by T G W Becker
He finally caught up with the others; a great towering mess was behind him.
“Nicely done,” Rossa congratulated him as she pulled down the grate.
“After you,” Rossa said, smiling away. Nethalie and Drake dived inside, the Bluecap pulling the grate closed behind them as they entered.
“E’lif,” she muttered and then the grate was covered over by more bookcases. “Just for good measure,” She muttered in the now utter darkness.
“Light would be nice here, I can’t see a thing!”
“Okay Nethalie, keep your slacks on,” Drake teased her, “E’lit”. A small orb of light appeared and they could take in their surroundings.
The grate had housed a narrow spiral staircase leading upward. The space in which they now clustered was large enough to have the three ponies with them. Drake sent his orb up to see how high the shaft went.
“Well, I can definitely feel air, so there must be something up there. Better that, than face those mages again,” Nethalie said as she began climbing, keeping close to the wall. The staircase was only just wide enough to walk up in single file; it was definitely not the place where you wanted to meet someone coming down at the same time.
“Since we are unsure as to how many have been alerted to our presence, I would suggest making sure all hoods are raised and we all try our best to blend in.” Zeek’s slight amusement at Nethalie’s ears being the cause of their current predicament lifted all their spirits as they climbed. Nethalie blushed lightly and raised her hood.
It did not take them long to climb the staircase. Upon reaching the top, they discovered a small platform, on which they could gather, and another grate; only this one opened up into one of the large chambers where several of the private quarters for mages could also be seen.
“At least we know which level we are on. Plus, we’ve managed to get by that huge room full of mages without any problems. That would not have gone well for us at all,” Rossa whispered as she looked out through the grate. “All seems quiet; they must still be with The Channeller on the floor below.”
“Let’s make our exit while we’re ahead. Quietly though,” Drake hushed.
Rossa silently slid the grate to one side and the three crept out into the chamber. Nethalie poked her head through a crack in a partially open door; the room was almost completely bare, but more importantly it was empty. She turned back to see Rossa sliding the grate closed. ‘All clear,’ she mouthed to her two friends.
. . .
With the grate back in place, robes all checked and hoods raised, the three slowly made their way out of the private chambers and back to the main corridor. It too was blissfully empty of any challengers.
“Let’s go,” Rossa hissed under her breath and led the way back to the staircase that led back to the surface.
As with their initial entry into the temple, the first two floors were apparently empty. How long they would stay that way was another matter. By now the mages that had persued them in the hold must have alerted the rest and be searching furiously for the intruders.
The group made their way through the corridors and up the stairs, eyes dancing into every open doorway and around each corner. The piece of Ecliptica they had worked so hard to find was now in their hands. The pouch in Drakes sleeve was filled with three of the six pieces that would reunite Zeek’s Ecliptica, Rossa had the fourth piece and the Elves had the fifth. Only the sixth piece to locate and then we can finally reassemble the Ecliptica, Drake thought as they walked briskly down the corridor.
They reached the top of the winding staircase and broke the barrier of darkness back into daylight, and a relative blanket of safety, yet somewhere below them, an unknown number of mages hunted for them. Now, if they could make their way safely back to Isimir and then to the Kingdom of the Elves, they could secure the fifth piece, and then begin planning on just how they would find the last piece.
Stepping out beside Nethalie, Drake basked in the light. This was rather short-lived however, as the colour suddenly drained away.
“Psimere!” Drake warned as he began drawing magic to himself in preparation for a battle.
Then Rossa knocked him unconscious.
~ 29 ~
A heat like haze burned around Rossa as Nethalie and Drake came to. Feelings gradually returned to their bodies and they found they had been bound in chains to the ruined stonework of one of the domes.
“Rossa, what’s going on? What have you done?” Nethalie pleaded as she twisted her wrists, hoping to slip a hand free. The Bluecap had her back to the pair as they rattled the cold metal clasping their wrists. Nethalie’s arms ached above her head. How long had they been chained here?
