by BJ Hanlon
The outline of the ring emanated the same glow. Edin took a step forward, for some reason, he knew what he had to do.
Edin pressed his glowing hand to the circle, it shimmered and disappeared.
A moment later the light from his hand and from the door blinked out to pure darkness.
Edin summoned a small ethereal light but as it came up, he saw the doorway was gone. It just disappeared. Edin couldn’t see more than a few feet away.
Then a pair of small blue lights, flames popped up maybe twenty feet ahead of him. Something told him there was no turning back, he was here for a reason.
Stepping across the threshold he felt a wave of panic. Tortured screams echoed through the room, his chest pounded and his palms became sweaty. In the blue flame he saw noticed something. A form. The unmistakable silhouette of a body.
10
Cavern of the Deep
It seemed like he stepped through a waterfall. Nothing cascaded over him, it was just a feeling that caused his legs to tremble. It didn’t matter. He needed to go forward, an inner drive or was it the flame that propelled him. Edin took another hesitant step into the room.
The humanoid figure in the blue flame split, sliding in opposite directions for a foot or so then both stopped and shot up into the air giving the room an eerie frozen feel. The stories and myths always cast the Underworld as a torturous barren land deprived of water where flames leapt from crevasses in the landscape and lost souls crawled and suffered. Maybe the flames in the Underworld were blue?
He wiped his palms on his thighs.
Edin could barely make out the rectangular black stone from which they sprouted. Centered between the two or maybe cut out of the same hunk of was a raised section. It reminded… no it was almost a replica of a Vestion altar though black instead of the marble or faux marble that was used in the church.
A sulfuric smell reached his nose and began tickling his throat. Edin’s eyes began to water as he coughed, a single one at first. Then another. His throat began to tighten as if the room was trying to suffocate him and his head pounded.
A mournful moan played in his head, a rush of emotions rolled through him, sorrow, depression, fear. All of them calling to him.
His eyes teared and he twisted toward the exit, the door was still open though he couldn’t see beyond its threshold. He wanted to run. Leave this place and never come back.
Then there was something else though, something inside. Happiness and joy, like holding a new puppy and letting it lap his face. It all conflicted like balancing on a tree limb where the only safety is at the far end of the branch.
Edin drew his sword and pierced his tunic. He quickly sawed it through the fabric while trying to blink the tears from his eyes. It tore into a strip and he covered his mouth and nose.
His boots clapped against the smooth black stone floor. Anyone with a brain would tell him to turn back.
The thought made Edin pause for a second, his foot in the air just about to drop. He put his foot back down where it had been. Something told him not to step. He saw he was about halfway across the room and felt like he was missing something.
Again, in the darkness all he saw was the floor cast in the blue glow of the fires. Edin held out his hand and summoned an ethereal light. He barely noticed the twisting in his stomach anymore. The light appeared, though it was faint as if something was containing it.
The flames splashed together and turned to the form of a man. He wore a long robe, his hood was up and he carried a staff in his left hand.
“Nelput offers a gift to he of legend.” a voice said. He was nearly certain it came from the flaming man. In a much eerier tone it added. “Careful to proceed, for failure means death...” The voice trailed off then suddenly, the fire dropped and splashed out.
Edin recoiled as a wave of flame poured toward him. He stepped back and covered his face. His arm felt a wash of heat for just a moment and stopped.
When Edin looked back, there were again two flames, both moving and swaying.
He wiped his eyes again and stared at them. There was something in these… He felt sadness coursing. Edin tried to ignore the feeling and everything about this place said flee.
Despite the warning, he couldn’t. One foot after another. Fighting the hesitancy in himself he took another step.
Edin swallowed, he’d let his feelings drive him here, he needed the will to push past.
He stared at the altar. It was his goal. Slowly, the blue flames swirled. They spun and twisted, leaping off of the stone before dropping again. It reminded him of something.
