The forest was quiet, the only noise being the gentle sound of birdsong and the splashing of water. It was so serene and relaxing here, all the aches and pains in his body eased away, and having a full belly improved his mood considerably. Letting out a loud belch, he put his hands behind his back and lay back against the tree. He would collect the Frozen Droplets in a little while, he said to himself as his eyelids started to grow heavy. He had plenty of time, and what was the point of racing back to that dingy medicine lodge for more boring potion making when he could enjoy a nice relaxing morning outside? After all, weren’t druids supposed to get up close and personal to nature?
He must have drifted off to sleep because the sound of someone shouting made him sit up in sudden confusion. He looked around and blinked. Everything was still quiet and serene. He must have dreamt it.
“Help! Help me!” a voice drifted out across the dell. “Someone, please help!”
Matias listened to the voice for a few moments, and then a smile spread across his face when he recognised who it belonged to. Grabbing up his sandals and equipment, he headed towards the direction it was coming from.
* * *
He found Opon a kilometre or so away, hanging upside down from some thick foliage, with a rope around his wrist. Matias looked up at him and burst out laughing.
“Thank the Five Powers you came along,” Opon exclaimed. “Get me down, lad!”
Matias stopped laughing and leant on his staff. “What happened to you?”
“I got caught in one of Jhondey’s hunting snares!” Opon fumed. “He forgets where he leaves them, the little footwit! I’ll knock his brains out when I get down.”
“If you get down,” Matias corrected him.
Opon scowled. “What you talking about? Get me down before something nasty comes along.”
“The way you were shouting I’m surprised something nasty hasn’t already come to see what the noise is. Maybe I should just leave you to it.”
“You can’t!” Opon called out, as Matias turned his back on him. “You can’t leave me out here on my own! Let me down, I say!”
Matias stopped and sneered back at him. “You weren’t very friendly to me when I first came here, as I remember, and you haven’t been friendly since. I think I’ll leave you where you are. It’s no more than you deserve.”
“No wait!” Opon said, sounding desperate. “That wasn’t my fault! It was Mardon behind that, not me! I ‘ave to go along with what he says or I lose my Watch privileges. You don’t know what he’s like. You have to do what ‘e says or he makes you pay for it.”
Matias raised his hand and started walking away again. “Bye bye, Opon. Have fun.”
“Don’t go!” the older man pleaded. “Let me down! It’ll be worth your while! I’m going to be rich soon. I’ll give you a share, I swear!”
Matias stopped and slowly walked back to him, eying him suspiciously. “What do you mean you’re going to be rich soon?”
Opon licked his lips and went quiet. Matias snorted. “Don’t waste my time.”
“Wait! I’ll tell you,” Opon conceded.
Matias cocked his eyebrows. “I’m waiting.”
“I’m leaving Ironthorne,” the man said. “Things are getting worse. More people are disappearing and there are strange lights and sounds round the river at night. Evil spirits sent by the Hateling. It’s only a matter of time before ‘e sends his monsters to finish us.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“I will boy!” Opon snapped. “Like I say, I’m getting out before it’s too late, but I got no money to get very far and I ain’t staying in the forest for the rest of my life. There’s a cave, not far from here, that’s full of loot, weapons and equipment. Enough stuff to let me start again on my own.”
Matias frowned at him, noticing for the first time that he was wearing leather armour and had a short sword at his belt, though he was unable to reach with the weapon to be able to cut through the rope round his ankle. “Something tells me there’s a catch.”
Opon nodded. “Something lives in the cavern, a gargoyle. All the stuff in there comes from people it’s hunted down. If you help me rob the place, you can have half of what we find.”
Matias made a face. “I don’t feel like ending up as gargoyle chow.”
