[Mkguild] "To Steal a Soul" -- Part 4

[Kendo Virmir]

"To Steal a Soul"
Part 4


The exit tunnel provided no new scenery, and we soon found ourselves
navigating dark twisting passages once more.  Vale said that the
little monsters only came from the way we did, which would explain why
we didn't run into any until we stopped.  Still, I wasn't going to
take any chances, and kept a charge of energy at the tips of my claws
ready to eradicate any shadow that peered from around the corner.  We
hid the bodies of the slain creatures behind the large piles of rocks
in the larger room before we left.  Hopefully they did not have easy
methods of detecting their dead...

Vale kept a claw on the sword strapped to her hip at all times as
well.  It was a beautiful weapon, even sheathed.  When her hand was
not covering it, I could make out the tiny red-jeweled eyes of a bird
of prey shaped into the silver metal at the base.  Typical noble
fluff.  I was sure it cost a fortune.

"What is your sword made of?" I asked, breaking the silence in the
tunnels.  Her ears shot up at my unexpected voice, and she turned an
eye down at me.

"Steel, with a two or three percent mithril alloy."

Mithril.  I would have whistled had I still been able to.  Even in
such diluted amounts it was ungodly expensive.  Of course, I was
certain the noble had it all.  It at least meant the blade was
conductive to magic, and that I could enchant it easily when things
got rough.  I had been able to get it to burn for some sixty seconds,
which was far longer than any rusty sword could handle.

"Where did you get it from?"  I watched her expression change as I
asked the question, her ears folding back on her head.  It was such a
strange thing to read the emotions of another sentient creature by
watching her ears.  She clearly did not like the topic.  I hoped I
wasn't that easy to read...

"My father..." she breathed out.  "He was a general."

I nodded and faced forward once more.  Of course.  Some rich baron or
lord or whatnot handing out trinkets to his children.  I would have
asked where but the answer likely would have been meaningless, as I
wasn't all that familiar with the political geography of the Midlands.
 Or Galendor for that matter.  And she apparently wasn't comfortable
with it.  Heaven forbid it is my questions that irritate others.

Twenty minutes later we received our scenery change.

I cut the witchlight when I noticed the blue glow ahead.  The radiance
from the cracks had grown so bright the additional light was not
necessary.   I could not see the details from as deep in the tunnel as
we were, but the room beyond was certainly much larger than the
opening we had rested in, and far better illuminated.  Vale and I took
up our positions on either side of the tunnel wall, slowly creeping
towards the mouth.  I didn't like this one bit, but we were far beyond
the point of no return.

Unlike the previous "room", which was likely little more than a
natural widening of the tunnel, the rocky corridor ended abruptly
where the yawning blue chamber began.  I surmised it had been cut into
the stone.  The two of us cautiously stuck our heads out as we crept
closer to the tunnel mouth, and my jaw dropped at what I saw.

Spires.  Like a castle, stone spires radiated upwards through the
center of the arena-sized cavern.  Each brick of the winding towers
shimmered a pale blue.  The bottoms remained hidden by a mass of
stalagmites obstructing my view just beyond the opening, and the tops
by stalactites just over my head.   I craned my neck and nearly took
another step forward to gain a better view, but I noticed Vale waving
her arm out of the corner of my eye.  I turned to the left to see her
clench her teeth and run her nail across her neck in a throat-slitting
gesture.  Huh?  She pointed, and I turned to see one of the plant
monsters standing guard mere feet where I was about to step out...
Blast it!

Its back was turned to the wall and therefore mostly to us, although
it certainly would have noticed had either one of us stepped into the
open.  If it was alive, that was.  It seemed more a statue than a
living creature, and it just stood there lifelessly as I watched it.
We both slunk back into the tunnel as I mouthed curses.

And herein a new problem arose.  Every time I killed these things with
fire, they screamed like molested banshees.  If we were to maintain
any semblance of stealth, we'd have to find another way...

I pointed to Vale's sword, and she responded with a "Who? Me?" look.
Yes, you.  We traded spots, and she took up the position where I
nearly stepped out, pressing her back to the wall and raising her
blade.  I walked to the center of the tunnel mouth, levitating a small
stone to my open claw and fingering it for a moment.  If she missed, I
would be able to defend myself easily against this one.  But if that
provoked a hundred of the monsters, well then that was it.  Ugh.  What
a miserable way to go...

