Nature Abhors a Vacuum (The Aielund Saga Book 1)

by Stephen L. Nowland

  The cavernous hallway ended in a large stone wall, with a wide stairwell carved into it. The stairs seemed sturdy enough in spite of being chipped and cracked in places. They were fully enclosed by solid granite on either side, preventing any chance of plunging to one's death.

  Sayana’s light wasn’t going to be enough so Nellise whispered a prayer and her staff lit up, as if it were a bright lantern. With it, she and Clavis led their descent, stepping around fallen chunks of rock that had accumulated on the stairs over the past century and down to the second floor. The air was noticeably warmer here, and a clearly defined street stretched out before them as they reached the bottom of the stairs, threading its way in amongst tightly clustered buildings.

  “Each 'o the buildings you see around us was a craftsman's forge,” Clavis proudly explained. “There be a hunnerd of 'em on this floor alone, and back in the day, the sound of all them hammers workin' away was like no other sound ye ever heard.”

  They continued along the street until they came to another collapsed section blocking their passage. Clavis was unperturbed, instead choosing a different route through the ancient city that avoided the obstruction.

  The tightly-clustered buildings ended abruptly, giving way to an immense open area before them. In the middle of this cavern was a gargantuan device, much like a giant pot – it had to be over fifty feet in width, and he couldn't even guess at the weight of the thing.

  One of the massive braces holding it up had failed years ago, leaving the cauldron leaning heavily to one side. Old and decaying leather gloves, rusty metal tongs and other equipment were strewn around on the stone floor at its base, as well as a fine layer of sand that had spilled out of a large clay vessel.

  Huge blocks of stone, carved to channel molten iron hung suspended by big, rusty chains over a gaping hole in the floor, where the white hot metal would have dropped. Their puny lights could not penetrate the darkness of that hole well enough to see the bottom, though he could see the outline of a stairwell not far from their position.

  Beyond the pot, a colossal furnace lay dormant, charred black from years of use and decaying slowly with time. A solid layer of rust covered the machine, along with scattered parts to what must have once been an elaborate pulley system. Aiden stared in amazement at the sheer scale of the foundry, unable to fathom the need for such scale.

  “Told ya ye'd be impressed,” Clavis chuckled at their faces. “This is just a hint of what the dwarves of Ferrumgaard were capable of back in the day, and I doubt we'll see their like again. They'd forge massive engines here, both for peacetime and for war, and of course parts for maintaining the city’s infrastructure. There's no point dwelling on the distant past, for the real treasure lies beneath us. The stairwell beckons, over yonder.” He pointed towards an area past the gaping maw of the furnace, over near the northern wall.

  Wordlessly, they moved on to the stairwell and down to the next floor. It was just like the last staircase they had taken, wide and smooth. This one circled around the great hole in the floor where they would have been able to see the machinery of dwarven industry at work, had it still been operating.

  The air was becoming stale as they descended into areas where fresh air couldn't readily reach, and the dry smell of stone and dirt was becoming stronger. The architecture of the nearby buildings returned to the closely-built, multi-storey structures the dwarves seemed to have favoured, although here they seemed to be less intricately carved than on the floors above. Several of them had collapsed over the years, leaving large chunks of rock strewn about on the empty streets.

  “Housing for the workers,” Clavis grunted as way of explanation. “Our industrious grave-robbers were probably disappointed with what they found when they first set eyes on this place. We're close to the collapsed section that stopped me progress a few years back. It's naught but a five-minute walk from here.” The dwarf led them past the remains of his people's engineering accomplishments and through a narrow street, lined with the crumbling tenements of the dwarven working class.

  “If it's so easy to get to this point,” Pacian inquired as they travelled, “why has it taken you years to get back down here?”

  “It's hard to find anyone crazy enough to come with me,” Clavis muttered ruefully. “Ferrumgaard is no place to travel alone, something I learned the hard way. That's why together, we'll beat this place, and ye'll be all the richer for it.”

