Taragon Stein: The Search For The Soul Crystal

by Jason L Crocker

  Jaramel led the horses into the gloom and disappeared into the tunnel behind us. Grabbing at the hilt of my sword, I freed the blade from its scabbard with one swift motion. With my shield and staff on one side and my sword in my hand on the other, I felt as ready as I was going to be.

  With a final look to Baram, we slowly began to make our way to the tunnel’s curve and to whatever horror awaited us there. As we reached the tunnels bend every new step that was taken, was taken with caution. Baram held close to the outer wall, his spear tipped weapon was carried forwards towards the unseen danger, whilst I held close to the inner wall..... we rounded the bend.

  The sight that greeted us was strange indeed. My light illuminated along the tunnel’s length until it was lost into the cavern beyond. Glowing eyes still reflected back at me along the walls as they had always done, and tiny creatures still hurried from my light. All this I was expecting. But what I was not expecting was the large mass of fur that was lying close to the wall, at the tunnel’s end. I looked to Baram and made a sign for stealth as we inched our way closer to better our view. I thought about reaching for my crossbow with the possibility of letting loose a couple of volleys but decided against it. Whatever this thing was it did not seem to be bothered by our light, and if it were about to leap up suddenly, I would rather have my thirty inches of steel to greet it than the bolts of my bow.

  The nearer we ventured, the better our view of this apparent beast improved.

  The thing was completely covered in fur, a pale blue in this light, but at a guess, it would have been the colour of snow in the daylight. This made it quite hard to tell one end of it from the other. Was that a foot? …Yes most certainly, and there was another. Large and clawed feet, which must have been as long as my forearm sat at one end of the beast. At least now I could tell where its legs were, and its great muscular back. But I could have almost passed over its arms if it was not for the three-inch claws that sat at the ends of powerful leathery hands. Looking at it now, I saw its length, it must have been nearly eight feet tall, and the arch of its back suggested that it had spent a lot of the time walking about on all fours.

  We had approached so close now that we were almost on top of it, and yet still it remained unmoving.

  Baram began lifting his weapon high above his head with the intention of spearing the beast with a powerful downwards strike. Just at the pinnacle of his lift, I crouched down level with the creature and placed my arm out in a gesture for him to stop.

  “Taragon!” Baram whispered with concern whilst lowering his weapon.

  My knee was now actually touching the fur of this beast as I passed the Glowball along its length to inspect it further.

  “Don’t worry my friend,” I said to Baram. “With ears that big, this thing would have been able to hear us all the way from Ranak-Lore.”

  “It is dead then?” he questioned.

  I thrust my sword into the earth before placing my bare hand upon the beast’s body; the softness of its fur was combined with the coldness of the skin beneath.

  “As a Raglorian water bird,” I replied.

  “I have never seen the likes of such a creature before,” said Baram as he edged a little closer.

  “Nor I my friend. Although I have heard rumours of strange beasts living high upon the sides of mountains.”

  “You think that this is one?”

  I nodded my head. “Perhaps.”

  “Tell me Baram do you notice anything unusual about the creature?”

  Baram moved nearer still. His large helmeted head moved from left to right as he eyed the thing before us. “Apart from the beast itself I see nothing,” he replied.

  “Exactly!” I responded. “So how did it die? There are no visible wounds on the body, and no sign of blood either on the beast or on the ground around it.”

  “Perhaps it was claimed by old age,” suggested Baram.

  I shook my head as I studied the body further.

  “Look there… the skin is still tight upon the bones, and the muscle definition here is one of strength that you would associate with youth.”

  I puzzled over this mystery.

  “No. Whatever caused this thing to die from is what’s concerning me, and by the looks and smell of it, it wasn’t that long ago. Here! Help me to roll it.” I suggested.

  “You want to what!” replied Baram alarmed.

  I turned to look at the worried face of my bearded companion.

  “Would you rather spear it first?” I teased.

