In any event I decided to add some audio elements to the site. So I have done some voice recordings of some of the poems and am in the process of adding more. In the future I hope to include a recording of all the poems that I post.

Short stories obviously will take more time so be a bit patient as those recordings will take a lot of work, meaning they may never happen.

In the meantime why not enjoy the recording of “A Belated Verse of Untitled Fate.”

Sometime later I woke as Pascalli brushed dust from my clothes and armor.  My bones ached.  My hands and neck felt raw, and breathing was painful and difficult.

“You’ve bruised your chest somehow,” said Pascalli.  “I didn’t get all of the details of what happened in there.  You’ve been asleep for nearly an hour.”

“Are we safe?” I asked.

“You did well, my boy,” said Pascalli when I could finally stand.  “We’re safe enough for now.”

“I survived,” I said.

“Which is more than the opposition can say,” replied the wizard with a wink and a smile.  “And you rid the world of a power that was never meant to be.”

I smiled to myself.  “Perhaps,” I admitted.  I looked around.  The end of the corridor had collapsed completely.  Rubble piled to the ceiling.  “Any idea how to get home?” I asked.

“Several,” replied the wizard.  “However if you would like to get there without starving to death then I’m afraid I may come up a bit short.”

“I was afraid of that,” I said.  “At least I had one good hot meal.”  I looked around again, and asked, “Where’s Golgaron?”

“He’s in the study.  He said he’d wait for you there.”

We found the statue waiting for us in the center of the room, silently guarding the books he had guarded for centuries.  For a few markets afterwards I had difficulty breathing, and my hands turned numb from time to time.  I remembered only portions of the visions I had while in the Key to the Stars, but often bits of knowledge came to me unexpected.  The voices of the world sounded clearer to me than before.  I slipped the rings from my hands and put them carefully into my pocket.

“Are you hurt, master?” he asked.

“A little,” I replied. “It’s not serious.  Do you know how to get back to the palace?”

“There is a secret way that Davmandius used,” said the statue.  “There is a staircase hidden here in the study that emerges in his chambers.”

“Lead on,” I said, “I’d like a warm meal and a real bed again.”

We emerged from the depths of the dark stairs at night.  I yearned for the touch of wind against my skin and the change of smells carried by the summer breeze.  After so many markets in isolation my skin had turned as pale as snow, and the starlight dazzled my eyes.  I noticed my own body odor when we reached the fresh air and realized how long it had been since I bathed after passing though so much blood and mire.

“I think you’ll find the palace feels differently now,” said Pascalli.  “Your time below will have changed you.  I think you will also find that those we left behind have changed.”

“I nearly forgot their faces,” I replied.  “I don’t want to go back down there for a long time.”

Pascalli laughed softly.  “I’m afraid you may not have a choice in that.  There is still a great deal of work to be done here.  Danger and loneliness may create one kind of a man.  Building a town makes another.”

No servants dwelt in the Palace before we entered the darkness, for Pascalli had deemed it still to dangerous, though I had slept there from time to time.
The silent dark corridors seemed a welcome relief, though I longed to see my friends again.

“I would like a bath,” I told Pascalli.

“And a shave,” said the wizard.  “I will find us some clean clothes and soap.  I wonder if the bath house is still in order.”

Pascalli left for the baths, leaving me alone with Golgaron.

“Much has changed since I have been gone,” observed the statue.  “These halls were filled with laughter and happiness.”  His tone showed no emotion.  I do not believe he felt the same way about things as a person usually does, but I knew that he did not like what he saw.

“There will be laughter here again,” I promised.  “I’ll need your help to make that happen.”

“I am your servant,” he replied.

“Then I would like you to go each night, into the upper halls of the palace and drive out or slay the evil creatures that have come here.  When that is finished, go into the city and clean it out as well.”

“Yes, master.  Will you continue your training?” He asked.

“Yes, everyday,” I replied.  “Train me as you would train any of Davmandius’ generals or sons.  This is my home now.  I would like to defend it properly.”

“Then we will begin at dawn.”  He left me alone and hurried into the upper portions of the palace.  Somebody had gone to great pain to clean the chambers and halls.  Not only had the baths been repaired and put in order, but the royal apartments were clean and furnished.  The place felt more a home than I remembered it, and I could not help but compare it to the burned out house on the farm.

