Chapter XIV
Into the Dark
Achil woke in the dank uncomfortable cave; he had had a decidedly unpleasant sleep filled with Dragons, Mirkoid and Wild Men. So he was not best pleased when his eyes flickered open to find himself facing Andreas’s stubbly cheek. He rose so quickly from the sight of it, that he banged his head on a part of the wall that jutted out. Rubbing his sore head, Achil gazed out of the cave, the sun had set, and the North Star shone low on the horizon, piercing the night like cut glass attached to a dark veil. Behind him Andreas and Nicholas began to stir, Achil saw straight away that Nishga was missing. He rose quickly and leaving the others to wake in their own time, he stepped out to look for her; he strode passed the rocky outcrop, and on to the small waterhole that lay at its rear. A shallow flow of water descended from the rocks. None had noticed that the small hollow they had sheltered in abutted a channel that led down to a river that was near too. Nishga was bathing beneath it, her back to Achil, half submerged, the water rushed over her lithe body, her skin firm, nubile youthful. Her wet dark hair stretched down her back. She stood up, waist high in the water and turned round to see Achil. Nishga dropped back into the water her head remaining above it, looking mischievously at him.
“How long have you been watching me?” She enquired impishly.
Achil was taken aback, “I wasn’t watching you, I saw that you were missing and was concerned that’s all.”
“I don’t know you seemed to be more than just concerned,” replied Nishga. “Something must have caught your eye.”
Nishga leant back into the water and let her toes spring up, and started wriggling them playfully.
“We have a long night ahead, so get ready, so we can be on our way,” said Achil, quickly changing the subject.
“You've neglected to bathe of late, perhaps you should join me," replied Nishga.
Nishga tilted her head in the soft light which gave her a more alluring provocative sensual look. She playfully ran her fingers through her hair, before making her way to the edge of the waterhole. Achil turned round so as not to be caught watching her. Seeing how uncomfortable he was, she teasingly came up behind him, and began drying and dressing within easy reach of him. She first put on her tunic and then her breeches, and finally her cloak.
“You can turn round now, I’m fully clothed,” said Nishga, and with her back to him she dried her hair.
Achil, thinking perhaps that she had a point, that he was smelling rather ripe, waded into the water fully clothed, the chill, cooled his bones.
"What are you doing?" cried Nishga.
"I thought I'd wash my clothes at the same time," replied Achil.
She sat down by the edge of the bank and continued to dry her hair, ringing any water out by spiralling it in tight curls. Meanwhile Achil undressed and threw his clothes onto the bank. It was now his turn to stand under the outflow of fresh running water.
Nishga stared a moment at him an expression both sad and serious on her face, Achil’s torso had old scars carved into them, signs of previous battles he had fought, these were complemented by newer more recent ones. She turned her gaze to the new moon, that distant companion of theirs had returned. Nicholas appeared as did Andreas, seeing Achil in the water and without any invitation being needed; they both stripped off and jumped in, hurling water in all directions, it was all Nishga could do, to keep from being soaked by their frolicking. As they started throwing water over each other and dunking one another’s heads in the wash, Nishga’s expression changed, from one of thoughtful contemplation to one of youthful cheer. Nicholas dived down, coming up behind Achil to throw chilled water over his back. Achil turned to do the same to Nicholas, but whilst under he discerned a natural recess in the rock. The small opening was half submerged and covered by the onrushing water coming out of the rocks. He swam toward it for a closer look. The current took him, Achil desperately fought to gain control, but it was too late, he was sucked into what seemed like a shoot. He cascaded down the channel, flying out the other end, legs and arms flailing uncontrollably into a body of water at the other end, an underground lagoon. Above, Nicholas’s voice echoed after him and was lost.
Achil tried calling up in the hope of being heard.
“I can’t reach the opening's it's too far up,” said Achil. “If you can hear me, throw my things down and I will find another way out.”
