by F. P. Spirit
Aksel glanced around the group. “I doubt the priest made it past that cube. My guess would be he went the other way.”
The companions decided to backtrack and try the other tunnel. They swiftly retraced their steps and soon were headed down the northeast passageway. Once again, Seth led the way. A few hundred steps after the intersection, the tunnel turned north, just like the northwest passage. This passageway did not slope down, nor were there any signs of moisture. After a while, Seth called a halt. He turned to face them and held up a finger to his lips.
Glo listened carefully. There was a faint rhythmic sound coming from somewhere up ahead. It sounded like…chanting.
“I think we may have found our priest,” Elladan whispered.
Aksel nodded. “Seth, can you check it out?”
The halfling did not reply. Instead, he wrapped his cloak around his body and disappeared from sight. About ten minutes went by, when they heard his disembodied voice. “There is a cavern up ahead.”
Glo nearly jumped out of his skin. He hissed at the halfling. “Seth! A little warning would be nice.”
He heard a disembodied chuckle. Glo glanced at Aksel. The gnome just shrugged. Glo took a deep breath and calmed himself. Oh, well. Seth is Seth. He’s not going to change on anyone’s accord.
Seth suddenly reappeared in front of them. He wore a wicked smirk as he continued his report. “There’s some kind of weird stone circle in the middle of the cavern. Our orc priest is there with a second orc priest. They’re standing on either side of the circle and chanting. There are also two orc warriors.”
Elladan gave them a half smile. “That’s the rest of them by my count.”
“Plus one extra priest,” Aksel said.
Glo half-heard the conversation. He was lost in thought. Two casters standing around a circle chanting could really mean only one thing; they were trying to summon something. Summoning magic could be used to bring forth many types of monstrosities—creatures from other locations or even different planes of existence. The power of the creatures summoned depended on the expertise of the summoner. However, magical devices such as summoning circles could control monsters far more powerful than the summoner. It was a dangerous business, and more than likely would blow up in the summoner’s face. If this was the same orc priest they had been chasing all along, he was probably desperate by now. There was no telling what he might try.
“What does the circle look like?” Glo asked.
Instead of answering immediately, Seth knelt down and drew a picture in the dirt. Glo studied it for a few moments, till his fears were confirmed. “Just as I thought. It’s a summoning circle.”
Aksel murmured to himself as he stroked his chin. “I wonder what they are trying to summon?”
Seth’s face went ashen. “Um, guys. You know those first two guards back by the well—one of them mentioned a demon.”
Glo’s eyebrow shot up. “A demon? Are you sure?”
Seth shook his head. “I don’t know. My Orcish is not that great.”
“What was the exact word they used?”
Seth paused for a moment, then repeated the word he had heard. “Dagul.”
Glo blanched. That was indeed the orc word for demon. Demons were evil creatures from another plane of existence. Their sole purpose was to destroy, but first, they would feed off of mortal pain and suffering. That was what sustained them. His countenance grew grim as he confirmed Seth’s translation. “I’m afraid you heard right, my friend.”
Seth’s face twisted into a half smirk. “Most of the time I like being right. This is not one of those times.”
Elladan glanced around the group. “I say we put a crimp in their plans.”
They decided that Seth would sneak in and work his way behind the orc priest on the other side of the circle. The others would wait five minutes, then Lloyd and Titan would charge in and take care of the orc warriors. Seth would waylay the one priest while Glo took on the other. The plan went like clockwork. It had barely begun when it was over. All four orcs lay on the ground, their souls on the way to meet their god, Krieg.
Glo examined the summoning circle. He recognized the markings immediately. He hated to admit it, but one day he would have to thank his father for all the tedious hours of study he’d forced upon him. Glo’s voice was hushed as he spoke, “They were most definitely trying to summon a demon. And not just any demon. I think it was a demon lord.”
His voice grew even softer as he uttered those last two words. They all fell silent, as if a palpable darkness had fallen over the chamber.
Lloyd was the first to break the silence. “I know demons are bad, but is a demon lord that much worse?”
Aksel was the one to answer him. “Yes, well, a demon lord is an entirely different matter. They are the strongest of demons, risen to the top through sheer ferocity and destruction over the multitudes of other demons. Thus, a demon lord has an entire host of demons subject to it, and they are at its beck and call.”
Aksel paused and drew in a deep breath. “If you bring a demon lord forth and can actually control it, you will have an entire army of demons at your command. However, unless the summoner is very powerful and skilled, it is more than likely that the demon lord will consume him or her, and then it will be free to call forth its armies and wreak havoc on the mortal world.”
Lloyd’s face had gone ashen. Titan reached out and placed a firm hand on his shoulder. Her expression was grim, but her words were soothing. “It’s a good thing we put a stop to them, then.”
Lloyd caught her eye and a small amount of cheer returned to his face. He clasped her hand and nodded. “Yeah. Good thing.”
Aksel had begun to pace back and forth. “The real question is, where would simple orcs like these come across the knowledge to summon a demon lord?”
