Severed Empire: Wizard's Rise

by Phillip Tomasso

  Mykal watched Karyn’s lips while she talked, noticing the way her mouth moved forming the words. The tear that slid from the corner of her eye rolled down her cheek. He wanted to catch it on the back of his finger, and try to take the pain away. He didn’t. Instead, he waited. He knew there was more to her story.

  “You remind me of my father,” she said.

  “I do?”

  She nodded. “Yes. You do. Because you promised Babe you would be back for him.”

  “And I will. I will come back for him.”

  “Just like my father promised one day he would return for me,” she said.

  Mykal wasn’t sure he understood the comparison.

  “I know I am still with Nabal, or I was. But the only reason my father didn’t come back for me was because he was killed. If he were alive, if my kingdom still stood, I’d be a princess in my father’s realm. He would have come for me. I never doubted his promise. Not once. Not even for a minute. Babe, she believed you.”

  But she’s a horse, he thought. “Do you think so?” he said.

  “I saw it in her eyes. She understood. She’ll be waiting.”

  Mykal’s breath quickened, and the muscles in his stomach tightened. He bit back emotion, and forced himself to smile. “Thank you, Karyn. That helped.”

  She wrapped her arm in his. “You’re welcome.”

  They fell behind the others. Mykal didn’t mind.

  “In my heart, my father came for me. He didn’t let me down.” She wasn’t done. She needed to get more out. “My father was a king, a ruler. No matter the size of his kingdom. He made life and death decisions all of the time. He has started wars, and always fought on the front line in every battle, witnessing horrible, horrible atrocities and death. In all that time, and I know I was young, but in all of that time I’d never seen him cry. Not once. Not until that day when I was on the wagon, and only after he’d waved goodbye to me. I don’t think he expected me to look back a second time. But I did. I looked back. He wasn’t just crying. He’d fallen to his knees. His body shook, and his face was buried in his hands.”

  She cried silently, tears streamed down her face. No sound escaped her.

  “I’m sorry,” Mykal said.

  “No.” She shook her head, putting off any consolation. “No. I’m okay.”

  Chapter 30

  Mykal never saw the openings to the mines. They must have been more to the east. It didn’t matter. Having seen the people who worked them, he wasn’t interested anymore. In fact, except for getting the horses back, he didn’t care if he ever saw this village again.

  Once they reached the edge of town, they went west and followed a road with tall grass and weeds on either side. The mountains were to the right. His neck hurt straining to see the top. It was an impossible feat. The peaks were in the clouds. The snowy caps made it that much more difficult to differentiate.

  The temperature had dropped even more. The chill would only increase as night fell.

  The six of them walked on in silence. Only Quill appeared in any kind of hurry. Galatia and Blodwyn walked side-by-side, and ahead of them Quill and Anthony. Only Coil walked alone. He didn’t seem bothered by this, though. If Mykal had to guess, their guide wasn’t likely interested in small talk or companionship.

  When they walked more in a huddled group, Coil started talking.

  He pointed to his right. “There are a few entrances. Inside is a maze of tunnels. You think you can keep track of which way you’re going, your rights, your lefts, but you can’t. Something happens and you get turned around. People that know these caves better than I do have gone in, and I’ve never seen them again.”

  “That’s what Copper said,” Blodwyn said.

  “So what’s your story? I mean, not for nothing, but you are the oddest gang of people I’ve ever seen together. We were walking and I was trying to piece it together. But I’ll be honest with you all, I got nothing.” Coil stopped walking. He’d turned and was addressing them face to face.

  “Kind of a long story,” Blodwyn said. He leaned on his staff. Although he wasn’t breathing heavy, he looked tired.

  “It’s none of my business, right? That’s what you’re telling me without so many words?” Coil grunted, but was smiling. Sort of.

  “We’re looking for something,” Galatia said. Mykal loved the sound of her voice. It was lyrical. It was such a stark contrast to Coil’s.

