Stillborn 2 - The Fire Within: Chapter 1

 

1.

A soft, pale light radiated from the crystal that was mounted on the head of the staff, dancing vividly on the surface of the dark water. Angwar had just caught a sizeable carp by using his newly found sword as a primitive fishing spear. They had no tools, or the required materials to make a fire, so the only way to have the fish was to eat it raw. Regardless of the uninviting taste they wasted none. This was not the time to be selective of such vital matters.

A group of underlings played on the shore, constantly jumping in and out of the water. They seemed to be far better fishers than the Darfin, for they rarely seemed to come out without a catch. The skin of the underlings shone silvery like the scales of the carp Angwar had caught earlier. The large, sensitive eyes were constantly observing their surroundings, their short legs had webbed feet and their arms were replaced by small fins to make them more efficient swimmers. While awfully slow and clumsy on the ground, the water turned these little creatures incredibly fast and nimble.

”Try to rest some,” Aniceth suggested, but the Darfin shook his head tenaciously.

”My feet are heavy and my eyes weary, but I need more miles in between us and the Dark Kingdom before I can rest,” he said.

Aniceth had nothing to add as he shared the same desire, but he tried to take into consideration the fact that Angwar was not in as good shape as he was. The long years spent in Sindh'Morrow, training tirelessly several hours every single day were serving him well. But the Darfin, who had been serving as a smith for one of the noble houses, despite being strong as a bull, had a lot lesser endurance than his companion.

After handing out the daily dose of bluedust for Angwar, they packed quickly and continued their journey. Some curious underlings followed them for a while, but they quickly lost their interest as the distance to the lake became too long. They required water to survive, so despite their extremely curious nature, they never wandered too far from the lake.

”How long do you think we still have before reaching the nests?” Aniceth asked, meaning the Weaver territory. He was concerned about the fact that they had to have a light for the Darfin, which would make passing through extremely difficult.

Angwar recognized the nervousness in his voice and easily guessed the reason for it. ”A day or two depending on how fast we walk, and how often we rest.”

Then he paused for a moment, glancing thoughtfully at the Arathan.

”You know, the light could actually serve us instead of being a burden,” he then said, building the unspoken concern into words. ”The Weavers are not accustomed to it,” he added. ”In fact, they might find it rather intimidating.”

”You figured out my worries from the plain tone of my voice?” Aniceth wondered.

”I was just thinking ahead a little,” Angwar shrugged. ”I don't want you to think I'm a burden for you. I'm fully aware how much protection the darkness can provide for you.”

”You saved my life, Angwar,” Aniceth said seriously. ”I could never leave you behind. Besides, it might be like you said, the light could turn out to be our greatest ally.”

He watched after Angwar, who was marching a few steps in front of him with keen eyes nailed to something in the far distance, weighing the words that had been said.

”When it comes to you being a burden,” he then added, ”I would like to pass my judgement until we have a little more evidence,” he grinned playfully..

”A thousand curses!” Angwar exclaimed. ”I will show you what the Frostfires are made of when I get a chance,” he announced, but now there was a frisky sparkle in his eyes as well.

Aniceth smiled to himself. ”I have no doubt about that,” he whispered so quietly the Darfin could not hear him.

 

* * *

 

After about an hour of walking in the stone desert, a large underground plain near the city of Sirthalas, they arrived to the mushroom forest of Carad'ra. The mushrooms were twice as tall as Aniceth, and together with the cave ferns and the moss, they formed a large thicket hiding the tunnel entrance from their sight.

”This is the last somewhat safe place before the tunnels,” Angwar explained. ”Better to fill up our food supplies while we can, for I cannot recall there being any water sources ahead.”

Kneeling by the barely visible path that was leading through the forest, Angwar started picking the mushrooms. Aniceth could not but agree with the Darfin and followed his example. In a few minutes they had their bags full of delicious mushrooms.

”Just beware the bright white ones, they're poisonous,” Angwar reminded his companion, almost disappearing under the large ferns.

