Chapter 22: Destroying Ancient Evil
Michael Edwards felt uneasy as he neared the blaze. It wasn’t because he was in the Middle East in the wake of Operation Desert Storm. It also wasn’t the fact that the blaze was an oil field, set ablaze in the wake of the war. Fires didn’t scare him, since he was one of the best fire fighters in Canada. What was bothering him was the fact that something seemed different about this particular fire. It seemed fiercer, and more powerful, like there was something more than oil fueling it. A fire that big could only be taken out by one way, and that was with high level explosives. When one thought about fires, one would think an explosion wasn’t the way to put out a fire, but the reality was that it worked.
He finished setting up the last charge, and knew that he needed to get his team out of there before they detonated. He motioned for everyone to pull out, and they all started to run from the raging inferno. As they ran, he heard something he didn’t want to hear. Although he had heard the helicopter pilot warning about something, the sound of an electrical spark detonating the explosives early over took the warning. Soon, he heard, and felt, the explosion, and he expected to go flying, possibly to his death.
He was shocked when the ground collapsed underneath him, and he started to fall downward. As he went below the level of the ground, he glanced up to see his fellow firemen start to fall, but not before the explosion hit them. The force of the flaming gases knocked their bodies into the wall, and Michael realized they were dead. He figured he would be joining them soon as he continued to fall, especially as a floor of some sorts was zooming up to him.
When he hit the floor, he was amazed to be alive. Just before he hit the floor, he felt like there was something slowing him down, trying to keep him alive. He got up, and saw the bodies of his fellow firefighters on the ground, lifeless. He felt guilty about being the one to survive. He shook his head, and then noticed the pillar in the room. It reached up to the ceiling, but that wasn’t the thing he noticed.
What he noticed about the pillar was the bodies in it. He walked up to the pillar, and realized his thinking was right. The people in the pillar had been buried alive, under tons of concrete. It was a horrible way to go, and whomever did it had to have been a very sick person. His attention was then drawn to one man in robes. Judging by the outfit, the man must have been buried in the column centuries ago. He also looked like he was pleading for anyone to get closer.
In a blink of an eye, Michael took a step back as a ghostly figure came out of the column, and started to present him with some items. Two were statues, but the last was an odd blue glowing orb-like object. As the items floated in front of him, the figure spoke. “Take this to the gathering of light, in the ruins of Ehn’gha.”
As those last words were said, he saw the image of an old mansion in front of him, and then that of an ancient underground city. The moment it faded from sight, he glanced at the spirit. “You want me to take this thing to some ruins under a house in Rhode Island?” The instant the words left his mouth, he wondered how he knew the place was in Rhode Island, and he wouldn’t get an answer when he saw the spirit disappear.
Before he could think about the strange knowledge more, he heard someone shout, “Great, Zombies rising already.” The voice was unfamiliar to him, and he turned to see a young man swinging a sword at walking bodies. However, he realized what the man had said, especially when he saw the bodies. They weren’t the bodies of his fallen friends, but decomposed bodies. Michael quickly raised his axe, and joined in the fray, quickly bring down all the bodies that were now rising in the room.
When the last of the five corpses fell, he paused to catch his breath. The long fall, and then fighting all the animated corpse had tired him, but it also made that feeling he had about the fire worse. After a few moments, he looked to the young man, who also seemed a bit exhausted. The young man looked back at him, and without being asked, answered one of the questions on his mind. “My name is Richard Cale, it is a very long story of how I ended up here with you now, but I have a feeling you’ll understand it. It all involves a magickal tome found by a friend, and an evil plot started by a man who came to this location over two thousand years ago.”
Michael glanced at the artifact the spirit had given him, still wrapped in cloth. He could feel an evil presence emanating from it. He then glanced at the man who introduced himself as Richard Cale. “I take it that explains why I knew this was going to Rhode Island, and why the dead was walking here.” When the man just nodded, Michael looked around the room again. Even if the pillar wasn’t dominating the room, Michael felt the place just felt more menacing than it was from above. He then glanced over to a door, and noticed that one of his fallen troops had still had his gun with him, and intact. He picked up the Assault Rifle, loaded it, and then set it to fire three bullets at once. “Well, this thing should mow through them quick.”
He watched as Richard nodded, and then opened the door, before quickly closing it. He then saw a worried look cross the young man’s face. That same feeling he had before got magnified when the man said, “I think Zombies are the least of our worries.” He then watched as Richard stepped into the room, and he followed. He froze in fear as he saw what looked like the Grim Reaper in a large circular room, as it was approaching a standing corpse. “Shot that Zombie before that Gatekeeper attacks it. If it strikes it, it will cast a spell.”
When he saw the creature open its cloak, Michael fired a few shots at the corpse, destroying it. After the corpse fell, the creature started to advance on them. He fired a few more shots, and was stunned when the creature didn’t stop. As it got closer, he saw the young man move forward, causing the creature to stop and open it’s cloak. He took a moment to aim right at the creature’s head, and fire. He heard an unearthly wail come from the creature as Richard quickly stepped back. He fired a few more times, never letting the creature close it’s wings, as he realized what the cloak was, before it finally collapsed. As it died, he noticed that the fog in the room lost it’s green coloring, as if the creature was contributing to it.
As he moved towards the circular part of the room, Michael glanced at the creature, and saw it disappear. He looked over at Richard, as the man had introduced himself, and said, “You said that thing was a Gatekeeper. Are there more of those things around?”
