Arn and Cian followed the path that others of their kind had made but very soon the soft ground turned hard and they became lost in the many twisting tunnels that lay before them, there were no signs of life other than burrow worms and biting insects, they found no traces of Wormrow, the inhuman creatures that could tear them to pieces if their paths crossed, but the markings on the walls were clearly the work of Ergan-Mar, Earth-Eaters the underground miners that supplied the Nomads with Grana.
The King and the Kandrac tried to rely on their innate ability to know where they were at all times but that power would not hold true for there was something effecting their minds so that they were helpless and had to trust in luck to make their way, at times the path was easy but at other stretches it proved very difficult for the walls widened and closed at random and the Starfall that lit their way sometimes failed and they had to feel their way like the blind Sungazers of the Outlands, this pulled at the courage of the Cian for it only added to his discomfort at being underground but he did not turn and run but stood fast by his friend.
On the other hand, Arn had been in this situation before when he entered the Forbidden City in the Caltarine forest in an attempt to rescue his mate from Ral his misguided son, but like all Nomads he wished to be free of the suffocating confines and breathe the open air.
“Let us rest” the King said sitting down on a large rock that had fallen from the tunnel ceiling.
Cian made himself as comfortable as he could and began picking small insects off his skin, “I will be content to wash off these crawling tormentors when we return to the surface”.
“I too wish for the open air” the King replied, “and when I have my mate at my side and return to my tribe I will call for a feast the likes of which the Akuna have never seen”.
This made the Kandrac laugh, “You have never seen the great celebration of the six moons my friend, the Dral flows freely and the dancing last for seven days and nights”.
“That may be true” the King replied, and I will have to make sure the Almadra are there to share in the ceremony”, then the Outlander grew thoughtful, “Tell me, when your people die where do they go?” Cian stopped his grooming and looked into the dark eyes of his friend, “We lay their bodies in a craft made of seasoned wood and cast them upon the waves where they are taken to a great undersea kingdom filled with delight where all are welcome and we live forever in the embrace of Dietas”.
A Golden Hall or a kingdom under the sea, the King pondered, Nomad or Akuna we both dream of an afterlife, then the King rose to his feet, “That time is far away and we have work to do”, and taking the hand of Cian, he pulled him to his side and the two warriors continued their search.
Osh and Alune were not searching for anything; they were following a shimmering guide into the darkness. Niana did not falter in her path and traversed the many tunnels with ease and this fact told Osh that she was being guided by something unseen, there is a purpose in her mind, he thought, but why she would need our help is beyond my knowledge.
Alune accepted the will of the Gods without question and if they wished her to live or die she would do so, Isarie see us even in the darkness. As they turned a corner in the passageway they came face to face with a creature that no human had seen before, there before them was a Gorno, the great wormlike beasts that inhabits the deep layers of the planet, it’s head was huge with two great pincers-like jaws that could easily pick up a full grown Trofar and crush the life from it, its long greenish body was covered in thick armor plating as was its head, it had no eyes and moved on dozens of spider-like legs all the while emitting a high pitched whistling sound.
Alune screamed in terror at the site of the horrendous thing and Osh suddenly held her tight as his heart pounded like an Ironworkers hammer, the only one that showed no fear was Niana for she stood her ground and lifted her hand to the monster, “we will not harm you” she said in a soft voice, “Go your way and leave us in peace”.
What good are words to that thing? Osh thought and prepared himself for a gruesome departure, but the Angel of Death did not come and the old man watched as the creature from the dark returned there leaving them unharmed, “How did you accomplish such a feat?” he asked still holding the Touchtender tightly.
Niana smiled at her companion, “All life is connected, we did not wish to harm him and knowing this it did not wish to harm us”.
The Callaxion was hoping for a more substantial answer but he realized it would have to do so he turned his attention to the woman in his arms and seeing that he was holding her he quickly let her go, “I apologize for my actions I was only making certain you did not stumble and harm yourself”.
But Alune had been around men all her life and she knew that this was no simple reaction, it was a sign of love, and taking the old man in her strong arms she kissed him hard on the lips then after a warm moment or two she let him go and looked into his eyes, “I do not regret my actions anymore then you did, I only hope that someday you will be able to say the words that your heart speaks”. And taking Osh’s hand, she turned to the crystalline woman, “We will follow”.
