuminating the large cavern. The tail, which is as long as its body, is elegantly stretched out and has deep creases where the skin of the beast had been pressed together.
At the opposite end, the creature’s head is adorned with two large antenna-like spikes, both differing from the other spikes along its carapace. The lower jaw of the beast protrudes, exposing its razor sharp teeth. The skin around the eyes are tightly shut, and large ocular organs are rapidly moving under the enveloping skin.
After examining the creature, both Tilthan and Nemral creep into the cavern, surveying the dome-like chamber. The walls are smooth and have an artificial hallowing to them.
A dark spot in the cavern wall catches Tilthan’s attention; it is nearly opposite of the men but as long as one and a half of the creature’s length away from the slumbering beast. The senior thief motions for Nemral to follow him then he slowly and silently crosses the smooth floor. Upon reaching the opening Tilthan steps through it.
This second tunnel is much smaller than the first, about the size of a large hallway in any large building of any city on Kalda. It’s wide enough to let several men to traverse abreast. Both thieves continue through the smaller passageway until the light from the larger cavern fades. Upon being concealed in darkness, Tilthan motions for Nemral to turn back.
A quarter of an hour later, the two thieves return and report to Iltar and the others; they signal their approach with a brief whistle that only their leader hears.
“Well we found out what made those,” Tilthan states as he wistfully appears on the path above the group, startling half the warriors and a few of the mages. “There is a big, ugly,” he states the next word with emphasis, “Monster in there. It was at least one hundred phineals in length, with a shell and spikes. It was sleeping, but it still looked hideous.”
“That doesn’t sound like a dragon Iltar!” Hagen blurts out.
The necromancer glares at his illusionist friend and continues to listen to Tilthan’s assessment of the cavern.
“We found a… wait, what?” Tilthan leans forward, looking at Hagen and then back to Iltar, “Dragons? I don’t suppose you were planning on telling us–” the thief pauses and puts out his hand attempting to stop Iltar’s words, “Wait! If you tell me you gotta pay me more! I was hired to just disable traps and scout things out, not soak up information.”
Amid the outburst, Iltar turns to face the thief and menacingly glares at Tilthan.
“Forget it, forget it!” the thief waves his hands in front of himself, as if trying to wipe away his earlier words.
“We did find another tunnel,” Nemral speaks up, “Smaller than this one, but I could feel a slight breeze, so maybe it leads to the northern face of the mountains. It was nearly on the opposite side of the larger tunnel’s entrance into the lair of that creature.”
“That sounds like what we’re looking for,” Cornar speaks up from behind Iltar. “What was it like in those other tunnels?”
“Dark,” Tilthan responds, “But if the mages use their magic they can light the way. There is light coming from the main cavern but it faded quickly in the other tunnel.”
“Light?” Iltar queries, “Strange…” the word trails off, and he is lost in thought over the scrolls once again.
“Do you think we’ll wake the creature if we walk past it?” Cornar asks.
“I don’t know,” Nemral responds, “It was making a lot of noises, what with its breathing and scratching the ground with one of its claws and all.”
“Regardless,” Amendal clears his throat, “We should go in invisible. Pairs of three, like we usually do.”
“Let’s do that, Iltar?” Cornar responds and asks.
“Fine.”
The party pairs into groups of three, except for Cornar, Iltar and the thieves. Once gathered the mages cast their concealing magic, and the small groups of men vanish from the foothills of the mountains. They make their way into the large cavern and into the deeper reaches of the mountain.
After ten minutes of calmly walking through the gigantic tunnel, the cavern holding the beast comes into view. Several gasps are heard from the party, but are quickly muffled. The beams of light illuminate the creature as before and Iltar recognizes the monstrosity from tomes of various creatures, real and fictional, that he had studied throughout his life.
Leaning to Cornar, who is veiled by Iltar’s concealing magic, he whispers, “That’s a tarrasque.”
“They exist…!” Amendal’s voice whispers in awestruck admiration from behind the two leaders.
“And that means what?” Cornar whispers in reply.
“According to legend, the creatures are nearly unstoppable. In ancient times they were supposed to have destroyed many cities on the now Desolate Lands. Many texts I’ve read suggest they were tools used in the dragon wars–”
“Then we need to keep moving,” Cornar interrupts Iltar’s explanation and grabs his friend.
With no further exchange, the deadly duo quickly makes their way to the dark tunnel directly in front of them.
As the two leaders are halfway to the second tunnel, a loud pounding noise resonates within the cavern.
Turning to see the source of the sound, Iltar looks back to see the nostrils on the beast twitch, and the tarrasque stirs from its decade long slumber. The enormous monstrosity pushes itself up on its left side, holding itself up with its left arm and leg. It slowly raises its right leg and swings around to face the invisible men. Upon the creature’s snout its nostrils continue to expand and contract more violently than in its slumber.
“No!” Iltar growls and he can feel Cornar tugging at him.
“Run!” Cornar emphatically shouts to the necromancer and the others.