He watched as Richard walked over to a ladder that went down a hole in the center of the room. “Most likely, as long as they don’t strike, they aren’t dangerous. Somehow, when they strike, they can cast a spell, which leads to an attack. What makes it worse is that the only time to attack them is when they are preparing an attack. Luckily, they have never attacked with other Gatekeepers.”
Michael wasn’t sure if he felt good about that or not. He then glanced down the ladder, and listened for a moment. In a moment, he heard some movement, as if it was in a long tunnel echoing through the hole. The most dominant noise was a squishing step. He looked over at Richard. “Any idea what’s making that noise?”
He watched as Richard looked down the hole, and nodded. “Sounds like a few Trappers. They are blind, but have excellent hearing. If there is anything else down there, we will have to take them out quietly. If we can, shot the Trappers last. I’d also recommend a small gun for them. One shot will kill them.”
Michael nodded in understanding, and quickly climbed down the ladder, followed by Richard. When he reached the bottom, he saw a few more zombies. He was about to raise his Assault Riffle, when he remembered what Richard said, and started to use his axe on the walking corpses. Soon, three zombies had shambled over to them, and had all been promptly, and silently eliminated. He then pulled out the Pistol, and slowly moved through the tunnel, and shot the Trappers. He was amazed at how similar they were to scorpions, but didn’t want to find out how they would attack.
When the last one had fallen, they both returned to the ladder they had entered the tunnel from. Including that ladder, he noted there were four in the tunnel. He then watched as Richard moved to the second ladder in the tunnel. When they had stopped at that one, he looked up, wondering what might be up there. “Any suggestions?”
He watched as Richard climbed up the ladder, stopped at the top, and then climbed back down. “Right now, I think we should minimize our contact with powerful creatures like the Gatekeepers, and Horrors. Be thankful we haven’t run into them yet. And from what I saw in that room, that will be tricky. I saw an amulet on a pedestal up in that room, but I also noticed two Gatekeepers.”
When Michael heard that, he felt the feeling of dread intensify. He then took a deep breath, and climbed up to the ladder. He heard Richard follow him up, and when he was of the ladder, he held up the Assault rifle, and shot at both Gatekeepers. As the two started to advance towards him, he saw Richard quickly run towards the amulet. One turned toward Richard, but he fired the gun again, drawing attention to him again. As the creatures got dangerously close, he saw Richard grab the amulet, and then ran towards and back down the ladder. He quickly fired the gun again, and bolted down the ladder as well. When they were both down, he looked at Richard, and the odd amulet and asked the important question. “Did we really have to get that?”
He watched as Richard made his way down to the next ladder. He followed, but was surprised when the young man said, “Everything is important, regardless of how unimportant it appears. Those two statues you got with the....” He watched as the young man seemed to be thinking for a moment, as if he was trying to remember what had been given to him. “Veil of Ulyaoth may not seem important, but they must be. We just have to figure out how. The amulet may be a key to going someplace else in here.” He then watched as the young man started to climb the ladder.
He grabbed the young man’s shoulder, and shook his head. “I have the heavy gun, so I should take the lead.” He wasn’t surprised when Richard took a step back, and let him climb up first. When he reached the top, he almost raised the Assault rifle at the sight of the advancing corpses. He had stopped himself, and pulled out his axe. He was glad that the axe went through them like a hot knife through butter. In fact, when Richard had finally climbed in to the room, he had killed the last corpse.
He watched as the young man looked around and whistled. “You got all of them in no time. I guess they weren’t all that strong then.” Michael inwardly agreed with that statement, since they seemed thinner than the others they had encountered so far. He then noticed that Richard was looking at something, and the young man ran right to it. On a small table in the room, there was a long staff. He then watched as Richard had the staff in his hand, and looked like he was examining it. As he watched, he remembered what Richard had said moments before, and realized that the amulet in the other room must go with the staff.
Richard Cale quickly realized what the staff was the second he saw it. He quickly pulled out the amulet and place it on the end. He wasn’t surprised when it fit. As he looked at it, he could not help but think of a scene from a movie made years ago. Just like in the movie, he was sure the staff opened some path, and he was sure that the place to use it was where the last ladder was. He looked over at Michael Edwards, and smiled. “We need to get to the room at the end of the tunnel, up the one ladder we haven’t been up yet.”
Before Michael could respond, he was already down the ladder. He was sure that the staff he had just assembled would be used in the room that was up the ladder at the end of the tunnel. However, as he ran, it seemed to him that he wasn’t getting any closer to the ladder, and that the tunnel was longer than it seemed. After a moment, he paused to catch his breath. As he stood there, he noticed the end of the tunnel was still getting farther away, as well as the walls getting larger.
Richard then realize what was happening. He was shrinking. He quickly turned around and ran back towards the ladder. He was also hoping to see Michael had been behind him, but the firefighter wasn’t. He then realized that the whole time, he never noticed the light from the flashlight clipped on the firefighter’s outfit was missing. What he also realized was that by the time he’d reach the ladder, he wouldn’t be able to climb it. He also noticed that where he was running too was a growing spider web, and a growing hungry spider. As he realized he wasn’t going to stop in time to avoid the web, he screamed.
