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“This is the place,” said Sliver.
“About time, all this walking is killing me,” said Neen as she leapt into the air to rest her legs and stretch her wings at the same time. They had spent the entire night avoiding an increasing number of half-blood elves who were now scouring city for them.
Agnor dropped the box onto the ground and sat on top of it.
“I will be glad to finally get rid of this thing,” he growled.
It was almost dawn and they had travelled to an abandoned factory in a rundown industrial area on the outskirts of the city. Sliver lead them inside the factory and down into the basement. It appeared empty, but Sliver went to the far wall and placed both hands on it as he spoke the words of a spell. A section of wall suddenly slid away to reveal a set of stairs that lead to an even lower level. The stairwell was illuminated by dull flickering fluorescent lights every few metres as it spiralled down further underground.
When they finally reached the bottom they found themselves in a massive underground cavern. The cavern was lit by various spotlights set up around the perimeter. Neen stared at the cavern in complete awe. The entire thing was a massive tomb. Each grave was marked by a weapon jammed into the ground, everything from axes, spears and spiked clubs to more elegant swords and scimitars.
Any of those items alone would have been worth a fortune, bit what really got Neen’s full attention was the large pile of treasure that sat on the far side of the cavern, like something out of a dragons lair. Even from a distance it was not hard to tell that there was enough gold and gems there to retire on ten times over. In front of the treasure pile was a long stone table with a large chair, a little oversized for a human, sitting at one end.
“I don’t like the smell of this place,” said Agnor ominously as he edged back towards the stairs.
“Well that's tough because you have not completed your job yet so you have no choice, but to follow me,” ordered Sliver.
Sliver led them slowly across the tomb to the table and the treasure. Neen hovered above the table and found it was covered in various artefacts and papers scrawled in a language she did not recognise. She was about to ask Sliver if he knew what the language was, when a particularly nice gemstone caught her eye in the treasure pile and she moved towards it.
“I wouldn't do that Neen,” warned Sliver. “That belongs to our employer.”
“Very wise words Sliver,” said a harsh guttural voice from the shadows behind them. Neen drew both guns and aimed them at the hulking figure that emerged into the light and stood in front of the stone table. “Now now little one, you wouldn’t want to go shooting your employer before you got paid would you?” said the orc mockingly.
Neen stared at the huge orc, an evolutionary fear pulsed through her and every part of her being wanted to escape. Even though she had never seen an orc it was something directly out of her nightmares. From its mottled green skin with its huge chest and bulging muscles to its tusk like bottom teeth that jutted out from its heavy lower jaw. It was dressed in robes of an ancient magic user and despite its intimidating stature it looked very old.
“Neen!” hissed Sliver and she snapped out of her natural flight reaction then slowly and shakily holstered her guns.
“Did you bring what I asked for Sliver?”
“I have the box and I have the Dex, where is my money?”
“You will have your money when the Dex has opened the box and I have the key.”
“Agnor, open the box,” ordered Sliver.
Reluctantly Agnor threw the box up on to the table then nimbly jumped up onto it himself.
“This is not a wise idea Sliver,” said Agnor with foreboding. The orc roared fiercely at the Dex and smashed it’s hands down onto the table in response.
“If you want your freedom, open the box,” said Sliver pulling the ring out and waving it in front of Agnor. Agnor looked at the ring longingly almost hypnotised by it. Sliver tucked it back into his shirt again and Agnor sighed then turned his complete attention to the box.
All four of his eight digit hands pored over every millimetre of the box’s surface while his nose sniffed away feverishly.
“It is protected by a very strong spell and an ancient elvish magic,” said Agnor as he inhaled deeply. “It has been so long since I smelt anything so wonderful and powerful.”
“Can you open it or not?” growled the orc impatiently.
“If you let me concentrate I can. Getting this wrong could kill us all.”
With that sobering thought even the orc stayed quiet while Agnor continued to work. After several long minutes Agnor finally stopped and placed his fingers on very exact points on the outside of the box and whispered words in the ancient tongue. There was a click and the lid of the box opened just a crack. Agnor turned to Sliver.
“My ring.”
The orc grabbed the box and flung open the lid to look inside.
“My money?” demanded Sliver.
“Take what you want, take it all for all I care. I no longer need it!” replied the orc staring gleefully into the box at its contents.
“Your freedom as promised!” said Sliver to Agnor as he pulled the ring from his neck and flung it as far across the cavern as he could. Like a dog chasing a stick Agnor raced off to find his precious ring. “Come on Neen lets take our pay.”
“That’s not a key,” replied Neen as the orc pulled out a small glass vial containing a fluorescent green liquid.
“Don’t be deceived little one, in this vial is the most important key ever to be made, the key to life itself!”
The orc left them and walked out into the middle of the graves where it started to shout the words of a spell. It spoke in ancient so Neen could only make out some of the words, but it sounded like she heard something about resurrection.
Agnor must have heard it too because he stopped sniffing around for his lost ring and looked at the orc fearfully before returning to his search even more urgently.
“Sliver,” she said, but he was too busy filling his pockets with as many precious gemstones as he could fit. “Sliver!”
“What!” he said annoyed.
The orc literally roared the last words of the spell. At the same time he carefully opened the vial and allowed just one drop to fall to the ground. As soon as the drop from the vial touched the earth there was a long low rumble from underneath the ground.
“Rise again my orcish brothers and reclaim your rightful place on this world!” cried the orc feverishly.
As though in response to his call an arm thrust up out of the ground from a grave nearby and it was soon followed by others until the cavern started to fill with the half rotted and half mummified bodies of undead orcish soldiers.
“What the hell are you doing? ” demanded Sliver.
“I am restoring the old world order. When I am done every fallen orcish warrior will rise up and we will once again rule this world! ” cried the orc maniacally.
“Not if I have anything to do with it, ” replied Neen as she drew both pistols and fired two rounds at the orc's head. However before they found their target the orc waved a heavy claw, spoke a word of magic and vanished in a blue flash of light.
With the wizard gone the undead warriors all turned in unison towards Neen and Sliver.
“I think we had better get out of here fast!” urged Sliver.
“Curse the battle of Tarva,” said Neen.
End
Necrofairies Page 7
