Dumont's Harem Castle Adventure

by Alexis Ward

  “It will not hold forever. Let’s keep moving.” Marybeth suggested as the unseen creature clawed and slammed at the door, which shook violently, but remained firmly closed.

  “Right. To the far side?” I asked Sasha. She shook her head and then led us to a place about midway along one of the longer walls. Her fingers trailed against the stones, till she felt whatever she was looking for. She stopped, dug her fingertips around the edges of a brick, removed it, then reached into the dark space beyond that with her arm up to her elbow. There was a faint click and a horribly loud grinding noise, then a section of the wall swung away, revealing another passageway deeper into the darkness.

  “Just a few more chambers. This will close behind us, but it can be opened from both sides if you know the trick of it. The apes have never quite figured it out, so all we need contend with now are the possibility of the giant tentacle bugs, or anything new that has moved into the area.” Sasha explained as she placed the brick back into the wall carefully. Marybeth retrieved the torch from the floor, and we proceeded through this new opening as it started to grind closed behind us. The noise of it drowned out the sound of the ape-thing as it continued to thrash against the door behind us.

  The door thudded back into place behind us and again the world went entirely silent. The tunnel before us sloped slightly downward, and was wide enough that I could walk beside Sasha as we moved forward. I don’t know when it happened, but at some point I had drawn my sword and I just now became conscious of the fact that it was in my hand, point held out before me, as if ready to strike into the murky blackness before us. The tunnel curved slightly to the left as we went, and there were patches of colorless goo that squelched and stuck to the bottom of my boots as we moved forward.

  A shape loomed out of the darkness toward us, taller than myself or Sasha. It’s body was composed of oval-shaped segments, vertically stacked like a centipede, except that it was as big around as a tree. Bug like eyes and a mouth larger in diameter than my head dangled over us menacingly, goo that looked quite similar to what I had been stepping in oozed from it’s open mouth. Ringing it’s head were six tentacle like appendages, that ended in a flat piece of flesh covered on one side with hooked barbs, each tentacle being about the length of my arm, maybe a bit longer. In the moment that I hesitated, Sasha lunged forward with her spear and slammed it into the thing’s head, gouging open on of its eyes, which popped like a water balloon, splashing us with greenish blood and bits of gore.

  The creature reeled backward and screeched a high pitched noise, unlike anything I had heard before. In this moment I regained my senses and thrust toward one of the lower segments of its body with my sword. I felt only a slight resistance as it pierced the bug-thing’s flesh then my blade sank into it with no resistance. The creature’s head snapped forward, as it’s tentacles whipped down toward Sasha and I. I pulled my sword free of it’s gut but it was clear that there wasn’t enough time for me to strike again before it’s mouth was upon me. From behind me Feera growled, then she soared over my head and slammed into the creature, driving it back into the darkness beyond the edge of the light, taking her with it.

  As the rest of us advanced, Feera’s growls and snarls mixed with the creature’s high pitched chattering, there were a series of meaty thuds, and a wooden snapping sound. All this took place in the space of less than one breath. When the edge of Marybeth’s torch illuminated the scene, Feera stood over the cracked and battered form of the creature. Most of her shirt was torn away, though she only seemed to have suffered small scratches. Most of the blood covering her was green, from the creature. On closer examination, it looked like she had taken its head off through sheer force, and then beaten the body to a pulp, presumably with her fists. Feera’s breathing was heavy, and her eyes looked glassy, her gaze far away. “Feera, you okay?” I asked softly.

  She turned and snarled at me, then stopped suddenly, as if just now recognizing that it was me that had spoken, and not some new foe. She took a deep breath, though she didn’t seem any less tense afterward. “Yeah. I dunno. It’s over now anyway. Let’s keep moving.” she said as she wiped the monster’s blood across her body. It didn’t really make her look any cleaner, so much as just smear it around evenly, like a coat of foul smelling greenish war paint. We got back into our standard formation, with Sasha and I in front and resumed our travel down the hallway.

