What Lurks Below

by Michael Soldat

  “So, how do we get this thing in? I don’t think anyone knows we’re bringing this ugly mug back,” Nami asked.

  “Well, it’s about our size, right?”

  One of the pair who carried the gray shrugged.

  “It’s lying on the horse prone, right?”

  The other nodded.

  “Stick a cloak on it, and let me know if it moves. I’ll tend to that with great pleasure.”

  They rode to the gate. Lara spoke with the guard on duty and requested an urgent messenger to find the king. They were back with an important package and he must know as soon as possible, she said. Though the guard asked for details, Lara deflected his concern. Time was of the essence, she said, and he mustn't delay. After the guard disappeared, the soldiers heard the messenger trot off in the distance. They followed the noise towards the keep.

  Finally back home, Lara and Nami took the gray and instructed the others to wait for a message, aside from two who were to follow the women with their fallen comrade. Neither knew if this was over yet, so it was best to keep their help on hand. They carried the gray as fast as they could to the doctor’s office, where Lara pounded on the door. A moment later, it opened.

  “Who?! Who’s dying at this time of night?! I’ll- oh. It’s you. You’ve got-”

  Lara didn’t wait for the doctor to continue. Instead, she heaved the gray over her shoulder and barged in the door. Inside, she walked a corner of the room with no patients, and dropped her burden on the floor. The two soldiers following her carefully set the third down on an empty bed.

  “Uh, who’s that?” the doctor asked.

  She responded by taking the sack off its head. The doctor screamed. Nami rushed over and put a hand over his mouth, but several people lying in beds already began to ask questions.

  “Go back to bed everyone, just a late night amputation!” she said.

  “I, uh, what is that?”

  “You don’t know? We brought it back for you to study,” Lara said.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

  “That’s kind of the point. Neither have we, and we’re hoping you can help figure it out. We discovered it while finding a grog queen, and-”

  “A what?”

  Nami and Lara looked at each other.

  “A grog queen. You know, the things with claws, but this one gives birth to the nasty ones, we think.”

  “I’ve only ever heard tales of those things! They’re real?! Thanks, now I’ll be too afraid to ever go out at night again.”

  “You’ve never seen a-”

  The door slammed open. Again, the patients asked questions, but they were angrier this time. In walked Felas himself, clad in night clothes and his robe.

  “By my own beard, what have you done?! Why is that thing here?! Don’t you know what to do with that?!”

  “What’s wrong?” Nami asked. “We brought one back for you.”

  “You brought back an unknown creature that could have crawled straight out of the underworld. You brought it back to my city! You brought it back into my castle! We have special places for these things! Didn’t Robert tell you?!”

  “No! The first time he saw it was the last time he lived!” Lara responded. “I’ve never been on a mission with him where we brought something back, so how was I supposed to know? Doctors take care of people, and this thing almost looks like a person, so where else would I bring it?!”

  By now, several sick patients were yelling at everyone to shut up.

  “Oh… oh no. He didn’t tell you. Lara, Nami, I’m so so sorry, but you have to get that thing out of here right now. As in, stop listening to me. Go! I’ll have directions sent to the western gate post haste. We’ll talk about this in the morning, but please, get that thing out of my city!”

  Lara cried out in exasperation. She picked up the gray’s feet while Nami put the sack back on its head and grabbed its arms. Then, they carried it out as fast as they could.

  “Oh, and dear doctor, no need for questions,” Felas said as they left. “This will be taken care of, just as your patients will be, understand?”

  Dazed, the doctor nodded and moved to calm his cranky patients. Felas nearly jogged down the hall, passed Lara and Nami, then took a left. Back at the entrance, the two women dropped the gray a dozen steps away from their soldiers. The creature lifted its head, but Lara kicked it hard in the chest, and it went limp again.

  “Alright! Sorry to say, we’re not done here yet,” she said. We need to get this thing out of here. Directions wait for us at the same gate we came in. I want you, you, and you to come with me. The rest of you, get some sleep, you have to figure out how to spend your money. Thank you, and I appreciate your service.”