As he screamed, he felt something on his shoulders, and then felt his body being shook. When he started to scream, he had his eyes shut tight. Now, he opened them, and found himself facing Michael, and the fireman was concerned. “What is wrong? You came over to the ladder, stopped, and then started to scream. What happened?”
Richard blinked, hoping he wasn’t dreaming. After a few moments, he felt safe, and answered the question. “I had thought I had gone down to the tunnel, and I was shrinking. The creatures we faced earlier also took a toll on our sanity. You might even be effected by it as well. Maybe you will experience something like that. There are two ways we can recover our sanity. One is delivering the finishing blow to a creature, and the other is by magickal recovery. However, until we find the Tome, we won’t be able to use the second method.”
He watched as Michael thought about it for a moment, inwardly hoping that the firefighter believed him. After a moment, he breathed a sigh of relief when the man said, “Given all that we’ve seen so far, I believe you. I take it we should find that Tome soon.”
Richard nodded, and motioned towards the ladder. “Yes, however the room were the Tome usually appears in is very surreal. It’s almost as if it’s never really part of where it’s encountered. I’m not sure what else I could say about the place, other than it could chill you to your bones.”
He watched as Michael started down the ladder, and said with a slight smile, “After what we have seen in here so far, including your own sudden arrival, I’m ready for it.” Richard felt a bit better hearing that, but he wasn’t going to say anything. People usually ended up very changed after an encounter with the Ancients. He did however follow Michael down the ladder, through the tunnel, and up into the next room.
When he reached the room, he was thankful it seemed devoid of monsters. What it did have made Richard gasp. From a point on the ceiling, a beam of light came in, focusing on one spot. What dominated most of the room, was a huge model of what could have been the very location they were at now. He also noticed that the way the model looked, certain rooftops had to reflect light to spots on the wall.
As he walked over to the were the beam of light touched down, he noticed Michael was studying the model. He was sure that Michael was wondering where they were if the model was of the area they were in now. As he started to place the staff in a hole to aim the light, he heard Michael ask the very question he expected. “If this is supposed to be the same place we are in now, what is the purpose of this room?”
Richard started to direct the beam of light, causing it to reflect to the model, and reflect toward a panel in the side walls. “I think it’s similar to the one scene in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’. The staff is used to reflect light on to a specific point.” As he said that, he watched as the light beam reflected across the room, and then onto a specific building on the model. After it was shining on that building for a moment, he heard the sound of a panel collapsing. He turned around to see a hole had opened in the floor.
As he looked at the hole, he wondered if there was something more to this room. He glanced back at the model, and looked at it for a moment. In some ways, the model reminded him of things he had seen in the Forbidden City, but there were ways that it reminded him of Eng’gha. He wondered if there was some reason the two might be similar.
He shook the thought from his head as he then headed towards the now open panel. He walked over to it, and looked down, wondering what was waiting for them. He took a deep breath and then said, “Do you want to go first, or shall I?” He watched as Michael took a tentative step and placed on foot in the hole. In that brief moment, he watched in shock as the room dissolved around them, and in mere seconds, they were in a familiar hall way. It was the surreal room that the Tome of Eternal Darkness was always waiting in. As the hall way appeared around them, Richard noticed a few things had changed, but one thing was constant. Appearing at the edge of the walkway was the beautiful image of his wife.
Yvette Cale watched as her husband, and the other gentleman appeared in the hallway. Part of her wanted to reach out and embrace him, but she held off. She had a feeling that if she did, she wouldn’t want to let go. With everything that had happened so far, she knew he wasn’t going to die, but something still nagged at her.
However, now wasn’t the time, nor was this the place, to have that embrace. She looked at the two, and finally spoke. “Welcome to the resting place of the Tome of Eternal Darkness.” She wasn’t surprised when the firefighter jumped up and spun around. She was almost afraid he would fire the Assault Rifle, when her husband put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head.
When the man relaxed, she relaxed and stepped onto the walkway. She could tell just by looking at both of them that their sanity had taken a serious blow. She then looked at the dark skinned firefighter. “I take it that my husband hasn’t had a chance to explain everything that is going on?”
She watched as the man looked over at her husband, with a surprised look on his face. “Your husband? I know he hinted that he had dealt with those weird things before, but he didn’t really delve into it.”
Yvette calmly smiled, and started to walk down the path, passing all the statues in the hall. “For many centuries, a very dark threat has been looming. Occasionally, someone comes along that can help in fighting the evil. During those encounters, when we read about them, they either encounter this room, or they end up encountering my husband at some point. Some, do not fully succeed, like those of the statues you see here. However there is some good news.”
She watched as the man looked around, and noticed each of the eight statues. Before too long, he returned his gaze to Yvette. “And what might that be? I see eight statues, which means eight people have fallen.”
She smiled at him, with a happy smile. “Because, there was only room for eight statues in this hall. You are not going to fail in what you have to do.”
She then heard her husband make a sound of utter happiness. “She’s right, Michael. You aren’t going to die here. You are going to get out of the Forbidden City, and get the items to the Roivas estate.” She then saw a surprised, but happy, look on the man’s face. The true meaning of the situation he was in started to sink in.
She then walked over to the Tome, and motioned to it. “The only thing you need to do now is take the Tome. While the spells in it were used for dark purposes, we are using them for good. With it, you’ll be able to cast spells to restore your health and sanity. You will also have a map if you need it. You just need to be wary of where ever you go.”
