Knights: Book 01 - The Eye of Divinity (30 page)

"Well, look at that!" said Furlus.

Taris examined the Goblin. "It looks like surgery of some sort was performed here. Do you see that cavity in the lower back? It appears the Goblin Lord's heart has been removed."

"Could this be where the Goblin Lords are created?" said Furlus.

"Not likely," said Taris. "This is a small room for such a grand accomplishment as creating Goblin Lords. This chamber probably served another purpose. But what is the meaning of this? Why is the heart missing? And look--there is fresh blood on the table, which means this was done recently."

"Perhaps this Goblin Lord was punished," said Furlus. "Look at the face and head--those black runes. This could easily be the one that escaped us earlier."

"Yes," said Taris. "I think it is. He must have been punished for his failure to destroy Lannon."

"He was simply spared my axe!" growled Furlus.

"I want to take a moment," said Taris, "to examine the contents of some of these jugs and bottles."

"We have no time for this, sorcerer," said Furlus. "While you poke your nose in those bottles, the assassin could be escaping us."

"Very well!" muttered Taris. "I'll check them later."

But Shennen ignored both of them, and uncorked a couple of the containers to sniff at them. He brought one to Taris, and let the Birlote sniff it.

Taris wrinkled his nose in disgust. "This is water tainted by the Deep Shadow. It is found in pools north of these mountains--in that place called the Desolation. It has been known to cause bizarre mutations among those who drink it. It can even mutate plants, from what I've learned, causing them to behave like animals."

"So what does this mean?" said Furlus.

"It could play a role in the creation of these Goblin Lords," said Taris. "But I suppose we are just grasping at straws here. We need to find the actual place where the Goblin Lords are created, before we can know what is really going on."

"Regardless," said Furlus, "one thing seems certain. These tunnels are soon to be used as an attack route. Otherwise, why would this be down here?"

"I agree that it is likely," said Taris.

"This is strong evidence," said Caldrek. "Shouldn't we send someone back to report it, while the rest of us search for the assassin?"

Taris was thoughtful for a moment. At last he said, "Who should be sent back? We have need of everyone, it seems. I suggest we go a bit farther and poke around a little more, before we have Cordus commit any Knights to these mines. This could be a mere diversion, while the true attack takes place above."

"Then let's get moving," said Furlus.

The company entered the tunnel, which led them a short distance before giving way to a round chasm spanned by a stone bridge. At its center, the bridge widened out briefly and displayed what appeared to be a pool of water. On the other side, another tunnel mouth could just barely be seen in the flickering light. The sound of rushing water came from the depths of the chasm below.

Furlus waved a lantern over the bridge. "Looks sturdy enough. But that's an odd place for a pool of water--in the middle of a bridge. We better go on ahead and check it out. Squires, you stay here. Saranna, you and your wolf stay with them and guard the rear."

The four Knights walked halfway across the bridge to the pool and gathered around it. The water was green and slimy looking.

"What do you make of this?" said Taris.

Furlus shook his head. "My knowledge of this area isn't good. I don't remember reading about any bridge over a chasm, or a water pool, but I do know there's a big river that flows through the mines. That could be the river down in the chasm."

Caldrek shrugged. "This pool looks harmless."

Shennen knelt by it. "Perhaps, but there is something more."

"It could be another trap," said Taris.

 
Even as he spoke, a dark arm arose from the pool, vine-like and dripping with algae, displaying a hand with ten fingers. The fingers, which had little green sprouts on the ends of them, wiggled about for a moment, while the others gazed on as if hypnotized. Then, with blinding speed, the hand swatted Caldrek off the bridge. It struck him with such force that his breastplate split. Only his startled cry was left to mark his passing, as he plunged into the blackness below. A moment later a splash could be heard.

The others stared in shock, trying to gather their wits. Then Furlus dropped his lantern and swung his axe at the arm, but it was like chopping into a twisted root. The axe did little damage to the wood-like flesh, and the arm shot out and coiled about Furlus, lifting him into the air and striving to crush the life from him. His axe clattered to the stone, just on the pool's edge where flaming oil from his fallen lantern lay burning.

Then another arm rose from the pool, and this one batted Taris towards the chasm. He caught hold of the edge of the bridge as he went over and hung there, while the shovel-sized hand groped for him, its fingers wiggling and probing. He struggled fiercely to avoid the hand and pull himself up.