He trained his focus on the left one, slowly the flame began to take a shape, wide at the base before sloping in and then up. He watched as a waist, torso, arms then a head formed.
Another step.
Edin gasped.
His mother’s face appeared on the head, her long hair rolling down her back in waves. Despite the blue color, there was no mistaking her. Laural’s mouth opened but no words came out, he couldn’t look away. She began motioning him toward her.
He didn’t know how long he was watching her but couldn’t take his eyes off her. He didn’t notice the tears were running down his cheeks until he felt the wet rag covering his nose. He hiccupped beneath the cloth.
Maybe she was alright, maybe she escaped the fire.
“They took her,” the voice said again. “And her.” It was everywhere and nowhere.
Edin tore his gaze away and saw Kesona’s face in the other flame, she was also trying to speak. Her eyes were wide, her finger calling him over.
Edin had to talk to them, he couldn’t hold back any longer. They were only five yards away. Edin took a step and barely made out the faint blue glow by his feet. A wisp of air blew through his cloak.
A flicking noise sounded and he felt something fly past his scalp brushing through his hair. He felt the tug and his mage shield surrounded him in the ethereal bubble. A dart like light sliced through the room in a brilliant green hue.
The shield didn’t matter. He felt a pain on his forehead like an acorn dropped from a tall oak.
He yelped in pain and stepped back. His eyes saw color like the sun that burned into his vision. He felt another. Small points of pain crashing into him. His concentration wavered. His stomach cramped and the bubble flickered and vanished. Edin fell forward just catching himself before he face planted with the sword clattering to the floor in front of him.
A blue arrow shot across his upper back. It seared like a red-hot blade as he wrenched to the ground. Edin screamed as his pain wrenched any thought from him. It felt like he was being burned from the inside.
Then he felt pain in his leg. For a second it burned and then instantly it felt like it was submerged icy river water, but deeper. Colder. Edin laid on the ground, the blue glow of the stone surrounding him.
Move. The thought came to him between the spikes of pain in his body. He knew he’d die if he didn’t. Spasms ran through his body, his eyes closed.
Edin reached out as a bolt shot over his outstretched hand. It didn’t touch but the brilliant green trail was etched in his vision.
Someone called out his name. He placed his right palm on the floor and started to pull, to wiggle his body forward. There was nothing to grip. All of the pain was on the left side. He kicked with his right foot, digging it into the floor.
A searing heat flew past his heel. Get out of the light, he told himself. Edin tried to summon the energy for another shield, he couldn’t feel anything. There was a void, an absence of the energy.
Edin flicked his eyes open and saw the dark stone in front of him. It reflected the cacophony of colors. Edin pulled and kicked again, he couldn’t lift his torso off the floor.
A light blue bolt crashed into the ground before him. The impact exploded in sparks. Edin’s heart raced.
Somewhere just over the crashing sounds, he heard his name being called. He didn’t know if it was real. He glanced up at the altar. The flames and the wo
men were gone.
He’d seen them, right? Was it in his mind or was it real? His head ached, and he couldn’t keep a thought straight.
He shook his head again, yes, mother and Kes where there. He pulled again, the pain tearing at his body, his left leg was dead weight.
Then everything went silent except for his pounding heart, so loud he was sure it was echoing around the chamber.
He had to get to the altar. Edin’s hips began to tingle, then his other leg. One hand in front of the other, he dug the tip of his still working foot into the ground and pushed. Sweat pumped down him dripping to his eyes and mouth.
His arms were burning as bad as his back. Both of his legs were completely numb. Edin swallowed, in the village he’d seen cripples. Their clothes were torn and dirty and they stunk like long dead animals. Men who drank a lot of ale and looked at the world through vacant eyes. He’d rather be slain.
Edin wasn’t sure how much blood he’d lost, at least three hits from the arrows. Maybe more. His fingers were an arm’s length away. The burn on his back was spreading to his shoulders. His muscles shuttered.
