Cataclysm, page 12
part #1 of Rebirth Series
“A what?”
“A bathing suit, I have a heated pool just waiting for swimmers if you would like to use it.”
“No, back up,” she said and indicated with her bow that she didn’t want him getting closer to her.
“But of course,” he said before turning and walking to the other side of the veranda. The long lanky body of the muscular aerial appeared to cover the distance effortlessly in spite of his clawed feet and odd bending knees, his form flowing like water. He was tall, taller than elves and even most men, though shorter than a frost piner. He had thick wavy hair over his entire head that looked as if it had been combed with rushing wind framed by the humps of two dark wings poking up over his shoulders. He indicated with a wave toward a large empty table in the center. Juil took a seat two tables away, scrutinizing this manlike creature. It wasn’t much distance from a creature who could fly but something is better than nothing. She didn’t sit, instead turning the chair back in front of her so she could both lean and provide protection. Her bow staying in hand, arrow notched.
“Come, come now, dear. You are already too close for comfort, come and take a seat while I put some tea on.”
“I won’t be taking a seat, nor will I be drinking any tea, thank you.”
“Well I guess the swim is out of the question then.” His tone remained sarcastic yet for all of his acquiescence and graciousness there was no doubt that he was in control of this situation. He knew it, Juil knew it too and remained ready. He may be in control of the moment, but that was as far as she would let it go. When you approach a situation under-armed you have to play smart and react fast. The arrow never left the bow and both of them knew it and at this range it would be hard for her to miss. She looked at the broad head at the end of the shaft and smiled when she saw the hint of lokai blood from the rune she had drawn in the mountains. Arrow heads were not fine steel like swords so they didn’t retain the runes power as well but there would still be some residual strength there, she was sure of it.
Would it still have enough velocity-potency? she wondered but knew that she had better simply rely on aim rather than what she can’t do anything about. She did however power the tiny rune carved into the shaft of her arrow with a slight focus of energy.
“You mentioned something about Pine Hold,” Juil said trying not to get distracted.
“Pine Hold?” He paused and then snapped his fingers as if he just remembered something. “I remember now,” he said and took a step toward her.
Juil’s bow snapped up fully drawn before he could take another.
“Oh, sorry.” He patted the air to calm her. “Pine Hold is going to be completely obliterated in three…no, four days.”
“Why?” was the only thing that she could think to say.
“Excuse me?”
“Why, they don’t bother anyone and live in harmony with the land, never harvesting more than what the area can provide and stay healthy. So why would anybody want to harm them?”
“It’s not about good or bad nor right or wrong, child, it is about what is. It is about what ‘is’ needs to become. That, however, is neither here nor there. What we need to be talking about is you and what you are doing here.”
“I would certainly appreciate that information.”
“You know, you don’t sound like an elf. Elves are typically so refined and snobbish yet you…you’re kind of a hick, aren't you?”
“I hang out with a lot of infantry. So, what am I doing here and where is here?” Juil pressed.
“Well my, elven princess,” he said informing her that he did know exactly who she is. “It seems…that you have annoyed the wrong people. Now usually they just remove the problem, but in your case, they must have decided that they still need you for some reason or another. Don’t bother asking because I don’t know the what’s, who’s, or why’s, I only know what I just told you.”
“So…what, I’m in jail?”
“Of a sort. You are in a place that you cannot get out of, but a prison it is not. You will see and experience things that you could never have imagined to exist, yet here they do. If you survive and they remember that you are here; then someday, you may be released, but I wouldn’t count on it. I doubt that you will be able to survive the first test,” he said haughtily.
Juil paused thinking about her situation, trying to see if there were any advantages. The only advantage that she could come up with was that in spite of this creature’s easy going nature, he was pure evil and she knew it. Probably nothing could be trusted coming from him, she was ready for the worst.
“Test? I don’t even know what I would test for,” Juil said and paused. “I’ll bite. So, what’s the first test?” she asked, the tension already starting to apply pressure to her bow string.
“Me, dear, I am your first…obstacle.” He smiled hungrily.
“So I have to kill you in order to keep searching for a way out of here?” She raised her bow again.
“Or something like that. Please, quit with the bow. I have seen a thousand different ways for this situation to go and the ones that begin with the bow, find the bow stuck in places where they don’t belong.”
“I’m not going to trust you, demon.”
“Demon? Me? Hardly, now put the bow down and come over to the pool with me so we can get you cleaned up. Simply accept what is going to happen and I will make sure that you hardly feel a thing. Seriously, it will be like falling into a deep, peaceful sleep.”
“You have to be flipping kidding me. Does that line of crap actually work on anybody, ever?”
“Surprisingly yes, there have been a few. Their flesh is as vapid as their personalities, which is why you are appearing very, very tasty right now. You’re not vapid, are you, Juil?”
“Oh, so we’re on a first name basis now? I am at a disadvantage.”