“The gargoyle’s old and blind,” replied Opon. “It’s lived in that cave for over a hundred years, or so Sour Root says. At that age, it mostly sleeps all the time, down at the deepest end of the cavern. There’s plenty of loot around near the mouth of its den. I was thinkin’ I’d just sneak in all quiet like and take my pick before it even knew I was there, like. If you come with me and it wakes up, we’ll have a good chance o’ killing it. Let me down and we’ll go together. You want to get out of Ironthorne as much as me, I can see it in your face.”
Matias considered the proposition. He wanted money and he couldn’t afford to buy any really decent equipment from the general store on the weekly chit wage he received. It wouldn’t hurt to have a little more dough in his pocket and a few extra weapons, even if he did decide to stay longer in the village—though he had no intention of waiting around for the Hatelings’ crew to make their move. Getting out now might be a better idea after all. As he debated on whether to agree to Opon’s proposal, a message in gold plated copperplate appeared in front of his eyes:
New Quest Received: The Cavern of the Gargoyle
You now have the option to join Opon to loot the gargoyle’s den.
Matias stared at the message as it faded away, and then thought about the long walk back to the medicine lodge to craft potions. It was no competition really.
“Okay,” he said to Opon. “You got a deal.”
Chapter XI: Going Under
Matias smelt the cave before he even saw it. It was a rancid stench of decay and offal, and his stomach roiled the closer they got to it. He was beginning to regret agreeing to this quest, but he couldn’t turn back now. To do so would mean losing face in front of Opon, and that was unthinkable even if Opon was just a creation of simulated reality.
They trudged in silence through the trees, following the smell until it let them to a clearing where a shelf of rock rose up to block their path. The entrance to the gargoyle’s lair was half way up the rock face, a gaping hole punctuating the uneven surface. Foul looking stains of black and yellow spread down from the cavern mouth, and yellowed bones littered the ground below.
“You sure this gargoyle is a pushover?” Matias asked, eyeing the cavern.
Opon gave him a grin of broken teeth. “Not scared are ya, lad? Thought you were frightened o’ nuthin’? That’s how Jhondey tells it any road.”
“Not scared, just cautious,” replied Matias. “If things get hairy in there, I’m out straightaway. Don’t expect me to stick around and help you if you get into trouble, old timer.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Opon replied, a crafty look in his eyes.
There was no obvious route up to the cavern, but there were enough handholds on the rock for them to ascend with relative ease. Opon went first with Matias keeping a close eye on him. He didn’t trust him an inch, and there was something not right about this whole set up, but his greed got the better of him and he brushed aside his misgivings.
As Opon clambered up to the ledge leading into the cavern mouth, he turned to help Matias. Matias waved him away and got up on his own, despite having to keep a hold onto his staff with one hand.
The smell was even worse now. It came out of the cavern mouth in waves and Matias had to fight down the urge to throw up. There was something else mingled with the foulness, an aura of icy dread that wrapped around his spine. He gripped his staff tighter and tried to ward off the miasma before it got the better of him.
“You’re lookin’ pale,” Opon observed. “Maybe you should wait outside after all. This kind a’ work ain’t for everyone.”
“I’m fine,” Matias snapped,
ignoring the sheen of sweat gathering on his forehead. He was feeling sick to the stomach. “Let’s just get this over with.”
Opon shrugged, maddeningly calm. What the hell was wrong with the idiot? Couldn’t he feel it too? “After you,” the thug said, gesturing to the cavern mouth.
Matias raised the head of his staff and jabbed it into Opon’s chest. “You first,” he growled.
Opon smiled and a look spread across his ugly face that said he knew something Matias’ didn’t. “If you want. No skin off my nose, friend.”
He turned and headed into the cave. Matias followed after him, his nerves on a knife-edge. At first, he could see nothing and he had to reach out with his free hand to touch the rough wall of the cave as he moved. The ground was hard and jagged under the thin material of his sandals, and he had to use his staff to help him keep his balance. Opon’s bald head and fat neck were barely visible in the gloom. Matias had to focus hard to keep his gaze fixed on the other man as they began to descend down a narrow tunnel that twisted and turned, becoming so sinuous and tangled that they soon lost the light coming in from the cavern mouth. The blackness was all consuming now, and the sense of dread chewed up his guts. He wanted to turn back and get out of here, leaving Opon to rob the gargoyle alone. But the thought of negotiating the way back alone kept him going forward. He had to see this through to the end now, no matter what the consequences.