Glo had been thinking along the same lines. First there was all those gold coins, and now this. Someone else was behind all this. The question was who? “There is obviously more going on here than we know, but either way, we cannot leave this circle here. It must be destroyed.”
Elladan had an idea. “Maybe Lloyd can smash it with that big hammer.” Elladan made the motion of swinging the heavy object down on the platform in front of them.
Lloyd shook his head, his expression crestfallen. “I wish I could, but I don’t think I can swing it hard enough to do any real damage.”
A sudden idea came to Glo. “That can be fixed,” he told the young warrior. “Take out the hammer.”
Lloyd glanced at Glo, his expression uncertain, but he retrieved the hammer from his pack anyway. At the same time, Glo reached into a bag on his belt and pulled out some brown hairs. He held them in one hand and began his spell. He made the appropriate hand gestures, then reached out and touched Lloyd on the shoulder while speaking the words, “Taurus Vires.”
Lloyd’s body began to glow with a dull golden color. Those around him saw the brief image of a bull’s head appear over him. The young man suddenly straightened, lifting the hammer well above his head and swinging it with ease.
Lloyd was elated. “Wow! I feel ten times stronger.”
A broad smile spread over Glo’s face. The spell hadn’t really increased his strength all that much, but it was just enough to be effective. Lloyd grinned as he walked over to the stone circle. He climbed onto it and stood in the very center. Hoisting the hammer over his head, he brought it down with incredible force.
Bam!
The tremendous bang was followed by the sound of cracking stone. The ground beneath the companions’ feet trembled.
Elladan cheered Lloyd on. “That was one heck of a blow!”
“I’ll say,” Titan agreed. There was the slightest trace of envy in her eyes.
Lloyd lifted the hammer high over his head once again and brought it down heavily onto the st
one circle.
Bam!
Another huge bang rang out, followed by more cracking stone. Again the ground trembled beneath their feet. This time, something small hit Glo on the shoulder. He looked up and saw tiny bits of rubble falling from the cave’s ceiling. It subsided after a few moments, but it gave Glo an uneasy feeling.
Seth scowled at the exuberant warrior. “Lloyd! Be careful with that thing. Do you want to bring the whole ceiling crashing down on us?”
Lloyd looked down at him, the sweat now openly streaming down his face. “Just one more should do it.” His expression was determined as he hefted the hammer high above his head.
They braced themselves as he brought the heavy weapon down one more time on the stone platform.
Wham!
There was a resounding crash, followed by a deep rumbling. The entire stone structure fragmented and broke into pieces. Tiny bits of rubble fell from the ceiling above but thankfully subsided. Lloyd slowly waded out of the remains of the stone circle, a look of satisfaction on his face. They all gathered around the young warrior.
As he climbed out of the rubble, Elladan reached forward and clasped him on the shoulder. “I knew you could do it.”
Titan grasped his other shoulder. “Yes, that was very impressive.”
Seth was not quite as enthused as the others. His tone was scathing. “We never had any doubts. Not only did he destroy the circle, but he almost took the whole cave down with it.”
Lloyd’s face turned red. “It wasn’t that bad, was it?”
Elladan patted Lloyd on the shoulder. “Never mind him. He’s just testy.”
Seth glared at Elladan, then turned around and stormed away.
Glo found it interesting that Elladan had come to Lloyd’s defense, but that was the effect he had on people. Lloyd was so genuine and honest, it was hard not to like the young man.
While Lloyd packed away the hammer, Aksel spoke to the group in general, “I’m guessing it’s about midafternoon now. We’ve accomplished what we set out to do. Let’s grab a quick bite, then rendezvous with Brundon and head back to Ravenford.”
Bringing Down the House
The force of her blow echoed up and down the passage
After a quick cold lunch, the companions set out toward the main entrance. It would be easier than climbing back up the well for most of them. As they approached the cross tunnels, the sound of voices reached their ears.
“Seth…” Aksel began to say.
“On it,” Seth replied before he could finish.
The halfling wrapped his cloak around himself and disappeared from view. Five minutes later Seth reappeared amongst them, his expression uncharacteristically worried. “There are three figures in black robes back there. They’re headed this way.”
Glo raised an eyebrow. Figures in black robes? That sounded an awful lot like that dark mage, Telvar. “Did you get a good look at them?’
“No, their faces were covered the entire time, but I did hear them say they were looking for Narthos. They were also wondering where the orc sentries were.”
Glo’s eyes narrowed. “Did you say Narthos? That’s the name the elder used to describe the orc priest.”
Seth nodded. “Yeah. The two well sentries used that name too.”
Titan’s voice suddenly rang out across the tunnel, “Look out!”
Glo glanced up to a frightening sight. A fist sized ball of flame hurtled out of the darkness toward them.
That’s a ball of fire! If that hit, they’d all be burnt to a crisp. It would be on them in seconds; it would expand and explode into a storm of flame. There was no time to do anything but cringe. Suddenly, Lloyd was there; he appeared out of thin air in front of them. The warrior brought up his blades just as the flame ball hit. It exploded into an arc of fire flaring out all around him. The flames grew longer and longer, threatening to engulf the young warrior. Yet somehow Lloyd held his ground. His arms visibly shook as they strained to hold back the flames.