I found Pascalli and bathed and put on fresh clothes.  Pascalli produced a shirt and trousers, clearly made by a fine tailor.  I do not know where he found them.  “It will take your body a few days to re-adjust to a regular day and night,” Pascalli told me.  “It will be easier if you stay awake tonight and all day tomorrow.  I think I will look around the city a bit and see what has changed.”

“I hope they finished the rest of the planting,” I said.

“I’m sure they finished that much.  Twoleaf already had plans to clear herself a plot beyond the walls.  We’ll need industry to establish trade.  I don’t think Delvin has given much thought to reopening the mines or harvesting the timber that grows so freely, but Thorn promised to scout the old traces for me.  The city will need all of these things and much more if you want it to survive.”  He caught the distracted look in my eyes.  “We can talk about all of these things tomorrow.  Let your mind rest for now.”

I did not feel tired, only lonely.  I was also curious about the city.  I really had no idea how long we had been absent, but I did not feel like wandering around alone.  A small garden is hidden away behind the palace, planted with ancient oaks and wildflowers.  Although it had not yet been fully restored, I found it beautiful.  I went there when I felt like thinking.  That night I wandered out to greet the stars.  The moon showed only a sliver in the sky, but the stars twinkled brightly and the night felt warm.  I found an open place and stared up, thinking.  Some memory of the Key returned, and I looked down quickly.

I smelled her before she spoke, though I had not seen her in the shadows.  “The summer nights are beautiful here,” she said.

I stood for a moment, drinking in her scent, my eyes closed, trying to forget my journey.  “No more beautiful than you are to me,” I said, turning to face her.

Dina had changed little.  The air of confidence and responsibility weighed a little heavier on her.  She did not carry her bow, but her face remained the same as I remembered.

“In many dark moments I missed you,” I said, and pulled her close.  I held her tight, and she wept into my shoulder, sobbing away the grief and longing.

“Some of them have given up hope that you would survive,” she said.  Then she smiled.  “Here you are, looking none the worse for wear.”

I chuckled a little, and then coughed as my chest hurt, and smiled back.  “Hardly unscathed,” I said.  She frowned, and curiosity leapt to her face.  “Some other time,” I cautioned.  “Much has happened.  Much that I cannot explain, and that I do not wish to remember.”

We talked the night away beneath the stars and trees.  I did not wish to dwell on the dark times or discuss the violence we had faced.  Instead she told me of the city.  Many buildings had been repaired, crops planted.  They were clearing the land around the lake, erasing the carnage of the Kaarum.  Some of the adventure seekers had disappeared with a small treasure, all they could pack.  The loss of horses would be worse than losing the gold.  “We have plenty of gold.” She laughed.  “But nothing to spend it on.”

“Yes,” I agreed.  “There is more treasure below.  I want to build the city.  I want to make this a place where people can live.  We can cut timber and send it south along with furs.  Our gold will buy equipment, tools, everything we need.  This is my home now.  I want to build it into something we can be proud of.”

“And is the lord of Darnuth Keep to have a lady?” she asked, her eyes sparkling in the starlight.

“A fitting question.” Laural stepped from the shadows.  The moonlight highlighted the paler tones of her hair.  Laural wore a tight fitting buckskin vest.  I noticed for the first time a tattoo on her upper left arm.  Something in her eyes betrayed a change I had not previously recognized.  “I saw the wizard and thought I might find you here.  We’ve had a fair bit of trouble since you’ve been gone.”

“At least I had a good rest,” I replied.  My tone was more than slightly condescending.  Dina pulled away from me slightly.  She stared at Laural with steely anger.

“You’ve no business here tonight,” said Dina.

“Neither have you,” replied Laural.  “The palace belongs to the king alone.”

“Then at least I have the right to be in my own gardens,” I replied.  Laural stopped short, avoiding my eyes.  “I also presume I can have guests if I choose.”

“I’m sorry,” replied Laural.  “We are all curious about what happened.  Everyone has been on edge lately.”

“No doubt a great many tragedies trouble you, young ladies,” said Pascalli.  Laural jumped at the sound of his voice.  “I am certain that Delvin has not allowed either of you the freedom you would have preferred, though I imagine you have still found ways to create mischief.  I do not think you will find Scratch in the mood to deal with your squabbling at the moment.”

