Soldiers of Avarice

by Stephen L. Nowland

  It was a sobering thought, to understand the people trying to escape the flood had instead ended their lives at each other’s throats. It must have been a chaotic scene, with thousands scrambling to be free of the dying city.

  “This place stinks of death and betrayal,” Colt growled. “There’s nothing further to be gained by standing around.”

  “Aye, the sooner we’re out of here the better,” Clavis agreed soberly, guiding them through the pile of fallen masonry.

  Aiden kept his eye on the dwarf for the first few minutes, weighing up whether or not to approach him about the curious omissions concerning his last attempts accessing the city. Colt and Sayana were a few steps ahead, leading the group towards what appeared to be another stairwell at the edge of their light.

  In spite of Aiden’s concerns, they were right in the middle of their expedition, and he didn’t fancy getting into a heated discussion right here and now. They must be getting close to the area where more valuable finds would be made, and Aiden still held out hope he would discover the long-lost information he sought. Reluctantly, he stifled his concerns a little longer and approached Clavis for a word.

  “What’s up?” Clavis grunted absently, intent upon their surroundings.

  “Do you remember anything about a library, or workshop, a place where delicate research would be done?” Aiden asked.

  “Library?” Clavis responded, Aiden having his full attention now. “I don’t remember a lot o’ books from my time here, lad, except those as were kept by the engineering corps.

  “I do remember a tallfellow, though, who used to visit all the time. Had a strange name that I can’t quite recall. Anyway, he was a human from Aielund, and was always looking for bits and pieces that we would dig out o’ the ground. He visited so often the king let ’im set up shop here. If anyone would’ve had a collection o’ knowledge like that, it woulda been him.”

  “Just what I’m looking for,” Aiden said, trying to hide his excitement. “We haven’t passed his chambers, I hope?”

  “Nay, he was housed in amongst the nobles, on the fourth level. We should pass by there soon enough, and I’ll be sure’n point his old place out to ya. Better that you keep anything he might have had o’ value, than leave it here for the rats and borers to eat. Mind yer step there, lad; looks like the floor has given way.”

  A hole roughly ten feet across, partially hidden by the shadows cast by Sayana’s flame, was to the right of the path they walked. They carefully moved around the edge on the way to the stairs, noting with some discomfort that the bottom of the hole was deeper than their lights could reach.

  The stairs were the same as before, wide, and carved out of the stone itself. Dust and dirt kept a record of their footprints as they moved down, with an unconscious urge to keep as quiet as possible.

  Now, more than ever, Aiden had the feeling they were walking in a tomb, and they should disturb the surroundings as little as possible. It didn’t help that they passed a number of skeletons, covered in cobwebs and a century of dust, their skulls staring at them with hollow sockets.

  Upon reaching the fourth floor, Aiden could see the buildings were indeed larger and more elaborate than those above. The smell was a little strange, though — far from the intensifying musty dankness, this area smelled almost like something had been burned, and it was an aroma he didn’t recognize.

  “Smells like boiled crab down here,” Colt grunted, apparently noticing the smell too. They followed Clavis along a wide street, taking in the eerie sights and smells of part of the city that had remained undisturbed for nearly a century. Pacian had already disappeared into a nearby building, eager to finally locate some hidden treasure in amongst the crumbling buildings of Ferrumgaard’s nobility.

  “I have the strangest feeling we are being watched,” Sayana murmured, looking around, as if trying to spot something about to pounce on them from the shadows.

  “Easy, girl,” Clavis grumbled, “Ain’t nothing been down here for longer’n ye’ve been alive.”

  “No, she’s right; I feel it too,” Nellise said, her voice trembling slightly. “I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something wrong here.”

  “Balderdash,” Clavis muttered. “The worst we’re going to see is a few more borers. Blimey — sorry Aiden, I’ve got some bad news for ya. See that pile of stone up ahead, blocking the street?”

  “Yes, what of it?” Aiden replied, his ears pricking up at the prospect of more trouble.

