by Pedro Urvi
“And how many more has he helped when a surgeon would have thought it beneath him? Hundreds? Thousands in the course of his life, I’m sure. You should think about all the good you actually do instead of what you might be able to do, in my humble opinion…”
“Yes, you’re right. I’m happy to be able to help others, to be following my father’s wishes, because he always wanted me to learn his trade. Happy to have spent all these years beside him, because he’s a good, compassionate man. We’ve been together, loving and supporting each other. I couldn’t be happier in that sense. I know it’s a respectable profession, and we’ve never gone hungry, because people always need treatment. But when my mother died a little seed was planted inside me, deep down, and it’s grown with time, a desire that will never come true: becoming a great surgeon and being able to cure what neither an apothecary nor an experienced surgeon can.”
“That’s a very laudable wish. Maybe one day it will come true.”
Idana smiled resignedly. “Look where we are…”
Yosane lowered her eyes. “We’ll survive…”
On the morning of the twentieth day the caravan stopped. Idana got to her feet in puzzlement. They had barely stopped since the beginning of the journey, and never during the day. They only rested at night. Those damned Enforcers treated them as if they were wild animals, throwing them dried meat and dry bread without breaking the journey. The water was rationed and given to them at dawn and sunset, before they set off and when they stopped. They spent the whole day caged, never knowing when they would be let out to stretch their legs, since that happened very seldom.
They were made to get down from the carts. Idana was surprised. What was going on? This was not normal. She looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. They were in the middle of a plain, and a little way ahead was a forest of huge beech trees and thick vegetation.
Suddenly one of the girls ran towards the forest. It was one of the three with Kyra.
“Stupid slave!” cried the Eye-of-the-God in his penetrating voice.
The young girl was running with all her might, her legs flying over the grass. Idana looked at the Executors, but none of them made any move to go after her. How strange… Idana’s eye caught a reflection. In front of the girl, on the ground. Idana could make out a golden line, almost transparent. With each stride of the fugitive it was turning more solid. Idana realized what it was. She had to try to help her.
“Stop! It’s the Boundary! Stop!” she shouted. But it was too late. In full flight the girl glanced at her arm, where her Ring was vibrating wildly in warning, but ignored it and did not stop. With a terrible impact she hit the translucent barrier. There came a thunderclap, as if the sky had cracked in two, and the girl fell to the ground, swallowed up in an intense golden flash. Amid cries of surprise and muffled shouts of fear, the prisoners covered their eyes to hide from the dazzling light. Idana half-closed her eyes to look at the poor girl on the ground. She looked dead. But perhaps she had only fainted. She started to walk towards her; to see if there was something she could do for her.
“Where do you think you’re going, slave?” the Eye grunted. The Executor immediately came to stand in front of Idana, blocking her way.
“I was just… going to help her…” she muttered, realizing she was the center of all attention.
“We’ll take care of that stupid girl,” the Eye said with utter disdain. “She’s our slave.”
The Executor hit Idana in the chest with his spear, forcing her to step back. She was left sore and found it difficult to breathe.
“All kneel before the Boundary!” the Eye-of-the-God ordered.
They were placed in a row, on their knees, in the same order as in the carts. In front of them they could see the Boundary marked on the ground in intense gold. It was the forbidden limit established by the Gods. Nobody could cross it or else they would die, as the law laid down. She stared at the body of the unfortunate girl on the grass. An Eye was examining her.
The Rings were buzzing insistently, making their arms tremble uncontrollably. What are they going to do with us? Idana wondered. She was finding it hard to swallow, her mouth was so dry. She sighed, trying to calm her nerves, but the trembling was making her steadily worse. On her right Yosane was trying to stop her arm trembling, staring at the golden line with eyes full of anxiety. Idana turned her head to her left and saw Kyra further down the line. Idana raised her eyebrows in enquiry, but Kyra shrugged and shook her head. What will happen to us? The Executors came to stand behind them, in silence.
“Raise the arm with the Ring on it and look ahead!” the Eye ordered.
The prisoners started to do so. Some, like Yosane, could barely manage.
“Come on! Raise your arms! I won’t say it again, you useless slaves!”
The arms rose. The Executors held them fast. The Eye-of-the-Gods began to walk along the line. Idana tried to see what he was doing.
“Look straight ahead!”
Frightened, she obeyed. The Eye came to stand beside her. There was a flash and something cold, frozen, ran down her raised arm, as if an ice snake were slithering along it. What’s this? She heard Yosane moaning beside her and felt her fear.
The Eye moved away. The fear and tension grew with each breath.
“Let them cross over!” he ordered shrilly.
Idana’s heart skipped a beat. Cross over? No! She felt the sole of the Executor’s boot on her back, and a tremendous shove. She lurched forward and crossed the Boundary. She hit the ground with her face. She was overcome by convulsions. A terrible pain tore at every point of her body, bringing with it uncontrollable spasms. Her mind could bear it no longer and she lost consciousness, stretched out in the long damp grass.