She then relaxed when Michael nodded in understanding, and then grabbed the book. In moments, she could see by the look in his eyes that he had learned everything in the book that had been encountered. She then watched as both Michael and Richard faded from view. She turned to face her husband, seeing a happy look on his face. With the news of Michael’s impending success, it meant he would be back after the chapter was over.
As she saw the secret study start to appear around her, she heard Alexandra shouting something at her. It took her a moment before she was fully back in her own time, for her to hear the words, but then they sank in. “Yvette, this chapter happens after your father’s chapter. Richard isn’t safe this time.”
In that moment, she felt her heart sink. All that time, she believed her husband would be safe, and now for the first time, he wasn’t safe. She wanted to go back and warn him, but she couldn’t. Deep down, she was afraid she would lose another loved one, and at this point, with all that happened. It would be disastrous.
Michael Edwards blinked as he realized he was back in the chamber with the model city. After he had touched the book, he saw everything that had happen, to every person who had encountered the evils they were facing. He felt sorry for those who died, even if it was hundreds of years prior. He felt glad when other prevailed. He also saw what had happened to the young man that now accompanied him, and he felt a new compassion for him, and for the others whose lives were being intertwined by the magick of the Tome.
After he took a moment to process all that had happened, he turned to Richard. With all the dark things that he was sure the young man encountered, he thought that maybe for a moment, the man needed a positive statement. “You have a great wife. She must be tough to deal with all this.”
He watched as Richard nodded, and said, “Yes. She’s had to deal with it a lot, especially since we found that book with are new friend, Alexandra. She’s the one living in the house you need to get the Veil of Ulyaoth to.”
He nodded in understanding, and then opened the Tome, turning to the spell section. As he looked over them, he was surprised he could understand the writing, like it was matching what language he was used to reading. “Since we will be needing this magick, what do you suggest starting with?”
He watched as the young man stepped forward, and turned through the pages. As he did, he explained the important spells. “This one is Enchant Item. With it, you can fix items, and make any weapon able to defeat monsters easier, provided they are the alignment weaker than the one you enchant it with. Aligning with Mantorok, the purple rune, gives a poisoning effect to the creatures. The next one is Recovery, and the only one it is useless with is the blue one, Ulyaoth. The next important one would be Reveal Invisible, which if used with the Mantorok rune, turns one invisible. There is also the Shield Spell, the Magick Pool spell, a few summoning spells. My suggestion for now, is cast the Enchant on the guns, the Shield and Recovery on yourself.”
After hearing all that Richard suggested, he quickly went to work casting all the spells. He even had to admit that after casting the recovery spell, he felt one hundred percent better. As he cast the spells, he heard Richard doing the very same thing. In a few moment, they were both ready, all weapons enchanted, and both were surrounded by seven glowing orbs. Michael then headed down the ladder, into the room below.
When they were both down, Michael heard the unmistakable sound of Trappers. He looked over at Richard, who held up four fingers. He knew what the young man meant, and he readied his pistol. He then quietly moved forward, and saw the first one. Quickly firing the gun, and then remaining still, he heard the other beasts reacting, but not moving. He repeated the action three more times before motioning that it was clear.
He then watched as Richard bolted across the room, and climbed up the ladder enough to look into the next room. Briefly, he saw two of the small orbs fly away, just as Richard said, “Two Horrors, so get up here and fast.” He watched as the Richard climbed up, and then followed. When he saw the creature, he felt the term made sense. He saw Richard hacking at one of the three heads on one Horror, and he noticed the other was closing in. He quickly raised the Assault Rifle, and fired. His aim was true, and the enchanted weapon made short work of the creature. He then turned to help Richard, but saw that Richard had quickly delivered a finishing blow to the creature.
When what remained of the Horrors fell, he looked over at Richard. “Now those were nasty creatures. Is there any others that we should watch out for, since we don’t want to run into these in narrow corridors.” He watched as Richard thought about it for a moment, before finally shaking his head. That made Michael breath a sigh of relief. It was good to think that the worst they would have to deal with was just Horrors and Gatekeepers.
Michael then looked over at the ladder that went down. He walked over and looked down it, seeing a cave like tunnel below. After he felt sure it was safe, he carefully went down the ladder. When he reached the bottom, he followed the cave to a part that had a square hole in the floor. For a brief moment, he looked down, and could see nothing down there, except a deep pit. He then glanced to the right of the hole, and saw a green effigy, surrounded by green runes.
He was about to reach for the statue, when he heard Richard say, “Wait. That statue is protected by a magical barrier. The only way to get at it is to Dispel the barrier. You can do that with the rune that is superior to the alignment rune in the pattern, which would be Chattur’gha, or with Mantorok’s rune, but that will dispel all magic in the area.”
Michael thought about that for a moment. If he used the wrong alignment, the spell would not work, but that didn’t mean they were in trouble. If he used the one for Mantorok, it might leave them at a disadvantage in case a creature were to appear. He finally decided to go with the safe route, and cast the spell with the alignment of Chattur’gha. In almost a blink, two things happened. The first was that the barrier was gone, but the second was not a good thing. Three purple worms reared up out of the hole that he was sure was empty before.
He raised his assault rifle, and fired at the creatures. As he fired, he shouted, “Richard, get the statue and fall back to the ladder we passed.” He glanced down for a moment to see the young man crouch down, grab the green statue, and head back. He then backed up, watching the hole in case any more of the ugly large worms attacks. He motioned for Richard to climb the ladder, and watched as he did so, quickly. Michael glanced up the ladder, and then quickly climbed up the ladder.