Focus, he thought as he reached, pushed, and pulled. He screamed, his yell reverberating through his body and the room. Muscles beginning to clench, his eyes blinked uncontrollably.
He moved his fingers toward the stone altar, a foot, then a hands length.
Edin pressed his hand to the black stone and closed his eyes. He felt a surge, almost like a bolt of lightning flashing through his body. His chest ached and his eyes seemed to go blind with a brilliant white light.
He yelled as loud as he could. It felt like he was being stabbed by rapiers in every part of his body. His heart thumped harder than ever feeling like it would burst from his chest.
Then silence. Everything was gone. All the pain disappeared. He could feel his legs again as energy coursed through his veins like he’d never known. Edin opened his eyes and saw his fingertips still touching the black stone and the room was now basked in the white ethereal light he’d become so used to.
He felt better than when he went into the room. He pushed himself to his feet, groaning more out of habit then actual discomfort and looked at the altar. The top of it was a dark shimmering liquid and inside something glowed, a small blue object, a stone hovering above the bottom. It seemed to be frozen in black ice. Edin touched his palm to the top of the altar and saw ripples expand.
“Water?”
Edin pushed his hand further into it until he touched the object. He felt a cold sting as he tightened his grip on it. A wave of ice seemed to push through him, instead of pain it was soothing like jumping in the river during a particularly sweltering day. Pulling his arm out, he stared at a glowing blue gemstone half the size of his thumb.
The color seemed to seep out into his hand before it completely disappeared. Edin turned it over in his hand, it was clear and perfectly cut. In his mother’s collection there were gems of this color, sapphires, though not nearly this… Edin didn’t even have a word for it. He gawked, turning it over in his hands. The glow, the feel… it was unbelievable.
After a few minutes he felt like he had to leave. He traced his steps back to the entrance though, careful not to step on the area where the rune had been. What was it? A ward or a spell?
Outside, Edin could now see the walls, perfectly smooth red stone with small holes dotting them like a honey comb.
The domed cavern was again filled with the white light. It was as if a morning sun had torn off a fog. Then he noticed the murals were missing.
Edin stared at the spot where the woman had stood and pictured her, remembering her waking moments. It seemed to have some significance, but to what end?
Across from him was an opening. An exit. Edin sighed.
Edin took a last look around and headed for the opening. Somewhere in front of him he heard the jangling of metal and footsteps jogging. The glow of a fire, normal flame appeared in the tunnel.
A moment later, Grent appeared with Horston and Dephina in tow.
“What in the heck are you doing? What happened to your clothes… what…” Grent was wild eyed, his beard and hair rustled. He carried his sword in the opposite hand. Grent huffed.
Edin assumed it wasn’t from lack of breath, the terrin simply didn’t know what to say. He glanced down and saw his trousers and tunic were in tatters. It looked like he’d gotten into a sword fight and had been perforated numerous times.
“I’m fine.” Edin said shrugging. He held up the gemstone for them to see. “Everything’s fine.” A small smile came over his face as he walked past the man and strolled down the tunnel toward the edge of the cavern.
“What happened?” Horston said, the fire dancing in his old eyes.
“I… don’t really know,” Edin said. It was the truth, he knew physically what happened, but somehow, he felt different. Then there was the blonde woman and the trail through the mountains. Edin was positive they wouldn’t want a detour but it felt necessary… as if something woke up when she did.
It was still dark when he reached his bedroll. No one spoke during the return. Edin had lit a large ethereal light for them to see.
“Edin can tell us what happened where we’re on solid ground. Get some rest, it’ll be another hard descent tomorrow,” Grent said, then he shot a stern look toward Edin. “You won’t be sneaking off again, will you?”
Edin shook his head.
Grent moved into his bedroll and started whispering harshly to Dephina as she laid next to him. She was calm in her response and after a few moments, there was silence.
