Entry #267198, added on 07-04-04 @ 4:28 pm EDT
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| Into the lair | Entry #267198 |
Landon’s stomach grumbled. “I wish there was some food in this infernal place. If Lamnos himself were to offer me a bite to eat, I’m so hungry, I’d accept.”
“Don’t say such things!” Cerine scolded him.
“I don’t think you’d want any of his food anyway, Landon,” Rugo said. “Who knows what an evil wizard has for supper, or breakfast? I don’t know what time of day it is anymore. It’s like everything is doused in total blackness.” Rugo was right; the menacing black sky hid the sun, not allowing them to see whether it was night or day.
Up ahead, Taan pointed out a crevasse where a river once flowed. The bridge that spanned the river still stood, though dilapidated with age. Moss grew in between the stones that made up the bridge, and in several places the stones had crumbled. As they neared where the bridge met the ground, Rugo noticed on either side of the main path a figurehead of some sort. He couldn’t tell what they were supposed to represent, a creature or a person, for time had worn away any distinguishable features.
Landon walked around to the side of the bridge, looking underneath. “I always thought trolls lived under bridges.”
Rugo made no comment about his own encounter with the troll, instead keeping his eye on the bridge ahead.
“Ha!” Taan let out a gritty cackle that made the hair on Landon’s neck stand up on end. “Boy, you’ll find much worse things here in Sumandir than trolls. Just be glad we haven’t run into any yet.”
Landon didn’t even want to try to imagine the things that Taan spoke of. He had nightmares about vile beings before, and was horrified by them. Once he had dreamt about flying squirrels with beaks and sharp teeth. Just thinking about those creatures again made him shiver. He was glad Rugo and Cerine were here with him.
One by one they crossed the bridge, in the same order they had used when walking through the Pass. It wasn’t until they were almost halfway across before they could tell how wide the crevasse truly was. It was no wonder such a fruitful land had thrived with this mighty river flowing through it. The river must have been the source of life for all the plants that grew in this region, but now, in the barren rocky landscape that remained, the only thing that could be found in the crevasse were dried bits of clay, pieces of the crumbling bridge and skeletons of fish that died long ago.
The clapping of horses’ hooves against the dirt path echoed against the side of the mountains, making it indiscernible where they were coming from. Rugo called out as he saw two armored horsemen racing parallel to the mountain range, and then swiftly cutting onto the path.
“Hide, quickly!” He looked around, but there were no easy places to hide. Only a few dead trees scattered randomly about, but even they weren’t thick enough to offer any protection.
The riders were coming on rapidly, but rode past them as though they weren’t even there. As they rode by, Rugo noticed that they were dressed for battle and armed with large swords. The second rider had tossed something onto the ground, and Taan hurried over to pick it up.
“Who was that?” Cerine asked. “They didn’t even stop, which I’m not going to argue about.”
Taan glanced at the discarded item, which looked like a scroll, and put it away quickly. “One of those men was Felraic. We better be careful once we reach the tower. He knows I am here now.”
The tower where Lamnos lived could now be seen slightly through the clouds. It was a tall, black obelisk with a line of slits for windows down the middle of each side. The walls were smooth, with no defined brick markings, as if it was made from one massive stone. It looked like a giant black tooth piercing the sky. The top was open, like a belfry, and something glowed pale green on the inside.
There was no sign of either of the riders, or their horses.
“We should head south, toward the tower, and then turn back to face the southern side of it,” Taan suggested. “There is a secret entrance that way.”
Cerine cast a fiery glance at Taan. “How do you know so much about this place? You’ve been here before, and more times than would be normal as a historian of a small town.”
“Yes I have.” Taan loosened his collar. He had been found out. “Felraic has me do tasks for him. Several times it has involved coming here, delivering messages to Lamnos from him and things of that ilk.”
With a frown of disbelief, Cerine lightly poked him in the side with the spear to urge him on, and then pulled it away. She was having the same thoughts as Landon had. Still, no one picked up on the fact that he had seen Lamnos face to face.
“Enough, you two,” Rugo spoke up. “I think we should follow Taan’s advice and use the secret entrance. We can’t just parade through the main door like houseguests coming to dinner.”
“To our funerals is more like it,” Landon commented, looking up at the eerie green glow from the top of the tower.
The walk to the tower took longer than expected, as the terrain became more rugged. Their straight path soon became a zigzag of twists and turns around large boulders and tar pits. Strangely enough, there were no clouds here as they had seen before. Lamnos must have cast an illusion over the immediate area as a means of protection, though against what exactly Rugo didn’t know. After all, there was no sign of life anywhere about.
