Chapter 8 - The Way Out.
“I’m not so sure,” said Dreth. “How do I know your information is worth the wand anyway? I mean, if the thing’s so powerful, I may not need your help. I can just release myself with it.”
“Don’t be foolish now,” said Harm, tapping the pommel of his sword. “I’m being generous in deference to your obvious contributions to evil, but I am not a patient elf. The offer will expire soon, and my wizardly friends here,” he indicated Redthorne and his dark elf mage, “are more than capable of dealing with you.”
Dreth bent over and picked up the wand. Holding it in one hand he looked at the dark elf, weighing up the artefact against the assembled foe. Eventually he tried to breathe in, realized he had no lungs and raised Darkblood instead. “I think you’re bluffing,” he said. “You saw me fight the dragon and know what you’re up against. I think you’d have come in casting fireballs if you thought you could harm me.”
Harm scowled. “You’re being unreasonable. We mean business. Here, I’ll give you a little example of what my mage can do, just to prove how serious we’re about all this.” He turned to the dark elf sorceress. “Kill the female. Slowly. Very slowly.”
“Ooh, a show!” said Percy, clapping his hands.
The mage smiled and approached Emerald, who struggled futilely in the grip of two guards. Taking her victim’s chin in black fingers she smiled. “This is going to be fun.”
As Emerald screamed, the dark elf began to intone in a slow and ancient language, the words of the spell hanging briefly above her as black mist before dissipating.
Smiling in ecstasy the sorceress raised her arms high above her head, speaking in louder tones as the climax of the spell approached. The power of the magic was almost visible, distorting the air in the small chamber like heat rising from the desert floor. Dreth took a step back.
The dark elf shouted the final words and held her hands out wide.
Emerald screamed in pain and fear as blood started to drip from her ears and eyes. “Noooo!”
“Oh, but yessss,” replied the dark elf mage.
The elves looked on, white teeth showing smiles of great enjoyment as their sacrifice rose slowly into the air, flailing about wildly.
“Wooo!” said Cuthbert.
Dreth sidled slowly sideways.
“Wait.” The sorceress stepped back. “That shouldn’t happen.”
A red glow was emanating from Emerald as she twisted about in agony.
“Uh oh,” said the pink treasure imp, and disappeared with a pop.
“What’s wrong?” asked Harm.
“Something’s interfering with my spell.” The dark elf sorceress frowned and rolled up her sleeves. Taking a deep breath she opened her mouth to cast more magic.
“Don’t Bother!” Emerald’s voice, amplified many times over the norm, echoed around the chamber. The female magic user flew backwards, her body slamming against the far wall with a sickening crack of broken bones.
Dreth gave the wand to Cuthbert and put a finger to where his lips should have been. The zombie looked puzzled, but nodded and secured the magical device in his pouch.
The elves were backing away from Emerald, who was now hanging still in the air, her hair floating about her head like some kind of unholy halo. The red glow was stronger now, and an aura of immense Evil was pervading the room. Dreth noted, with some satisfaction, that it was obviously causing Redthorne intense pain. The baby was howling his lungs out too.
“Leave My Vessel Be!” came the voice again.
Redthorne slumped to the floor, unconscious, and several of the elves fell too, clutching their heads. Dreth moved quickly, grabbing the baby from the one holding it as he dropped.
“This One Is Mine! You Will Do Her No Harm,” said the Evil through Emerald. Each word came out at an almost physical intensity.
Most of the dark elves were down now, unconscious or dead. Harm desperately dragged himself out of the doorway, staggering away with one other elf following closely behind.
The body of Emerald watched them go, and then swivelled round to face Dreth and the zombies.
“Er, hi,” said Dreth. “Names Dreth, Guardian of the…”
“Be Silent!”
“No problem. Silent it is.”
Emerald’s drifted closer, bathing Dreth in red glow, which he now saw emanated from one of the rings on her finger.
“You Are Responsible For Waking This Body. Therefore I Charge You With Keeping It Safe Until I Wish To Inhabit It.”
“Keep in safe, gotcha,” said Dreth.
“It Will Not Go Well For You If It Comes to Harm, Do You Understand?”
