What Lurks Below

by Michael Soldat

  “It’s another building. Twice the size of the others. I think that is where the scratching is.”

  The soldiers moved between the cavern wall and the structure. Inside, they could hear claws grinding on rock. Roughly two dozen paces later, they came to the edge of the structure and turned down the corner. There was an opening on this side, where the scratching sounded more intense. To their left, the cavern finally ended, which made Lara feel safer. If there was anything else lurking, it was off in the distance.

  Together, Lara and Diedra turned into the entrance to the structure. Inside, they gasped as several queens writhed around, each with child. None seemed as ready to burst as the one Lara killed days ago.

  “Queens! Get in here, get them all!” Lara said.

  Despite writhing about in a hideous mass, the grog queens still managed to effectively flail at the group with their claws. Diedra struck first thanks to the superior reach of her war club, but couldn't get in close to take care of the grog within. Lara ducked inside and stayed against the wall, covering the structure with torchlight. As soon as it did, the grog queens recoiled in fear, raising their hands to their eyes if they still had the power to. Though Lara wished she could impale one of the beasts, they were still thrashing about too much for her to safely advance.

  Six humans and one orc trying to move around made the structure feel confined. It did not help that Diedra tried to crush every grog at her feet. Lara ordered the soldiers around Diedra as they advanced on the beastly mothers. Only one soldier brought a shield, making caution an utmost necessity. One flailing swipe at a soldier’s ankles had the potential to cripple the party.

  After Diedra thinned the herd, the rest of the grog queens fell one by one to the other soldiers. Nami and Cecile tended to the creatures’ rippling torsos afterwards. When they finished, the structure turned from nursery to grave. Lara brought everyone out of the structure for a rest.

  “That’s a start, I’d say.”

  “Half a dozen queens, Nami? A few days ago, we thought there was only one. I’d say we’ve accomplished more than a start,” Lara said.

  “I mean, I was trying to be modest, but I’ll take it.”

  “There are more,” Diedra said.

  “How many more?”

  “Many more.”

  This answer, combined with the lack of any celebration on Diedra’s part, dampened the mood. Lara held them long enough to eat and drink before the group ventured towards the opposite wall. They followed it for some time, heading away from the queens’ lair, until it suddenly ended in a massive void. Lara held the torch up.

  “I can’t see a thing out there,” she said.

  “Hold it against the wall, please.”

  When Lara obliged, Diedra looked at a few scratches in the rock.

  “This is not good.”

  “What’s not good?” Nami asked.

  “These marks. They match the gray you brought me.”

  “Marks? It can’t be. Grog are the ones with the claws, and they’re dumb as the stones they live under.”

  “Your gray had marks. These are the same ones.”

  “What does that mean?” Lara said.

  “I am not sure. The grays could be learning. Or, it could mean something far worse.”

  “Wait, it gets worse?” Nami said.

  “Much worse.”

  “You’d think someone would tell us these things.”

  “Someone like the guy sending us into this mess,” one of the other soldiers said.

  “Hey! I know Felas hasn’t been great at giving us the attention we need, but Robert trusted him, and that’s good enough for me. Diedra, when we get out of here, and we will, I’d like to know what ‘worse’ means. While we’re here though, let’s see if we can find any more grog.”

  “We haven’t come across a single gray, though!” Cecile said.

  “I know. The grog are their pets, if that helps. I bet Robert got a few scratches from those he wouldn’t show me. Let’s keep on task, everyone.”

  Lara held the torch in front of her as the group walked around the edge of the wall. Darkness extended in every direction save for their side. Solid stone gave little relief, unfortunately, when the rest of the group’s view was dark. In the distance to their left, slightly off the current angle of the stone, Cecile pointed to a tiny purple glow.

  “Diedra, what in the world is that?” Lara asked.

  “I do not know, for sure. I have heard stories, but they all speak of unnatural things.”

  “I’m not sure we’ll get any answers if we head back.”

  Nami shrugged.

  “It looks like something we should know about, and I’ve got nowhere to be today. Doesn't it remind you of the rocks in that other room, though?” she said.

  Lara was listening, but didn't hear a thing. She was caught in her own mind, trying to decide if the idea of being alone under the earth was scarier than everything else watching them. What she did know was that fear didn’t help her figure out what was going on. Suddenly, her focus returned, and she pushed forward without responding to Nami.

  They followed the wall for some time. As they drew nearer, the purple light in the distance grew. Cecile politely tried to ask Diedra several times about the orc’s life. She wondered what the orc did for a living, and other things unrelated to their current situation. Diedra only offered short answers. Lara began to wonder if this was how all orcs acted, not that she minded. Less talk down here meant fewer chances for something to hear them, in case grog lurked in the vicinity. Then again, she wondered if anyone could train grog for that.

  “That thing is huge, isn’t it?” Nami said, breaking Lara’s train of thought.

  “We are not even close to it,” Diedra said.

  True enough, the purple light seemed to be the size of a wagon at this point, though they still had ground to cover before they reached it. Oddly enough, the orb stayed as bright as it was when they first saw it. When they finally got close to the object, it was the size of a house. Perfectly round, the giant purple orb sat on a massive stone platform that reached up as if to grab it.