  Baram mumbled something indecipherable through his beard and then leant his long staffed battleaxe against the tunnel’s wall before bending down to kneel beside me.

  “On three then,” I suggested. “One…two….three.” With some amount of effort, we managed to roll the unnamed monstrosity onto its back….

  Once again no visible marks could be seen upon the body, so I continued my examination up to its face. The look of death that greeted me there through bulging, blood-filled eyes and gaping maw had a surprising look of confused horror about it. The only clue to its demise lay in its mouth. A powerfully structured jaw lay open to reveal a frightening set of meat-rendering teeth. Nothing unusual in this, I was expecting as much, but what was strange was the way that the tongue hung from the mouth. Bulbous and swollen, it looked as if this creature had been strangled, or even suffocated to death.

  “Our mystery deepens Baram,” I said as we stood.

  “We should just leave the beast and continue with caution,” advised Baram.

  I looked into the darkness of the cavern ahead and wondered if some strange unnatural thing was even now watching us. It was then that I felt a sudden warm sensation upon my foot…

  Looking down, I viewed a sight even stranger than the one I had just witnessed.

  There, covering my boot, was what could only have been described as a pool of murky, pulsating goo!

  My instant reaction was to jump backwards, but upon doing so, I immediately fell to the ground as the gelatinous blob held firm its hold. I was speechless as I struggled to free my boot from its grasp! Baram, however, kept his wits about him, and after reaching for his weapon; he proceeded to ram the heavy bulbous end of its shaft down upon the strange puddle time and time again with as much strength in his arm. But each time he did, the puddle of gel would just flatten upon the impact only to reform itself once more.

  “Try the other end!” I yelled. The warm, gooey, substance was now half way up my shin and still creeping menacingly upwards.

  Baram attacked the part of it that was still attached to the cavern’s floor; the keen blade of his multi-functional battle-axe swept swiftly downwards and sliced the puddle clean into two. A relieved grin spread across my face, and I almost let out a cheer in relief. That was until the newly sliced section of the blob started moving slowly across the ground towards Baram. The weaponsmith responded quickly to this new threat, by backing away as fast as he was able.

  The gelatinous pool then showed signs of intelligence, as it stopped its pursuit of my friend and returned to attach itself with the mass that was already secured to my leg.

  Using the walls of the tunnel for support, I managed to rise, I now stood with the warm gel fast approaching my crouch!

  Baram’s eyes helplessly looked at mine as panic started to take hold.

  “Get the mage!” I snarled through gritted teeth.

  Baram gave a nod, turned, and ran into the darkness beyond. He left so swiftly that he forgot to take with him the Glowball staff that I had dropped to the floor. An image of him running into the nearest wall and knocking himself out entered into my mind as the thing continued to ascend. I found myself starting to feel strangely relaxed now, I knew this entity was trying to kill me, but now it did not worry me so much. The panic had almost passed, it felt so warm, so….comforting. I hit the gel with a few pathetic swings of my sword and watched as the cuts in its surface did nothing but reseal themselves almost immediately after my blade had struck.

/>   So this was the mystery of the fur covered beast, I looked to its grotesque face as it lay upon the ground and wondered if mine would mirror a similar expression when the time would come.

  The sound of running footsteps could be heard from along the tunnel as the warm feeling moved a further inch up my back. The cloaked figure of Jaramel leading Baram from the darkness entered into the Glowball’s radiant light.

  “Ah, I see what you mean Mr Oakengood, a strange predicament indeed.” Jaramel slowly released the weaponsmith’s arm so as to better his view. Walking before me, he then leant forwards and carefully scrutinised the enveloping goo before calmly shaking his head.

  “How did you ever get yourself in this situation Mr Stein?” he questioned casually.

  Was he being serious? Here I was half enveloped by this strange thing passing up my body, and he wanted to know how it had happened!

  “I shall gladly tell you tomorrow, that is if time permits,” I hissed angrily.

