Secrets of the Elders Kindle Version

by David Matthew Almond

  When he caught scent of the boar, Corbin quickly found himself alone. He had tracked it all the way up the side of Mount Monkton, which climbed high in the air toward the massive caverns ceiling, before deciding it was time to try a different tactic and reverse roles so that the boar would be coming to him instead.

  Knowing this region from his childhood explorations with his older brother, Logan, he quickly left the path and set out through the forest. As if he were bred for it, Corbin scaled the nearby roots of a great ract tree, careful to avoid its notoriously sharp, barbed branches. The gnarled trunk stretched high up toward the cavern ceiling and angled to bask in the light of the Great Crystal, feeding off its generously radiating energy. He did not need to go even a third of the way up before he found a large enough branch jutting over his attack point.

  Swinging himself up to straddle the branch, Corbin made fast work of stripping down to necessity for his next move. He would need to be quick on his feet if the rumors of the boar’s prowess were even half-true.

  Now Corbin found himself down to his breeches, tightly tied at the ankles around his boots. Strapped across his back was a spear that was taller than the length of his whole body by a solid foot. In his right hand, he gripped the hilt of his trusty curved dagger.

  After hours of anticipation, Corbin tensed his muscles, hearing a rustling sound. On either side of the clearing below were slabs of rock that provided a natural boundary he could trap the boar within. All he had to do was stop it from fleeing into the brush. A large wet snout poked through the dense green foliage, sniffing the air for the truffles he had hidden at the base of a nearby tree and feeling the ground for enemy vibrations with tentacles that waved back and forth from between the curved tusks of its mouth. Adrenaline flooded his body, as his prey was finally here! Cautiously entering the clearing, the brown furry beast looked about once more for potential enemies, then decided it was safe and made for the tree.

  No sooner was it in the clearing, than Corbin was dropping from his perch to attack. In an instant, his legs snapped out into a straight line, twirling his body into a spinning arrow dive, with his blade held straight forward, aimed at the boar’s skull. The sheer force of gravity alone should have provided sufficient strength to rip the blade clean through his prey’s head.

  The beast shifted weight to its hindquarters and let a charged tentacle from its open jaws whip out, aiming for Corbin’s chest. One touch from the tingling pod at its end could paralyze him long enough to mean certain death! Barely shifting his body in time, Corbin’s weapon crossed his chest to deflect the deadly thing, although not fast enough to avoid the tip of the tentacle, which sent a pulse of energy rippling through the iron and into his fingertips. The blade ripped out of his grasp as a tingling numbness coursed through his knuckles and he found himself crashing into the side of the boar.

  Hitting the ground in a tuck and roll maneuver, Corbin quickly sprang to his feet whipping his long spear out to defend himself. The boar was already circling him, it’s long snakelike tentacles waving ominously, protruding from just below its gaping maw. There was no way he would be able to get a clean slice at it to disable the boar’s strongest weapon, without having his arm locked in the beast’s powerful snapping jaws.

  A grunt was all the warning Corbin needed to back up, running up the side of the stone column as the boar came in for the attack. Again he was nearly too late as the tentacle wrapped itself around his spear. Although, this time the swine was surprised as Corbin changed his trajectory, doing a backflip off the column and planting a boot hard and sure into its ribs. The large creature let out a painful squeal as the bones snapped inward, rolling the beast over in pain.

  Sensing the killing blow close at hand, Corbin hit the ground running. Once again, he cursed himself for his foolishness at charging in too eagerly as pain flared up through his torso. “This boar has more wits than any animal has a right to,” he thought. The tentacle had scored a solid hit to his ankle. Panic flashed through his mind as he fell to one knee, unable to feel the muscles in his left foot. He watched in agonizing horror as the boar whipped its head up, hurtling him backward into a nearby tree. With barely any time to react, Corbin wrenched his spear up into a nearby cluster of vines trapping him in their thick net. He was exposed but it was far better than having the wind knocked out of his lungs and a potential concussion.

  “This boar is a dangerous beast...maybe I should have heeded Gunter’s warning,” he admitted to himself, wheezing as he untangled from the vines, dropping back to the ground. His vision cleared slightly from the pain to show the boar was nowhere in sight. On his left was a dense expanse of brush, in front of him squirming on the ground lie the pod-like tip of one of the boar’s paralyzing tentacles. Corbin grinned wryly to himself at his dumb luck.

  He dragged his numb, locked foot in a circle while his lone arm still gracefully weaved the long spear in front of his path. A shift of light to the right gave away the beast’s deadly charge. With the mastery from years spent honing his skills, Corbin leapt straight up into the air as it stampeded by under him, squealing in outrage as if it knew this was the end, just before Corbin’s spear shot down hard, goring cleanly through the beast’s neck. Gurgling blood, the boar rolled over and over again, stuck in the momentum of its charge, slamming with a dim thud against the oversized stone barrier behind him.

  “Thank the All-Father.” Corbin sighed in relief, crossing his heart as he looked to the Great Crystal in gratitude.