Achil fell silent listening for any reply, but with the torrent of water rushing nearby, he was uncertain as to whether anyone could have heard his cries. He stood in what was a shallow expanse of water, disoriented by the dark. Shivering, Achil realised that there was no way for him to know where the shore line was, when some way off he heard a rustling scurrying sound, unmistakably it came from dry land. It sounded like a rodent of sorts which also meant, that if such a creature could find its way into such a place, it probably had a way out also. Achil waded toward the sound and with a sigh of relief discovered what he had hoped for, dry land. Dragging himself from the water he sat a moment on the cool sandy shingly earth, but his very real dilemma was that he was caught truly 'Between the Dark and the Deep' as they would say in Findolin, and then for no apparent reason at all Achil began to laugh. No clothes, only rodents to eat, plenty of water to drink, possibly no way out, as tombs went it could be worse. Suddenly there was a whoosh sound, as something flew out of the same shoot he had shot down; landing with a mighty splash in the water. Wrapped together in a tight bundle were his sword and shield, which were belted round his clothes. Achil waded toward the sound, not knowing what he might find. Then Nishga fell through the channel almost landing on top of Achil and practically drowning him in the process; she leapt to her feet gasping for air pulled out her Crystal to illuminate the cavern and waded toward the shore closely followed by Achil who had quickly grabbed his things.
The light shone upon Achil’s naked muscular sinewy physic, practically blinding him in the process.
“What are you doing down here?” cried Achil, covering his eyes from the light, “Now we’re both trapped.”
His frustrated pose was quite comical to look upon.
“I thought I'd better bring you something to wear,” replied Nishga, trying hard not to laugh.
“Thank you, but now we’re both trapped,” said Achil retreating beyond the light.
He dumped the bundle on the ground dried himself and his clothes, and then quickly dressed. As he did so, to his amazement Andreas and Nicholas also came flying down the chute.
Achil stood up exasperated as they slunk ashore, “What do you two think you're doing; now we’re all stuck here.”
They looked at each other and back at Achil.
“Well that’s gratitude for you,” said Andreas, with more annoyance than Nishga had shown earlier.
They both dried and dressed with the rumblings of Achil still in their ears. The air was stale more fitting for a crypt, the darkness surrounding the halo of her Crystal light was confining. Nishga raised the Crystal above her head, it shone in all directions, and it gradually became more radiant, until finally it was as though she held a star in her hand. The walls were smooth as though man made, and had frescos on them. It appeared they had discovered something extraordinary. Eons ago their surroundings had stood in the light of day. The friezes showed the day to day running of a civilisation: everything there had once been above ground and had been swallowed up by Ruin Mountain in a mighty cataclysm. They followed the frescos along the wall until they disappeared off into a larger cavern. There was a strange eerie deathly silence about the place, Achil had been right they had entered a tomb, and the only sound were their footfalls. To their amazement, they had strayed into a large sunken city, and by the way the light of Nishga‘s Crystal faded into the distance they could tell it was vast. They walked along the forgotten streets, peered into some of the windows. The houses had the uncanny feeling of only recently being abandoned. Nishga and Achil entered one of the houses to find a table set, and food laid out, Achil picked
up the petrified remains of a loaf of bread, which crumbled in his hands. Further down the long avenue, they could see in the dim light, a temple, pillars had been knocked down, and the roof had collapsed, but they could unmistakably make it out, it looked as though it had only recently happened. Eventually they arrived at what was a large open plaza. Illuminated by Nishga's Crystal, they could see that the ground was paved, though cracked, with mighty fissures running along it, and it was covered by a layer of cool sandy earth. From there the streets stretched in all directions in the manner of a spider's web. This was not a place of the Mirkoid; it was less severe, less stoic than the structures built in the swamp. In fact it had a very real resemblance to the City of the Dragon people, though in its day it would have been more impressive, grander. Curiosity got the better of them, so Andreas made a couple of torches, and they split up into pairs to investigate, and see if there was anything that might indicate a way out.
As they walked down one of the main cobbled streets Nishga noticed that at her feet was a small wooden puppet, intrigued she bent down and picked it up. As she held it up it flopped sadly back in her hand, one of the arms falling away clattering to the floor.
“This place is truly strange,” said Nishga. “It's as if there could have been life here quite recently.”
Achil looked at her and nodded, the feeling was quite uncanny.
"Look on the ground close by where you picked that doll up from."
Nishga waved the light over where Achil had indicated, and there in front of them were some very large imprints, which appeared from a side roadway and disappeared off in the direction of the east part of the city. They were dug into the ground by some heavy creature. Achil crouched over them a moment.