That’s good, Edin thought as he clutched the stone in his palm and closed his eyes. Hopefully, he could fall asleep.
The Justicar stood in front of him with the entire village watching. Torches lit up the night casting an orange glow that reached into the sky. Edin glanced up and saw clouds beginning to form. The thick deep clouds that precipitated a storm.
A smile came over Edin’s face as rain began to fall. Then the drops changed into a thick, blinding snow it dropped quicker than any he’d ever seen. The wind picked up as people started to yell and torches were extinguished one by one. The Justicar glared up at Edin. Suddenly his torch light flickered and disappeared.
Edin looked around and saw he was on a mountain as the snow began to pile up. He didn’t feel cold or worried. He was calm. The snow would listen to him, it’d follow his directions. Edin looked up and closed his eyes as the flakes fell on his head. He opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out like when he was a child.
Slowly, he turned, a feeling of exhilaration all around him. When he opened his eyes, he stood before a snow covered keep. It wasn’t huge, barely fifty feet tall. No light came from its windows and behind it stood a mountain peak.
Edin was about to take a step toward it when it shook. He faded, falling out of the dream and opened his eyes.
He was the last to wake.
Edin stretched his arms before looking into the blue stone. It shinned as if it were just polished. With one hand on the crillio fang, he stared into it.
“It looks like a sapphire,” Dephina said moving next to him. “But its cut finer than any I have ever seen.
“We should be in Dunbilston by midday,” Grent said. “Hope everyone got enough sleep.” His glare moved back to Edin. The man clearly hadn’t forgiven him for his excursion into the depths of the cliffs. He hoped it would just take time.
“Ask forgiveness,” Dephina whispered as she winked and walked away.
He glanced toward the Master standing at least ten feet from the edge and wearily looking into the distance.
Edin squatted near Grent as the warrior dug in his pack. “I’m sorry, I know you told me not to go, but I had to.”
Grent grunted as he handed Edin some meat. “Just eat boy.”
After they ate, Grent looked at his rope. It was shorter than the day before thanks to the Edin and the cavern. He wasn’t sure what had snipped it or when. He sighed but didn’
t look at Edin.
“We’ll have to hike closer together,” Grent said.
Edin was energized, though that didn’t mean he was excited for the descent. While his body felt good, his chest thumped as he looked down the cliff face. Cold wind blew in whistling past the opening.
“Chilly,” Dephina muttered, Edin glanced at her. Master Horston shivered.
“We should hurry,” Master Horston said as his teeth chattered. They took the same positions, the path outside of the cave continued its downward slope and headed into the gusts.
Dephina was only ten feet in front of him. The trail rose slightly before dropping again. About an hour later, Edin was thinking about what happened the night before and how to explain it. He wanted to wait until Grent was in a better mood and they were on solid ground.
He remembered the trail through the mountains. If he closed his eyes, he could still see it, as if it were permanently burned into his mind like the inlay on his eluvrian blade.
The rising sun was still low as he heard a high-pitched squawk. Edin glanced around. There was nothing above, below or to the sides of them.
A second squawk from the east, in line with the blinding sun. There was no way for them to see the attack. Edin’s chest pounded.
“Faster,” Edin yelled as he caught up to Dephina. She was looking for the large bird.
“I thought they were nocturnal…”
A dark figure cut a black spot in the sun. Edin squinted trying to make out the bird. He couldn’t see anything. Another beast to the left, much larger. Its huge wingspan blotted out the bottom of the yellow orb.
It was swooping toward him, Edin’s eyes widened as it got closer. The details became apparent, huge talons, deep black feathers, beady dark eyes and a sharp gray beak that could tear the heart out of a man.
He was against the wall with Dephina blocking his path. His sword was still in its scabbard on his back and he couldn’t reach.
He needed to think. The bird was only a few feet away. Edin pushed Dephina forward and dropped to the ground as the bird’s talons crashed into the rock above his head.