Stillborn 2 - The Fire Within: Chapter 3

 

3.

The Weavers moved too fast, leaving absolutely no chance to outrun them. The light of the staff seemed to confuse the chasers, but it was not intimidating enough to make them retreat. The queen's orders were clear and they were not to be ignored, the intruders must be killed before they can get out. A matter that greatly puzzled the queen, because instead of running back toward Dark Kingdom, these spies were headed to the opposite direction, down to the dark pools. A faint shiver of fear ran through the queen's mind as she turned her thoughts toward the pools, and the horrors that dwelled in there.

Without looking back they ran as fast as their feet carried. Every tunnel and cave seemed to come alive as the Weavers flooded in from every opening, turning the walls, ceilings and floors into a seething sight of sickening horror.

The corridor they followed led down, but this time Aniceth kept his concerns to himself. Arguing would not do anything but waste precious time, and time was something they did not have right now. Despite the walls exuding black, hairy monsters, Aniceth controlled himself admirably well. The might of the Gargoyle stayed firmly locked inside.

Legs burning from exhaustion, cold sweat dripping upon their backs and weary eyes desperately focusing on the darkness ahead, the companions harnessed every last bit of strength they had left in their muscles to keep distance between them and the Weavers. But it seemed as if there was nothing to be done. No matter where they turned, black swarms of death were coming at them. Still, in middle of their chaotic escape, Aniceth felt himself strangely serene. He had already achieved the one thing he wanted most from life - freedom. Dying while struggling to get through this maze was almost inevitable as the chances were less than slim to begin with.

But then, against all odds, Angwar's trickling laughter filled the air, sounding somewhat creepy as the situation surely did not call for it.

”Water on the floor!” the Darfin yelled as he stormed out of the last cave into a long, seemingly endless tunnel that had no diverging branches at all. It was one straight way down into the unknown.

Aniceth had no idea what his friend meant, but hoping it was something better than death he rushed after him.

”Here! Make the staff dark!” Angwar yelled over his shoulder and threw the glowing staff at Aniceth who barely managed to catch it. Without knowing what was going on, he spoke the signs while drawing them in the air. It was extremely difficult and downright foolish to attempt while running, even most of the mystics would not have tried anything like that, but Aniceth did, and by some kind of a miracle he managed to align the signs correctly.

”Undurak!” he whispered the short command.

Now they were running blindly as it took a few seconds before Aniceth's thermal vision would recover, but Angwar showed no signs of halting, not even slowing down.

”Keep going!” the Darfin urged.

The sound of the approaching Weavers was getting stronger every second as they stormed through the narrow tunnel.

Angwar's excited words revealed their meaning to Aniceth a few moments later when his feet sank into the dark water, splashing it around as he struggled to maintain his balance. The tunnel seemed to lead straight down into the cold, watery depths, but Angwar was still running. He continued pushing forward after the water was up to his armpits, and the Darfin truly seemed as if he could push through granite if it became necessary. The tunnel was getting taller and wider at the end, and Aniceth saw that they were about to enter some kind of a huge cave full of large ponds. There were no cobwebs around nor any other signs of Weaver presence.

After climbing out of the first pond, Angwar led them quietly around the cave by staying close to the wall. Aniceth heard the drumming footsteps behind them to muffle down before they vanished completely. The Weavers clearly hesitated to come out of their own territory, which made Aniceth's alarm bells ring loudly again.

What in that cave made even the Weavers to stand back?

 

* * *

 

”They're not coming after us?” Aniceth asked quietly, but Angwar made some angry gestures at him with his hands, telling him to stay quiet. The cave was something he had never seen before. All the small ponds around the cave looked like wormholes drilled on the side of an apple. There was something sinister in the cave. Aniceth's skin was tingling by the presence of it. He could not see what it was, but his hand was squeezing the hilt of his sword, ready to defend himself once again. The Weavers were not afraid of this place for nothing, The cave was filled with greenglow mushrooms, which, loyal to their name, were glowing faintly in the dark, illuminating the cave with their soft, green shine. These mushrooms helped Angwar to navigate without relying on his companion's constant help.

Angwar's eyes sparkled with grim determination as he continued walking along the walls. Following his example, Aniceth sneaked right behind him. He made no further attempts to speak as it was clear he would not get an answer before they had safely passed this place.

The silence was overwhelming. All the little rattles caused by the loose dust in between of their boots and the ground sounded like a roaring thunder. After several hours of extremely slow progress, they finally arrived to another tunnel entrance. Apparently their little trek went unnoticed by whatever evil dwelled in the cave, and Angwar seemed very relieved by this fact.

”Let's rest for a little while,” the Darfin suggested after they had grown a little bit of distance to the cave.

”Can you tell me about that place now?” Aniceth asked, while seeking a comfortable place to settle.

”Turn the light back on and I will tell you,” Angwar replied, smiling tiredly.

In a few seconds the Staff of Garaz was casting its eerie light upon the travelers, and Angwar glanced quickly back at the direction they came from, as if making sure there was nothing crawling out from the darkness behind them.

”That cave, my friend, was a wyvern's nest,” he then said.

”A wyvern?” Aniceth wondered. ”An actual ancient lizard - are you serious?” The name was familiar, but usually associated with legendry, not living, breathing things lurking in the caves so close to Dark Kingdom.

Angwar nodded. ”It's often called by that name. They are very poisonous, very deadly. They're lurking in those holes they have been digging for decades, killing any prey that wanders into their cave. We were extremely lucky not to face one in there.”

”Can they breathe in water?” Aniceth asked curiously.

”No, but they can remain underwater for days. When they're not in water, they're hanging in the ceiling like giant bats, in which case we would have been dead long time ago since the Wyvern has a clear view of the entire area.

”Are there many of them in one cave?”

Angwar scratched his long beard thoughtfully before he answered. ”Usually just one, unless it's their mating season, which happens once in every ten years or so.”

Aniceth nodded silently. He saw how foolish he had been for trying to speak up in the cave. In worst case it could have ended up costing their lives.

”I'm sorry,” he said quietly, but Angwar winked at him and laughed.

”You're impatient, but that's how younglings are despite the race they're representing,” the Darfin said, still laughing. ”I'm sure you learned something though,” he added, and Aniceth managed to conjure a light smile on his face as well.

”Is it still a long way to the city?” he then asked, amazed by how far they had come. But he was also concerned about how long they could keep going against the odds like this.

”I cannot tell how many days or weeks we have ahead,” Angwar said. ”Everdeep is treacherous and ever-changing. What was here when I walked these tunnels in the past might very well be gone today, and what dangers might have been absent the last time could now be lurking behind the next corner.”

His words offered no comfort, but the Darfin's strong voice was encouraging. Aniceth recognized tenacity that could move mountains, and that revived the hope in his heart.

After a brief moment of rest they prepared to continue their journey. They were both tired, but their current location offered absolutely no safety against any kind of attack. Perhaps a little further along the way, they could find a proper site for a camp and get some well-earned, refreshing sleep.