I found Pascalli’s intervention both reassuring and annoying.  Though I felt refreshed simply breathing clear air again, my mind felt tired.  “You are right.  I don’t need arguing right now.”

Pascalli began to usher the women out of the garden when I caught Dina’s hand.  The wizard noted my motion and wrapped an arm around Laural’s shoulder.  “Have you ever seen a crystal garden?” I heard him ask Laural as they left.

“You asked me a question,” I said to Dina when we were alone.  I slipped one of the matching rings from my pocket.  “In the darkness you brought me hope.  I want to share that hope with you now, and forever.”

Somewhere in the starlight our lips met, and I pulled her into an embrace I hoped would never end.

THE END
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman

Back to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Fifty Seven

I freely admit that I was not prepared for that confrontation.  I had steeled myself to face the kind of horror that would spawn the grotesque lizard creatures and that would consort with demons of the sort we had fought all along the way, but I was not prepared to face her beauty and majesty.
No hint of the previous struggle touched her face.  If I expected a demonic apparition with grotesquely revolting features I could not have been more mistaken.  No horns.  No fangs.  No claws.  She stood arrayed in a mix of tight fitting red leather and sashes.  Her beautiful locks of coal black hair braided like tempting snakes about her shoulders.  Except for the hint of a red glow behind her pupils and the overwhelming sense of power, she appeared no different than any other beautiful woman.  Her otherwise creamy skin held a faint hint of green.  A short, broad-bladed sword hung at her belt.

I stood for a moment, transfixed.  I had known some pretty girls, but at that tender age I had never before seen such an overwhelmingly beautiful woman, and certainly not such a magnificent personality.  She captured my attention and my imagination.  For several seconds I waited, unable to fully take in the room, or even to notice my companions.

“Who are you to enter my domain unbidden?” her voice rang out firm and commanding, yet somehow alluring at the same time.  I felt compelled to answer, but for the moment I was too overwhelmed to speak.

“Be wary, boy,” I heard Pascalli speaking hoarsely.  He sounded small and insignificant.  His voice seemed distant and weak.

I had no answer for her.  I stepped one foot cautiously into the blue circle, my spear lowered.  An unknown fear gripped at my heart, not the fear of pain or of death, but the fear of being completely lost to myself and the world.  Part of me wanted to lose myself, to let go of my own will and subjugate myself to the dominating influence that stood before me.  I felt my spear slip from my fingers and clatter noisily on the stone.

“Fight it,” I heard a voice echo, as if from beneath water or from a deep cavern.

My second foot crossed the blue circle and searing pain burned through my hands where the rings touched my skin.  I felt my body burning, as if consumed by a raging fever.  Sweat poured from my brow.  For the first time I noticed the gold medallion hanging at Asmordreda’s neck.  The medallion burst into light, and I glanced down at my hands to see the diamonds on the rings shining with powerful energy.  Before me the demon’s confidence wavered.  I saw the burning amulet at her neck, and I knew that she felt the same pain that coursed through my body.

Suddenly the circle around us burst into light and a shimmering translucent blue wall of energy surrounded us.  Dimly I could see Pascalli struggling in a fight with foes I had not before noticed.  Golgaron stood transfixed to my left, apparently unable to move before the awesome power of the chamber.  A second wave of pain rushed through my hands and body.  The sounds of my scream were swallowed up by Asmordreda’s cries as she grasped furiously at the amulet around her neck.  Her confidence and majesty waned, and her beauty seemed to begin to slowly melt away.

A great wind suddenly whipped at my face.  Swirling torrents of light and energy began to race through the circle, buffeting both of us.  The ground trembled.  I felt transfixed, unable to force myself to push through the agony.  Though I could dimly see Pascalli battling, no sounds crossed the barrier.  What had Pascalli told me to do?  My mind raced against the pain, grasping at memories that should not have seemed so distant.  Send her back.  I had no power beyond my hopes and my will.  Send her back, the thought came powerfully.