Shennen leapt over to help him, but the hand lurched over and bumped the Blue Knight's leg. Shennen fought for balance and then the hand bumped him again from behind. He toppled forward off the bridge. With spectacular agility, he twisted about and grabbed for the edge, but his hands fell just short of their goal, his fingertips scraping the stone. He fell silently into the chasm.

"Stay here!" Saranna ordered the Squires. She and Darius bounded out onto the bridge. When she reached Taris, she hacked at the arm that was threatening him, but her saber could not sever it. The hand batted at her several times, but each time, despite its terrible swiftness, she somehow managed to dodge it, continuing to hack away. Finally she was able to sever it and the arm slipped back into the water.

Saranna looked to Furlus. The Olrog was being squeezed viciously, but he was holding his own, his muscles bulging from the strain. His face was deep crimson, his eyes crazed with fury.

She turned to Taris and knelt, extending her hand.

"Watch your back!" Taris cried, but it was too late.

Another hand shot out of the pool and swatted Saranna's backside, knocking her headfirst into Taris and sending them both tumbling into the darkness.

With a snarl, Darius bit at the hand, but it managed to get a hold of him. It lifted the wolf into the air and tossed him from the bridge.

"We have to help them!" exclaimed Aldreya, starting forward. Her stone dagger began to burn with the green fire.

"Stay back!" Furlus bellowed at the Squires.

Aldreya paused, a desperate look in her eyes.

Vorden grabbed her shoulder. "We can't fight that thing!"

With a grunt, Furlus suddenly snapped the arm that held him in two, and the Olrog dropped into the pool. He grabbed the edge and hauled himself out, retrieving his axe. He drove it against the remaining arm and somehow lopped through it in one fierce stroke. The waters went still for a moment. He held his axe ready.

"Get away from there," Aldreya cried to him.

But Furlus would not retreat. He held his ground, his face twisted in a grimace of rage over what had happened to his companions.

Then a huge hand shot out of the slimy water--twice as large as the others. It seized Furlus before he could react. It lifted the Olrog high into the air, shook him furiously, and then flung him into the chasm.

The huge hand then wiggled its fingers before sinking below the surface of the pool again. Everything went deathly still, save for rushing of water deep in the chasm below. The Squires glanced at each other, pale and horrified.

But they had little time to mourn, for they suddenly heard something approaching from behind.
 
They could hear groans and heavy, dragging footsteps. There was a sound like something metallic scraping the stone.

Chapter 18:
 
The Black Knight

As the Squires watched, a huge form dragged itself into the lantern light. It was a Cave Troll--but certainly not one that was full of vigor. Its grey flesh was wrinkled and cracked with age, its face was mapped with countless lines, and long white hair grew on its body. It was somewhat thin, with its ribs standing out under its withered skin. In one hand it carried a dark sword, holding it by the blade. One of its feet had somehow become lodged in a metal bucket, and unable to free the foot, the Troll simply dragged the bucket along with it. It was a bizarre and pathetic sight.

The Troll caught sight of them and snarled, showing only a few remaining teeth. It raised the sword handle up high like a club.

"What should we do?" cried Lannon, glancing first at the Troll and then at the bridge where the dark pool stood. The Troll blocked their path back.

"Run for it," said Vorden. "We can make it."

"But those big hands!" cried Timlin, pointing at the pool. "What if they come out and grab us?"

Aldreya glanced back and forth from the Troll to the bridge, her burning dagger held out at arm's length. "We can't beat a Troll," she said.

"But the hands!" Timlin insisted.

"They won't catch us," said Vorden. "Now come on. All at once!"

As the Troll drew close, the Squires raced across the bridge. They tried to run as swiftly and silently as they could. Somehow, they made it around the pool and to the other side of the bridge without provoking the hands in the water. They stood panting, watching in fascination as the Troll staggered slowly after them.

When the Troll reached the pool and started around it (making its thumping, scraping racket in the process), the remaining giant hand groped up out of the water, wiggled its fingers, and swatted the Troll. The Troll stumbled backwards, the sword falling from its fist and clattering to the stone. Snarling, the Troll tried to grab for the wiggling hand, but it swatted the Troll again and this time knocked it off the bridge. A big splash arose from below. The hand then slipped back beneath the pool.

