Nath tugged back with all his might. He ripped a tendril clear of the monster’s mouth. Snap!
The ground shook.
The monster let out a shrill cry. Eaaerrrrrrrr!
Nath ripped out another vine. Snap!
The earth buckled beneath him.
“Hah! You don’t like that, do you.”
More tendrils burst forth from the monster’s mouth. Dozens of them surged for Nath all at once.
“Not good!”
Striking fast, the tendrils ripped at Nath’s legs.
He leapt backward and bounced off a boulder.
The tendrils snaked over the rim and pressed after him. The other grasses and vines came to life, holding him fast.
“This entire place is alive!”
While he was pushing himself out of the tangles, the boulder in front of him inspired an idea. He darted to the other side, wrapped his arms around it as best he could, and hoisted it up onto his shoulder. “Argh!”
The tendrils coiled up his legs and squeezed.
Sweat beading on his brow, Nath fought for balance and shuffled forward. The skin on his legs started to burn. The tremendous weight of the stone strained every muscle in his shoulders and back. Using the tugging of the evil vines, he continued the slow march forward.
“This is it, monster,” Nath said through gritted teeth. “I’ve got a bellyful for you.” Standing on the rim of the sunken maw, he hunkered down. With a heave, he launched the huge rock off of his shoulders and down into the mouth.
The boulder smashed right into the snapping mouth.
The ground rocked and reeled.
The earth let out an uncanny shriek. Rreeeeeeeeeee!
The tendrils uncoiled from around Nath’s legs and darted back down into the hole.
The rock covered the mouth entirely.
The tendrils attacked it. They bounced off the gritty surface over and over like snakes gone mad.
Without hesitation, Nath slid down the side of the hole and yanked Selene free of the tendrils. She was gasping for breath. Nath carried her in his arms and set her down on the rim.
Below and butted up against the rock covering the mouth was Brenwar. There was a disgruntled look on his face. Nath scurried back into the hole, broke away the clinging tendrils, and fetched him up and out of the hole.
“Is everyone all right?” Nath asked.
The ground tremored beneath them.
“By Mortuun! The cursed ground here is living!” Brenwar said. He raised the war hammer high.
“Stop, dwarf!” Selene said, staying his hand with hers. “This isn’t some mountainside you can cave in. This evil breathes.” She shoved into him. “Let me handle this.”
“How dare you!” Brenwar growled, pushing back.
Selene’s hands flared up with fire.
Brenwar’s eyes became moons.
“Selene! How can you do that?” Nath said, gaping.
“I’ve been a priestess, have I not? My ability to craft magic is not gone. Does it make you uncomfortable?”
“Just a little surprised is all.”
She shook her head and turned away. Mystic tones and arcane words spun from her lips. Fire rushed from her fingertips, driving hard into the monster.
The ground screeched.
The gaping hole spread with flame. The tendrils writhed, popped, and crackled. The expanse became a burning pyre where vegetable turned to ash. The rock inside its mouth collapsed out of sight. Gray ash drifted in the wind.
Leaning over the edge, Brenwar said, “All we had to do was set it on fire?”
Selene dusted her hands off. “Mystic fire. But I took a chance.”
Nath eyed her.
“What?” she said, eyeing him back. “I’m a lifelong spell crafter.”
“Then why didn’t you use your craft before?” Nath asked.
“The same reason the dwarf didn’t get in a swing of his hammer. I was surprised.”
Nath nodded. “If you say so.”
“Nath, now is not the time to doubt me again.”
“Well, maybe if you didn’t have those black scales, we wouldn’t doubt you,” Brenwar interjected.
“Black scales. Are you jesting, dwarf?” She pointed at Nath. “Have you not noticed his too?”
“Aye, I have, and I don’t like them. Black is a sign of evil.”
Nath put his fists on his hips. “Well, your beard’s black. Does that make you evil?”
“What?” Brenwar clutched at his beard with his skeleton hand. “Why no.” He rapped Mortuun’s shaft down on the ground. “Like I said, ‘Black, isn’t it glorious!’”