  “In the Gorge?” Coil shook his head. “You knew where it is?”

  “Deep. At the bottom.”

  The guide laughed. He pressed palms to knees and bellowed.

  “Something funny?” Blodwyn said, sounding annoyed and a little protective of Galatia.

  Coil took a moment regaining composure. When he was close, he attempted talking. It was interrupted by short bursts of scoffing. “The bottom. That’s what’s funny. You look up. You see how high the Zenith’s go? Those are nearly unreachable summits my friends. Unreachable. Up there, in the clouds, you have entirely different weather. Snow-blinding blizzards in the middle of summer. Blizzards.”

  “You’ve misunderstood,” Galatia said, grace and calm her voice. “We do not wish to climb to the top of Zenith.”

  “No. You want to go to the abyss below. The descent is nearly as treacherous and, perhaps, goes down twice as deep as it is tall,” Coil said. His smile now gone, his laugh extinguished. “It’s a suicide journey you’re on.”

  “I assure you, it is nothing of the sort,” Galatia said, her warm and diplomatic smile never faltering. “You’ve been paid well. So I am not sure what the issue is.”

  “I was paid, lady. But it doesn’t mean I have to like it, or the people I am guiding!”

  “Watch it,” Blodwyn said, pointing the tip of his staff at Coil.

  He raised both hands. It was a mockery. He wasn’t afraid. “I work part time in those mines, and the rest of the time as an iron smith. Your staff doesn’t scare me, old man.”

  Mykal thought he should have been, but simply didn’t know better.

  “The only reason I am here is because of Copper,” Coil said, and wiped his palms on his pants. “I wasn’t paid to kill myself. You guys want to die in there, be my guest. Me? I’ll have none of it.”

  Blodwyn reached into his cloak.

  Everyone seemed familiar with the gesture.

  He tossed another purse at Coil. “Will this cover it?”

  Coil opened the pouch and peeked inside. “This will get you as far as I think I can take all of you safely, but not a step further. I can’t promise any more than that, regardless of how much you pay me. These coins are useless to a dead man.”

  “Fair,” Galatia said, nonplussed by the exchange.

  “Fine. Listen to me now, and listen good. Once we go inside,” he pointed to the cave entrance with his unlit torch, “you do as I say, exactly like I say it. Jump, drop to your bellies, whatever the order, just do it. We’ll get through there faster, and safer, without a lot of questions.”

  Mykal hadn’t noticed an entrance until then. It was a small slit in the rocks. A tight fit to press through. Hardly an entrance at all. “We’re going through there?”

  Coil growled. “Were you even listening? Forget about questions. Just follow direction. Got it?”

  Mykal held up both hands. “Yes, sir.”

  It was sarcasm, but lost on their guide. He hoped.

  “Copper tell you about the Cavers?”

  “The, who?” Quill said, and looked at Anthony, who only shrugged with a befuddled expression on his face.

  “Never mind. Just stay close. Alright?” Coil’s friendly chat abruptly ended. He marched across the field of weeds, stomping a path toward the opening in the rocks.

  Mykal stared at Blodwyn.

  “Stay close. Keep an eye on Karyn, and Karyn, you keep an eye on him. We’re using the buddy system,” Blodwyn said.

  “The what?” Anthony said.

  “You got Quill’s back. He has yours. Galatia will cover my back,
I’ll watch hers. The kids are doing the same. No one gets left behind,” he said.

  “Is there a chance one of us could get left behind?” Karyn said.

  “Not if we listen to Coil.” Blodwyn and Galatia followed the guide.

  “That just sounds wrong. Not if we listen to Coil,” Mykal said, his best imitation of Blodwyn’s voice.

  “Shhh! He’ll hear you,” Karyn said.

  “Wyn? He doesn’t care,” Mykal said.

  “No. Not him.” Karyn patted Mykal’s chest and pointed at the cave.