"Whatever made such markings only past by here recently maybe within the last hour, I would say there's a strong indication that it's still somewhere near, and by the size of these markings, it's big."
"I don't hear anything, surely such a creature, if it were close by, would not be able to hide from us."
"My dear Nishga such a creature would not want to hide from us."
"There's another thing that's been bothering me," said Nishga.
“It’s the silence, its unnatural,” replied Achil cautiously. “There’s also something else, which I didn’t really want to mention, but since we've discovered these tracks, I think I'd better."
“What’s that?” asked Nishga curiously.
They both stopped, Achil stood motionless, pensive.
“Don’t be alarmed,” he spoke as if he were unsure of himself. “It's probably nothing, but I get the feeling we’re being watched.”
Nishga moved a little closer to Achil who was standing quite still. His eyes peered into the dark, his head slightly tilted as though he were listening; neither of them could hear anything. Some instinct he felt had alerted him to some unknown presence. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. Nishga stared at him and for the first time since she had known him, saw that he was truly disturbed by something.
“Could it be our new friend, or friends?” asked Nishga, apprehension clearly showing in her voice.
Achil was standing as if to attention. He motioned in front of them.
“I can sense something up ahead beyond the shadow of the light of your crystal,” replied Achil.
Nishga turned to face where he was looking, “Well there’s only one way to find out.”
She began to concentrate hard and between her hands two small coils of light appeared, waiting to follow her command. They sprung from her hands hurtling across the cavern in the direction of where Achil had felt that something was watching them, illuminating that area.
Three tall men stood at an opening to a tunnel. Pallid tall figures, covered by cloaks that touched the ground, beneath which could be seen finely made garments that shimmered when touched by the light, their helmets shone like glittering moons, at their sides Achil could just make out their swords, one had a shield protecting his front, no doubt the other two had them strapped to their backs, these people were definitely not Mirkoid. They calmly stepped back covering their faces from the sudden glare. The men did not panic, and seemed more curious of the strangers than threatened by them. Their hair was dark, and their eyes lit up when touched by the light, they were blue and pierced the black as if it were not there. Achil called out to them, but there was no response, too late the call, the silhouetted figures were gone.
“What do you think?” asked Achil, breathing out a sigh of relief that his imagination had not got the better of him.
“Do we go after them?” asked Nishga. “Perhaps, they might know a way out.”
“Do you honestly think they looked the helpful type,” replied Achil.
"At least it wasn't some nasty beastie; perhaps the Orb can help us learn what occurred here."
With a mumble of disquiet from Achil, Nishga placed her hand in her holdall and pulled out the clear glass ball. Nicholas and Andreas had joined them talking hurriedly and excitedly about what to do next. Achil pointed out the unusual tracks and before there was a flood of questions, he raised his hand, gesturing for them to quiet. The Orb began to glow. Nishga’s face was lit up as though in candle light, peering deeper and deeper into it; her eyes reflected the orbs light, like mirrors. Slowly it fogged over and then became clear, leaving her with hollow images.
“I can see a thriving city, it has a very familiar aspect to it,” said Nishga. “It's the one we are standing in but in the light of day it looks different, grander. In the distance is Ruin Mountain. The people that once lived here seem to be worshiping some deity, maybe from the heart of that mountain, I don‘t know. The picture is changing. Now I can see a battle, between the Mirkoid and these people; two vast armies arrayed in front of each other. Next, the people are at peace going about their business. Someone is standing at the steps of that temple.” She pointed to the temple they were close to. “They look like they’re beseeching their God. The Mountain in the distance has spewed forth its wrath covering the land in ash. The people are panicking trying to escape but there is nowhere to run. The picture has altered; I can see the City in its final death throes, being swallowed by the ground. A few people are struggling to survive in the dark. Feeding off what they can find. It looks as though they kept strange animals in a sanctuary; some have escaped into the dark which they can use for food. After a time when it is safe to do so the people hunt above ground. The land still appears barren, but the people have adapted to their new life. There numbers increase but they remain beneath the earth, away from the ever watchful Mirkoid, in secret, in safety. Not realising that the Mirkoid have suffered also.” The Orb fogged over once more. Nishga looked up and placed it back in her holdall. “I’m sorry there is nothing more.”