The tarrasque directly faces the hurrying invisible party, whose rapid footfalls can now be heard dashing across the litter-less floor.
A deafening roar bellows from the creature’s open mouth in response to Cornar’s cry.
Iltar looks back once again and notices sharp teeth row the upper and lower jaws, along with a tongue that lashes out from its mouth. It steps through the beams of light and toward the invisible men. Its arms hang low and in front of its belly, which is covered by small rows of needle like forms of tough skin.
A moment later, Cornar and Iltar race through the cavern opening and turn around after dashing twenty phineals inside the smaller tunnel. Once inside, Iltar relinquishes their concealing magical veil; at the same time, other rapid footfalls can be heard within the small tunnel.
Just as the leading members of the party emerge from the magic, the tarrasque slams its left hand on the ground just outside the opening. It lets out another horrifying scream, and those trapped in the enormous chamber can be heard running in the opposite direction.
Meanwhile, within the larger cavern, the other claw of the beast quickly reaches out and grabs one of Cornar’s men between its forefinger and thumb. The grasp is enough to break the warrior’s invisibility, and the creature opens its jaws wider, tossing its victim upon its tongue. Its maw quickly shuts, trapping the doomed warrior. Agonizing cries pierce through the creature’s teeth as the warrior is shredded into pieces.
Still in the cavern and left visible to the creature, two of the warriors who had been with Hex and Amendal stand in fear. They horrifically watch the beast consume their comrade in arms.
Once finished with its first victim, the tarrasque turns to
face the two warriors left in its colossal cavern. It briefly gazes at its prey trembling beneath it, then in a sudden and swift movement the beast lunges forward, spreading its arms outward. Its head quickly races to the closest warrior and the gaping jaws descend, entrapping its next victim.
Still shaking, the third warrior runs through the cavern and out from whence they came.
Turning its head to watch the third warrior, the tarrasque devours its second victim much faster than the first.
As it swallows the second warrior, the tarrasque straightens its back, standing almost erect. It turns its body to match its head and completely faces the larger opening leading out to the southern part of the island.
Seeing its next victim stumbling away, the monster of legend raises its shoulders and the muscles of its back press against the hardened carapace. Loud but subtle sounds of seething rage bellow from the creature’s throat.
Amid its bellows, it leans forward and stretches out its large left hand. Once its palm touches the stone floor it pushes off with its two back legs, galloping on all fours through the opening; as it dashes it lets out an earth shattering yelp that causes a tremor within the caverns.
Meanwhile, Lorith, along with the two warriors with him visibly emerge from the cave and dash down the beaten path leading to the plain.
“How did that thing see us?” one of the warriors questions through his panting breath.
“I don’t know,” Lorith responds, “Maybe it can smell us… or the magic.”
“We need to split up,” Hemrin yells as they continue down the path. “That will give each of us a chance to survive. I’ll go to the left. You two, go another way. Try to meet back up at the beach.”
Soon after the three men make it back out into the open plain, the tarrasque emerges from the mouth of the cavern. It stops briefly, searching the landscape for its prey. The monstrous creature lets out another bellowing cry then bolts to the right of the mountain side. It dashes on all fours, spraying the surrounding area with dirt and large rocks dislodged from the trampled ground.
6
Warrens
Deathly screams fill the concealed expedition’s ears as they listen from the small tunnel. Their companion’s last wails cease soon after the creature of doom grinds their bodies against its teeth.
“Everyone stay right where you are,” Iltar states calmly. “We’re safe in here, I don’t think the beast can reach us.”
In the other chamber, a bellowing roar pierces rock and flesh. Iltar and the others stumble from the sound as well as from the vibration of the tarrasque’s thunderous gait out of the cavern.
After a moment, deep breaths of relief echo about the corridor, and after several seconds of silence one of Cornar’s men is the first to break it.
“What are we going to do about the others?” Grasil shakily asks and swallows hard. “Can’t we kill that thing?”
“No… I don’t think so,” Iltar says as he rises from the ground.
“Why in Heleron’s name did that thing come after us?!” Cornar demands, his anger resounding in his words.
“Well,” Tilthan interjects, “Maybe someone made too much noise as they were walking…”
“Don’t get under my skin Tilthan…” Cornar angrily swears and looks around for the thief. Shifting his focus, Cornar calls out, “Who all is here?”
After several moments the rest of the group are accounted for: fourteen out of the twenty men made it through, including all the thieves, and the mages except Lorith. The lone conjurer, the warriors with him, both warriors that were with Hex and one of the warriors with Amendal are missing, or in the belly of the tarrasque.
“Hex, we need some light,” Iltar calls out, quickly shifting his focus from the lost members of the party.
“All right…” the wizard responds and utters the words to a magical incantation, but still concealed by the magic surrounding him. In the middle of the tunnel, about the waistline of the men, a light shines in the darkness and rises to their eye level. The source itself is invisible, but the effect shines through and illuminates the cavern.