  “Yer library is in there. Or rather, was in there, I should say. Looks like the ceiling came down from above, from that hole we went around. Damn place is coming apart... breaks me heart.”

  Aiden’s hopes of salvaging something from this cursed city were rapidly diminishing. Indicating for Sayana to follow along with him and provide some light, he moved up for a closer look.

  “Is this the end of the road?” Colt wondered, glancing around at the ruined scene. The rock fall seemed fairly complete from this level, but Aiden wasn’t about to give up yet. He managed to heave away a large stone with his gloved hands, depositing it on the floor, and then returning for another one.

  “I think you’re wasting your time, mate,” Colt suggested after a few minutes of watching. Aiden was about to agree when he noticed a pocket of air inside.

  “Sayana, can you move your light in there?” he asked her, intent upon the gap inside. She complied with a gesture from her hand, sending the tongue of flame hovering inside the gap.

  As Aiden suspected, at least part of the interior was hollow. He wasn’t certain if any more stone could be shifted away without bringing the whole lot down, however. Aiden conveyed his concerns to Clavis, who was more of an expert on such matters.

  “It’s a tough call to make,” Clavis offered, after a minute of close inspection. “With enough time, we might be able to brace part o’ the structure and make a hole to crawl through. I guess it depends how badly ya want to get in there, to risk being buried alive should it come down on yer head.”

  “Aiden?” Nellise said, trying to get his attention.

  “Just a moment, Nel,” he muttered absently, still focused on the problem before him.

  “Aiden, turn around, you daft bastard,” Colt snarled, snapping Aiden out of his obsession.

  He turned around to see what had stirred them up so much, and was shocked to see that there were a number of glowing dots out in the darkness — the eyes of dozens of onlookers, shining in the reflected light.

  “What the hell are those things?” Pacian asked, his daggers drawn. Clavis turned and peered back at the unknown onlookers, but couldn’t seem to make out any more than the rest of them.

  “They ain’t borers, in case ye were wondering,” he whispered. “But I canna see past the lights. Can ya cover them up, ladies? I’ll see a whole lot better without ’em.”

  “I am not going to stand here in pitch blackness with those things surrounding us,” Nellise exclaimed, gripping the staff tightly. Sayana said nothing, but closed the palm of her hand, extinguishing the flame.

  “Cover it with your cloak for a minute,” Aiden suggested. “Give Clavis a chance to see what’s out there.”

  By now, there were over three dozen pairs of eyes watching them, effectively cutting them off from the way back up. Aiden and Colt both had their swords drawn, but if these creatures had wanted them dead, they would have already attacked.

  Against her better judgement, Nellise brought her cloak over the top of her staff, limiting the light from her prayer to the immediate area at her feet.

  “That’ll do just fine,” Clavis said, a catch in his voice. He was clearly as nervous as the rest of them, but apparently had a hunch about the nature of the creatures around them, enough to risk moving in a little closer to take a look.

  “How can this be?” he breathed a few moments later. “These are me kin — they’re dwarves!”

  This incredible statement left Aiden thunderstruck, and judging by their silence, the others were
probably feeling much the same way.

  Clavis took a few steps towards the group and spoke a few words to them in the heavy dwarfish language. He received a reply in the same tongue, spoken with an even thicker accent. One of them stepped forward to speak with him up close. They talked for several minutes, and the tone of their voices didn’t fill Aiden with encouragement.

  “What the hell is going on?” Pacian whispered nervously.

  “I don’t know; don’t make any threatening moves,” Aiden advised through clenched teeth. Clavis was still speaking to his counterpart, but the conversation was becoming increasingly heated.

  Nellise unfurled her staff, shedding its light onto the proceedings, and Sayana brought her hovering torch back into existence. To their mutual dismay, the sight that greeted them was Clavis backing up towards the group with a spear pointed at his chest.

  “He’s gone and started a bloody war,” Colt growled, drawing his greatsword. With their lights shining brightly, Aiden could see the gleam from several dozen crude spears leveled at them, and the dwarves who held them slowly moving forward, squinting in the bright light.