“Why didn’t you bring a lantern?” Matias grumbled, his voice sounding small and pathetic in the thick darkness. “I can’t see a thing now!”
Opon was breathing heavily a few feet in front of him. “No light,” he hissed. “We don’t want to be spotted.”
“I thought you said the gargoyle slept all the time?” Matias retorted, “and that it was blind?”
“Half-blind,” Opon corrected. “It could spot a light moving in the dark, but it does sleep all the time. So we should be all right, as long as we don’t want to take stupid risks, mudwit!” Opon said. “Now, keep quiet, less you want your tongue and not the light to stir it.”
Matias fell into sullen silence and they carried on walking. The tunnel seemed to go on forever, reaching down deeper and deeper, and becoming more labyrinthine by the second. Matias was beginning to despair that he would ever see the end of it when he suddenly spotted a yellow light up ahead. Opon stopped and Matias almost walked into him.
“You didn’t say it would be like this,” he whispered to the older man. “I thought there was stuff to steal near the entrance?”
“Keep your mouth shut!” Opon snarled. “You’ll get us killed. All the good stuff is through there.” He pointed to the opening in the tunnel where the light was spilling out of.
Matias narrowed his eyes. “You’ve been all the way down here before, on your own? I don’t buy that.”
“Krumer’s been down here before,” Opon said. “‘E told me wot to expect.”
Matias was even more confused. “Krumer? What’s he got to do with all this?”
A low, bestial growl sliced through the gloom, freezing Matias’ voice in his throat. Opon moved with startling speed and ducked down behind a nearby outcropping of rock. Matias quickly crouched down next to him.
For long moments, they stayed exactly where they were, expecting the gargoyle to come charging down the tunnel at any second. Nothing happened though, and no further growling came.
They remained in this position for roughly half an hour, by Matias’ reckoning, before he relaxed his tensed body and started breathing normally again. Opon eased past him and, still in a crouch, moved toward the end of the tunnel again. He gestured for Matias to follow, putting his finger to his lips to indicate absolute silence. Matias forced his legs to move forward as he tried desperately to keep his fear in check. He joined Opon at the mouth of the tunnel and edged forward toward the source of the yellow light.
His heart jumped into his mouth as he took in the huge cavern that the tunnel fed into. It was several kilometres wide with stalactites hanging from the roof like fangs, and the floor plunged down in a steep drop to a stagnant pool. A rickety wooden bridge stretched across the space to a wide shelf of rock where a huge fire pit was blazing, the source of the light. It made shadows on the rock walls and Matias could see various pieces of equipment strewn around it.
Matias looked at Opon who pointed to the bridge. Matias’ eyes widened and he shook his head, mouthing ‘no way!’ Opon sneered and drew his short sword. Matias had to admit, he admired the guy’s guts. Opon struck him as a coward through and through, and Matias couldn’t bear the thought of being made to look like a wuss by a lowlife like him. Opon gestured with his sword and this time Matias nodded. The man grinned and headed toward the bridge as quietly as he could. Matias came close behind, gripping his staff with both hands.
They slowly began moving along the bridge, and Matias felt it creak under their weight. It had no sides to offer support, so he had to keep to the middle of the span, walking with one foot in front of the other. Opon was walking the same way, a few inches in front of him. On the shelf at the other side, there was no sign of life, and Matias hoped the gargoyle had gone back to sleep.
All of a sudden, Opon stopped. Matias bit down a curse as he almost stumbled into him. He stared at the man as he spun round. Without warning, he lunged at Matias with his sword. Matias backed away in alarm, losing his footing. Opon made to stab him in the stomach and Matias had no choice but to jump off the bridge—though it was more of an ignoble fall.