When he reached the top, he saw Richard was staring at a scene, and when he saw it, he was amazed that Richard didn’t alert him to it. A bunch of green Zombies and a green Horror, fighting a red Zombie. He also realized that they weren’t paying attention to them. However, the fight was in the path of the other ladder in the room. He wondered if they could sneak around the fight, when he noticed that the Zombies and the Horror started to collapse, as if all were mortally struck. The only one left standing was the red Zombie.
Before he could even raise his gun, he saw Richard run forward and just slash the creature. The blow barely touched the zombie, but was enough to kill it. Before he could ask how, he heard Richard answer the question. “That one was aligned to the stronger ancient, so it could outlast the assaults from the others. Besides, I’m sure you didn’t want to worry about fighting more than one creature.”
He nodded and then looked at the book, especially the spell section. Even though the book said nothing about alignments, and had a section on each creature, he noticed some were missing, like the Gatekeepers, and the purple worms. He looked over at Richard, and asked a question that was on his mind. “Any reason why those worms and the Gatekeepers aren’t in there?”
He watched as Richard shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’m not entirely sure what those purple worm things were, but the only reason I can think of why they aren’t in the book is because the person who put those in the tome didn’t encounter them at all.” He glanced at Richard again, and something about the way the young man shrugged said there was more, like something he might be thinking. However, he was sure he didn’t want to ask right now.
Michael then walked over to the ladder in the center of the room, and looked down. He wasn’t sure, but when he looked down, he thought he either saw a green rug, or a green mist. He also realized that their protection spells were wearing off. If what he felt was waiting down there was down there, they would need all the protection they had. He quickly recast all the spells, and saw Richard doing the same.
He was the first one down, and realized they were at one end of a very long hallway. He also realized that there was one Gatekeeper in the room, as well as a zombie. When Richard got down there, he watched as the young man ran forward, and quick killed the zombie before the Gatekeeper could strike it. Michael took the opportunity, and fired his enchanted Rifle. The instant the bullets struck the creature, the monster collapsed.
When they were both sure the creatures were dead, they both ran to the far end of the hall, and into the next room. There they stopped, as they saw four trappers moving about the small room. Michael quickly set his Rifle to single shot, and handed the pistol to Richard. In a few moments, both he and Richard fired shots at all the trappers, quickly reducing their numbers. When the last one fell, Michael glanced around the room, and saw only one other door was not blocked. Michael quickly came to the conclusion that there was only one way to go, and headed to the only other door in the room. He motioned towards the door, and looked back at Richard. “Any idea on what to expect in there?”
He watched as Richard nodded and spoke. “No doubt, we’ll find a dead end room, a hidden hallway to the heart of this evil place, and the room where it all started, which I believe could be dubbed the tomb of the Ancients.”
Michael nodded, and then opened the door. He noticed two things first and foremost. The first was a statue that was blocking something, and the second was a horde of Zombies approaching them. Michael started swinging his axe, as Richard did the same with his sword. Luckily, in almost no time at all, the zombies were all dead, and Michael could take a real good look at the room.
He saw that a statue with some markings on it was blocking something behind it. He could also see another door on the right hand side of the room, but he didn’t see any large doors. He glanced back at Richard, who was catching his breath from after the battle. “I don’t any signs of the hidden hallway you had mentioned earlier. Are you sure it’s here?” He then patiently waited for the young man to answer.
Richard Cale looked over the room, and nodded. “Most likely, the door we will want is invisible. We will have to use some magick to reveal it, just like we will need to use a spell move that statue there.” He pointed to the statue that was covering, if he remembered right, a ladder down to a small tunnel. “The rune on the statue is the summon rune, so it’s a hint we need something to move it, or remove it.” He glanced at the triangle realizing what would be needed, but decided their first place to go with be the door.
He opened the door, and saw a few zombies in the room, as well as a picture on the far wall. As Michael followed him in to the room, he spoke. “We have a few zombie’s in here, but after we get rid of them, we need to see what is at the far end of the room.”
He watched as Michael readied his ax, and smiled. “Not a problem. Shouldn’t take long to get rid of these creatures.” He nodded, and raised his sword, noticing that at that moment, the enchantment on it wore off. He sighed and then launched himself at one of the zombies. Michael was right at his side, and they took down the first two in record time. When they both turned their attention to the third one, Richard swore that for a moment, the creature must have been deciding which one to attack. He was glad when Michael quickly chopped in to the remaining zombie. In almost the blink of an eye, Michael had taken out the reanimated corpse, with out even getting a blow on him.
Richard took a moment to catch his breath, and then looked around the round room. He wasn’t surprised to see three portraits looking down on him. As he looked at all of them, he felt like they were looking at him in the same way that a victor looks down at his hated foe. Each one was also a different color, a red warrior, a green scholar, and a blue sorcerer.
After a moment, Richard started to realize what he was seeing. The images weren’t looking down on him in hatred, they were looking at their fallen foes. He glanced at Michael, who must have been feeling the same as he looked at the pictures, and asked. “Do you remember all those statues you had, and the one I picked up?”
He waited for a moment, before Michael answered. “Yea, and I take it you think they need to be put on the shelves in front of these weird portraits.” Richard looked at Michael, and nodded. He then watched as Michael produced the two other statues, and looked around at the portraits.