“Yes, you are…please forgive my manners. My name is Nigel.” He gave a slight bow of his head that was so commanding, Juil hardly noticed the couple of steps forward that he managed.
Her bow snapped up and Nigel took another step and Juil showed no hesitation and let the arrow fly right between his eyes.
Nigel batted the shaft away as if it were a bug, but Juil had another in the air which he also batted as he swept in, snatching her bow away and forcing her up against a pillar with his forearm crossed across her chin. Nigel wasn’t big nor was he bulky, he was steel and his face showed no notice as she bit down on his arm. Her long knife was out and pressed to his thin abdomen, but it seemed somewhat hollow, very much unlike a humans or elf and she wondered if there were any vitals inside at all. His chest and winged shoulders were massive; his arms, wiry and hard. He expanded giant, gray, feathered wings that spanned ten feet across when he stretched them as they were now, allowing the demon to use his arms more freely.
Is there anything inside his gullet to stop him, or is it empty of guts? She didn’t know. She wanted to plunge her knife deep into the beast, but she hesitated.
“Easy girl, this is simply a test,” he said and she felt his breath push the hair across her face, the hot stench smelling of rotted meat, this was not a creature of the light.
“I think that I passed,” she replied and pressed the knife harder against his abdomen. He stiffened proving to Juil that there was something to be protected in his center.
He relaxed and backed away.
“It will be interesting to watch you, Daughter of Lindren,” he said with flourish and a bow, again mocking her, trying to get her to relax. She would not relax. This demon knew way too much about her family for her to relax.
“I’m going to kill you, Nigel. I have just decided that you will be my first sworn oath, which seems like a waste considering what a flaccid blob of flesh that you are. But to protect myself and my family, I will see you dead.” Juil kept her tone calm and straight to the point, allowing her features to validate her conviction.
“Of course, mistress, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Our paths will cross again. Until then, I think I need a bath,” he said making a display of how disgusting it was that they had had contact. “So feel free to make your way back to the square and choose any of the four passages that you like. Even the one you have entered from is now altered and will lead you toward a different destiny. The only thing you can do here is move on,” Nigel said and Juil gave him a skeptical look.
“It’s true, this close to the heart of the Spires everything becomes more…fluid I guess is the best way to put it. Now pick up your darts and be off, I have things to attend, and take that bloody light with you.”
9
Drick
The Har Karoome had taken to tying a lead line from Ice King’s bridle in case the horse got wind of Juil and decided to bolt. He knew the horse had no intentions of leaving him behind, it was simply responding to the power of his bond to the princess. They held in place when they tucked into a small grassy valley with a tiny rivulet of runoff trickling down the center. Ice King grazed and then stood still as if every ounce of his being was focused upon the ground and air around him. Even now he was reaching out and when he sensed something, he would be off without regard for the Har Karoome who would be left miles from anywhere he had been before, if he didn’t have the lead line tied to the bridle. They had traveled mainly west with a slight northern angle. This led them away from both Noril and Pine Hold, toward places only talked about in tales, tales typically not told to children.
There were always a couple of hunting parties going to the far North West but they were trips for the wealthy and booked passage through the northern sea. There was also rumor of a dwarven trading post that was being connected to Riverhouse, but that wasn’t elven business so he hadn’t paid much attention to those stories.
Where Drick was heading, due to the whiles of a horse, was already a month from his home in Lilieack as the pterodac flies. The horizon was always there and he would follow it to its end if it meant getting the princess back safely, which of course had become much more difficult than he had originally thought it would be.
Ice King started to move. It wasn’t a quick take off like he had come to expect, but more of a canter with purpose.
“Thank heaven I shat right away or I would be hard pressed to get on for another ride. How long this time. A day? Two maybe? You gotta remember that I am an elf, I can’t keep going non-stop, so give me a break now and again.” He talked to the magnificent animal as he climbed on its back and Drick realized that Ice King too, appreciated the company.
Here was lonely land to thinking people, a vast area devoid of intellect or compassion, a place where the inner beast satiated its lusts. The Har Karoome rode forward with his bow in hand, eyes scanning the deadfall forest, allowing Ice King to pick his way through the tumbled timber. He wondered why everything had died all at once in the way it appeared. There was green forest to the south and green forest to the north but directly ahead was nothing but gray and brown, interspersed with the fallen trees.
He didn’t build a fire that night as one wayward spark would have burned up all of the miles he had traversed that day and however many he may travel on the morrow, providing he survived the forest fire. He saw green forest ahead of him but something was wrong with Ice King. His pace and the tension in his muscle had become lax and his directions started to waiver as if uncertain of his path. He felt the horse’s flanks and neck and he had heard Ice King relieve himself without any trouble so he didn’t think it was a health issue but he was concerned nonetheless. He was almost behaving like a regular horse and waiting for direction from his rider.
On a hunch he grabbed the reins as if he actually had control of the steed and directed the horse away from its current path with a ‘nic nic’ and pressure from his knees. He was so shocked when the horse followed his commands he almost fell off.