  Twice over the next few minutes they had to clamber over piles of rock, or detour around even larger piles of rock. The place was really coming apart. As if to tweak his fears, Aiden swore he could feel a slight vibration through the soles of his boots, although it was possible he was imagining things.

  It was closer to ten minutes before they reached a towering section of fallen rock, large enough to bury several buildings completely. There wasn't any way around this one that they could see within the range of their light sources, so Aiden assumed this was the collapse that Clavis had spoken of.

  “Here it be,” he muttered, looking up towards the unseen ceiling somewhere above.

  “This?” Pacian remarked incredulously. “This is what stopped you last time you were here?”

  “Aye lad, and I barely escaped with me life to boot.”

  “I see, so, how exactly were you planning to get around it this time?” Pacian accused. “It's just as big as the pile blocking the big doors upstairs.”

  “Ah, this time I came prepared, with tools and knowledge,” Clavis answered, giving the others a wink. He took off his backpack and pulled out something wrapped in hessian. He withdrew a few things from the wrapping, and then carefully assembled a heavy pickaxe, with a flat bladed shovel on the back end.

  “You're going to dig through all that, with a bloody pickaxe?” Colt asked flatly. “I don't suppose you brought enough for all of us?”

  “By me calculations,” Clavis said, oblivious to the pessimism brewing in the group, “the uppermost rock will be the thinnest, and will only take a day or two ta clear. Ye can help me move some 'o the looser rock, and to be sure that'll speed our progress. I'd ask that one of ya keep watch on our little excavation site though, just to be safe.”

  “I'll do that,” Pacian volunteered. “The rest of you can move rocks around all day long if you like.”

  “Ever the gallant gentleman,” Nellise remarked dryly.

  “Well I would assume that Clavis isn't asking the women to do heavy lifting, am I right?” Pacian pressed.

  “Only if'n they feel like it,” the dwarf replied. “But no, I was thinkin’ our big ranger friend might help me out.”

  “Fine by me,” Colt shrugged, removing his equipment and the top half of his armour, and placing it all into a pile nearby. “Don't go stealing that or I'll knock your teeth out.”

  “Sure, like I'm going to steal a bloody greatsword,” Pacian retorted. “Where would I even stash it?”

  “I'm sure you can find some place big enough to stow it,” Colt grunted.

  “Okay, patrolling now,” Pacian stated flatly, then walked off to look around the local area. Clavis was already carefully negotiating his way to the top of the rock pile, so Aiden took off his leather breastplate and shirt to lend a hand while Nellise took out a few torches from her pack, lit them up, and tossed them around the site to provide more illumination.

  “What's that over there, sticking out of the rock?” Sayana said, appearing beside Aiden suddenly. He turned and peered in the direction she was pointing, and saw something other than rock at the bottom of the pile, close to the edge of the light. It was yellowish-white, and seemed to be sticking out from the stone at an awkward angle. Curious, the two of them moved in for a closer look

  “Is that what I think it is?” Aiden asked, as the object took on a disturbing shape.

  “It looks like bone to me,” Sayana answered clinically. She knelt down and moved away some of the rock and dirt with her free hand, to reveal the forearm of a deceased person. The arm was reaching out from the rock p
ile, as if the person had been trying to pull themselves out.

  “There's probably more of him under the rock,” Aiden commented dourly, not exactly enthusiastic about trying to find out. He couldn't tell if it was male or female, and wasn't sure it was important. The bones were clean, without any trace of flesh on them.

  “What have you found?” Nellise asked, coming over to see what the fuss was about. She gasped slightly when she saw what they were looking at, and then leaned in to inspect the remains with a professional eye.

  “This is the forearm of a human male,” she stated, pointing at the elbow. “Women have different elbows, and the other races have a different bone structure and size to ours.”

  “Any idea how long it's been here?” Aiden asked.

  “It's hard to say from looking at the remains,” Nellise mused. “But, I can pray on this and ask for divine inspiration to provide me with an answer.”

  “You can do that?” Aiden asked, surprised.