I tossed the stone before me and watched it click atop the other
rocks.  I immediately heard the creature's claws tapping on rock and
soon it rounded the corner.  It took a second to see me, but when it
did its glassy eyes lit up in delight as it smiled a toothy grin and
stepped forward.

"He he--"

Splat.

At this point I was becoming thankful we were up against monsters that
did not bleed.  With a mighty cleave from behind, Vale spit its head
in two, top to bottom, and it fell over like a defaced statue.  I
suppose it was a good thing she had practice.  We waited several more
agonizing seconds for more to come.  None did.

I tiptoed out of the tunnel mouth, my ears and tail standing on end,
my eyes darting every which way.  The tunnel opened to the cavern
beyond about one third of the way up, and a sort of natural ramp
followed the wall to my left all the way down at a shallow decline.
Pressing my claws against a pile of stone just before a sharp
drop-off, I caught my first good glimpse of the spires in the center
of the cavern.

Compared to any castle, like say the towers of Metamor, they wouldn't
have been remarkable.  Maybe ten or fifteen stories high.  But the
fact that they were underground and glowing blue made them rather awe
inspiring.  The central one was the largest, its cylindrical base
certainly wide enough to host a king's banquet.  The other two, which
flanked either side, seemed more like narrow support columns keeping
the cavern from collapsing.  The tops and bottoms of each disappeared
into the rocky floor and uneven ceiling, so I supposed my initial
guess at their true size was inaccurate.  More luminescent veins of
blue streaked the cavern walls all around, becoming more concentrated
at the tops and bottoms of the stone structures.  Looking down near
the bases of the towers I could see several figures walking around.

By then Vale had joined my side and stood gawking as well.  We briefly
looked at each other before realizing how plainly in sight we were and
ducked down next to the rock.

(Look! Image! http://virmir.com/images/mk/vale_and_virmir_cavern.gif)

How in blazes were we supposed to get in there?!  Blast it all!  Just
to save a pair of idiots!  I could not believe I followed her!

"How are we supposed to get in there...?"  Vale mused, rubbing the tip
of her chin with a claw.  My ears flattened and I rolled my eyes,
fighting the urge to growl.

I peeked over the edge again.  At least a dozen shapes darted back and
forth below us.  Many I recognized as the plant creatures, their stony
forms walking around with leaves clinging to them like ivy.  But there
were other figures as well.  Black cloaked humanoid shapes with cowls
drawn over their heads.  I could not tell what species they were, nor
what most of them were doing.  Many were concentrated at the far
cavern wall to the right of the towers, seemingly picking apart the
stones and dividing them into carts.  Perhaps they were mining the
glowing crystal?  The cart contents certainly did not glow.

"Virmir," Vale whispered.  My ears turned toward her as she pointed.
"You see those guys in black?"  I nodded and she turned her head to
me.  "Put your cowl up."

Why?  She just stared at me, so I did so just to humor her.  I hadn't
worn my cowl since I changed, and my ears felt like they would stab
through the fabric.  I had to flatten them to get it completely over
my head.  My black cloak and cowl...  She leaned back and brought her
hand to her chin in contemplation.

Oh.  Heck.  No.

I shook my head violently. "It won't work."

"Virmir, listen--"

"Absolutely not!"

"At least hear me out!"

"They will see through it immediately!  Look, it doesn't even cover my
tail!"  I swished it around indignantly for emphasis.

"Wrap it around your waist!  Do you have a better idea?"

"And what about you? How do you plan on getting in?"

"Listen.  I'm your prisoner.  You lead me inside."

My mouth hung open for a moment.  "You're suggesting we walk in the
front door?!"

She clasped her paws before her chest.  "Virmir, please..."

Blast it!  I should have left the insane inbred noblewoman right there
and stormed back the way we came.  But those eyes.  Oh, those eyes...
They were twin emeralds boring into my soul, full of desperation,
tears welling in the corners...  Blast it again!  There had to be
another way!  I clenched my teeth and thought.  Think, blast it!

Nothing came.

Oh, gods.  I had already signed my own death warrant by jumping into
that blasted portal in the first place.  Why bother resisting now?  I
sighed.  There were just so many more things I wanted to accomplish in
life...

