Chapter 5 - Racti Off On His Own

Long after Auric had returned to sleep, Racti lay awake. He couldn’t help thinking about what could lie further in the dungeon. The curiosity was too much for him. He rose from the web where he slept, and grabbed his sword and dagger. Racti looked back briefly at his sleeping friends before slipping off into the darkness of the tunnel. I hate to leave them there alone, but I just have to see what’s up ahead. He held his sword in his hand tightly as he crept down the sloping passage. A rat scurried by Racti’s feet, startling him and causing him to tumble down the tunnel a few feet before it leveled out.

Dazed, Racti stood up and regained his composure. “There’s those nerves again, Racti. Don’t lose your head,” he said, shaking his head. He peered down the corridor ahead of him. Unlike those of the slanted corridor, the walls and floor here were made of stone and lined with torches. Taking a quick look back up the sloping tunnel, Racti turned and continued down the stone corridor, staying close to the walls.

As Racti continued on, he heard a series of faint clicks and hissing ahead down the corridor. He could not see what caused them, however. They are too far away to notice me yet, Racti thought, so I’ll search here for secret doors awhile.

Racti returned to the start of the level corridor, and felt the walls for any loose stones. He couldn’t stop thinking of his friends back in the spider’s lair, though he knew that with Auric’s knowledge they were sleeping soundly.

One area of the wall seemed different from the rest. When he tapped on it, a similar sound, though muffled, repeated on the opposite side. He reached into his backpack, and retrieved a small hammer and chisel. After checking to make sure the chisel was sharp enough, Racti chipped away at the wall until one of the large stones was loose enough to pry out with his hands.

Racti peered into the hole. He saw what appeared to be a room, dark but very large. He proceeded to pull down stones until the hole was big enough for him to enter and slipped through the dusty rubble into the newly found room.

The nose-crinkling aroma of something burnt suffused the room. Racti waved his hands in front of his face, trying to move the stench away from his nose. He reached into his backpack, taking out a torch. Trying to start the flame in near darkness gave Racti some difficulty, but finally a spark danced onto the end of the torch and the room was brightened with its orange glow.

Racti deduced by the tall bookshelves that lined each wall that this room was once a library. Most of the books on the shelves, however, were charred and burned, though an occasional book was relatively unharmed. A dusty scarlet red rug with faded yellow fringes lay wrinkled and torn in the center of the room, over which stood a small wooden table.

Racti, admiring the antiquity of this room, was oblivious to the soft footsteps behind him. He circled the table, his head pointed upward at the books on the upper shelves. He placed his torch on a bracket near the entrance hole in the west wall and, spying an interesting-looking green tome on the highest shelf on the northern wall, proceeded to climb the shelves. Suddenly, an unseen bludgeon to Racti's neck caused the thief to collapse to the floor.

* * *

Racti awoke minutes later with a sore neck and aching back. The back of his head throbbed with excruciating pain. He rubbed his head and waited for his vision to clear. “That’s right,” he mumbled to himself, “I’m in the secret library. But what in Kulnor hit me?”

Looking up, Racti suddenly noticed a large figure looming above him like a specter. He tried to speak but couldn’t. Squinting, Racti looked closer and could make out some detail on the figure. The body was massive and bronze-skinned, and wore only a leopard fur loincloth.

“So you are human! I’m sorry, friend. I thought you were a lizardman,” the dark-skinned man said, thrusting a large callused hand out to Racti. “Let me help you up.”

“Who are you calling ‘friend’? You don’t whack a person over the head when he’s not looking and then call him a ‘friend’.” Racti just sat and looked at the outstretched hand, arms crossed over his chest.

“I told you I apologize! With the hood of your cloak over your head, I couldn’t tell you apart from a lizardman. They’ve been seen around here lately.” The man shrugged. “Anyone could make that mistake, I suppose.” Racti pulled himself up, and got a better look at the person standing in front of him.

The man stood about two or three feet taller than Racti. His head sat squarely on broad shoulders, as though he had no neck. He was bald except for a spot on the back of his head, from which grew a ponytail. A thick black moustache covered his upper lip and drooped on the sides down to his chin. His hand rested on the pommel of a scimitar that swung from his belt. A thick iron spear with a long blade was slung in a sheath over his muscular shoulders.

