He was in a vast cavern. And a little way ahead and below him he spied a demonic figure with wild cruel eyes and an expression of concentrated malevolence, crouching in front of a black iron cauldron stirring the contents, while reciting:
‘A figure in the darkness becomes a silhouette,
As a light shines on the cauldron that’s boiling human sweat,
The sorcerer’s apprentice is mixing magic brew,
A powerful concoction, there’s nothing it can’t do.
Spell upon spell is mumbled, above the gurgling vat,
Then the recipe repeated by the black magician’s cat.
And once more the room is in darkness,
As the fire wanes and dies,
Then the statues at the windows are given life; then rise.
Suddenly, the Warlock comes,
His eyes are filled with and dread,
But he casts a spell, and all is well, the apprentice is back in bed.
However, he must be taught a lesson,
Because he is not allowed to play,
Without the sorcerer’s supervision, or while the sorcerer’s away.
Now known only to the wizard,
The apprentice was once human too,
But, he’s now become the main ingredient of a mystic, magic brew.’
As the last word was spoken, the hooded and cloaked figure threw what looked like an apprentice’s hat into the spitting, steaming vat and stirred the contents vigorously. ‘Goodbye, and may the man-gods not find you as meddlesome as I,’ he said with a hiss. With that, the Warlock laughed madly, the loud insidious sound echoing throughout the halls of the great cavern. A wild stare shone in his black eyes.
Rogan’s heart missed a beat and slowed to a murmur. His legs felt weak and an awful sickly stomach-twisting feeling burgeoned within him. The Warlock picked something else up from a small pedestal at his side. The object shone like ivory and looked like the grotesque skeleton of something born twisted and malformed. He dropped it unceremoniously into the steaming mixture. A bright blue flame flashed above the cauldron. Then the Warlock began reciting another spell while stirring the dreadful brew, which looked like pitch, but smelt like rotting flesh.
‘As the sands of time drift onward,
When the present becomes the past,
Old memories are soon forgotten and the first become the last.
Yet I remember how I rode the sky,
Alone each cold dark night,
Returning then from whence I came before the morning light.
But no more do I see the sunrise,
Over fields of golden corn,
Nor the silver mist that hides the grass in the early light of dawn.
For though I am an immortal,
Not born of earthly soil,
I have sworn to guard the Black Towers hidden maze,
Upon this mortal coil.’
As the last word was spoken, the Warlock dropped something else into the cauldron. There was a dreadful chilling scream as the object hit the broiling mixture and a bright red flame burst forth from within. He stirred the brew once more. ‘Appear before me now Taurius! I command you!’ he said. His hawk-like stare was stern and his eyes glistened with anticipation. There were several more flashes of light – reds, greens and blues. A spiralling plume of smoke drifted high into the air and Rogan’s eyes began to sting and burn.
A hideous creature materialized within the vapour. An abomination of nature. A thing of colossal proportions. An ugly thing, black as night. ‘I am the Protector of the Black Tower and serve only thee Master. But when shall I be free to roam the daylight hours? Thy promised my freedom years ago, yet I grow old and tired in the maze,' it asked.
The Warlock put his fingertips together, resting his forefingers on his chin. He smiled crookedly, like one who has a relish for his chosen duty. ‘Never will you be free. You were born in this place and will die in this place.’
Rogan watched and listened intently to the conversation from his vantage point and was puzzled. Why would a monster with Taurius' fierce reputation be interested in anything but blood-letting and human sacrifice, he thought? In fact, Taurius looked nothing like the vengeful creature he had imagined and heard stories of. The creature was obviously a force to be reckoned with, but it appeared to be sad, subdued and withdrawn. He listened with great interest to the on-going conversation.
‘I know you have the power to release me, so don't let me die in this place,’ said Taurius.
‘I do have the power,’ said the other. ‘But you are a colossal beast that doesn't think or feel, and you are supposed to live in agony and torment, because even the man-gods fear of you. You're a bizarre monster from the Netherworld, so where would you go if I set you free? You're better off where you are, as was your father before you.’