  They were pale-skinned, and clad in rudimentary animal furs. The spears they held seemed to be well-made, and the dwarves held them with practiced hands. But it was more than their outright appearance and weaponry that had Aiden on edge — it was the look in their eyes, a look seemingly devoid of anything close to compassion or sanity.

  “What did you say to them?” Pacian yelled at Clavis, who had completely backed away to shelter behind Colt’s formidable presence.

  “They’re mad,” Clavis gasped incredulously. “This is the MacAliese clan, me very own cousins! Their leader, Parlan, admitted they were the ones that flooded the city a century ago, by breaking through a wall into an underground lake on purpose.”

  Clavis and the entire group were moving backward now, around the rock pile that covered the only potential location for Aiden’s long-sought answers, and pushing them deeper into the city itself. Nothing barred the way behind them as yet, and the wall of spears blocking the way back to the surface drew inexorably closer.

  “Didn’t you tell them who you were?” Aiden asked, looking about with consternation.

  “Aye, and they don’t believe me,” Clavis shot back. “They think all their kinsmen were with ’em at the time. They don’t allow anyone from the surface to come down here anymore, and they’re gonna make sure we don’t get back up there’n let everyone know what’s going on. The only reason we’re still alive is ’cause o’ the light yer shining.”

  “Do we fight them, or run?” Colt asked, his voice tight. Despite their apparent hostility, the dwarves of the MacAliese clan still hadn’t attacked, giving Aiden pause.

  Breaking back through to the stairway didn’t seem to be an option, and he certainly wasn’t game to try and fight past three dozen spears. “Clavis, what’s in the other direction?” Aiden quickly asked.

  “The way down to the next level,” he answered, “but it’s still a hunnerd feet or so.”

  “Maybe there’s a prison set up for intruders?” Nellise suggested.

  “They don’t seem like the type to keep prisoners,” Colt growled.

  “I’m not willing to hang around and find out,” Pacian muttered, giving them a quick glance before turning and bolting into the darkness.

  “Pace, get back here!” Nellise called, as half a dozen dwarves gave pursuit. The leader, the one Clavis had identified as Parlan, barked out a few words, and the rest of his small army moved in, thrusting with their spears. Aiden spoke the command word to activate his shield, which flared into existence just in time. Spear after spear slammed into the shield, sending sparks flying, as Aiden was rocked backwards by the force of each blow. The shield seemed to flicker and dim with each hit, threatening to vanish altogether under the onslaught, but he couldn’t back down and risk exposing his companions.

  Their chances of escaping to the surface had evaporated, leaving only one possible route — the stairs down.

  Clavis shot bolts from his repeater into the line of spearmen, striking true each time. The close range meant the crossbow was particularly effective, especially against the unarmored dwarves. Colt’s sword swung back and forth, biting into flesh and wood as he shattered spears and helped Aiden hold the line.

  Nellise finished a prayer and bathed Aiden and the others in a glowing radiance that infused them with energy and put their attackers at a disadvantage — for the insane dwarves of Ferrumgaard, so used to total darkness, it was not unlike squinting straight into the sun. In spite of this, the sheer bulk of their numbers pushed Aiden and the others back, further into the city.

  From behind the group of spearmen, a deep, chanting voice could be heard over the sounds of battle. It grew in volume and intensity, and as it did so, the light from Nellise’s prayer started to waver and dim, allowing the spearmen to see more clearly.

  “He’s countering me,” Nellise muttered in astonishment. She raised her voice, chanting aloud for the first time that Aiden could recall in an effort to bolster her prayers.

  “...Praise be unto you, Light of Heaven, I am one with the light and the faith, it surges through me, unceasing, unrelenting, bathing the faithful in your power and...”

  It was working, after a fashion — the light slowly grew stronger, overcoming the unnatural darkness being thrown at them. Nellise’s opposite number hadn’t given up yet, however, for the light dimmed and strengthened again in a constant struggle for control.