In that brief moment, Richard recalled their colors, and those of the statues. “Put the red statue before blue portrait, the green in front of red, and the blue in front of green.” As they did that, he wondered what their actions would do. The last time he had been in this place, these portraits weren’t here, but the one effigy had been here since Karim’s time. If this was part of some master plan, why hadn’t Pious Augustus noticed it? Had it been set in place after he left, or was there something else acting on the place?
When the last effigy was placed, he froze as he heard a rumble from else where. From the general sound of it, he could tell it was coming from the direction of the room where the Trappers had been. All of a sudden, he felt like he was filled with a feeling that something good was happening. He started towards the door to the room, saying as he moved. “I think something good opened up nearby.”
As he ran to the room they had recently encounter the Trappers in, he heard Michael following him. “How can you be sure? That rumble could have been a trap.” He knew Michael had a good point, but something told him that what ever happened was good. He was even more sure as they entered the room, and he saw a stairwell had appeared in the curved part of the room where they had originally entered.
He quickly descended the stairs, and was grateful when he entered a room with a glowing Gladius on a pedestal. He knew it was special, when he noticed it’s red glow was the one dominant to Pious’s ancient, Xel’lotath. He almost wanted to pick it up, but glanced over at Michael. “You need to make sure this gets delivered to Dr. Roivas as well.”
He watched as Michael picked up the glowing Gladius, and watched as he studied it as well. Soon, the man put it away, looking at Richard. “Did you enchant it before I could get down here, because I know the ones we cast ended a while ago?” Richard shook his head, but he did wonder about that. Pious wouldn’t have set this up, not even as a trap. He also had a feeling that what he was suspecting about Mantorok would mean that particular ancient didn’t set this up either.
He pushed it out of his mind for now, and started back up. “Right now, we need to find a way to destroy this place.” He knew, deep down, destroying this location would weaken the power Pious’s ancient had, but there was something else. Something he was sure he was missing. All they needed was the right items, and he hoped Michael had them on him.
When they reached the room with the statue, he heard Michael say, “If I had some of the explosives we used to stop the fire, I’d use them. However, I’m beginning to wonder if I was the only guy who had entered this place alive.”
As the words ran through his head, Richard wondered that as well. If they had, then their may be other items left behind. He looked at the statue again, wondering if it had been put there to hide something from the evil. He then motioned Michael to step back. “Michael, if that’s the case, then there might be something down the ladder behind this statue. I’m going to make sure it’s out of the way.”
When he was sure Michael was behind him, he cast the spell he knew would do the job. Soon, they were surrounded by a barrier, and a Trapper appeared in front of him. He could sense that Michael wanted to say something, but managed not to. He then made the Trapper focus on the statue, before he finally made it kill itself, taking the statue with it. When the statue was gone, the ladder to the lower level that he knew was there was revealed.
As he approached it, he heard Michael finally speak. “You could control that thing? How in blazes could you do that?”
Richard looked down the ladder, and listened for a moment. As he listened, he answered Michael’s question. “The summon spell. Once used, one can control what ever creature is summoned. Using Trappers is one way to remove obstacle, since they teleport things out of this dimension.” He then started to head down the ladder, stopping just to say, “Now, let’s check down here, and be ready. There are two Trappers down here.
When he reached the bottom, he noticed that this time, the tunnel went straight across, and the two paths that would have branched off, were caved in. The Trappers also appeared to be walking from one to another. When Michael got down, he motioned with his head towards the Trappers, and watched as Michael quickly fired the pistol at both. He was glad that Michael was a good shot, seeing both fall almost simultaneously.
When both Trappers were gone, they ran and headed down the next ladder. At the bottom, Richard saw the skeletal hand pedestal, and on it was a scroll. He motioned towards it, and watched as Michael went over to it. As Michael did that, Richard walked to a corner, and looked around it. At the end of that hallway was the room the Ancient’s artifacts were hidden in long ago, but instead of them being there, there were two Horrors behind a barrier.
As he looked on, he realized that something must be there, but the trick would be getting at it. Most likely, in order to get the barrier to drop, they would need to kill at least one of the Horrors. He quickly stopped looking around the corner, and started to wonder how they were going to get the Horrors to move. They wouldn’t fight because they were the same alignment.
He was almost startled when Michael answered his question. “Hey, this spell is something called Bind. Apparently, you can use it to control a creature that already exists. Align it to an opposite alignment.”
Richard pointed around the corner. “Good, do that, and then the two Horror’s at the end of the hall there will fight to the death.” He watched then as Michael nodded, and cast the spell. Soon, a ring of red lights encircled the one Horror’s center head, and the two began to fight. Soon, one of the two creatures fell, as did the barrier. He then saw that Michael was prepared, as the firefighter jumped into hall, and unloaded a full clip in to the remaining Horror.
When the remaining Horror died, they both headed to the room. As they approach, Richard could see all the pedestals were ruined. As they looked around, he wasn’t sure what to expect to find. Soon, he heard Michael say, “Well, this is something I didn’t expect to see. There are some C4 plastic explosives here.”
The instant he saw Michael pick up the explosives, the image of the bridge room filled his vision, and he heard a voice saying ‘Destroy this’. After the image passed, he saw Michael looking at him with a shocked look on his face. “Did you see that as well?” When he nodded, he saw Michael heading back towards the ladder, saying, “Then let’s get out of this area, and to where you said that door was.”
