The Ruins on Stone Hill (Heroes of Ravenford Book 1)

by F. P. Spirit

  The elder’s expression was still distrustful, but her eyes were filled with curiosity. “Yes. Narthos takes everything from us. Why do you ask?”

  Glo turned to Elladan. “She said yes.”

  Elladan stepped aside, revealing the pile of copper coins lying on the cavern floor. The orc elder saw the pile and her eyes widened.

  “That’s our money!” she declared.

  Glo translated for Elladan.

  “Tell her they can have all of it back if they pack up and leave these caves for good.”

  Brilliant. Glo looked upon the bard with admiration. Elladan merely winked. Glo translated for the orc elder. Her suspicion wavered as she eyed the pile of coins. Finally she agreed. They helped her gather the coins and dump them in a pot. When they were done, the elder roused the rest of the sleeping orcs. They had a brief conversation, then all of them began packing. In a very short time, they had gathered up their belongings and filed out of the cavern down the same tunnel where the orc priest had disappeared.

  Aksel motioned to the others. “Let’s follow them and see where they go.”

  The companions kept pace a short distance behind the crowd of orcs. They reached a three-way split in the tunnels. The orcs all headed down the left branch. They followed them a few hundred yards beyond and came to a cross tunnel. The orcs turned left and headed down that passage. It was dark, and rather wide, but unlike the others the ground here was dirt-packed and it sloped upwards. Sunlight shone at the other end.

  “Looks like we found the main entrance,” Seth said.

  About halfway up the tunnel, Glo spied alcoves on either side. They were filled with boulders stacked up on logs. Cross logs stuck up like levers behind them. Seth had been right—this entrance was indeed booby trapped. Luckily there were no orc warriors here to man them. Glo wondered where they had gone. Based on Elladan’s account of the last caravan attack, there should be a least a couple more.

  The passageway abruptly ended, opening up to the hillside beyond. It was close to midday, the sun shining brightly overhead. The forest stood down the slope below them, about a few hundred yards away. The companions watched the orcs trudge away. They traveled down the trail and were soon swallowed by the forest.

  Aksel let out a deep sigh. “Well that’s done.”

  “So what about that orc priest? Think he came this way?” Lloyd sounded pensive.

  Aksel stroked his chin. “Somehow I don’t think he would have left all his money behind.”

  Glo agreed. There had been an awful lot of gold coins in that chest. Too much, in fact. Most folks don’t travel with that much on them. “I have a nagging feeling there is more to this than just the caravan attacks.”

  Aksel’s expression was thoughtful. “Interesting. So you think someone was paying them to attack the caravans?”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time,” Seth interjected. His tone was rather cynical.

  Glo glanced at the halfling. Seth’s expression was bitter. “Is that from experience?”

  Seth nodded. “What can I say? My family was horrible.”

  Glo grimaced. He couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for Seth growing up. It made Glo think twice about his own family. Maybe they weren’t so bad after all. All his father was guilty of was being overzealous.

  “Anyway,” Seth continued, “there are wagon tracks here. What say we follow them back into the caves?”

  Everyone agreed.

  Seth led them back down to where the two tunnels crossed. The tracks continued north from there. They followed them a few hundred yards more until they came to a wide cavern. There they found the remains of the wagons. They were smashed into pieces. There was no sign of the wagoneers. Glo shuddered. He was afraid they had all met a grisly fate.

  The only saving grace was that Elladan found his backpack. It was thrown to one side. His money was gone, but he found a few of his personal belongings and some books that he deemed priceless. His expression was ironic. “Guess I’m lucky most orcs can’t read.”

  When they were done searching through the wreckage, Aksel spoke to them in a subdued tone, “I think we’ve seen enough here. Let’s head back to that split where you lost the priest. Now that we’re all together, we can explore those other tunnels.” He turned to Seth. “Care to lead the way?”

  “Sure,” Seth replied with mock enthusiasm. Without another word, the halfling turned and headed back the way they came.