  It took a good two hours before he regained enough feeling in his hand to grasp the blade from the brush where it had fallen. And another still, before he could even feel his foot enough to stand steady. Corbin took time gutting his prize, respecting the boar with an honorable offering of blood to Acadia’s soil. The head he buried in a makeshift stone grave so that the Great Boar could return to the light of Baetylus above. Even a boar deserved respect for the warrior’s spirit, giving it a proper burial.

  The swine was so large that he had to tie many large, flat, tough roots and leaves from an etin tree together to create a makeshift sled so he could drag the meat back to Riverbell. Corbin’s hands were sore from all the work and he decided it would be wise to take a short rest before setting off since nightfall was rapidly approaching.

  From his seat on the edge of the cliff, Corbin could see a far distance, revealing a good section of the cavern of New Fal. He gazed out across the landscape from his high vantage point on the mountainside. Close below him the land curved up and around the base of this behemoth of a stalagmite that was broken long ago from reaching up to the cavern’s ceiling. The top of the cavern was so high Corbin barely believed it existed, except for the few times they went up the nearby Gratunmite Mountain, to actually see a close part of the ceiling, which was littered with purple stalactites. The ceiling was all dead and littered with the massive sharp cones that could fall any moment, crushing the valley below under their mighty weight. The expanse of New Fal was virtually teeming with life from the lush woody forests, which spanned for miles, divided by long valleys with deep chasms that disappeared far into the core of Acadia. Faraway in the distance, he could see the glittering reflection of their god, the Great Crystal Baetylus, sparkling across the still waters of Lake Ul’toh.

  Gazing out at all this beauty, his chest swelled with pride over today’s hunt. With his catch, the Culhada feast would be grand this year, bringing much fortune to his people. He wished Logan could be here with him, like when they were kids and just as quickly lamented the reality that he would not look at it the same way. Where Corbin saw beauty and wonder, Logan saw lack of excitement and boredom. Corbin just could not understand his older brother’s obsession with the capitol city of Fal and nearby kingdom of Malbec. To him it represented the same sins that humanity had brought upon itself, forcing the pilgrimage to the core of Acadia in the first place.

  “Why can’t he see how fortunate we are to have all this grandeur, living in the splendor of the A
ll-Father’s blessing?” He wondered, shaking his head absently at the notion.

  Corbin admired the Crystal floating far to the west, high above the kingdom of New Fal. The wise ones compared Baetylus to Sol, which floated in the heavens above the surface world of Acadia. Corbin kneeled down in prayer, offering thanks to the All-Father for providing everything below it with life. Without their god’s radiant azure blue energy, which bathed the land, there would be no way to survive. Soon the Crystal’s light would go out, signaling the beginning of the Culhada, a time for their god’s rebirth. It was already dim enough that he could stare openly at Baetylus without wincing, so that Corbin could trace its long sharp edges with his finger in the air.

  When they were children, he used to try to make pictures out of the things he and Logan saw when they stared at the Crystal during Culhada. He found himself nostalgically doing this again, forming the Great Boar in the air as if it were crashing toward him. Suddenly a spark of light flared in the bright Crystal’s center, causing Corbin to flinch to the side, covering his stinging eyes.

  “What was that?” he thought to himself. A strange reflection of light in Corbin’s peripheral vision caught his attention. Deep down in the valley something was moving, and it was large!

  With his heart racing, Corbin jumped to his feet and whipped out his bi-vision scope. Holding the lenses to his eyes, the valley below magnified into view. With a flick of his thumb, he focused the scope and began frantically searching for another sign of movement.

  “Skex!!” Corbin shouted aloud in fear and disbelief. The giant insects were not a common sight in the cavern of New Fal. They were about the size of a man, looking like some sort of monstrously oversized flying scorpion, with translucent wings that resembled a dragonfly, and armored in a thick black exoskeleton that was not easily penetrated. Their eyes glowed red and they had mouths lined with razor sharp teeth and filled with grotesque tentacles. It took three or four good men to take down one, when the rare occasion occurred that the beasts wandered near the village. It was the type of battle no hunter in his right mind relished, and many had lost loved ones to the foul, carnivorous insects. Corbin had seen maybe two his entire life. He sucked in air realizing he was not breathing as he was in shock over the spectacle below.

  There had to be hundreds of the flying monsters down in the valley traveling in a massive swarm, unlike anything his people had ever known!

  “What could they be doing out here?” he thought, frantically hoping for an explanation that did not involve having to battle the overwhelming horde. When a flare of light rose from the center of his village, followed by another, each one bursting into colorful glowing flowers, it was as if the Crystal itself answered him.

  “Curse them, they’ve started the feast.” He watched in horror as a swarm of the vicious insects broke off in a strange triangular formation, heading directly for the small village. “They are being attracted to the lights of the fireworks over Riverbell!” He thought in horror.

  A pit formed in Corbin’s stomach, his mind not wanting to believe what was happening. Tiny Riverbell did not stand a chance with its meager defenses against a group that large! Forgetting entirely about the boar’s meat, Corbin jumped down to the lower path racing down the stalagmite’s edge. He knew he had to get to the village in time to warn them. The young warrior’s body was coursing with adrenaline fueled by the fear of losing his loved ones, which propelled him forward faster than he had ever run to warn the people of Riverbell. He had to arrive in time, against all odds he had to make it, he had to save Elise!

