***
After a week of steady riding across the Planes of Dunne, broken only by short breaks to eat and rest they entered the lands of the Mirkoid. Greeted by broken statues with diabolical faces, it was a place of densely populated trees, and open clearings with tell-tale signs of long forgotten settlements. Whatever disaster had befallen that place, the vegetation had long since encroached into the crumbling stony edifices that once stood testament to a mighty people, giving rise to the thought: a warning perhaps, that time in the end devours all.
They entered a wooded area, dismounted and proceeded on foot awhile, hacking a path through the undergrowth where necessary. Andreas at the head, lead the way using his knowledge of the region. A place he once hunted in; now seemed as foreign to him as the lands of the Mead would have been in the east. What was most noticeable was the strange quiet. The Dragon had been recently in the area foraging for food, not that you would have noticed without having a trained eye for tracking. They knew to walk cautiously, negotiating the pools of boggy mud with some difficulty. They were confronted by obstacles of stinking bubbling tar pits, hazardous quick sands and worse still, the Midge’s that had their home there were becoming constant companions.
Achil stopped by one of the dark fermenting pools curiosity getting the better of him; he crouched down to pick up a stick to prod it.
“What is this?” He asked intrigued by how his stick was enveloped by the black viscous fluid.
“It's what we refer to as Demon Phlegm. There are a few bogs like this close to our City. We have many uses for it. We just barrel the stuff up and take it back to the city. Though I would not suggest you go for a swim in it, we’d never see you again. Why do you ask?”
Achil threw a small rock in to the centre of what was a tar pit; it disappeared without too much of a struggle.
“Do you think we could use it to trap the creature?” asked Achil. “He wouldn’t be able to escape from it.”
Andreas pondered Achil’s idea, “I think you are not truly aware of how cunning this creature is. This is no mindless beast. One time we set a trap for it, tying some cattle in a field to posts, it came in to steal the heard. We shot ballista at it, spears, the archers fired, all to no avail. Everything just bounced off those hardy scales. So we tried again a few months later. It flew over the heard and went straight for the places where it thought people would be hiding. Can you believe that? It actually remembered and understood what we intended. It had learnt from its previous encounter with us. So you see this Dragon learns, it could be as smart as you or I.”
Achil considered this, as he did so his eyes met Nishga’s, she seemed to be imperceptibly nodding at him, as if she too understood what such a thing meant. They were hunting something with real intelligence and not a mindless animal.
They came upon some old ruins and stopped to eat. Achil’s curiosity concerning the Dragon had been kindled so he asked Andreas if he knew anything else that might be of use to them. Whether it had any particular habits that might indicate a weakness, and what was its manner of attack. Andreas broke off some bread, passed it to Achil, swallowed a mouthful of dried meat himself, before settling down to recount what he knew.
“I mentioned that it attacks the way a hawk does,” said Andreas, his tone lowered to a whisper. “And like I said before; its scales are extremely hardy. Our weapons couldn’t even penetrate them, it's very cunning, and all in all it is an adversary the like of which you wouldn’t have known of before.”
While they talked Nishga wandered off to look at some of the frescos depicted on the ruins, one of them had a large snake coiled round a full size tree. Its roots ending at the base of the wall giving the impression that they continued down into the ground. Between the jaws of the snakes mouth was a man dressed in some ritualistic garb. Nishga ran her hand along the wall. It touched upon a brick that seemed dislodged, loose, either through decay or for some other purpose. She pushed against it, the ground at once collapsed beneath her, she fell into the gaping hole and was gone, the ground returned to its original position. Nicholas on hearing a muffled cry sprang to his feet. Achil and Andreas were immediately alerted to something being amiss and so also jumped up. They all stood still, and remained silent.
“What’s wrong?" asked Andreas, seeing how agitated Nicholas was.
He looked around, “Nishga’s missing: did you see where she went?”
Achil and Andreas shook their heads, annoyed that she had slipped away without telling them. Immediately they took to looking for her; she could not have gone too far, her shallow cry had not been too distant or it would not have been heard at all. They called out her name, oblivious as to whether they would bring some danger down upon them, but still there was no answer. She had simply disappeared. Quickly they traced her footsteps, to the wall.
The conclusion from the tracks was obvious, it was definitely the last place she had been at, and something had unquestionably occurred there, but what.
“Look at the ground, it’s been disturbed," said Achil. "If Nishga was standing here she would have been facing the wall, gazing perhaps at that depiction of a tree, she reached out, and she would have run her hand along the wall. Hey what’s this...?”