Kyra awoke in agony. Her whole body ached. She tried to stand but was unable to. Her mind could not take in all the suffering her battered body was communicating. But she was alive, sore but alive. She had survived. She looked around in alarm. It was night-time, and she realized she was inside a strange building, circular and open, in the midst of a dense forest of tall beeches. She could hear a stream not far away, but for some reason the usual sounds of a forest at night were absent. A gloomy silence reigned. She had no idea how long it had been, but she felt as though she had been in the realm of dreams for a long time. Her companions were lying on the ground beside her, most of them still affected. They had been taken there while they were still unconscious. Where are we? What is this place? Kyra wondered blankly.
The building was both beautiful and odd. The floor was the color of silver, surrounded by a black marble wall more than fifteen feet high which formed a complete circumference. On the façade Kyra could make out innumerable indecipherable inscriptions and runes. She looked up at the sky, where countless stars shed a faint light. The Executors were standing guard along the wall, imperturbable. In the center of the building a rectangular monolith, black as an abyss, smooth as steel, rose tall and defiant toward the moon, it was more than sixty feet high. In front of the monolith Kyra saw something she had never thought to see: the Eye-of-the-Gods kneeling before a figure. Kyra’s eyes opened wide as saucers as she stared in disbelief. An Eye kneeling! This was unheard-of! The figure was dressed in a white hooded cloak so that Kyra could not see its face, although she could make out golden eyes, which took her breath away. What on earth is this being? Yosane and Idana awoke at that moment, and Kyra went to their side without taking her eyes away from what was going on in the center.
“What’s the matter?” Idana asked.
“I don’t think it’s anything good,” Kyra said.
“Why do you say that?” Yosane asked.
Kyra pointed at the Eye and the figure he was kneeling in front of.
“This place looks like some sort of temple,” concluded Yosane, who was studying the walls with interest.
“And who’s that, then? A High Priest?” Kyra asked.
Yosane shrugged. Suddenly the Eye stood up and faced them. Fear washed over
them, the way a wave washes over a ship in a storm.
“On your feet, all of you!”
The prisoners obeyed, some helping the others. Kyra counted twelve prisoners including herself. To her surprise she saw the girl who had run into the barrier get up as well. She could barely stand, but she was alive; they had not let her die. This was odd. Why had the Eye taken so much trouble over a mere slave girl? It did not make sense. They would never bother without some major reason; as far as they were concerned the girls were no more than worthless worms. How weird…
“It’s time to set off on the journey,” said the sinister figure who commanded the temple. The Executors took a step forward. The figure began a strange chant, and the inscriptions on the walls began to glimmer.
Kyra felt her nerves running wild. The floor started to tremble amid the golden flashes which were issuing from the walls. She looked down at the floor in terror. It was changing shape, turning liquid, like molten silver.
“It can’t be!” she cried.
The floor turned into a silver lake.
And engulfed them.
11
Ikai ran through the gloomy tunnel as though a pack of rabid dogs were chasing him. He glanced back but could not make out whether he was really being followed; he had the feeling that he was, and his feelings rarely betrayed him. The hooded guard has discovered me, he thought, and cursed silently. What other horrors were awaiting him down there? Better not stay to find out, and instead get out of that place of suffering as soon as possible. Kyra isn’t here, and my life is in greater danger every moment I stay.
He arrived at another of the strange dungeons and took a quick look inside. It was like the one he had left behind: circular, with floor and dome in silver, but bigger. There were twice as many spherical cages forming a circle in the middle of the chamber. The deeper into this labyrinth I go, the bigger the chambers and the more prisoners there are in them. I don’t like this at all. He shivered and shrugged. The chamber did not appear to be guarded. He debated whether to keep going or wait. But he could not wait, as the hooded one would appear behind him any moment. He took a deep breath and walked into the light of the chamber-dungeon.
In the tunnel on his right there appeared a shadow. Ikai withdrew like a flash and hid in the darkness of the tunnel. He waited, his heart pounding. He breathed deeply, trying to calm his heart, which was racing. He listened carefully, trying to identify what was going on. He heard a metallic sound: one of the spherical cages was opening. He heard the whimpering of one of the prisoners. A grunt, almost bestial, put an end to it. Soon after he caught the sound of the prisoner’s body being dragged along the ground. They were taking him away. Ikai did not even want to imagine the terrible fate of that poor man.
He waited a moment, without risking a glance, while he reflected. What did the Enforcers of the Gods do with their prisoners? They were just simple peasants, workers, and in very bad condition, so why were they needed? It could hardly be to produce anything… The place was not a mine, or a smithy, or anything of the kind. What went on down there? Ikai had no answers, but a feeling as cheerless as a bottomless well came over him. Something very sinister was going on there. I have to get out right away.
He kept going, bent double, and went into the chamber. He saw the poor wretches in their spherical cages. Nobody said anything; they were so terrified that they averted their eyes from Ikai’s. They did not want him to be there. He wondered which way to go. He was aware that he had to go back, retrace his steps. He stared at the three tunnel mouths that led out of the chamber. The first one, behind him, was the one he had come in from, and the one he wanted to take to get back. But that hooded figure armed with its bow might appear at any moment. He could not go to the right as that was the direction in which something had taken the prisoner. Those two options were out, so he chose the only one left, the one he did not want to follow because it led him away from the exit. He took it and walked on warily in the half-light. The passage opened into a triangular hall, which surprised him. Up to now everything in that complex had been round or spherical. The floor of the chamber was black, not silver. But what really surprised Ikai was the rectangular monolith with polished marble surfaces which rose in the center of the chamber. It was as black as a starless night and nine feet tall.