The man spoke, wearing an eerie-looking grin on his face. “I'm Martell, warrior of the southern jungles of Mauroland.” Again the warrior held his hand out toward Racti, who this time shook it vigorously. Martell’s grip was strong, as though it was made of steel. “My quest is to destroy the silver dragon that destroyed my village, even if I must die doing it. I will take the bastard down with me.” He beat his fist against his muscular chest.

“My quest is similar to yours, Martell. I’m Racti, master of the Thieves’ Guild, adventuring alongside my companion, Auric Ravenhelm.” Racti stepped forward, the feeling of fear leaving him. He wondered how Martell knew that the dragon dwelled in this exact location, thinking it strange. First Alandrin, now Martell. Racti shrugged, and grinned back.

Martell nodded, then glanced around the room. “Well, as long as we're here in this room, why don’t we see if we can find something useful in these books,” he remarked, starting to reach onto one of the higher shelves. Racti nodded in agreement, and set to work searching the lower shelves.

* * *

After an hour of searching to no avail, Racti was startled as Martell exclaimed in a distinct southern-Kulnoran dialect: “Racti, I found an unburned book here.” The massive warrior climbed up onto one of the shelves and pulled a small book from it. He tossed it down to Racti, who caught it and placed it on the table in the center of the room. The floor shook softly as Martell jumped to the ground. “What does the book say, Racti?” he asked, approaching the thief at the table.

“I don’t know. It’s not in a language that I know. I bet it’s in elvish. I’ll have to let Auric take a peek.” Racti looked curiously at the book. It was dark blue, with the book’s title and a dragon emblem embedded, in silver, on the cover.

Suddenly, the hissing clicks that Racti had heard earlier in the hall were repeated, much closer this time. Racti dropped the book and whirled around to see what made the sound. A lizard-like creature sat crouched in the hole in the wall, grinning evilly and licking its reptilian lips. It had leathery brownish-green skin with tattoos on its arms and was armed with a short thin spear.

“I don’t know ‘bout you, Racti, but I have a feeling that lizard regards us as the main course for dinner tonight.” Martell smirked as he drew his scimitar and looked over at Racti, who also drew his sword.

“No kidding. You think?” Racti raised an eyebrow as he glanced back at the warrior.

The lizardman paused for a moment, assessing the situation, and let out a long hiss before charging the fighter and thief. As the lizardman raced toward them, its eyes were fixed on the book Racti had dropped. Was it really food that the creature wanted, or just the newly found item? The lizardman leapt at Martell first, taking him off guard and knocking him to the floor. It held the spear over Martell’s neck, ready to plunge it deep into the warrior’s throat. Racti bolted toward the lizardman and pushed it off of Martell’s body.

Stunned, the lizardman did not notice its attacker coming at him with sword swinging until a few moments before the thief was upon it. The lizardman hissed violently as it made a poor attempt to fend off Racti’s attack. Racti had caught it unaware, making defense more difficult for the creature. His sword found its mark in the lizardman’s torso.

Martell stood, shaken by the attack. He approached Racti, who was staring at the now lifeless lizardman’s body, and threw his massive arms around the much smaller thief. “You saved my life. Thank you! I owe you what my people call a life debt. You saved me, so I have to do you a favor if you need it.”

“I don’t think I’ll be needing any favors,” Racti groaned, trying to free himself from the burly man’s bear hug, “but if I do. I know who to turn to.” The warrior finally released his hold on Racti, who shook his arms around to make sure his bones weren’t crushed. Racti smiled warmly at his new friend, then picked up the book and slid it into his backpack.

“We better leave here before more of these critters come looking for this one,” Martell commented, kicking the lifeless lizardman’s body with the tip of his foot.

* * *

Tannyr rolled out of his web, struggling in the stickiness of the spider’s silk. He preferred a harder surface, and it was beyond him why he had decided to sleep on the web in the first place. The dwarf crawled onto a large rock and, as he curled up on it, noticed Racti’s absence. “Damned thief!”

Auric awoke at Tannyr’s sudden outburst. He sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “What’s the matter, Tannyr?” Auric’s words were slurred with his sleepiness.

“Racti sneaked off alone somewhere while we were sleeping. Who knows what trouble that idiot may have gotten into now!” Tannyr rose to his feet and adjusted his armor. He started off for the exit, but was suddenly stopped as Auric held his arm firmly.

