Shades of the Past: The Morcyth Saga Book Six (45 page)

“A draft?” asks James in excitement.

“That’s right,” affirms Jiron.

“Let’s go check it out,” says James and then
follows Jiron back to the mound of dirt and the window.

“See if you can widen it further,” he
suggests when he sees the opening Jiron had made.

Stepping up to the window, Jiron takes a rock
from the mound of dirt on the floor and begins striking the dirt
packed in the window. Each strike dislodges more of the dirt. He
keeps hammering at it until the left half of the window has been
completely cleared.

“Toss the orb through and see what’s back
there,” James says.

He moves to the opening and tosses the orb
through. The light from the orb as it sails through shows a large
open area, easily thirty feet across. As the orb strikes the far
side, it begins to fall. It falls at least a hundred feet before
splashing into a pool of water at the bottom.

Jiron turns from the window. “It’s pretty
big,” he tells James. “The sides are just dirt. At the bottom lies
a pool of water.”

“Water?” asks James. When Jiron nods
affirmative, he adds, “The water may have eroded the dirt from the
bottom up.” He takes his water bottle and gives it a shake. Hardly
any left.

“We could use some of that water,” states
Jiron.

“Can we make it down?” he asks.

“I’ll see,” he says. “Need another orb.” When
one appears in his hand he again moves to the opening. Tossing it
through, he watches the sides of the hole as the orb falls. A
little over halfway down directly below the window is a two foot
dirt ledge jutting out from the side of the wall. The hollow area
grows dark again when the orb hits the water and sinks beneath its
surface.

James cancels the orb as soon as he sees
Jiron turn back from the window. “Well?” he asks.

“There’s a narrow ledge below the window,” he
explains. “My rope will reach it but I’m not sure how well it will
support our weight.”

“Let me see.” Moving to the window, he
creates another orb and tosses it through. When it passes the
ledge, he sees what Jiron is talking about. Though not very wide,
it doesn’t look as if it will support their weight.

He’s about ready to move away from the window
when the breeze which originally caught Jiron’s attention wafts
through and ruffles his hair. Air movement can only mean a way
out.

“I think we should chance it,” he says as he
turns back from the window. “That breeze has to mean there is an
opening to the surface somewhere.” He sets the orb on the mound of
dirt while he gets ready to climb through.

“I agree,” replies Jiron. “We could wander
around down here for days and not find another way.” He uncoils the
rope from around his waist and says, “I’ll lower you down first.”
When James nods, he ties the loop at the end of the rope for his
foot. Setting the rope on the dirt mound for a moment, he helps
James through the opening.

Once his feet are dangling on the other side,
he works the rope through and hooks it around James’ right foot.
Bracing himself, he gives James a nod and holds the rope tightly
while James works his way the rest of the way through the opening.
He lets out slack very slowly until he hears ‘I’m set’, then begins
lowering steadily.

James holds the rope tightly in his good hand
with the other arm wrapped around it for support. As he is lowered
into the darkness an orb springs to life and settles on his
shoulder. He keeps an eye out for the ledge. When he sees it coming
up beneath him, he hollers, “Almost there!” From above he hears
Jiron holler back, “Let me know when you reach it.”

“Right!” he shouts. Looking down, he watches
as the ledge gradually approaches. When he is but inches from it he
hollers up to Jiron to halt. Moving carefully, he places the foot
not in the rope’s loop upon the ledge and tests it for stability.
When the ledge proves secure, he places more of his weight upon it,
never once letting go the rope.

Finally standing with his entire weight
resting upon the ledge, he hollers up to Jiron, “It’s holding!”

“Good,” comes the reply. Then the rope is
quickly drawn back up.

Back at the window, Jiron takes out one of
his knives. After untying the loop, he ties the end securely around
the base of the knife’s hilt. He then places the knife crosswise
across the corner of the window and wedges it there. While
maintaining tension on the rope tied to the knife to keep it in
place, he tosses the rest of the rope through the window and down
to James.

