Rennie was the last one out, and as the door to the safety chamber slid shut Ben looked ahead. The path traveled for a short distance on level ground, then it began up a steep incline and entered into a pitch-black cave. It was embedded fifty feet off the surface of the run. The hole was punched into the bottom of a cliff, which was made of a black, glistening material—some type of rock. It would be impossible to climb the cliff above the cave, which meant they would have to go into the cave and face whatever was inside.
Dahms started up the trail with Ben behind her, then came Gaal, Rennie, and Sam.
As they walked along Ben sheathed his short sword and took the handbeam from his belt.
"Now we know what the lights are for," said Rennie with a laugh.
"Probably won't matter," said Sam. "Some demon in the cave will be lurking in the shadows behind a corner, just watching for a light, and while he's eating you I'll get away in the dark."
Rennie started to laugh, however, the seriousness of the idea must have struck home, because he became somber and quiet as he trudged along.
It didn't take more than five minutes to get to the cave. The path was quite smooth and manageable with no unexpected obstacles nor creatures to bar their way. Dahms turned her light on, as did Ben and the other two, then she stepped through the entrance.
Ben was sure it wasn't the cool breeze blowing gently through the opening that made Dahms shudder. He looked over her shoulder as she shone her light ahead looking into the depths of the tunnel. The light disappeared into the blackness.
Dahms took a few steps and stopped, “My light is not enough to cover all the darkness.”
From top to bottom the cave was a mere seven feet, but the pattern of the light from the handbeams was small in diameter. “Yeah,” said Ben. “You shine yours at the bottom, and I’ll shine mine at the ceiling.”
The combination of the two lights lit up the periphery of the tunnel, and they started forward again. The light reflected off the black material of the cave in sparkles like the moon off black waters.
They walked slowly, their running shoes making no sound against the surface of the tunnel floor, and whenever there was a phantom noise from ahead Dahms would stop and strain to listen while peering intently into the blackness.
As they progressed further into the bowels of the small mountain the light from the entrance grew dimmer. And the blackness crowded in behind them.
"Look!" yelled Rennie, pointing with his light.
Dahms, Ben, and Gaal turned and followed his beam with their eyes—expecting the worst, but a few feet in front of Rennie, where Dahms, Ben, and Gaal had just walked, lay a shiny object on the floor of the cave, glittering in the light.
“I already saw it,” said Dahms.
Rennie bent over and picked it up. "A Zen I crystal," he said. "Why, it's gotta be worth a fortune. And look. There's more."
In the light ahead of Dahms the floor was strewn with shiny crystals. Most of them were small, but some were the size of a man's fist. As the light hit them they glimmered throwing rainbow patterns on the walls and ceiling and bringing an eerie colorful brightness to the dark tunnel. Their scintillating colors portrayed their elemental combination as the real thing, Zen I.
"Leave it," said Dahms. "It's a trick."
"Can't be," whined Rennie. And then he said. "It's not a trick. Remember how they left the handbeams. We needed them, and we'll need these later."
"It's a trick," repeated Dahms. "Hurd is luring you into a trap." She turned and started down the tunnel with Ben and Gaal following.
"It's not a trick," laughed Rennie.
Ben could hear Sam as he stepped around Rennie, "You're a blithering idiot," he said. "You can't hold your sword, the light, and the crystals all at the same time. Not unless you’re three handed."
Dahms slowed her pace. “Something, soon,” she said.
“Yeah,” agreed Ben. He could almost feel it in his bones.
As Rennie fell further behind, Sam caught up with Ben. "Let me in front," he said. "Without a light I can't see the floor." Sam pushed his way past him.
Abruptly, and without warning, they walked into a large empty chamber. Dahms came to a halt so fast that Sam nearly ran up her backside. He turned at the last split second and stepped beside her while grabbing her shoulder to keep from tripping over more Zen I crystals.
Ben stepped to the other side and together their lights quickly circled the room, exploring the corners, the ceiling, the walls, and the floor. The room appeared to be empty, but it was so wide it was difficult to see the wall to the far left. The black rock sparkled in the light.
"Watch carefully," said Gaal. "There must be something in here.
Ben followed the circling lights exploring the interior of the room, but after a few minutes he concluded there was nothing lurking in the darkness.
"Considering the size of this room," said Sam, "I would have to assume it was constructed for some sort of beast."
"Yes," agreed Dahms, "but for some reason, it's no longer here."
Sam stated the obvious, "Maybe it's because we took the left hand path.”
Ben focused his light on the far wall. "That’s the way out," he said. The vague form in the distance portrayed a door.
"Probably,” said Dahms, "but let’s not be hasty." She made one last sweep with her handbeam. "Okay, move toward the door, and Gaal, you watch our backs." They proceeded cautiously into the room, swords advanced, watching for anything untoward. Their feet made no sound on the smooth floor, as they walked softly and slowly forward. No longer were there crystals strewn about.
They were in the center of the room when they discovered two more doors in the back wall—that made three, one to the right, one in the center and one to the far left. The doors were smooth and glimmering as the light from the handbeams reflected back and formed sparkling circlets of radiance on the ceiling and the floor. Upon closer scrutiny as they approached, they discovered the doors were transparent allowing them to see through and to the other side.
“Hurd likes transparency,” said Ben.
The door allowed entrance into a small chamber with transparent walls on two sides and another door on the back side—not transparent.
"It must be a trap," said Gaal. "The door will shut us in. The chamber will fill with a poisonous gas, and we'll die."
"No," said Ben. "That's not congruent with Hurd's way of thinking. He wants the sport of the hunt, the conflict, and a fight to the death."
"That’s right," said Sam.
The four of them stood silent, staring at the chamber.
"There's no other way," said Dahms. "Except the way we came in, and that's not an option."
She stepped up and hit the palm switch with the butt of her sword.
"Wait," said Sam as the door slid open. "Let's use the door to the far left." He pointed toward the far end of the chamber.
“Of course," said Gaal.
They walked to the far end of the chamber until they came to the door, and again Dahms hit the palm lock. The door slid open. She hesitated a moment as she looked inside inspecting the ceiling, the floor, the sides, and the crevices with her light looking for anything out of the ordinary. But there was nothing to see. So, she stepped into the chamber.
After a moment, and seeing that nothing was happening, Sam stepped in behind her.
Gaal was about to follow, but was halted in his tracks when the transparent door slid shut in front of him. He was startled at first, but after he regained his senses, he kicked the palm switch with his foot. Nothing happened so he kicked it several more times. Finally, he lunged against the door with the full weight of his body, but the door stood firm.
“It won’t do any good,” said Ben as he grabbed Gaal’s shoulder.
Sam started shouting, but they couldn't hear what he was saying, so Sam pointed to the next chamber indicating the only alternative. Gaal made a face, and Ben agreed. “We waited too long to step into the chamber
,” said Ben. “Now we have to travel a route more difficult.”
Just then, a small light shone from the distant tunnel. It was far enough away that Ben couldn't see who it was, even though he knew. “Let’s go,” he said. And they started toward the next door.
As the light came closer, they could see Rennie's smiling face
*
The Aeolian Master Book One Revival Page 47