Tides of Faith: Travail of The Dark Mage Book Two (43 page)

He leapt backward as light erupted
from the two Gyomar. Shrieks sounded beyond the doorway. His
comrade hewed a hand from a twisted arm.

“Open it!” shouted
Leathers.

The second swordsman pulled the door
wide and a score of Torments recoiled from the Gyomar’s
light.

Righteous magic blasted through the
opening and dark shapes fell. The Gyomar added its light and
creatures of darkness wilted beneath the onslaught.

Continuing the attack, Leathers passed
through the doorway. The odor from the withering Torments was
noxious. Their flesh boiled and hissed as Gyomias’ power banished
their fell spirits.

Sensing that no more creatures stood
to bar their way, he reduced the glow to just enough to illuminate
the passage. The light did little to dispel the sense of dread and
foreboding that literally oozed from the walls. Bones from hundreds
of victims formed a macabre mosaic on either side as the passage
progressed.

They came to another room. A
sacrificial altar dominated the center. Large enough to accommodate
three victims, it was awash in fresh blood. The bonds which would
have secured the sacrifices lay open and empty.

Where the passageway before had held a
mosaic of bones, the walls of this room seemed to be nearly
completely comprised of bones. None were complete, all had been
broken in a manner that indicated that great suffering had been
inflicted.

Two doors, one to their left and the
other to their right stood closed. The swordsmen moved one to
each.

“Careful,” Leathers warned.

They well remembered what had been
waiting behind the last door. The swordsman on the right waited
while his comrade slowly pulled on the handle. As before, it swung
open silently.

Ready to dart backward should an
attack materialize, he opened it further. When none came, he swung
it open fully to reveal another passageway. Turning to his comrade,
he said, “Your turn.”

Drawing one of his swords, the
swordsman placed his hand on the handle. The other swordsman moved
into position, both swords at the ready.

“Open it.”

As the door cracked open, Leathers
felt a pulse of evil belch forth from below. It sundered the door
and blasted into the room sending the two swordsmen
flying.

The might of Gyomias filled Leathers
as he countered the attack. Stronger by far than anything yet
encountered, it took everything he had just to hold it at bay. This
had to have come from the Heart of Darkness. They must be
close.

Gyomar moved to the fore. Their power,
added to that of Leathers, overthrew the attack. When the dark tide
subsided, he turned his attention to his men.

They picked themselves off the floor.
Shaken and bruised, but otherwise unscathed, they once again took
position near the door.

“Better let me take the lead from
here.”

“As you wish, Milord.”

Stepping aside, they waited for
Leathers to pass into the passage then followed close behind. The
pair of Gyomar brought up the rear.

Not relinquishing the power of his
god, Leathers glowed with righteous might. Even the warm,
reassuring light of Gyomias could not banish the cold feeling of
terror permeating this place. Mosaics with complete human skeletons
as centerpieces lined both walls at ten feet intervals.

Twisted and gnarled, the bones hardly
resembled those of humans, but that they had once been human
vessels filled with hope and promise, there could be no doubt.
Eyeless sockets watched as the intruders passed. Leathers strode
purposefully, ignoring the unseen forces. At the fourth pair of
mosaics, his stride faltered. For the skeletons at the centerpiece
were those of newborn babes.

“The promise of life,
stolen.”

He glanced back to the swordsmen. “If
for no other reason we do this, we do this for them.”

The swordsmen nodded silently,
Leathers’ sadness mirrored in their eyes.

With renewed determination, he set
off, pace quickened to see an end to this.

Another six pairs of these ghastly
mosaics fell behind before a deeper darkness moving ahead caught
his eye. Coming to a stop, he held up his hand.

“What is it, Milord?”

“I’m not sure.”

Moving like an oily cloud in the dark,
it made its way toward them. “Stand ready.”

Specks of red flashed like insects
within the dark mass. As it drew closer, the flashes could be seen
moving about, like dust drawn from the ground in a gale. There was
definitely power contained within; they could feel it.

Magic surged outward in a blaze of
glory from Leathers’ outstretched hand. Holy might struck the dark
mass. Red specks exploded outward in a shower of sparks as the
power of Gyomias rent asunder the evil construct.

But instead of falling, the specks
gained in speed as they shot toward Leathers.

Calling once more upon his god, light
suffused the passage. Specks exploded in microbursts upon contact
with the field of righteousness leaving a fetid, cloying odor
reminiscent of an old grave.

The swordsmen started forward but were
forestalled by Leathers’ upraised hand.

“Wait.”

Something was not right. An
unidentifiable foreboding settled upon Leathers as he watched the
fine dusty residue of the obliterated sparks settle to the
ground.

A moment passed, then
another.
There was something….

Turning to the swordsman on his right,
he said, “Give me two coins.”

The swordsman dug a pair of coppers
from his pouch and handed them to Leathers.

Holding onto one, Leathers tossed the
other into the passageway ahead. It struck the stone floor, bounced
once, then rolled a dozen feet further before curving and coming to
a stop against the wall. Its thin trail could barely be seen within
the field of fine dust particles.

Taking the next coin, he summoned the
might of Gyomias, and allowed the glow to encompass and pass
through the coin for several moments. When he released the magic
the metal emitted a soft, barely perceptible glimmering. He then
tossed it as he had the first.

Before it hit the floor, a cloud of
dark particles exploded upward and enveloped the coin. Moving in a
violent vortex, the dust whirled and twisted as it spun the coin
over and over, never once allowing it to reach the ground. Then as
soon as it had begun, it ended.

