Realm of Druids

by Mark Hogenelst

  The flagstone in that piece of the floor had disappeared revealing that the stone staircase continued downwards below floor level. Saniel had no desire to go down there. It had been bad enough entering the castle courtyard then into the base of this tower. It was cold, the boy didn’t know where he was or how he got there, and just wanted to go home. A horrible stale odour came out of the hole, like what he had smelt in Mrs Mankins cabbage cellar at home. ‘Carlow’ echoed again, this time much louder and the voice came from that hole in the ground in front of him. There was no way he was going down there he told himself. Saniel went to step around the hole to make his way to the open door and out of the tower. He stopped, his legs felt heavy, and he had difficulty taking a step. The Moonstone began pulling hard in front of him, tugging purposefully at the chain around his neck with enough force that it started to hurt him. It was reaching towards the hole. As he tried to move his legs, it seemed the only direction they would move was to step towards the hole.

  He peered past the first step and saw nothing but blackness. The light from the Moonstone only shone down to the first three of four steps. The steps were carved stone grey and cold looking. The centres of the steps looked depressed and warn from much use, however, they were now covered in a great coat of dust and it appeared that they had not been used for a long time. Saniel could see a tiny white light in the darkness further down, which was from another glowing symbol. He stepped cautiously onto the first step with one hand on the stone wall for balance. He forced himself to stop sneezing as a small cloud of dust shot up after the first step. The stone wall felt like it was made of large irregular pieces, unevenly stacked and piled together. They were also wet and intensely cold, almost like touching ice, he thought. He should have been scared, but oddly enough, he felt a tiny thrill as he descended these steps. He got covered in Goosebumps, and the hairs on his arms stood up. A step or two further and he stopped in sudden fright as some shadowy shapes appeared in the edge of his light. The sensation of fear jabbed him in the stomach like many small daggers. Two figures were squatting on either side of the stairs staring up at him. The shadow cast from the light of the Talisman made it appear that they were advancing on him. After a moment or two, Saniel realised they weren’t moving and were grey and black in colour like stones. A closer inspection revealed that they were in fact, statues that somehow appeared to be untouched by time and the elements. They looked like gigantic toads, with a single horn protruding from their forehead. Big bulging grey stone eyes stared blankly into space, and now feeling confident he stepped quickly between the statues and continued down the steps.

  He soon came to the next glowing symbol also set into the wall. He touched it as before, but nothing happened. He did see another bright symbol further down, and then another and another spaced out evenly. He had gone down a considerable distance on these steps, and even though it was still cold, he no longer seemed to feel it as much. A scratching noise made him stop and look forward. In the edge of the light cast by the Moonstone, a giant black rat paused and stared at him in astonishment. Its red eyes reflected by the light of the stone, it gave an annoyed chattering and disappeared between thin fissures in the stone wall. The next step felt like he had trodden on earth. The cold stone wall he had been running his hand along ended abruptly, and the Moonstone increased in brightness to reveal a black yawning chasm.

  A natural rock wall was now on his left and to the right and above he could see nothing but seemingly never-ending darkness. He didn’t like this at all. From the dark on his right, he could hear strange noises. A far away groan and echo, the sound of something scraping harshly over the ground and some sort of water sucking noises. His heart raced as he looked ahead, and a short distance in front revealed another glowing symbol set into the wall. The Talisman still hummed slightly and pulled him gently forward. Having no other option, he bravely continued onwards. Something ran over his foot just as a long cobweb strand brushed his face. His heart raced as he skipped sideways, waving his hands frantically over his head. He passed several open doorways and glanced through them into the rooms beyond as he went past. Some had collapsed ceilings and pillaged treasures with floors covered in ash and dead insects. Rat droppings and spider webs seemed to cover everything. He saw a figure on the ground completely wrapped up in the same spider web. ‘What was this place?’ He said to himself.