“Good, let’s get going,” Iltar calls out and utters the words to re-conceal himself and Cornar.
The sounds of footsteps follow the hovering light deeper into the long and slightly winding passageway. After traveling several minutes in silence, the expedition reaches a branch in the tunnel, widely forking to the left and right.
“Tilthan, Nath, go search either side,” Iltar calls out from the front of the men. “Go as far as you can then return.”
Not even a minute passes when a soft signaling whistle bounces off the walls of the tunnel to the right; jarring the patiently waiting members of the expedition.
“Well?” Iltar asks impatiently in response to the whistle.
“We definitely don’t want to go that way…” Nath states. “There are some creatures down there. I couldn’t tell what they were, but they made a strange chirping sound.”
“Odd…” Iltar remarks, “Then we better start down the other side.”
Still invisible, the expedition presses through the left branch. The cavern is full of twists and turns with very few straight portions.
As they move through the tunnel Iltar hopes to himself, “This passage better be uneventful. It most likely is since Tilthan had not returned. And those creatures, what were they? None of the subterranean creatures native to the mainland have ever migrated out to the islands I’ve visited.”
“We need to watch our backs,” Iltar whispers.
“I’ve been doing that Master Iltar,” Kalder states flatly from the rear in a hushed tone. “As long as those creatures don’t have lightening reflexes we’ll be fine.”
Soon after Iltar’s late warning, another whistle echoes gently against the cavern walls. The party halts and the moving beams of light become stilled, shining motionlessly on the stone surfaces.
“There was light up ahead,” Tilthan states generally. “I didn’t go outside, but I’d say the mouth of the cavern is about a few minutes away at a brisk walk.”
“Good, I want you, Nath, and Nemral to check the surrounding area… We might have company behind us. If you hear battle, race back here. Understood?” Iltar’s tone thickens with sternness as he finishes his instructions to Tilthan.
“Perfectly, let’s go boys.”
“Look who’s talking…” Nath mutters under his breath regarding Tilthan’s last words.
The dashing footfalls of the thieves lightly fill the tunnel ahead then vanish into silence; all the while, the rest of the party cautiously presses forward in the comfort of Hex’s light.
“Wait,” Kalder anxiously states. The party has only taken a handful of steps before the warrior stops them, “Do you hear that?”
At the warrior’s question, the men stop and turn around, facing whence they came. The sound of scurrying claws upon the stone floor echo along the tunnel. Within seconds after the party’s pause, bursts of light illuminate the cavern behind them, pulsing every dozen seconds.
“Tralyx!” Kalder shouts and can be heard unsheathing the weapon upon his back and dropping his pack.
“Whoa! Wa-wait! Tralyx hu-here?” Hagen stammers, “How did they get across the water?”
“We don’t have time for that now!” Kalder shouts from the rear and dashes forward. Three others can be heard rushing forward with him.
“Drop our invisibility!” Cornar barks.
Just as the leading warrior gives the command, the mages dismiss the concealing magic surrounding them. They were experienced in this sort of melee, and Cornar’s orders were merely redundant and superficial to the experienced mages.
“Shen, Grasil,” Cornar shouts again. “Stay back to protect the mages.”
The aged warrior and the others consisting of Kalder, Nordal and Aron can be seen running back along the earthen corridor about twenty phineals from the mages. In that same instant, a bright flash erupts around the turn in the long rocky passageway.
The blinding light causes the warriors to stop for a moment and shield their eyes. Temporary spots of blackness fill parts of their vision, but they can see the sources of the light emerging from around the corner of the tunnel.
Eight creatures, standing at chest height of an average man, move along eight legs. They have four appendages on each side which end in three-pronged claws; the two forward most limbs and the two furthest in the back are half the size of the four in the middle. Each of the limbs have three joints, the upper two resembling a human elbow or ankle and the lower acting as a knee of sorts.
The creatures are insect-like, with a slim upper body that flows out to a much wider part of its lower and rear end which is shaped like an egg. As they move along all eight legs, only the upper part of their chest above their forward most shoulders stands erect.
Their long necks support their oval shaped heads. The rear parts of their heads are rounded on the bottom, but curves upward to a point. Along the top of this curved section is a flat surface that follows the curvature of the rest of the rearward parts of their heads; upon this flat area are small follicle-like antenna. Along their front faces are pairs of mandibles, at either side of their vertically shut mouths. The top of their foreheads are rounded, and house six black eyes; they start at the center and move along to the base of the flat section of the creatures’ heads.
Small patches of a shimmering brownish-yellow skin line the entire length of its front and underside. The rest of their bodies are covered in dark brown scales.
Just as the warrior’s recover from the initial flash, another burst of light erupts from the leading tralyx’s chest.
Upon seeing the warriors, who have resumed their dash forward through the brief explosion of light into the tunnel, the tralyx rear up on their four middle legs. They raise their two forward most legs and snap their claws together in unison.
The Dark Necromancer Page 13