I held that thought, and suddenly she staggered, as if struck by some unseen force.  A thin trickle of black blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.  She bellowed with animal rage as she lunged at me, her soft white fingers suddenly becoming razor claws hungry to tear my flesh.
“No!” I shouted, and held up my hand.  She stopped short, as the force of my will created a barrier between us.  “Go back!” I said, and swung my hand as if to push her away.  The force of energy struck her, and she fell to one knee.  Her perfect skin had begun to slowly dissolve away, revealing a scaly black hide beneath, though her body retained its perfect proportions.

“Never!”  She lashed back, swinging one hand with a backhanded blow that sent a ripple of energy my way.

I raised my left hand to ward the blow, and with my right hand grasped a bolt of fire as it roared past, using its momentum to spin me around, out of harm’s way and then redirecting it at my adversary.  The fire caught her directly in the chest, and she flew back from the force of impact, slamming into the translucent barrier.

“You cannot win, child,” she hissed.  Her voice had lost all of its charm and majesty.  “No mortal weapon can destroy me.”  Her hair had become a tangle of writhing serpents.  Her eyes flared with red fire.  She struggled to her feet.  As she did, she clawed at the energy around her with both hands, preparing a new attack.  A massive force caught me suddenly in the chest and lifted me from the ground.  As I slammed into the barrier behind me, I heard something crack.  The acrid smell of smoking hair suddenly surrounded me, and I felt hot charges like lighting shooting down my back.

I slumped to the ground, rolling weakly away from the barrier.  I cannot truly describe the heavy despair that overcame me then.  My weaknesses and failings seemed to be spread before me like cards on a table, each to be measured and counted.  What a foolish boy I felt.  That I should stand before one of the great powers in our grand universe seemed ludicrous.  Across the circle Asmordreda crouched.  Though disheveled and shaken her incredible sense of power had not completely disappeared.  The outward mantle had largely crumbled, but she still carried a sinister alluring beauty that I no longer felt the strength to resist.

“Join me,” she whispered.  Her voice carried an icy, dangerous tone, but her manner did not threaten so much as invite.  “This chamber holds the key to the universe.  Together …” somewhere her voice faded.

I lost my sense of space and time.  I felt my mind drifting into nothingness.  Asmordreda stood now, speaking to me, beckoning, but I could not hear her words or see her clearly.  The fire from the rings burned my hands until my fingers curled into twitching balls of agony.  I felt a fiery pain in my chest.  I coughed, and the spasm caused me to vomit.  In my delirium I saw the blood mixed with bile and knew that I was bleeding inside.  Death was certain.  Few recover from such wounds, and only with careful care and expert attention.

At my feet I saw my father’s spear.  Dumbly I grasped it in my hands.  My fingers felt wet and slipped a little as I used the spear to lift myself from the ground.

As I stood, suddenly everything zoomed into clarity.

“Don’t be stupid,” she said.  “You can’t kill me.”  I saw her raise a hand to throw another bolt of energy, and I waited.

Time slowed.  I saw her hand come down, and in my mind I knew it was a useless gesture.  I saw the energy form, heard it resisting her will but compelled by the power of the chamber, and I understood.  With my mind, I reached out and told the energy to stop.  The bolt dissipated.  Asmordreda stood confused, angry.

I willed my body to become whole.  I felt and heard the elements within my flesh crying their resistance.  I asked them to ignore the natural order of death and return my organs to their proper function.  They obeyed.  I ordered the burning in my hands to cease, and it stopped.  A rush of power such as I had never felt consumed me.  I saw with absolute clarity the world around me.  I heard the breathing of Pascalli as he cowered in a corner, overwhelmed by the surging power of the chamber.

“Give me the amulet,” I said.  I did not recognize my voice for the power that it carried.  Asmordreda cried out in horror and rage as the amulet suddenly tugged at her neck, pulling her towards me.  She clawed at it, tried to pull it back, but it burned her hands.  The searing power of it scorched her neck.  She cried out in agony until she finally pulled her head away and the amulet flew to me.

I put the amulet around me neck and suddenly the entire room filled with blinding white light.  The circular barrier vanished with a thunder-crack.  At the back of the room a swirling circle of blue energy played against the wall.  Within its depths I saw vast angry mountains behind a horde of demonic enemies.

“Go back,” I ordered and pointed to the portal.

“Never,” she spat.

She raised her hands in fury and began to call for help or power, but to no avail.  “Go back,” I ordered again, and with my mind I pushed her unwillingly through the portal.  Screaming, she was dragged, her claws leaving deep scratches in the stone, into a world of demons.  She disappeared into the blue depths.