  “How many of those things were there last time you were here?” I whispered to Sasha.

  “Only the one, though the tunnels are expansive. There’s no telling really if it was one of a kind or if there are more somewhere.” Sasha said. At that moment, Marybeth’s torch sputtered out. As she fumbled with her pack in the dark to make ready another, my eyes adjusted rapidly to pure darkness. Which wasn’t saying much really, except that up ahead I could see a faint white-blue glimmer, a halo of sorts, as if the tunnel had an opening ahead that was ringed in soft light.

  “Does anyone else see that light?” I asked.

  “Yes. Is that our destination?” Stella said. Marybeth managed to get another torch lit, and as the hall flooded with yellow light, the way ahead was once again plunged into darkness.

  “Should be. Let’s head that way.” Sasha said. Not like there was any other direction for us to go, unless we wanted to retreat back the way we came.

  The tunnel eventually widened, and the brickwork of the walls gave way to smooth cavern walls. This close, we could see it clearly, the glowing light of the cavern beyond the tunnel. Our pace increased and soon we had crossed the threshold into the cavern itself. The cavern was large, it’s walls for the most part beyond the edge of our light source, and yet we could make them out faintly, because the walls and ceiling of the cavern glittered with pinpoints of soft blue light. The ones nearest to us were more defined, spherical orbs that protruded slightly from the surface of the cavern. A few minutes work with Marybeth’s tools was all it took for her to pry a handful of the gems from the wall. We split them up amongst ourselves, tucking them in pouches and bags. I took a moment to borrow Marybeth’s torch, and take a look a little further into the room. I found many tunnels of various sizes that branched out from this room. “Clive, stop messing around. We should head back.” Sasha called.

  We regrouped and made our way back down the tunnel through which we had come, passing by the corpse of the monster, just as foul smelling as when it was first slain. At the dead end which concealed the secret door, Sasha manipulated a brick and stuck her arm into the resulting hole, much like she had on the other side. The door ground it’s way open and we stood face to face with a white furred ape. It’s arms were too long, and it’s face, though vaguely human, was marred by a collection of variously sized teeth which protruded beyond it’s lips. It’s muscular chest was almost twice my width, and it looked down at us with a glint of primal animal cunning in it’s eyes. As it sprang into motion, I felt a harsh pressure on my backpack and my shoulder, I turned just in time to see Stella spring off of me as though I was a stepladder and jam her blade through the ape’s eye socket. It tumbled backward, with her atop it. By the time it hit the ground, it was dead. Stella wiped her sword off on it’s mangy fur then looked back at us. “Don’t look so stunned. Am I not the expert swordsman of this little foray? We should be moving, not gawking.” she pointed toward the door that led to the long hallway where we had first encountered the apes. Except that the door was off its hinges, broken in three large chunks over by the fountain. The empty door frame showed us only blackness. Somewhere in the distance, we heard an echoing howl, much like the one the dead ape had made before Stella killed it.

  We made it through the hallway much as we had last time, in a dead sprint. The door on the far side remained held open by Marybeth’s stone wedge. We dashed back up the stairs until we found ourselves on familiar ground, near the iron door at the top. I did not look back to see how many of the creatures pursued us till we reached the top of the stairs. Strangely, none of them had tried to make the ascent, t
hough I could hear their howling far below, echoing up the stairway until Sasha slammed shut the iron door, and locked it closed with the key she kept in her pants pocket. This concluded our one and only venture into the warrens beneath the castle. Given how many gemstones we had taken, we would not have to return for quite some time.

