Into the Hells

by Christopher Johns

  A thought occurred to me, and I stood frozen for a moment before walking into the center of the room. I shapeshifted to my panther form, and sure enough, my right forepaw was missing.

  The others watched me sadly, and I shifted back. “Worth a shot.”

  The door swung open, and Maebe strode in followed by two figures. Before I could get a chance to take a good look at them, she nodded to Rowland.

  “Rowland, we have need of your forge and your assistance.” Rowland took to his feet swiftly. Mini leaped up on to the chair, then on to the Dwarf’s shoulder. “If you would be so kind as to assist Thogan, champion of my realm and a talented smith, as well as Xiphyre. Xiphyre is a talented enchanter and an expert in the magical metals. I feel you would benefit from their presence.

  “Lieutenant Vrawn, some of my personal guard are outside, as well as a dozen of the newest recruits from the realm—vetted and vouched for by trusted advisors and truth seekers. Train them well and have them secure the premises of the smithy until such time as it not in use. No one is to be around that place unless we know them. No one is to die, but being detained is not out of the question. Protect the children. Am I understood?”

  Her orders were absolute, as she stared coldly about. It left little to the imagination that someone who failed would be… remorseful for quite some time. Or dead.

  Vrawn saluted Queen Maebe, and the other two figures stepped into the light around her. One of them I was very familiar with.

  “Thogan Swiftaxe, you ugly sonofabitch!” I strode forward to pull the Dwarf into a bear hug.

  His features were hidden under heavy plate armor that was pitch black in places and icy-blue in others. A helmet hid his face too, but this close, I could see his rock-like skin, covered in pebbles and stone.

  “How are ye, lad? I heard ye had a run in with a forge that got ye good?” his deep, bass voice rumbled at me. He saw my right arm and clapped my shoulder. “I’ll see that little me and little Xi here get ye back to fighting shape. Don’t ye fret.”

  The other figure was a pixie, about a foot and a half tall with violently green hair spiked in a mohawk of sorts, pointed ears that jutted from the back of his head, and angular features that seemed well in place for how the stick-like the rest of his body was. He wore a pair of green and brown breeches and a matching shirt with no boots.

  “You’re the only one I allow to call me that other than her majesty, Thoooogan.” The little man’s voice was surprisingly light and lyrical for someone who looked like he could smoke a pack an hour, wash it down with bourbon, and scream songs for days on end. “Master Rowland? We have much to do and less time to do it in. Let us away.”

  As Rowland and Mini came toward the group, I worried about Thogan’s tendency toward other Dwarves.

  See, he had been the only Dwarf in Maebe’s palace. And especially the only one of his particular type. For centuries. So he was a little homesick for his family.

  Thogan clapped Rowland on the shoulder as he attempted to cross the room. “Your beard looks like it has red in it, lad. That a fox, or were ye dropped in the forge on purpose?”

  “Yer armor looks like it was made by an expert at piling shit together.” Rowland grinned at the other Dwarf before offering a hand. “The hammer falls, brother.”

  “And rises again,” I could hear the emotion in Thogan’s voice as he replied, but he only clasped hands with the other smith for a second. “There be work needs doin’. We can get to know each other as true Dwarves do—over the heat of the forge and with the heartbeat of our craft. Come, lad.”

  I heard Xiphyre mutter, “Bloody Dwarves and their secret handshakes,” as they left the tavern.

  Vrawn joined them in their exodus from the room, and I was left standing there next to Maebe, who looked as led by her fury as her role as queen.

  “You’re well?” she asked me softly.

  “I am.” I reached out toward her with my… not hand and pulled it back. She stepped toward me and pulled me close to her.

  “I was so worried for you,” she whispered against my neck. “You scared me so badly. I thought I would lose you.”

  “I’m sorry, Mae.” I kissed her forehead. “I won’t overstep my knowledge again, and I’ll make damned sure if I ever do something like that again, I have someone better than me with me to help. Or I do it where I’m the only one caught in the blast.”

  An iron-like grip found my bad arm, and I looked down to see Maebe grasping it and glaring at me. “You will do no such thing.”