“Colter,” I heard a small, insignificant voice.  “Destroy the portal.”  I looked around, and saw Pascalli in the corner pointing at the gate to another realm.  He seemed so much smaller, like a child.  “You must destroy the portal,” he repeated.  “Remember the plan.”  He begged.  He sobbed.  “Remember who you are.”

Who was I?  No longer a child, I held all the power of the universe in my hands.  What did I need with him?  What of the Kaarum?  I could destroy them if I wished.  What of Dina, my mother, my sister?  They were beneath me now.  Even the emperor had no power to rival mine.  With a glance I willed the portal closed.  I did not need it.

“You must give it up, boy,” said the voice again.  “It wasn’t meant to be.”  I turned to face the wizard.  I felt contempt, but no malice.  “Look into the future.  This is not your destiny.”

Of a sudden my mind filled with visions of battles.  Great armies of men surged against my might, but I flung them away carelessly.  I destroyed them as a child might kick down an anthill.  The horror of it overwhelmed my senses.  Still the power of the chamber coursed through me, the power to save, to grow.
A thought came unbidden.  A memory of our farm when I sat after a long day toiling in the fields hoping beyond hope for a crop at the end of the season.  I heard and knew and felt the elements around me, and I missed the mystery and longing to see things grow of their own will and nature.  Though I could bend the world to my will, I could not love it in the way I had once loved it.  I saw my mother and sister, Dina, Iven, all those I loved fleeing from me.  A part of me scorned them, reveling in my own majesty.  A greater part of me hated it.

I took off the amulet, and held it in my left hand.  “Get out!” I said to Pascalli.  When he did not move I grabbed his arm and pushed him to the door.  “Get out while you still can!”  Golgaron quickly followed the wizard, and I found myself alone.  I went to the center of the circle, and raised the amulet high.  As I flung it to the ground I willed the earth to swallow it.  The chamber rumbled as a crack opened in the floor.  I turned and fled the chamber, running as fast as my tired legs could carry me.  Behind me the chamber collapsed, and I was thrown to my face by the wind and dust.
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman

On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Fifty Eight

Back to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Fifty Six

I didn’t realize how much our journey had taken out of me until I sat down on the chill stone floor in the darkness of that little room.  The tension of constant vigilance and the repeated attacks had taken a toll of exhaustion.  After only a few minutes I felt stiff, and I drifted into a dreamless sleep.  Pascalli woke me after a time and asked me to heat some water with magic in an upturned helmet salvaged from one of our ambushers.

“We may well starve to death afterwards, but if we’re going to our doom I’d rather die with a full belly.”  He chuckled as he added the last of our dried meat to a soup he was making.

“I’d rather not die either way,” I said, rubbing life back into my chilled limbs.  The room felt more humid than I remembered.  “I’ve forgotten what a real bed feels like,” I said.  “I think I’ve almost forgotten what the stars look like.  I can barely remember even the comfort of an honest tree root in my back all night.”

“Yes,” agreed Pascalli.  “We’ve been down here too long.”  His voice suddenly brightened.  “Have no fear Scratch, my lad.  We’ll be through it soon.  We’ve found what we came looking for after all.  Just one cranky demon and all will be better here.”  He winked, and I felt no comfort.  Though we had been through many tight spots already, my confidence wavered.  “Eat.  Everything will be better after a hot meal and some rest.”

I admit I hadn’t realized how much I missed hot food.  When a body doesn’t get real cooking for so many markets the first taste is like eating for the first time all over again.  I confess that the little stew we made with the last of our trail rations was no dish fit for the emperor, but at that moment I found it nothing short of miraculous.  I ate, and then slept, warmed by the hot food, then ate the final bits.

“She will certainly be ready for us,” said Pascalli.  “Golgaron will not be able to help you.”  He seemed saddened and serious as he continued.  “I won’t be much use either.  I have no idea if she knows what we are planning.  I don’t even know what she might know or guess about the Key to the Stars.  Golgaron and I will handle any help she may have left, but you will essentially have to face her alone.”

“And do what?” I asked.