I tucked my tail under my cloak and pulled the hood down farther. "Let's go."

She smiled and her eyes lit up.  "Thank you, Kendo."

"Virmir."

She sheathed her blade and detached her belt.  "You should take my weapons."

"I... cannot carry that."  The blasted thing was as big as me!

"It won't look very convincing if I'm still armed..."

At this point I began muttering curses under my breath.  The was no
way I could wear the ungainly thing at my waist, so Vale strapped it
over my shoulder like a bandoleer.  The blade across my back still
nearly touched the ground.  Then she proceeded to pile on her bow and
quiver half full of arrows.  Oh, gods!  My knees buckled under the
crushing weight.  I was forced to support myself by attempting to
levitate the ridiculously heavy equipment, but that only served to
take off a few measly pounds.

She stood and turned around, placing her hands behind her back as if
they were bound.  I drew my own blade and yanked on her lush black
tail.  She yelped in surprise.

"We must make this convincing..." I sneered.  She nodded and  I stuck
the tip of my short sword into the leather armor upon her back, just
above her hands.  Holding her tail like a chain, we began making our
way down the decline...

My heart beat faster and faster as we descended.  Were they looking?
Would they notice?  I did not dare turn my head to get a better glace,
fearing that would expose my already protruding muzzle even more.  I
fought back the urge to pant from my exertion, carrying all the
equipment.  Bunched around my waist, my tail began to cramp...  Of
course they would notice.  We were so dead...

Floor level.  Vale turned and began walking towards the door of the
largest tower.  It was... working?  The black robed creatures didn't
even bother more than a second glance.  Several walked in front of us.
 More of the plant creatures.  Even working like slaves they giggled
their screeches...

I jumped as I heard a raspy voice screaming.  I chanced a look from
under my cowl.  One of the black robes on the far side of the cavern
began yelling indignantly, spewing obscenities at the plant-and-dirt
creatures near the mining carts.  His back was turned to us.  He rose
an oak staff and struck one of the little monsters across the face,
the others bursting out in mad laughter at the reproach.  As he
performed the strike I glimpsed a scaly green tail snake out from
under his robes...

A few more black robes moved away from the door and began walking
towards the spectacle.  Oh, gods!  So close...  The rectangular
entryway was tall, narrow, and bland, except that it glowed blue much
like the rest of the exterior.  Darkness filled much of the rigid
hallway beyond, though it was not completely without the blue light.

My knees shaking, we stepped onto the smooth stone floor.  I could
feel a warmth beneath my toes as they clicked on the hard surface.
Click click click.  We were in...

Vale boldly continued forward.  What now?  The enclosing walls were a
dark brick, nearly black, and the blueness seemed to creep up from the
cracks where the blocks met the floor on either side, fading a few
inches up.  Blast it!  Straight.  There were no other paths.

"Hold it!"

My heart sank.  That same high pitched raspy voice that was yelling at
the plant creatures...  I gave Vale a push and we hurried on.

"You there!  Stop!"

The clicking of toe claws on stone.  The hollow thud of a staff on the
floor.  Wonderful.  He was coming up behind us fast.  I slowed my pace
and turned my head slightly, acknowledging I had heard him.  This was
it...

"Identify yourself!  Where did you find this prisoner?"

The black robed creature was by my side in a heartbeat.  He was
actually shorter than me.  A green scaled claw burst from the cloth
and grabbed my shoulder, spinning me towards him. 'Speak!" he hissed.
A reptilian muzzle erupted from under the cowl.  I did not get a good
look at his face, but he seemed to flinch at mine.  "My Lord?" he
muttered as he took a step back.

Huh?

He recovered instantly, shaking it off and pointing his staff at my
face.  "Who are you?" he demanded with more acid.

I smacked the staff out of the way with my blade and thrust my claw
into his chest.  I let loose a furious ball of flame and he flew
backwards as if he were shot point blank with a cannon, soaring three
feet and slamming into the wall.  He remained planted there for an
instant before crumbling forward and landing face first with a thud.
Vale and I clenched our teeth.  Ouch.

I looked up at Vale.  "Run."

We bolted.  After three steps I collapsed under the weight of the
dhole's equipment.  Blast it!  She scooped her gear off my back and we
high-tailed it down the hallway.


-- 
- Virmir
http://virmir.com