After working no longer than fifteen minutes, a sharp warning echoed in the air. Aniceth halted completely, trying to spot the reason for the alarm, then he heard something strange.

A fluttering noise carried from the tunnels, like thousand old books had been browsed through at the same time, the ancient pages rubbing against each other, but as the peculiar sound came closer, he was able to tell the difference between pages and wings.

”Bloodwing bats,” Angwar informed quietly, hiding behind the vegetation. ”This could be a good time to try out my theory,” he whispered sharply. ”Hold the staff high above your head and see if the light keeps them away from us. They are probably heading for the lake to find fresh blood.”

”The underlings?” Aniceth asked, even though he already knew the answer before seeing his companion's firm nod. These bats were flying over to kill most of them. The blood of those underlings would be enough to feed these vicious bats for days.

Aniceth raised the glowing staff as high as he could, while partially covering himself under the tall mushrooms. There must have been at least a hundred bats, and the noise they made as they passed increased to resemble not flapping pages but a roaring waterfall.

Angwar was right. They had a good scent of the underlings, so they did not take chances by coming any closer to the unexpected and strange light source than it was absolutely necessary. In fact, the entire cloud seemed to make a rather tight curve in the air to avoid it altogether.

”The path is clear!” Angwar cried once the terrible noise began to settle down and the last of the winged creatures reached the outskirts of their illuminated circle.

Aniceth did not have to be told twice. He got up on his feet and followed Angwar toward the tunnel. A distant echo of panicky shrieks revealed them the ruthless reality of Everdeep, the bats had reached their target.

”When we have figured out our way through these tunnels, we should arrive to the Weaver caves,” Angwar explained quietly as they progressed further.

”Is there a way around that area?” Aniceth asked, feeling nervous about walking into the nest of their most feared enemy.

”There might be, but I would not know about it,” the Darfin growled, crushing Aniceth's last hope of avoiding the Weavers. He tried to hide his sigh, but failed in his attempt.

”I'm sorry, but we might run into something much worse than the Weavers if we attempted to find an alternative path,” the Darfin said straightforward with a voice that left no room for arguing.

”You're probably right, the Weavers just give me a bad feeling, and I have never even seen one except in the pictures shown at school.”

”Let us hope we don't have to see one now either - I certainly wouldn't mind,” the Darfin grumbled while leading them deeper into the tunnel.

 

* * *

 

They traveled for hours through the dark. Every now and then, a soft echo carried distant, vague sounds from the depths, creating restless and uneasy atmosphere around the two wayfarers. The shadows seemed to move, the nameless, unindentified fear wrapped its blinding cloak around them, and Aniceth began to understand the concept of madness Harne had explained back in the classroom. Sometimes even the Darfins suffer from the symptoms when they wander too far into this labyrinth, and the most unfortunate ones cannot handle it but lose their sanity in middle of the cold and desolate darkness.

A feeling of crushing pressure inside one's head is one of the first symptoms to appear, like a weight of the countless tons of stone pushing down on their shoulders. Strong and sudden claustrophobia alongside with dangerously delusional mind will follow shortly after. The victim's one and only goal is to escape the haunting anxieties - at any cost. The complete collapse of survival instincts causes death in various ways. The predators of the dark are always waiting for a careless prey that runs blindly in the tunnels, seeking exit from this strangling maze like a trapped fly. Sometimes the maddened is slain by their own comrades in order to maintain safety for the rest.

Everdeep was a natural environment for creatures like Aniceth, thus he had no personal experience of this madness, but in a way, he saw how it could be absolutely horrid for someone from the outside. He tried to imagine all the sacrifices the Arathans had made as they marched into the depths, but he could not reach that far. That kind of primal fear was an abstract matter to all dwellers of the dark, as fear and panic were certain ways to die.

”How about we stop for a while and rest?” Angwar suggested, cutting off the deep thoughts of his friend.

”That sounds good,” he agreed, ”I prefer to be in full strength when we reach the Weavers,” he added quietly.