  Each of the three picked for the trip sighed, but remounted their horses. Nami shook her head, then grabbed Lara by the shoulder.

  “You don’t want me to come?”

  “I almost lost you today, Nami. Who knows what that thing hit you with. Please, get some rest. We lost one person, and I don’t want to lose my friend, alright?”

  Nami tried to interrupt the whole time Lara was speaking, up until she said ‘friend’. At that, she lost her nerve and managed a half smile.

  “Friends, are we? I guess I can sit this one out, as a favor. That means you owe me a better fight! If my arms go soft in the meantime, I’m blaming you.”

  “Remember, you’re the one who held me back from pulverizing this thing. I mean, it was the right thing to do, but still.”

  Lara smiled back. The two shook hands, and then Lara loaded the gray onto the back of her horse and led the others to the gate. Along the way, the gray did not stir, though Lara wasn’t sure she wanted to punish it now anyway. There were more pressing issues, such as where was she going with this? She scoured her mental map of the region. Nowhere she knew of hid a junkyard for mountain monsters. By the time she refocused on riding, they were at the gate. Waiting for them was one of Felas’ best messengers.

  “Lara, ma’am! Scroll for you!”

  She took it and opened the parchment. They were to head south, right outside the city, no more than a hundred or so wagon lengths. South of the wall, the terrain turned to hills before flattening out farther down. Lara thanked the messenger and led her three soldiers out of the city.

  -----

  With the moon high in the sky, Lara stood in front of a hill with three comrades and an unconscious gray. She sighed. These people deserved to be at home by now. Alas, duty can call at any time.

  There were many hills south of the city, but the directions took them to this one in particular. It was no different from the others, save for a wooden door standing on one side. Lara wondered how the door remained hidden for so long. Once she looked around, she realized it was not visible from the paths around it.

  “You know, I’ve got family in one of the villages past the hills. As many times as I’ve visited them, I’ve never seen this. I ride by here all the time,” one of the soldiers said.

  “Can’t say I’d expect this to be here either. That hill blocks the view of this from the road perfectly,” another added.

  Lara poured over the directions. The door was locked, but the key lay nearby, according to the scroll. Felas mentioned it being under a rock, but as it turns out, many rocks existed outside. Lara asked the other three to look under anything big enough to hide a key while she watched the gray. It took a few minutes, but finally, one woman found the key halfway around the hill.

  “Thanks. Sorry to make you all come out here, but if I knew about this, I wouldn’t have asked you to come along. Felas' directions say I have to go in alone, unfortunately.”

  Lara opened the door and dragged the gray behind her. Inside, she walked down the small tunnel a few steps before finding a mine cart. It sat on tracks that led in the only direction she could go, so she deposited the gray inside. After a deep breath, Larapushed the cart until it started to move, then got in front to control the descent.

  The tunnel was ba
rely wide enough for the cart, but as it went deeper, the ceiling stayed at roughly the same height. Torches lined the walls well enough to dimly light the whole place. After a short while, the ground leveled out and Lara saw another door. She pushed the cart up to the door and inspected it. It wasn’t locked, but it was quite a bit taller than the first. She tried the knob. This one wasn’t locked, so she opened the door.

  Lara saw a wide room inside. Tables lined the walls to either side of her. On top of them sat papers around jars full of things she didn’t recognize. Some had strange goo, while little creatures sat in others. In the middle of the room sat a giant wooden table with metal restraints. But, what made her pause was the giant figure behind the table that faced an equally large desk at the back wall.

  “H-hello?” she said.

  The figure turned, then rose. Lara thought her eyes deceived her, but there appeared to be someone green in the room.

  “Oh? Who is that, now?” the figure said in a deep yet feminine voice.

  “Uh, Hello. I’m Lara. Felas sent me.”

  “Lara? Where’s Robert?”

  “He’s… not coming.”

  “That is sad. What have you brought me?”