Drake too was taking in the situation. He strained and then he realised that his inner pocket where he kept Zeek’s core and the Ecliptica pieces felt alarmingly empty. “Zeek? Zeek are you still there?”
“I am here. Though where here is I can not say. My mind feels...cloudy...oppressed. Someone is trying to tap into me essence,” his voice wavered as he spoke,”I can feel a mind pressing against my own. It’s...it cannot be...”
The longest silence that Drake had known in his entire life followed as a feeling of horror washed from Zeek to his own mind.
“Oriomus.”
Drake’s mind reeled. How could the leader, or rather ex-leader, of the Shadow Realm be here, be alive even? It made no sense. Zeek had given his life to destroy Oriomus. He looked around, trying to spot some hint of where Zeek’s core might be or, indeed, where Oriomus might be.
It was then he noticed that Rossa looked different. Her colour had all been drained away; not just her skin, but her hair and even her clothes.
“Did you really think it would be so easy to walk into my domain and take as you please?” A dark voice spoke, low and eerily calm.
“Where are you?” Drake questioned the voice “why don’t you show yourself?”
“My dear friend, I have been right with you for the last four nights. You have been welcoming the face of your enemy to your camp fire at night, to eat your food and hear your plans. This body, this projection of form I wish for you to see is mind linked to that strange little Bluecap friend of yours. Her thought and knowledge, her personality and skills, are all at my disposal.”
It was at this point that Drake finally realised the voice was coming from Rossa, or what he thought was Rossa. The Bluecap turned; the haze around her growing stronger. In her hands she held the Ecliptica core, Zeek was in his enemy’s hand.
“Zeek, why don’t you join in and share your wisdom with us?” the doppelganger Rossa demanded.
“You cannot be here and cannot have this much strength,” Zeek said, allowing all to hear him.
“Oh but I can. Did you think dispersing my physical body would destroy me? Granted, you did set my plan back for a thousand years and it was exceptionally painful to be so drastically dispersed. It took me nearly eight hundred years to gather enough of my energies back to one place. It is at this time that your so called ‘Psimere’ was born. Do you feel that you somewhat underestimated me Zeek? You cannot simply destroy me as you would a helpless human.”
“No being could contain or control the amount of power you claim to command. Trying to contain it alone, would destroy the physical body of any creature, even a dragon.” Zeek maintained his composure, but those who knew him could feel his confusion.
“As you have always been so fond of reminding these mortals, I am no ordinary creature. My power extends from the very essence of life…and death,” doppelganger Rossa replied in an snide smug tone.
“Tapping into the magic of life is beyond dangerous, but tapping into the passing of magic is beyond evil. That stream of magic contains the very souls of all that has been and all that will be. By using that magic, you are removing a being from ever existing,” Zeek was disgusted and distraught, “those souls may have even been those of a dragon yet to live!”
The air suddenly rippled with magical energy and white h
ot fire engulfed the doppelganger. Drake could see that Zeek was expending his own store from within his core, it was draining fast.
“Zeek, stop!” Drake called out.
The vile laugh rumbled deeply and the doppelganger sliced a hand through the flames. They died as quickly as they started.
“My, my. Age has done nothing for you Zeek. Still trying the same old spells with no focus or thought.”
Nethalie suddenly let out a piercing scream.
“A fire inside the body, just the smallest spark, can deliver so much more pain.”
“Please stop!” Drake begged as his friend writhed in now silent agony next to him, her face twisting with the pain that was shooting through her body, her lips stubbornly closed over her screams.
The doppelganger closed a hand into a fist and Nethalie stopped writhing and began to smile.
“The body and emotions are so easily manipulated,” sneered the doppelganger.
“What is it that you seek, Oriomus? Power, blind followers? Zeek was drawing his attention away from the others, “Is there even one thing you are working towards?”