Jiron!

James’ scream comes to him from below. He
looks through the window just as a massive flash explodes on the
other side and blinds him. Holding his eyes, he shouts, “James!
What’s happening?”

Another inarticulate yell comes from James
followed by a splash. “James!” he yells through the window. From
below come two explosions and James’s voice calling his name.

Crumph!

Another explosion and then he hears James
again calling his name, this time sounding like he’s further
away.

When his eyes finally clear enough to see, he
looks through the window but only sees blackness on the other side.
Taking his orb, he holds it high as he leans out to look below, but
the ledge is empty and there’s no sign of James.

“
James!”

He stands on the ledge as Jiron pulls the
rope up. Shifting his feet, he edges over to make room for when he
comes down. Once Jiron makes it down to the ledge they’ll work the
rest of their way down to the bottom.

Above his head, the glow from Jiron’s orb
shines through the window and he can see his silhouette as he makes
ready to descend. Then Jiron’s hand emerges from the window holding
the rope then lets it fall.

James reaches out and catches the rope to
steady it during Jiron’s descent. Pulling the rope tight, he holds
it while he waits for Jiron to pass through the window. Just then
from below, he catches a glimpse of movement out of the corner of
his eye. Looking down, his eyes widen in amazement as a gigantic
serpentine head atop a long neck rises out of the water below.

The scaly head rises quickly, its red eyes
fixed squarely upon him. Frozen with fear, he watches as it draws
ever closer. Suddenly, its mouth opens revealing two rows of razor
sharp teeth. Giving out a roar, the head strikes at James where
he’s standing exposed upon the wall.

“Jiron!” he screams and then throws the orb.
Dodging to the side, he closes his eyes as he sends a burst of
magic causing the orb to explode in a blinding flash.

The scaly head strikes the wall where he had
been but a second before. James is struck by the side of the
monster’s head and gets knocked from the wall. “Jiron!” he yells
again as he plummets toward the water below.

“James!” he hears Jiron shout from above.
“What’s happening?”

He reaches out and grabs hold of the neck of
the monster to slow his fall. Even with that he hits the water
hard, his breath knocked out of him. Kicking his feet, he moves out
of the way just as the head hits the water.

The impact of the head causes him to be
propelled by the surge of water toward the side of the underground
lake. Kicking and swimming furiously, he makes the edge and pulls
himself up onto the ground. Turning onto his back, he sees the
creature’s head silhouetted by the light coming through the window
from above, rearing up for another strike. Rolling to the right, he
barely avoids being caught by the razor sharp teeth.

Getting to his feet, he quickly creates
another orb and finds that the shore of the small lake extends
further around the water. Running, he flees the monstrous creature
and lets out with magic…

Crumph! Crumph!

…and the ground explodes upward in front of
the creature.

Rearing backward and letting out with another
bone rattling roar, the creature halts for a brief moment allowing
James to flee further along the shore.

“Jiron!” he cries out as he races along the
water’s edge. The ground trembles as the creature leaves the water
to pursue him. A massive body with four strong legs and a long tail
trailing behind, it looks just like a dinosaur.

Crumph!

Letting out with another explosion, he slows
the creature down. Looking ahead desperately for a way out, he
finds the water continues until it reaches the edge of a building.
As the building becomes more illuminated by the orb’s light he
discovers the shoreline, and thus his avenue of escape, ends at the
side of the building.

Glancing back, he sees the creature again
pressing forward to attack. Desperate for a way out, he edges
closer to the water. Scanning the area once again for any sign of a
way out, he notices the water lapping at the edge of the building
and that the ground beneath the wall has been eroded away by the
water.

With no time to determine if the eroded area
extends very far, he runs and dives into the water. Swimming
quickly, he reaches the building’s edge. Just then, the water
swells when the creature enters after him. Praying he’s right, he
takes a breath and dives again under the water.