“Well, no offence or anything your immense awfulness, but you seem to be pretty good at defending it… her… whatever, by yourself.”
“I Am Only Able To Visit This Plane To A Finite Number Of Times. You Will Look After This Vessel.” Emerald raised a hand and pointed at Dreth.
“She does go on a bit doesn’t she?” Dreth heard Percy whisper to Cuthbert behind him.
“Duly noted,” said Dreth, who privately agreed with Percy’s opinion.
“I Weaken. Something Is Resisting Me. Remember… Look After… This… Vessel.” The red light faded and Emerald floated slowly to the floor, coming to rest gently against the wall.
Dreth looked down at the baby in his arms. It was sucking its thumb. He tried to frown, remembered he had no flesh, and made a tutting noise instead.
“Well, that was pretty cool,” said Cuthbert, leaning down and jabbing one of the dark elves bodies.
“Are they dead?” asked Percy.
“Not yet,” said Cuthbert, pulling out a rusty dagger.
“Leave them, dark elves will give you stomach ache.” Dreth, walked over to Redthorne and nudged him with his foot. The wizard groaned.
“I don’t think I can get stomach ache, can I?” Cuthbert looked at Percy, who shrugged.
“Never been a problem for me,” said the other zombie.
“Wizard. Wake up!” Dreth poked Redthorne again.
The mage stirred and clutched at his head. “Ow. What was that?” he moaned.
Dreth ignored the question. “Get up. We need to get out of here, and I want to know what you know about my curse.”
Redthorne staggered upright. “And then I suppose you will kill me.”
“Don’t be stupid,” said Dreth. “I don’t care what you do, just tell me what you know and I will let you go.”
“Give me the baby first,” said the wizard.
Dreth handed the baby to Cuthbert. “Hold this, and don’t eat any bits.” He turned back to Redthorne. “If you tell me the information, I’ll give you the baby, unharmed.”
The wizard stroked his beard. “Deal, but we have to get out of here first,” he replied.
“Fair enough,” said Dreth. “Assuming we can find the exit.”
“Hey boss, look who I’ve found!” Percy said from near the doorway. He held up the small ragged and unconscious figure of Smudge. “Can I eat her? Please?”
“Maybe later,” said Dreth bending over one of the fallen dark elves and taking the scabbard and robes.
The zombies watched as he sheathed Darkblood and donned the garments. Smudge came to just as he was clipping the cloak on.
“Welcome back Fearie,” said Dreth. “How are you feeling?”
“Is that you Dreth? You look terrible,” replied Smudge.
“Not as terrible as you will if you don’t tell us how to get out of this dungeon,” he replied. “You said your home was the Black Garden, and it was near an entrance. How do we get there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Fine,” Dreth looked at Percy. “You can eat her.”
“Wait! Wait!” The Fearie waved her hands as the zombie grinned and lifted the small form to his mouth. “I remember now!”
“Ohh,” Percy moaned in disappointment as Dreth motioned for him to stop.
“So, how do we get out of here?” asked Dreth. “Start talking!”
~ * ~
The mirror cleared to reveal the image of the Overlord, sitting at his desk, hands resting with fingers interlocked in front of him. His face was one of utmost calm.
The Dungeon Master fell to his knees in terror.
“I hear,” the steady voice came through the portal, “that Dreth is still at large.” The bespectacled figure leaned forward, pushed his glasses further up his nose and picked up a piece of paper.
He read the document for a moment more and then looked back at the Master. “Furthermore, he has in his possession the woman, and…” there was a hint of a twitch in the lips here, “ and he has reached the centre of the dungeon and found the treasure!!” The Overlords’ skin began to smoulder, and there was a definite reddish tinge to the otherwise unassuming visage. The table began to smoke where his hands were touching it and the paper he was holding bust into flame and was quickly reduced to ash.
“G…great and merciful Overlord, I can fix this. It’s not too late,” quailed the Dungeon Master from his grovelling position on the floor.
“Issue a general alert, NOW!” shouted the Overlord. “I want Dreth cut into little pieces and locked in a magically sealed rune box, do you understand me? I don’t care what it takes.” The wooden surface of the desk smouldered and then ignited.