  Lost in the Caves

  A demon lord is an entirely different matter

  The companions retraced their steps back to the intersection where they had lost the orc priest. Two tunnels split off from the main one. The first side tunnel headed off at an angle to the northwest. The second tunnel went off at an angle roughly northeast. Glo peered down each passageway; they were both pitch black. “So which way do we go?”

  No one spoke at first. They eyed each tunnel speculatively. Finally, Seth broke the silence. “I think we should try the northwest tunnel first.”

  Aksel gazed at the halfling curiously. “Any particular reason?”

  Seth shrugged his shoulders. “Call it…a hunch.”

  Seth took the lead down the northwest passage. The tunnel sloped downward, marking their descent farther underground. After a few minutes, the passageway turned to the north then leveled off. Glo noted a damp smell in the air. He looked at the tunnel walls; he could indeed see moisture on them. They covered a short distance till Seth held up a hand.

  “What is it now?” Aksel whispered.

  Seth nodded toward the tunnel ahead. “Another pit trap.”

  Sure enough, another pit trap stretched across the tunnel in front of them. Glo searched around, but this time there were no wood planks nearby to lay across the hole.

  “We could go back to the main cavern and bring those boards down here,” he suggested.

  Aksel paused a moment then shook his head. “No, that would take too much time. We have been wandering around down here for a few hours now, and the day is more than halfway over already.”

  A sudden gurgling noise made them jump. Lloyd held his stomach, a guilty smile on his face. “Sorry.”

  “Well that confirms it,” Seth observed in an exaggerated tone. “Lloyd’s stomach is never wrong.”

  Aksel half-smiled at the halfling’s joke. “Well then, we better get a move on.”

  “I can probably jump the pit,” Lloyd offered.

  “So can I,” Seth added, not to be outdone.

  “I could if I wasn’t wearing chainmail,” Titan said wistfully.

  Glo smiled at the warrior. “That’s okay. Two boneheads are more than enough.”

  Titan grinned back.

  Meanwhile, Aksel glanced speculatively from Seth to Lloyd. “Well, if you’re sure…”

  Lloyd nodded. “Absolutely.”

  “No problem,” Seth agreed.

  The duo glanced appraisingly at each other as if this were some kind of competition. Aksel looked at one, then the other. Finally, he turned to Seth. “You go first.”

  “Ha!” Seth cried in triumph.

  The others moved to either side of the tunnel to make room. Seth backed a few paces down the corridor, then ran forward. By the time he reached the edge of the pit he was running full speed. Seth leapt into the air, easily soaring over the spike-filled trap. When he reached the other side, he tucked his body into a ball. Seth hit the ground rolling, then sprang up into a crouch.

  “Agile little fellow there, ain’t he,” Elladan said, clearly impressed.

  Glo merely nodded. Elladan hadn’t seen half of what Seth could do—or Lloyd for that matter.

  Aksel called over to Seth, “Go ahead and see what you can find.”

  “Okay,” came the response as the halfling’s small form disappeared i
nto the darkness ahead.

  Meanwhile, Lloyd backed up away from the pit. The warrior started swiftly, his long legs taking him to the edge of the hole in just a few strides. He too went soaring over it. When he hit the ground, he did a forward roll, coming up on one knee.

  Once again, Elladan was impressed. “He practically flew through the air.”

  Glo let out a short laugh. “The first time we saw him, he leapt off his horse, a sword in each hand, did a mid-air somersault, and landed right in the middle of a pack of orcs. They were all dead in minutes.”

  “Wish I had been there to help,” Titan declared. She had that same glint in her eye as when she was about to enter battle.

  Across the pit, Lloyd got up and brushed himself off.

  Seth reappeared and said something to Lloyd, then the two of them disappeared down the tunnel. They reappeared a minute or so later, Lloyd carrying a long board. He slowly lowered it across the gap. Titan caught it on the other side and finished laying it down.

  The rest of them easily crossed the board, then continued down the passageway. Seth moved out ahead. They went another few hundred yards farther when Seth held up his hand. They all halted.

