Alaric Swifthand

by Steve Lazarowitz

  Finally, they stopped and we regarded each other, though since only one of the approaching party had eyes, I don’t know if the word is appropriate. It was the leader who addressed us.

  “Why have you come?”

  Now if I were Drake, I would have lied, but like Graham, he was far too honorable for that.

  “We are searching for the Boots of Darkening.”

  “You are wasting your time, mortal. If the Boots were in fact here, it would be beyond your skill to remove them from this place.”

  “That remains to be seen,” replied Drake.

  I stepped forward. “I assume you are not here as a welcoming committee. If we intend to proceed, what will you do?”

  The leader turned to look at me and I fought not to turn away. In a matter of months, he would look like the white warriors he led.

  “We will take you to our master, who will answer your questions, though you may not enjoy the eventual results of such a meeting. This is your final chance. Turn back. Return to the light of day, or plan never to see it again.”

  “Well,” said Tindal. “That’s enough for me.” He turned to leave, but I grabbed his arm. He glared at me, then turned and faced the skeletons.

  It was Drake who answered for all of us. “We would be delighted to accept your master’s hospitality, but I warn you, we will not be swayed from our task.”

  “So be it.”

  The leader motioned for us to follow. The skeletal guard split in two, six preceding us and six following. Aynslae walked practically on top of me, eyes on the ground, as if she couldn’t bear to look at our undead host. Tindal shivered occasionally, but, to his credit, held his head high. Strangely enough, I was proud of him.

  We walked for a long time through seemingly endless passages. Even with a map, I doubted Drake would be able to easily find the way out again, if in fact, he found the way out at all. That was assuming we would be given the opportunity to leave, a fact I wouldn’t care to wager on.

  Finally, after my legs had been aching for some time, we saw in the distance a large iron door, intricately carved with some sort of markings I assumed to be writing. Aynslae’s next words supported my theories about her.

  “The old speech.”

  We all turned to look at her. Even the leader of the guards looked surprised. “You know the language of magic?”

  “Only a few words.”

  I suddenly found myself wondering how a mere servant could have learned a few words of the old tongue, while I couldn’t read at all. I watched as she scanned the writing and began to think she might know more of it than she was letting on. Perhaps Tindal had been right to suspect her.

  I was pulled from my thoughts by the loud rumbling sound that filled the passage as the door began to ascend. I could see no mechanism controlling it, though considering the group who led us here, it wasn’t difficult to assume our host was more than a little conversant in the ways of sorcery or at the very least, necromancy.

  When the door had completely disappeared into the ceiling, we continued forward. We weren’t far past the threshold when it slammed down behind us, effectively negating our chance of escape.

  Once inside, we passed creatures even more hideous than the ones that led us here—twisted beings in various states of decay. Not all were human, either. Even some Drintu seemed represented among their numbers, along with many types of creatures I didn’t recognize.

  Tindal’s eyes were wide and even I was beginning to grow afraid. For though I had been in many a dangerous situation, I’d never faced a being powerful enough to raise the dead. Somehow, I didn’t think the Sword of Truth would be a lot of help against the man who ruled this place.

  Past the door, it was still a considerable distance to the necromancer’s lair. I had expected a huge chamber with a hideous fiend sitting on a golden throne, carrying in his hand a staff of bone.

  Instead, we found ourselves ushered into a rather comfortably furnished office. The walls were paneled, the floor covered by an ornately woven rug. The wizard’s desk was large and expensive looking and covered with all sorts of scrolls. Behind the desk sat the least intimidating man I’d ever laid eyes on.

  He was small, not much larger than a dwarf and rather slighter. He was bald except for a ring of fine, gray hair around the sides and back of his head. He looked more like a candlestick maker than a necromancer. The sight was so incongruous, I almost laughed.

  He looked up from the parchment he was reading and studied us. When he spoke, his voice was almost boyish.

  “Now, what have we here?”