“At once your magnificence! It shall be done!”
“If it isn’t, your still living hide will be used to refurnish my chair.” With the final threat the image winked out, leaving the Dungeon Master shaking in dread.
~ * ~
“Why don’t you just use the wand to find out what you need to know?” Cuthbert asked, trying to jiggle the baby, and nearly dropping it.
Dreth patted his side. He had retrieved the magical device from the undead and secured it in a pouch. “I want to find out what the wizard knows first,” said Dreth. “If he can direct me to my destination then we can save the wand for a real emergency. Anyway, the imp said the thing was ‘picky’, so there’s always the chance it will go wrong. I need time to think how to use it best.”
They were back in the lava tunnels again, following Smudge’s directions. The Fearie was sitting on Percy’s shoulder, tightly bound with some strips torn from his rags.
Dreth left the zombie behind and moved up to walk next to Redthorne, who was supporting Emerald. The woman had come round with no recollection of what had happened to her. Apart from some unsteadiness, she was unhurt.
“How did you get past the dragon anyway?” he asked the wizard.
Redthorne looked up and smiled a small smile. “Oh that was easy. We just said we were with you.”
“Hmm. That was after you met up with your dark elf masters of course.”
“Don’t be foolish,” retorted the wizard. “We bumped into them whilst, ah, securing a defensive position against the dragon. I had to pretend to make a deal, or they would have killed us both at once. I knew if I led them to you we could overcome them together. We make quite a team eh?”
“Don’t bullshit me wizard, I know you’d destroy me in an instant if you could. You were looking out for number one.”
The wizard scowled. “Yes, well. Maybe.”
“Oh, it’s nothing to be ashamed of, I would dispatch you without a thought if it became necessary too,” said Dreth casually.
“How reassuring,” replied the mage dryly. “I will bear that in mind.”
“Are you sure you aren’t a Dark Wizard? I mean, you seem pretty intent on getting this baby at whatever cost. That’s not very usual for someone on the side of Good, as far as I know.”
“Sometimes there needs to be sacrifices for the greater good,” said Redthorne solidly. “I do what’s needed, that’s all.”
Dreth nodded. “Well, just remember, so do I. Don’t get any funny ideas. We currently travel the same path, so there’s no need for you to die needlessly.”
Redthorne raised an eyebrow. “Now who’s talking out of character? I think you’re getting soft Dreth. All this talk of ‘no needless killing.’ What would your masters think?”
“I have no masters,” said Dreth with feeling, but then, because he was honest at least to himself, added: “Well, none I acknowledge anyway.”
“How far is this exit?” interrupted Emerald in a weak voice. “I could use a rest. My body feels like it’s been through a wringer.”
Dreth looked back at Smudge. “How far Fearie?” he asked.
“There should be a door any minute now,” she replied in a sullen voice. “It leads to a little used portion of the dungeon. Through that and I know the way into the service tunnels. If we use them I can get us to the Black Garden with no interruption.”
“There’s the door now,” said Percy, pointing ahead at a stout wooden portal blocking their way.
“Go and check it out,” ordered Dreth.
Grumbling the zombie complied, shuffling forward and pulling back rusting bolts until it swung open with a creak. He peered through and then slammed it shut quickly, throwing the locks back into place hurriedly.
He turned around and leaned against it. “Er, I don’t think we should go this way. There must be another route we can take.”
“What? Why not?” Dreth demanded.
”Er… Dragons! Yes, dragons. Hundreds of them,” said Percy, waved his arms about. “Big ones.”
“Dragons?” said Smudge. “Are you sure?”
“Oh yes. For sure. You can’t miss thousands of hungry dragons staring you in the face.”
“I don’t know,” said Cuthbert, tapping his chin with one finger. “Wouldn’t all those dragons be making some noise?”
“They were, er, sleeping. Yes, sleeping,” replied Percy.
“I thought they were all looking at you?” asked Redthorne.
“Some of them.”
“There are no dragons, are there?” Dreth queried.
Percy looked from left to right for a moment, before giving up and doing a good impression of a sigh. “No.”
