by Brian Murray
Screams briefly filled the tunnel, but the rumble of the falling rocks instantly drowned out the sounds of death. Black dust billowed through the tunnel, covering Jamie. He was a hard man but he had had to kill his own men to assure the survival of the rest. That was the hardest decision he had ever had to make. Jamie emerged from the black dust with tears streaking his dirty face.
The axe-wielder who had been manning the rope realised what Jamie had done. He straightened his back and saluted his captain. Jamie stopped and looked the man in the eye.
“I had to do it, Petre,” said Jamie softly.
“I know, sir, and I salute the men who died.”
Jamie turned to face the tunnel. He straightened himself and saluted back. “They were all axe-wielders, true Rhaurns. I’m proud of you all. Axe-wielders!”
“We!” replied Petre proudly.
The sounds of battle from the cavern grabbed Captain Jamie’s attention and he made his way to the entrance. The fighting in the cavern was fierce. Jamie did not hesitate and charged into the fray with his huge axe swinging. He had plenty of frustration to release.
***
The Cross-sword clan made a temporary camp a couple of days away from Kal-Pharina. The clan chieftain told his clan there would not be any fires with the enemy close behind. The chieftain had sent out scouts and they reported the army was closing in on them quickly. The clan silently made camp to eat and rest.
At midnight, the howling started.
The warriors in the clan armed themselves and scurried about, listening to the eerie noises. Another scout returned to the camp. The clansman fell from his horse at the chieftain’s feet, but before he could give his report, he died. When he was turned over the chieftain saw the reason: the scout’s back had been ripped open, flesh removed in three long lacerations, exposing his white spine.
Howling surrounded the camp.
Then suddenly, the air fell silent. Even the clan was quiet.
The chieftain ordered his warriors to prepare. The women packed the camp, ready to move. In the murky moonlight, four warriors slowly walked into the camp, one dressed in all-black armour and the other three in silver.
“Mortals, I am the Dark One,” boomed the one in black. “I am your death.”
Talon Hunters and Shadows silently surrounded the camp, their eyes glowing with expectancy.
“My minions need to feed and we have found sustenance,” continued the Dark One coldly.
“We have very little food,” called the old chieftain, shuffling forward.
“From where I stand, I see plenty,” replied the Dark One, raising the Blade of Yallas. “We feed now.”
The Dark One lowered his sword. The Talon Hunters and Shadows leapt into the camp and ripped everything apart. Men, women, children, horses, and goats were all killed in a mad bloody frenzy, though several children were kept alive for the Dark One and his bodyguards to feed on.
In the moonlight, the sandy ground was stained black. Within minutes, the clan known as the Cross-swords was no more. When dawn broke nothing in the camp moved, except for fluttering, blood-soaked fabric. The black-stained sand changed colour in the sunlight to rusty brown.
***
The four warriors fought on, back-to-back, cutting and chopping all of the Solus that attacked. A mound of the skeletal bodies piled up at the men’s feet and they had to step away to give themselves room to move. The axe-wielders hacked into the mass of Solus as more and more of the creatures swarmed into the cavern from various crevices and cracks, scurrying along the ceiling and across the walls to attack them. The once still black lake rippled and lapped onto the shores, hissing as the bodies of the axe-wielders plopped into the thick fluid, to gradually sink to the inky black depths. Rancid grey fumes rose from the water, causing the men to choke and their eyes to weep.
Tanas and Thade coolly cut and stabbed out with their short swords, avoiding the onslaught of spears and rocks. “Let’s get out of here!” cried Thade. “You lead the way.”
Rayth and Dax hacked and chopped with their axes, severing limbs and killing with every stroke. Dax heard Thade’s call and repeated the order to Rayth. “I will lead the way. Time to leave.”
“I second that!” shouted Rayth, breathing heavily from the effort of fighting. He had not fought this hard since leaving the axe-wielders’ ranks, and his shoulders and arms started to burn with fatigue. Rayth looked over the sea of Solus and could see Captain Jamie gathering the axe-wielders around him. They formed small fighting squares to traverse the crossing. Sadness struck the former axe-wielder. He saw many axe-wielders’ bodies littering the ground, and red stained many of those left standing. Still the Solus relentlessly attacked the axe-wielders, throwing themselves at the men like violent, murderous waves crashing against a boulder.
