by Riker Kane
The lead elf in the escort came to a halt. “We will wait for you here. Descend into the tombs and acquire the drake herbs.”
“Um, I’ve never seen drake herbs before.” Clayton scratched his head at the stoic elf. “You mind giving me a little hint about what they look like?”
“The roots are green but the leaves are pink. They are distinct.”
“Okay… All we gotta do is go down there and get some herbs…”
“I warn you not to descend farther into the tombs than you need to. Adventurers seek riches but are unable to pay the price. The beasts lurking in the darkness of the depths are considered dangerous by even the bravest adventurers.”
“Hey. You don’t gotta worry about me doing anything crazy. A handful of drake herbs coming up.”
Clayton walked with Mirella and Kailani through the ravine until they came upon an entrance carved into the rocks.
“The stones are yellow,” Mirella said. “This has to be the place.”
Torches hanging from the walls lit the small pathway for them to walk through. The path led to an open room with a split. Two open doors stood in front of them, each one with a statue next to it.
“That’s great,” Clayton sighed. “We just walked in and we’re already at a fork in the road.”
“It says something here.” Mirella walked up to the small tablet resting between the entrances. “’Adventurers test your mettle. Use your strength or use your wits. The choice is yours.’ What do you think that means?”
Kailani pointed at the statues. “They’re different. This guy looks like some kinda knight…”
“…And this one appears to be a wizard.”
“All right.” Clayton dusted his hands off and put them on his hips. “Strength or wits… I’ll be honest with you. I’ve got plenty of both to spare. It’s a tough call…”
“It’s a shame there isn’t a path for overconfidence…” Kailani chuckled to herself, her joke making Mirella smile.
Clayton rolled his eyes and pointed toward the left entrance. “Strength. I’m a little too tired for thinking.” The other two were in agreement as they moved through the path with the statue of a knight.
The hallway was lit by more torches but the labyrinth was no more inviting. The yellow stones around them were covered in dust and cobwebs. The tombs looked like they had been around for ages though the faint smell of dried blood filled seemed fresh. The path was just big enough for them to walk through. Clayton kept his composure, walking into the unknown with his broken sword raised before him.
The hall opened up into a small room that appeared to be a dead end. Clayton searched around for a place to keep moving but found nothing. “Gotta be something we can do…” Four yellow-stoned statues around his size stood at each wall. “It must have something to do with this.” He walked up to one of them and examined it. “A knight of some kind. Full armor.”
“This one appears to be some type of sorcerer or mage, judging from his garments.” Mirella walked over to one of the other statues. “And this one appears to be larger than the others. He’s not wearing any armor… A warrior perhaps.”
“What about this one?” Kailani pointed at the statue next to her. “This guy looks like a real jerk… Some sorta scoundrel or thief. Reminds me of those pirates trying to invade Azure…”
“Hmm… A knight, a warrior, a mage, and a scoundrel…” Clayton scratched his chin then noticed a small stone plaque hanging from the wall. He walked over to it and narrowed his eyes. “’The combatants have arrived. Duel to open the path. The fire burns within them and it must be satisfied.’ You know, it’d be real nice if the people who built these things just said what they wanted in plain language.”
“Look.” Mirella pointed to the floor. “The markings. A sword. A staff. An axe. A bow.”
“The weapons of the combatants,” Kailani said.
“We’re getting somewhere,” Clayton sighed. “Now how do we give them their weapons.” He squinted at the statue of the scoundrel then put his hands on it. It took her some effort but it shifted on the spot. “I think we can move these things…”
The two women stared at him without moving. “Wait a second… You really want me to move these things by myself?”
“You did say you wished to test your strength,” Mirella said.
Clayton grumbled before moving to one of the statues. As he dragged one of the statues to its spot, he watched the other two smile at him. “You know, it’s just a stereotype that women are weak. I know you two are stronger than you let on. You can help me out if you want.”