“Trust to your wits and luck,” winked the wizard.  “Though, if I were you I’d trust my luck more than my wits.  I’ve seen where your thinking gets you.”
The wizard’s jibe did little to raise my hopes, but still I could not help but feel that somehow we had the upper hand.  We had entered her fortress, destroyed the guards, and now sat on the verge of victory.  I felt only too deeply the delicate thread that held us from the brink of destruction.

“No point waiting here,” I suggested.  “Food’s gone, and I’ve slept enough for both of us.”

“Good lad, Scratch, no time like the present to face your destiny,” responded Pascalli.  “I’ve no idea what will happen when that door opens, but I think it will be best if you put on both of those rings, one on each hand.”

I fished out the rings and slipped them on as we headed down the corridor.  Golgaron stood as impassive as ever a few meters from the door.  He made no motion as we approached, but the old statue rarely moved, except when provoked to battle.

“Anything new,” I asked.

“Nothing, master,” he replied.

“Good,” I said.  I wasn’t so sure what was good about the situation, but I felt in a much more positive mood.  “On my signal, Golgaron hit the door and go left.  Pascalli will follow and take the right.  I’ll enter last.”

“Be sure to make a light first thing,” advised Pascalli.  “The lanterns here in the hallway will probably go out instantly, and I will need the light to fight with.  Whatever happens to Golgaron or me, ignore us.  Things may not be as they appear in there.  Find a way to activate the Key quickly, and then use the power of the Key to send her back.  Unless I am mistaken, she has managed to open a gate to another world in there.  We must close that.”

I nodded my understanding and we took our positions.  Golgaron leveled a kick at the chamber door that shook the foundations of the walls.  From inside the room we heard an angry cry, but the door held.

“She has sealed it with magic,” said Golgaron.  I slumped back into the shadows.

“Can you break it?” I asked.

“With time,” he said.  “She cannot hold it forever.”

I pointed to the door and Golgaron kicked it again.  Once more the door trembled with the force of the impact, and we could hear something grunting as if fighting off a great pressure from inside, but the door held.  Our careful planning seemed to lose weight with each blow on the wood.  Golgaron beat the door at least a dozen times more before it finally gave way, the timbers shattering under the combined forces of his blows and the magic that held the door shut.
As the door flew apart, the lanterns in the hall immediately went dark.  I heard Golgaron rush into the room.  I hesitated only a split second to concentrate on the lights before following Pascalli inside.

The room measured no less than ten meters round, with only the one door.  A large chandelier with dozens of candles dominated the mirrored ceiling.  An enormous circular pattern of blue tile stretched across the center of the floor.  A large golden copy of the triangular crest with a point toward the door adorned the middle of the circle.  Asmordreda stood directly in the middle of the triangle.
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman

On to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Fifty Seven

Back to The Cleansing of Darnuth Keep Fantasy Novel Chapter Fifty Five

Knowing that a person has a key is one thing.  Knowing what the key goes to is something else.  Perhaps most important, however, is the will to use it for its intended purpose knowing full well the consequences.

I held no illusions that facing Asmordreda would be a simple affair.  Pascalli’s grim demeanor served as ample warning to the serious nature of our dilemma.
“Do you know how to defeat her?” I asked Pascalli, contemplating our options.

“No, but we might get lucky.”  He chuckled grimly.  “We’ll need luck.”

I failed to see the humor, but I suppose that after centuries of seeing so much of the world one begins to find something funny with everything.
“The power of the Key can destroy her,” said Golgaron.  “She cannot be defeated with mere weapons of steel.”

“So we just walk up and ask her to hand over the amulet?” I asked.  At this point sarcasm had become my only lifeline to sanity.  “Please Miss Asmordreda, could you just hand that over so we can blast you to oblivion?”  Now it was my turn to laugh.  I laughed a hollow, dry laugh, but I wanted to cry.

“We could try that,” agreed Pascalli with mock seriousness.  “Or we could take it from her.”

“Sure, you hold her I’ll grab the amulet,” I said.

“We might not need the amulet at all,” he said.

“We still have to activate this Key of the stars, don’t we?” I asked.

“Of course, but we may not need to actually be holding the amulet to do so,” replied Pascalli.  “I’ve no idea how this works, but the three keys may only need to be in the chamber, not necessarily held by the same person.”

“Wouldn’t that give everyone in the chamber access to the same power?” I asked.