  We all looked at each other, but it was Drake who answered. “I’m here for the Boots of Darkening.”

  The mage smiled gently. “You giants are an interesting lot. You invade my home and ask me to relinquish one of my most prized possessions, as if you were asking for an old cloak. Why should I give them to you?”

  “Because they belong to my family. They were originally created for one of my ancestors and stolen during a battle.”

  The wizard looked thoughtful. “Do you have any proof of this claim?”

  “The story has been passed down for many generations in my family.”

  “I see. So I’m just supposed to give them to you, is that it?”

  Drake looked uncomfortable. “It would save me the trouble of taking them, I suppose.”

  The wizard laughed. “Forgive my manners and allow me to introduce myself. My name is Eregor. I am, as you’ve no doubt guessed, a mage. A very old and powerful mage.”

  Tindal stepped forward. “May I speak?”

  Eregor inclined his head.

  “I have no desire for the Boots of Darkening. Frankly, I’m sorry I was even dragged into this. All I want is to go home.”

  The mage smiled sympathetically. “I’m afraid that’s out of the question. For one thing, you’ve come to my domain to take what is mine like common thieves. I have a special fate for thieves, as you’ll soon find out. For another thing, I don’t like you. I have so much work to do and now, I have the inconvenience of dealing with intruders. Don’t you realize I’m a busy man?”

  “No doubt,” said Drake. “And you could go back to work with barely a delay, if you’d give me the boots and let us go.”

  “Let you go! Very entertaining. Actually, I think you would all do marvelously as undead. And I have so few giants under my command. No, I think making undead of you would be far more rewarding.

  “Guards! Take them to the pit and let them stay there, until I’ve decided their fate.” He stopped, looked at us and smiled again. “Don’t worry. You won’t have long to wait.” Without another word, he returned to reading his scroll.

  I was surprised Drake simply allowed himself to be led from the room, but considering the odds against us, it was our only option. Even if we were able to defeat our skeletal guards, we’d still have a powerful necromancer to deal with. And if we could handle him, we’d still have no way of getting back through the iron door.

  The size of the Eregor’s domain became apparent on the trip to the pit. As far as I could tell, the same group that had brought us here, guided us through even more labyrinthine tunnels, some man-made, some natural.

  As we continued, the air grew gradually warmer until it was just this side of uncomfortable. I hoped the temperature wouldn’t continue to increase, or our captivity would be even more unpleasant than I thought it likely to be.

  Soon we found ourselves standing beside a circular pit, perhaps forty feet deep. The walls were smooth and thus, completely unclimbable. The only problem I saw was there wasn’t an easy way down.

  Almost the moment the thought entered my head, I felt a rough skeletal hand grab my arm and push me forward with inhuman strength. I was so stunned, I didn’t even have time to scream before I landed.

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  Chapter Thirty

  I made my way to my feet, more than mildly surprised to still be conscious. Only then did I realize the ground, whic
h appeared to be stone, was yielding and spongy. I looked up to find the head guard grinning at us.

  “Very funny,” I called up. “What is this stuff?”

  “Another of Eregor’s inventions. You see, my master doesn’t want his future servants damaged before the change, so he takes good care of them. Of course, he has no reason to feed them. Starving our new arrivals has a lot of advantages. It requires no effort on our part and it’s rather entertaining. Really, it’s for the best. I mean you have to get use to not eating anyway, right? As thieves, it’s no less than you deserve. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re late for our rounds.”

  “You can’t just leave us here to starve!” shouted Tindal, but they were already gone.

  Tired, I lowered myself onto the comfortable ground, though the thought of repose never crossed my mind. Even if my future wasn’t in question, the oppressive heat would have made sleeping difficult. Tindal and Aynslae joined me, but the giants kept themselves busy trying to find a way out. After conducting a thorough search, Drake pulled an iron spike from his pack and attempted numerous times to drive it into the wall.

