At last, the blizzard subsided, and after digging through the drift that almost completely covered the entrance to the cave, the remaining companions waded through the thigh-deep snow to the crevice leading to the cavern behind the cliff face, hurrying before the sun reappeared. It was tough going and took them several minutes to travel the few yards, but it did ease as they approached the sheltered opening. The spell for covering their footprints no longer worked because Garren’s connection with his crystal had been severed, so they left deep tracks in the snow.
Although the sun had not yet penetrated the thick cloud cover, its influence was more than Val could bear. However, thanks to the spare cloak Tom had borrowed from Garren to get him safely out of the village, he managed to cover himself adequately, though the material was too thin to protect against direct sunlight.
“How am I going to get rid of all those?” Tom asked when they reached the narrow opening, seeing the thick carpet of spores inside.
“Listen carefully, Tom,” Garren began. “I want you to go inside as far as you can and take a good look at the spores. Then close your eyes and concentrate on nothing else. Imagine a connection between yourself and every single spore in the cavern. When you have blotted out everything else from your mind, imagine them fading away into nothing and say, ‘Abolesco’.
Tom mouthed the word, then moved into place inside the threshold of the cavern, getting his pendant out from under his sweatshirt as he went. He could not see very far into the vast cave because of the darkness, but when his eyes became accustomed to the gloom, he found he could see the faint orange glow from the torches still burning in the passageway they had so hurriedly left earlier.
“Everything alright?” Garren called.
“Yeah,” Tom replied. “I can see the spores.”
“Remember, clear your mind completely.”
“OK,” Tom answered and began to concentrate. He stared and stared at the spores, trying to block out those annoying little unconnected flashes of thought that popped into his mind for no apparent reason: Maya’s face; the inside of his fridge at home; the location of a lost maths homework sheet; Maya again; chocolate... Ooo, he fancied some chocolate now. He shook his head, trying to dislodge these rogue thoughts. ‘Right here we go,’ he thought. ‘Spores...spores...spores.’ His mind’s eye had settled on the spores. He imagined the cavern as he had seen it earlier, lit with the white light of Garren’s staff. He superimposed the carpet of spores and waited till he had got the whole picture fixed firmly in his mind. Then he began to imagine the floor disappearing.
“Abolesco,” he said.
As the word left his lips, there was a rumbling sound from inside the cavern, and Tom knew what he had done. He stepped back out of the opening and looked guiltily at Garren, his face red with embarrassment. They could feel the vibrations all around them, and great banks of snow fell from the cliff where they had been clinging tentatively to the rock.
“I told you I’m not much good at magic,” he mumbled.
Garren looked at the boy dubiously, dreading what he had done. When the tremors had ceased, he stepped over to the gap in the cliff and looked inside, stared for a second then slapped his hands over his eyes and shook his head in despair.
“Sorry,” said Tom, embarrassed.
“You were only supposed to charm the spores off,” said Garren, exasperated.
“I take it all did not go according to plan,” Val said.
“Go and have a look,” Garren told him.
“I told you,” Tom mumbled. “Only been doing it a couple of days.”
The cross look on Garren’s face melted as he remembered Tom was very new to magic. “Yes. I’m sorry,” Garren said and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “I know you did your best.”
“Ohhh, dear,” came the echoey voice of Val from the crevice. “Well, at least the spores have gone.”
“What’s happened?” Maya asked him.
“Better come and have a look for yourself,” replied the vampire. “But be careful.”
Maya carefully entered the opening. She did not get very far before she found the problem.
All had been going so well when Tom was getting ready to cast his spell. He had done precisely what Garren had told him, ‘Imagine the floor covered in spores and make it disappear’. That is what he had done. Exactly what he had done – he had made the floor disappear. Where once there had been a hard compacted dirt and rock floor, there was now a chasm. Maya tried to look over the edge, but there was nothing but blackness.
“I can’t see the bottom either,” Val said beside her. “And my eyes can see through the darkness.”
He tore a large piece of loose rock from the wall and tossed it over the edge. They waited. They waited some more. Eventually, they barely heard a distant splash.
“Oh! Water,” said Val, surprised.
“We’ll have to go round the other way now,” Maya said as she and the vampire came back out into the snow.
“If you stay outside when the sun returns, I shall have to remain here,” Val said.
“We will continue as planned,” Garren said firmly.
“Er, how are we going to get across that?” Tom asked, pointing to the gap in the cliff. “Val’s the only one who can fly.”
“We only need one to fly,” Garren said.
Anyone who has ever been on any sort of expedition, whether it’s climbing in the Arkorian Mountains, orienteering in the Unfortunate Forest or popping down the pub in the rowdy village of Tarn on a Friday night, knows that one essential piece of equipment to put in your pack is a good long length of sturdy rope. Fortunately, Garren had not been mucking about at the back of the class the day this piece of priceless information had been imparted. He took a long length of thin rope from his pack.
“It’s dwarf rope,” he said. “The strongest rope you can get. Tom, help me here.”
The cleric and the boy looped the rope around a boulder that had once resided higher up the mountain and tied it off. Garren then gave the other end to Val and asked him to fly over the newly made gorge and tie it off somewhere on the other side.
