Backing from the light, he considered what to do next. The Ti-Ocks might believe him to be one of these men, but the men themselves would see through his disguise in an instant. If he wished to continue the exploration of where this corridor led, he would have to risk detection.
As he weighed whether he should make the attempt or not, the silhouettes of two Ti-Ocks appeared out of the shadowy darkness of the corridor beyond the illuminated area before the archway. Holk moved to the side and slowly began backing down the tunnel.
He had almost resolved himself to returning to see if the other branching of the fork would prove to be the correct avenue when two Ti-Ocks entered the light. Each carried mirrors. One had two tucked under an arm while the other held three. Of the two mirrors the first Ti-Ock carried, one was twice the size of a hand-held and boasted a border of pearly magnificence. It had to be the same one that took him to the pool where he found Streyan.
Aha!
All doubt vanished. He was on the right track. Waiting until the Ti-Ocks drew closer, Holk stepped outward from the wall. Walking like he belonged there, he passed the mirror-carrying Ti-Ocks and approached the area of light. Pausing only a moment, he left the shadows and made to go by the archway. His eyes remained focused on the dark passageway ahead. Perhaps one of the men within the room called to him, but he didn’t alter his stride or glance in their direction to find out. Once past and again in the protective darkness of the shadows, he quickened his pace.
Somewhere ahead laid the room wherein Ti-Ocks created the magical mirrors. And if they had already used the remainder of the creature… Shaking his head, he refused to allow such thoughts free rein. All would be lost if that were the case. Hoping to arrive in time, he ran.
Chapter 20
Twice more he encountered Ti-Ocks bearing mirrors. Each time, they gave him little more than a brief glance as they passed by. Up ahead, another illuminated area broke the darkness. From an opening in the side of the tunnel, a Ti-Ock emerged. In its hands it held a single mirror.
Holk grinned. He had found the room. Slowing his pace, he assumed a casual stride as the Ti-Ock approached and made its way past. Once it was some distance behind him, Holk resumed his hurried pace. Coming to the area of light, he threw caution to the wind and strode forward purposefully. At the entrance, he turned and went through.
Four Ti-Ocks worked busily within. Two were shaving a piece from what was left of the massive creature-turned-solid. One held the narrow chunk of creature while the other used the thin, slicing rod. The piece they worked on was two-thirds of the way removed. A third Ti-Ock stood before the table with the three bowls and the fourth was transferring a mirror to the stack; now less than a fourth of its former size. Setting the mirror on top, it turned toward the door and came to a sudden halt upon seeing the intruder in their midst. It glared at Holk while making gestures toward the entrance and uttering Ti-Ock speech in a commanding tone. The interchange drew the attention of the two slicing mirror sections from the creature.
Its expression was not pleasant as it came forward. Gesticulating wildly, it came to a stop before Holk, pointed to the entrance Holk had just passed through, and spoke again.
“I don’t think so,” Holk responded.
Whether it understood or not, the tone of his reply was unmistakable. It barked a command while at the same time drawing a wicked-looking dagger from out of its robe. The two working on the creature broke off from their endeavor and moved to join it.
Holk grinned. “Fine with me.”
In a movement perfected in long hours of drills, his sword came free of its scabbard and separated the hand holding the dagger from its wrist.
Crying out with pain and outrage, the Ti-Ock stumbled backward. The two Ti-Ocks had already drawn similar daggers and were closing in. The one at the table with the trio of bowls remained where it was. From what Kazzra had said, to break off once the process of mirror construction had begun would bring about lethal consequences. Exactly what those might be, the dragon had failed to specify.
The dagger-wielding Ti-Ocks moved in for the attack.
Holk lashed out at the one on his right and parted the material of its robe across its chest; blood welled forth. He then danced to the side as the dagger of the other shot forward, missing him by a hair’s breadth.
The thrill of battle was upon him. Holk laughed as he lunged at the Ti-Ock on his left, then brought it around for a slice at the one on his right.