  Coil stood by the entrance. He stared at them. And while he was too far away from them to be sure, Mykal thought he might be snarling.

  “His hearing is amazing,” Mykal said, hoping his whisper wasn’t carried on the air. “What do you think? Cavers?”

  “Shhh!” She started into the weeds, following Blodwyn and Galatia. She waved him on without looking back, and said, “Come on.”

  At the entrance, Coil was prepared for more instruction. “I’m going through first. I don’t care who comes in next. Thing is, once we’re inside, we light the torches before we start walking. It sounds obvious, but I don’t want to feel guilty if something happens and I didn’t at least say it. We are going to mostly be in single file, one behind the other. Stay close. Even with these torches, it is going to be dark inside. I don’t want anyone getting lost, or falling over the side or something.”

  “Fall over the side?” Mykal said.

  “Foot placement is essential. We’ll mostly be hugging our backs to the stone,” Coil said.

  Apparently, that was the end of his lecture because he turned sideways and pushed through the rocks. He was out of sight in moments.

  The others stood there, a little surprised.

  “We’ve got ten seconds, people,” Quill said. He shrugged off his bag and held it in one hand, his bow and quiver in the other and pushed through the rock. Anthony wasted no time, was right behind him.

  Mykal wondered why they were in such a hurry. Had they really bought into the quest? It didn’t matter if they did. He didn’t trust them. Not at all. “Go Karyn,” he said.

  She hesitated.

  “Go,” he said. He’d come too far. He was not going to be left back. As much as he wanted to stay behind.

  Karyn kept her eyes on Mykal as she made it through the crevice.

  “You next,” Blodwyn said.

  Mykal split his belongings into two hands and sucked in a deep breath, turning his head to the side. Cold rock pressed against his ears. He thought his skull was going to get stuck. Someone inside, took the things from his hand which made passage easier. He used his free hand and pushed on the rock, and was through. “That was tight,” he said.

  Coil’s torchlight cast his face in moving shadows. “But you made it. Get your stuff together, we’re moving.”

  “Hold it.”

  Galatia appeared. Mykal took her hand.

  Mykal stood by the thin opening, and waited for Blodwyn. He reached in the darkness, blindly waved his arms around. They touched Blodwyn’s staff. He took it, transferred it to his other hand, then helped pull Blodwyn the rest of the way.

  “We ready?” Coil said.

  They all slung their gear over shoulders and onto their backs.

  Mykal looked around as best he could. Everyone seemed set. “Yes,” he said. “We’re ready.”

  Coil grunted and turned away.

  It was dark where they stood, but with flames from so many torches the inside of the cave was not as ominous as it could have been.

  The passage was much wider than Mykal had been lead to believe. The ground was dirt. There were dislodged boulders they could walk around. The sides of the cave leaned at odd angles. He felt like they were passing through the bowels of the mountain. The path sloped downward. They weren’t only walking further into the mountain, they were going deeper.

  He heard Karyn’s teeth chatter.

  The air had bite. It grew colder with nearly every step.

  Coil continually waved the torch left and right. There was a whoosh with each pass.

  “Okay,” he said. “We have to crawl under this section. You don’t have to get on your belly, but bend forward. Watch your head.”

  “Can’t we go around that way?” Anthony said.

  Coil held the torch between them. Close. Mykal thought he might have heard hair singe.

  “What did I say about questions? I remember saying something about not asking them. Maybe I only thought it. No. No. I distinctly remember saying not to ask questions, and to just do as I say. You want to go around that way, meet us on the other side? Be my guest. Be my guest, and good luck to ya,” Coil said. He almost spat while he talked. Any spittle that sprayed from his mouth the flames ate. Anthony should consider himself lucky about that.

  Coil dropped to hands and knees. He used all fours to get under the low opening in the rock, taking with him every shred of light.

  Mykal and Karyn locked hands, and lowered themselves onto their knees. “You follow me,” Mykal said.

  The ground was cold to the touch.