  She looked over to Vilmas. “You are capable of making long-distance means of communication work, correct?”

  “I am, and I’ve already begun looking for the components and materials needed to make the necessary items. I also took into account his lycanthropy and am seeing that they are made without silver.”

  Maebe raised her chin and eyebrows in appreciation, her version at least. “Excellent work, Vilmas. I will pay you handsomely for them. If you need something specifically—speak to Xiphyre. He will likely be able to assist you.”

  “I will, m’lady.”

  “Vilmas, you are not to address me as such. I would prefer you think me a friend, though I may issue orders at times,” Maebe said matter-of-factly.

  “I’m going to try, but it seems odd.” Maebe cocked her head, so Vilmas continued, “You’re a queen. You could kill me with a wave of your hand. I’m not sure a lowly enchanter such as me would be worthy of your friendship.”

  Maebe looked at me for help, and I stepped in, “You don’t have to be a worthy friend—you only need be a chosen friend. Maebe could destroy this whole village at a whim, but she doesn’t because the people she chose to befriend are here. So, if you don’t think you can be her friend, that’s okay, but you needn’t worry about qualifications to be one. Does that make sense?”

  Vilmas seemed to take it to heart and nodded. “I think so. I’ll think on it some more.”

  Maebe nodded once before turning to me. “Is there anything you wish to do?”

  “I need to find Jaken.” I sighed.

  The door to the front of the tavern burst open, and Bokaj sprinted in, panting. “Jaken… fort ruins… lich.”

  “Fuck,” I growled. “Yoh!”

  Yohsuke burst out of the door from the kitchen with his Astral Adaptor at the ready, his cloak and battle gear on.

  I pulled my padded armor from my inventory and sprinted into my room with Maebe hot on my heels. She helped me get myself dressed, then assisted me with my boots, and I walked out of the room ready to go.

  I wasn’t sure how I was going to do this, but my friend needed me.

  “Let’s roll to Rowland’s and nab a weapon you can one hand for this, so you aren’t at a disadvantage,” Yohsuke grunted as we got ready.

  I looked to Maebe and saw her reaching into her inventory once again. “No. I’ll make do. I need to make sure that I’m okay to fight without your constant aid. You’ve done enough, Mae. Stay and protect the children.”

  She snapped her fist out and grasped a handful of my shirt before pulling me close to her so that she could look me in the eye.

  “You will return to me,” she stated.

  “I like you, too.” I kissed her forehead affectionately and smiled reassuringly. I looked at my brother. “Let’s go.”

  I didn’t want to give her a kiss on the lips before I left because that could seem too final. No. I’d be coming back to claim her lips once more when I was finished with this business.

  “I already sent word to Muu to meet us at the forge,” Bokaj stated as we took off at a jog.

  We reached Rowland’s place a moment later, and I barged through several light-skinned elves who looked confused to see us but didn’t stop us, likely knowing who we were because of Maebe.

  “Rowland!” I shouted. “I’m taking an axe!”

  “AYE!” his voice roared from the other room, and the hammering resumed. The whole place was hot enough that it was truly uncomfortable inside the
building.

  I selected a simple one-handed axe from the wall rack, engraved it with a diamond, sat it on the counter, and enchanted it for durability and sharpness.

  Diamond Axe

  +5 to attacks, +12 to sharpness and durability.

  Axe forged by Master Smith Rowland and enchanted by Adept Enchanter Zekiel Erebos.

  It wasn’t my normal fare, but it would hold, and if anything, I could sling spells still.

  I walked outside to find Yoh, Bokaj, and Muu standing ready. They all tapped my shoulder, and I shouted, “Coal! Come.”

  The flame wolf slunk from the shadows of the forge and sat on my foot. I cast Teleport, and seconds later, we stood outside the ruins. Aside from the almost-overwhelming stench of rot and decay, it was as I remembered it.

  It was a decrepit wall with piles of loose stone here and there leaving openings all over. A castle ruin, one of the rear walls looked to have fallen in some time ago, and foliage, vines, and other plant life grew throughout it where there were strength and soil enough to lift them up. Then I began to notice the decay—the rot along the plants and the black, brackish liquid that seeped from open gashes in them.