“So, what’s behind the door then?” Cuthbert asked, striding forward.
“No! Don’t go in there!” Percy cried. “It’s bad, really bad!”
“Worse than dragons?” Cuthbert pushed him to one side and fiddled with the bolts.
“Pretty much,” said his friend miserably.
The others watched as the Cuthbert shoved open the door a crack and peered around.
“Well?” said Dreth. “What do you see?”
The zombie pulled his head back and looked at him. “It…”
“Yes?”
“There’s…”
“What??!! Spit it out will you?” Dreth cried.
“There’s nothing. Darkness there, and nothing more.” Cuthbert pushed open the door, making Percy wince. Behind it was a standard dungeon corridor, remarkably empty of dragons, or anything else for that matter.
Dreth looked at Percy. “Dragons eh?”
“What? Look, I swear I saw him…”
“Him?” Redthorne moved forward and squinted down the passage. “Who’s him’?”
The zombie looked uncomfortable, which wasn’t easy for a rotten walking corpse. “Someone.”
Dreth scratched his skull, which was itching. “Come on,” he said. “We’re wasting time.”
They moved onwards, Percy looking around nervously, but this part of the dungeon appeared to be abandoned.
“I told you, it’s closed for remodelling,” said Smudge when they asked her about it. “The last occupant, a kind of giant snake I think it was, was hacked apart by a group of adventurers some time ago. They simply haven’t got around to assigning someone new yet, that’s all.”
Dreth shrugged. “Fair enough,” he said. “I suppose we shouldn’t complain.”
“Hey,” said Percy from ahead. “There’s a room here.”
The others examined the chamber, which was bare except for a few old bones in the corner. “Perfect,” said Dreth. “We’ll rest up here a while. Or at least the still living will.”
Redthorne staggered over to a corner with Emerald. The two spread out their sleeping mats and collapsed into them. Percy put the Fearie down next to the wizard, making sure she was securely bound.
Sprat wandered into the room and poked at the bones.
“Any meat left?” asked Percy, shambling over and nudging a yellowing skull with his foot.
The little zombie shook his head. “Nufink,” he replied.
“Leave the remains alone,” said Dreth, squatting down in a corner. “No telling where they’ve been.” He scratched at his arm.
“What’s with you?” Cuthbert said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean with the scratching?”
“I’m itching, that’s all.”
“Oh, I see, and that’s usual for a skeleton is it?”
“I…” Dreth paused. “Good point.”
“Maybe you have fleas,” the zombie said brightly, jiggling the baby.
“Don’t be foolish.”
Cuthbert leaned closer to Dreth for a moment. “Hey,” he said. “I think you have some sort of growth!”
“What? Where?” Dreth patted the top of his skull.
“Where your hair used to be, and look, on your hands too!”
Dreth examined his corpse for a moment. “So there is. It looks like…tissue? It is! I think my skin’s growing back!”
“Look,” interrupted Percy from the back of the room. “There’s another door back here. Maybe there’ll be some treasure!” It swung open with a creak as he pushed at it. “Come on Sprat, let’s go explore eh?”
“Be careful back there, don’t fall into any pits,” warned Dreth.
“See Sprat,” said Percy, “Uncle does care.”
“It’s just last time we ended up lugging a baby about with us,” muttered Dreth.
“Ha, who’s lugging the baby?” said Cuthbert. He stuck his tongue out at the infant, who made a grab for it. “Oh no you don’t,” the zombie said. “That’s genuine elf tongue, hard to come by.”
The baby gurgled.
“Oh yes it is,” said the undead, wobbling his head about, and speaking in the high pitched tones people often use when talking to the very young. “Elf tongue it is it is. Oh yes indeed. Elfy welfy to…”
“Please stop,” said Dreth. “There’s something very wrong about this scene.”
Cuthbert was about to reply when there was a shout from the second door.
“Now what?” said Dreth, standing up and reaching for his sword.
He trotted towards the source of the noise, Cuthbert in tow, just in time to meet Percy hobbling quickly towards him, his clockwork leg hissing and whirring.
“It’s him! I saw him for sure this time!” the zombie said.