Achil’s hand fell upon the same stone as Nishga’s had done. He also pushed against it. Once more the ground opened up. All three of them dropped down suddenly, Achil landing on top of Nishga, just as she was picking herself up from her earlier fall.
Nishga pushed him away, held up her crystal so that she could illuminate the tunnel they were in. Nicholas and Andreas rose gingerly to their feet.
“We thought you were in trouble so we went looking for you,” said Achil.
“Really?” said Nishga slightly perplexed. “And who's going to look for you? Come on we should go down this tunnel.”
"Are you sure?" asked Andreas, as he dusted himself down.
“Why?” quizzed Nicholas.
Nishga shone the crystal in their faces, “Because there are walls to the side of us and to the rear of us, so therefore we should follow the tunnel.”
Her voice was irritated, though it was not the others she was annoyed with, but herself; as she had led everyone into an unnecessary predicament. If only she had been just a little less curious, or rather less careless, the four of them would be on their way to Ruin Mountain, as opposed to being lost.
Nishga illuminated a path for everyone to follow. Slowly they made their way along the tunnel. A strange elongated snake like funnel that came to an abrupt end, opening out into a large chamber. In fact it was a crypt. There was a sarcophagus with a man of stone atop it, the man seemed sleeping and dressed for battle, his sword resting on him ready to be swung into action. He wore a crown covered by flimsy cobwebs that collapsed at the touch. Finding some aged disused torches on the ground, they lit them; this enabled them to investigate their surroundings further without having to rely on Nishga. Before them scattered on the ground were golden amulets encrusted with jade. Jewels of every colour shape and size were in a large open trunk. There was hanging against the wall a large mirror that brightly reflected the light from Nishga’s crystal, but strangely only dimly returned the light from the torches. Nishga walked over and stood directly in front of the mirror. As she did so it began to cloud over. She called the others over to view such a curious sight and when they were all in front of the mirror, a shape began to manifest itself.
They found they were looking at a scene from ages past. It was life as it used to be long ago.
Andreas gasped, “That must be the Mirkoid, never before have we seen them.”
The picture became hazy once more. Again a shape began to take form. This time they saw the Pyramid and the glory of the race that built it. At its summit stood a man, spear and shield in hand. And hovering above him was a Dragon. The Dragon swooped down upon the man. The man thrust his spear up and into the heart of the beast. The creature writhed, clawed at its chest and then came crashing down upon the man in its ruin, hu
rling him off the Pyramid as it did so. The picture then switched to the man surrounded by a multitude being buried in a sarcophagus, the very one in the chamber they were in. The mirror fogged over, and cleared to show them a sight unexpected. They each shuddered as human sacrifices were being made to appease vengeful Gods. The picture altered again as they were then taken on a vast timber ship with great sails overseas to a distant land. It was difficult to make out what part of the past that was. The land at that time was plentiful enough but as they watched they saw flaming rocks burst forth from mountains devastating everything. Finally they saw a waste land beneath a grey canopy, a cold hard barren wilderness, a kingdom of ice. Once more the mirror began to cloud over, and then returned to normal.
Achil like the others had been awed by what he had just seen, “Has anyone ever seen anything like that before?”
Andreas took a step back, “You are joking, never, but I have heard of such things. It is said the Mirkoid could enter the dream realm. I have a feeling we have just seen one.”
Nicholas touched the mirror it appeared to be made from normal glass.
“I don’t know,” said Nicholas. “That was more real than any dream I know of and from what I recall, such things were very private and took you on a journey through the life you‘ve led, and are going to lead. What we just saw was different; it was like looking into another age. Did you also notice that the man's armour was not penetrated by the Dragons phlegm, and that spear of his penetrated its hide almost as if the scales offered little or no resistance?”
Nishga had gone over to the sarcophagus in the centre of the Crypt. She had already considered that the very weapon that downed the beast might be buried with the warrior in his tomb. She tried to move the top. Achil shouted across to her to stop, but he was too late the stone top moved slightly, a hidden lever was sprung. The tunnel entrance closed as a stone door slammed across it.
Nishga looked up, “Oops.”
Achil waved his hands in the air, exasperated by her nonchalance.
“Is that it, all you can say Oops," said Achil.
She now levered a metal rod into the small gap she had made and with the help of Nicholas forced open the top of the sarcophagus.