  Bokaj, explain, quickly as you can, I ordered the Ranger silently through our earrings.

  Jaken got mad, stormed off into the forest. James followed. I saw them go in. Then they were gone. He shoved me toward the wall. Let’s move on. Who knows what’s gone on. Or what is going on.

  “Bet anything that it’s poison,” I grumbled quietly. There was much too much of it to purify it within reason, even if Bokaj and I could both do it. The pile closest to the entrance to the inner yard we had used before was clear enough, so we chanced it.

  “No response from either of them on the earrings,” Muu advised with a low tone. “How are we going in?”

  I looked for any sign of enemies and wasn’t surprised to find nothing. I wondered if I would be able to fly if I took my owl form?

  I decided that it would be a viable option and shapeshifted. I landed on the ground, wobbling and more than a little relieved that I would be able to fly—maybe? I looked over the feathers on my right wing; they were rough-hewn and shorter than before.

  It will be very difficult to hunt like this, the owl’s instincts griped. We may be able to glide if one of them throws you.

  I shifted back, irritated. “Muu, throw me up. Straight up.”

  I shifted back to my owl form, and Muu picked me up near my legs and threw me straight into the sky like he might his spear. I was about eighty feet into the air when I spread my wings and began to try and navigate the drafts.

  From the sky, I noted more than a dozen heaps of bone and decaying waste in the front courtyard that we had originally used to gain entry into the fort itself. Other than that there was nothing to–

  Bank left! the owl screeched. I did as it told me to, raising my maimed right wing to bank left, and I felt something brush past me. I saw a raven in my peripheral vision, and it dove low, the top of its head gone and eaten in by something. Maggots pulsed inside it, and even as an owl, the sight made my stomach churn.

  More! It’s a murder of them! Dive, Druid—NOW!

  I tucked my wings and plummeted on the spot, then spread my wings slightly to cut the wind and steer myself back toward my friends. I didn’t know what the hell was following me, but I wasn’t stupid enough to look back now.

  Once I was a dozen feet away from my friends, I shifted, low to the ground and forward shoulder rolled a couple times before I released a Fireball at the swarm of crows behind me. Our element of surprise was most assuredly ruined if the lich hadn’t known we were here already.

  A good half of the birds had been singed enough to fall to the ground, and the other half scattered to the sides of the blast and regrouped far up above. Once they were in formation again, they dove as one like a spear thrown at a target.

  “I got this,” I growled. I used my Charge Spell ability for five seconds, doubling the cost and damage of one of my newer spells—Lightning Storm.

  I threw my hand and nub out before me, and a sixty-foot diameter cylindrical blast of pure lightning roared into existence sixty feet above us and carried on for one hundred twenty feet. Raven upon raven turned to dust and ash in the resulting elemental fury and blew away in a light breeze.

  “Zeke… did you just do a kameha–” Muu began to ask in a shocked tone, but I interrupted him.

  “No, that’s silly. That was a charged Lightning Storm. I have enough mana to charge it for five seconds, so that was what happens when you do that.” I bared my teeth at him in a savage grin. “Increased destruction. Let’s move cautiously—my mana will be fully recovered in less than a minute, so we can move on now, but our presence is likely known.”

  We moved toward the wall as stealthily as we could, but the rubble had grown treacherous since we had come here last. Avoiding the ivy leakage was difficult too but not impossible. After a few minutes of indecision, Bokaj spotted the best route over and helped guide us into the area.

  There was no ivy inside, but there was a horde of dead animals. Voles, mice, rats, snakes, and other critters littered the ground. None of them moved as we passed through. I used Life Sense and found that all of the creatures in here were dead and truly gone. I wondered if I would be able to sense the undead if they came at me; I would have to test it to make sure.

  We made our way to the courtyard cautiously, and the piles of rot and decay were there for a reason. The place looked torn apart. The door was blasted from its hinges, and the corpses of whatever these things were had burn marks and gashes all over them. Broken and splintered bones littered the ground, and their rusted and pockmarked equipment was sundered and split in places.

