“It's a tough call to make,” Clavis offered after a minute of close inspection. “With enough time, we might be able to brace part 'o the structure and make a hole to crawl through. I guess it depends how badly ya want to get in there, to risk being buried alive should it come down on yer head.”
“Aiden?” Nellise said, trying to get his attention.
“Just a moment Nel,” he muttered absently, still focused on the problem before him. “I'd be prepared to take the risk, if the rest of you are prepared to spend some extra time here.”
“I canna understand why yer so interested in some old books,” Clavis muttered, tugging his beard. “But seein' as how ye've risked a lot to accompany me down here, I'm certainly prepared to help ya out.”
“Aiden?” Nellise prodded again, an edge to her voice.
“Yes what is it?” Aiden asked, slightly annoyed.
“Aiden, look,” Nellise cried. He turned around to see what had stirred her up so much, and was shocked to see that there were a number of glowing dots out in the darkness – the eyes of dozens of onlookers, shining in the reflected light.
“What the hell are those things?” Pacian asked, his daggers drawn. Clavis turned and peered back at the unknown onlookers, but couldn't seem to make out any more than the rest of them.
“They ain't borers, in case ye were wondering,” he whispered. “But I canna see past the lights. Can ya cover them up, ladies? I'll see a whole lot better without 'em.”
“I am not going to stand here in pitch blackness with those things surrounding us,” Nellise exclaimed, gripping the staff tightly. Sayana said nothing, but closed the palm of her hand, extinguishing the flame.
“Just cover it with your cloak for a minute,” Aiden suggested to the young cleric. “Give Clavis a chance to see what's out there.” By now there were over three dozen pairs of eyes watching them, effectively cutting them off from the way back up. Aiden's sword was drawn, but he honestly thought if these creatures had wanted them dead, they would have already attacked.
Against her better judgement, Nellise brought her cloak over the top of her staff, limiting the light from her prayer to the immediate area at her feet.
“That'll do just fine,” Clavis said, a catch in his voice. He was clearly just as nervous as the rest of them, but apparently had a hunch about the nature of the creatures around them, enough to risk moving in a little closer to take a look.
“How can this be?” he breathed a few moments later. “These are me kin – they're dwarves!” This incredible statement left Aiden thunderstruck, and judging by their silence, the others were probably feeling much the same way. All their other problems flew from Aiden's mind, and were instead replaced with questions, such as how these people could have survived, and why they were still down here.
Clavis took a few steps towards the group and spoke a few words to them in the heavy dwarfish language. He received a reply in the same tongue, spoken with an even thicker accent. One of them stepped forward to speak with him up close. They talked for several minutes and the tone of their voices didn't fill Aiden with encouragement.
“What the hell is going on,” Pacian whispered nervously.
“I don't know, just don't make any threatening moves,” Aiden advised through clenched teeth. Clavis was still speaking to his counterpart, but the conversation was becoming increasingly heated.
Nellise unfurled her staff, shedding its light onto the proceedings and Sayana brought her hovering torch back into existence. To their mutual dismay, the sight of Clavis backing up towards the group with a spear being pointed at his chest greeted their eyes.
“He's gone and started a bloody war,” Colt growled, drawing his greatsword from its sheath and holding it in a threatening manner. With their lights shining brightly, Aiden could see the gleam from several dozen crude spears levelled at them, and the dwarves holding them slowly moving forward, squinting in the bright light.
They were pale-skinned and clad in rudimentary animal skins. The spears they held seemed to be well-made, and the dwarves held them with practised hands. But it was more than just their outright appearance and weaponry that had Aiden on edge – it was the look in their eyes, a look seemingly devoid of anything close to compassion or sanity.
“What did you say to them?” Pacian yelled at Clavis, who had completely backed away to shelter behind Colt's formidable presence.
“They're mad,” Clavis gasped incredulously. “This is the MacAliese clan, me very own cousins! Their leader, Connor, just admitted they were the ones that flooded the city a century ago, by breaking through a wall into an underground lake on purpose.”