There was no body inside just stairs. Nicholas picked up a torch to waive in front of the opening.
“Where do you think they lead?” asked Nicholas.
Nishga leant forward and peered deep into the recess, "Into the dark.”
Achil grabbed the torch from Nicholas, “It's not going to take all of us to go down and see what’s there. Andreas you come with me; you two stay here, and Nishga don’t push anything or pull anything or do anything.”
“Why do I get to go with you?” asked Andreas.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of the dark.” said Achil.
“I couldn’t care about the dark,” replied Andreas. “It's the spiders that bother me.”
“If its any consolation I'm sure they're more afraid of you than you're of them and besides if you're really scared of such small things, how do you expect to stop a Dragon, so stop your moaning and lets go," said Achil.
Andreas followed Achil as he descended.
“I'm not scared of them, and not withstanding their size, they're just creepy. I mean no creature should have eight legs, it's unnatural,” muttered Andreas. “And tell me this, why do all dark places lead down into the Realm of Hades."
They came out into another chamber and this one was an armoury.
“Realm of Hades," said Achil. “See, nothing to worry about. It's just another underground chamber."
“That’s what everyone says just before something bad happens," said Andreas.
"What could possibly go wrong, I mean Nishga's not here to touch anything," replied Achil.
In front of them were helmets, shields, swords and spears, they were dusty, covered in cobwebs but seemed solid enough. Achil picked one up and struck the ground with it, the sword bounced back at him. Studying it he could see that it even matched the sword Nishga had made for him whilst at the Gypsy camp. They looked around and sure enough in the corner of the room were the weapons they had seen the man use in the mirror. Andreas picked up the man's sword and tried the spear, both were still sturdy. He took the shield and the helmet as well. Andreas called up for Nicholas and Nishga to join them.
“There are some arms here that might be of use so take what you need,” shouted Andreas.
Nicholas and Nishga joined them and excitedly began rummaging through the weaponry.
“This looks far better than anything I’ve got,” said Andreas throwing Nicholas a sword. “Try that for size.”
Nicholas swung it round to check the balance of it, between the hilt and tip. Without saying a word he unsheathed his sword and let it drop to the floor. Nishga took a long dagger for herself. One she found that was light, strong, and easy to handle. Some armour had not survived the test of time crumbling when touched; some chain mail that still appeared able needed to be tempered to get it back into use. But there were some shields that could still offer a good defence. They could not find the armour that had protected the Mirkoid warrior against the attack from the Dragon, it did not appear among the hoard they had found.
The distraction of being in that place had deterred them from looking for an exit. They collected together what they thought would have value, and quickly began their search for a way out; they found a small tunnel to the rear of the antechamber. It was half the height of a man, so crouching down they crept through it. The tunnel was also narrow forcing them to walk along in single file. As it began to rise they came to a point where it branched out in two directions. Achil placed the torch in front of one of the paths, and the flame appeared to dip, he did the same for the other side and the flame seemed to flare up, they took that path. The tunnel was lengthy narrow and cramped, at its end were stairs which Achil climbed carefully. They led into what must have looked externally like another sarcophagus. Achil pushed the stone top, but could not get any leverage. He called for Andreas to give him a hand. Together the two of them persuaded the hard lid to give way; it began to move with difficulty. They managed to get a sword into the small crack they had created and pivot it up, then using their backs they heaved the top too, until it fell to the floor. They were out into the forest once more. They easily found their way back to their camp, not having actually travelled that far from it. Without realising it the tunnels they had been in had circled round and they had found themselves not too far from where they had started.
Nishga and Nicholas sat back down, took some food from their packs and began to eat. Achil was about to do the same, but for the unwelcome attention of a stone beneath his blanket. He removed it and threw it with some distain into the brush.
“So anyway Andreas before that little adventure of ours,” said Achil. “You were about to tell me about the next part of our journey.”
Andreas smiled, he had forgotten that they had prior to entering the tunnel, been discussing the Dragon. Andreas went on to explain what else he knew, and understood of the beast, he then past Achil the sword, and shield they had taken from the crypt. Achil took out his own sword, and asked Nishga as a trained smithy to compare them. From what she observed they were made of very similar metals.