  “I don’t really know, uh…”

  “Diedra.”

  “Diedra, then. We found it in the mountains. I’m not sure if it’s awake, yet.

  “Wheel it in.”

  Lara struggled, but shoved the cart inside. With ease, Diedra picked the gray up and threw it on the table. The gray made a noise, which surprised Lara. Before, she couldn’t imagine a gray would groan or make any other noises after being hurled at a slab. The gray’s arms and legs were bound before she could think too much on the subject. Diedra took the sack off its head.

  “No! It’ll hurt you!” Lara yelled as she rushed to replace it.

  Diedra’s huge hand prevented Lara from doing so. The orc leaned over to look the gray in the eye. As it regained consciousness, it stared back at her. Then, Lara saw it do something unexpected: it began to shiver.

  “Is it… afraid of you?”

  “Very. Its powers are useless against me here.”

  “Then you know what it is?”

  “Yes. I have always hoped nobody would bring me one. But, here we are. It is magic. Not strong, but strong enough. People without magic get scared. I am surprised you got this.”

  “Well, it took some trying. This is the thing that hurt Robert. We had-”

  Diedra interrupted her by punching the gray in the abdomen with great force.

  “Damn thing.”

  “Uh… yeah. We went back for it, and there were a few. I killed one, and almost did this one in too, but my friend stopped me. I’m glad she did, or else I’d only have bloody pulp for you right now.”

  Diedra stared at Lara for a moment, raising an eyebrow.

  “You killed one?”

  “Yes. If magic is what they are, it doesn’t help them much when an angry woman with a sword charges at them. Maybe I scared it.”

  “These do not get scared.”

  “Well, something happened. I don’t know. I killed it, is all.”

  “Impressive.”

  Diedra inspected the gray, taking notes on a piece of paper. It did nothing but shiver more and stare at her.

  “Thanks, I guess. So, should I worry about this? Felas is counting on me to take over for Robert, at least for the time being. They killed another one of my soldiers when we retrieved this one. If this is going to be a problem, I need to know.”

  “I will have to check with my colleagues. These should not be here,” Diedra said as she poked the gray’s face.

  “Great. More pests in the mountains. Exactly what I needed.”

  “This does not bode well. Creatures such as this should only lurk far deeper in the mountains, much farther north. When did you see it first?”

  “We had a lead on the thing that spawns grog, we call it a grog queen. So, Robert, myself, and the others go in to kill it. When we get close, this emerged from a tunnel, and that’s when things got complicated.”

  “They are the minders. Felas should tell you more.”

  “Felas knows about these things?”

  “He should, but only Robert was told. Panic ensues when people find out about these, at least people who cannot handle them. Perhaps he has other business.”

  “Telling me about magic that can kill me seems like a pretty high priority, considering I’m on the front lines, here.”

  Diedra leaned over and stared the gray in the eyes from no more than a finger length away.

  “He is a busy man. You should go talk to him. I will send him my findings and contact my colleagues back home. We may meet again soon, Lara. I am sorry we met under such sad circumstances.”

  Lara froze for a moment and wondered if all orcs showed their visitors the door like this. Then, she realized she was incredibly tired. Suddenly, the offense faded away.

  “Thank you for dealing with that, and I hope you hear good news.”

  Unable to figure out any pleasantries that would fit, Lara chose to leave. Diedra didn’t seem to mind. She was hunched over the table, poking and prodding at the gray. Emerging back into the moonlight, Lara found the rest of her crew asleep. She smiled. They were tired, yet they stayed with her after all. The hills were quiet. The most dangerous thing that could disturb them would be a rabbit tickling their noses with its tail.

  “Alright, everyone up,” she said loud enough to wake them.

  “Have fun?” one of the soldiers said after yawning.

  “Oh, tons. Let’s get back to Thogt. You’re all free to go, though I wouldn’t mind company up to the city gates. Make sure I stay awake, please.”

