Into the Madness

by Richard H. Stephens

  Drawing strength from her staff, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand. She wasn’t out of this yet. Placing a hand against the mouth wall she said, “I removed the Tang Stone. Open your mouth and let me get to my brother.”

  The Gimcrack didn’t respond.

  Panic set in. “Gimcrack, I did what you asked, now let me go. Please.”

  The cave floor trembled beneath her as if the Gimcrack was laughing. Whatever the rumbling meant, she didn’t see the humour in any of this.

  “Did you hear me? I must get to my brother.”

  The Gimcrack’s presence in her mind shocked her. Even though it had entered her mind before, the foreign sensation had her gulping back a scream of fright.

  That is the irony. Someone else has beaten you to him.

  This time she did scream.

  Karvus and Tygra walked up the slope, stopping well beyond the wizard’s light. Karvus wasn’t about to abandon his quest. He planned to bide his time and strike when the opportunity presented itself.

  Although the tight passageway prevented either of them from wielding their weapons effectively, a time would come when the wizard and her companion reached a place more conducive to the Kraidic way of fighting.

  Judging by the way Silurian looked, the man wasn’t doing well at all. Karvus hadn’t missed the sight of his torn leggings saturated with blood. The man was seriously injured.

  He recalled their encounter below. Silurian had appeared too frail to stand at first but somehow, he had confronted them with that glowing sword. The magical weapon undoubtedly fortified him.

  Karvus nodded to himself in the near darkness—if not for the glowing Serpent’s Eye, they would be totally blind. To get at the wizard they needed to rid themselves of Silurian.

  He raised the Serpent’s Eye, illuminating Tygra’s dirty face. “Do you hear them anymore?”

  In typical Tygra fashion, his aide simply shook his head.

  “We’ll remain here for a while. Let them think we are truly gone and then we’ll go after them. We need to dispose of Silurian first. They have to sleep sometime. If we can sneak up on him, we can eliminate his sword. Just be sure to duck when the wizard throws fire at us.”

  Tygra nodded grimly.

  Holding the Serpent’s Eye in a gloved hand, Karvus faced the descent. “Hang onto my baldric. I’ll lead for a while.”

  In the scant light of the ring, their progress was painstakingly slow. The slick passage dropped into the earth at a dizzying angle. If not for the tight walls to brace themselves, Karvus feared he might lose purchase on the ground and succumb to a long, painful fall. How Silurian managed the trek on that bad leg was a mystery. The wizard must have carried him. The woman was stronger than he gave her credit for.

  At first, he could barely feel anything through his glove. The sensation had faded until the ring merely glowed, indicating a magic user’s presence somewhere far below. The wizard was on the move.

  He wondered how far into the earth she meant to travel and for what purpose. After seeing the carnage in the lake cavern, it must be something very important for her to risk her life and that of her companion.

  Perhaps patience was the best course. Wait to discover what they sought before dispatching them. After travelling with the wizard and her companion from the Serpent’s Nest back to the horses, he was certain it had something to do with Helleden.

  Dealing with Helleden was a goal he had set for himself as well.

  They ate sparingly of their dwindling food supply, the process of eating made difficult as their attention was required to keep from tumbling down the shaft.

  As they dropped into the depths, the ring began tingling through his leather glove. They were getting closer.

  Karvus’ mind drifted to the uniformity of the fissure. Though not perfectly smooth, the tunnel seemed too precise to be natural. As to what or who might have burrowed this deep into the mountain, he had no explanation. Judging by the steep angle, whatever it had been wasn’t concerned with falling, or indeed, getting back out. He tried not to think about the latter scenario. His muscles screamed at him as he descended, constantly resisting the drop.

  The slope abruptly levelled out. If not for the Serpent’s Eye refracting off the steel face of Silurian’s sword, they would have stumbled over the man sitting wracked with spasms of cold.

  Silurian’s bloodshot eyes stared blankly up at them—his sword lay between him and a peculiar looking wall. Gouge marks on the face of stone testified to the fact that he had tried to dig into the barrier.

  Of the wizard, there was no sign, and yet, the Serpent’s Eye pointed beyond the end wall.