  The darkness disturbed Mykal profoundly. It pressed in, making him feel as though there was even less space seemingly crushing his chest. His lungs burned. Were they running out of air? No. They couldn’t be. There were cracks all over the mountain. Holes. Mines. Caves. There was air. It wasn’t as if they were down deep. They’d only just entered the Gorge Caves. They hadn’t been travelling long at all.

  Minutes.

  An hour, maybe.

  Couldn’t possibly be more.

  They were going down, not up. The air wouldn’t thin from descending, would it? Could it?

  Maybe it could.

  His difficulty breathing increased.

  The sensation was bizarre, smothering. His clothing felt tight on his body. Constricting? Restrictive?

  He continued crawling, and ignored the heat in his cheeks. Beads of sweat covered his forehead, and dripped from his armpits. It was far too cold to sweat. That fact didn’t prevent his body from reacting as it did.

  This was worse than climbing deep among the roots.

  Far worse.

  How long was this tunnel? He didn’t think he could take it much longer.

  His back scraped against rock. He had to get lower to keep from getting more scraped up.

  His eyes were open wide.

  It didn’t matter.

  Black consumed everything. It breathed up his air.

  “Karyn,” he finally said when he was certain he was going to pass out. Before she could reply, the darkness receded. Light became more prevalent.

  A flame fell in front of his face.

  The flame from the torch appeared, and a hand.

  “Let me help you up.” It was Coil. “Stay to the left. Keep your back against rock. Slide further down along the wall. Don’t go too far, though. Got it?”

  Mykal let Coil help him to his feet. “Got it. Karyn?”

  “Right behind you,” she said. “You okay?”

  They held hands and slid with backs touching rock. “Me? Fine. I was getting worried about you. It being dark, and closed in like that.”

  “I wasn’t bothered,” she said. “How far do we go?”

  Didn’t bother her. He couldn’t understand that. It felt as if he’d been buried alive. “We’ll stop here,” he said. His eyes were drawn to Coil’s torch. It was a beacon in the belly of the mountain. He knew as long as he could see that flame, he’d make it. He would be alright. “Wait for the others to catch up.”

  It wasn’t long before they were all gathered together. Coil stood in front of them. He seemed apprehensive, looking left and right. He wrinkled his face up, and then let his jaw set.

  Mykal worried that their guide was lost. It couldn’t get much worse than that. If Coil was lost, they were doomed.

  Chapter 31

  “I know about you Archers,” Coil said. He had stopped scanning the area. He spoke, barely above a whisper. His
voice echoed regardless. It bounced around the chamber in which they huddled, and then faded away.

  “You know about us?” Quill said, but it was Anthony that took a step forward. It looked like if Coil said the wrong thing about Archers, Anthony was primed to fight.

  Blodwyn swung his staff, preventing further movement.

  “Want everyone to think you’re such badasses. You all took vows and served your king. You did his dirty business, stealing land and collecting taxes.” Coil’s expression showed his disgust. The flame in front of his nose, conjured images of demons. “You guys got fed up with the bureaucracy and politics disappeared. You left your posts, and fled. Might be the king is the only one who can’t make the connection, that his own knights are living like squirrels and monkeys up in the trees. Like kids living in a fort their father’s built for them when they were seven.”

  “What’s your point?” Quill said. “And you better have one, or I’ll ask Blodwyn to lower his staff so my friend here can rip you apart.”

  Mykal didn’t think Anthony had a chance at ripping Coil apart. Coil was almost two heads taller, and his arms looked a lot like they’d been chiseled off Zenith. In his own training he learned size was not everything. However, looking at Coil, he would be remiss to not at least reconsider.

  The threat sounded good though. It might make Coil think. He doubted it, but hoped just the same.

  “The people that live under this mountain—”

  “The Cavers?” Karyn offered.

  Coil nodded. “Aye. The Cavers. They’re not like us,” he said. “We can fight, and we still might, but it would be different.”