They found a good spot on the right side of the tunnel, a small alcove with a barely visible entrance. Unless luck was to abandon them completely, they would be safe there.

Aniceth wrapped his cloak tightly around himself while looking for at least a modestly cozy corner to lay down. Angwar sat down against the wall and searched through his bags to find some mushrooms. The light of the staff revealed his dirty and weary face. Angwar had been a slave, and therefore his clothes were mostly just whatever rags his masters had spared for him. Compared to Aniceth's full enchanted armor, poor Darfin looked quite pathetic. But that did not bother him the slightest, for being alive and free was a miracle to be appreciated in itself, and he valued that far more than the quality of clothes he was wearing at the moment.

While sitting down and eating the little food they had, Angwar happened to glance at Aniceth, and in the softly glowing light of the crystal, he noticed the peculiar eyes for the first time. The Darfin wrinkled his eyebrows slightly as he continued to observe quietly. Startled, but remaining calm, he then remembered the words Aniceth had said earlier: ”There is nothing for me here either.” This was when Angwar had straightforwardly revealed to him that the outside world would not welcome his kind with open arms, and now it seemed that he was in fact more different than Angwar had ever suspected. The path of this Arathan would not be an easy one.

It would have been easy to shudder in front of those reptilian eyes, but Angwar was not terrified. This Darfin had learned to trust on his intuition about folks he met along the way, and Aniceth did not feel wrong to him. Now, driven by his own curiosity, he decided to present a straight question to his strange companion.

”Tell me something,” he began mildly and completely innocently. Aniceth raised an eyebrow, glancing back at the Darfin, but keeping his eyes carefully covered by the hood of his cloak, an obscure gesture that did not go unnoticed by the slightly smiling Darfin.

”What is the secret behind those eyes?” The question caught Aniceth by surprise as he had been confident that his secret was not unveiled as of yet.

”It's a long story,” he sneered, clearly wanting to avoid the subject.

Angwar grinned slyly, ”You once agreed to tell me your tale when there would be some time at hand,” he said. ”So why not now?”

Aniceth glared angrily at the Darfin, feeling utterly irritated by the uncomfortable question, but the playful smile on Angwar's face melted his upset very fast. Realizing that he was asking out of curiosity without malice, Aniceth sighed deeply, partially glad that the subject had arised so soon. The Darfin's reaction had been encouraging as well. Instead of disgust or fearful hatred, he had shown only friendly signs toward him, and that alone was more than Aniceth could have ever hoped for.

”Fine then, I will tell you my tale, but only if you promise to tell me yours,” he replied, throwing the challange back at the Darfin.

Angwar rolled his eyes for a moment, but then nodded firmly. After receiving the Darfin's slightly hesitant confirmation, Aniceth leaned back against the wall and removed the black hood from his face as it was clearly not needed anymore. His long, black hair fell partially upon his face while descending down on his shoulders and back in silky waves.

Aniceth revealed his entire history, beginning from his difficult birth and ending to the busy central city of Gelendras, where he began to question the morality of the Arathan society. He also told about his dark side, which explained his peculiar eyes and the black claws. Knowing that they might have to rely on the Gargoyle at some point to survive, Aniceth wanted the Darfin to be aware of the possibility. The presence of the beast would affect him in the same way it does the enemy, an aura of fear that drains strength. But if Angwar was prepared and ready, the effect would be far less than in utter suprise.

The Darfin listened and began to understand the complicated issues he had struggled throughout his entire life. In a way Aniceth had been a slave as well. He was designed to be the cornerstone of the new Arathan army, and after witnessing his skill in battle, Angwar was glad to see that he had decided to follow his restless heart instead of staying and spending the rest of his life controlled by the Arathan officers and the quirks of the Red Council.

Aniceth's tale was followed by a moment of deep silence. They stared at something nil in front of them as seconds crawled by, until finally Angwar coughed lightly, breaking the depressing quiet.

”I am glad you decided to leave,” he whispered.

