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Nix, Lianna and Vanare resumed their journey. Now, they were all that remained of the group. They journeyed through the empty halls and living quarters of a mysterious people—hunters, inventors, painters and craftsmen. Traces of their culture, dating back thousands of years, were buried beneath the advancement and magic of the new races. All of who were unaware of what they had buried within their dark history. The legends they all shared, laced with truth, grounded in tradition, were incomplete. These stories left out the most important participants--the real ancestors.
The trio found a network of underground castles and citadels, courtyards and towns, each connected to the other. Tunnels fashioned roads that were obviously used for trade, commerce, and escape routes. Just as Nix and his group used them now to escape the phantoms of the past.
When they reached the surface, they discovered they had traversed all three castles. Stunned disbelief resonated through the group. They had come so far in such a short time. It was as if they were in a new land. They stared mute at the ruins of the third castle, looming behind them like a memory. Sunlight streamed through it, bathing everything in its warmth. A welcomed blessing, although short lived.
Dark clouds slowly stretched across the sky, swallowing the sun. The air grew cold, and the group turned as a great shadow fell upon them. Crowned with dead trees, a stolid, gray hill of rubble and dirt stood against the horizon. What they had been seeking all along lay on its other side. They felt as if they’d been traveling for months. At last the time had come.
Everything around them was now a wasteland. Life was snuffed from every crevice, every blade of grass, every pebble of sand. No other place could possibly be more appropriate for her to reside. It was just as they imagined. Land of the dead, birthplace of shadows, necropolis, the center of the web.
It had all come down to this. Through this gloom, beyond a nest of soul eaters and a bed of bones, her fortress rose proud and defiant. A scar built from a thousand wars, it was an obstruction to life and love.
They heard the stories, the rumors. They'd gathered what little information they could from spies that had actually lived to speak, and woe it was true.
Nix stared through the dead trees as if they were not even there. “And she waits.” He took his first step toward the hill.
Lair of the Spider Queen
It took hours of exhausting climbing to cross over the hill. A cruel deception made the hill appear shorter than it was. The illusion acted as a final defense.
It towered starkly over them, Sinnia's fortress of all fortresses. A black fog of death crowned its spires and hellish towers. Its windows were gaping eyes keeping watch for intruders.
Intruders such as these three that now stood before it, almost mystified by the dread that emanated from it. They could find no real way into the castle, seeing no apparent gate or doors. So Vanare offered his services.
“The windows,” he whispered. “The only way into the heart of darkness is up there.” He pointed at the towers above them. “I will take us there.”
“Are you sure?” Nix asked. “I mean, we are three and…”
“Fear not my friend. Fairy strength is more resilient than you think. Come.” Vanare took Nix into his arms and soared into the air.
“I am learning much about fairies these days,” Nix said as Vanare scaled the closest tower and brought him to the ledge of the first window. Returning to Lianna, Vanare scooped her into his arms and brought her to the window as well. The outer membranes of Sinnia's wicked lair had at last been penetrated.
Massive stairs coiled up into the blackness. Torches lined the room they crouched in. Meat hooks dangled all around them. The very sight of this sickened Lianna. The three unsheathed their swords, preparing for any horror that may lurk in the dark.
They took the stairs, fighting their way through tapestries of spider webs. The smell of rotting flesh filled the air. The taste of blood and carnage laced their lips.
At the top of the stairs, they stepped into a hall that slithered ahead in endless twists and turns. As they followed it, footsteps caught their attention.
Ducking into the shadows and behind a stone pillar, they watched as a row of Ebon warriors plowed past. Behind them they dragged a group of fairies in chains. Beaten and depressed, the fairies followed. Their wings were frayed and dim. Their bodies were peppered with bruises and seeping with wounds. There was no struggle for escape, no resistance. The fairies allowed themselves to be led. They already wore the look of defeat on their faces.
The horde started down the stairs. Sighs of relief escaped Nix and Lianna. Vanare, however, was filled with rage. “We must rescue them.”
“We cannot,” Nix said.
“Of course we can. We must. Those are my people. There are so few of us left now.”
“Which is why we cannot save them now,” Nix said. “This delay could cost us the entire realm. You see? We must destroy Sinnia once and for all. Only then will everyone be safe. Our best way of helping them is to finish our mission. Every moment we delay, more of our people die.”
Vanare started toward the warriors, eyes enflamed, muscles tense. Hatred burned inside of him, flooding his every vessel, every thought. He tried to shove his way past his comrades, but Nix and Lianna gently tugged at his arms.
“Vanare…” Nix whispered. “My friend. You know I speak the truth. You know we can do them no good now. We cannot sacrifice our chance for them. They would not want this.”
