Wielder's Awakening (52 page)

“What’s wrong?” the Princess asked, startling Traven.  “You look like you have seen a phantom.”

“I know where we can hide,” Traven said excitedly, shaking off his initial shock.  “Follow me!”

Without another word, they hurried down a side road between the remains of two buildings.  In the distance, he could make out the small hill that rose up suddenly.  The hill was covered in murky foliage, but he had no doubt as to where the entrance to the cave was located.  He walked right up to the sheer side of the hill and turned to the Princess.

“We can hide in this cave.”

“What are you talking about?” the Princess said in exasperation.  “This is just a hill.  We need to get in one of those building before . . .”

She stopped in amazement as Traven reached forward and pulled the dense mass of vines and moss to one side, revealing the entrance of a cave.

“How did you know?”  the Princess managed after a few moments of silence.

He shrugged in response.  He couldn’t tell her that he had seen it in a dream.  She would think he was crazy.  A swamp rat suddenly burst out of the dark entrance startling him backwards.  The Princess let out an earsplitting scream.

“Sorry,” the Princess apologized.

Traven groaned.  In the distance he could already hear the excited shouts of their pursuers.  The Princess had effectively given away their hiding place.  He considered trying to find somewhere else, but he knew it was too late.  The shouts of the thieves were approaching rapidly, and he was too tired to run anymore.  His leg was cramped, and looking at the Princess who was still breathing heavily, he knew they would not get far if they tried to outrun their pursuers.

“It’s too late now,” he told her when she suggested trying to find somewhere else.  “Head down into the cave and hide.  I’ll wait here at the entrance and try to stop them.  If I can’t, you can stay hidden until they have gone.”

“But-”

“There’s no time,” Traven said, cutting the Princess off.  “You must hurry!”

The Princess stared at him for a moment before offering a worried smile.

“Good luck,” she said with genuine concern before taking a deep breath and heading off carefully into the cave.

Traven followed her into the entrance of the cave where he waited.  He watched as the Princess headed away.  She looked back once and opened her mouth to say something but changed her mind and continued down the tunnel.  Traven watched her vanish around a corner before turning his gaze outside.

Their followers were already coming into view.  Traven unsheathed his sword silently and waited just inside the cave.  From in between the ruins of the two buildings, five thieves advanced slowly.  Traven muttered under his breath. He had hoped that they had split up, but they were all still together.  He knew he could normally take them all on, but he was exhausted and sore.  He took a deep breath and cleared his mind as the thieves got closer.  He waited paiently out of sight for them to reach the entrance of the cave.  The thieves abrubtly stopped with confused looks on their faces.

“Where’d they go,” one of them spat.  “I know the scream came from right here!”

A shimmer of hope sparked in the expanse of Traven’s calm.  They couldn’t see the entrance.  Maybe they would just move on, and he wouldn’t have to fight them.  The shimmer dwindled, however, when one of the guards got down on his hands and knees and began to study the ground.  He quickly picked out their trail and followed it with his eyes until he was looking at the ground directly in front of Traven.

“They went in there,” he said confidently.

“Where?” another said, peering at the sheer face of the small hill.  “There’s nothing there!”

“There must be a small crack or something that they squeezed into.  Their trail leads directly into the face of the hill.”  The man then began to chuckle.  “They’ve done us a favor.  They’re trapped!”

Traven knew the man was right, but it was not over yet.  He wouldn’t go down without a fight.  The cave was narrow enough that only one of the thieves could attack him at a time.  He figured he should be able to handle one at a time even in his weakened condition.  Traven looked on as the five thieves pulled out their swords and walked slowly towards him.  When they got to the side of the hill they pulled up and began poking around with their swords, looking for the entrance.  Two sword tips pierced the screen of foliage and slipped into the cave.  With excitement, one of the two jumped forward and burst through the foliage and into the cave.  The thief fell to the ground lifeless without even a scream.  His body hit the ground with a dull thud as his useless sword clanged against the stone floor.

The other thieves jumped back from the entrance yelling curses at the hill.  Traven waited in silence for the next one.  There was a quick discussion amongst the thieves.  They made a decision and the largest of the four broke away from the group and cautiously approached the cave with his sword out in front of him.  Traven braced himself just inside the entrance of the cave.  He knew that it wouldn’t be so easy this time.  He no longer had the element of surprise.  When the man reached the edge of the hill, he slashed at the foliage, clearing it away from the entrance of the cave.  He grinned menacingly at Traven, who was now in full view of his attackers.

Traven brought up his sword and blocked the man’s slash as he lunged into the cave.  He then counter attacked, but the man was good and easily parried Traven’s blade.  The cave echoed with the sharp sound of metal on metal as the two opponents attacked one another, both fighting for their lives.  Traven concentrated on the man, looking for an opening.  The moment came, and he struck smoothly, ending the duel.  As the man fell to the ground alongside his comrade, Traven realized how weakened he really was.  The wound on his leg had reopened from the strain, and fresh blood was once again trickling down his leg.  In his ears, his heart pounded loudly along with his heavy breathing.  He knew that if he didn’t end this soon, the three remaining thieves would be able to overpower him.

As a third thief attacked, Traven made up his mind.  He pushed his body to its limit and attacked with surprising ferocity.  The surprised thief fell quickly, and Traven jumped over him and into the midst of the remaining two thieves.  He swiped at one to push him back and then attacked the other.  Traven kicked the man in the stomach knocking him to the ground.  He turned to face the other and ducked to avoid the thief’s blade flying at his head.  Traven was moving slower than he expected and received a glancing blow on the top of his head.  He popped back up and finished of the thief before the other had even had time to get up.  Traven turned and threw himself on top of the last thief as he was climbing to his feet.  One last clang of swords rang in the misty ruins before his opponent’s sword fell onto the moist ground, never to be used again.