The three of them had a little laugh.
Nath then turned to Selene. “I have to admit, I’m envious. It seems you have much of the power you once had. I don’t appear to have anything.”
Selene cupped his face with her hand. “Nath, be patient. I couldn’t have lifted that boulder.”
His eyes brightened like gold stars. He flexed his black-scaled arms. “No, I guess you couldn’t.”
“I could’ve,” Brenwar said, staring down at the hole.
“With the gauntlets, sure, but look at that thing. It must have been a ton if not more.”
“It wasn’t that big,” Brenwar said, still staring into the black hole. He reached down and found a piece of broken vine. He waggled it in front of Selene. “Do you mind, snake tail?”
“Oh,” she said with smoldering eyes, “you are a bold one, Bolderguild.” With a snap of her fingers, the tip of the vine was encircled in flame.
Brenwar tossed the makeshift torch into the hole. It landed with a crunchy sound that echoed upward. “By Morgdon, that hole is full of bones!”
CHAPTER 29
Nath stood inside the hole, surrounded by bones piled as high as his chin. Beside him, Brenwar pushed through the skeletons, making a path.
“Guzan, there must be hundreds of them,” Nath said. He picked up a skull and held it before his eyes. “Look at these high cheekbones. This one is elven.”
“It seems the creature took all kinds,” Selene said, holding up a round skull with heavy bone. “I’d say this one is dwarven or orcen.”
Brenwar snatched it away. “Orcen? Pah! It’s dwarven. And it needs a proper burial.”
“Don’t be silly, Brenwar. We can’t pick through all of these bones to bury your dead. They’ve probably been at rest for hundreds of years.” Nath plucked up a sword out of the pile then dropped it again when he saw that its metal was long rusted through. There were hundreds of decaying things scattered all over. “The dead are at rest. Let them rest.”
Brenwar tucked the dwarven skull under his arm. “I’ll bury him if I want.”
“Fine, Brenwar. Fine.” Wading through the bones, Nath sauntered up to Selene. Her tail was brushing the piles aside. “So, what do you make of this? Do you think this monster is what made Borgash extinct?”
She held a head in front of her that still had some hair on it. It was long and showed canine teeth. “A gnoll. A shame they aren’t all gnolls, but no, I don’t think this monster was the demise of the city. All of the races seem to be represented here. This is just hundreds of years of victims. Treasure hunters, perhaps? Travelers. All victims of the guardian.”
Nath cocked a brow. “Guardian?”
“One of many in this valley, I’d say. And if I’m correct, this plant monster is called a devourer, though this is the biggest one I’ve ever seen.”
“Where did you see them before?” Nath asked.
She dusted off her hands and faced him. “I don’t think that really matters now. Excuse me.” She brushed by him and began shifting through the char that used to be the dangerous plant. “Ah, see this?”
“Guzan!” Nath said, jumping back. “Kill it!”
Out of the ground, a tendril with a white bud on the end was writhing about. Selene seized it with her hand. “These devourers have strong roots and grow back quickly. You have to destroy the root.” She started to tug on it. “A l
ittle help, please?”
Nath wrapped his arms around her waist, dug his feet in, and started to pull her back.
“This isn’t exactly what I had in mind,” she said.
“Oh, hush and hang on.” Feet digging in, he started to pull her back harder. “Guzan! How deep is this thing?”
Puffing for breath, Selene said, “I thought you were strong!”
Nath set his jaw, leaned back, put all of his muscles and weight into it, and said, “I sure hope you don’t break.”
“I won’t!”
“Grrrrrr!”
Rip! The plant gave.
Nath stumbled backward and crashed into the bones. Selene was on his lap, holding the squirming tendril. At its end, a huge red tuber, bigger than an ogre’s head, pulsated like a heart.
“That’s creepy!”
Brenwar charged up with Mortuun.
“No, dwarf!” Selene said, stretching out her arms.
Mortuun the Crusher came down with ram-like force.
Splat!
Slime and goo covered Selene and Brenwar.