  After what seemed like an eternity, he reached the last glowing symbol. It was a small square with four dots inside it and a single straight line dissecting it on an angle from corner to corner. Past the symbol, a large archway was set into the rock wall. It was made of square black bricks, like what he saw scattered above in the courtyard. A faint red glow seemed to spill out of this archway to where Saniel stood. Leaning against the outside wall, he cautiously peeked inside to see a chamber of sorts not very large but carved into the rock. Uneven walls led up to a low rock roof, which looked like it would collapse at any minute. Two of the walls had remnants of what looked liked timber panelling of dark wood. Most of them showed signs of being worm-eaten and rotten, with far more lying broken and decayed on the floor than what was left clinging to the walls. At the other end of the room was the source of the red glow. It was something he had never expected to see here. A small fire crackled and burned in an arched shape brick hearth set into the far wall. Saniel looked around in astonishment, but it appeared he was the only one in the room. ‘Come here child.’ The same hissing voice that had called his name now was close and seemed to come from the fire. Looking around he saw that set into the walls here and there were a variety of tombs, but most were broken open with a scattering of white bones over the floor. The bones looked broken and half-chewed. Saniel shivered as his imagination conjured up various explanations as to what had happened to them.

  He stepped forward into the gloom, his eyes locked to the wavering flames. A semi-upright log toppled over within the fire with a slight crunch sending a small shower of glowing embers onto the cold stone floor. He stopped slowly after a few feet. Strange he thought there was no warmth at all radiating from this fire and the room was no warmer than any other he had just walked through. The light of the Moonstone faded, and the fire went out suddenly, plunging the room into complete darkness. A heavy breathing noise came next to his ear and made him jump away and yell in fright. A multitude of twinkling lights like faraway stars filled the room and illuminated the darkness. They started moving around on the walls and the ceiling. Saniel then recognised them as strange symbols. There were thousands of them, all different and changing shape while moving around each other. Each one was a glowing white light that regularly changed outlines against the blackness. Then a myriad of whispering voices started and got louder and louder. He felt dizziness come over him as he looked at the symbols and the throng of voices filled his head. He fell to the ground and covered his ears. But he did not understand the voices; they were in his mind, continually shouting in whispers speaking a language of words he did not know. ‘What was happening to him? What is this place?

  FATHER!' He cried unknowingly. The voices stopped, and the glow from the many symbols surrounding him seemed to stream through the black air like cold white beams into the Moonstone Saniel wore. The last of the symbols stopped moving and went black. The stone now hummed quietly and bathed the room in a faint glow while it radiated warmth into Saniel’s body. He felt curiously refreshed and stood up. Something crawled over his foot again. He looked down and saw the floor appeared to be moving. A horde of millipedes and cockroaches raced randomly across the floor. He bounced backward in panic and unintentionally landed on a number of these creatures making sickening loud crunching noises under his feet.

  33.

  MAZAMAAG THE DECEIVER

  He immediately sensed that there was something else in the room with him. The insects swiftly scurried away into cracks and holes in the floor and walls. Saniel watched as a darker hole appeared in the black air on the edge of the Moonstones glow. The hole appeared to flicker ab
out with uncertainly in the air until Saniel realised it was a wavering black flame, darker than the blackness of the room. Mazamaag the Deceiver hovered in the air in front of him and stared longingly at the Moonstone fixed within the Talisman hanging from this mancub’s neck. The Daemon wanted the Talisman Saniel wore more than anything. With this powerful Talisman, his reign in the Dread-Realm would go unchallenged, and he would be able to walk the mortal realm as a god. This realm is what most Daemons desired, for there were far more souls to corrupt and harvest. Saniel looked at the black mass. It had no shape that he could recognise and now looked like a black ball of smoke. ‘What are you?’ said Saniel quietly.

  At the sound of Saniel’s voice, the black form moved erratically in the air continually changing shape, but unable to retain any particular aspect, reverted to a black flame. Saniel gently held the Talisman in his hands and raised it higher to illuminate the black shape. He was not afraid. However, Mazamaag was fearful of the Talisman. He knew what it was capable of in the hands of one conversed in magic. The bearer of the Moonstone must hand it over willingly; otherwise, the Moonstone was destined to protect the wearer. Mazamaag knew this, and he laughed nervously. He needed to get it away from this boy before he learned how to use it. ‘I am your friend; I can give you many things. I can send you home and make things the way they used to be.....’ ‘Even my mother’ replied Saniel with a hint of hope in his voice. ‘Anything you desire.’ Continued Mazamaag, but you must give me that trinket you carry.