These robed Ti-Ocks had very little skill in battle. The one on his right left itself open when it came in for an overhand attack. Holk ducked beneath it, caught its downward plunging arm with his free hand, and thrust his sword blade up and through the creature’s chest. As it slumped to the ground, he pulled his sword free and turned to face the other.
It thrust at his midsection.
Spinning out of the way, Holk made a full circle and brought his sword up to sever the creature’s neck. The head tumbled to the floor. Movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention to the entrance. There, the Ti-Ock whose hand he’d removed fled into the passageway.
Holk considered pursuing it, but time was rapidly running out. Exactly how much longer remained before Kazzra began the hunt, he didn’t know. There wasn’t a moment to lose. He turned toward the remaining Ti-Ock that stood at the table. With sword at the ready, he approached.
Before it on the table lay the mirror’s reflective surface, the part that had come from the massive creature. A band of shimmering darkness surrounded it. Kazzra had explained that it would solidify and become the border. That was the final step. Once the border was complete, so too would be the mirror.
Kill the creature, or not kill the creature, that was his dilemma. If he killed it now, unpleasant ramifications from disrupting the mirror-creation process might arise. But waiting held its own dangers as the one that had fled would certainly summon reinforcements to take care of him. Indecision stayed his hand for precious moments. Then when he at last decided to strike, the border solidified and the Ti-Ock was gone. It had used the mirror to escape.
Holk didn’t care. There was work to do and very little time in which to accomplish it. Sheathing his sword, he picked up the mirror from the table and tossed it over to the pile. After that, he hurried to where the remnant of the massive creature sat, and took hold of the rod used in slicing it.
It takes a gentle hand. The mirror must be perfectly even or you risk it shattering.
Kazzra’s words returned as he mimicked how the Ti-Ock had used it. Pressing down ever so slightly, he felt the rod slide into the hard material of the massive creature. It felt like cutting a very well-done turkey.
Keeping a sharp eye on the rod’s downward course, he maintained an even width. When the rod touched the table, the end-piece tipped outward and he caught it just as it slipped from the table. It was cold to the touch. He carried it across the room and placed it on the other table.
Nausea rose as his eyes passed over the liquids contained within the bowls. Fighting to keep it under control, he averted his gaze and proceeded to search the room. He needed something with which to grind a portion of his tunic into a fine powder. On a shelf at the rear of the room he found a small, stone concave bowl. Within the bowl rested a short length of stone with a rounded end. That would do nicely.
He tore a small strip of cloth from the bottom of his tunic and placed it within the bowl. Then with the length of stone, began grinding the cloth against the bottom of the bowl. Holk worked for several minutes before the sound of approaching Ti-Ocks drew his attention to the passageway. Setting the bowl with the partially pulverized strip of cloth on the table, he turned to the entrance and drew his sword.
Two armored Ti-Ocks, each bearing shield and their favored axes with the wickedly curved head, charged into the room.
Holk met them head-on.
One was slightly ahead of the other and launched an over-hand chop.
Holk dodged to the side and countered with an upward slice
toward the descending arm. Before the blow could connect, the Ti-Ock’s shield struck him aside. Dancing backward, he avoided being split in two by the second Ti-Ock’s axe.
“This isn’t very fair,” Holk said as he maneuvered through the tables in an attempt to come at a solitary opponent. “You have shields and all I have is this sword.” Unfortunately, they didn’t care and came together so he would have to meet them simultaneously.
He feinted left, then darted right and struck a resounding blow upon the right-most Ti-Ock’s shield. To his surprise, the sword taken from the entrapped corpse in the silvery land cleaved the shield in two and continued on to sever the arm holding it.
A roar filled the room as the wounded Ti-Ock stumbled backward, its life-blood draining away through the stump.
“Well,” he said to his remaining opponent, “maybe this is fairer than I had supposed.” Giving the Ti-Ock a grin, he came forward.