“Why, my dear Zeek, have you not figured it out yet?” the doppelganger asked. “My great and masterful plan? Why, I wish to resurrect the dragons using dark magic of course. Beings of ultimate power at my command will make my Shadows an unstoppable force. Not even the Elves will be able to stand in my way. All the realms will fall and bend to my will. In the wake of the battle that will follow, I shall rise to rebuild as I see fit, the world will become my utopian empire. The only way to do such a thing is to have an Ecliptica of a Great Dragon. And...why, look at what I have here,” looking at the Ecliptica core in her hands the doppelganger began to laugh.
“Why do they always have to be power-mad dictators?” Drake muttered to Nethalie. A sharp burning pain shot through his left arm and he cried out.
“When your opinion is required I shall ask for it. Until that point, learn to hold your tongue boy,” the doppelganger snapped at Drake.
“Leave him be. You have what you needed from him. Release him and the girl,” Zeek pleaded.
“Why would I do such a thing? I was considering letting them leave, but your concern for them is a pain that would be most useful as leverage. Maybe I will appoint one as my personal slave and the other...hmmm...I need a new spy. With a little magic and a few adjustments to the body... Yes, I could see you as a shadowbird young Drake.”
Looking between the two and smiling and huge crooked smile, the doppelganger spoke softly, “Now, where shall we begin?”
~ 30 ~
Rossa opened her eyes again. At least they felt like they were open. The blackness was no different either way. How long have I been here, more importantly, where is here? She thought sluggishly. She tried to move her arms and legs; they felt stiff, as though they hadn’t been used for a good few days. What a strange dream. It felt so real. Was it real? She could feel the strangeness of another mind on the edge of her own, the tendrils of a grip now released.
She blinked again, and again, and some shapes began to appear in the darkness.
It’s no good, I need to see where I am, she gathered a little magic, careful not to use too much, in case she needed a sudden burst. With the magic ready, she formed a tiny orb.
Why am I not surprised it’s a cell? It’s always a cell. Why can captors not use well-furnished bedrooms? Or a well-stocked kitchen. I’d like to know how I got from searching for eggs, to being laid out on a bed. Usually I’d be interested, but in this case, I’m not sure I like the possible answers. Flexing her arms to get the feeling back into them, she rolled onto her side. She was on a, what first appeared to be a table, but turned out to be a rather old and uncomfortable bed. At least I’m not bound and I still have all my clothes. I wonder where Neth and Drake are?
When some level of feeling had returned to her, she sat upright and sent the orb around the room. The cell, it seemed, did not have bars or windows. It was simply a square room, only twenty strong paces in each direction and a single wooden door with iron fittings in one corner. Easing herself off the bed, she tested her legs; nothing broken or strained, so she walked around the room.
Time to test the door; let’s hope they thought leaving it unlocked was a good idea. Whoever they are. Reaching out to the cold iron handle, she slowly turned, and was pleasantly surprised to find it turned and when she gave a pull, met no resistance of a lock.
Thank you. Now, I would like the grand tour here, maybe the kitchens, library and, oh yeah, the exit.
She pulled the door slowly open, just enough to offer a crack to peer through. Outside was a dimly lit stone corridor. Empty. Opening the door further, she slipped through the gap and looked up and down the short corridor. To her left were at least a dozen more wooden doors, exactly the same as the one she had slipped through. To her right, were more doors and a staircase at the end leading upwards. Between her and the stairs lay a small table too with various items on its top. A large staff of knotted wood and a collection of clear gems in the main body, a few bows of varying sizes and a set of assassin spikes.
My blades! She noticed with excitement and a sense of ease flowing over her. Cautiously, she made her way to the table and collected her possessions. The corridor was silent, apart from the clink of the belt that sheathed Rossa’s blades. It seemed the owners of the other items were no longer here, but she didn’t want to risk carrying more than she could, so she grabbed a small Cranequin and quiver. Once she was happy they were secure and she had collected everything from the pile that was useful she headed towards the stairs.