  “What is this?” Cecile said.

  "Ah, now I recall. It is light, down here. Grog do not mind it, and the others have exceptional low light vision,” Diedra said.

  “I thought you weren’t sure what this was?”

  “I was not, from such a great distance. Now that I stand next to it, my fears have been confirmed.”

  “Fears? About what else is down here?” Lara said.

  “Yes. We should leave, now. Felas needs to act on this. There is much he should tell you all, and much he should explain to me.”

  “Should we break this? Make life harder for whatever you’re talking about?”

  “Lara, my friend, if you did, you would not make it out alive. None of us would. The best thing we can do is head back.”

  “But we’ve barely-”

  “Lara.”

  She stopped, puzzled.

  “What?”

  “We need to leave. This is the start of something terrible, something which I have only heard whispers of back home. I will be leaving whether you decide to or not, but I suggest you do the same.”

  Lara sighed. Not knowing about things that could kill her in the blink of an eye was getting tiring.

  “I’ve seen how you fight. I’d rather do it alongside you than in your absence, so off we go.”

  The group turned around. Far away, in the darkness, they heard a crack.

  “Go! Run!” Diedra said.

  Lara sprinted, followed by the others. Diedra outpaced them, but adjusted so that she never left their sight. No one looked behind them to see the source of the noise, fearful of a rumbling that followed them at an equal pace. They arrived back where the wall ended, ran around it, and fled to the stone building with the dead grog queens. There, between the far wall and the cavern rock, they hid to catch their breath.

  “We cannot stop for long,” Diedra said, thou
gh she too was breathing hard.

  Another crack rang out in the void, but closer. No one needed to be told to move. They slowed down in the tunnel leading away from their slain foes. This time, Lara kept pace with Diedra, with the rest close behind. Ahead, they heard a slight hissing noise.

  They reached the first large cavern with the smaller stone structures. Hissing echoed around them. Lara led them straight down the middle of the cave, casting caution to nonexistent winds. Once they passed the second set of buildings, two grays jumped out from behind them, one from each side.

  Where the others stopped, Cecile kept going. In one smooth motion, she drew her sword, and impaled the gray on the left before it could even get its hands up. Opposite them, the other gray turned to her, hissed, and pointed. Cecile recoiled, but used her blade in the adjacent gray to hold steady. Once she regained her footing, the widow forcefully removed the sword from one gray and darted to the next.

  “Careful!” Nami yelled, drawing her own weapon.

  Both women circled the gray as it jerked around. It looked at them, then over its shoulder at the rest of the soldiers, and back. Diedra moved in from its side and smashed the creature faster than it could turn, cracking its skull. The second gray slumped to the ground.

  “Everyone OK? Cecile, did it get you?” Lara said.

  “I’m fine, just… it’s like someone threw a really hot rock at me. My back is hot, like something wanted to burn me up, but I won’t let it. We can go.”

  “Really? When I got hit, it-” Nami added.

  “We don’t have time for this,” Lara said. “You can compare wounds when we get out. Right now, we have to-”

  Lara didn’t get to finish either.

  Behind them, something exploded out of the tunnel leading into the cavern, at least according to the sound. The soldiers covered their heads and cowered close to one of the stone huts, afraid that the cavern would fall. When they rose again, the ceiling remained intact. In fact, nothing around them had moved an inch.

  “What was that?” Nami said.

  “We’re fine back here. Did anything break?” one of the other soldiers said.

  “I don’t see anything. Maybe rocks fell above ground.”

  For a few moments, the group looked around. Nothing changed. The huts appeared undamaged. No rocks from the ceiling dropped to their feet. Grog did not mysteriously erupt from some false point in the wall. If anything had changed from a few moments ago, Lara couldn’t see it.

  “Stop where you are.”

  Lara turned back towards the wall. Nothing there. She looked around to see where the voice had come from only to notice that the others were doing the same thing.

  “Did you hear that?” Cecile asked.

  “We need to leave now!” Diedra said as quietly as she could.

  “An orc! What might you be doing under my mountain?” the voice said.

  Diedra put her face in her hands. The others drew weapons.

  “Who’s there?!” Lara yelled. “Show yourself!”

  They heard a snicker coming from behind them. One by one they turned to see a purple glow emanating from the tunnel. Diedra spoke to herself about how she should not have taken this assignment and how she knew it was dangerous. The others grouped in front of her, weapons drawn.

  “Those little stickers are of no consequence.”

  A creature arose from the tunnel, hunched over. When it stood, its head reached nearly half Diedra’s height over her own. Humanoid and covered in robes, the creature stretched its lanky arms into the air. What skin it showed emitted the purple glow that shone before, like that of the giant orb from before. With eyes like the grays, it stared at the group with a smooth face devoid of other features.

  “Why are you killing our pets? That isn’t particularly nice.”

  “Your pets?! These things kill and eat us if they get the chance!” Cecile yelled.

  “How is that thing even talking?” Nami said.

  “Silence! I only want to hear an answer. Why are you killing our pets?” the creature boomed while picking at its robes with pointed nails.