  Saniel was sorely tempted. He nearly succumbed to the wishes of Mazamaag, but he sensed the Moonstone was directing him in his actions. He dropped his hand and did not remove the chain around his neck. ‘No’ Saniel said. ‘I don’t trust you.’ The blue heart of the Moonstone swam around impatiently inside its confines. Mazamaag’s black outline changed to a crimson red. Hadn’t he called the boy here? Activated the path runes to show him the way? Created the illusion of the fire to make the mankind boy feel comfortable? Promised him things he knew the boy would want? ‘Mazamaag sighed loudly and said, ‘I’ll just take it then as a matter of fact.’ This time he spoke in the voice of a Saniel’s mother. The boy stepped back in fright and exhaled in surprise as a cold pain seared through his chest.

  Mazamaag reached out to the Moonstone. Saniel saw a long thick black spire of smoke in the shape of an arm with a claw at the end protrude from the black flame and reach for him. The stone emitted an angry high-pitched tone. Saniel’s six-fingered left hand reached out quickly and grabbed the smoky black wrist where it turned into a claw. Giving a gasp of disbelief, Saniel tried to withdraw his hand, but it seemed to act on its own. With a strength that the boy did not possess, his hand was closing in a crushing motion upon a cold slimy arm. The Daemon stopped his advance and a surprised outline of a face appeared in Mazamaag’s black smoke. A bright glow pulsed forward out of the Moonstone to fully illuminate the Deceiver. With difficulty, Mazamaag withdrew the arm from the boy’s unexpected iron grip and floated hastily back to the far wall away from the advancing light. His black flame shape curled and weaved around the light, trying to avoid it. He moaned as the light pushed his body into the stone wall. ‘Oh, the power!’ he yelled. Two vivid amber eyes appeared in the black mass and glared at Saniel with intense loathing. Now you must die,’ he continued. Then he wailed in the voice of an old woman and vanished. Mazamaag was forced back into the Dread-Realm. The heart of the Moonstone was satisfied. It had been taken to the chamber below Blackmire Castle and coupled to the runes in the Arcanum chamber. It had drawn on their power, learned a great deal about events since it had last slept and charged its own magic ability. It was now fully awake and was in a state of symbiosis with the Carlow bloodline. The Moonstone had belonged to a Carlow Druid priest of another age and was now strengthening its bonds with this one.

  As Saniel hastily left the chamber to start his journey back to the steps, he heard a few footfalls and slithering sounds in the darkness coming towards him. He held the Moonstone high in front of him by its chain. They crawled, walked, and slithered towards him out of the dark. They were the warped lesser creatures of the dark earth, with primitive souls and easily influenced by a Dread-Realm Daemon such as Mazamaag. With gnashing teeth, an eyeless great pale slug the size of a small fallen tree glided towards him, moving much faster than a slug should. He ran to the side of this thing, and in the direction, he thought the stairway leading up to the tower lay. Another fantastic creature rose up in front of him blocking his path. This had six legs attached to a round hairy body with a pointy tail hanging menacingly over its front similar to a scorpion, but as large as a pony. Its head was attached to its frame by a long neck and resembled a snake with large fangs and a forked tongue. It pulled its head back and opened its mouth as if to strike. The stone hummed angrily and gave off a sudden intense light that showed the surroundings as clear as day. An assortment of creatures squealed, barked and grunted as they backed quickly off out of the light retreating into the dark beyond. They had never seen light this intense and were afraid of it. The creature in front scuttled away quickly for its size and made a feeble snap at Saniel as it disappeared over the edge of a gorge into the darkness below.

  Saniel made it to the first step and stumbled up them much faster than when he had descended. The Moonstone had resumed its usual slight glow and was quiet. After what seemed like an eternity, Saniel, panting rapidly and his heart pounding hard, climbed out of the hole in the floor then stepped out of the bottom of the tower to stand once again in the courtyard. The air was still cold but a welcome change after being under the ground for so long. It was clean and fresh compared to the old stale air in the caverns below. Saniel ran helter-skelter across the courtyard for the gates and was soon standing outside.