The vampire went into the shade of the cliff and removed the borrowed cloak. He tied the rope around his waist and hovered in the darkness for a moment before disappearing from sight. His undead eyes could see clearly in the gloom. ‘Tom had made a superb job of clearing the spores; pity about the floor though,’ he thought. It was not until he reached the far side and the entrance to the three passages that he found a ledge wide enough for a person to stand. The iron gate still blocked the left-hand path, and Val could see the motionless body of the Chimaera lying dead behind the stone table. It was illuminated by the torches and covered by hundreds of spores, their tails buried in the creature’s flesh with the cups turned upwards.
“I have tied the rope off on the iron gate,” he said when he returned to the opening. “It was the only tie off point I could find. The spores have killed the beast.”
“Hope he didn’t have a friend,” Tom said.
“You first, Tom,” Garren instructed. He took a short length of rope and tied a bowline around the boy’s waist, tying the other end in a loose loop around the long line. Tom grasped the taut rope with his hands, “That’s right. I want you to swing your legs up and pull yourself along the rope. If you fall, the safety line will hold you. Val will help you across.”
“No prob,” Tom said. “I did this when I was in the Scouts.” He went to the edge of the chasm, swung his leg up and started to pull himself along. Valcris stayed beside him all the way, holding the safety line clear. It was easy until he reached the halfway point, the rope sagged in the middle, so the second half of the journey was uphill, but after a short rest Tom made it to the end, and Val pulled him on to the ledge.
“Do not fall off,” the vampire warned as he left Tom to take the safety line back to the waiting companions. Tom busied himself by using his wallet to flick the remaining spores, scattered around the ledge, into the c
hasm.
Outside, Maya was even quieter than usual. Valcris returned with the safety line, and Garren turned to her.
“I don’t think I can,” she said.
“Maya, it’s alright, you will be quite safe. The safety line will hold you if you should lose your grip, and Val will be with you every step of the way,” Garren coaxed.
“I’m scared,” she said. “I don’t like heights.”
“You have to go across, you can’t stay here,” said Garren.
“I wouldn’t make it,” she cried.
“Val, she’s the lightest of all of us, can you carry her?” Garren asked.
“If she bears no load, I may be able to take her that short distance, but I would recommend the use of the safety line,” he answered.
“Will you let Valcris take you across?” Garren asked.
Maya nodded reservedly.
Garren relieved Maya of her pack and heavy travelling cloak and tied the safety line around her. At the entrance, Val told her to jump on his back and hold on tight.
“Not that tight,” he croaked.
Once she released her grip a little, Val stepped off the edge of the void and immediately dropped down. The safety line went taut, and Maya screamed. Gradually the line slackened as the vampire fought to regain height, eventually making it to the line which he used to take some of their combined weight and pull himself along.
At last, they managed to get to the far side and to Tom, who was on his knees ready to help Maya on to the ledge. She was hanging on for dear life with her eyes tightly closed, but with a final determined effort on Val’s part, he managed to get high enough to tip her off his back and into Tom’s arms.
“It’s OK,” he said to the shaking girl. “You’re safe now.”
Val hung upside down by his knees from the rope, exhausted.
“Everything alright?” called Garren from outside.
“Yes,” Val replied. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”
While he waited, Garren slung all the baggage from the rope to make it easier for Val to take across, which after his little rest the vampire did, by sliding it swiftly along the line. Tom and Maya unloaded it on the other side before Val went back to assist Garren, the heaviest of all the travellers.
The cleric attached the safety line and moved into position on the edge of the abyss. He swung his legs over the rope and pulled himself over the edge. As with Tom, the first half of the journey was the easiest, though Val did notice that the rope sagged a lot more under the weight of Garren’s sturdier frame. On the way up the other side, Garren felt the rope twang and stopped, swinging gently from side to side.
“Val,” he whispered. “Check the rope.”
The vampire flew back to the entrance and saw that the rope was starting to fray where it had been pulled taut around the boulder. Under the weight of the cleric, the tough strands were beginning to give way. He rushed back to Garren, who had gingerly resumed his ascent.
“Hurry,” he urged. “The rope is breaking.”
Garren gritted his teeth and began to use all the strength he could muster to haul himself along the rope. But the extra effort increased the movement of the line. There was another twang, and this time the rope lurched as one of the twisted yarns broke, and the strain was taken by the other two. The boy and girl waiting on the ledge heard the sound and saw the cleric drop slightly by the dim light of the torches. They stood and called to him, seeing that the rope was giving.
“Come on, Garren! The rope is breaking,” Tom shouted.
Garren’s arms were on fire from the strain he was putting on his muscles as he pulled and pulled on the rope. He was about ten feet from the ledge when the second of the three yarns broke, and he dropped again. He kept going, but the weight and the movement were too much to be borne by a single thread, and before he got more than a couple of feet further, the rope broke, and the cleric disappeared into the dark abyss.
“Noooo!” shouted Tom.
Maya screamed.
Valcris dove down after his friend.
There was a thud.
“Ouch,” came Garren’s voice from the black. “Oh, that hurt.”