Once rested from their brief ordeal the four were on the move again. By the afternoon they approached the Pyramid. It was as high as a mountain. Raised proudly above the forest, weathered and worn, and though aged by countless years of neglect, time could not fully cover its magnificence. Vines had clambered up long suffering stairs and taken root, broken statues were scattered in a confused malaise at its base. As they approached each recalled the sight they had seen in the mirror, how incredible it had looked in its day, and how privileged they were to see the sight of it in all its glory. It was stepped on two sides smooth on the other sides. In the centre point of each side were damaged remains of broken stone steps that led to its summit. Nishga took the lead and began to cli
mb the stairs, the others lagged warily behind for a moment before following her.
Whatever Nishga had learned from the Nashvilly, one thing was certain; her association with them had imbued her with more than a sense of knowing how to use Crystal power and defeating the Furies had also made her incredibly confident and self-assured. Once at the top, they gazed out over the swamp. The Pyramid seemed to lie on a rise; trees converged all around chocking it. Osgaroth in the distance seemed a contented land in comparison to their new chaotic surroundings. After gazing out from such a height and letting their minds drift to far off homes, it was Achil who reminded them of their current need to move on. Nicholas suggested that before they leave they should try to find out if the Mirkoid still existed, and if they did, if they knew of some means that they were unaware of, for combating the Dragon. As they searched for signs of the Mirkoid it was Nishga who found a doorway leading into the Pyramid. The square pitch black opening swallowed up any light that touched it, and did not look altogether appealing. Stale unwelcoming air escaped from within, as did a small rat that scurried passed looked up at the four intruders and scuttled off. Startled by the small rodent they wondered what else might inhabit such a place and whether or not they should risk entering and with the possibility that they could get trapped inside or just move on.
“Whatever is in there may have some worth,” said Nishga. “And we may find something that might give us an idea of how to defeat the Dragon. It is for this reason that I say we should go in.”
Achil was a bit more dubious, “I think that the Mirkoid are a dead people, and the only things left of them are a few broken stones and this pyramid. We saw from the vision in the mirror how the Dragon was brought to ruin. Going in there is an unnecessary risk. Must I remind you all that our priority is Ruin Mountain and the Dragon, these little side shows are needless distractions.”
“I think it’s a risk worth taking,” said Andreas. "As long as we all stick together and no one leaves anyone else’s side. What say you Nicholas?”
Nicholas just shook his head impatiently, “You three are bickering like old mother hens. There’s nothing to discuss here, let's go and see if there's anything in there of use.”
Nishga looked at Achil triumphantly and followed Nicholas into the Pyramid, followed shortly after by Andreas, last to enter with a shake of the head was Achil. They entered a large spacious chamber illuminated by Nishga’s crystal. On the walls were large hieroglyphs. This time there was no sarcophagus but there were free standing mirrors, the greatest of which lay beneath an opening in the ceiling where light shone down. The other mirrors were situated in each corner, all held on stands that could be tilted up or down. Nicholas had gone over to the one beneath the cavity in the ceiling. Feeling a small pebble under his foot he removed his shoe as he did so he lost his balance grabbed hold of the mirror so as not to fall, it tilted on its back and the light above was captured and reflected from mirror to mirror, no need this time for Nishga’s Crystal light. The room was now well lit. They began their search for anything that might be of use but could find nothing, no antechamber no hidden compartments, there only seemed one way in or out.
Achil whispered into Nishga’s ear, “Looks like this is going to be a short visit after all.”
He offered himself a wry smile before moving off to study the symbols on the wall. Nicholas and Andreas soon joined him; all three looked rather perplexed at what had been found.
“It looks like one of their deities must have been a lizard,” said Nishga.
“Why?" asked Nicholas.
Nishga pointed toward the wall, “Because that’s a lizard.”
The picture was in fact, in shape and form, that of a chameleon.
Achil ran his hand across it until he got to the bulbous eye, it was loose.
“I think I’ve stumbled across something,” said Achil. “Everyone ready yourselves.”
He pushed the eye inward, and behind the wall they heard a clanking sound, it seemed to reverberate around. They all warily stepped back. On the other side of the room a door flipped open. They hesitated a moment before walking over to it, Nishga adjusting one of the mirrors lit up the area.
Achil stood at the entrance looking in, “Oh great, just what we need more stairs.”