***
In the escape tunnel, Zane had drawn his swords, his body primed. He wanted desperately to help his friends. Dax had told him to wait in the tunnel out of harm’s way, but the young king wanted to help. He saw his chance, and jumped into the fray to aid one of his friends.
***
In the cavern, Tanas and Thade moved slowly towards the tunnel where Zane and Tucci waited. The two warriors stepped over bodies of lifeless Solus. Tanas kicked several bodies out of the way, sending out a shower of bones, while he continued to fight the skeletal creatures, just avoiding being stabbed by spears. Behind him, Thade fought on, stepping backwards, carefully listening to Tanas’s commands. He took a step back and treaded on a lifeless Solu’s leg. The bone rolled under his foot. In the next heartbeat, the former gladiator fell on his back. Above him, a Solu glared down menacingly, a spear held up above its head.
***
Zane leapt out of the tunnel and raced to help his friend. On the ground, Thade fought desperately, trying to regain his feet. Dax saw Thade fall and tried to push forward to reach his boy, but at that moment, more Solus joined the fighting and his momentum was halted. Zane cut a path and reached Tanas, who had turned to help defend Thade. Thade was stabbed in the thigh with a spear but he killed the wielder, slashing out backhanded, decapitating the creature. Zane skidded to a stop, spun his body, and bumped into Tanas’s back.
“It is I, Zane!” called the young king, who now defended his friend’s back.
Thade rolled to his knees and screamed in pain from the wound as it tore, opening further. On his knees, he was the same height as the Solus and he looked into their lifeless eyes. With his extra reach, Thade cut the creatures down before they got close.
Dax started to move forward, with Rayth defending his back. In their wake, piles of Solus’ bodies lay on the ground. With each stride, his boot crunched through brittle bones.
Farther back, the axe-wielders slowly made their way forward.
Thade rose to his feet with some help from Tanas. Now the three young men started moving towards the escape tunnel, rotating in a circle, hacking and slashing. More and more Solus filled the cavern, their rage apparent from the increased intensity of their scraping sounds, drowning out screams of death. The men throughout the cavern battled on, desperately trying to reach the sanctuary of the tunnel opposite.
Suddenly, the scraping noise stopped. One moment the Solus were attacking the men, the next, they were rapidly retreating into the cracks and crevices around the cavern.
Silence filled the cavern. Even the injured stopped screaming and gazed about fearfully. The silence, the unknown, felt as chilling as the attacking creatures.
“What the hell is going on, Dax?” asked Rayth, gazing around the cavern confused.
“I don’t know. But I think it is time for us to leave this place,” replied Dax, panting.
A low rumble oozed into the cavern, reverberating around the walls and ceiling. The sound got louder. The ground started to vibrate gently.
“It is growth in the mountain. Take cover!” Tucci shouted from the tunnel.
The ground started to shake violently. Thade, Tanas, and Zane heard Tucci and raced to
wards the tunnel.
The whole mountain shook. Large rocks and boulders fell from the ceiling, crashing against the ground or splashing in the lake, covering some of the men in the thick, oily black liquid. The tremor intensified. Men held out their arms to help them balance. Fresh screams filled the cavern as men were crushed under the falling boulders. A rift rapidly opened behind the axe-wielders, like a huge hungry maw. Several men lost their footing and pitched backwards, falling into the abyss, feeding the blackness. Then quickly, as if sated, the fracture closed, locking in the echoing screams of the falling men.
In the mouth of the escape tunnel, sand and dust started to trickle down.
Tucci moved farther into the tunnel, fearing the worst. “The tunnel is not stable!” he screamed, waving his arms.
The three men tried to step back, but they were too slow. The side of the cavern slid down on them. All three men were buried in the sandy, stony rubble.