  Riding back was a chore, but they arrived quickly. The other three soldiers parted ways along the road to the castle. After leaving her horse outside, Lara walked as fast as she could to the office. She found Nami snoring away in one of the chairs, and sat in the other. As soon as Lara put her feet on the desk, she fell right asleep.

  -----

  Lara jumped awake due to a fist pounding on her door. Moonlight shone in the window nearby.

  “Lara!” a voice yelled.

  She scrambled up after nearly tripping on her chair and opened the door.

  “Hello?! Hi, I’m up. What is it?”

  “Come quick, it’s Robert!” the steward said.

  Lara’s eyes went wide. She sprinted down the hallway. When she got to the infirmary, Cecile, Felas, and the doctor were sitting around Robert’s bed. Lara stopped right behind the doctor as she struggled to catch her breath.

  “I’m… here… what’s happening?”

  Felas looked up, his expression grim.

  “He’s started moving in his sleep and groaning. It is not... natural to move like this. I just changed the cloth on his head, but he’s still burning up,” the doctor said.

  Suddenly, Robert’s eyes opened. He saw the king and grabbed Felas’ sleeve.

  “Felas! It’s inside me! Gods, it hurts! I’m dying!” he wheezed.

  “Robert, you have to control yourself! You have to calm down!”

  “My heart is on fire! Oh, gods! Where is my Cecile?!”

  Other patients began to ask what the commotion was. As soon as they saw Robert, they quieted down.

  “I’m right here, dear! What can we do for you?” she asked.

  “Nothing, nothing! I’m dying! Oh, my love, I’m dying! It’s-”

  Robert began to flail around violently.

  “Hold him down!” the doctor said.

  Cecile grabbed Robert’s right arm while Felas held the left. Lara tried to get around the king to keep her mentor from falling off the bed. But, once she got an arm around his torso, Robert fell quiet. The doctor reached over Cecile and put two fingers on his throat. For a moment, there was silence.

  “He’s gone.”

  Cecile wailed. Felas staggered up and away from his chair. Lara didn’t move.

  “No! He ca
n’t be gone! Bring him back!” Cecile yelled.

  Some of the other patients began to cry.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

  Felas shook his head and refocused himself. He moved behind Cecile to comfort her with a blanket from an empty bed nearby.

  “Lara, please, help her, get her out of here, anything!”

  Lara did not hear him, her head now on Robert’s chest. She cried without sound.

  “Lara!” the king howled.

  She snapped back to reality. Lara rose, darted around the bed past Felas, and put her arm around Cecile. She pulled the newly widowed woman out of the infirmary while the doctor talked to Felas about what to do next. Outside, Lara turned Cecile around and held her while they both sobbed.

  “Why?! Why did this happen?!”

  Lara didn’t answer. She kept holding Cecile and sobbing into her shoulder while the woman cried. Footsteps trotted down the hall behind them.

  “Lara?! Lara, what happened?” Nami said.

  Neither woman looked at Nami. Instead, they kept crying.

  “It’s… it was him. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  Behind them, Felas emerged from the infirmary.

  “Oh, Nami, you’re here. The worst has happened, unfortunately. I…” he said before sobbing for a moment. “Please, lead Cecile to a bed somewhere. Anywhere. She is a guest of the castle tonight, and gets whatever she needs that we can provide. I need to be alone, right now.”

  Felas walked off. Nami stifled back a tear as she put her arms around Lara and Cecile. Eventually, Lara broke away from the others.

  “I’m going. I’m so sorry, Cecile. I’m just so sorry.”

  Nami held Cecile while Lara walked off. She made two loops around the bottom floor before returning to the office. Nami had not returned yet. Lara sat in Robert’s chair and cried more. This was hers now. The desk, the chair, all of it. Robert wasn’t coming back.

  She put her head down again and cried until she fell asleep.

  -----

  Left hook. Right cross. Lara was fighting for her life against a gray, but it kept poking her in the back of the head somehow. Magic, she reasoned, until after one forceful poke, she opened her eyes.