. . .
Reaching the top of the short staircase, Rossa found herself in a much larger room. This was furnished with elaborate and expensive looking objects, some of which Rossa had never seen before. The chamber had a large polished lightwood table with two large chairs that were upholstered in a rich green fabric. Various shelves and bookcases full of bound tomes cluttered the walls of the room, along with tapestries hanging from gold rails.
Expensive looking stuff. It’s a shame I’m not here on my own terms, Rossa thought as she eyed a goblet with several small gemstones in its base.
A single door, garnished with gold designs sat at the far end of the room. A large keyhole, poised for a quick peep, sat below the golden handle.
Let’s hope my luck holds for getting through this one. She put her eye close to the hole and squinted through, then had to stifle a gasp and quickly move away.
There were two creatures guarding the door, but she couldn’t tell what they were; she’d never seen such things before, not even in any of the tomes and scrolls of the Great Library.
Putting her eye back to the keyhole, she looked at the creatures again. They were the size of a full grown man, with dark grey skin and large muscled limbs. At the head was what first appeared to be a hood draped over an oddly misshapen face, but then Rossa saw that it was a shadow across the head. No matter how she looked, it was in constant shadow.
Just what I need, more creatures of the night. Well if it’s here physically, I’m sure it can be killed. At least I hope it can be killed, then that it stays that way.
Rossa planned her next move carefully. She took up her spikes and stood, pressed up tightly against the wall behind the door. She gathered a little magic and then focused on the goblet. It flew across the room and crashed into the far wall.
An odd clicking noise from the other side of the door signalled that she had their attention. The handle slowly, silently, turned and the door opened inwards into the room.
Come on, come on. Don’t you want to know what the sound was? I’m sure you’d be very interested to find out.
Both creatures stepped into the room. If she hadn’t seen them as they did, she would never have heard them coming. Rossa watched as one made its way down the far end of the room and looked down at the goblet on the floor.
Thank you very much indeed, weird shadow things, She thought as she disappeared from behi
nd the door and next to the closest creature. With a single thrust of her spikes, she downed the creature. It crumpled to the floor, not making a single sound. Rossa ducked down and flew quickly on her feet towards the second creature. It had now noticed the disappearance of its companion and gave a short high pitched wail. Rossa sped on towards it, shifting position quickly as it raised itself to full height. It swung a heavy arm towards her, which she dodged in a single fluid motion and slid across the floor behind its legs. Her blades found their mark, one to each leg. The creature fell to its knees, making not a sound as it did, save for a few short clicks. Standing quickly, Rossa made sure the creature would not halt her escape any further. She stood over the felled creature and looked closely at it.
Ugly looking thing aren’t you? She thought. Then watched in surprise as the grey colouring and shadow around the head seemed to flow away and rejoin the natural shadows of the room. What was left was a man, wearing a grey robe. Dead.
Poor guy. I mean, I know he’s a mage, but that’s not a nice way to live really. At least I know those things can be killed. Looking at the fallen man once more, she sighed then poked her head out of the door to check the way was clear, before heading out.
. . .
After several chambers with no other signs of mage creatures or ordinary mages, Rossa finally stumbled into a large main corridor. This seems somewhat familiar, she thought, remembering the strange dream-like memories. Looking to one end she saw a staircase descending, looking the other way showed a staircase going to the upper levels.
Down seems like a crazy idea right now, so up it is. If these dream memories are right, this is only the third level down, so I can’t be too far from the surface.
Breaking into a quick jog, she headed towards the stairs.
The level above her was rather crowded to her surprise. As she reached the top of the stairs, she almost stumbled into the back of another mage creature. As she looked down the rest of the long corridor, she saw at least five more behind the first. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy, she thought as she lunged towards the first creature, her spikes flashing as they flew through the air.