  Tygra withdrew his dagger and squeezed past Karvus.

  The grating of heavy stone scraping against heavy stone rattled her teeth. The Gimcrack’s teeth separated.

  To her horror, the man called Tygra approached Silurian with a dagger in his hand, its blade pointed down. Silurian wasn’t making any move to fend him off.

  “No!” Her staff erupted. An errant fireball impacted the backside of one of the Gimcrack’s stalagmite teeth, the magical blast breaking into dozens of tiny flames.

  “The wizard! Get her!” the man called Keen ordered.

  Tygra leapt over Silurian and came at her.

  Another fireball gathered at the head of her staff. She wouldn’t miss a second time.

  The cave floor lurched beneath her. She discharged her spell as she fell forward, watching helplessly as the Gimcrack’s teeth snapped shut much quicker than she thought possible.

  Landing on her hands and knees, she witnessed her fireball sail past a diving Tygra and explode against the tunnel wall beside Keen’s head.

  Tygra spun his body through the closing gaps of the stone teeth as they came together with a resounding boom.

  She pushed herself backward and onto her feet, her staff held before her. “Hold!”

  Tygra’s eyes were wide with confusion. By the way he scanned their living prison, it wasn’t her staff he feared. “What is this thing?”

  Melody’s concern for Silurian put an edge in her words. “Welcome to the mouth of the earth wyrm.”

  Tygra sheathed his dagger and pulled his warhammer over his shoulder to face the row of clenched teeth. He hefted the hammer behind him and crouched sideways. In one fluid motion, he sprung forward, released his hips and swung the warhammer through a great arc. The force of the weapon exploded against one of the teeth.

  A great crack shot down the tooth. In response, the tongue hurled Tygra and Melody backward.

  Tygra almost landed on Melody, but any thought he might have had about killing her was lost in his panic to free himself from the jaws of the wyrm.

  Tygra leapt to his feet, reloaded his warhammer and unleashed another resounding strike on the same tooth. A chunk the size of her forearm flew into the air.

  The tongue jumped again, curling up at the sides. Melody was tossed against the back wall near the throat.

  Tygra lost his grip on his hammer and struggled to manoeuvre across the spongy surface to retrieve it as the tongue slammed him into the roof.

  Melody arrested the bouncing flight of the black hammer. Even aware of the big man’s intent to kill her, she tried to throw it back to him to help facilitate their escape. She could deal with him afterward.

  She pulled up on the warhammer, the weapon too heavy for her to lift. Tugging on its handle, she tried to drag it to him but the lurching tongue prevented her from remaining on her feet.

  Not knowing what else to do, she jammed the bottom of her staff into the back of the Gimcrack’s throat.

  An explosive retching noise escaped the beast’s throat. Melody and Tygra were flung forward by the tongue as it worked to clear its throat.

  Melody tumbled past an upside down Tygra struggling to right himself. She flipped the handle his way. “Here!”

  The gagging stopped. The tongue settled long enough for her to get to her knees and aim her staff at the chipped tooth.
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  The cave flashed bright blue, her staff blasting the chipped tooth and those around it with frost.

  Beside her, Tygra found his feet. He nodded his understanding and swung his hammer through a great sideways arc. The damaged tooth exploded into shards.

  Melody followed the cold blast with fire, barely missing Tygra as he pulled his hammer back for another swing. He glared at her but the sudden infusion of heat cracked the surrounding teeth.

  He hefted his hammer and swung. This time his strike broke through the surrounding teeth; two upper and one beside the first.

  The mouth opened wide and its tongue shot outward, taking Melody and Tygra with it.

  Melody rolled out of the Gimcrack’s mouth in a tangled heap but Tygra’s foot wedged between the gap of two unaffected bottom teeth.

  The mouth began to close, lifting Tygra’s trapped leg into the air.

  Without thinking, Melody placed herself between Tygra and the teeth, grabbed his calf and lifted his leg clear just as the mouth slammed shut.

  Tumbled to the ground in a heap, Melody pushed herself clear, concentrating on powering her staff to defend herself but Tygra looked at her with an odd expression.