  He was immediately struck by a wind that was not as crisp and carried some warmth and humidity giving him goosebumps. It ruffled his hair playfully as if welcoming him back outside. The natural noises of the moors could now be heard, a nearby cricket chirping suddenly, was drowned out by a giant toad croaking who was now enjoying his breakfast. Saniel looked around at the expanse of grasslands. With the predawn light, his view was uninterrupted except for a few Black Thorn trees, Gorse and Brier Rose shrubs scattered about. He had no idea how long he had been in that castle and under the ground. Now he didn’t know what to do or where to go, the Moonstonethat had led him to where he was now was doing nothing. He poked and prodded it, but it was unresponsive.

  Saniel heard the low rumblings of distant thunder. Looking towards the east, he could see the first faint radiance of daylight. The sunlight however, was struggling to filter through thick black storm clouds that were rolling across the moorland towards him. A flock of marsh birds flew west over the grasslands towards the coast in a ‘V’ formation and honking loudly to each other. Was this unusual? Thought Saniel. Were they crying out warnings? Maybe the distant storm had them worried? But they should be plenty used to storms living in the moors. He shrugged these thoughts off as he started walking in a northern direction. He was unexpectedly feeling tired and remembered Mr Shoalwater the fisherman, teaching him that the sun rose in the east and set in the west and how to use shadows as a guide for direction. He had figured that was likely the way Jericho and the fox had wanted him to go to the place they called Aledran.

  After a while, he could see much better as the morning light took hold. The sun was still concealed behind the tall black mountains to the East and to the west of him; a silhouette of moving shapes caught his eye. He could see a line of five tiny figures in the distance. Were they trees? He thought at first to himself. No surely not, they were in an unnaturally straight line. He stopped and looked hard to see if they were indeed moving. They were moving and coming closer towards him but heading on an angle in a direction behind him, almost as if they were going towards the castle ruins he had just left. He felt relieved; it had seemed so long since he had seen other people. He stood up on small grassy hillock honeycombed with rabbit burrows. Standing
on his toes, he waved his arms and yelled out at the top of his lungs. He could see these people change the angle of their direction and come straight towards him.

  Saniel’s relieved smile turned to a concerned frown. The tiniest part of the orange rising sun flashed fleetingly between brief gaps in the clouds. However, as the light increased, Saniel knew something was wrong. A strange white mist seemed to blow around and through these people as they moved in a most extraordinary manner. Their bodies appeared to be continually jerking and looked very disturbing as they moved. Above the mist were low black moving shapes circling in the sky that could only be birds. Saniel was alarmed. He had not seen people move like this before. He dropped his arms and stopped yelling. He could see small birds take off out of the grass in fright and some rabbits run in front of these people trying to get out of the way. He started jogging north and glanced sideways at these people; they were moving surprisingly fast and were now only several hundred yards away from him. The blackbirds in the sky were Ravens, screeching excitedly as they circled above, following.

  He looked ahead and ran as fast as he could. He felt the Moonstone pounding against his chest, warningly. Unearthly wails met his ears as he risked a backward glance and saw the dishevelled white figures with torn clothes and blood-caked bodies closing the distance behind him. They were falling as they were running, to continue moving with the gait of a pony on their hands and feet. They were grinning and howling and were very much like the Draugen thing that tried to kill him in Saltwood. Sticks, grass and leaves were caught up in clothes and hair, and one or two had an arm missing. A white blanket seemed to spread out before them as the grass and shrubs directly in front and behind them took on a frosted appearance. Saniel realised that he recognised some of the faces, two of the night watchmen at least and with horror, he saw the one in the lead and closest to him moaning and gnashing its teeth, was his mother. He let out a loud cry, stumbled and dry reached; he couldn’t run any faster. This wasn’t his mother, she was dead. He had seen her in the house, killed by the fierce dog. He slowed down his pace, exhausted, and had given up hope. This stupid Moonstone that he wore wasn’t doing anything. Why wasn’t it helping him run fast now? Why had it brought him this far to have him killed? These once-were-people things certainly did not seem to have friendly intentions. He gagged and felt sick and dizzy. He tried to run but stumbled again and almost lost consciousness. The things closed the distance to him as he crouched down and closed his eyes, hearing the abnormal footfalls in the grass and the screeching Ravens coming closer. A sweeping intense cold fell over him as he crossed his arms over his head. The muffled sounds of incomprehensive wailing penetrated his mind. Well, he would end up with his mother, after all, he thought as tears rolled down his face.