  Chapter 17 - To Rescue a Princess

  We entrusted most of the gems to Duriet, though Sasha insisted that we each keep on for ourselves, in case the deal with him went sour or we found ourselves far away from home someday. Duriet himself left the next morning, taking the long climb down the cliff instead of using the front gate, his destination being in that direction. He assured us he would be back within a week with the money and whatever other help and supplies he could scrounge up. I gave him my broken rifle to show to his cousin, to see if there was any hope of having it repaired. After he was gone our lives settled back into a simple rhythm. Sasha and the goblins patrolled the forest by day, while I put myself to work helping Marybeth put the finishing touches on the walls. At night, Feera changed into her wolf form, and I rode on her back as we took our turn patrolling the forest. Most nights, we had found nothing of interest, even on the old road, and had finished our rounds early to enjoy one another’s company more intimately, usually in my room. Feera didn’t exactly have a bed of her own, so much as she had a messy pile of blankets atop whatever cushions she could liberate from other rooms. Tonight, we found a band of men in the woods.

  It would be more accurate to say that Feera smelled them, before we even saw them. She paused for a moment and raised her nose to the air. “Smells. Familiar. The man from town.” she growled.

  “How close?” I asked.

  “Too close. Attack?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No. Let’s see what we’re up against first. Stalk them.” I said. Feera grunted in acknowledgement and padded her way slowly and silently through the woods till we came up behind a group of six riders on horseback, all wearing dark clothing. Two of the men bore oil lanterns that cast beams of yellow-red illumination and made wild shadows play through the trees. One of the horses in the middle had a two riders, one in the saddle and one draped over the horse’s back, hands and feet bound with lengths of thick rope. The horses moved at a slow canter, as they sometimes struggled to make forward progress over the difficult terrain of the forest. They were almost slow enough that I would have been able to keep up with them on foot.

  It was unfortunate that the man in the rear of the column decided it was the perfect moment to look back and shine the lantern directly toward Feera and I. Unfortunate for him anyway. Feera lunged toward him and in the space of three breaths, he was caught in her jaws, and then flung bodily from his horse into the dark of the forest. As he flew his lantern blew out, and I heard him scream followed by the sound of branches snapping in the distance. There was a muted thud as he hit the ground somewhere out in the darkness. I doubted he would get up any time soon, assuming he’d managed to live through the ordeal. Given the blood dripping from Feera’s maw, that was unlikely.

  The other five riders turned as they heard Feera toss the rearmost man into the forest. Four of them drew their weapons and tried to turn their horses about among the fallen tree limbs and underbrush, while the fifth rider, the one with the bound passenger, forced his horse to bolt away from us, riding blindly into the night with only the moon to light his way. Feera anticipated what I was about to ask, and ran around the four riders, in pursuit of the one who had fled. I could hear them turn their mounts again and give chase, but their hoofbeats faded into the distance as we gained ground on them, and on our target. When the rider whipped his head around to see what exactly was chasing him, the moonlight revealed his identity. It was Sebastian, his face in a grim frown, teeth clenched, sweat dripped from his brown.

  He pulled his horse to a stop as he realized there was no outrunning Feera, not in the forest where she was at home at least. He had stopped in a small mossy clearing, where a patch of moonlight broke through the trees, providing more illumination than average. Feera stopped on the edge of the clearing and growled at him. Sebastian’s arm shook as he drew his curved saber clear of it’s scabbard. The captive was still slung over his horse, but seemed to be moving, struggling against her bonds. The figure looked female to me anyway. I rolled down off of Feera’s back, drew my sword, and advanced into the clearing until Sebastian could see me. “What a surprise. Clive. Fancy seeing you out here. That giant monstrosity your pet? I think my men and I hunted her once about a month back.” Sebastian said.

  I levelled my sword at him. “Not a monster really, though I’ll admit I do tend to collect strange friends. Attempting to sell an acquaintance of mine to the slavers was a mistake on your part, and then you decided to try again? Why?” I asked as I took a step toward him.

  “I am only ever following my Lord Hightower’s orders.” Sebastian said, his lips a tight, thin line in the moonlight as he raised his sword in both hands and stepped toward me. I took a step back.

  “I’d really rather not fight you.” I said.