Using his hand for a guide, he swims under
the stone of the building. The stone above him extends for what
seems like a long distance before his hand comes to the end of the
stone. Kicking to the surface, his head breaks through to open air
and he takes a ragged breath.

Heart pumping, he creates another orb and
finds that he’s in the corner of a large room. Over time, the water
had eroded the ground out beneath the foundation causing the floor
to fall away and drop below the surface. Reaching out a hand, he
takes hold of the edge of the floor and quickly leaves the
water.

Once out, he moves away from the edge and
watches to see if the creature will follow. The opening isn’t very
large so he hopes it will decide against it. When all remains quiet
for several minutes, he sighs with relief that the creature isn’t
going to follow.

Then it hits him. He’s all alone. How will
Jiron follow and catch up with him while that creature is out
there? Even Jiron’s prowess with the knives will be of little use
against such a massive creature.

He sits there a moment and takes stock of the
situation. They’re both still alive and will both be working to get
out of here. He seriously doubts if Jiron will even think about
trying to follow the way he went.

The room he’s in is rather large, the ceiling
rises up at least two stories. As all other rooms they’ve come
across, this one is bare of any furniture or anything else that
would indicate what its purpose once was. On the far side of the
room lies a closed door, the only way to go other than the one he
used to enter. He hopes Jiron can either find him or a way to the
surface.

Crossing the room to the door he takes the
handle and pulls. He has to exert a lot of pressure to get it to
swing open into the room. Beyond lies a hallway leading further
into the building.

James takes the orb in hand and passes
through the door, holding it high to better see what lies ahead. He
moves down the hallway until he the light from the orb reveals a
door ahead that’s slightly ajar. As he nears the door he stops when
it appears as if a faint, dark light is coming through from the
other side. Canceling his orb he sees that there is indeed a dark
light coming through the doorway, and it’s pulsating.

Stepping softly, he moves to the opening and
peers around the door. “Unbelievable,” he says under his breath. “I
know this place.” In one of the campaigns he designed for role
playing, he devised a room almost identical to this one.

In the center of the room is a pulsating
purple sphere of light that’s twice the height of a man. Lightning
crackles through it from one side to the other. Empty cages line
the side of the room to the right and to the left stands an
altar.

Sitting on top of the altar is a four armed,
twisted, humanoid creature which in the campaign he designed was
the representation of the cult’s god. No one appears to be in the
room. He stands there and watches for a minute to be sure the room
is empty. A doorway lies on the wall between two of the empty cages
with another across the room from where he stands in the hallway,
both are closed. When no one makes an appearance, he opens the door
further and walks in.

The pulsating sphere gives off a malevolent
aura and if it’s like the one he made, will lead to the plane where
the god rules. Not wishing to test that particular theory, he gives
the sphere a wide berth as he walks around it toward the altar
where the god’s statue sits.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he
wonders if there’s a hidden compartment in the belly of the statue
same as the one in his campaign. If there is, you pull the top left
and bottom right arms down at the same time to open it. He realizes
it’s sheer folly to tempt fate but he just has to know.

Stepping to the altar he takes hold of the
two arms and pulls them both down at the same time. They both
rotate down smoothly and the belly of the statue pops open. Within
lies a ring. Now in his campaign, this had been a ring of three
greater wishes and was guarded by a deadly trap. If everything has
been the same so far, so must the trap.

Taking the statue in both hands, he rotates
it upon the altar clockwise until it has come full circle. Once it
rests in the same position again, he rotates the two arms back to
their original position. Now, the trap should be nullified. If he’s
wrong, he’s dead.

Hesitantly reaching out for the ring, he lays
one finger on it and braces himself. Nothing happens. Breathing a
sigh of relief, he takes out the ring and holds it up. Grinning in
satisfaction, he contemplates whether he should use it. Of course
there’s no guarantee that it will do the same thing as the ring in
his campaign. Also, he remembers how he used to try to come up with
the worst possible results when people wished for things. If they
misspoke, disastrous things would happen.