  When he finally realized it wasn’t going to happen, he pulled a rope from his pack and tied the spike around it. He spent about twenty minutes tossing the spike out of the pit and dragging it back in. Several times, he had to dodge the spike as it fell back down. I suppose he was hoping to catch it on something, but doing so would have been a stroke of luck, even by my standards. Finally, he gave up and joined us on the floor.

  As I looked at him, an idea began to form. It was a good idea. I didn’t say anything immediately but allowed it to roll around in my brain. Finally, I rose and cleared my throat. When I had everyone’s attention, I spoke. “Okay guys, time to go.”

  Several asked what I meant and for the briefest of moments, I actually felt intelligent. Fortunately, the incident passed rapidly into history, unnoticed by all but me. Still, they were waiting for me to speak, so I did.

  “If we were all human, we might not make it, but considering your size and strength, we may be able to get out of here. Drake, you stand against the wall. Leif, can climb onto your shoulders. Kharrah goes next. Then I go. Sooner or later, we will be tall enough to reach the top. Then we throw up the rope and whoever’s up there holds if for the lightest of us. Then two can hold for the next and so on.”

  Aynslae was on her feet, for the first time hope lighting her eyes. I was proud to have thought of it. The way she looked at me, once again made me feel intelligent, but I repressed the impulse before it could take hold. I would never be as smart as Jeren, or even Tindal. I knew who and what I was—an ordinary guy with a big mouth and a magic sword.

  Drake leaned against the wall. Leif had no trouble making it onto his shoulders. Drake stood solidly, apparently able to hold his brother’s weight with ease. Kharrah, however, had problems. Not used to climbing, she fell more than once, but of course, the yielding ground protected her from injury. Finally, after many tense minutes, she was in position. Now it was up to me.

  It would never have worked had they not been leaning against the wall. Even as I scrambled up, I could feel just how precarious our living tower was. I could see the strain in Drake’s eyes as I climbed past and hoped he’d be up to the task of supporting all of us. Leif wasn’t straining yet, but we still had two more to go after me. I climbed rapidly past him, glad I had managed to stay in shape. I rather enjoyed climbing over Kharrah, though I apologized more than once, as the situation forced me to intimacy. She laughed good-naturedly, the only one who had yet to show signs of strain. That would soon change. Finally, I was standing on her shoulders and Tindal started up.

  He climbed somewhat more slowly. He didn’t look down as he made his way painstakingly toward the top. For a few moments I thought the entire column might fall, but it didn’t and I relaxed. Then Drake, voice tense, spoke.

  “I can’t hold this much longer. Aynslae should start now, before Tindal reaches the top.”

  Aynslae needed no further invitation. It seemed forever before Tindal stood on my shoulders and Aynslae was just behind him. I didn’t have long to wait before she had passed the giants and was pressed against me. Under other circumstances, having a woman climb over me that way would have been arousing, but as things stood, I was too busy trying to keep my balance to pay much attention.

  Finally, she was climbing Tindal. A few minutes later, she’d made it all the way to the top. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough.

  “I’m just short,” she shouted.

  I heard several frustrated mumbles from both below and above.

  “Jump for it,” I said, through clenched teeth. “It’s not like you’re going to get hurt if you fall.”

  “Okay.”

  I heard her take a few deep breaths before launching herself off Tindal’s shoulders, just hard enough to topple our tower.

  For the second time that day, I fell into the pit. This time, however, I wasn’t as lucky. The floor was still just as soft, but Drake’s head was not. I struck my sword arm hard on the way down.

  Only when I ascertained it wasn’t broken, did I turn and look up. I expected to find Aynslae looking down at us, but she was nowhere to be seen. I looked around the perimeter of the pit.

  “Aynslae?” I waited a few seconds, before raising my voice. “Aynslae!”

  Still no answer. I cursed. We all called out before giving up. Finally, I dropped my head.

  Drake walked over to me. “What do you think happened to her?”

  “I don’t know. I suppose it’s possible this pit is guarded. I wish I’d thought of that before.”