Clavis and the entire group were moving backward now, around the rock pile that covered Aiden's sole reason for coming here, and pushing them deeper into the city itself. Nothing barred the way behind them as yet, and the wall of spears blocking the way back to the surface drew inexorably closer.
“Didn't you tell them who you were?” Aiden asked, looking about with consternation.
“Aye, and they don't believe me,” Clavis shot back. “They think all their kinsmen were with 'em at the time. They don't allow anyone from the surface to come down here anymore, and they're gonna make sure we don't get back up there'n let everyone know what's going on. The only reason we're still alive is 'cause 'o the light yer shining.”
“Do we fight them, or run?” Colt asked, his voice tight. Despite their apparent hostility, the dwarves of the MacAliese clan still hadn't attacked, giving Aiden pause.
Breaking back through to the stairway didn't seem to be an option. He certainly wasn't game to try and break through three dozen spears. That left the way behind them as their only chance of avoiding a fight, assuming there wasn't another group of spearmen back there as well.
“Clavis, what's back in that direction?” Aiden quickly asked.
“The way down to the next level,” he answered, “but it's still a hunnerd feet or so. Maybe there be a prison set up fer intruders before then?”
“They don't seem like the type to keep prisoners,” Colt growled.
“I'm not willing to hang around and find out,” Pacian muttered, giving them a quick glance before turning and bolting into the darkness.
“Pace, get back here!” Nellise called as half a dozen dwarves gave pursuit. The leader, the one Clavis had identified as Connor, barked out a few words, and the rest of his small army moved in, thrusting with their spears. Aiden spoke the command word to activate his shield, and used it to block their attacks as best he could. He was alarmed to see the disc fade a little every time it was hit, and feared it was on the verge of collapse.
Bashing aside the spears with his shield, Aiden stepped in and swung his sword, trying to slash away at the front ranks, or at least push them back a little. But he didn't have the reach he needed to hit anything without risking the next line of spearmen having a clear strike at him. He did have a trick up his sleeve though – an angry six-foot ranger with a gigantic sword.
“Follow my lead!” Aiden ordered, and in an unexpected move, stepped sideways across the front of the spear line, bashing the weapons aside with his shield. Colt, who was right behind him, saw what he was doing and took advantage of the opening, swinging his sword overhead and bringing it down at the head of the nearest attacker. The dwarf tried to dodge, but was far too slow to avoid the strike.
Colt didn't relent, heaving his blade back and forth. His advantage was short-lived however, as the second line of spearmen moved in and thrust their weapons, bellowing incomprehensible war cries and stabbing Colt several times.
Aiden was now fully on the defensive as the spear line closed in around them. Their chances of breaking through to the surface had evaporated, leaving only one possible route of escape - the stairs down.
Clavis shot bolts from his repeater into the line of spearmen, striking true each time. The close range meant the crossbow was particularly effective, especially against the unarmoured dwarves. Clavis took down two of their at
tackers in moments and wounded another before having to change out the cartridge.
Nellise finished a prayer and bathed Aiden and the others in a glowing radiance that infused them with energy and put their attackers at a disadvantage – for the insane dwarves of Ferrumgaard, so used to total darkness, it was not unlike squinting straight into the sun. In spite of this, the sheer bulk of their numbers pushed Aiden and the others back, further into the city.
From behind the group of spearmen, a deep, chanting voice could be heard over the sounds of battle. It grew in volume and intensity and as it did so, the light from Nellise's prayer started to waver and dim, allowing the spearmen to see more clearly.
“He's countering me,” Nellise muttered in astonishment. She raised her voice, chanting aloud for the first time that Aiden could recall in an effort to bolster her prayers.
“...Praise be unto you, Light of Heaven, I am one with the light and the faith, it surges through me, unceasing, unrelenting, bathing the faithful in your power and...” It was working, after a fashion – the light slowly grew stronger, overcoming the unnatural darkness being thrown at them, though Nellise's opposite number hadn't given up yet, for the light dimmed and strengthened again in a constant struggle for control.