Doors of solid gold marked the entrance to the tower. They were arch-shaped and stood about eight feet high, compared to the tower’s height of over sixty feet. Around the rim of the doors were carved a series of strange symbols, like letters of an ancient runic alphabet. Rugo was impressed with the elaborate design of the door frame, not used to seeing such work put into one. He wondered about the significance of the runes, whether they were merely for decoration or if they had some meaning to fellow sorcerers whom Lamnos invited to the tower.
As Taan had advised, they moved on past the main entrance and approached the southern side of the tower. Landon leaned up against it and looked straight up into the sky, stumbling back dizzily.
“Where is this secret entrance?” Cerine asked, pointing her spear at Taan to stir his nerves again.
“There,” Taan answered, pointing to a heap of rocks piled against the wall. “Just move the stones away and there will be a stairway down into the tower cellar.”
“Just like that? Not so secret if you ask me,” Cerine said as her male companions began lifting the heavy rocks from the pile and moving them aside. It wasn’t long before enough rocks were moved so that the stairway was revealed.
The cellar was in total darkness, so Rugo pointed his ring down the stairs to light the way. However, the ring wouldn’t give off any light as it had before. He took it off his finger, inspected it closely all over, and then put it back on, but got the same result. He frowned. “What is wrong? My ring isn’t working.”
“Maybe whatever evil magic Lamnos is using to create the clouds is also blocking the ring’s magic.” Cerine shrugged and put her hand on his shoulder.
“But then how are we supposed to see down in the cellar?”
“Rugo, don’t always trust magic to save you. You also have your friends.” She picked up two of the smaller stones and struck them together, but nothing happened. What she needed was some flint. Of course the flint would have been handy in the Pass. She looked over the stones in the pile, and found a few shards of flint. Rugo smiled as he saw that her choice of the Path of the Leaf had paid off once again.
Despite finding the stones, it took her several tries before she could even get a spark. All she needed now was a piece of wood to light. They had gotten lucky with the flint, but unfortunately there were no trees or even any pieces of wood lying around. But then she had an idea. “Here, let me use your sword.”
Rugo gave her a questioning look as he reluctantly handed the blade to her. She laid the spear on the ground and swung the sword at the shaft, a quarter of the way from the end, slicing off a piece of wood from it. With a smirk, she gave the sword back to Rugo and picked up the remaining part of the spear, which was now a more manageable size for her. Using the broken portion of the spear shaft, she then rubbed the stones together again to create a good-sized torch. Rugo cut the frayed end of his cloak and wrapped it around the torch before it was lit. He wished they had some oil to douse it in, but he doubted such a luxury was available in Sumandir.
This time Landon insisted on carrying the torch and walking behind Rugo, as he wielded the sword. Taan followed behind him and Cerine again provided the rear defense. Taan mumbled something under his breath as they descended, and by the wavering tone of his voice as his lips chattered, it sounded like he was growing afraid.
The glow of the torch wasn’t half as bright as that of the ring, but it was enough to see about ten feet ahead of them. The stairs were littered with broken bones, rotten food scraps and trash. The trash was higher in the room than on the stairs, leaving a stench in the air. Heaps of debris were scattered about the floor, pushed up against walls and in corners.
A putrid odor pervaded the room. It was quite strong, and unlike anything they had ever smelled before. Rugo held his nose with his free hand, still keeping his sword at the ready as he stepped into the room. Between the look and the smell, he could tell something foul lived there. It was oddly silent in the room, except for the faint tapping of water against the stone floor. Apparently, the foul thing had already left its dwelling and moved on, leaving its mark behind.
“What kind of wretched thing do you think lived in a place like this?” Landon kicked a pile of rubbish with the point of his shoe, feeling a lump underneath.
“Wake!!” The lump screamed, sending Landon scurrying back toward the stairs. A humanoid creature, about Taan’s size, jumped to its feet and turned to face them. It looked like a giant rat, with a coat of thick whitish-gray fur, standing on two legs. “Eat!!” The rat-creature licked its lips and sidled toward them, a hungry gleam in its yellow eyes. A scrap of flesh dangled from its jaw, still dripping with blood.
Cerine screamed, dropping her spear. “What is that?” She watched it carefully as she recovered her weapon.
“I don’t know, but I don’t want to stick around to find out,” Rugo said, swinging his sword to fend off a pounce attack from the giant rat. Its claws made their mark on Rugo, leaving a long scrape along his forearm. Rugo shouted in pain and clutched his arm.
The creature moved liked lightning as it bounded away into another trash pile. Rugo stood with his scratched arm away from the rat, fortunate that it was not his sword arm. The wound wasn’t deep, but it still stung. He stared as it crouched on the pile, watching his every move, nose twitching.
“Hungry!” The rat creature suddenly leaped at Cerine with a yell. |
© Copyright 2004 Mark C Bradley (UN: auric at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Mark C Bradley has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.
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