“And take away your chance to flex your muscles?” Kailani said. “Not a chance.”
He rolled his eyes as he set the first statue down on the marker. He sighed a deep breath as he moved the next one. He did his best to hide his fatigue from straining his legs and arms. Eventually, he managed to set all four of the statues in their spots. Right after he did, the statues slowly began to sink into the ground. He looked around waiting for an opening to appear when he noticed one of the statues themselves beginning to crumble.
“What is that?” He narrowed his eyes in confusion as the yellow-stoned statues broke. But in their place, bones in the form of the figures appeared, each wielding the weapons they were placed upon. “I guess this is what they meant by duel…
Clayton shot a burst of flames at the warrior skeleton and engulfed it. It struggled from the fire, making it easier for him to cut down.
The scoundrel fired an arrow at Kailani. She just managed to dodge out of the way and throw a knife at it in return. She continued to twirl around the room, acrobatically avoiding the volley of arrows while chopping at the skeleton when she had the chance.
Mirella held her trident up and dealt with the skeleton mage. Bolts of lightning and balls of fire were deflected by her weapon. She quickly took the opportunity to thrust when her opponent had to recover.
“Crap…” Clayton looked for a chance to help his companions but the yellow knight he had to fight marched forward with no fear. “I guess when you’ve got a full set of armor you’re not worried about a broken sword… Try this on for size!”
He focused his energy and shot a blast of water at the knight, making it stumble back. He dashed up quickly and kicked it right in the sternum. The skeleton fell to a knee in a stunned daze. “Gotcha…”
Clayton swung with all of his might but only managed to knock its helmet off, revealing the decaying skull underneath it. He tried to dodge the massive swing from the knight but got caught on his arm, a streak of red appearing on his skin.
“Just gotta knock its head off…” He took a deep breath as the knight got back up to its feet. He quickly dashed forward and slammed his sword against its chestplate. The blow did no damage but bought him the split second he needed to leap into the air and drive his sword onto the skeleton. The skull exploded into dust from the thunderous blow and its body fell lifeless.
Kailani and Mirella were sweating and breathing hard but managed to deal with the other two.
“Making me give them their weapons so they could fight me,” Clayton muttered. “Talk about unfair…”
“The path is opening.” Mirella pointed toward the side of the room. The stone wall began to rise, revealing a lit pathway that descended down farther into the depths.
Clayton walked forward through the narrow hall, noticing how much dustier it was getting. He didn’t let whatever uncertainty he had growing in his stomach deter him as he came upon another open room.
“Look! That’s it!” Kailani rushed up to the ground and picked some of the plants growing in the crevices. “Green roots. Pink leaves.”
“All right,” Clayton sighed. “Gather as much as you can. I don’t want that crazy king sending me back here because I didn’t get enough.”
Mirella and Kailani got to work gathering the drake herbs while Clayton stood guard. He looked up and saw there was no ceiling, just darkness extending into nothingness. The uneasy feeling he
already had grew even more.
“Something up there… I wonder…” He ignited his sword and shot a fireball up to the ceiling. The flames exploded into the darkness followed by a loud screech.
“BB! What the hell are you doing?”
“I was just curious… Probably just some harmless bats. You’ve seen how I handle bats—”
Screee!
The loud scream from the darkness filled his ears and made him grimace in pain. He just managed to keep his eyes open long enough to see the giant bat that had swooped down in front of him.
“Nice going, BB—”
“Just hurry up and gather the herbs! I’ll deal with this!”
The bat flapped its wings and charged at Clayton. He stuck his sword out, hoping the blade was long enough to reach. He just managed to pierce the bat’s body but not before its claws raked him across his open shoulder. The bat ascended before he could land another blow.
Mirella and Kailani worked quickly to pick more of the herbs and fill their pouches. “That is enough!” Mirella said. “We can leave now! Quickly!”