Sayana moved forward as this was going on, the tattoos on her legs glowing as she unleashed magical flames, scorching four or five spearmen in the front row. The smell of burned hair and skin accompanied the sounds of screaming as the wounded dwarves fell back, only to be replaced by others.
Aiden could see how hopeless it was – they were too heavily outnumbered. Despite their efforts, at least two dozen dwarves were still standing before them. As Clavis started rapidly shooting bolts into the crowd again, Aiden came to the decision that it was time to withdraw.
“Clavis, get everyone to that stairwell,” he gasped.
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Clavis yelled back, shooting another spearman in the neck as he started shuffling backward. Despite his wounds, Aiden kept himself in front of the line of spearmen to prevent them from having a clear strike at anyone else. He was struck directly on his chest several times, saved from injury by the cured leather he wore. The group started following Clavis, moving as fast as possible given the situation.
The clan leader barked out a few commands, pressing the attack. They were grinning maliciously now, sensing their advantage, and Aiden knew he would be unable to hold them back for much longer.
“I'm just about done in,” Colt grated, taking one last swipe at their enemies and turning to run for it. Aiden did the same, hurrying after them, and the sight of the two warriors with a horde of spearmen closing in was enough to spur them to greater effort.
Aiden felt a sudden sharp pain in his back and almost lost his footing as he was hit by a thrown spear. He moved to raise his arm and position the force shield behind his head to give him some protection before noticing it had vanished. He was unable to ponder this strange event as he was struck in the leg by another spear and went down in a heap, tumbling over twice before coming to a stop.
Aiden's thigh was a world of pain, and when he grasped it reflexively he felt the spear sticking gruesomely out of it. The shaft had broken off in the tumble, but the point had gone in deep. The dwarven host was quickly descending on him. With no shield, he had just about consigned himself to an early grave when a blast of flame shot over his head, stopping the oncoming dwarves in their tracks and severely scorching the frontrunners.
Aiden felt strong hands grasp him under his arms and drag him backwards, past Sayana who stood guard over him, flames roaring in front of her to keep the enemy at bay. They were distracted further as knives flew through the air from the darkness.
A bloodied and angry Pacian darted into the light, the daggers on his hips dripping with blood as he raced past Sayana and headed for the stairs. She turned and followed him, using the diversion as a chance to break away without risk.
“You gotta stand up man,” Colt bellowed, lifting Aiden back on to his feet, causing agony to shoot through his wounded leg. He stifled a scream and managed to limp over to the first stair, noticing everyone else was already there and awaiting him a few steps down. The light dimmed again, plunging them into near-darkness as Nellise leaned heavily against the stone wall.
“It's no use, he's too strong,” she breathed, clearly exhausted from her own personal battle.
“We'll never get away from them with half of you unable to run,” Pacian remarked, also trying hard to catch his breath. Aiden, looking out at the sea of shining eyes closing in on them couldn't believe it was going to end like this. If only they had a door they could jam shut or something else that could block the stairs, they could at least remove the immediate threat. A risky idea flashed through his mind.
“Sayana, use a sound blast,” he ordered, gasping from the pain in his leg.
“But you told me not to,” she replied warily, “it could bury us alive!”
“If you don't do it, we're dead anyway,” Aiden shouted. “Everyone, get down the stairs as fast as you can.” They complied, with Colt offering his shoulder to help Aiden hobble down, one stair at a time. Despite her reservations, the exhausted sorceress turned and invoked her power, light swirling along the tattoos in her legs as she brought her hands together.
The clap of thunder that erupted from her hands was deafening and shook the very ground they stood upon. The dwarves roared in dismay, dropping their spears to clutch at their ears in agony. Small rocks and a pile of dirt dislodged from the ceiling above, but it still held.