“He’s still on the rope,” shouted Val. “Pull him up.”
“And quickly, please,” Garren added.
Maya and Tom took the rope and hauled the cleric up, with Val helping from below. Finally, a grazed and bloody hand appeared over the ledge, followed by an arm and soon the rest of the cleric.
“Dwarf made, used to stand for quality,” he gasped from where he lay, prostrate on the ledge.
The little band rested on the ledge listening to the sound of rushing water far below until Garren’s sense of humour returned. It took a while. Eventually, he got up and went along to the iron gate and tried to move it. It was solid and wouldn’t budge. He looked through to see if he could see the gemstone from his staff, but there was no sign of it. He remembered the beast had kicked it as it charged the gate, but he did not know what happened to it after that.
“No way through?” Val asked.
“Afraid not,” replied the sad cleric.
“That way is closed to you now,” Maya said, staring into the darkness. “But the item for which you seek is there, just out of your reach, but it is there.” She shook herself and looked around at the faces, all staring at her in silence. “What?” she asked.
“You have saved us a little time,” Garren said. “Let’s move on.” He led the way along the ledge to the right-hand passageway and disappeared into the darkness with Valcris by his side.
“Did I say something?” Maya whispered to Tom.
“Yes,” Tom replied. “About the passage and Garren’s gemstone.”
“Oh,” she said. “I don’t remember.”
“Is that normal?” Tom asked. “You know, to foresee something and not remember?”
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “If it’s happened before, there was nobody around to hear it.”
They walked a few yards into the passageway and bumped into Garren and Val who had stopped.
“How far is the river?” Val asked.
“It’s about half a mile,” Garren said.
“Are there any passages off this one?”
“Not till we meet the river, then there are one or two,” Garren answered.
“I suggest that I lead the way as the only one who can see. If you all keep to the wall, you should not bump into things.”
Following Val’s advice, they found the passage wall and went carefully in single file, their spare hand instinctively out in front of them to warn of obstruction. Val led the way confidently, calling out warnings of anything in their path which might cause a problem to his blind companions. At last, the sound of their footsteps started to echo as if they had emerged into a big cavern.
“Garren,” Val said. “Are you sure this path led to the river?”
“Yes,” Garren replied. “It should open out into a wide tunnel with the river flowing right through the middle.”
“Well we are in a wide tunnel,” Val said. “But there is no river.”
“We need some light,” Garren said. “Tom, where are you?”
“Don’t even think about it,” Tom answered from the back. “Look what happened last time.”
“You can’t do much damage with a light spell,” Garren assured. “Come over here.”
Tom found the cleric in the darkness and listened to what he said.
“Take your pendant and concentrate on light. Concentrate on pushing back the darkness and being able to see as if it was day. The words are Lux Gammae.”
“Probably fry Val,” he mumbled and reluctantly took out his pendant again and did as Garren instructed.
Val hurriedly retreated back up the passage from whence they came.
Tom concentrated on light and uttered the magic words. Instantly his pendant shone with a soft yellow glow that illuminated the anxious-looking faces of Maya and Garren, peering cautiously out of the passage. A
smiling Tom looked at the crystal in his pendant; it shone brighter and brighter – and brighter – and brighter. Those not attached to the pendant moved back down the passage, aware that something was about to happen. The light from Tom’s crystal shot like lightning to the tunnel walls and spread along them like electricity arcing down a wet pole. Within seconds the whole tunnel was alive with crackling sparks.
Then it stopped. The pendant went dark, and all that was left was a soft pale green phosphorescent glow that illuminated the whole of the cavern all the way through the root of the mountain to the river’s source.
“Not bad,” Garren said. “Not quite what I had in mind, but not bad.”
Tom looked in awe from the newly illuminated cavern to his three companions standing in the equally well-lit passageway. “Cool,” he said.
Garren stepped out into the tunnel and looked at the wide muddy trench that ran the length of it. “What happened to the river?” he said.
“It wasn’t me,” Tom stated defensively. “Light. That’s all I thought about. I didn’t do anything to the river.”
“It’s alright,” Val laughed. “It wasn’t here when we arrived. But still, it may be your fault it’s not here. Remember the sound of water, in the bottom of the chasm; I expect the river has drained into it.”
“I broke the river!” cried Tom.
“It will be fine,” Val reassured him. “Once the chasm has filled up, the river will return to its proper course.”
Somewhat relieved that he had not done any permanent damage, Tom, along with Maya and Valcris, followed Garren’s lead along the subterranean bank of the absent river. For quite some time they tramped on in the eerie glow, every now and then stopping while Garren looked up at some part of the cavern to get his bearings, mumbling about not recognising it in this light, then on for a while longer before making a triumphant ‘Ah-ha’ sound.
“Here it is,” he said, looking pleased with himself.
“Here, what is?” Tom asked.
“I left my mark here about fifteen years ago when I explored these tunnels and found where the passages meet.” He indicated the rock wall where you could just make out a symbol carved into it. It was like two capital T’s side by side, one inverted, both enclosed within a circle.
The Sorcerer's Tome Page 18