  Without a word, Tygra stepped over Silurian to examine the motionless body of his companion. He withdrew a blood covered hand from behind Keen’s head, a morose look on his face. Melody’s errant fireball had pummeled Keen with shards of rock.

  Melody dropped beside Silurian. Her brother’s distant gaze watched her. His blue lips didn’t bode well.

  She glanced at Tygra. “Well?”

  Tygra’s grave expression spoke for him.

  “Like it or not, it appears you and I have just formed a strange alliance. We need to get out of here, and soon.” Her gaze encompassed Silurian and Keen. “Without my staff and your brawn, these two aren’t going anywhere.”

  Alhena’s Accord

  Rook tried to view their surroundings through the mist. Apart from a steadily darkening sky, he had no idea how long they trod the slick track through the Gulch. The bizarre animal noises, if that’s what they were, continually sounded from beyond the veil of fog. More than once they stopped to brandish their weapons at a noise but they never encountered another creature, alive or dead.

  They walked in their usual formation with Pollard and Olmar leading and Sadyra and Larina bringing up the rear. Rook wasn’t happy leaving the girls at the back but Larina unequivocally informed him they had been entrusted by the Songsbirthian council with his and Alhena’s welfare so he might as well accept it.

  He thought back to that night on the gravel beach he had shared with Larina. It had been a magical evening. One he hadn’t experienced since losing Melody. The innocent intimacy so different than the false bond he’d forged with Thetis. He shuddered.

  Since returning to Zephyr, Larina hadn’t exactly been aloof, but he sensed without a doubt that she had moved on. Probably a result of Sadyra telling Larina about his exploits with the supposed blonde-haired disciple of Saros.

  He laughed inwardly at the folly, embarrassed. What a fool he’d been, and now Silurian was gone.

  He sighed. Silurian and Melody. Brother and sister—both gone. They had been his world.

  He sensed Alhena watching him. “What?”

  Alhena offered him a rueful smile and looked ahead without answering.

  Rook wondered if the old wizard had the ability to read minds. He’d meant to ask him on several occasions, but every time the situation presented itself, he had decided not to. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Some things were better left unknown.

  They passed beneath on odd arch formed by a stand of weeping willows. Drooping fronds brushed their head and shoulders and slipped down their backs, caressing the weary travellers as if they were sentient. Everybody jumped at the odd sensation.

  Alhena raised his voice. “Pollard. Olmar.”

  “What is it, Pops?” Olmar’s large eyes examined the willow fronds.

  “Do not be alarmed. This archway is the guardian of the Crypt.”

  “Guardian of the Crypt?” Pollard stared into the misty boughs. “The trees?”

  “Of a certainty.” Alhena waited until Larina and Sadyra stood close. “They warn the denizens of the Crypt of our approach.”

  Olmar was poised to say something but Alhena’s raised hand stopped him.

  “The Aberrator gave me his word we will not be molested within the sacred halls running beneath the Spine. That being said, I cannot stress enough that whatever happens over the next couple of days, do not react in any manner to the creatures within. Even the Aberrator’s control is limited when it comes to spirits.”

  “Spirits?” Olmar mouthed, a spooked look on his face.

  “Yes, Olmar. Spirits. They are not to be trifled with, but left alone, they are not to be feared. Once upon a time they too made their way through our mortal world. They have simply passed beyond into a world loosely tied to our own. Suffice it to say, most of them wish us well on our journey through this plane.”

  “Most?” Sadyra asked.

  “Most spirits never interact. A magical presence must be involved to link them back to us.”

  “But?” Sadyra prodded.

  “There is no but. All superstitions stem from a point of fact. Wizards and witches are not the only ones able to initiate contact the next step in life’s journey. Many people experience otherworldly phenomena but do not know how to explain what is happening.”

  Sadyra stared hard at him. “What, like ghosts and stuff?”

  “Hehe, yes, Sadie. Like ghosts and stuff. My point is, do not fear what we are about to experience. The underlying magic of the Gulch feeds the Crypt, providing a strong link between our world and the next. If we wish to reach the other side of the mountain without being taken prematurely to the next world, I must insist that no one,” he turned on the giants, “meaning you two specifically, is to make a move against anything we encounter. Does everyone understand?”