Downward came the axe. If it worked on the shield… Avoided the out-thrusting of the shield, he sliced upward to meet the axe’s haft. The impact was jarring, but it resulted in the axe-head coming away. If not for a deft twist and sideward move, the axe head would have finished him for sure. As it was, it scraped along his right shoulder leaving a red two-inch furrow.
Pain was part and parcel to combat, and if it wasn’t life-threatening, it was to be ignored. Holk dismissed it and rounded on the now weaponless Ti-Ock. Thrusting, he had his sword knocked aside by the shield. As he brought it around for another attack, the Ti-Ock turned about and fled toward the entrance. Holk pursued it out into the passageway before coming to a quick stop.
In the lit area of the passageway some distance away, he saw many Ti-Ock warriors racing his way. He darted back within and glanced around the room. If only there was a way to block the entrance; but there wasn’t. His gaze fell across the stack of mirrors and the dozen or so hand-helds sitting next to it.
There were far too many Ti-Ocks coming for him to handle; even with this newly acquired sword. He could always use one of the mirrors and flee. But Kazzra would soon be coming. He had no choice. Flight was not an option; he had to finish the mirror. But what to do…
Ti-Ocks boiled down the passageway. When they saw the flight of the one whose axe handle had been severed, a reverberation of bestial cries shook the very walls of the tunnel. They charged forward with blood on their minds.
The lead Ti-Ock approached the entrance and rushed to enter when it saw something with light shining forth slide across the floor through the entrance. Realization of its danger came too late. The hand-held mirror with the light-worm came beneath him and pain erupted as its leg was ensnared by the light-worm.
Instantly, the light-worm elongated and wrapped itself around the Ti-Ock’s torso. When another Ti-Ock inadvertently bumped into the first, the light-worm split in twain and proceeded to coil around its second victim.
The Ti-Ock charge came apart as another light-worm exuding hand-held slid from the room. Latching onto yet another of the beasts, it elongated and began to feed.
Holk watched as Ti-Ocks became entrapped by the light-worms. A third mirror rested on the ground at his feet, its light-worm already testing the area surrounding it. When a Ti-Ock tried circumventing its light-worm ensnared brethren, Holk batted the mirror toward it with the tip of his sword.
It leapt over the hand-held and charged toward Holk.
As Holk moved forward to meet it, he saw the light-worm latch onto another that had followed the first.
Down came the axe and Holk merely dodged to the side. As the axe rose for another attack, he stepped backward as the shield came forward. His foot struck out and scored directly on the Ti-Ock’s chest. The blow caused it to stumble backward and into the one entangled with the light-worm. Its roar echoed throughout the room as tendrils of light coiled about its body.
Holk quickly returned to the stack of hand-helds, used his sword to move another away from the rest, then brought his hand close and drew it back. Just as the others before, a light-worm emerged.
A glance to the entrance showed half a dozen Ti-Ocks writhing upon the floor, effectively blocking the rest from continuing the attack. Not sure how long this would last, Holk left the no longer needed hand-held where it lay and hurried back to the table where he resumed the grinding of the piece of cloth.
With bowl in one hand and the rock pulverizer in the other, Holk worked to reduce the cloth to mere powder. He kept an eye on the events unfolding at the entrance. Time seemed to pass quickly. One Ti-Ock ceased moving and the bands of light that had entwined it withdrew into the mirror.
The cloth in the bowl still had many large sections that according to Kazzra would render the mirror creation void. Pressing harder and twisting faster, he prayed that the Ti-Ocks would endure the lethal caress of the light-worms a little while longer.
Beyond the light-worms and their victims, dozens of the beasts waited impatiently for their brethren to perish so the light-worms would vanish and they could then reach the room. Holk doubted very seriously if they would fall prey to his mirror tactic as easily as had the others.
Twist. Twist. Grind.