The Squires breathed sighs of relief.

"Come on," said Lannon. "Let's see if we can find the others."

"What if they're dead?" said Timlin. "What will we do?"

"Taris..." whispered Aldreya. "He can't be dead."

Lannon nodded in agreement. "They can't all be finished. I just can't imagine it." It was just too horrible for Lannon to accept. A repeating image ran through his mind of them being flung into the chasm. It had happened so swiftly and shockingly.

"I'd like to fix those hands," muttered Vorden, "after what they did."

"Don't go near the pool, Vorden" said Aldreya. "Or you might end up going over, too. If the Knights couldn't beat that monster, we definitely cannot."

Vorden's gaze fell on the black sword that lay by the pool. "Look at that sword! I've never seen anything like it. I'm going after it."

"Don't go, Vorden!" cried Timlin. "You don't even use a sword."

"Just leave it," said Aldreya. "What's wrong with you? The others need our help, and all you can think of is yourself."

Vorden glared at her. "Whatever you think, Aldreya, doesn't concern me, so just shut your mouth. That sword could come in handy."

"You're so incredibly selfish!" she said. "I've never met anyone so self-centered as you in my entire life."

She grabbed his arm. "We're going to help the others."

Vorden shoved her away. "Don't touch me."
 

Her green eyes burning with anger, Aldreya raised her stone dagger. "I can stop you from going out there, if I want to."

Vorden turned away, ignoring her. He handed his lantern to Lannon and started back across the bridge, his axe held ready.

"Vorden!" Aldreya whispered pleadingly. "Come back here."

While the others watched with pounding hearts, Vorden crept to the edge of the pool and laid hands on the sword hilt. He lifted the weapon silently off the stone, grinning, and held it up for the others to see.

Then he rose and started back. As he did so, the great hand reached forth and hovered menacingly above him.
 

"Watch out!" the others cried.

Yet even as the hand grabbed for Vorden, the black sword slashed around in an arc and sliced through the tree-trunk sized arm. The hand dropped to the bridge, its fingers still wiggling--like a giant insect lying on its back.

Vorden ran to where the others stood, his eyes blazing in triumph. "There," he said. "I got the sword, and killed the hand."

Lannon nodded. "Let's just hope that's the last hand."

Timlin's eyes were wide with awe. "That sword must be pretty sharp to cut through that thing so easily."

Vorden examined it. It was a straight, double-edged sword of black hue with a hilt that displayed four silver claw-like protrusions on either side. At the center of the hilt was a silver symbol that looked vaguely like a spider, while smaller runes of equal color ran the length of the blade.

"It must be," he agreed. "It kind of felt like..."

"Like what?" said Lannon.

"Like the sword moved on its own," said Vorden.

Aldreya shuddered. "Maybe you shouldn't keep it."

"What are you talking about?" said Vorden. "Of course I'm going to keep it. And you better not tell anyone I found it!"

"But it might be cursed," said Aldreya. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I will," said Vorden. "But it's a good weapon, and right now we need one, since we're on our own. I'll just leave my axe here for now."

"We could go back now and get help," said Aldreya.

Even as she spoke, the pool began to boil. Something was twisting around in the water, perhaps in agony.

"I think it's dying," said Lannon.

"Or healing itself," said Vorden. "Who knows? I'd like to keep going and see if we can locate the others. You could use the Eye of Divinity to help find them. Maybe when we come back later, that thing will be dead."

Lannon nodded. "I don't really want to go past it right now. And the others might need our help right away."

"Let's find our friends," said Timlin. "We can't leave them behind."

***

In the chasm below the bridge, much farther down from where they had first fallen in--though it was impossible to tell exactly how far--Caldrek, Shennen, Taris, Saranna, and Darius dragged themselves out of the water and lay dripping on the riverbank. In the utter darkness of the chasm, they were forced to call out each other's names. Only Furlus failed to answer the call. Taris pulled a Birlote torch from his pack, and the crimson light revealed the swiftly flowing river, from which pointed rocks protruded.

As they watched in tense silence, a thick hand suddenly reached up out of the water and grabbed one of the rocks. Then another hand came up, and Furlus Goblincrusher pulled himself above the surface, gasping for breath. He hung there, in the middle of the river, his chest heaving beneath his plate mail.