  “Don’t blame yourself, Alaric. It was a fine idea.”

  “Not fine enough … we’re still here.”

  Drake placed a hand on my shoulder. “We did what we could. If we die, the gods will applaud our efforts.”

  “I just wish their rewards were more tangible,” I complained. I sank to the ground, exhausted.

  I had almost drifted off in spite of the heat, when a flash of movement caught my eye. When I turned, I saw nothing. It happened several times before I realized what I was seeing. Tiny lizards ran back and forth across the ground.

  A closer examination of my surroundings informed me there were more of them than immediately apparent, but as they were the same color as the stone, they were virtually impossible to see until they moved.

  I watched for a long time before I wondered how they got down here. There was no source of food in the pit, so if they had been here long, they’d have starved to death. I thought about flies then and looked at the lizards and I knew. They were scavengers. When we died, or perhaps even before, they would start to dine on us. The thought brought with it a terror I’d never before felt.

  I was about to mention the possibility, when I noticed one nearby run straight up the wall. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have thought it possible. I was distracted from my observations by the sound of Tindal weeping.

  Most of the group studiously ignored the sound, but I walked over and squatted beside him. He raised his head to regard me.

  “Are you okay?”

  “No, Alaric, I’m not okay. I’m scared.”

  “Don’t be. We all have to die sometime.”

  “I’m not scared of dying.”

  “Okay, then what’s troubling you?”

  Tindal didn’t speak for a long time. When he finally did, there was a note of resignation in his voice I’d never heard there before.

  “A long time ago, I took an oath on my grandfather’s grave. I swore I would die before I ever use my gift again.”

  “Ummm, what gift would that be?”

  He rose slowly and took a deep breath. Then he wiped the tears from his eyes. “I’m a mage, though the magic I practice is rare and forbidden among my people. If word got out, I’d be an outcast.”

  I waited for him to continue.

  “And I vowed I’d die before using it again. But now, if I don’t u
se it, I will be condemning innocent people to death. I can’t sit by and allow that.”

  To my surprise, Drake walked over to us. “Do not feel you have to break your oath on our account. I understand what that would mean and I would never ask it of another. It is better to die with honor than to live without it.”

  I wanted to hit the giant then. For one thing, I was really curious about Tindal’s power. For another, I didn’t relish slowly starving to death in this pit. Also, I wanted to find out what had happened to Aynslae. So many mysteries, so little time.

  “Tindal,” I said, “you need to think this through. You have made an oath to your grandfather and I respect that. But I’ve given my word to protect Aynslae. And I can’t do that from down here. If there is some way for you to get us out of here, I have to ask you to consider it. If it will help, I’ll never tell a soul. Your secret will be safe with me.”

  Drake scowled, but didn’t say anything. Tindal looked from me to the giant and back again. Finally, he came to a decision.

  “Okay. I can get us out of here, but I need one of these lizards.”

  “Why?”

  He dropped his head. “Life is sacred among my people. Many of us eat only vegetables and when we do eat meat, it’s only animals that have been sacrificed to our gods. My talent is rare and is considered evil. If I kill an animal, for a time I absorb its abilities.”

  “What exactly are you saying?”

  “If I kill and eat one of those lizards, I will be able to walk up the wall.”

  “You’re serious?”

  “Totally.”

  I turned again to regard the lizards. Catching one would be no easy trick. I was about to say so, when Tindal knelt and placed his hand palm up on the ground. His eyes grew distant and his face slack, as if he were in a trance. We all gathered around, paying rapt attention. Not long after, one of the lizards walked onto his hand and stood there. Even when he closed his fingers around it, the creature didn’t struggle.

  “Neat trick,” I said, but Tindal was too far into whatever he was about to hear me.

  He raised the lizard to his mouth and without hesitation, bit off the front of its body. He swallowed without chewing. I repressed a shudder. He dropped the uneaten half on the floor. Then the transformation occurred.