‘I’m not like the one who sired me,’ Taurius observed. ‘I’m not a slayer.'
'You reek of your father and enjoy killing,' said the Warlock. 'You will be my weapon and my protector until I find another to take your place.'
Taurius shook his head. 'Emperor Kliest starved my father, kept him captive within the confines of the giant maze and it eventually drove him mad. Before that, he ate the slaughtered carcasses of wild animals. If anyone belongs here in this eternal purgatory, it’s Kliest himself. For he is the epitome of evil and cruelty. Please release me from my torment.’
‘Silence!’ the Warlock ordered.
At which point, a rock beneath Rogan gave way. causing him to fall from his hiding place. The Warlock’s concentration was disturbed and Taurius disappeared in a wisp of smoke. Rogan landed with a thud at the Warlock’s feet and panic gripped him. He pushed himself to one knee and climbed to his feet.
‘Who dares to invade my sanctuary,’ the Warlock asked.
They stared at each other for a moment in silence. Then the Warlock waved his hand over Rogan, casting a spell upon him and utter chaos broke loose. In an instant he became a flaming torch and floated high into the air as a wild wind rushed into the cavern like a tornado. ‘Aahhhhh,’ he gasped feeling as if two giant red-hot hands were squeezing the life out of him. ‘What are you doing to me?’
‘Merely protecting myself from an intruder. You hurtle down upon me from who knows where, and for who knows what reason. What would you expect me to do?’ the Warlock asked, his fingers glowing red and then white as he applied more and more of the dark spell.
‘Aahhhhh,’ shrieked Rogan, trying breathe and talk. ‘I – I simply stumbled in here by accident. I mean you no harm.’
The Warlock’s eyes began to glow as he stared wrathfully. He began to laugh and a strangled cry tore from Rogan’s lips. ‘You mean to do me no harm. That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. What possible harm could you do?’ he asked.
Rogan let the pain buffet and rage within him, let the doubts and uncertainties of the inevitable gnaw at him, and he gained a certain measure of strength by being able to withstand them and the pain. He made a decision to be strong and found that even though the touch of something inhuman now seemed to burn within him, it was something he could live with. ‘I can be of service to you,’ he gasped.
The Warlock, with his high, shining, bald head puffed and tutted and his shaggy brows lifted. ‘I don’t think so,’ he snapped.
Rogan’s face showed signs of great fear. The Warlock however, waved his hands in windmill-like movements, and the other became aware of a searing pain down the length of his body. It was as if his flesh was melting.
‘Aahhhhh.’ Rogan gasped. ‘There's an island that lies to the north of here, where Taurius could live in peace, away from prying eyes. And I have a way of getting him there.
Red smoke poured from the Warlock’s fingertips and swept over Rogan's body, entering his every orifice, filling the air with the scent of rotting flesh.
‘I am Socura. All-powerful viceroy to Emperor Kliest. Would you have me betray my lord and master?’ he asked, enraged by the thought. His eyes glowed brig
hter.
‘You don’t have to betray anyone or do anything. I can relieve you of that burden,’ Rogan offered
‘And just how would you accomplish this?’ Socura asked, relaxing his spell.
‘I have a very special vessel. It has a Mage Majiker within its walls.’
Socura’s eyes shone brighter still. ‘Do you have it in your possession?’ he asked.
Rogan’s pain stopped and his expression changed from one of utter agony to a look of peace and calm. He breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Aye, I do,’ he said. ‘And the Mage is capable of transporting Taurius to the land I spoke of, where similar creatures from the Netherworld roam. You see, at first I thought the man-gods had sent me here to kill Taurius. Now I believe my duty is to become the strange creature’s saviour and that our destinies are somehow entwined.’
‘Show me the vessel you speak of,’ ordered Socura.