Nodding her head Niana led them forward.
Arn and Cian were growing frustrated at their inability to find the girl they sought, they would move down one tunnel only to find another or a dead end, and being warriors, they were eager to find a tangible enemy rather than twisting corridors that lead them nowhere, at last the Nomad King could stand it no longer and pounded his heavy fist against the stone wall.
“Come out and fight!” he called out in a loud voice, then realizing that they were armed only with one short knife the Outlander calmed himself, “I know she is alive, if only I could find her”.
Cian also wished to come face to face with an enemy for although the Akuna were a peaceful race they still possessed the fighting madness that is an inbred part of all Gorn’s warriors, “Finding an enemy is one thing” he said calmly, “Defeating them is another”.
These words made the Nomad smile, “you speak like a true King and I should have….” But his words were cut short when his ears picked up a faint sound. A moment later Cian also heard it, a faraway din that was not human or machine but a mixing of the two, “It comes from there” the Akuna leader said and he pointed down a dark tunnel to their right so taking their only weapon into his strong hand Arn lead the way towards what he hoped would be battle or his mate.
The sound slowly grew louder and the two warriors continued forward, and as they did the tunnel grew wider and wider until it width would let many warriors walk shoulder to shoulder, and the walls also changed for they were cut more evenly as if my machine rather than the crude hand of an Ergan-Mar, but what really caught the eye of both Arn and Cian was the fact that the light no longer came from Starfall but from glowing tubes that ran the length of the corridor, the light was not intense but rather a soft blueish glow that bathed their surrounding with eerie shadows.
Although Arn was a giant of a man he could move lightly when needed and as he rounded a corner he saw a site that chilled his heart for there before him lay a vast chamber many times the size of anything he had seen before.
Cian drew in a breath for he also had never seen such a site, the main hall of the Akuna could hold many thousands of warriors if needed but this chamber would have swallowed that and many more, its ceiling rose up into darkness and there were no supporting columns of any kind, the gigantic hall had many great tunnels running in different directions and there were numerous smaller ones like the one the two warriors stood in now, but what really taxed the minds of Arn and Cian was the vast army that covered the floor.
“Who are they?” Cian asked for they wore thick black armor much like the Thungodra but without the trappings of rank and embellishments, their heads were covered with helmets but they bore no horns or symbols of their tribe and rather than ax or spear they held what looked like chamber rifles but of a size and shape that no one had seen before, they did not move but stood like dark statues and th
ey made no sound save for their breathing.
Arn tried to count their numbers but it was useless for it was more than all the Rimar he had ever seen, “They are not Nomads or Akuna” he said in a low voice, “No Ergan-Mar could fashion armor like that”.
Before the mystery could be solved the two warriors heard footsteps and pressed themselves against the wall hoping that the might not be noticed, they watched at two black armored creatures rounded the corner and immediately saw the two intruders.
Arn did not wait for them to sound an alarm but leaped upon the one nearest him with his knife in his hand, his movements were swift that his blade drove deep into an open space between his opponent’s chest plate and helmet cutting off any cry for help.
Cian also moved quickly but he had no weapon so he leaped high and wrapped his strong legs around his adversaries neck and squeezed with all his might, the dark armored warrior tore at Cian’s limbs cutting him with his jagged fingernails but the fighting madness was on the Wave-rider and he would not lessen his grip and grabbing the man’s helmet in his hands he twisted hard and did not let go until he heard the neck bones crack, with his opponent dead Cian turned to help his companion but the Nomad needed no assistance for the madness had also taken him and he drove his knife again and again into the throat of his enemy until it lay dead at his feet, for a moment the two warriors said nothing for the battle had been a hard one and it was only their strength and quickness that saved their lives.
“It has been a long time since we fought side by side,” Arn said as he filled his lungs with air.
“Yes” replied Cian, “and it is good that you have not lost your strength in your old age”.
The Nomad nodded his head then bent down to remove the helmet from the man he killed, “let us see who our enemy really is”, but as he lifted the head covering he pulled back in disbelief for he was looking into the face of a man he knew well, “Trygor!”.
