El-Vador's Travels (64 page)

After
a time he stretched his arm out, as if happy to have ascertained what
he thought was the correct way to proceed. A bright liquid seeped out
of the bottle in a fine line that had previously been invisible upon
the face of the door. The thief tossed the bottle onto the sewer
floor and quickly drew back upwind of the results. 'Stand clear Elf,
this corrosion is poisonous to me and probably you.'

El-Vador
nodded and crouched beside the thief, observing the liquid eating
away at the door. 'How long will it take to open?'

'A
matter of minutes, just stay patient. It depends on just how thick
that door really is.' Judicael pointed toward a smoking seam that was
developing in the middle of the door. 'See? There are few things that
can withstand the acidic compound that I procure.'

The
Elf rose and delivered a swift kick to the door, taking care not to
get any of the bubbling compound upon his boot. The doors parted
without effort, swinging inward and permitting them passage into the
deeper parts of the sewers.

The
smell was much worse as they proceeded deeper into the burrow.
Growths creeping up the walls seemingly fed off the waste and
contributed to the stench, almost causing the Elf to gag.

The
one benefit of their passing the door was the branching passageways
that extended to the left and right, with the floor sloping upward.
Picking a direction, they pushed on. The tunnel broadened, as did the
flow through it. Two more tunnels joined it at a collecting pool, and
their path continued on straight across. Foetid bubbles rose to the
pool's turgid surface, bursting through a filthy brown layer.
El-Vador probed it experimentally with the tip of his sword. 'It does
not appear to be deep, in spite of the flow.'

The
thief restrained him with a hand to the chest. 'Caution, Elf.'

Dark
shadows moved within the water, attracted to the disturbance the
sword had caused.

El-Vador
frowned. 'I could have sworn that the pool was shallow'

'The
sewage of these places always gives that impression.' Judicael
replied, moving on. 'There are things lurking within that do not
sleep, be wary.'

El-Vador
followed the thief, keeping his eyes on every bubbling pool of sewage
and checking his feet constantly with every step.

The
thief smiled. 'Now you move with a caution that is merited, Salvarius
will not see us coming.'

The
Elf remembered how easily the man had captured him before. 'I hope
you are right.'

From
above, distant yet powerful, a scream sounded.

The
Elf turned toward the thief, his face taut. 'So much for stealth.
Follow me if you can.'

Without
further word, he plunged into darkness beyond.
Mina observed
Aliana, revelling in the sensation of their growing inexorably
closer. Aliana's form was bound, and her daze was imposed from
another stab of venom that she had administered recently.

'It
will not be long now, I can feel it drawing nearer.'

Aliana's
eyes betrayed the faintest hint of anger in their stupor as she
looked up at what appeared to be a mirror image of herself. 'He is
coming. It matters not if the bond is complete, he will find you and
he will kill you.'

Mina
let out a laugh, but it was strained by the memory of the racing
figure in her dreams. 'I will let you in on a secret of mine, dearest
twin.'

Aliana
said nothing in response.

'I
do not entirely know how to perform this bonding.' Mina crossed the
room and observed something beyond Aliana's sight. 'I am a quick
study though, much too quick for your saviour to kill me before it is
complete. Which means that should he break through all of Salvarius's
defences he must kill you in order to kill me.'

'It
matters not what he does to you.' Aliana smiled slowly. 'So long as
Salvarius dies before he can use the artefact.'

Mina
let pride smother the spark of fear in her belly. 'Nothing will stop
my master.'

She
turned and purposely refused to face the identical figure she held
captive. No, she would not be goaded or bullied into submission by
the will of this other. She would complete the bonding and then
present herself unto her master, the Elf would be a fool to storm
such a heavily guarded burrow without an army at his back. She
contented herself with the fact that in her dreams he had come alone.

'You
are spirited in your objections, but ultimately my will is cast iron
and shall dominate. It is I who will initiate the bonding and I who
shall control it.'