Rogan put his hand inside his waistband and pulled out the ancient oil-lamp. Socura waved his hands inflicting another painful spell. His fingers turned red and blue and then green. Rogan’s eyes darkened and sank deeper into his skull. Then, something wild and frightening burgeoned in his heart and despair washed over him as he realized that there was nothing he could do to save himself from an imminent death – nothing at all. Socura wrenched the lamp free of Rogan’s grip with another powerful spell. He caught it as it floated towards him and whispered more spells.
Searing pain ripped through Rogan’s body. Then strangely, as if he were hallucinating he became aware of the faint smell of wild onions and chives and the sound of whistling, which the sorcerer didn’t seem to notice in his frenzied state of concentration. Then he heard a voice from out of the shadows which announced,
‘A friend in need, is a friend indeed,
I do a deed, or try,
A bully is just a bully,
And today’s not a good day to die.’
Without any warning a sword scythed through the Warlock’s neck, decapitating him. Rogan fell onto the hard rocky ground, staring wide eyed at his saviour, still believing that he was hallucinating. ‘You’re the last person I expected to see,’ he said before passing out into the realms of unconsciousness
Chapter 14
Rogan awoke with a start several hours later, his heart beating fast. His eyes popped wide open and he sat up, having no idea where he was. He was no longer in the vast subterranean cavern. He scanned the area. Tall pines and stone pillars flanked him on both sides, and he guessed that he was in the giant maze beneath the Black tower – and in great danger. Taurius may have seemed sad and subdued and may not be the murderous monster he’d first thought, but the colossal beast’s reaction to finding him in the maze could still be a very violent one.
Now his idea was to find Taurius before the creature found him. Then he could defuse the situation by offering his freedom. And so, he set about the task of navigating the stone and tree-lined channels in the hope of finding him. Then for what seemed an eternity he journeyed around each dark, shadowy corner, peering fearfully, never seeming to make any progress or headway. And always ending up back where he’d started from. ‘This is impossible,’ he groaned, ‘I’m getting nowhere fast!’
Then an idea occurred to him. He could use the spare arrowheads in his quiver to mark the direction from which he'd come, and would know exactly where he had been. Luckily, he had dozens of them, all forged from a lightweight alloy that he alone knew the composition of as he had invented it.
He set off again and eliminated channel after channel in the maze, leaving a distinctive trail. Then he came to a fork and eventually decided to take the trail off to the left, simply because there were large footprints in the soft soil. These were the first he'd discovered in the maze, other than his own.
Warily he followed the footprints, placing his own feet inside of them. They dwarfed his own. And as he rounded a corner of the maze, peering behind him, he swung around and came face to face with the terrifying creature. Taurius' mightily muscled frame loomed over him menacingly. Wide eyed, he froze in his tracks instantly. Hardly ever had he seen a more colossal creature. Only the dreaded Cyclopia looked more formidable. His hands were sweating and his heart pounded and raced. His throat tightened and dried and cold sweat beaded on the back of his neck. He was paralysed with fear. Oh, the man-gods help me please. I really need to get out of here, he thought. Somehow. Some way.
Taurius snorted loudly at him, bringing him to his senses. Rogan pulled the longbow from over his shoulder, notching an arrow in the blink of an eye. Aiming it at Taurius he declared, ‘I’m not here to harm you. I’m here to help. Trust me. And trust my word.’
Taurius sniffed the air, snorting again. 'Nothing would please me more than to trust you warrior. But then, I don’t seem to have much choice because you have the weapon,’
Rogan was stunned by Taurius' sheer size. He blinked nervously, lowering his longbow. ‘I have good news,’ he said. ‘For this very day I shall help you leave this place of torment and take you to an island where you can live in peace, surrounded by your own kind.’
'Why would you help me?’ snorted the other. ‘For no-one else ever has!’
‘This world is not all bad; even if there are those abroad who would make us believe so. I sense that you are not all bad either. Is that a good enough reason?’ said Rogan. He pulled the Mage's lamp from inside his waistband. ‘From a land before time, where there is hope and no fear, I bid you Mage Majiker, please now appear – to protect and serve,’ he said staring at his own reflection in Taurius' eyes.