Jumping to her feet with fists balled up at her sides, she screamed at Brenwar, “Fool of a dwarf!” Her tail rose up behind her. “I’m going to kill you!”
Brandishing his war hammer, Brenwar fired back a warning. “Watch yerself, dragon lady.”
Nath, shielded behind Selene, chuckled. “You two just aren’t ever going to get along, are you.”
Combing the gunk out of her long black hair, Selene walked away. “Probably not.”
“You really should try being a little nicer to her, Brenwar.”
Brenwar’s eyes widened. “Me? Why?”
“She’s a woman.”
“With a tail, and not so long ago, she tried to destroy me, you, and the rest of the world.”
“We’re past that now, so try to put forth a better effort.” Ignoring Brenwar’s frown, Nath glanced up out of the hole at the darkening, star-filled sky. “It’s going to be blacker than my scales before long. Hmmm.” He picked up a skull and chucked it into the black expanse that surrounded the hole. The sound of it skipping off stone echoed back. “That’s interesting. Uh, Brenwar, we could use a torch or something. Do you have your tinderbox handy?”
Selene slipped in between Brenwar and Nath. “So primitive.” With a snap of her fingers, her hand glowed with a warm green light. Its wavering glow illuminated the entire hole and beyond.
Gaping, Nath said, “Looks like the Lost City isn’t so lost after all.”
CHAPTER 30
Deeper into the bowels of Borgash they walked. It was an underground city with a sky made of dirt. Selene’s light cut through the dimness, revealing remnants of paved streets and buildings. Dirt and a slick coat of grime covered most of the area. The sky of dirt and roots was suspended above them, looking to collapse at any time. Somewhere, water trickled inside the eerie expanse.
“What do you think, Brenwar?”
The warrior held a small torch now that gave off a warm, glowing yellow light. He climbed up on a half-covered statue of a centaur and poked at the dirt ceiling with his hammer. “Hmmm, seems to have held hundreds of years; no reason to believe it won’t hold a few hundred more.” He hit it harder with his war hammer.
“Is that really necessary, dwarf?” Selene said, backing up into Nath.
“If it falls, I’ll dig us out. It just might take a few years.”
“Come on,” Nath said. “If there is anything to be found, I can only assume it’s below ground and not above.”
Venturing deeper into the buried realm, Nath rolled his shoulders. The tightness in his back remained. Something lived here. Something dark. He dusted off his nose with his thumb. There was a stench, too. Not dirt or mud. Not bones or rotting flesh. Something unnatural. A lurking of Evil.
There were plenty of normal creatures that lived beneath the ground. Dragons were one of them. Gnomes and dwarves were well known for making league-long holes. But not too many creatures lived without daylight for very long. Hibernated, yes. Lived, no.
“What’s on your mind?” Selene asked.
“Everything feels wrong.” He kneeled down and began brushing off some caked dirt that covered a fallen statue. On uncovering its oversized visage, he discovered a monstrous face with multiple eyes and a mouthful of fangs. “Seem familiar?”
“I’ve never seen a carven image the likes of that before,” she said, but…” She backed away and began clawing away hunks of dirt that covered the stony walls. Her efforts revealed painted images. Runes. People. Monsters. Violence. “I’m starting to think the devourer is here for a great reason.”
The way she spoke made Nath’s skin prickle. “You said it might be a guardian. A guardian of what?”
“A guardian that not only keeps things from getting in,” she said, moving away from Nath. She kept the light of her hand pointed at the dirt ceiling. There was a higher spot above. The roots moved away from her light. “Nath, you know how you said this place was evil?”
“Yes.”
Selene started back toward him. Standing by his side, she said, “I’m pretty sure you’re right.”
“Brenwar, did you hear that? She said I was right. See, Selene can be sensible.”
Selene jabbed an elbow into his ribs. “Don’t be foolish. We need to go.”
“Really, why the rush all of a sudden?”
Selene knelt down beside the cruel and unusual face that Nath had revealed. She pointed at it and said, “Because I think I know what this is. It’s an image of an old titan.”
“Titan?” Nath said, making a quick shrug. “What’s a titan?”