He landed in the pool below with a huge splash and a roar split the cavern.
Matias floundered in the deep water, uninjured save for his pride. He looked up to see Opon bolt across the bridge, back the way they had come. At that moment, Matias wished he had a bow and arrows. He could have taken the louse down with a straight shot through the middle of his back.
Another roar from the shelf brought him back to his present crisis. He spotted a huge black shape lumber past the fire pit toward the bridge. Panic stricken, Matias dived under the water. The stench was unbearable, and vile black sludge floated past him. He had a grim suspicion that the pool wasn’t full of just water. He stayed where he was, hoping its murky depths could keep him concealed. Up above, he heard claws clacking across the bridge and stop midway. He heard a low growl and then silence. By now, his lungs were screaming for air and he had to fight hard against the urge to break to the surface.
Above him, the gargoyle let out a rough bark then he heard it clacking across the bridge away from him.
Cautiously, he surfaced again and spotted its long tail swishing along as it lumbered back to the rock shelf. Matias brought his head fully out of the pool and took a deep breath. The gargoyle swung its horned head in his direction and Matias saw one milky eye flash in the firelight.
Matias ducked his head again and started swimming across the pool, away from the bridge, as fast as he could. There was a huge splash as the gargoyle jumped into the pool after him. It snarled and growled, worked up into a savage frenzy. Terror gripped Matias but he kept on swimming, turning to look in the direction of the gargoyle. In the dark shadows, he couldn’t see a thing, except glimpses of scales as the beast surfaced and submerged its body, moving in his direction.
Fortunately for him, Opon had been telling the truth. The gargoyle was old. It moved slowly through the water, giving Matias time to put some distance between his position and the monster.
As he reached the wall of the cavern, he realised there was a narrow tributary tucked away behind an outcropping of rock and he swam down it. It snaked off into darkness, but he saw a ledge to his right and climbed onto it. Behind him, the gargoyle howled with primal fury and, for the first time in his life, Matias started praying. He huddled into the furthest corner of the ledge like a frightened child and hugged himself tight. For long minutes, his brain refused to work and he felt hot tears stream down his face. He was going to die here, he was sure of it. He’d always thought he would never care about dyi
ng. But now he was face to face with being killed, it froze him to the core. Out in the main pool, the gargoyle let out a long shriek of frustration.
The terrible sound made Matias want to slip back into the foetid water. It was better to go and meet his fate like a man rather than hide here like a scared kid. Only his dad had made him feel so helpless and terrified, and he swore he’d never be weak again. To be like that was to be trapped in a living death.
He didn’t surrender to despair though. Eventually, he began to see past his fear and started to plan how he was going to escape from here. Veins of luminous chalk strafed the walls here, and he used them to see by.
Slowly, he crawled out of his hiding place and found that the ledge ran back to the main cavern, ending with the rocky outcropping he had spotted before. Staying on his hands and knees, he moved along the ledge and, using the outcropping as cover, peeped out at the pool.
The gargoyle’s huge body flailed about, and it swung its head to and fro. Despite the gloom, he reckoned it was too big to fit down the tributary he had swum along. So there was no danger of pursuit, but he’d never get past it if he tried to go back out into the water. Moreover, the rock walls were too wet and slick to climb up. He was trapped.
No, he said to himself. Don’t think like that! There’s got to be a way out of this! There’s just got to be!”
The gargoyle would get tired and go back to its fire, but what good would that do? Matias would still be trapped down in the pool without any means of escape. He rubbed at his aching forehead and had an idea.
As quietly as possible, he opened his rucksack and took out his journal. Making sure he was well hidden by the outcropping, he pointed the front of the book in the direction of the gargoyle and felt the familiar heat.
When it went cool again, he opened the book and used the glowing light of the chalk deposits to read the entry:
The Alchemy Worlds: Enter T(he)rap(y): A LitRPG Adventure Page 9