As suddenly as it appeared, the ball winked out. Lloyd stood there, blades still crossed, tendrils of smoke rising all around him. Glo was in awe. Somehow, Lloyd had managed to stop the fireball. He caught it before it expanded and held it off until it burnt itself out. The young warrior had saved them all from a painful death.
Clap, clap, clap.
The sound came from the same direction as the ball of fire. A voice rang out in a snide tone, “Very impressive, young man.” A figure in black robes suddenly appeared. It was flanked on either side by two more figures dressed the same. “I did not think that possible. Maybe we should try that again.”
Smoke still rose from Lloyd’s body. His armor and skin were somewhat singed. Somehow Glo didn’t think he would last through another attack like that. Still, the young warrior did not back down. He squared his shoulders and met the man’s challenge. “Go ahead if you want. It will do you no good.”
An evil laugh erupted from under the black hood.
Aksel stepped forward. “Who are you?”
“Who we are is of no importance.”
“Then what do you want?”
“We are looking for a friend of ours, Narthos. You wouldn’t happen to have seen him, would you?” The mage’s tone was deceptively mild, but his words were laced with malice. Glo realized that unless something miraculous happened, they weren’t getting out of this alive.
“Glo,” a voice whispered his name. “Don’t look.”
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Titan standing next to him. Glo nodded slightly to indicate he had heard her.
“Can you make me stronger?” she whispered.
He nodded faintly once more. He wasn’t quite sure what she was up to, but at this point it didn’t matter. It might be their only chance.
“Wait for the dark,” he whispered back. Glo had to be careful. If the mages saw any hint of him casting a spell it would be over. Thankfully, their attention was fixed on Lloyd and Aksel. To help matters, Elladan had stepped forward as well.
“Narthos? You mean that orc priest. Yeah. Last we saw him, he was down at the summoning circle. He was still there when we left.”
“Then you won’t mind leading the way down there?” the dark mage said. It was more of a command than a request.
Glo had managed to extract what he needed from his pouch unnoticed. In one swift motion, he extinguished the light on his staff. The tunnel was plunged into darkness. As he rushed through the appropriate gestures, a voice rang out, “Falder! Give us some light.”
Glo quickly reached out and touched Titan’s shoulder. “Taurus Vires.”
As soon as the spell went off, Titan pulled away. A few seconds later, light flared across the cavern, emanating from a mage’s hand. Titan now stood behind Lloyd, the giant hammer held firmly in her hands. The two other mages caught sight of her and began to weave deadly spells. Glo started one of his own, but then Titan bolted toward the tunnel wall. She pulled back the hammer for a mighty blow while shouting, “Get back!”
Everything happened at once. Titan swung the hammer. A mage let loose with a red hot ray. Lloyd rushed after Titan. Glo and the others backpedaled away. Two arrows whizzed past their heads. Seth threw a knife.
Bam!
The hammer slammed into the wall just as a red hot beam caught Titan in the side. The tall warrior flinched as the force of her blow echoed up and down the passage. A moment later, two arrows embedded themselves into one mage, a knife into the other. The mages’ cries were drowned out as a deep rumbling filled the passage. The ground beneath them began to shake and the roof started to collapse. Large rocks began to rain down all around. Lloyd had just reached Titan’s side when Glo lost sight of them. Desperate cries of “Lloyd” and “Delara” sounded amidst the crashing of rocks.
Suddenly, the air shimmered in front
of Glo. It coalesced into the form of Lloyd, the young warrior tightly gripping Titan in his arms. Shouts erupted from all around. “Wa-hoo!” “They made it!” Lloyd and Titan both grinned, but then the young man collapsed in her arms. Everyone rushed forward. Titan pulled him back up while a familiar figure slipped under his other arm.
Titan’s eyes went wide. “Brundon, what are you doing here?”
Aksel cut off his response. “Now’s not the time! Fall back!”
The companions fled down the passageway, Titan and Brundon carrying Lloyd. They made it all the way back to the main cavern. The rumbling around them had subsided somewhat, though mild tremors continued sporadically. Aksel bade them lay Lloyd down, then immediately knelt at his side. Healing white light began to pour from his hands over the warrior’s burns.
Brundon fixed Titan with a hard stare. “You do know what you did was crazy?”
Titan’s face twisted into a half smirk. “It beats the alternative. And you never told us what you are doing here.”
Brundon winked. “What, love? Did you really think I was going to leave you down here to have all the fun?”
At that moment, Lloyd’s eyes snapped open. He gazed all around.
Elladan gave the warrior a half smile. “Welcome back.”
Glo grinned. “That was some stunt you pulled there.”
Seth’s comment was a bit more pragmatic. “Lloyd, don’t take this the wrong way, but why aren’t you burnt to a crisp?”
Lloyd managed a wan smile. “Spiritblade skill…flame resistance…”
Titan stepped forward and regarded Lloyd with a warm smile. “I never got to thank you for saving my life.”
Lloyd smiled back. “You saved us…I just returned the favor…”