Richard nodded, and then head up the ladders and rooms back to the room where he knew the big door was. When they reached it, Richard stood next to the wall, and quickly remember which Ancient Pious was bound to. “When I say now, cast the Reveal Invisible spell using the red rune, Chattur’gha. With a seven point spell, that door will be visible. “ He then cast the spell, and in an instant, he saw the hidden door.
He realized that Michael had done the same, as the man said, “Holy..... That door was invisible all that time?” He looked over at Michael, and noticed the man wasn’t ready for the effects the spell had on the eyes. “Whoa. Why are your eyes glowing red?”
Richard grinned sheepishly. “An effect of the spell. Your eyes are glowing red as well. Now, before we enter, let’s restore the Shield spells we have in place. If I remember right, we are going to need it to get to the end of the hallway.” He watched then as Michael did as he suggested, and cast the spell. After he did the same, they entered the door.
After walking a few feet, he looked down the hall, and noticed that even to this day, the floor glowed yellow. He didn’t notice, at first, the figure laying on the floor right near the edge of the glowing floor, but when he heard Michael, it got his attention. “This looks like another of guys in my unit, and he has the detinator cap.”
The second Michael touched it, Richard knew he was seeing the image of the next room again. Again a voice told them they needed to destroy it. When the image finally passed, Richard looked at Michael, and motioned towards the far end of the hall. “Pick it up, and be ready to run. The shields will protect us as we run to the far end, but we’ll need to restore them for the run back.” He then started running across the glowing floor. As he ran, he not only heard the floor zapping away the shields, he also heard it doing the same to Michael.
When they reached the far end, and entered the room with the bridge, he stopped long enough to catch his breath. After a moment, he recast the Shield spell, and noticed that Michael had done the same. Once that was done, he walked over to the pit, with the bridge right over it. “This is it, the room from the visions, and I have no doubt that the bomb must be set right in the middle of the bridge.”
As Richard stepped out on to the bridge, he forgot that the purple snakes usually game up out of the pit. They had done so this time, and he felt they were after him. Before he could do anything, he heard the rifle fire, and the things disappeared, but now he had no doubt of what they were. It also told him more of what was going on, but before he could say anything, he started to lose consciousness. He quickly realized what it was. The attack had triggered a ‘blink’ attack. Before he fell, he felt Michael grasp him, which was good, but he couldn’t help but lose consciousness. The only think he remembered was Michael saying something about a woman at a desk.
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Alexandra sat up when she heard the familiar voice say her name again. It was the spirit of her grandfather, at least that’s what she thought. She then saw the figure out of the corner of her eye, and it looked like her grandfather, but something wasn’t right. Her suspicions were confirm when the image of her grandfather spoke. “Sweet Alex. Many centuries I’ve waited for you. I’ve waited such a long time for you.”
It sickened her to hear those words coming from the image of her grandfather. She didn’t dare look at it, but she just responded in as strong a voice as she could muster. “I know what you are, and I’ve seen what happened.”
After that, she felt her skin crawl as the figure place an arm around her. Even as he did that, she could tell what the figure was trying to do, speaking in what, if she didn’t realize who it was, had to be a seductive voice. “You can try to fight me, but in the end you shall succumb.” She even felt him get close to her ear as he said his next words. “You don’t even know your...”
She jumped when he yelped in pain, and turned to see him stagger back as a book hit him. The attack distracted him long enough to become his true form, Pious Augustus. Another book hit him as she heard the voice of Yvette Cale. “You won’t succeed, Pious. We know what you are, and we will stop you.”
She watched as Pious laughed as he started to disappear. “So you think, child, but I’ve been watching you as well. You will succumb to me as well, you won’t have much of a choice. I know where your husband died. I even saw the fiery blast that consumed him.” He was laughing when he finally faded from sight.
Alexandra turned towards the redhead, and saw that she had gone pale. Pious’s words had touched on a fear they both had, but it struck deeper to Yvette. She walked over, and hugged her friend, even thought they had just met recently. “Don’t worry, Yvette. Your husband will be back.” She stepped back as the woman nodded, and tried to wipe away tears. She didn’t know what else to say, but then looked back at the Tome. She needed to complete the chapter, that way, Richard would be back. However, as she went to continue reading, she couldn’t stop the nagging fear that Pious was right.
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Michael Edwards blinked when the image of the room disappeared. He glanced at Richard Cale, who was still out, and then moved him to the wall near the way they entered. He couldn’t believe what he had heard, but it had involved what they did here. He even started to wonder if setting a bomb now would be a wise move.
He paced for a moment, and looked at the detonator caps. They could be set for any amount of time, but if what he saw meant the other man’s death, he wasn’t sure how he should set it. He didn’t want to leave the man trapped here, doomed to die because he passed out. However, they both knew this place had to be destroyed.
He was thankful when he heard movement. He turned to look over at the man, who was now standing up. As the man stood up, he watched as he looked over at Michael and blinked for a moment. “Let me guess, I passed out on the bridge just after those things attacked.” When he nodded, he watched as the man looked back at the doorway that they entered from, but his next words were a bit puzzling. “Humor me for a moment, remind me what color that Gladius is that we found?”