The
clarity of Aliana's laugh caused Mina to flinch. 'Your bluster
betrays your weakness. Are you really that terrified of matching your
wits against one of the Brotherhood?'

'An
outcast of the Brotherhood.' Mina licked her lips. 'One who has not
mastered the intricacies that I have studied for many years in the
ether, one who would be engulfed by the full power at my command. You
seek to rattle me with your proclamations, it is I who finds you
wanting as a result.'

Aliana
did not reply.

'We
must continue growing closer.' Mina glided in, whispering in the
Pixie's ear. 'You see, I know the need that you feel. The drawing and
yearning that has tugged at you for many miles, for I possess it too.
Eventually you will succumb to the desire eating away at you and our
bonding shall begin in earnest.'

Aliana
turned, her voice low. 'I would sooner kill you first than join with
you.'

'You
are bound, you will never have the chance.'

'If
I do not, I will make certain upon meeting El-Vador that we both
die.'

Mina
smiled, unperturbed by the response. 'There will be nothing left of
you by the time I meet this El-Vador.'

The
tunnels progressed deeper into the bowels of the burrow the further
they went along them. El-Vador and Judicael moved as one as they
sprinted through the twists and turns on instinct alone. The thief
was agile and seemed to keep up with the Elf's frenetic pace without
issue. Together they raced down roughly-hewn steps and the tunnel
broadened out before them, some kind of junction where all the
previous tunnels met to form a giant pool of bubbling sewage. Cages
on chains hung in the darker depths, connected together by a series
of stone bridges that descended into the heart of the burrow.

El-Vador
took all this in with a glance, then focused on the giant brute
rising from across the cavern to deal death unto the intrusion.
Corded with muscle and bare-chested, the Orc had the look of a former
Champion that had gone to seed. He did not stop to consider what such
a vile creature could have done to have duty amongst the foetid waste
of his betters.

The
giant pointed at the interlopers and uttered a curse, loping toward
them with a large axe in hand.

As
if on command, other Orcs spilled from the tunnels and brandished
bludgeoning weapons, looking to overwhelm the Elf and his companion
by terror and sheer numbers alone.

Judicael
reacted instantly, hands flashing as he leapt down upon one of the
swaying cages. Knives flew from his flowing arms and gutted several
of the Orcs, who fell into the swampy pool of excrement before them.

El-Vador
roared forward, his sword coming up in an arc that opened an Orc from
hip to shoulder. He fell back, causing one of the other Orcs to
stumble and fall into the pool. A third Orc lunged with a club.
El-Vador sidestepped it, then engulfed the creature in a dark surge
of power. The Elf kicked the body into the pool and continued to
advance upon the Champion.

The
beast brandished his axe with telling proficiency, whirling it in an
intricate arc that prevented El-Vador from charging inside his swing.
He moved forward slowly, eyes only seeing his opponent as the thief
battled on against the other Orcs. 'Come, Elf, I have been expecting
your arrival.'

The
Elf went for him, and hit the floor immediately and rolled upon
Judicael's cry of warning. Turning toward a distinct sound, he
watched the bolt sweep through the air just above his head.

The
Orc growled in displeasure. 'You have foiled my surprise. I suppose
my pet will have to dispose of you. Arise my sweet, I have fresh
Elven meat for you!'

El-Vador
knew what it was before it crested the surface, he had faced
something similar that hunted the burrow of Harg. He rose and
instinctively felt his leg tense up, the previous beast had nearly
crushed it in the ensuing struggle.

This
horror was clearly larger and more well-fed than the one he had
mastered, and he couldn't dare turn his back to the Champion in order
observe it for long.

'Fight
the beast and I shall strike you down as surely as you breathe.' the
Orc stated, swinging his axe ominously. 'Fight me and my pet shall
grasp you from behind. What will you do, Elf?'

'Take
the beast!' Judicael bellowed to him as he swept up to engage the
Champion from outside of El-Vador's periphery.

The
thief was no slouch with his daggers, cutting inside the Champion's
defences and drawing blood, but the Elf had no time to observe the
conflict.