“So it seems that their enemy is the Mirkoid,” said Nicholas.
“That does not mean they will be friendly to us,” muttered Andreas, then he spoke a little louder. “Nishga could you sense the type of people these are?”
Nishga hesitated a moment then with a soft tone looking from Andreas to Nicholas.
“They are or were,” said Nishga quietly. “Undoubtedly Dragon people like you.”
Achil had thought as much. From what they had seen of the city, the resemblance was too uncanny, for there not to have been a relationship to the Dragon people of Grand Mountain.
As he spoke his tone matched that of Nishga's, “What do you know of your history? Where did your people come from originally?”
Surprised by the connection Andreas slowly scratched his head trying to recall what he had learnt as a child.
“There is a legend that says that we were born out of fire,” said Andreas. “That from our beliefs came two major events in our history, the Gathering and the Sundering. At some point long before memory, the Dragon People came from distant lands beyond the Great Sea where numerous strange and wild creatures lived. But that land was destroyed by a cataclysm that laid waste to everything. The remna
nts of my people gathered together and came to this land but on arrival there was conflict between the two clans of the Dragon People. A schism occurred. My people separated off. But until now there had been no knowledge of the other clan. If of course you genuinely believe this could be them, or what's left of them.”
Achil measured his words carefully, "Andreas it is rare that peoples share so much in common. Kingdoms grow differently, partly due to the lands they live in, as they have to at first survive, and then flourish within the regions they occupy. People are only different in so much that they have to create a world around them that they can thrive in, otherwise we all have pretty much the same traits."
Achil could sense Andreas's concern.
“What caused the schism?” asked Nishga.
Andreas sighed deeply, “We believed at that time that the Sun God giver of all life was greater than the Moon God which had power over the night and the seas. Unfortunately they believed the opposite.”
Achil stared grimly at him, “I’m sorry, are you saying you argued over something as intangible as the Gods, instead of just accepting that either of you could have been right. I don’t understand why anyone would actually disagree over that.”
“It wasn’t really about the Gods,” said Andreas. “It was about who had the power, it was about control, I don’t think the Gods would have cared one way or other which was lesser or greater after all, such an argument is way too petty for them. To them such things have no meaning, being traits of men; after all the only Gods that fight amongst themselves are those thought up by men, and though it doesn’t make any kind of sense now, please remember those were older times filled with fear and uncertainty.”
They all stood in silence, the light from Nishga’s crystal reflecting upon their eyes, which seemed to glaze over and soften. Andreas turned away: he brushed away a tear as he did so. The four became quiet, reflective, the statues nearby, and far off, both broken and standing, seemed more than ever a memorial to a previous age.
“Nishga you mentioned that they used to hunt outside,” said Achil. “Doesn't it then stand to reason that there must be a way out, have you any idea where it could be?”
Nishga forced herself back to the moment, “Yes, I believe that these tunnels do lead out of here. There’s just one problem what do we do if we run into those people again, or something worse.”
Far off there was a sharp shriek from the dark.
"First let's avoid something worse," said Nicholas warily.
“And if those people wanted us dead they would've probably attacked us by now,” said Achil. “So let's assume they're friendly for now. And besides with that Cloak of yours you can always disappear if anything untoward happens.”
“And what am I supposed to do without the rest of you. I can't exactly fight creatures of the dark on my own,” said Nishga.
“Are you sure about that?” asked Achil.
“Quite sure,” said Nishga.
There was another Shriek from the dark; Nishga lifted up her Crystal and there in the Shadows, with a multitude of eyes that sliced through the veil of black as though it were not there, was the largest spider ever to walk Suberia. It was bloated with a red stain running down its back, and it was covered in thick hairs; its fangs were the size of curved swords and on each leg were mighty claws, it stood ominously on top of the ruined remains of a collapsed building staring down at them.
Andreas just shook his head, "That's one spider that's not going to be more afraid of us than we are of it. And it's truly one ugly looking beastie."
"I've seen worse," whispered Nicholas.
"When have you seen worse?" asked Andreas.
"There's your mother," replied Nicholas with a nervous chuckle.