  “What is it?” Lloyd hissed.

  Seth paused a moment. “I’m not sure. Glo, can you bring that light up here?”

  Glo moved to the front and raised his staff. There was definitely something at the very edge of the light. Glo strained his eyes. Whatever it was, it appeared translucent with a greenish hue. Glo angled his staff around. The thing blocked the entire tunnel. Abruptly it began to wobble. A chill ran up Glo’s spine as he realized what it was.

  “Cube!” Seth hissed.

  A gelatinous cube; a giant type of ooze known to inhabit underground areas. They were shapeless creatures with no head, hands, or feet. Their entire bodies were some kind of sensory organ that could detect prey from many feet away. Cubes lived to eat; in fact, that’s all they did. Furthermore, there was no easy way to kill a cube. Its entire body was a weapon that they’d slam into their prey. Cubes used their formless mass to entangle their victims, secreting a slime which paralyzed their prey so they could be slowly digested. Since cubes were mostly transparent, it was said that one could see the remains of whatever they’d engulfed still encased in their bodies. It would remain there until totally digested. Glo shuddered at the thought. It was a nasty way to go.

  From Aksel’s tone, he was well aware of what they were facing. “Quick, back across the pit.”

  Lloyd began to protest. “But…”

  “Now!” Aksel cried.

  Lloyd still hesitated. Titan reached over and placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. Her voice was cool, but understanding. “This is not a fight we can win with arms.”

  Lloyd glanced at her then sighed. “Very well.”

  They began to retreat toward the pit. If they could reach the other side, they should be safe. Unfortunately they had hesitated just a bit too long. The cube was moving forward fast. Glo knew if it wasn’t slowed down, they would never reach the pit.

  “Go ahead,” he called to the others. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  The cube closed in on him. It towered over him, reaching all the way to the ceiling, maybe fifteen feet up. Glo nearly lost his nerve, but somehow managed to hang on.

  No. I will not panic. I’ve let my friends down once too often. Not this time. Glo calmly began his spell. The incantation only took a second, but the cube had covered a surprising amount of distance in that time. Glo gulped hard, then lifted a finger and spoke two words.

  “Nullam Telum.” Instantly, two purple missiles leapt from his fingertips and careened their way across the cavern. Glo did not stop to watch them. Instead, he turned and went running down the passageway after his comrades. He had taken not two steps when the projectiles connected with the cube.

  Thud. Thud.

  He chanced a quick glance over his shoulder. The cube had slowed down. Concussive waves rippled through the creature, making it difficult for it to move its massive form. Glo spun back around and ran, almost careening into Lloyd and Titan. “What are you two doing back here?”

  Titan wore a thin smirk, but her eyes were filled with admiration. “I couldn’t stop him. He’s almost as stubborn as Brundon!”

  Lloyd grinned at her. “I couldn’t leave him alone with that thing!”

  Glo’s heart was filled with sudden warmth. These two had the hearts of lions. They were true warriors and true friends. He smiled at the young heroes. “Okay then, let’s go!”

  The warriors each grasped an arm and rushed him back down the passageway. When they reached the pit, everyone else was already across. Glo glanced over his shoulder. The cube was on the move again and closing fast. They wouldn’t all make it across in time.

  “Come on!” Aksel cried waving them to cross.

  Glo turned to face the cube. “You two go ahead. I’ll keep this thing at bay.”

  Lloyd began to protest. “But…”

  Titan cut him off. “Let him do this, Lloyd. He’s the best one for the job.”

  “Go. I’ll be fine.” Glo wished he felt half as sure as he sounded.

  Lloyd sighed. “Okay, but, Titan, you go first.”

  “Lloyd…” she began.

  “I left you behind with the golem, I’m not doing it again.”

  Titan’s eyes filled with warmth and her face visibly softened. “Very well.” With that the woman warrior spun around and sped across the board.

  “Good luck,” Lloyd yelled, then he too took off across the pit.

  Glo only half heard him. He had already sent two more projectiles at the approaching cube.