It buzzed like a swarm of bees.
Ikai walked slowly up to it and eyed it closely. It seemed to have a life of its own. The rectangular shape and the polished surfaces were pure perfection, with not a single flaw. It was too perfect to be man-made. For some reason it seemed to invite touching. Ikai reached out his arm and warily moved his hand towards it. He hesitated. Should he touch it or not? He looked around. There was no danger, and so he made his decision. He touched the surface with the palm of his hand. It was warm. A white flash came out of the monolith, illuminating the chamber. Ikai reached for his weapons and looked in every direction. Fear was clutching his body. The floor began to change color, gradually turning translucent. Ikai stared at it in awe.
Power of the Gods!
Suddenly he could see the lower level, as if ceiling and walls had turned crystalline. But not only what was below his feet: the whole level below. A labyrinth of chamber-dungeons was revealed, connected by tunnels and filled with spherical cages one level below the one he was in. A knot formed in his stomach. The light went on descending and showed him the next level: this too was filled with dungeons. To his regret, the light went on descending, Ikai counted five underground levels before the light stopped and came back up again. Each level showed the same horror: an endless sequence of dungeons filled with cell-spheres.
Ikai was appalled. Anxiety clutched his chest with an iron grip. He sighed deeply and stared at the monolith. It had to be some kind of transport to the other sub-levels. The Dungeons of Oblivion are immense. They must have thousands of people down there. But what do the Gods need them for? What for? He shook his head; he was deeply upset, and a sour unease had taken hold of him. Unfortunately only the Gods had answers to those questions. He moved away from the monolith, and the chamber went back to normal.
The sound of dragging footsteps reached Ikai’s trained ears. They were coming from the tunnel, very close. He crouched behind the monolith and let the shadow of the strange artifact hide him. With luck he could stay out of sight of whoever was approaching. He kept totally silent, hardly daring to breathe, hands and back pressed against the warm marble surface, trying to melt into it.
The footsteps came closer. They were coming into the hall. Making use of his experienced senses, his hearing strained, he tried to perceive the scent of a threat. It’s someone big, an Executor… no… the Executors move more slowly and heavily. This walk is dragged out… But the smell is typical of the Enforcers of the Gods: something like sulfur… He lowered his head and half-closed his eyes. He crouched even lower against the surface at his back and stayed still, making his body into a stone statue, his breathing suspended and his heartbeats diminished.
The steps moved up to the monolith and stopped on the other side.
Come on, come on, keep going, Ikai prayed, closing his eyes.
A deathly silence settled on the hall, and time seemed to stand still. Ikai’s heartbeats sounded to him like war drums which might be audible leagues away. He listened tensely, trying not to breathe: two steps sounded to the left, towards the way out. Instinctively he glanced in the opposite direction, planning to escape by the tunnel he had come in. He held his breath as he made out a silhouette in the tunnel amid the shadows.
He was trapped! Ikai swallowed. Behind the monolith there came another step. A strange rhythmic breathing, almost a hiss, reached him, and a shadow jutted out to his left. It slid along the floor and grew menacingly on his own body. The shadow took shape in the form of the silhouette of a strong man, until at last it was clear on the floor. It suggested the outline of a sinister head. Ikai was petrified.
“I cannot see you, but I can smell your slave’s stink,” came a hissing
voice.
Ikai gripped his weapons tightly.
“Come out from behind there and show yourself to me, you worm.”
They had found him out! There was no escaping now. He breathed deeply, then spun around as he got to his feet and faced that threatening voice. His blood froze in his veins. No, it was certainly not an Executor. It was something different. Something he had never seen before. Something no-one had ever seen before. It was terrifying. Ikai half-closed his eyes to study it better. What was it? It was not as tall or broad-shouldered as an Executor, although more so than himself. But it seemed more slippery than the warrior Enforcers. The monster’s skin was the characteristic ochre-tan of the Enforcers of the Gods, and the same dark veins ran under it. The head was covered by a strange helmet, similar yet different to that of the Executors. It was brown at the back, and the front was covered by hundreds of tiny metallic scales, intensely green. But what struck fear into Ikai’s heart were the eyes: yellow, reptilian, with a long, narrow black iris. He felt he was looking into the eyes of an enormous snake. Instead of a mouth there was only a round hole. He began to tremble.
The monster was dressed in a golden-green robe. On the front and back he wore a cuirass of green scales engraved in gold. His cape bore strange symbols embroidered in an olive color. Short greaves and brownish-green gauntlets protected the limbs. The hands held a coiled whip and an ominous-looking curved machete.
“You are no prisoner!” he hissed furiously under his helmet.
Ikai felt his skin crawl. In his mouth was the bitter taste of fear, but he did not flinch. He had to escape. He could not fight against an Enforcer; it would be suicide. The sentinel let the tip of the whip fall to the floor.