“He knows what he's doing, Tannyr. Yes, he has moments of foolishness, but he's also the best at what he does. I don’t want to make light of the situation, but I’m sure Racti is fine. He can fend for himself.”

Zengrath, who was also awake now, approached Auric with the back of his bony hand pressed against his wrinkled forehead. “Our friend is alive and well. I've just cast a spell of empathy and I sense that Racti is not in trouble.” Zengrath lowered his hands and smiled.

“Then where is he?” Tannyr grumbled, still ready to storm off into the tunnel.

A muffled bit of whispering was heard out in the tunnel, followed by snickering. It was a familiar giggle, much like one that would come from…

“Racti! Where in Kulnor have you been? Taking off as we slept!” Tannyr reprimanded sternly. He pulled free from Auric’s grip and marched toward the thief, who stood in the exit to the cavern.

“I went searching. And I met this fellow.” Racti held his hand outward.

At Racti’s cue, Martell stepped into the cavern, grinning widely. He scanned the three individuals in front of him, watching their expressions of surprise. Martell was particularly amused at Tannyr’s reaction: the dwarf’s brown eyes opened widely at the appearance of such a massive person, then he rolled his eyes back and grunted, mumbling something in dwarfish.

“My name is Martell, warrior of Mauroland.” The warrior proudly stepped toward Auric. “Greetings, Auric Ravenhelm.”

Auric looked over at Racti, but the thief only shrugged. “How did you come to meet Racti in this foul place?”

Before Martell could answer, Racti shouted in excitement, “I found a secret room further ahead. Come, I’ll show you.” He bolted back into the tunnel, followed by Martell. Auric rushed after him, making sure his companion didn’t get too far ahead. Tannyr and Zengrath gave each other a funny look before exiting the cavern as well.

* * *

“Racti, what are we looking for anyway?” Auric whispered in Racti’s ear as they descended the sloping passage.

Racti pointed ahead. “There's a pile of rubble that marks the secret door I found. We’ll stop there.”

As the party got closer to the pile of rubble, the newly found secret door became more visible. A hole had been broken into the wall. Racti stopped at the hole, letting Auric be the first to enter the secret room. It was best to let the leader go in first and check it out. Who knew if any more lizardmen had arrived?

Auric looked around at the bookshelves, which were now empty. The books covered the floor, a result of Racti's and Martell’s search. He picked up several of the books, hoping that some of them would be interesting enough to read and fill his thirst for knowledge. Unfortunately, Auric found the same results as Racti had. The books were mostly burnt and illegible, and most of what was available was of no use to them.

One of the books was about a young cleric, Cylac, who had formed his own cult and acquired many followers until the newer human religions had gained more adherents. The cult’s primary belief was that the world would be destroyed and a new age would begin. Strange, Auric thought.

Racti was the next to enter the room, followed by Zengrath, Tannyr and Martell. “It's some sort of secret library,” He commented casually, shrugging. “Only one of the books wasn't burnt beyond readability.” He paused slightly and smiled as he pulled it from his pack and handed it to Auric. “I think it's in elvish.”

Taking the book, Auric turned it over in his hands, admiring the design on the cover. "Iborekath...translation,” Auric mumbled.

“What was that, Auric?” The wizard approached him, curiosity in his eyes.

“Huh? Oh, I know these runes. They are elvish for ‘Translation.’” Brushing a lock of white hair out of his eyes, Auric perused the first few pages of the book, which were filled with columns of runes. “This book provides translations between the runic languages of different races and civilizations.”

Auric could tell by the brightened look on Zengrath’s face that the mage had an idea. Zengrath opened a pouch on his sash, pulled the amulet out, and tossed it to Auric. Auric smiled and flipped enthusiastically through the book, searching for runes similar to the ones carved into the amulet. A perplexed look came upon his face. “None of these runes seem to match.”

“Well there's no use standing around here. I say we move on,” Tannyr suggested, starting toward the hole.

“Wait, Tannyr. I heard something out in the corridor.” Racti dashed up to the hole and put a finger to his lips. A series of faint slithery hisses repeated down the corridor. “There it goes again. There's something out there. I know it.”

Racti slowly peered around the corner, trying to remain unseen. He noticed a sudden flash of greenish-brown skin. Looking back at his friends wide-eyed, Racti spoke in a barely audible whisper: “Lizardmen.”