  “Fuck, this was definitely James and Jaken’s work.” Yohsuke observed one of the rougher looking corpses. “These burn marks are from James using his weapons, and the larger gashes are from Jaken’s great sword.” He pointed at some blood on the ground—not much, but it was fresher. “He’s not using his shield.”

  “No, he’s not, and he’s been captured by the lich.” We heard James’s voice but couldn’t see him.

  “Up top,” Bokaj whispered. “That’s not James.”

  We looked, and sure enough, it wasn’t James. It was the lich. His green, ghostly skin seemed more normal now, more like he had when he had been a dude sleeping in a bed. His long, brown hair was done up in a ponytail behind his head and a newly clean shaved face. He looked to be in his early thirties with a well-chiseled jawline and thick eyebrows.

  “Hello, all of you who assisted in freeing me from that wretched curse!” His voice was cultured and deep. “I shall thank you the same way that I did that Paladin, but first! A game. Your other friend is somewhere inside this small castle. Find him before my minions do, and you might win a prize—your Paladin. If you don’t, you’ll stand no chance of defeating me.”

  “What’s to stop you from having your minions waiting inside to ambush us?” Muu called.

  “They are too busy working to find him. By the way—time is running out, for your friend and that village that you call home.” His head tilted back, and his nostrils flared. With a sigh, he opened his eyes and looked at us. “All those fresh souls to feed on, to sacrifice and play with. How delightful.”

  “Fuck him. Let's go,” I barked, sprinting headlong into the open doorway and casting Aspect of the Ursolon just in case.

  True to Muu’s prediction, shambling dead were waiting for us, but what we weren’t counting on was them being so easily dispatched. It took us a minute to blast through the line of twenty or so creatures who fell after one or two smacks of my axe and the others’ weapons of choice. Coal trailed behind me, clawing or burning the ones who fell to a rogue attack but didn’t stop moving. Tmont worked with him, the panther knocking the stragglers down for him to finish off.

  Inside, the layout was changed. Before, where things had been decrepit and run down, they were now cleaner. All trace of time, w
ear, and decay were gone. If I didn’t think it was magic, I would’ve thought all of it a lie. The walls were well-maintained stone, cut perfectly. The carpets were thick and a crimson deep—enough that it could have been spun blood.

  The major difference was that the stairway was gone, now. So we had to find a different way to get everyone to the top floor.

  “When you released me, my powers returned and with it, the well of souls beneath this place,” the lich’s voice projected all around us. “Welcome to my humble abode. May want to hurry—my hounds have found your friend’s scent.”

  An idea struck me. “Anyone have anything of James’s? Anything at all?”

  Bokaj and Yohsuke shrugged and looked to Muu who looked embarrassed but pulled a pair of undergarments from his laundry bag.

  “I lost a bet, and the loser had to do the winner’s laundry.” He looked anywhere but at us.

  “I am not smelling that,” I grumbled. “Coal? Can you track James using that?”

  Muu tossed the article of clothing on to the floor in front of the flame wolf. Coal stepped forward and took a few deep inhalations and Tmont even stepped over to assist. Though Coal sneezed, and Tmont didn’t want to get to close to it.

  Coal blinked as he scented the air deeply, then started to nose the ground. Find.

  “I think Coal has him,” Tmont hissed at the garment on the ground as I spoke. “Thanks for trying, furball.”

  Muu collected the item; then we were on our way with Coal in the lead. We turned down a hallway, into a small door that we thought was a closet but looked like it led to a cellar of some sort. The entry room was nondescript; it really looked like it could have been a broom closet. But the back wall was hollow, and when Yohsuke closed the door, the back wall slid down to reveal a set of stairs that led down. I heard a howl from down below and snarling.

  “Me first, Yohsuke, Bokaj, then Zeke,” Muu ordered, to our confusion. “You guys wanna take your own damage or you want me to off-tank like I’m supposed to?”

  We switched, and he motioned for Coal to lead the way. We hurtled down the stairs as quickly as we dared. Bokaj found a few murder holes along the walls, but after stopping to inspect them, we found them unmanned.