  Thud. Thud.

  Once again, the cube slowed down. Concussive waves rippled through the creature once more and it had trouble controlling its movements. It was still coming though. The cube was nearly on him.

  One more time. Glo wove his arms around ending the movement with a lifted finger. He again spoke the two words, “Nullam Telum.”

  Two more missiles leapt from his fingertips. This time they only had a few feet to travel. As soon as they were off, Glo turned and ran. He vaulted across the board almost too fast, precariously balancing as he sped along. Somehow he did not fall. Both Lloyd and Titan grabbed him when he was within arm’s reach and pulled him off the board and onto firm ground. Glo spun around to look at the cube. It had stopped at the edge of the pit, its body quivering in the light of Glo’s staff.

  Aksel cried out in excitement, “Look at that! Something’s happening to it.”

  Aksel was right. Not only had the cube stopped, but it was wiggling more than before. It began to jiggle like crazy.

  “Man, look at that thing go,” Elladan drawled.

  Without warning, the cube began to dissolve. It started from the top and slowly shrank down. There was a loud hissing noise as the creature grew shorter and shorter. Green smoke rose from its insides. A strange, acrid odor reached the companions.

  They all held their noses. Elladan waved a hand in front of his face. “That smells worse than the swamps back home.”

  Finally it was over. All that remained of the creature were a few pools of green liquid. The pools smoked for a few moments, then those too faded.

  Everyone gathered around Glo. They pounded him on the back amid cries of “You did it!” and “Way to go, Glo!”

  “Tha...nks,” Glo managed to reply. “I…think…”

  He was a little sore from where Lloyd and Titan had struck him, but he shrugged it off. His friends were right. He had done it. He had remained calm in the face of danger. It was a new feeling for Glo. He actually felt proud; not in the pretentious way he had before, when he thought he knew everything. He now knew the world was dangerous; you could literally die out here. Yet he stood his ground and f
aced that danger. He had done so for his friends. Their courage inspired him. He was a better person because of them.

  While Glo came to terms with his new feelings, Seth crossed back over the pit and examined the remains of the cube. After a short while, he called over to the others, “I found something.”

  “Careful. It could still have traces of acid on it,” Aksel said.

  Seth’s response practically dripped with sarcasm. “Do I look stupid?”

  Glo could not stop the grin that spread across his face. He glanced at Aksel and saw the gnome react the same. The companions crossed back over, careful to avoid the lingering pools of acid. In the center of one pool lay what turned out to be a hammer, but not just any hammer. It was larger than the warhammers that Lloyd carried around with him. Glo bent down for a closer look. There was a lightning bolt carved on one side with lettering under it.

  Seth knelt next to Glo. “What does it say?”

  Glo could not quite make it out. “I’m not sure. It’s a language I’ve never seen before. The words read Marteau Foudre.”

  Elladan knelt next to them. “I’ve run across a lot of languages in my travels. Never heard those words before, though.”

  Glo stared at it a bit longer, then gave up. “Well, let’s get this cleaned off and take it with us.” He took out a cloth and wiped down the hammer. When he tried to pick it up though, it wouldn’t budge.

  Glo panted as he tried to heave it. “This…thing is…really heavy.” He let go. “Lloyd, Titan, perhaps one of you should try.”

  The two warriors exchanged glances. “You go ahead,” Titan told Lloyd. “You’re the hammer wielder. I’m comfortable with my mace.”

  Lloyd grinned at her. “You sure?”

  Titan merely nodded. As Lloyd stepped forward to grasp the hammer, Glo swore he heard her say under her breath. “Boys and their toys.” He looked over at the women warrior, but her expression remained innocent. Still, her eyes danced with amusement.

  Lloyd reached down and tried to lift the hammer with one hand. He could barely budge it. He shook his head, then rubbed both his hands together. Lloyd reached down, grasped the handle with both hands, and gave a mighty heave. The hammer slowly lifted off the ground. Once off the ground, he was able to carry it, but wielding it as a weapon would be a whole different matter.