“You know him?” Cian asked.
“Yes” the King replied, “He was one of my personal guard and a brave warrior, we fought side by side in many battles and now I have killed him”, killing a friend will bar the doors of the Golden Hall forever.
The Akuna leader removed the plating covering the face of the man he defeated, but rather than seeing a friend he looked into the face of an Ergan-Mar, “The dwellers in the earth do not fight beside a Nomad that I know”.
The Outlander King also was confused by the site of the dead man, “Something has bonded them together, something evil for a warrior of the Almadra follows only his king and would never cast his lot with another let alone a creature of the darkness”.
Cian watched as his companion began taking the dark armor from the warrior at his feet and knowing what he had in mind the leader of the Akuna did the same and a short time later they could pass themselves off as soldiers of the underground army and not Kings of the upper lands.
Andra drifted in and out of a dark sleep but for how long she could not tell for there was no time underground and no way of knowing if she had been in the dim room for one day or many but when she opened her eyes she looked into the face of a creature she had never encountered before, he was tall and dressed in a shimmering robe with a face set with unfeeling eyes.
Who is this thing? She thought and in a moment, she had an answer.
“I am Servant” the figure said.
It’s like he could read my mind, Andra said to herself.
“I can read your mind” the creature answered, “I know all your thoughts and your past, the memories that were real and those that were put there to make you what you are”.
This time the Selcarie girl spoke out loud, “What do you want?”
This made the Ergan-Mar smile a thing that Earth-Eater’s rarely did, “Spoken like a true warrior, I do not want anything it is my master who needs what you possess”.
“If you can read my mind then you have all the information you seek” the bound girl replied.
The robed man moved to the dissection tables and look at the remains laying there, “We have all manner of ways to gather the information we need, this organic lifeform has giving us undated chromosomal coding that my master will make good use of, with it he can calculate enhanced breeding techniques and genetic manipulation that will improve your species”, Servant moved closer to the helpless female and reached out with is cold hand and touched her lightly on her skin, “Such strange creatures you are, soft on the outside but hard as Itarian steel on the inside”.
The touch of the robed man made Andra’s flesh crawl and she pulled at her binding but they did not give way, but her mind filled with such gruesome images of what she would do if she were free Tark removed his hand and quickly stepped back from his captive.
“You are a true warrior” Servant said, “When the time is right you will further serve my master as I do”.
“I have never served you” Andra words were filled with determination.
“You are mistaken” Tark replied. “You are Moonbud mate of the King of the Almadra, you have fought by his side many times and are known across the lands of Gorn as Moric-Kan, the twin dragons, there is a bond between you and him, a bond that my master will use to conquer this world and then all the worlds of the Outer-Rim”, Andra said nothing but that did not matter to Servant for he heard her mind and nodding his head he spoke, “Yes, he is coming for you”.
Osh and Alune could not be called true warriors for they bore no weapons but their courage was as strong as any Outlanders and if needed the Touchtender could fight hard but for now they walked behind their guide and were safe. They moved slowly but their footsteps were true and they did not waste time down false tunnels and blocked passageways and soon they came to a chamber almost as large as the one the King and his companion had found but this one did not hold an army but something equally as deadly.
Osh had seen a landing ship of the Mac-Mar Alliance before when his services were needed to calculate losses and supply levels needed in a war they were contemplating, but this vessel bore little resemblance to those deadly landing craft for it had been deconstructed until only a bare metal frame was left, surrounding the ship were hundreds of workers separating machinery and removing bits of useful devices.
They are looking for information the Callaxion thought for he had seen this done with captured warships.
Alune thought the craft looked like the remains of an Earthshaker and the workers demons of the darkness for only they would desecrate the body of such a sacred creature, Isarie will punish them for what they have done, she thought, then she remembered that the Goddess was all merciful and would not torture those who did not know her Book.
If Niana had any thoughts she did not share them and continued on her unwavering path.
Chapter 34
The Overloads.
There are beings so intelligent that their thoughts cannot be measured by any standards of the Outer Rim planet, but they dwell in the darkness and revile all creatures that do not bend to their will for they are devoid of all emotions except their obsession for power.
From the writings of Oshismarie Inastro Sistashion.