“Who?” asked Cuthbert. “Who did you see?” He looked at Sprat, who merely shrugged.
“Him! Him! He’s come back! I’ve been a naughty boy!” Percy rambled on madly.
“Shhh, you’ll wake the living,” said Dreth. “What are you babbling about? Pull yourself together!” He slapped the walking dead about the head, dislodging Percy’s jawbone.
“Im! Ees ome ack!” Percy carried on, the lower half of his face hanging loose.
“For the love of Dreg.” Dreth would have rolled his eyes if he had had any. He turned to Sprat instead. “What did you see in there?”
“Nufink Uncle Dref,” replied the young zombie. “There was nufink at all.”
“I think your friend has finally passed his ‘best use’ date,” said Dreth to Cuthbert. “Time for a new brain or something.” He turned around and went to sit back down again, scratching himself all the while.
Cuthbert helped the other zombie put his face back together. “Calm down,” he said. “What did you see?”
“Him. My father! He wanted to spank me!” said Percy. “He always spanked me when I was naughty.”
“Your father?” exclaimed Cuthbert. “Isn’t that a little unlikely?”
“I saw him. Twice now,” Percy reiterated, pointing behind him.
“Come on,” said Cuthbert, leading the other zombie gently away. “Let’s go and sit down, I’ll get a rib for you to nibble on. It’s been a hard day for us all.”
Cuthbert led his friend to another corner of the room, where they rummaged about in Dreth’s rather depleted travelling sack for a snack.
Dreth shook his head as he watched them. ‘Zombies,’ he thought.
Quiet descended once again, broken only by the occasional snore from the wizard. Dreth sat still, falling into the trance he used instead of sleep.
“You betrayed me.”
“What?” Dreth looked up. There was no one there. He shook his head. “I’m spending too much time with those zombies,” he muttered, and slowly fell back into his reverie.
“Betrayed me and left me to die.”
This time Dreth jumped to his feet. “Who said that?” he demanded.
Percy looked across the room at him. “Did you see my father?”
“No, but I think I’m getting as crazy as you. I’m going for a walk. Stay here.” Dreth picked up a torch and stalked off towards the doorway Percy had gone through earlier.
The room beyond was almost identical to the one he had just vacated. A chamber made of dull grey stone blocks, empty except for old cobwebs in the dark corners.
Dreth stood in the middle and waited.
Sure enough, after a few minutes, there was movement in the shadows. He peered into the gloom, to see a tall thin female figure walk towards him. She was slim and certainly attractive, if you overlooked the blank holes where her eyes should have been. Wavy hair hung loose over her ghostly white dress. Pale thin legs terminated in bare feet that slid across the floor like cold gusts of wind.
“Who are you?” asked Dreth.
The woman stopped and smiled. “Don’t you recognize me?”
Dreth tapped his jawbone with a skeletal finger. “You do seem somehow familiar. Was that you speaking before?”
She moved closer, her translucent robe billowing about her as if an unfelt breeze was tugging at it. “Oh Dreth, I’ve waited so long for my revenge. We could have shared the power, but you were greedy, wanting it all.”
Dreth nodded. “I don’t recall the situation, but it certainly sounds like me.”
“You betrayed me. Me, your lover! You left me to die. And yet what good did it do you? Look at what you are now.” The figure laughed; a chill sound. “A remnant of your past self. You can’t even remember what you lost, can you? Can’t even remember how you, in turn, were betrayed? Oh, the irony of it is almost overwhelming.”
The woman was quite close now, and Dreth could see her form was translucent, the dull stone of the room behind slightly visible through the ghostly body.
“It would almost be worth letting you carry on like this, but I want vengeance!” She opened her mouth with a predatory hiss and lunged forward, her features suddenly becoming far more skeletal and corpse-like than a moment ago.
Dreth jerked back as she swiped at him with her hand, leaving three burning scratches on his forearm.
“Hey! Stop that!” He drew his sword and retreated several steps.
“Your blade won’t help you now! It’s time for my revenge! Time to join me in this hellish limbo, to walk the earth, never knowing rest. You will wander through the ages with me. Doomed! Doomed with the knowledge there is no end. No end…”
“Hey, Dreth! You in there?” The spirit’s monologue was interrupted by Cuthbert, poking his head around the door.