Nishga shrugged and lifting her crystal illuminated their passage. The stairs were much wider than when they had entered the crypt. At the bottom they led into a large chamber it was clearly a place of worship. There was to the front an alter with large stone pillars to each side. The stony floor was covered in dust. They lit the surrounding torches that hung from the pillars. This was a place where people gathered and therefore it was unlikely to have any hidden traps. They walked over to the Alter, and carved on its front was the same lizard shape as on the wall. Nishga walked round the alter to its rear. Again the same design as to the front. The eye was once more bulbous protruding out. She pushed it in, and a draw flipped open. Inside there was a layered cloak made out of some unknown material, it was extremely light, Nishga picked it up turned to the others to show them and wrapped it around her. To their astonishment she appeared to disappear.
Achil waved his hands out in front trying to feel where she could have gone, but there was no sign of her.
“Nishga where are you?” said Achil.
"You have to be joking, are you saying you can't see me," replied Nishga, whose voice was near.
After taking up a position next to Achil, she removed the cloak, on her reappearance he practically jumped out of his skin.
“That’s amazing it's made of a material that actually melds into its surroundings, making its wearer almost invisible,” said Andreas.
Nicholas took hold of it, “look at this, it actually blends in with the pillar, but it doesn’t seem to reflect people.”
Nishga went back to the Alter and pulled out a scroll from the draw. On it were pictures which showed someone holding the garment, wearing the garment, and then the person disappeared into the background.
“I think I’ve figured out why it can’t reflect people,” said Nishga. “The scroll shows that the garment naturally blends into its surroundings as you already pointed out Andreas. It acts the way a Chameleon would. Hence the person wearing the cloak would seem not to be there. I believe from what I can understand it does not reflect anything that has even the most mild internal heat source, but it has its flaws and is far from perfect. I would suggest it can only be used with great care.”
Achil joined her at the alter to take a look at the scroll, “Good work Nishga, everyone let's see what else we might find in here.”
Soon Nicholas called out. To the rear behind the pillars was an opening, it had been disguised by the shadow of a pillar and was barely visible. It would not have been detected had Nicholas not walked passed it and felt a rush of air against his face. He then put his hand out to see what the cause was, only to find it vanish into the shadow. Achil seized a torch and directed by Nicholas as to where to go, entered. Holding the torch up he took a few faltering steps forward, with the others nervously following on behind, they found themselves in a short corridor that led into an antechamber, where they found another large mirror attached to the back wall, and painted on it was a serpent wrapped around a tree. It had precious stones for eyes, emeralds that seemed to glitter in the half light, as though the creature were looking right at them. As they slowly moved closer to the mirror, it began to ripple. Unlike the other one where the mirror had remained solid, the surface of this one softened, as though it were a pool of water. The snake within began to writhe, they all simultaneously stepped back. The form in front of them had ceased to be flat but was becoming very real. The head of the snake was now loose from the tree it began to extend out from the glass staring at each of them in turn.
Finally it laid its eyes on Nishga, her crystal began to glow. The Serpent reared up in front of her.
Achil moved to intercept but Nishga put her hand out stopping him.
“I
can hear it in my mind,” said Nishga. “It's talking to me. It does not wish us any harm. It is a sentinel of the mirror through which you can pass into the afterlife. It sensed the power emanating from my crystal and was drawn to it. It has something it wishes to give me.”
The snake reached up to the tree and pulled from it a fruit as it handed the fruit to Nishga it solidified and became an Orb. The snake then withdrew back into the mirror the whole surface of which became solid once again.
Nishga looked at the snake and bowed.
“This is a special gift,” said Nishga excitedly. "It is an Orb imbued with mystical powers enabling the user to see across, and communicate over great distances, and even peer through time, if such a thing can be believed.”
"Let me get this straight, a picture of a snake in a mirror comes to life, speaks to you, and hands you a magical Orb, and you're asking yourself whether or not the Orb will do, what it says it will do," replied Achil.
Achil gestured for them to leave, and so they departed as calmly as possible and made their way out of the Pyramid. It was now evening; they sat at the top of the Pyramid and watched the sun slowly set. From where they were, they could gaze across the swamp of Osgaroth, a deep red hue bounced off the bright crown of the trees, as dusk approached. In the distance two eagles gently circled over them before moving off.
Achil leant over to Nishga and pointed, “You don’t need that Orb of yours to see what’s ahead of us.”
Beyond the swamp they could see Ruin Mountain, even from that distance it looked like a desolate empty place. It rose above the clouds; it was a menacing sight to behold, an aged unviable calloused tomb that waited to devour any that dared enter. Its peak seemed to simmer and appeared barren of any icy covering, an indication of its burning heart. A hidden dormant rage that was ready to erupt and consume all before it.