  “Then tell your liege lady to surrender her lands to Hightower, and walk away from this.” Sebastian said as he paused, just out of melee range.

  “See, I’d be okay with delivering a message, but that doesn’t solve the problem of whoever you have there, that I assume you’re going to be passing off to the slavers tonight.” I said. Sebastian scoffed.

  “None of your business, upstart. Last chance.” Sebastian said. I noticed Feera peering at me from the darkness of the other side of the clearing, still in her wolf form. She had managed to sneak into that position without making a sound, someday I’d have to ask her to teach me the trick of that.

  “I’m making it my business!” I exclaimed as I leapt forward and thrust my blade at him, forcing him to swing low and parry it aside. His sword was heavier than mine, so I did my best to stay on the offensive, to keep Sebastian distracted and buy Feera time for whatever she intended to do. As the duel went on, it was clear to me that Sebastian was slightly more skilled than I, he dealt with each of my attacks easily, and as I started to feel winded, he seemed fresh and full of boundless energy. It was at this point that out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Sebastian’s hostage had been removed from his horse, and was nowhere to be seen. I leapt back, creating some distance between Sebastian and I.

  “It seems your captive has gone missing.” I remarked in between gasping for air, trying to catch my breath. Sebastian remained focused on me, but drew back far enough that he could glance toward his horse while he kept me in his field of vision.

  “Clever of you. Then this becomes a question of do you intend to fight me till you wear out and I get the upper hand, or are you going to let me go?” Sebastian asked.

  Given that he was clearly the better swordsman, there was only one option. Until Feera bounded back into the clearing that is, and snatched Sebastian up in her jaws. He dropped his sword in the process as she lifted him off the ground. As she held him carefully between her teeth, he flailed, punching and kicking for a moment, before the reality of the situation dawned on him and he ceased his struggles. “So this is how it is then? I’m to be taken prisoner? I have no intent of telling you anything more than I already have, mind you.” Sebastian said. There was a curious quavering quality to his voice, he seemed particularly apt at hiding his fear.

  I saw Feera twitch her head toward my left, and my gaze followed the gesture. Standing on the edge of the clearing, hood removed from her face, and her wrists showing a raw red where the ropes had abraded them, stood Princess Yenette. “Oh, you don’t have to say any more. Just the act of kidnapping one of royal blood is damning enough. I know enough of this from my perspective that the other pieces fall quite nicely into place. You’ll pay for this in full, as will your liege lord.” Yenette said coldly. She stepped across the field, showed no reaction to the fact that Feera existed and got onto Sebastian’s horse. She turned toward me.

  “You
are Sasha’s manservant yes? I am not sure why you were in this part of the woods at this exact moment, but I am in your debt. However, I don’t think returning to Doubel, inside Baron Hightower’s territory would be a wise move. Take me to see Sasha, wherever it is she dwells around here.” she said.

  I set aside my impulse to fight back against her commanding attitude. I could save that for less strange circumstances. “That I can do.” I said as I approached Feera. She bent low, Sebastian still held firmly in her mouth, as I climbed atop her. “Go slow enough that she can keep up please. Ignore Sebastian’s whining, it’s okay if he gets hurt, I think. Probably not killed.” I whispered in Feera’s ear. It took a long time to get back to the castle.

  Chapter 18 - The Time Before Dawn

  Back at the castle, the only person we woke was Sasha. She spoke briefly with the Princess in private, while Feera and I found a good room to lock Sebastian in to. Goblins, being nocturnal, were not hard to find and recruit to stand watch. I made sure to keep the key to the door with me though, as I wasn’t sure just how obedient the goblins would be when I wasn’t directly paying them attention.

  When I returned to check on Sasha and the Princess, I found Sasha in the hall, just as she closed the door to the room. “So, she gave me the short version, and we’ll pick it up in the morning.” Sasha said. She wore a fluffy robe, closed with a sash. It didn’t quite fit her, dangling down far enough on her to conceal her feet.