Dreth glanced back at the zombie, then forward again. The ghost had vanished.
“Cuthbert,” he said, sheathing Darkblood, “I never thought I’d be glad to see your decomposing face.”
“Well, that’s not a very nice thing to say,” the undead replied, walking into the room and gazing about. “Were you talking to someone in here? I thought I heard voices.”
Dreth looked at his arm, where three dull red scratches marred his regenerating flesh. “No,” he said. “You must have been mistaken. There was just me.”
“Mmm. Well, I think we should get out of here. Percy won’t shut up about being a ‘bad boy’, and it’s beginning to get on my nerves, rotten and decomposing as they are.”
Dreth glanced back around the room. Was that a slight movement of white back there? He nodded. “I think, for once, you have the right of it. This area is a little too dead, even for me. Let’s go.”
They moved back to the other room, and woke the wizard and Emerald. Dreth tied Smudge to Sprat as Percy was being a little erratic, jumping at shadows and mumbling about ‘how he didn’t want a spanking’.
“I’m still tired,” complained Emerald, rubbing her eyes.
“Yes, well you can sleep when you’re dead, which might not be such a long wait if we hang about here,” Dreth replied. “Smudge, which way?”
The Fearie pointed down the corridor, and they moved swiftly off.
Behind them the shadows twisted and writhed in fury.
~ * ~
Harm took a deep breath and composed himself. Standing to one side, and slightly behind him, Primrose fidgeted.
The double doors opened and the dark elf priestess that had escorted them this far waved her hand. “You may enter,” she said.
He nodded and strode forward, Primrose following several footsteps behind. The cavern was as he remembered it. Dark and warm. Webs hung from the ceiling, and there was a feeling of being… watched.
He followed the black path through the chamber up to the dais steps, where he stopped and knelt.
A shadowy form moved slightly within a giant cocoon on the platform. “SSsso, you return.” The voice was a soft whisper.
“I have.”
“Where issss the child?”
“I have…” Harm paused. “It is within reach. I’ve returned to request more troops.”
“And what became of the onesss you were assssigned?” Harm thought he could see long thin legs waving about in the mass of white.
“They were, er, lost to various enemy forces. There was more resistance than anticipated.”
“I sssssee. Lossst.” The voice paused for a moment. “That is mosssst careless of you commander.”
“If you could provide us with further support…” Harm broke off.
A large shape had scuttled forward with blinding speed. There was a sudden cold stabbing pain in his stomach. He looked down to see a thin black tube piercing his abdomen.
“No…” he gasped.
Silken cords dropped around him, binding his arms to his side and rendering him immobile. His insides bubbled as a cold shape was ejected from the tube and forced inside his body. Another soon followed, and then another.
The webs tightened further, and he was lifted off the floor to be skilfully and smoothly manhandled up to the cavern roof, where unseen legs fastened him to the ceiling. Another sharp pain, and the tube pulled itself free from his body, leaving a dozen hard objects resting uncomfortably within his abdomen.
“You appear to be no usssse asss a ssssquad leader. I’ve therefore assssigned you a new tassssk. You will keep my eggssss warm, until they hatch. Then you will provide them their firssst meal.”
Harm tried to open his mouth to scream, but his body wouldn’t respond, paralysed by the Black Queen’s poison.
As the light faded he dimly heard it speaking again.
“Now, Primrosssse isss it? What an interesssting name. I’ve a misssssion for you. I hope you have more successss than your predecesssssor…”
~ * ~
Dreth pushed a black leaf out of the way and peered through the undergrowth. “Where?” he whispered to Smudge, who was now perched on his shoulder.
“Over there,” the Fearie replied, nodding her head as her arms were still bound to her sides.
Dreth leaned forward. “Ah yes, I see it now. It appears to be somewhat busy.”
“Busy? That can’t be. We usually leave it open, to let victim… I mean visitors wander in.”
“Well, there seems to be a gathering there now.” He tried to get a better view of the entrance to the Black Garden, a large archway carved into the dark rock of the cavern.
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