“Hold on a second…” Clayton eyeballed the bat as it circled above him in the darkness. “I can beat this thing…”
“BB…”
“Calm down, Kailani. I just have to time it…”
The bat emerged and swooped down.
“Concentrate… Right before it gets to you… Don’t give it a chance… Now!” Clayton thrust his blade up toward the bat. The bat was moving so quickly it impaled itself all the way to his hilt. Blood gushed on his fingertips. The bat screeched and clawed, bearing its fangs and flapping violently. But Clayton stood his ground until the life left its body. He unsheathed his sword from the bat and smirked at Kailani.
“Impressed?”
“Yes. Impressive.”
“Indeed,” Mirella added. “But I think it would be in our best interests not to spend any further time within these depths.”
“Maybe you’re right… We should…” His words trailed off when he saw the pathway off to the side. “Hold on a second. The tombs keep going down.”
“Yeah?” Kailani shrugged. “So?”
“So, there’s something down there. You heard what the escort said. People come here searching for treasure.”
“Searching for treasure. They usually die looking for it.”
“That’s because they don’t have the Zeal Blade.” Clayton held up his broken sword. “We’re not in Hilamau or Azure. I’ll find gold down there and I’ll actually be able to use it.”
“…I guess since we’re already down here…”
“You are confident in your abilities,” Mirella added. “Let us test our limits.”
“That’s what I’m talkin’ about!” Clayton didn’t bother waiting as he moved down the next hall. A set of steps led down into the darkness, the torches on the walls growing even dimmer. Mirella and Kailani kept their weapons at the ready even though the hall was narrow. The steps came to an end and the hall shortly after. But there was no darkness waiting for them. Instead, they were back out in the open, standing on a platform in the shape of a circle several meters wide.
The yellow-stoned platform stood high above the ground, so far up they were parallel with the mountaintops. Clayton could see for miles in every direction.
Kailani moved toward the edge of the platform and looked down, the surface below too deep to see beneath the clouds. “I wonder how far it goes…”
“This was built by the ancients,” Mirella said. “There is no other way to reach this platform than through the tombs. I do not see the purpose of it other than frightening someone with a fear of heights.”
“I see the purpose.” Clayton looked at the edge of the platform and saw something shining. “That looks like gold to me.”
“Careful now, BB.”
Clayton rubbed his hands together as he jogged toward the gold. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a good sense of balance. It’s not windy either, so—”
SCREEEEEEEE!
A screech filled the air. It was so loud it sent him flying onto his back and knocked the wind out of him. Clayton groaned and turned his head up at the creature slowly floating up in front of the platform. “That’s not good…”
It flapped its wings until it hovered right in front of him. Its wings were so large they caused a gust of wind. The rest of its black body was covered in scales. Its head with a razor-sharp beak and eyes white and full of evil intent.
“What is that—”
“A cockatrice!” Mirella shouted. “Stay away from its claws!”
“Good advice…” Clayton rolled out of the way just as the cockatrice landed on the platform. It dug its pointed claws into the platform deep enough to crumble some of the stone away. “All right… Flying creatures… Nothing I haven’t handled before…”
He shot a fireball at the cockatrice and it flew into the air to avoid it. Kailani aimed a throwing knife at it but the creature was able to deftly avoid it despite its size.
“That thing is pretty quick,” Clayton said.
“We must wait for it to land,” Mirella said. “I can pin it down with my weapon while you two finish it off.”
“Teamwork. I like it. Now we just have to wait for it to come back down—crap!”
The three of them moved out of the way just as the cockatrice dived at them. It landed back on the platform with a thud and made the ground shake.
Kailani kept her footing enough to leap into the air and land on the beast’s back. She dug her daggers into the back of its neck and made it squeal something terrible. It shook violently to break free from her, sending her flying off and onto the platform hard.
“Kailani!” Clayton rushed up to her and saw the blow had knocked her unconscious. He wrapped his arms around her and dashed out of the way just as the creature tried to stab him with its beak.