  Chapter 3

  Baetylus’ Acadian form grew dim; it would soon gather its energy inside, creating three days of total darkness across the kingdom of New Fal. The people of Riverbell were celebrating, singing songs of the Great Crystal’s time of sleep. When their god’s sojourn was over it would awaken to a brilliant glow of greens and blues, a multitude of colors dancing over the many facets of its keen edged surface, warming the land with the promise of a long growing season.

  The feast had begun with much excitement all around. This year they had a rare treat, having fireworks imported from the nearby kingdom of Malbec. Elder Morgana blessed the plentiful bounty that was brought into the village circle, praising that the hunters had done extremely well this year securing enough food to last long through the time of darkness.

  A flash of light billowing with smoke shot forth from the circle high overhead, teasing the villagers with a momentary pause before bursting into a brilliant crimson flower. The spectacle drew the usual oohs and aahs from the crowd. As the petals drifted back toward the ground it dissipated, leaving a smoldering silhouette, replaced by another burst, this one bright purple outlined in soft yellow like a Lotus blossom. Villagers were singing and dancing all around the bonfire as the Coilden Boys kicked into gear with their upbeat banjo and fiddle.

  Logan was quickly swept away by his friends, forgetting to show any pretense of an injured foot. Elise threw her head up and laughed raucously, showing him she could care less as they interlocked arms, merrily dancing in a circle and trading off with those nearby.

  “Looks like things are getting started, eh Buck?” Watt clapped his friend’s shoulder, causing him to spit out the ginger root he was chewing over the edge of the village guard tower. Staring down from the watchtower the men began tapping their feet to the rhythm of the music. It was not a great night for guard duty, but at least they had the best seats in the house.

  “Aw shucks, Watt, I just can’t wait to get down there and dance with Sally Mae tonight!” Buck whined as he tried to peer up and get a glimpse of the firework display, blocked by the thatch roof of their aerie.

  “Be shift change before we know it!” Watt guaranteed, expressing his enthusiasm by slapping a knee as his foot tapped in beat to the music. Buck took his friend’s cue, jumping around, dancing a clumsy jig.

  He was trying to stay in time to Jonny Coilden’s drumming below, but one of the boys was throwing off the beat something fierce. Bouncing around in his jig, he spun to look down past the wall back into the village circle. Buck really enjoyed music more than anything else in life, taking whatever chance came his way to listen to the performers when they came into town. He had tried to join them last year but they turned him down, saying he was not good enough with an instrument just yet. Buck did not hold any grudge though. He knew there were no instruments he could play with the skill they possessed. However, he may not know how to play the drums like Jonny, but one thing he did know was rhythm and these boys were throwing it off with an awful racket.

  “What is it Buck? Sally down there dancing with someone else?” Watt teased, sipping his ale, but Buck was only dimly aware of the question, scratching his head as he craned his neck trying to see what was going on. He could barely make out the high pitch of another instrument over the sudden cheering, trying to place the strange sound.

  “That’s odd, the longer I look over there the louder those boys are playing…and the worse it’s getting.” Buck brooded, more to himself than his friend.

  “What did ye say? I can’t here you over that awful racket!” Watt shouted, covering his ears.

  By the time hit Buck where he had heard that awful sound before, it was already too late. He turned to shout a warning only to see a man-sized insect crashing into the tower. The skex shiny plates of black armor reflected the fireworks above in a morbidly mesmerizing way, sparkling in stark contrast to the hunger glowing in its lustful eyes. There was not a thing Watt could have done to protect himself from its sword-like legs that ripped his body nearly in half, splattering Buck from head to toe with the blood of his best mate. He never even had time to scream out the man’s name as the entire rocking tower came crashing down, crushing a section of the wall beneath in a shower of stone and splintered wood.

  The attack came on hard and fierce, with not a single warning. Even as the watchtower fell, more of the man-sized insects were zipping down in a flurry of b
uzzing wings and black armor among the dancing crowd, to claim their meals. Logan threw Elise forcefully to the ground, out of the way of a swooping attack. She hit the dirt so hard he worried he may have broken some of her bones. The monstrous creature did a mid-air turn, coming back down for him instead, thinking to carry away the meddling man for a light snack. It was nothing less than surprised when he stopped short, spinning on the balls of his feet, to jump out of its path. The skex was left to crash head first into the great bonfire behind where he had stood, letting out an eerie screech as its eyes burned away.

  Logan tried to make sense of what was happening, “Why would the beasts be this far to the north? And why in blazes would they be traveling in a swarm?” His mind raced, the insects were normally lone hunters and he had always heard that it was not in their nature to attack a town or village for food.

  There was no time to ponder the implications further, with his village steeped in the throes of a vicious attack. Some of the villagers had enough sense to run for any weapons they could find, but it was sheer chaos everywhere he looked. His people were being torn apart and mauled by the skex on the ground, while others were being carried away, their blood curdling screams echoing from the cavern ceiling above. Elise did not move from where Logan had thrown her, but he could see a shattered corpse that had fallen from the sky thud to the ground beside her.