Instead
he dropped his weapon, extending his arms forth and blasting the
waters with darkness before the tendrils of the Champion's pet could
get to their crushing work.

It
had taken all he could muster to put down a much smaller monster than
this one, he had been rendered all but unconscious after his efforts.
This creature bore the brunt of the Brotherhood's training, of
El-Vador's greater understanding of the power he possessed. How it
was now fuelled by the need that the voice had to prevent the usage
of this artefact by Salvarius. He channelled all of it into a
streaming poison that permeated the bubbling lake, and before the
beast could haul itself out of the murky depths it was too late. It
sucked in the deadly water and thrashed about, still too distant from
the Elf or the thief to do either any harm, then it sank without a
trace.

The
two combatants hurtled toward each other, one blow aimed high, the
other low, with no thought to defence given by either now.

Judicael's
blade sliced across the Champion's belly, opening him from navel to
hip, a greater strike with a dagger the Elf had never seen. Blood
gushed from the Orc as his body divested itself of its insides. Yet
before death could fully claim him, the trailing axe came clattering
down upon the head of Judicael, splitting him open and felling him.

The
Champion stepped triumphantly over his fallen foe, then with a look
of confusion stared down at his ruined midriff. A hand reached toward
his guts, as if to stuff them back inside. He took a doddering step
toward the Elf, eyeing the blackened waters with a look of shock and
hatred before slumping to his knees.

El-Vador
readied his bow and put an arrow through the Orc's eye without mercy.

He
knelt next to Judicael, expecting the thief's head to roll clear of
his body as he attempted to rouse him, to his surprise the small man
was still breathing.

'That
axe stroke should have killed you.'

'My
face won't ever be as pretty, but the nick I got him took his aim off
course. My head caught most of the flat of the blade, I'm just a bit
concussed.'

'What
use to me is a thief who cannot walk stealthily?' El-Vador smirked,
jesting at the man's near-death experience.

'What
use is an Elf that cannot pick a single lock?' Judicael taunted,
pointing at the door beneath them. 'Or can your dark powers blast
open doors too?'

El-Vador
conceded the point, facing the door as he spoke. 'Are you fit to
carry on?'

'I'll
manage, I just need a moment to get my bearings.'

They
approached the door and Judicael was true to his word, quickly
bypassing the obstruction. Together they continued deeper into the
burrow, the thief always leading them down and to the left. The
corridors blurred into one as they raced on, swiftly slaying any
surprised Orc that they came into contact with.

Finally
they reached the area that the Elf could feel the power emanating
from, judging from Judicael's expression they both knew that beyond
this final door lay Salvarius and whatever hideous machinations he
was planning to unleash. They slowed their pace, slipping through the
unlocked door undetected and staring down at the scene that unfolded
below them.

A
huge congregation of Orcish forces lay beneath, with what appeared to
be a moving statue at its head. He spied the Pixie easily enough
among them, her back straight, her head high.

Aliana
was approaching the stone figure, he knew that this was what
Anacletus had feared.

Judicael
whispered at his sides. 'I do not have enough daggers for such a
force below, Elf. The assassin wanted me to get you inside and save
you from being slain in the process, he said nothing of extricating
you after you wreck havoc upon the bodies below.'

El-Vador
turned and nodded at the thief. 'That axe should have killed you
before. Consider us even, and should you ever cross paths with me
again I shall reward you.'

The
thief chuckled. 'I may observe the carnage for a while longer, Elf.
Or I may not, I am a free man. I simply do not want you to turn
against me thinking me craven should I choose to depart.'

'You
are a mercenary, Judicael. That you have served me this well is
enough, and I shall not cross you for doing nothing more.'

'Good.'
the thief muttered, cautious relief spreading upon his features.

'However...'
the Elf began, causing the thief to ease his hand toward a blade.

'However?'

'Should
you encounter any Orcs fleeing from what you are so loathe to
witness.' El-Vador paused, a cold smile on his lips. 'Feel free to
kill them for me.'