“The race that enslaved man. That tried to enslave the dragons as well.” She started packing mud back over its face. “The race that would stop at nothing to enslave Nalzambor.”
“Step aside,” Brenwar said. With a quick swing of his hammer, he busted the image of the old titan face. Bang! “Humph. That’s better.”
“Will you quit hitting everything with your little hammer?” Selene said.
“We don’t hesitate to deface the titans where I come from,” Brenwar said, resting Mortuun back over his shoulder. “Ever.”
Brenwar’s tone was serious.
The truth was, Nath had never heard of the titans before today. He’d gathered from Selene that they were legend more than anything. Men and women of great renown, worshipped like deities, who had deceived the races in times past. Judging by the age of that statue, it had happened long before his time, just the same as Borgash. “So, are we staying in or going out? I’m opting for in. I’m not going to find my mother by being cautious. But if you don’t want to venture any farther, I understand.”
“Oh, please,” Selene said, rolling her eyes.
“Shaddap,” Brenwar added, holding his torch out and venturing deeper into the passage.
“It seems we’re all in again. Great.” Nath glided to the front. He could feel the heat from Brenwar’s torch on his back. Using his keen eyes, he had little problem making out the deeper outlines of the cavernous passage. Here and there the old roads were revealed. There were still standing walls and columns with markings on them. Old wooden stables were petrified. The air was dank and musty. It would take days to search all of the cave city. Maybe weeks. They might have to dig, and digging wasn’t very much fun.
“Seems like a strange place for your mother to be,” Selene said. She stood by some stalactites and stalagmites that had formed around a small pond near her feet. “I’m not so sure that I’d trust a fairy. Certainly not a fairy empress.”
“You didn’t have to come—not that I’m unhappy that you did come—but this is all we have to go on for now.” Nath came across a wide staircase of stone that wound deeper into the ground. Squinting, he swore he saw a wink of light down there. “Say, Brenwar, what do you make of this?”
Brenwar sauntered over and peered down the steps. “Looks deep,” he said, bobbing his head. “I like deep.”
A wink o
f light flashed.
“Did you see that?” Nath said in a whisper.
Brenwar replied in kind, “Aye, I did.” He started down. “And I hear water, too.”
“Coming, Selene?” Nath said.
Holding her glowing hand out, she stood behind Nath and said, “You first.”
Nath took a breath and headed down after Brenwar.
One thing is for certain. Being small leads to many more interesting places.
The stairway was well over a hundred steps down, its hard surface slick with damp mud. Nath had been in caves all of his life. Even Dragon Home had been bored out of a mountain, and there were prisons more than a hundred feet deep. But this was different. It gave him a mysterious feeling that he couldn’t shake. It clung to his scales. Rushed his breath.
“Bottom,” Brenwar said. He stood inside a chamber the size of a small cathedral. The light did little to capture the full grandeur. Square columns and great arches held up the expansive ceiling. Colorful murals above glinted in the faint light cast from below. “Sound craftsmanship.”
“Dwarven?” Nath asked.
“Not that sound.”
A bright light, distant and wavering, appeared far away from them. Humanoid in shape, it glided forward. Nath’s breath became icy. The shade closed in, getting bigger. Towering over them all, it came to a stop. Faceless, robed, and ethereal, its haunting voice froze Nath’s bones.
CHAPTER 31
The apparition spoke, turning blood to ice water.
Nath felt Selene’s arm entangle with his. Heart pounding in his chest, head gazing upward, he found it hard to keep his eyes fixed on the monster.
Haunting sounds came from its ghostly lips. Its language was unnatural and changing. A howling shriek burst from the veiled face of the apparition.
“Hoooowwww-eeeeee-hooooooowwwwww!”
Nath’s knees buckled. His legs turned to jelly. Hair billowing, he covered his ears. Beside him, Brenwar dropped to a knee. Selene’s sharp fingernails dug into his arms. “Selene, what do we do?” he asked, trying to shout over the howling shriek.
Shouting in his ear, she replied, “I don’t know!”
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