  “Of course. With a little help, I will find the answers I seek. I'm not just a pretty face, you know. Now, please move aside, I need to be close to the remains.” Aiden obliged her, stepping back to give her some space. Sayana did likewise, though with a frown on her fair features. She tilted her head and looked around, puzzled for a moment, as if she wasn't sure if she'd heard something or not. Given their situation, Aiden felt it appropriate to inquire further.

  “What is it?” he whispered.

  “I thought I heard... no, felt something nearby,” Sayana whispered back. Aiden looked directly at her, suddenly very serious.

  “Kind of like a vibration?”

  “I suppose so, yes I'm not sure what to make of it,” she shrugged.

  “But you definitely felt it,” Aiden persisted. “You weren't imagining it, right?”

  “Certainly not,” Sayana replied archly. “I didn't survive for years in the wild, unable to tell the difference between real and imagined things.”

  “Right, sorry,” Aiden mumbled in apology, too distracted to pay much attention to what she was saying. If the vibrations he'd felt earlier weren't his imagination, then what were they?

  “Hey, you can stop working, I found a better way to get through that rock pile,” Pacian called out as he jogged back towards the site where Clavis and Colt were just starting to really get things moving.

  “Don't waste yer time lad,” Clavis replied from his perch near the top of the rock pile. “The only way through to the tunnels beyond is behind these rocks.”

  “Or the bloody big tunnel I found over on the northwest wall,” Pacian replied smugly. “But you can keep digging if you really want, I'm okay with that. I'll just sit down over here and -” Colt interrupted his speech by letting a heavy rock drop to the ground with a loud 'thud', and then dusted off his gloved hands.

  “Sometimes you don't know when to shut up, Pace,” he growled, leaning over to pick up his armour again. “Clavis, are you sure there wasn't another way through that you missed?”

  “I'd think I'd remember another tunnel in me own home,” the dwarf replied, skidding down the inclined rocks to land on the stone floor. “But if you're sure about it, I'll take some time to look at it. Is this tunnel 'o yours big enough to squeeze through?”

  “Yes, and with room to spare,” Pacian replied. “A lot of room to spare, actually. It's almost as big as the stairwell we came down.” Clavis paused in mid stride, his expression slack as he seemed to be struck by a horrible thought.

  “There wasn't anything like that last time I was 'ere,” he said slowly and deliberately. “I think ya better show me lad, and quickly now.” Pacian gestured and used his torch to light the way back towards the tunnel he'd found. With a feeling of growing dread Aiden and Sayana followed.

  It only took a minute to reach the gaping hole in the side of the stone wall, and despite Pacian's brief description of its size, the walls of the tunnel didn't appear to be carved by crude tools, or even those of master craftsmen. They were, in fact, completely smooth, and the tunnel itself was more or less round, and over ten feet across. Clavis crept forward slowly, his left hand extended to touch the smooth stone, almost in disbelief. And then Aiden felt another vibration in the stone, this time much stronger than before.

  “By Relnak, did you feel that?” Clavis exclaimed, invoking the name of the dwarven battle god. He started backing away and Pacian did likewise, grabbing the hilts of his daggers, just in case.

  “What caused this?” Sayana asked, her voice tight with anxiety. “Is it connected to that tremor we just felt?”

  “Back in the day,” Clavis explained, licking his lips with consternation, “we had these critters we called borers. They grew to about yea big,” he described, holding his hands about two feet apart. “Kinda like moles, but with a hard shell, able to dig their way through stone given enough time. In the wild, they'd cause all sorts 'o problems with the tunnels but they're usually not dangerous, 'cause we'd cull their numbers every few years.”

  “Clavis, this tunnel is huge,” Aiden pointed out, placing a hand on the hilt of his sword as he did so. “How many borers would it have taken to do this?” Another tremor rippled through the stone, this one sustained for over five seconds before it stopped. Motes of dust and dirt cascaded down from above them, coating them in a fine layer.

  “Thing is,” Clavis explained, his voice too calm. “Thing is... without anyone around to cull 'em, there's no telling how big they could grow.” The implications of this statement slowly sunk into Aiden's mind, and the picture it formed was not something he wanted to see emerging from the tunnel.