“Maybe.”  Pascalli’s reply did not comfort me.  “Perhaps only those holding the tokens will have access to the magic.  It doesn’t matter.  We don’t have any options anyway.  I think you’ll find that simply doing what needs to be done is often challenge enough.”

“I’m not here for the excitement,” I said.  I gathered the last of our food and refilled our canteens.  “I’ll finish what needs doing so that we can go home.”

“That is an excellent plan,” agreed Pascalli.  “I look forward to a bit of rest myself when this is all over.”

“She waits,” said Golgaron.  I knew he sensed something about our enemy that neither Pascalli nor I could understand.

Somebody had taken the effort to extinguish all of the lanterns in the corridor outside of the study.  They remained functional, however, so we took the time to light them again.  Really there was no point fumbling around in the dark when the enemy already knew we were coming.

Golgaron took the lead.  “I know where she is hiding,” he said.  “I have no need for light.”

“That sounds like a good idea to me,” I agreed.  I had no intention of being the first target for a surprise attack.

“I see you’ve inherited some of your mother’s common sense,” replied Pascalli.  “No point getting killed if you don’t have to.  Davmandius didn’t spend so much of his life crafting Golgaron to see his talents go to waste.”

Despite our preparations, the first ambush surprised me.  Golgaron dispatched the three enemies before I became aware of the attack.  Although I had spent hours practicing with him, his efficient brutality and effortless violence still surprised me.  The fourth spawn of Asmordreda attempted to flee, but my fire stone burned through the scaly hide into its spine.

“Perhaps Golgaron should scout ahead,” suggested Pascalli.  “He could clear the path for us with less danger while we light the lanterns.”
I agreed, and we sent the statue to clear the corridors back to the hidden door at the temple.  We found the secret doorway shut and the lever to open it had been jammed in some way.

“We’re trapped,” I said.  “We only have a few days of food left.”

“There may be another way out,” smiled Pascalli.  “It doesn’t look like any more of them will be coming down anytime soon,” he added.

With my hope diminishing, we moved carefully into the other corridor.  The brief scrape of stone on stone alerted us to the second ambush.  I expected another rush of Asmordreda’s children, but instead a sudden force extinguished the lanterns, and I was left momentarily blinded while the sounds of battle sprang up in front of us.  I am certain that without the aid of Golgaron in that corridor we never would have survived.  I had not yet mastered the elements sufficiently to instinctively maintain our lighting.  It took me several seconds to locate a lantern and light it again, and in that time the battle had nearly ended.

Golgaron still faced one skeletal figure, though it could not hold off the statue’s merciless onslaught for more than a few seconds.  The creature’s pale skin clung to its bones, as though no muscle or sinew held it together.  Its vacant eyes stared listlessly into space, and I knew that it needed no light to find us.  A second creature of the same type lay at our feet, its chest and skull crushed, apparently from the butt end of Golgaron’s spear.

“Do you know what they were?” I asked Pascalli when it was over.

“Some sort of minor demon,” he replied.  “Creatures from another world.”

“How did they get here?” I asked.

“That is a very good question,” responded the wizard.  “One which I am sure will be answered before we are through.”

We faced a half dozen or so more ambushes, but Golgaron proved an unstoppable force.  The corridor made no branches, and there were only a few rooms to either side before we finally reached a stout wooden door.  The door itself was indistinguishable from any other in the place, but an out of place silence gripped the area, and our light seemed to disappear as we approached it.

“No question we’ve found something powerful,” observed Pascalli casually.  He didn’t bother to whisper, and I believe I detected a hint of a grin on his face.  When I scowled at him and held a finger to my lips, he responded.  “They already know where we are.  We’ve been making a racket out here for hours.  I’m sure they heard us long before this.”  He broadened his grin and sinisterly added, “There are other methods of detecting us besides listening.”

When I reached for the handle, Pascalli stopped me.  “Just because the end is near does not mean we need to rush into it unprepared,” he warned.  “We’ve been at this for nearly a day now, I think, and we will need all of our strength to confront Asmordreda.  We can leave Golgaron here to ensure that nothing leaves that door to surprise us while we, or more specifically you, get some rest.  As I recall there is a snug little room not too far back.”
Copyright 2008 Kelly David Tolman

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