"No one move I don't think it knows we're here," said Achil.
At that a long strand of silk shot from the spider's mouth and wrapped itself round Nicholas's legs; he was then hauled to the ground and dragged along the floor.
"It's knows, it's knows," cried Nicholas.
Achil hurled himself forward and with one swift movement, he cut Nicholas free.
"Everyone run," shouted Nishga, letting loose a flash of light to blind the creature.
With Nishga’s Crystal lighting the way they dashed off toward the tunnel just as the great spider leapt forward with an incredible agility that was altogether frightening to see. As they raced across into the passageway, Achil realising that they could not make their escape, readied his sword and turned to face the creature, but as he did so, to the amazement of all, the wall slammed shut behind them, locking them in, and the spider out. On entering the tunnel, a hidden door had been triggered that had closed once they were all through, but the question was who had sealed them in. They paused a moment to catch their breath, and it was with a sense of relief that they flew off down the wide corridor in the hope of finding an exit. They could clearly make out beneath them the remains of an old cobbled road. It had long since been dug out, and cleared of debris, most likely by the survivors of the tragedy that had befallen the city.
They barely made a noise as they hurried along; the light bounced off the walls and sent their shadows into a strange bloated dance: nothing though could disguise the fact that that roadway was still well used.
“Everything is so well maintained,” said Achil, who, though a little unnerved by their surroundings, was also quietly impressed by the scene, “It appears that the people adapted well to life underground.”
“The reason has to be necessity;” said Andreas thoughtfully. “They could not let themselves be discovered by the Mirkoid, because they would have been destroyed, so they built their culture around secrecy. I think we will only see them again if they wish to be seen. The reason why we saw them before was because they were probably curious to know who we were. And to make sure we were not the Mirkoid. Also Nishga’s use of her Crystal Magic caught them unawares, I think next time, if there is a next time things will be different.”
“That’s a good point,” said Achil pondering his words. “Though I do feel if they were hostile, we would have known of it by now. After all, that door back there did not happen to shut on its own accord.”
In Achil’s experience any incursion into someone else's territory, whether accidental or not, was never taken kindly, and might even be considered an invasion or at the very least a prelude to one, so the fact that they had not faced a rampaging foe bent on their destruction boded well.
Nishga raised her Crystal as high as she could, but they were out of luck, the path they travelled down afforded them no indication as to its length, as the light was devoured by the intense dark.
“Perhaps as they prefer to keep to the shadow that is exactly what they will do,” said Nishga, her voice hushed as though she did not even wish for the walls to hear her words. “Has anyone thought that they may be like us, just lost and unlucky to find themselves down here?”
Achil gave out a slight grunt in reply, not wishing to totally dispel Nishga’s wishful thinking. They ran on deep into the dark, the hours passed slowly, in fact with the unchanging black they could have been forgiven for thinking that they were not moving at all, they stopped once to eat but quickly moved on, having the dark all around except for Nishga's Crystal Light was disconcerting, so they chose to keep going in the hope of there being a change in their fortunes, finally something did alter, they began to notice the air getting fresher. Achil stopped a moment to make sure he was not imagining it.
“Hey everyone hold up. Look at this,” said Achil gesturing toward a slight opening in the rock. “There’s a channel in the wall.”
“There‘s another,” said Nicholas, pointing to a shaft close by.
“Everyone put out your torches,” said Achil.
Andreas and Nicholas looked at each other before throwing their torches to the ground, and smothering the flames with earth. Nishga let the light from her Crystal diminish until it too was no more. To everyones surprise the tunnel was still illuminat
ed. All along the walls on either side were small shafts connected to the surface that filtered down air and light.
“There’s the proof you need,” said Achil triumphantly. “Only a people that have spent a lot of time underground could carve out tunnels and shafts like this. They must belong to the lost clan of the Dragon people.”
They moved on without the need for artificial light. The tunnel walls also glittered as though they were sprinkled with some reflective dust that caught the slightest light. The effect had been indiscernible before, now it looked remarkable. When the tunnel ended; it branched off in four directions. Achil asked the others to wait while he went to inspect them. Two of the tunnels were well lit. The other two seemed dank and unwholesome: the air coming from them seemed stale in comparison to the other two, so he immediately abandoned the possibility of using them. Bending down Achil felt the floors of the other two tunnels that had left to choose from; he felt a slight tremor to the ground of one of them. He returned to the others to inform them of his findings. They all decided that the best course of action was to follow the tunnel which was well lit and had no signs of life at the other end.