  “Get your gear, everyone,” he ordered tersely. “We're not waiting around to see -” He was interrupted by another tremor, this one even more intense than before, accompanied by a loud screeching noise. Aiden's heart almost leapt out of his chest as his natural instincts to run kicked in. The tremor did not stop, and instead continued to build in intensity.

  “Run!” Aiden shouted, not waiting to see if anyone was listening to him. He bolted back over towards their excavation site, still being lit by Nellise's staff and several flaming torches. She was already on her feet, using her staff to help her move across the unsteady ground towards Aiden.

  Colt had managed to get his equipment together, just as the rock behind him exploded outwards, showering him in gravel and dirt. The spray obscured Nellise and most of the torches, but there was enough light around to see that something big had emerged.

  “They go after loud noises!” Clavis roared over the immense sound of the rocks tumbling around them. From behind, the loud screeching sound grew louder, and the torch Pacian had dropped when he took flight with the rest of them lit up a huge creature, easily filling out the tunnel it was crawling through. Aiden saw a shiny, dense outer shell and two beady little eyes, glowing yellow in the torchlight.

  He was still half running, half stumbling across the rock-strewn floor towards Nellise, who was backing away from the borer that had emerged almost right next to her. She was clearly stunned by what she was seeing and wasn’t reacting fast enough. One of the borer's great paws, tipped with huge razor-sharp claws, lashed out and struck her in the chest, sending her tumbling backwards.

  Aiden drew his sword and spoke the command word to activate his magical glove, bringing the shimmering force field into existence. He continued moving as fast as he could towards Nellise, hoping to find her armour had protected her from the slashing claws.

  Her staff was still glowing, making it easy to locate her in the dusty mess they were mired in, though getting there through the shadowy half-light without tripping was challenging. Nellise was starting to pick herself up as Aiden reached her, a sizeable dent clearly visible on the lower part of her breastplate.

  “I'm fine,” she coughed in the dusty conditions as he helped her up. He didn't get a chance to say anything, for a second giant borer followed the first one, screeching in unison, and the two started shambling their way with alarming speed towards the light sourc
es – Nellise and Sayana.

  “Everyone, rally around me!” Aiden cried out, readying his sword as the others rushed over to him. “Clavis, can we outrun these things?”

  “They can keep up with us real easy,” he called back, pulling out a hatchet as he skidded to a halt next to Aiden. “They hate bright lights, loud sounds and fire though, and I think we have plenty 'o that right here with us. We don't have to flee, man - we can hold here!”

  “You better be right about this,” Aiden muttered as one of the two borers shrieked and charged towards the light that was hurting its puny eyes. When this was over, and assuming they survived, Aiden would have to have a word with their dwarven friend about the concept of 'full disclosure'.

  The giant borers moved on all fours, and seemed to resemble a cross between a wolverine, tortoise, and a mole. Their armoured hides glistened a sickening shade of yellow-white, and each of their four paws was tipped with vicious claws. They towered over Aiden and the others by a full three feet, and must have weighed close to a ton. Colt was the closest to the creatures, and had been backing away from them to regroup with Aiden and the others.

  The big ranger drew his greatsword and waited for the first borer to move in close enough, then swung the huge weapon at its flank, slicing through its chitinous hide and gashing it severely. He hadn't anticipated the creature's hind legs though, and was suddenly thrown backward by a retaliatory blow from a leg that sent him into the path of the second Borer. Colt roared with pain as that creature struck him from behind, and seemed ready to trample the big man until it was distracted by Pacian's sudden appearance from the other side.

  Aiden had lost track of him in the darkness, but Pacian had found a way to be useful. He struck hard, plunging a dagger in between the beast’s armoured plates, giving Colt a chance to stagger back to the rest of the group. Pacian tried to hit it again with his other dagger, but the borer's thrashing turned it away and he was thrown back into the shadows his first dagger still stuck in its side.