  Sayana moved forward as this was going on, the tattoos on her legs glowing as she unleashed magical flames, scorching four or five spearmen in the front row. The smell of burned hair and skin accompanied the sounds of screaming as the wounded dwarves fell back, only to be replaced by others.

  Aiden could see how hopeless it was — they were too heavily outnumbered. Despite their efforts, at least twenty dwarves were still standing before them. As Clavis started rapidly shooting bolts into the crowd again, Aiden came to the decision that it was time to withdraw.

  “Colt, get everyone to that stairwell,” he gasped.

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” the ranger yelled back, cutting down another spearman as he started withdrawing. Aiden kept himself in front of the line of spearmen to prevent them from having a clear strike at anyone else, as the clan leader barked out a few commands, pressing the attack.

  They were grinning maliciously now, sensing their advantage. Aiden knew he would be unable to hold them back for much longer, so he started to pull back as fast as he dared.

  A sudden sharp pain in his leg made him cry out — a spear had grazed him. He moved to raise his arm and position the force shield behind his head to give him some protection, before noticing it had vanished.

  Another spear struck the same leg, and Aiden went down in a heap, tumbling over twice before coming to a stop.

  The pain was excruciating. When he reflexively reached down to his leg, he grasped the spear gruesomely sticking out of it. The shaft had broken off in the tumble, but the point had gone in deep. With no shield, he had nearly consigned himself to an early grave when a blast of flame shot over his head, stopping the oncoming dwarves in their tracks and severely scorching the frontrunners.

  Aiden felt strong hands grasp him under his arms and drag him backwards, past Sayana, who stood guard over him, flames roaring in front of her to keep the enemy at bay. They were distracted further as knives flew through the air from the darkness.

  A bloodied and angry Pacian darted into the light, his dagger dripping as he raced past Sayana and headed for the stairs. She turned and followed him, using the diversion as a chance to break away without risk.

  “You gotta stand up, man,” Colt bellowed, lifting Aiden back on to his feet, causing agony to shoot through his wounded leg. He stifled a scream and managed to limp over to the first stair, noticing everyone else was already there and awaiting him a few steps down. The light dimmed again, plunging them into near-darkness a
s Nellise leaned heavily against the stone wall.

  “It’s no use; he’s too strong,” she breathed, clearly exhausted from her own personal battle.

  “We’ll never get away from them with half of you unable to run,” Pacian remarked, also trying hard to catch his breath.

  Aiden, looking out at the sea of shining eyes closing in on them, couldn’t believe it was going to end like this. If only they had a door they could jam shut, or something else that could block the stairs, they could at least remove the immediate threat.

  A risky idea flashed through his mind. “Sayana, use a sound blast,” he ordered, gasping from the pain in his leg.

  “But you told me not to,” she replied warily. “It could bury us alive!”

  “If you don’t do it, we’re dead anyway. Everyone,” Aiden shouted, “get down the stairs as fast as you can!”

  They complied, with Colt offering his shoulder to help Aiden hobble down, one stair at a time. Despite her reservations, the exhausted sorceress turned and invoked her power, violet light swirling and pulsing along the tattoos in her legs as she brought her hands together.

  The clap of thunder that erupted from her hands was deafening, and shook the very ground they stood upon. The dwarves roared in dismay, dropping their spears to clutch at their ears in agony. Small rocks and a pile of dirt dislodged from the ceiling above, but it still held.

  “Do it again — drop the ceiling!” Aiden shouted.

  Sayana swayed to one side, but managed to steady herself. Again, the lights surged along her legs, but before she could finish, a spear suddenly appeared out of her back, having been thrown by a nearby foe.

  Time seemed to slow. Aiden saw all their hopes crumbling as Sayana staggered backward from the blow. With an incredible feat of willpower, she managed to finish the invocation and unleash a final blast of sound.

  This time, the ceiling did not hold. It crumbled, slowly at first, then in larger and pieces. Aiden was unable to move — his legs simply wouldn’t respond to any commands as he tried to go forward and grab the wounded girl before she was crushed to death by falling rock.