Whilst they were discussing their next move, Nicholas being curious took it upon himself to have a look up one of the side vents.
“Hey!” shouted Nicholas excitedly. “I can get my head in here. The shafts don’t really go up that far. We must have been climbing without realising it. In fact the access points are tantalisingly close, it is a shame that these channels are too narrow to climb up. Above ground must be littered with holes. From the surface they probably appear like fox holes or rabbit holes, quite clever really.”
Nishga looked up one of the chambers herself. She quickly shot back out again.
“A shadow passed by the shaft,” said Nishga, “I thought I saw someone; a face staring back at me.”
Achil waved them all forward, “Come on lets depart before we outstay our welcome. The people that live here have probably already met to discuss whether we represent a threat or not. Depending on how that went, or is going; could mean whether or not we are followed, captured or left alone.”
Nishga picked up the pace eager to leave the cramped surroundings of the tunnels.
“You could be right, let's not delay further,” said Nishga.
She raced passed the others and ran on ahead.
They rushed off down the tunnel after her. It veered off first to the left then the right. Achil overtook her and as they were racing down the narrow passage he suddenly held up his hand to slow their party down, he had smelt some incense. He gestured for everyone to crouch low. The tunnel had opened out onto a small ledge that seemed to be overlooking some ceremony that was occurring below. They had to pass over the ledge to get to the tunnel opposite.
They crept along it, looking down they could see a large chamber at the bottom of which there were people eating and talking while others were making representations to someone who was seated on a throne. No doubt he was someone of importance. The light from the torches that surrounded the chamber flickered off his lofty crown. As Nishga passed by her hand scraped along some grit that fell. The four of them held their breath. Achil ushered the others on as he peered over the side. The earth had fallen into some ones food. He saw the man put his hand to his plate pick up the meat with some earth on it and place it in his mouth, spitting it straight back out. Achil inhaled deeply pressing himself hard against the wall, in the hope that he might not be seen. Fortunately the man never looked up, he merely grabbed a goblet of wine and drunk it down in the hope of clearing his throat of any grit that he may have swallowed. Achil managed to hold back the laughter that he felt, and since he had not been discovered he made his way over to the others at the opposite end of the tunnel. The tunnel once more began to veer off, first to the right then gradually to the left at the same time it also began to rise. Behind them they heard a deep rezoning sound. It was an alarm. The occupiers of that underworld had chosen the hunt. Their pace quickened at the sound of it, and they moved on with reckless abandon feeling that the need to hide their movements had passed, especially since the chase was on. They passed side tunnels but this time didn’t stop to check them willing to trust to the one ally they had in such a place, providence. Nishga, who was now running at the rear, wrapped the cloak around her and disappeared from view. They were approaching another turning, when out popped five men with swords at the ready. Nicholas was ready to draw his sword but was prevented from doing so with a gesture from Achil. The men wore light burnished armour, over laid was a tunic with the crest of a crescent moon. Long dark hair flowed beneath bright silver helmets which had wings to the side of them; blue cold eyes scrutinized the strangers closely. Shields rested on their backs, their breeches were tucked into long tight fitting boots. In height all were taller than Andreas, though less broad.
Achil walked over to the man who he assumed was in command, “Hi, thank the Gods we’ve found you, me and my friends are lost. It feels like we’ve been stuck here since forever.”
The man stared back at him unmoved, “Our sovereign, King of the Underlings as we are called, wishes to meet you.”
“Really that’s great!” said Achil. “We’re more than willing to meet him; unfortunately we are in the middle of something really important, perhaps another time.”
The man regarded Achil coolly, “This is the time and I was asked,” he said ominously, “to give you two choices the first I’ve just mentioned, and the second.”
He raised his sword to Achil’s throat.
Achil took a step back, "I certainly prefer the first, and who are we to deny the hospitality of a King."
The man looked at Achil with a grim smile, lowered his sword, called for another guard to disarm their three guests, and then ushered them all down a side tunnel.