  I looked to the mage waiting for him to act, but he remained unmoving!

  The young wizard actually seemed to be enjoying himself. I felt the anger welling up inside me as I fixed my stare upon him.

  “This substance which is moving up your body Mr Stein is called a Gloadonos.”

  “I'm not looking for an introduction, mage!” I interrupted, “I just want it off my body!”

  Jaramel continued with his speech, as I was left to wonder what had come over him.

  “It was created by a mage of minor reputation for guarding his horde of treasures he had accumulated over the years. This mage had hidden his horde within a cavernous complex, not too dissimilar from this one,” he said whilst looking around.

  My anger now showed upon my face, as I clenched my teeth and frowned at his coolness. But still, Jaramel continued with his tale.

  “So he created the Gloadonos. Unfortunately for him, he created it so well that one day when checking on his horde of treasures, he accidentally stepped onto one of his own creations. Not understanding their weakness, it travelled up his body as freely as this one is doing now with its single purpose of reaching the airways of its victim. Once there, its sole intention is to simply suffocate its victim until it is dead.”

  I regarded the mage coldly and realised how little I knew of this man. This was not Jaramel standing before me. I had no idea who this man was...Luka perhaps?

  Jaramel fixed me another look.

  “But if you had spent more time reading books and less time in the real world, then you may have known this.” So that’s what all this was about. Finally, I understood as I recalled the harsh words I had said to the mage by the side of the Midnight tree. He was having his revenge!

  Baram looked to both of us in panic unsure of what was happening, the Gloadonos had now reached my chest, and it felt as if I was being wrapped tightly into a warm bed of rugs.

  I looked to Jaramel again.

  “If you’re not going to help wizard, then I’d rather not have an audience at my demise!”

  Just then Baram called Jaramel’s name in a deep, threatening tone. I looked across to my friend and saw that his eyes were dangerously fixed upon the mage, whilst his hands gripped tightly at the shaft of his weapon. Was this really going to be the last time I would see him, I just wished it could have been in better surroundings.

  It was then that Jaramels seemed to have a change of heart.

  “Forgive me, Mr Stein, you have been in no real danger as long as the Gloadonos was far from your mouth.”

  “If I had been would you have acted sooner?” I asked with an edge.

  “Of course,” replied Jaramel with a nod, his old demeanour apparently restored.

  “Now this is very important Mr Stein. Is the Gloadonos cold or warm upon your body?”

  “Warm,” I replied a little concerned as the thing edged it way nearer my shoulders.

  “As I expected,” said Jaramel. “Now please remain still.”

  “I have little choice in the matter,” I smiled back.

  Jaramel took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He stayed like that for several moments before suddenly opening them and forcing his hand together in a clap. As soon as the young magic user had done this, a pale blue aura of light erupted all over the mage's fingers! I also noticed his eyes matched the colour of his hands, the fire that they once held now extinguished by this new illumination.

  Kneeling down he then moved towards the base of the Gloadonos. The nearer he got, the more brilliant his aura became. His magic was now at such an intensifying radiance that even the light of the Glowball’s was dulled by comparison.

  Jaramel then placed his blazing hands upon the Gloadonos and uttered a single word.

  “Yantarous!”

  Almost instantly the warm, cosy feeling turned to one of bitter coldness as Jaramel’s Magic entered into the gelatinous puddle. The brilliant aura disappeared with a flash as Jaramel himself was thrown backwards to the ground… But the Gloadonos still remained!

  There had been a definite change, though. It pulsated and moved no longer, the cold that I felt when Jaramel had touched it still remained, no longer warm it was now as if I was encased in ice.

  “Baram,” called Jaramel faintly from his place on the floor “You may strike with your weapon now as you wish.”

  Baram grasped his battleaxe with both hands before ramming the bludgeoning weighted end full into the Gloadonos upon my body. The strange magically created creature seemed to absorb the blow one final time before shattering into a hundred glittering pieces all around me…I was free.