Michael thought back for a moment, and then remembered the odd blue glow that was around the old sword. “It was blue, don’t you remember that.” When he saw the young man nod, he then looked at the bomb, and went to set it. Before he did, he looked at Richard and said, “I’m getting ready to set the bomb. Do you think it will be enough time to set it for three minutes?”
He watched as the man continued to look at the doorway. “Maybe if we cast the Reveal Invisible spell to make us invisible. Also, if you enchant the bomb, it would guarantee it will destroy this place.”
Michael swallowed briefly, nervous about doing that, especially with what he had heard. However, the second he set the bomb, they would have no time to talk about it. However, before he could talk to the young man, he saw Richard become surrounded by purple runes, and then disappear from sight. He quickly realized what he had done, and did the same.
Once he had done that, he saw Richard again, except the young man looked like a shadow. He then shouted, “Listen, Richard, I think there is something you should know. I saw a vision involving your wife, another young woman, and some hideous fellow. He said something to your wife about this place being your tomb.”
He watched as Richard looked at him, but his expressions were hard to read. “Most likely a lie. All my past encounters I have survived. The only way there is any chance of my passing is if this happens after my father-in-law discovered the temple in the Angkor Wat region in 1983. Now, set the bomb, and we’ll book it. The invisibility won’t last long, and once the bomb is set, everything will be trying to stop us, since I doubt they will be able to cross the floor of the hall.”
Michael blinked as he realized what Richard had said. The man who had helped him was unaware that the year was after the event he mention, something the women must have been aware of. However, knowing the invisibility was short lived, he placed the bomb on the bridge, and enchanted it. The second he enchanted it, the timer started. He turned and ran, shouting, “Three minutes. Let’s move.”
Soon, they were both out the door, and running through the electrified hall. As they did, he was glad they had set up the shields, and when they reached the other end, he realized why Richard insisted on the invisibility. A Horror was now standing there, obviously alerted to the bomb being set, but couldn’t get to the other side. He half wanted to raise his rifle to blast it, but remember both time was running out, and the monster didn’t see them.
He then led the way, running through room after room, and tunnel after tunnel. The paths he choose just seemed the correct way to go, as if some thing was guiding him. Especially as some of the rooms they traversed didn’t seem familiar.
Before too long, they were back in the room they had first climbed down, not far from the pillar, however now, a doorway was unblocked. He went right for it, and inside it, he saw a ladder leading towards the surface. However, just as he was about to climb it, he heard a voice that he had heard in the vision speak from the next room. “What is happening here?”
Richard Cale froze when he heard the voice, and then looked at Michael, saying as loud as he dare. “Michael, get the blazes out of here. You need to get those things to the Roivas estate. I’ll be fine.”
As Michael climbed, he said, “Richard, you have less than two minutes to get out of here. Also, if you don’t get out of here within a minute of the bomb going off, you may get sucked into the ground after the blast.”
Richard waved Michael on, and starting to back away from the ladder. “Don’t worry about me. I won’t be here when the bomb blows.” He then watched as Michael went up the ladder, noticing a worried look on the man’s face. He understood the dark-skinned man’s concern, but he wasn’t worried. Soon, the Tome would take him away.
He was almost back to the wall when the door opened. The only figure stepping through it was one he had seen many times before. The skeletal warrior he knew to be Pious Augustus closed the door, holding his staff, which to him looked like a spine, and smirked at him. “So, the persistent pest. It took me some time to realize you were using some magic to travel through time. However, this will be our last encounter, at least to you.”
Richard held up his sword, ready to attack. “Not likely, Pious. This will not be our last encounter.” He was then started when Pious raised and lowered the staff, and red lightning struck him, flinging him into the far wall.
As he fell to the floor, he was surprised when part of the wall came down on him, burying his legs. As he tried to move them, he heard Pious taunt him. “Now, now, I know you thought that by setting that bomb it would destroy this place, but that helps my plans, especially when it buries the artifact that is somewhere lost in here. I’ve searched the place many times to find the Sigil of Xel’lotath, and now you’ll destroy it for me. And to think, after our encounter in the Tomb of Mantorok, you’ll meet your demise in the place where it all started.”
As Richard heard those words, he felt his blood run cold. If that was the case, then the Tome might not pull him back to the present in time. He could literally die in the blast of the bomb. He now understood that Michael had been aware of this. However, he wasn’t going to tell Pious that Michael had the very thing Pious was looking for. He looked at Pious and calmly said, “I may die here, but others will fight you. We aren’t alone.”
Pious started to disappear as a rumble started, but the skeletal figure just smiled again. “Don’t worry, I will find them. I’ll even find you, and strike at those you care about. I’m sure I will make their deaths as gruesome as I can. I’ll even tell them about your fiery demise.”
When Pious disappeared, Richard realized what Pious meant, in more ways than one. The room was shaking, and the far wall appeared to bulge, as if a huge explosion was pushing it. Soon, the wall shattered, as fire came in with it, all towards him. Richard calmly prepared himself for death, but then everything took on a yellowish haze. Just as the first rock was about to reach him, everything dissolved in a bright yellow, and he hard a voice that was a mix between male and female say, “Do not worry. You’ve realized what is going on, and I will make sure you can fight your true enemy. However, you need to heal before you rejoin your wife and friend.” However, as he started to feel better, he wondered if his body would heal, or just his spirit, as he felt like he had entered heaven.
Feel free to review or comment on this chapter.
I XXXI MMIX