  “Didn’t you hear me? They’re savage! They kill us if they get the chance!” Cecile continued.

  “I don’t see the problem. Fewer of you for when we come back anyways. Do not kill our pets again.”

  “What do you mean ‘come back’?” Lara said.

  The creature smiled a black toothed grin, then stepped forward. Its footfall echoed.

  “You think that city is yours, little one? It was only lent, not given. Your king, dear Felas, he does not want to give it back. Beneath the earth, we have prepared for this, though at great cost. We will come back sooner now that I know you have been invading our lands.”

  “What lands? These are just tunnels under a mountain! Are you saying you live under here?!”

  “I do not have time for this. Get out, or else the grog will feast on you. If you try to resist, I will return.”

  Nami stepped forward as the creature turned away.

  “You don’t get to threaten us like that!”

  She charged, but only made it a dozen paces before slowing down. She kept moving, but each step looked as if it took greater effort. Nami was forced to her knees roughly thirty paces from the creature, who still faced away.

  “I am losing patience. Leave now, or lose your lives.”

  The creature retreated into the tunnel with alarming speed. Seconds later, another loud crack erupted from farther into the earth. When the noise faded away, the familiar scratching of grog claws replaced it.

  “Go! Leave now! We need to run!” Diedra yelled.

  She wasted no time sprinting ahead. Soon after, the rest of the soldiers joined her, unwilling to see how many grog the giant creature alerted to their presence. Lara kept the torch lit by not running too fast, but Diedra did not seem to need it as they lost her in the darkness. Meanwhile, the rest of the group stayed together, moving at a steady run. Behind them, the scratching seemed to keep pace, but neither Lara nor any of the others looked back to check. Soon enough, they reached the fork in the road that led outside and turned the corner towards freedom.

  “Go! Go faster! We need to get back to Thogt!” Diedra said, yelling from the entrance.

  Lara and the others ran outside and mounted their horses. Diedra was waiting, this time to ride alongside the group. Behind, in the tunnel, the scratching noises stopped.

  “What was that thing?!” Lara asked.

  “No time. Ride!”

  Diedra urged her horse on at full speed. Lara cursed under her breath, but charged on behind her. In the rear, the others kept up as best they could. The orc didn’t allow her horse to slow down until Thogt's gate. Everyone else slowed and quickened in cycles, but still kept her in sight. Lara caught up to Diedra and insisted they stop just outside the city.

  “What?! What is it, Lara? We have to talk to Felas!”

  “It’s the middle of the day, Diedra!”

  “And?”

  “And everyone is out and about. You’re an orc.”

  “So? Has Thogt forgotten what an orc looks like? Are they afraid of me, now? That is not important!”

  “No, quite the opposite! But, if this is that urgent, and we need to speed you through the crowd. We don’t need half the city saying hello and trying to see what your brethren have been up to for the past ten years.”

  “Hand me a cloak.”

  “I don’t have a cloak!”

  “Then we ride as fast as we can. I cannot stress any more how we do not have time for this.”

  “I’ll have to clear the streets. Rumors will fly all over the place.”

  “Let them. Is risking Thogt’s fate a better idea?”

  Lara fumed. They both remounted and led the others towards the western gate. Lara called over the nearest guard and commanded them to get people to clear a path straight to the castle. Urgent messages could not wait. The guard ran.

  “How long?” Diedra said.

&nbs
p; “Soon.”

  Down the street, people began to clear away. Diedra did not wait for permission to ride through the gap in the populace's daily business. Lara and the others followed.

  Much like she expected, oohs and aahs tracked them as they trotted towards the castle. Neither Diedra nor Lara bothered to stop and acknowledge the crowd. Regardless of whether they shouted at Lara about the orc in front of her or the fact that the main street cleared out during the middle of the day, she did not answer. Despite being nowhere in sight, it remained clear that the guard did their job well. From the gate to the castle, Diedra's path lay clear of obstruction.

  Unmounted, Diedra charged into the castle where several guards in heavy plate stopped her.

  “What is your business here?!” one said.

  “I need to speak with the king!” Diedra answered.

  “It’s ok!” Lara yelled from behind, catching her breath. “She’s with me! We need to see Felas right now!”

  Though they refused to take their eyes off Diedra, the guards moved aside. A steward came to their aid and ran the message ahead to Felas. Diedra turned to Lara, who led her and Nami upstairs. Unbeknownst to them, Cecile tagged along quietly. They reached the throne room in amazing time.

  “Let me through! I need to see Felas!”

  “Diedra! You can’t barge in there!” Nami yelled.

  “This is urgent!”

  “We know, but we probably beat the messenger! He might not even be in there yet!”

  Whether he was or wasn’t, the two guards stood in front of the door. Despite the orc towering over the guards, they kept her out with the sheer bulk of the two of them in their own ceremonial full plate. Moments later, the door opened from the inside. Someone spoke to the guards, who then stepped aside. Diedra charged in.

  “Felas!”

  “What?! What is it?! What is so urgent that you make my guards clear one of the most important streets in town so that you can charge in here and yell at me?!”

  “All due respect, sir, but this matters more than what you were doing. It is Kelthur,” Diedra said.