  Baram grinned, his usual stupid grin, as I moved my legs up and down in joy of their newfound freedom. Jaramel sat motionless upon the floor where he had fallen, his face again hidden by the secret obscurity of his hood.

  Reaching for my sword, I moved to stand over the mage, whilst making sure to tread on some of the crystallised body parts of the Gloadonos along the way.

  I stood above him now with my sword in hand. Jaramel turned his head to look warily up at me, the fire in his eyes restored but only to a smouldering of their normal intensity.

  I watched him as he sat there weak and feeble, vulnerable from the energies he had just used. Now I was the one in control. Now I had the power. How dare this young mage play with my life like that! I wanted to lift him up by his scrawny neck, and warn him if he ever did anything like that again I would kill him!

  Instead, I found my hand extending to the young apprentice.

  Jaramel dazed and a little baffled took hold of my arm and stood with its aid.

  “Thank you,” I snapped as I turned to retrieve my light.

  “You are welcome,” came a reply from behind.

  “But what of the horses?” asked Baram. “They’re still not going to like the smell of this thing!” Baram gestured towards the suffocated body of the beast.

  “I think I may have something here that will help,” replied Jaramel.

  Moving over to the body on the ground, the apprentice wizard then reached into a small pouch that hung from his belt. Pulling upon the purse string around its top, he proceeded to sprinkle its contents all over the fallen creature. Fine sparkling dust gently floated downwards only to disappear as soon as it had settled.

  The subtle fragrance of Jasmine filled the air as I walked back along the tunnel to collect the horses. Baram followed my lead, leaving Jaramel with his unnatural eyesight to make his own way back through the darkness.

  When I reached the horses, I found them to be secured to a large stalagmite, and after their previous complaints of journeying along the tunnel, this time I found there to be none. There was not even a sound from them as we walked them past the suffocated carcase of the beast.

  “Great dust that Jaramel,” said Baram as we passed the spot of the Gloadonos’ attack. “Tell me, do you have anything in there that would quieten the temper of a fiery woman?”

  The mage did not answer, and I did not feel like taking advantage of this oppo
rtunity to ridicule Baram. I knew what the weaponsmith was up to. It was his attempt to engage us both in conversation as if nothing had happened. But something had happened between us, and for now, both the mage and myself were content to be left with our own thoughts. Baram continued to wait for a reply that did not come, as we journeyed onwards in an uncomfortable silence.

  Chapter Nine:

  We had been walking without a word for almost an hour now. My eyes were cast constantly downwards to the ground, as they had been since the incident with the Gloadonos. I eyed each new pool of water with suspicion and approached every one of them with caution.

  I had just spied another suspect puddle ahead when Baram suddenly called out from behind.

  “Look, daylight!”

  Looking up, I cast my gaze to the other side of the cavern we had just entered. There, on the far side, some sixty paces away, was indeed a large opening illuminated by the light of the morning’s sun. My spirits rose as I led Storm hurriedly across the cavern’s floor with all eagerness to leaving this place, and the memories of the Gloadonos along with it.

  Spurned on by a breeze of fresh air, I splashed my way through the next puddle as I came to stand bathed in the glorious rays of sunshine that filtered in through the exit. There I stood and closed my eyes just long enough to appreciate the warmth that I could feel upon my face. After giving silent thanks to whatever Gods had been watching over me, I turned around to the approaching sounds of Baram and Jaramel.

  “Let us proceed with caution,” I advised. I then turned to step out into the world beyond.

  Twenty yards into the northern territories and I was greeted by a wall of solid rock! The wall itself was some forty metres high and curved around to its left. Following its curvature, for a short distance, it led out into a small opening cleft that formed part of the mountains upon this side of the range. Small clumps of white fur were snared on the sharp outcropping stones around the opening in a final reminder to the caves previous inhabitant.