Traven wiped away the blood from his eyes as he looked around him haggardly.  All was silent but his beating heart and his ragged breathing.  He stumbled back inside the cave and slumped down against the wall.  He tried to fight off the coming darkness but had no strength left.  The blood continued to flow from his fresh head wound unchecked, and Traven slowly slipped out of consciousness as the mist enveloped him.

* * * * *

Kalista turned around a bend in the cave and continued slowly onward.  She was afraid for Traven.  She had seen his skill, but she had also noticed his exhaustion.  His face was so pale.  She did not want to leave him at the entrance alone, but she had no other choice.  She hoped desperately that the young man would be all right as she continued deeper into the cave.  The cave began descending quite sharply.  With one hand on the wall for guidance and balance and the other out in front of her, Kalista slowly pushed on, hoping that there were no more swamp rats or anything worse.  The air was so stale, however, that she was almost certain that nothing living had been this deep in the cave for years.

Behind her in the distance, she heard metal clashing against metal.  She unconsciously began to walk faster and with a start realized that the passage was not getting darker but was actually getting lighter!  As she neared another bend, she could see the walls of the cave clearly in the dim light.  The closer Kalista got to the sharp bend, the brighter the tunnel became.  She had no idea what the source of the light could be.  Perhaps there was another way out of the cave!  She cautiously approached the sharp bend and slowly peered around the corner.  Her mouth dropped in astonishment at what met her eyes.

Kalista stepped from around the corner and marveled.  This part of the cave was no longer formed by nature.  It was manmade.  The floor leveled out and was perfectly smooth.  The tunnel was now twice as wide and slightly taller.  The walls and ceiling were as smooth as the floor.  The perfect smoothness was not what caused her astonishment however.  Kalista was astonished by the source of the light.  Every fifteen feet there were small shelves cut into the wall on both sides.  In each shelf burned a single flame.  There were no torches, no candles, just a single flame burning eerily in the center of the rock shelves!  The floor was covered with dust, and it was apparent that no one had been there in a very long time.  She knew that it was impossible for a flame to be burning so long with no apparent source, but she saw it happening before her very eyes.

As she began to make her way down the ancient hall, her mind stunned, she wondered if she had somehow fainted from exhaustion and was dreaming.  With every step, a small puff of dust rose from the floor, leaving the mark of her boots, attesting to her passage.  At the far end of the hall, something seemed to be glowing.  As Kalista continued down the dimly lit hall, she realized that it ended in two large brass doors.  The brass was still impossibly polished and reflected the dim light of the small flames brightly.  She paused breathlessly in front of the large doors.  They were absolutely beautiful.  They appeared brand new and had designs sculpted into them.  She was awed by the intricate designs of a city and strange writing that she did not recognize.  She stared in reverence at the beautiful relic of a time long past and forgotten.

With ever growing curiosity, Kalista placed her hands against the bright doors and pushed.  They swung inward effortlessly.  So effortlessly, that the she almost fell forward onto the ground.  Regaining her balance, her breath was once again stolen.  Her eyes grew larger as she tried to take it all in at once.  She found herself in a large chamber that was much brighter than the dimly lit hall leading to it.  The room was perfectly round with two rows of shelves and small flames encircling the entire chamber several feet above her head.  The domed ceiling soared high above her, and in the center of the dome, a giant flame blazed, suspended in midair.  The floor of the chamber was covered by blue and white tiles, all in perfect condition.

The large chamber was empty but for a single golden chest that shone brightly in the center of the room.  It sat slightly above the ground on a deep blue dais.  Mesmerized by the brilliant chest, Kalista walked out into the large chamber towards it.  Her boots clicked against the tile floor and echoed back and forth across the room.  She almost felt like a trespasser for disturbing the silence the hall had maintained for countless years.  As she drew closer to the chest, she saw that it was even more intricately carved than the brass doors.  She also noticed that the stale smell of the hall was being replaced by a putrid stench.  Wrinkling her nose, she continued onward.  When she reached the dais, she stepped up onto it and discovered where the stench was coming from.  On the other side of the dais, a large hole gaped open.  It had been hidden from view by the dais and was surrounded by a thin border of bright red tiles.

Kalista turned her attention from the foul smelling hole back to the golden chest at her feet.  It was so beautiful.  As she bent to touch it, a sickening burst of air rushed out of the hole behind the dais, blowing back her hair.  As her gaze was drawn back to the hole, something suddenly shot out of it, knocking her backwards off of the dais.  Lying on her back in a daze, she stared in horror as a gigantic serpent rose from the hole.  She had never even imagined that such a beast could exist!  It looked like something from a nightmare.  The serpent quickly coiled itself behind the dais with its horrific head high above the golden chest.  Kalista jumped to her feet and turned to run.  She had not gone a span when she fell hard on the floor with a scream as her feet were snatched out from under her.  She frantically clawed at the smooth tile as the creature pulled her back to the center of the room with the tip of its slimy tail coiled tightly around her legs.

Turning onto her back, Kalista stared upward with ever increasing fear at the nightmarish serpent.  Its dull green body shone in the light of the flames as the slime of the marsh dripped off of its scales.  Its red eyes burned as they peered down upon its helpless victim.  She tried to break away but found it to be impossible.  With dread, she stopped struggling.  The immense creature then opened its mouth, revealing hundreds of razor sharp teeth that dripped with saliva.  She watched in horror and began screaming hysterically.  Her death had finally come!