Dax watched in horror as the side sheared off and covered the three young warriors. “NO!” he bellowed, racing forward, trying not to fall.
The ground continued to shake and roll, pitching many men to the ground. Rocks and boulders rained down from the ceiling, pulverising some of the men. The murky, thick black water of the lake splashed onto the crossing, hissing as it touched blood.
For several minutes, the ground continued to heave. Then suddenly, everything was still, although the rumbling noise remained and fine dust filled the air. The rumbling sound slowly subsided, replaced by the sounds of men screaming in pain. Able-bodied men moved around in silence, moving rocks and helping the injured. They did not have long.
At the escape tunnel, Rayth and Dax used their hands to dig into the black debris. Both men screamed the names of their friends buried under the rubble. A few axe-wielders heard the cries and ran to help with the digging.
The scraping noise started again.
“Dig, damn you, you whoresons, DIG!” screamed Dax, glancing around the dust-filled cavern, knowing the inevitable would soon happen.
Captain Jamie gathered his men around the diggers to defend them. Many of the injured were dragged behind the line, still screaming. Just under half the original number of axe-wielders who had met the Divine One now survived. Around the diggers and the injured, the axe-wielders formed an arc facing outwards and waited.
The scraping noise increased.
“They’re coming!” bellowed Captain Jamie, craning his neck to look towards the diggers. As if on cue, the small, grey skeletal creatures flocked into the cavern. The creatures scurried along the cavern’s ceiling and walls, their black eyes locked on the men. Suddenly, the Solus attacked the warriors, diving headlong at them.
***
Dax and Rayth continued to dig with their hands in the black sandy rubble, ignoring the sounds of fighting behind them. Rayth cupped his hands to shovel the dirt away. He reached something solid, a man’s back. Rayth forced his hands in, looped his arms around the man’s chest, and heaved with all his might. Slowly at first, the body moved, then suddenly it broke free and Rayth fell back, sliding down the rubble. In his arms, Thade coughed and spluttered.
Rayth rolled over and patted Thade on the back. “How are you, boy?”
“Alive,” replied Thade between coughs.
“Good,” said Rayth, leaving the former gladiator, and charged back up the mound of sand and stones to find the others.
Dax saw Rayth pull Thade free and relaxed slightly, but still two others remained under the rubble. On his knees, he continued to dig. He found a leg. Dax moved around and started to clear the debris from what he assumed was the top of the body. He found another leg, then a waist. Not waiting, Dax grabbed both legs and heaved with all his might. Ignoring rubble tumbling down, the older warrior pulled the man, whose buried body started to slide free. Several axe-wielders used their bodies to hold back the rubble above the buried man. Dax pulled again, roaring with effort. Face down, Zane’s body slid clear. Dax rolled the young man over and looked at his face. He slapped Zane lightly on the cheek for a reaction.
“Zane?” asked Dax, leaning in close with worry.
Zane smiled his crooked smile, his face covered in black dust. “This is a bit public for you to kiss me.”
Dax smiled and slapped his young king harder on the cheek.
“Tanas?” asked Zane, seeing Thade, but not the other warrior.
Dax pushed Zane out the way, climbed up the rubble, and started to dig again. A spear landed next to Dax. He wrenched the spear clear, turned, and without aiming, threw it into the Solus charging the axe-wielders. He had already turned back to digging and did not see the spear skewer two Solus, pinning the thrashing creatures together.
Rayth, Zane, and Thade helped Dax dig in the rubble, searching for the former blind warrior. Agonising minutes passed, then Dax found the bottom of Tanas’s coat and started digging higher. The others saw the coat and concentrated their digging with Dax. Soon they uncovered the warrior’s back. Dax and Rayth looped their arms around the man’s waist and heaved. The man did not budge.
The two older men nodded to each other and pulled harder.
Tanas’s body freed itself from the rubble and he flew in the air, landing on his back with a thud, and slid down the rubble. Tanas stopped near the base of the debris and sat up, slowly rubbing his head. The others slid down to him.
“Thank you, I am fine,” said Tanas wearily, spitting out some grit.