Mirella rushed forward and stabbed the cockatrice in its side. All three prongs of her trident dug into it, spraying warm crimson blood all over the platform. But the beast caught her off guard, knocking her away with his wing. Mirella tumbled toward the edge of the platform and her weapon slipped from her hands.
“I got you!” Clayton dashed twice to get to her, grabbing her wrist and pulling her away from the edge before she plummeted.
The cockatrice ascended back into the sky, circling for another attack.
“We should leave,” Mirella gasped. “Kailani is injured. It took my best shot. We have what we need.”
“Look… It’s bleeding. It’s not flying as fast. We can do this.”
Mirella took a deep breath and nodded. She rushed up to her trident and readied herself with Clayton next to her. The cockatrice came down again at lightning speed. Mirella held her weapon up, bracing it against the ground and skewering the cockatrice in the chest. It yelled and screamed something terrible, more of its blood gushing out.
“You got it!”
But the beast was so large, even as it bled, it still managed to reach Mirella with its claw and swipe her. The blow sent her tumbling back on the platform, her arm now dripping with blood. She grimaced in pain as she stayed on her knee. “It’s weakened!” she shouted. “You must finish it, Clayton! It cannot stand much longer!”
The cockatrice turned its attention to Clayton. He held his weapon up high as it stomped slowly toward him. Blood leaked from every spot on its body but it showed no signs of retreating.
“Come on, you bastard… Come and get me…” The cockatrice roared as it galloped toward him. Clayton charged and raised his sword up to meet the beast. Just as he swung, he felt the warmth of flames around him. He watched as a fireball engulfed the creature’s head.
Clayton jerked his head around in confusion, squinting in disbelief at the woman who’d appeared. “Jalise?”
The golden-haired mage twirled her hands together, fire spinning in her palms. “Go, Clayton!”
He nodded and she fired another ball of fire to stun it again. With all of his strength, Cl
ayton swung and caught the cockatrice in the neck. Even broken, Zeal was sharp enough to sever the beast’s flesh and send its head flying off of the platform. Its body stumbled around for a moment before plummeting off the side.
Clayton caught his breath, gasping in disbelief at the mage who helped him back up to his feet.
“It’s you.” He laughed deliriously at her. “It’s really you. How did you know?”
“You were always one to test your limits, Clayton. I heard some foreigners were heading for the tombs. I knew it had to be you. Now… Let us return to Shara. There is much to discuss.”
Chapter 26
“This is interesting…” Clayton turned his head sideways, examining the essence tablet in the inn lobby. “There’s one here… There’s no need for this except for Ferrum. So, why is it here?”
Jalise was the wisest person Clayton knew but she shook her head. “I don’t have answers. The ancients work in mysterious ways.”
“No kidding. A cockatrice on a platform to bait people into going for the loot. Real scummy if you ask me…” He walked away from the tablet and took a seat. He swirled his cup around and watched the reaction from the bubbling green liquid. “I would’ve thought this was strange to me just a few weeks ago and now it’s normal. Nothing like a nice helping of fuzz to get me back to what I’m used to. And speaking of what I’m used to…”
He eyeballed the sage he hadn’t seen in so long. Jalise looked just as attractive as he remembered her. The outfit she wore was gone, replaced by a dark red top and a long, flowing skirt that matched. The rest of her body was on full display. It brought back memories of the time he’d spent with her.
“Your companions,” she said. “How are they?”
“Kailani is resting. She took a tough hit but she’s a strong woman. Mirella won’t let a few scratches keep her down. After everything we’ve been through so far, they deserve a chance to relax a bit.”
The comforts of the Inn were a welcome respite for Clayton from all of the sailing he’d done. The lobby was nothing remarkable but certainly cozy. A few of the elves eyeballed him as they walked by but nobody paid him any serious attention. He’d acquired the drake herbs and King Luger gave him the freedom to finally explore the city, though he wanted nothing more than to sit down.