“Do it again - drop the ceiling!” Aiden shouted. Sayana swayed to one side but managed to steady herself. Again, the lights surged along her legs, but before she could finish a spear suddenly appeared out of her back, having just been thrown by a nearby foe. Time seemed to slow as Aiden saw all their hopes crumbling as Sayana staggered backward from the blow. With an incredible feat of discipline, she managed to finish the invocation and unleash a final blast of sound.
This time the ceiling did not hold. It crumbled slowly at first, then larger pieces fell upon the stairs. Aiden was unable to move – his legs simply wouldn't respond to any commands as he tried to go forward and grab the wounded girl before she was crushed to death by falling rock.
“Get him out of here!” Nellise yelled over the tumult as she dashed past, pushing Aiden and Colt backward down the stairs. Exhausted as she was, Nellise pushed through the rocks and managed to grab the back of Sayana's belt just as the remaining light from her staff was obscured and the rest of the ceiling came crashing down. The sounds of screaming could be heard over the rock fall, just before Aiden was left in darkness and pain.
When the noise from falling rock had finally subsided, the unnatural silence of the dead city returned. Aiden sprawled next to Colt at the bottom of the stairwell, both of the men coughing in the cloud of dirt that had been dumped on them. From the sounds of ragged breathing, Clavis and Pacian were nearby, having been furthest from the devastation. There was no light whatsoever. Everything Aiden knew about his surroundings was based solely on his hearing.
He was in excruciating pain, from both the spearhead lodged in his leg and from the fall. His right arm was practically useless, and he felt the warmth of blood running down his body from several other smaller wounds.
A brief flash of light pierced the stifling darkness as someone began striking flint and steel to ignite a torch. It took several tries before the sparks caught and the torch flared into life. Pacian held it high to take in the scene. He was covered in dirt and blood but otherwise still standing. Clavis was next to him, searching through the rubble for signs of life while ignoring the cuts and bruises he'd received from the falling rock.
“Ah, found 'em,” he exclaimed, spying Colt slowly pushing rocks and dirt off his body to get to his feet. “Hold still man, ya might have a broken bone or three.”
“I'm fine,” the big ranger choked, coughing some more to disprove his point. “Nothing broken, th
ough it's not for a lack of trying.”
“What about Nel and Sayana?” Aiden managed to croak.
“I think they're a little further up the stairs,” Colt said grimly, dusting off his leathers. “Which means they're at least partially buried under that rock.”
“They might still be alive,” Pacian said stubbornly, wedging the torch into nearby rocks and moving up the stairs to begin excavating.
“Aye, there's always a chance lad,” Clavis said, keeping his voice neutral. “You two make a start on it, I'll tend to Aiden's wounds a bit.” He came in closer and carefully examined Aiden’s leg.
“I'm broken up pretty badly, aren't I,” Aiden breathed, already knowing what Clavis was going to say.
“There's no foolin' ya,” he replied, taking off his belt and folding it over, then leaning forward and offering it for Aiden to bite down on. “Me belt might taste like dirt, but it'll do the job. Just think of it as a really tough steak, and I'll put you back together as best I can. I gotta take out this spear first, and then I'm gonna to set your leg,” Clavis informed him, clearly not a proponent of the 'ignorance is bliss' line of thought.
The dull ache numbing Aiden’s senses became a sharp pain. He stifled a scream as the spearhead was pulled out of the wounded leg. His breath came in short gasps and he was covered in sweat, but the spear was out.
“You're doin' real good, lad,” Clavis assured him, taking out a small flask and splashing its contents into the wound. Aiden bit back another scream as the burn from alcohol cleansed the wound. “When we've dug Nellise out, we'll be using some 'o those healing flasks she was given back in town to fix you quicker, but right now I need to spend a few minutes to clean ya up a bit before I set this leg in place.”
Aiden nodded, resting his head back against the least uncomfortable rock he could find as he caught his breath. A few seconds later, his leg exploded with pain as Clavis set the broken bone back into place with one swift, sharp move. Aiden's last thought before the blackness rolled over him, was 'lying bastard'.
Nature Abhors a Vacuum (The Aielund Saga Book 1) Page 18