A bright yellow light flashed within the funnel of the vessel. Then a cloud of vapour hissed out in a sudden rush of cool air as the Mage forced a path out into the world. ‘Bless you, Master of the Universe, for summoning me forth. Are you in mortal danger from this creature that stands before you?’ asked the Mage taking a solid form. He folded his arms across his barrel chest and bowed briefly, towering over Rogan and Taurius.
‘Well I’ll be damned. The lamp really works,’ said Rogan with a smile. ‘No, Mage, I think not. Taurius is in desperate need of our help.’
‘To be free of this maze is a dream I've long cherished,’ snorted Taurius, feeling great relief.
‘Use me wisely master, for I can only assist you once before I gain my freedom,' offered the Mage.
‘I will,' said Rogan. ‘Far to the north lies an island called Witchonwizard. Take us there. And leave us.’
‘I can take you there. But know you this. It's a hideous, hostile, dangerous place, even though it has the appearance of being hospitable. Do you so command me to do your bidding, knowing that you may never leave the island alive?’ said the Mage.
‘I do command you. Do it now,’ said Rogan, with a tone of finality in his voice.
Taurius stood quietly. Gratitude shone in his eyes. The Mage however, with his narrow slit eyes, wide coarse nose and high broad cheeks, smiled through thick sullen lips in anticipation of his freedom from purgatory. He clapped his hands twice. ‘I hear and I obey master. I hear and I obey.’
There was a sudden, sullen feel to the air as if a storm was brewing, and a flash of brilliant light. Rogan stood with his knuckles clenched and he blinked hard as the giant maze began to vanish right before his eyes. A tunnel in the air seemed to open up before them, darkness drawing them in, and a strange mist formed somewhere behind them. There was no sound in the black hole, only darkness and trailers of swirling mist that seemed to drag them thinly through for an eternity. Inexplicably and miraculously transported to where a solemn silence prevailed, they dropped down onto a soft sandy beach moments later and a salty sea breeze filled their nostrils.
Both Rogan and Taurius instantly shared the same thought. Had they really reached their destination in a heartbeat? The island certainly looked the part. The sand was soft and golden, the sea clear and blue, and magnificent palms reached so high that they could have been holding the clouds aloft. Rogan couldn’t have imagined a more exotic and inviting place. A
nd looking out across the island, he found it hard to believe that this was a dangerous and hostile environment as the Mage had said.
Instinctively, and more out of habit than anything else, he felt inside his waistband for the oil-lamp. However, it was gone and the Mage free forever. He leaned forward, scooping up a handful of sand, letting it drip through his fingers. He fixed Taurius' glittering gaze kindly. ‘This is your new home. What do you think? Will you be happy here?’ he said in his husky tone.
In his own way Taurius smiled gently. ‘I can’t believe that I’m finally free of the maze,’ he snorted, touched by Rogan’s good deed. ‘My debt to you is endless, and one that I will never be able to repay.’
‘There's nothing to repay,’ said the other. ‘I’m quietly confident that my own fate lies here somewhere on this island, and believe you to be part of my destiny. Otherwise our paths would never have crossed. At least that's what I believe to be true.’
‘You still have my undying gratitude warrior,’ Taurius announced, ‘no matter what your reasons were for helping me. I'm no longer a captive, enslaved to do a cruel Warlock’s business. I’ll never forget that.’
‘Long may you live in peace and happiness on this island, my friend,’ said Rogan giving his hand in friendship. And slowly but surely the colossal creature responded in kind, holding out its awkward hand to shake Rogan’s, its two thick gnarled fingers entwining his comparatively tiny hand. ‘The man-gods keep you safe blue-blood,’ said Taurius.
‘And grant us both a long happy life,' added Rogan. With that their hands parted and they both turned and went their separate ways.
The Blackhawks Impossible Quest Page 15