Tears welled in Vanare’s eyes.
“I know,” Nix said. “I lost so many friends to her. It is a pain that never dies.”
“I want her to die.”
“She will my friend. She will.”
The three of them gathered in a circle and prayed to their Gods, locking arms for the last time. They slipped back out of the shadows and continued through the great hall.
From within the dense blackness, a wooden door emerged. Nix maneuvered over to it. He pressed his ear to it, but heard nothing. He held is hand up to the others, signaling he was going to force it open. Lianna and Vanare braced themselves and their swords.
Inside Nix discovered an oak table stretching the length of the room. The room was a banquet hall. The table in the center of it hosted a variety of somber candelabras and was cluttered by all manner of dishes. There were goblets filled with blood, and chipped plates holding decayed flesh. The top of the table squirmed.
The trio entered the room, scaled around one side of the table, and spotted thousands of baby spiders feeding from the dishes. Dripping caught their attention, drawing their gaze upward. Plump, bulbous cocoons hung from the ceiling, glistening red. Drops of blood spilt onto the table like rain. A rank smell filled the room, thick and heavy.
“I think I am going to be sick.” Lianna clutched her stomach. She lowered her sword in a moment of weakness.
“Steady.” Nix took hold of her arm. “Let us hasten our leave. There is nothing for us here.”
Blackened windows circled the room, shadows danced on the other side of the glass as light glowed behind them. The windows rattled with the gust of blistering wind. They watched the panes with care, expecting something out of a nightmare to come crashing into the room.
Beyond the far end of the table, they found an alcove with a small door in it. The three of them entered a rotunda with dozens of stairways. Stone steps spiraled up into archways and vanished high into the ceiling.
The group started up one of the flights, drawn by the instinct that Sinnia reclined in the highest peaks of her monstrous towers. Scurrying echoed in the darkened niches. As they turned the first corner, Lianna caught a twinkle of light out of the corner of her eye.
“Wait,” she whispered to the others and turned back. She noticed a stone door with carvings of arachnids adorning it. Beneath it, light glowed. “Something is here.”
Nix and Vanare turned and followed her back down this new set of stairs that led to the stone door. Lianna went fi
rst, against Nix’s obvious objection.
Excitement got the better of her. She stopped just before bursting into the room. “There is magic here. We must act now.”
“Wait,” Nix said. “There is something amiss.”
“Nothing is amiss. It is time to stop this evil once an for all.” Lianna reached for the door as Nix moved to stop her.
His soul jar jumped on its braid. Nix froze and looked down at it. It quivered. He looked up at Lianna, finding her soul jar twitched as well.
“You see,” she said. “We have found her!” With that Lianna turned and threw open the door.
They threw themselves into the room but found only a set of marble steps leading down into a narrow space. No great room. No dark queen.
Slowly, the moved to a massive spider shaped font. A light shimmered from inside it. Lianna moved to it first and witnessed the black waters stirring within it. The glint of mysterious light entranced her.
Nix drew to it next with Vanare directly behind him. The trio gazed at the water and marveled. They had never seen the likes of it. The base of their soul jars glowed with white-hot light and jiggled.
“She has been here,” Lianna whispered.
“She has been many places,” Nix said. “Near and far. I can feel it. I can feel the deaths of thousands. I can feel the destruction of many realms.”
“Our banishing of her…” Vanare said. “Our ancestors threw her from this world and into another. Thus she moved to another and another, destroying them all, gaining her power before…before…”
“The realm of the fourth race,” Lianna said. “She attacked and conquered it before punching her way back into ours. We only sent her into a slumber. A metamorphosis that started her second birth stage. Now she's more powerful than ever.”
Murky imagery appeared inside the font. But soon full scenes emerged. The trio saw great cities burning, bodies littering the streets. The dark queen’s brood fed on the carcasses, covering everything in their webs.
“Look at it.” Nix gasped, his mouth agape, his eyes wide. “It’s the realm of our ancestors. They have great cities with tall towers. Their carts have wings. They must have been able to fly in them.”
“They needed carts to fly,” Vanare said. His wings fluttered.
“Look.” Lianna pointed. “They had huge ships that crossed their oceans. Strange huts with windows and fences. Now all is still. Lifeless. She has left her mark on that world.”
“She will do the same to ours,” Nix said. “Enough. We must waste no more time.”
“Wait,” Lianna said. “The bodies… the dead…they have male and female…living together. Taller than elf and fairy. By the Gods, we were once one race.”
“The legends are true,” Nix whispered, as he stared at the image of a human man.