Corroded, pitted and but a quarter of
its former mass, the coin landed upon the floor. All traces of the
glimmering were gone. Even what little luster the coin had
originally held had been removed. It was as lifeless a piece of
metal that any of those in witness had ever seen.

One swordsman looked questioningly to
Leathers.

“It attacked the holy power of
Gyomias.”

The swordsman nodded, then turned his
attention to the span of passageway lying before them. Fifteen feet
or more lay coated in the fine dark dust. “How do we get
past?”

“We trust in Gyomias.”

With that, Leathers motioned for them
to step back. Closing his eyes, he summoned the power of his god
and glowed like the sun.

The edge of the dust field rose in
response, as if seeking the source of the holy aura.

Stepping forward, Leathers prayed for
protection. On his fifth step, dust erupted.

A vicious maelstrom slammed into him,
seeking, prying, all the while trying to destroy that which was
good and holy. He felt the evil of it leeching away the power. But
more was given to sustain him.

Step by step he worked his way toward
the middle of the maelstrom. Each step grew progressively harder as
he was buffeted by what felt like gale-force winds. When at last he
reached the middle of the field, when the entirety of it was active
and fighting to destroy him, he stopped.

Raising his hands, he turned his gaze
upward. “Gyomias!”

A wellspring of power surged outward
from within. It infused the righteous glow, caused it to grow a
hundredfold times more luminescent.

Cracks formed in the maelstrom from
the onslaught; ribbons of light broke through in an ever expanding
spider web-like network. Fell and dark powers sought to strengthen
the attack. But they could not endure. Finally the maelstrom simply
disintegrated and the presence of evil was gone.

Leathers held the power for a full two
heartbeats longer before allowing the might of Gyomias to recede.
When the glow faded to soft ambience, all traces of the dark dust
were gone.

“Praise, Gyomias.”

Leathers glanced back and nodded.
“Indeed.”

Striding forward, he passed another
half dozen of the macabre mosaics before the passageway ended at
the mouth of a massive dark, cavern.

A broad stairway led downward;
darkness obscured the cavern’s ceiling; jagged points of
stalactites protruded into the light from somewhere far above. A
waft of fetidness rose from the dark depths below. Within that
darkness, the high priest of T’Lea waited.

“We are here, gentlemen.”

Leathers paused before the first step.
“No matter what awaits us, Gyomias will see us through. Leave the
high priest to me; the remainder… purge.”

“What of captives?”

The swordsman received a look of
sadness. “Nothing can remain. So Gyomias has commanded.”

“Yes, milord.”

Wings unfurling, the two Gyomar leapt
and soared outward into the upper reaches of the cavern. Weaving in
and out among the stalactites, their nimbus threw back the dark.
But down below, there was a blackness their light could not
overcome.

Power rumbled within that deeper
darkness. Energy of the fellest kind rolled outward, toward those
upon the steps. Swirling clouds of hatred boiled forth and upon
leaving the darkness, materialized into dozens of T’Lea’s pets;
diminutive creatures barely three feet in height; misshapen,
twisted, and exuding pure malevolence and hate.

“Let’s end this.”

Righteous power imbued Leathers and
the emanation put the glow generated by the Gyomar to
shame.

The swordsmen preceded him down the
steps. Blades danced and creatures fell. When the first wave was
overcome, another materialized and the battle continued.

Leathers paid little heed to the
battle swirling around him. He knew these creatures were little
more than pests for his swordsmen; easily dealt with. The true
battle remained deep within the darkness. He felt it; a beating of
malevolence that gave these creatures life. No victory could be
achieved as long as the Heart of Darkness continued to leach
goodness from the world.

Battle raged as the trio descended.
None of the pets made it through their web of blades. Upon reaching
the fringe of the deep darkness, the last fell and the cavern was
again silent.

“Gyomias has no power
here, mortal.”

Ignoring the taunt, Leathers held out
his hand. The glow brightened but the darkness held fast.
Continuing to increase in luminosity the might of Gyomias soon grew
painful and eyes were averted. Still the darkness held.

Dark powers lent it strength and it
withstood the onslaught. Finally, the blinding light faded until
all that remained was a soft glow surrounding Leathers.

He sighed. “Steel yourselves,
gentlemen.”

With that, he stepped forward and
passed into darkness.

All sight and sound vanished. He felt
the power of Gyomias within him, knew that it radiated outward
keeping the evil at bay, yet there was no visible sign that it was
so.

Cloying, fetid, and sorrow-filled were
but pale descriptions of the reality within this darkness. It
sought to enter him, fill him, ruin him; but Gyomias held him
safe.

The two swordsmen remained at his
side; he sensed this more than anything else. Reaching out, he laid
a hand upon each allowing their god’s might to flow to them,
filling them, guiding them. When his hands broke contact, a tenuous
strand of power remained; kept them connected.

Augmented by the power of Gyomias,
their senses picked up indistinct shadows within the greater
darkness. Trusting in their god, swords struck and evil
fell.

Leathers sought The Heart of Darkness.
He felt its malevolent beating, giving strength to the creatures
that infested this place.

Death awaits, mortal. It
hungers for your pain.

His mind’s eye directed him toward a
flight of steps leading down. There welled forth the greatest
concentration of evil. Giving his swordsmen direction through the
link of power, they preceded him into the opening.

T’Lea’s pets threw themselves forward
only to be cleaved and destroyed by blades shining with righteous
power. Torments joined the fray to their ruination. Step by step
the trio descended into the heart of T’Lea’s High
Temple.