Back and forth, the rock pulverizer ground the cloth against the bottom of the bowl. More and more of the cloth was being reduced to a powder-like state. Cloth was not like rock or bone, its reduction to fine particles took longer. A glance at the Ti-Ocks set upon by light-worms revealed another of the creatures had ceased to move and the light-worm attacking it returning to the mirror.
Kazzra had been unclear as to how much powder would be needed to complete the mirror’s creation. Removing the pulverizer, he found a small amount of fine particles accumulated in the bottom. The bulk of the cloth remained in small, shredded pieces; all of which was unusable. Placing the pulverizer once more in the bowl, he continued grinding and moved to the table.
Once he began the ritual, he should be safe from Ti-Ock attack; for any disruption before its completion would have serious repercussions, or so Kazzra had indicated.
Glancing to the entrance, he saw another of the Ti-Ocks had perished and its light-worm gone. It wouldn’t be long now. A few more twists of the pulverizer and he set it to the side. Praying that Kazzra’s information would prove to be correct, he rested his hands on the table’s edge, took a calming breath to steady his nerves.
“Okay, here we go.”
You will find three bowls; two small and one large. First, form a border fully encompassing a thin section removed from the otherworld creature.
How wide of a border do I make?
It matters not; merely that the border is unbroken.
He reached for the largest of the three bowls. Nausea assailed him as his hand took hold of the edge, but he managed to bring it under control. Holk tipped the bowl and allowed its contents to drip and began forming the border. Slowly at first, but then quicker once he got a feel for its consistency for it was thick like molasses, the border took shape. When it was complete, he returned the bowl to its place on the table.
You will have scant moments after completing the border to add the contents from the other two bowls. A thin layer from the one on the right needs to be added upon the substance from the first bowl forming the border. Then take the bowl on the left and use its contents to create a thin layer directly upon the reflective surface.
As soon as the contents of the right-hand bowl dripped upon the border, a small tendril of smoke rose accompanied by an unpleasant, acrid odor. Then the border at that point turned dark and began to shimmer. Holk continued drizzling the substance upon the rest of the border until the entire mass had been transformed to a dark, shimmering material.
A glance over his shoulder revealed another of the Ti-Ocks had perished. Those waiting behind were edging forward. If another of those entwined with light-worms was to die, the way would be sufficiently clear for them to enter the room without risk.
Taking up the third and last bowl, he tipped it over the center and when the drops hit the sur
face, they appeared to be absorbed within the hard material, leaving behind only a small, oily residue. A rise in Ti-Ock speech from the passageway prompted a speedier delivery method. Large globs fell from the bowl, each being absorbed as had the first. Once the surface had a consistent, oily hue throughout, he returned the bowl to the table.
Finally, and this is where much is risked, take the Catalyst and place it upon the center of the mirror. Sprinkle the powder of the object from whence you wish the mirror to take you upon the Catalyst. You must ensure no part of the powder falls to the mirror’s surface.
What happens if some does?
The dragon had smiled. In that case, I won’t have to worry about hunting you.
Taking the black dodecahedral object which was the Catalyst from his pouch, he held it up before him, revealing the faces and the arcane markings engraved upon each. Which side should I have up?
It matters not, human.
Movement within the room drew his attention back to the here and now. The light-worms no longer barred the entrance. Ti-Ocks came to either side of him, their hooked axes threatening, but not touching him. Their faces promised swift death, or perhaps pain and torture, Holk couldn’t be certain. Fear of what might happen if the mirror-creation ritual was interrupted, he kept still, all the while expecting bestial hands to take hold of him. None did.
Sighing with relief, he tried to shake off his nervousness. “Don’t let them fluster you. Finish the job and get out of here.”
He picked up the bowl with the finely ground portion of cloth. As he moved it to above the Catalyst, an undercurrent of Ti-Ock speech ran through those packed around him. His confidence did not improve when those nearest took three steps backward. What did they fear might happen?
Portals Page 23