  Rook’s nod echoed the others.

  “Great, Gramps. Now that you’ve spooked the pants off everyone, lead on.” Sadyra nodded up the path.

  Alhena’s new beard lifted in a great smile. He raised his eyebrows and started walking.

  Olmar and Pollard fell in beside him, the trail meandering into what Rook perceived as the eastern foothills of the Spine. They scavenged a few branches along the way and strapped them to each other’s back on Alhena’s request.

  Sadyra and Larina followed a few steps behind, making sure nothing snuck up on them unawares.

  With Helleden’s minions running rampant across Zephyr and hearing Alhena’s strange words, Rook understood the archers’ apprehension. Caught up in thought, he almost ran into Pollard’s backside.

  Rising up before them, carved into the side of a cliff, two majestic columns, etched with distorted faces, supported an ominous dark lintel—the threshold of a cavernous opening.

  A gust of cold air whistled out of the tunnel, buffeting their clothing and whipping everyone’s hair around. Wafting on the pervading breeze, the company from Apexceal detected an odour of dampness and rot coming from the darkness within.

  Alhena stepped forward on his own, his staff radiating a strong orange light. He studied the passageway before facing the others. “You are about to enter the Crypt. Many have stumbled into these hallowed halls not appreciating where they trod, but if we can believe the Aberrator, only two have ever come back out alive. Him and me.” His magnanimous voice dropped. “Whether the necromancer is alive or not, is another story.”

  Facing the prospect of something as daunting as the Crypt, Alhena’s words did little to enhance anyone’s courage.

  Sadyra and Larina walked up beside Alhena and peeked into the gloom, while Pollard and Olmar backed away.

  “You sure about this Pops? It’s a bit dark in there for me likin’. We best be campin’ ‘ere tonight and go in the morn.” Olmar’s eyes looked anywhere but into the Crypt.

  Alhena smil
ed. “It will not be any lighter inside the Crypt come the morrow.”

  Pollard shuffled back and forth on the balls of his feet. “Perhaps we should climb over the mountain.”

  “Climb the mountain?” Alhena eyes followed the rock face into the mist. “Do you know how high that mountain is? We would never make it. Even if we did, how would we find the pass?”

  Sadyra stepped up to the giants, pointing a finger at them. “I see what’s going on. You’re afraid.”

  When they didn’t respond, she laughed. “Hah! You are! Big and mighty Pollard and ferocious bear Olmar are afraid. Well, I’ll be a pickled badger, I never thought I’d see the day.”

  Olmar shuffled his feet, his cheeks reddening. He lowered his gaze, looking anywhere but at Sadyra. “There be ghosties in there, Sadie. I ain’t exactly carin’ for ghouls an’ there ilk.”

  “Have you ever seen one before?”

  “Aye…” He glanced at her, but turned away again. “Maybe not seen one, exactly, but sure as I’m the whelp of a tart, I’s ‘eard ‘em several times in the Under Realm. You were there.”

  “You mean the voices? Those weren’t ghosts, you big lunkhead. They were the Voil, remember?”

  Olmar swallowed. His bushy brow twitched but he remained quiet.

  “Rina, take ‘fraidy cat’s paw and I’ll grab the big oaf.” Sadyra clasped Pollard’s hand and tugged, her weight unable to move him. “Come on, you big lummox, Sadie will keep you safe.”

  Pollard’s sheepish face flushed as he followed the petite archer into the Crypt.

  Rook didn’t think Olmar would follow, but the helmsman’s eyes tracked Pollard and Sadyra and then fell on Alhena.

  “Alright, but mark me words, lassie, if’n a ghostie comes a-calling, don’t be lookin’ to Olmar to be savin’ ya.”

  “Ya, ya, ya. Let’s go. I hear ghosts like to sneak up on people from behind.” Larina winked at Rook.

  Olmar’s pace increased. He overtook Alhena and then Pollard and Sadyra.

  Larina barely managed to hang on to him.