”I felt like I did not really have a choice if I ever wanted to be free,” Aniceth shrugged, and there was a slight shade of bitterness in his voice, as if part of him still had hard time to accept his fate.

”I suppose we were equally lucky to meet in that cave,” the Darfin wondered.

The thought had never crossed his mind, but now that it was brought up, Aniceth realized it was the truth. This strange alliance provided them both an opportunity that would have never been possible alone.

”Now then,” Aniceth said, pointing at the Darfin. ”It's your turn.”

Angwar laughed louder than it would have been wise, but it had been a long time since he had actually enjoyed his time. A large pint of dark ale, and they could have been sitting in one of the generous inns of Othrond having good time with the fellow Darfins.

”Fine then, I'm a man of my word,” he declared, gazing somewhere over Aniceth's shoulder, gathering his thoughts before he spoke.

”My family are noble merchants in the great Darfin keep of Othrond, which is an isolated location in the middle of the White Mountains. When I was around fourty years old, my father finally allowed me to follow him deeper into Everdeep to search for the valuable obsidian ore.”

The Darfin smiled wistfully as he continued. ”We went down to the Twin Pits, which is a huge quarry mined by several different clans of Othrond. The place was considered safe as it was within close range of the gates. My father would have refused to take me to any dangerous locations anyway. After all, it was my very first mining expedition. We made it there just fine and started working. We did not find much obsidian, but a lot of gold and sparkling gemstones to decorate items. It's amazing what a beautiful, perfectly polished ruby or a sapphire can do to the price of a simple sword when it's mounted on the pommel.”

A knowing smile lit Aniceth's face, this concept was very familiar to him as the Arathans fancied their items decorated as well.

”When we were about ready to pack our equipment and return to Othrond, we were ambushed by the Darkhand Gibberlings. They killed almost the entire expedition, including my father, but unfortunately, they did not kill me.”

Angwar voice shivered lightly as he continued.

”I did not even fight back because I was so scared. I just could not do anything, not even run! So, they took me away and sold me to the Arathans. Apparently they don't have many Darfin slaves, so I was quite valuable at first. I was forced to eat the bluedust fungus and I served in Gelendras for another fourty years before they decided to donate me for the hunt.”

Aniceth was not smiling anymore.

”You're still young for a Darfin though. Why they wanted to get rid of you so soon?” he wondered.

Angwar sneered. ”I was simply becoming too expensive. As the years went by, my daily dose of bluedust increased until my master decided that I was not worth the money anymore. They sold me to the Sindh'Morrow, knowing very well what fate awaited me there.”

Aniceth could not believe what he was hearing, even though he had witnessed the cruelty behind the honorable veil of the Sin'Garath society, it still made him disgusted. It seemed as if the twisted nature of the Arathans knew no boundaries, but consistently found new ways to appear.

”That is just wrong,” he snapped angrily. ”The price of the bluedust fungus is not very high as it is a very common mushroom around our cities.”

Angwar shook his head and smiled. ”It was still worth more than the life of a slave.”

”I'm so sorry—,” he was about to continue, but the Darfin interrupted him swiftly.

”You have no reason to be sorry, Aniceth. You saved me, and for that I'm forever in debt. We just have to make our way to Othrond before that bluedust you have runs out. I'm sure my people has some way to cure this disease.”

Aniceth did not share the Darfin's confidence, but wisely kept his mouth shut.

”Let's rest for now,” Angwar declared. ”This place is full of dangers that exceed our wildest dreams; we cannot stay still for too long.” Then, muttering tiredly to himself, he struggled for a while to find a comfortable position on his thin cloak.

Before long the Darfin was snoring heavily. Aniceth did not bother to nudge him for he knew how much Angwar needed this rest. He attempted to stay on guard, but eventually keeping his eyes open became too much of a struggle. Finally he gave up and allowed himself to fall asleep. It was a calculated risk, and the Darfin would probably lecture him about it later. Everdeep did not allow mistakes nor lapses.