He was elated…until he, wasn’t. True, he now had control but the implications of that were heartbreaking to say the least. The bond between the horse and princess was gone. What could cause such a break was unknown, but he prayed it didn’t mean that she was…he didn’t even want to think about it. He would just have to stay around for a while and see if it picked up again. Drick realized that this very well could be an excuse for not making a decision, but it was also a good excuse to explore the territory since this was far outside of Noril’s borders. There was no way he could get back to the prince since they were several days away, either victors in their battle or…he couldn’t even think of the alternative. He was basically on his own and didn’t want to stray too far from the point where Ice King lost the connection.
The Har Karoome trotted up to the line of trees and spotted something off in the distance, a town. Suddenly the only thing on his mind was a beer. It was still miles to the town, of which he knew nothing, so he decided to camp out for the night, for the first time not having to worry about Ice King running off though he still secured him to a branch. He would have hobbled his own horse but Ice King didn’t seem to think that was a good idea and Drick relented.
* * *
He never had any intentions on attacking me, Juil realized as she backed her way down the steps. He’s toying with me, but why? Everybody knows that flyers are bloodthirsty devils, so why do I still live? She kept her sword up as she had collected her precious arrows and didn’t sheath it until she was on the courtyard pavement. She made her way toward the far passage, wanting to get as far away from the arrogant seraph as she could.
The tunnels themselves weren’t completely dark as long shafts of light and air were let in. The portals for light and air were narrow and long, so long that she couldn’t discern an end making the walls inconceivably thick. They were perfectly round tubes with smooth white walls and narrow enough to not allow one of her legs free passage. There were a few off shoot tunnels that offered her zero light but that wasn’t a big deal to her species. Though they see better in daylight, they did have very good night vision, all elves did due to multiple layered transparent eyelids that acted like different lenses yet incredibly opened their eyes to different spectrums of light even a variation of sonar.
There were doors to either side, but after trying a couple and finding them locked, she had given up and kept on walking and checking a random door only here and there. The passage ended at a wide stairway, going up. There was a door to either side of the stairs but both were locked tight.
Juil thought about dumping the heavy rope so she could move more freely but dropped the idea. No telling when I might need a good length of rope and I am in no position to be limiting my resources.
With no other option open to her, she took the stairs upwards, they curved in a right-hand circle until hopefully reaching the roof or ceiling, or possibly even a hole where she could crawl out of this labyrinth and back into the world of grass and sky, but she doubted that she would be so lucky.
Each stair was perfectly carved; the stonework seamless, the visual perspective stunning with its steps being tiny ridges at the inside wall that widened to broad platforms tracing the outside wall. Mortarless block walls rose on all sides as well as the ceiling smooth, unblemished, and impenetrable.
She started to remind herself why she, of all people, could survive this. The other races say that elves are the blessed race which is why they are so resented and even hated by a lot of the world. Each a physical specimen and highly trained within whatever field of work they were intended to perform, not to mention being almost impervious to temperature, both heat and cold. The one thing that elves had that made them truly unique were their eyes. Their eyes were beautiful, with large almond shapes that ranged in bright colors from black to the very rare white irises that captured non-elves off guard. Their’s were eyes filled with compassion or equally as vivid, rage that could burn through the emotional defense of even the most confident. What the other races didn’t know was that behind the large thick lids adorned with oversized lashes lay three more very thin; very transparent lenses, each with its own specific purpose. A purpose that she would use time and again.
They also think that elves are scholarly and well-studied in the ways of the physical, as well as spiritual, world and most are. However, Juil was not one of them, in fact when she first understood that she might be in the courtyard of that ancient dwarf kingdom, Antre Clocher, she had impressed herself. It’s not that she didn’t appreciate that it took the things that happened in the past to get to the present, she did that with all sincerity. She just didn’t give a rat’s ass about the specifics. She was like that with most things, she didn’t care who wrote what sonnet or book or who first discovered this land or that. In her opinion they were all things that had been happening for thousands of years beyond memory, so who really cared and everyone should just enjoy the time they got. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize that the time she had included being trapped in an abandoned dwarf kingdom with no way out.
The stone steps were precise, down to minute fractions, the edge slightly rounded from years of use and seemed to be cut from the mountainside rather than slabs that were dragged in. She couldn’t help but place her feet into the same worn depressions in the stone that thousands of feet before had made with the upward steps, taking the inside track of the curve.
This stairway could be a very long climb, hopefully there is a landing that I can rest at for a bit. She was beginning to feel the events of her day wearing on her and she realized that that was actually a very long time ago. To her one day had passed but she could tell by Ice King’s bond with her that it had been more than a few days. After five days their bond would start to fade and she could already feel it waning. She began to feel uneasy, trapped in a cave was one thing, but the separation of time spoke of multiple realities, a concept much speculated upon by her own people but never substantiated or invested in.