"Don't just gawk at me," he muttered to the others. "Help me out. I can't fight the current anymore. This armor is too heavy."

"Can you remove your armor?" said Taris.

Furlus shook his head. "Not while I'm hanging from this rock."

Suddenly, a big shape drifted past in the torchlight. It was an old Cave Troll. Oddly enough, it was almost in a standing position, as if something were weighing down its feet. It bobbed along down the river, its round eyes gazing at them, and disappeared into the dark.

"Did you see that?" said Saranna. "It looked like a Troll!"

No one answered. They just shrugged and shook their heads.

"Was that a Cave Troll that just floated past?" Saranna asked again, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Or am I seeing things?"

Shennen readied his rope. "Tie this around yourself, if you can, Furlus, and we will pull you onto the bank."

"If I let go of this rock," said Furlus, "I'll sink like lead."

"I guess I can swim out and tie it around you," said Taris. "If I must..."

"I'd rather drown," said Furlus.

"I can do it," said Saranna.

"Hurry now!" said Furlus. "I'm losing my grip."

Shennen handed Saranna one end of the rope, and she dove into the river a bit upstream from where Furlus was. The current pulled her along, but she managed to fight her way over to the struggling Dwarf.

"If you weren't so thick in the belly," mocked Taris, "she might actually be able to get that rope around your waist."

Furlus was clinging to the rock with his last bit of strength, but he managed to grunt out a response. "When I get...to shore...watch out...sorcerer!"

"It's done," said Saranna. "You can pull us in."

Shennen, Caldrek, and Taris tugged on the rope. "You can let go now," said Taris, "unless you want us to try to pull that rock along with you."

Furlus let his hands slip from the rock, while Saranna held onto him and the rope. The others dragged them up onto land.
 
Furlus lay coughing and hacking. Then he sat up, his beard dripping, still panting from his exertion.

"Let us hope the Squires returned to Dremlock," sputtered Furlus.

"I doubt they did," said Taris, shaking his head.

Furlus looked surprised. "What makes you say that? Do you actually think they would try to continue on without us?"

"Perhaps," said Taris. "They might try to find us, believing we need their help. And that Vorden fellow... Well, let's just say that I understand his nature."

"They would be fools to try to cross that bridge," said Saranna, wringing out her hair, "after what happened to us."

"Could Squires possess such courage?" said Caldrek.

"Why not?" said Shennen. "When we were young, Caldrek, we might easily have tried it. When it comes down to it, age has less to do with courage than people might think, my friend."

"I think Taris has a good point, for once," said Furlus. "Look at what those Squires have done already--sneaking down to visit the Divine Essence."

"Where Vorden goes," said Taris, "trouble shall follow."

***

In full agreement to continue on, the Squires entered the tunnel. It led them downward at a steep incline and then leveled off. Stone pillars lined the passageway here, grey and smooth in the lantern light, hewn from the mountain's rock. Hanging from the pillars were rusted chains. Still caught in some of these chains was evidence of their grim purpose--a skeletal arm here, a thighbone there. Skulls and other bones lay scattered at the base of the pillars. This was another Olrog punishment hall. The Squires wondered how many such grisly places existed down here.

They left the pillars behind and journeyed for what seemed like hours along the stone passageway, occasionally encountering thick black roots that split the rock here and there (having caused small cave-ins in some areas).

The tunnel gradually began to widen, revealing even more roots, and they had to push their way through fierce tangles of them at times. The gloomy feeling thickened, smothering them, while a sickening stench--reminding Lannon of the Bloodlands--had begun to assail their nostrils. Despair built in their hearts.

"Maybe we should go back," said Lannon.

"Let's go just a little farther," said Vorden.

"I think the others are dead," said Timlin, shivering.

"I feel that way now, too," said Aldreya.

"It has something to do with this area," said Vorden. "It's like the Bloodlands, making us feel as if things are hopeless."

"I feel like everything is crazy," said Aldreya "What are we doing here? What's happening to Dremlock? I never thought it would be this way."

"I didn't either," said Lannon. "It seems like ever since we snuck into Old Keep, things have gotten strange. Now someone wants me dead."

"I know what you mean," said Vorden, stopping and turning to them. "I always imagined the life of a Squire would be somewhat exciting--but nothing like this. I wanted adventure, but not necessarily this much, this soon."