“That’s good to hear,” said Dax with relief, patting the young man’s back. “Now we have to dig and find the tunnel and Tucci.”
The others had forgotten about the Chosen’s son, but now all of the men started digging harder to find him, and their escape route.
Behind the diggers, the axe-wielders held the line from the onslaught of the Solus who threw themselves at the men. The men had not stepped back and in front of them, the bodies of the Solus started to pile up. They had three lines of warriors who rotated and took turns repelling the Solus. Their murderous axes snapped the Solus’ brittle bodies; nevertheless, the skeletal creatures charged on relentlessly. The lines rotated. The axe-wielders taking the frontline roared and started slashing.
“We need something to sheer up the wall,” shouted Dax, as rubble fell on him.
“Where are we going to get wood supports from, Dax?” called Rayth who, like Dax, was digging on his knees. But as the men continued to work, more rubble tumbled down filling their holes.
“We need a plan,” said Zane, digging next to Dax.
Dax leant back for a moment and looked at the pile of rubble, now completely covering the front of the tunnel. He squinted up and saw that the top of the tunnel was solid rock. “We need to dig from the top down into the tunnel,” he said, pointing to the top of the mound of rubble.
The axe-wielders helping to dig stopped and looked at where Dax pointed. Without a second thought or the need for a command, the men clambered up the loose rubble slope and started digging at the top. Dax and the others joined the men. Zane followed Dax and was nearly buried again as Dax’s footsteps forced debris down onto the young king. Frantically, the men started digging down.
Thade glanced over his shoulder and saw the axe-wielders holding their own against the skeletal creatures, but more swarmed into the cavern. He knelt down and started to dig with the others.
The axe-wielders who were digging reached the top of the tunnel. One of the men wriggled against the roof and started burrowing, pushing out rubble. As soon as the man’s legs disappeared, another man followed. The men created a burrowing line, each man pushing debris around, then behind them. Above the diggers, Solus started to descend the cavern walls. The skeletal creatures hurled rocks and spears at the diggers.
“Damn, don’t those little buggers ever give up?” screamed Thade, deflecting a rock thrown at him. He grabbed a torch from one of the axe-wielders and with all his might threw it up at the Solus.
The torch spiralled upwards, leaving a trail of black smoke. The
flaming end bounced against two Solus. The two creatures instantly burst into flames which engulfed their dry bones. The Solus near the two burning creatures hurriedly scampered away from them.
The torch fell at Thade’s feet as he stared up in amazement, watching the burning creatures. They fell, landing near Thade. Quickly, the former gladiator turned and screamed at Captain Jamie. “Jamie, use the torches—burn them!”
Without acknowledging the information, Captain Jamie grabbed a torch stabbed in the ground next to him. He touched the pile of Solus’ bodies in front of him with the naked flame. Instantly, the bodies caught alight with a whoosh, spreading rapidly along the line. The axe-wielders in the front line were forced back from the intense heat produced by the fire. Dense black smoke billowed and gathered at the ceiling, hovering like small, angry storm clouds. The axe-wielders started to cough, their eyes streaming with tears.
“Cover your faces!” ordered Captain Jamie.
The axe-wielders ripped parts off their cloaks to cover their faces.
The Solus scuttled back from the fire, but the scraping noise increased. The creatures waited on the other side of the fire, glaring at the men. Captain Jamie threw another torch into the massing Solus, setting three of the creatures alight. The blazing creatures ran around and touched their brethren, who instantly caught fire. The Solus scattered, clambering over each other as more and more of them ignited. Two of the burning creatures jumped into the black pond, where the thick black water hissed, but their bodies never resurfaced. Others ran around like mobile torches until finally they dropped, their bodies crackling like burning dry wood. The surviving Solus took to the walls and ceiling of the cavern, away from the fire, and waited, their scraping sound intensifying.
With the withdrawal of the Solus, more axe-wielders helped with the digging. They formed long chains and pushed the debris from the top of the mound to the base. Inside the tunnel, the axe-wielder farthest through called back, “I have reached the end.”