Hemlock And The Dead God's Legacy (Book 2) (19 page)

What is known to few save
myself is that there are worlds further out from these bordering worlds, and another ring of worlds beyond that one, and so on, and so on. Each successive ring is more primal. And time, in terms of the City, passes more and more slowly the farther out one travels. I suspect that this DuLoc was banished to the outermost realms and has only experienced the passage of a few months since he perceived his banishment; yet in our City, centuries and maybe even millenia have passed."

"So this Imperator killed the Cre
ator, who some refer to as the Red-Robed Man?" asked Hemlock, thinking back fondly to her vision of that red robe.

"This tome said so, yes."

"And Julius, founder of the Wizard Guild, was the son of the Imperator?"

"I'm impressed. I can count the people in the City who know that on one hand. Julius was the son of the Imperator, but not of a like mind. Yet it seems that he gave in to the temptation of the old Imperial magic like so many after him did.
His legacy is the path that ruined Zaringer and Falignus, and generations of wizards before them."

Hemlock thought of Merit and the dia
ry that he held. She hoped when she returned to the City he would be able to tell her even more than Renevos.

"DuLoc spoke of a D
emon that guards the Wand that we seek. Do you know anything about this Demon?"

"No, I do not. Did he say anything else about it?"

"I think he said that it was ancient, like he was. He said that I would have trouble defeating it, and would realize that I am no match for the ancient power that he wields."

Renevos placed his hand on his chin and gazed upwards. Minutes passed in silence until the old wizard grunted
. "One of the curses of old age is poor memory. I remember reading something about Julius and a demon that was plaguing the City in his time—but I cannot recall the tale now."

Hemlock was about to entreat the wizard to think harder when Tored interjected
. "It is well, Renevos. Think on the matter. Enough has been said for now. We will consider your words and your counsel."

Hemlock clenched her hands into fists and nodded in agreement.

Tored is right. But the old wizard must remember before it is too late!

Renevos rose, and turned to rejoin the wizards.

As he walked off, Hemlock called out a sudden question. "Are you joining me because you think I'll win?"

Renevos did not respond and continued to walk away.
Hemlock hoped that his hearing had failed him.

As dawn broke, the camp quickly prepared to enter the mountains.  Hemlock detected a tension in the air and traced it to the Tanna Varrans.

“Do they fear the curse?” she whispered to Tored.

“Probably.  But they will do their duty,” he replied.

There was a clear path leading up into the gap between the two nearest mountains, though none of the Tanna Varrans could explain why it existed.  Seeing no alternative, they decided to take it.  It was a wide path, punctuated with clearings where small pools bubbled above unseen springs.  There was little in the way of trees or plants, but one dead tree caught Hemlock’s eye.

She passed beside the trunk
as it stood near the path like a wooden sentinel. Its life had ended long ago, but its body still supported a green array of leafy supplicants. She imagined that one day it might fall over, but she mused that even rotted roots could sometimes run deep and stubbornly endure.  This thought disturbed her.

The path wound around the base of the southern peak and climbed steadily. 

Chapter Nine

As they continued to climb, a gentle mist settled over the path.  They could still see some distance around them, but details faded to varying shades of white at approximately a hundred feet away.

The air soon took on a putrid smell, and the earth underfoot became softer and took on a fibrous consistency. As they proceeded, even the rocky walls, which rose astride of the pass through which they climbed, were obscured by this strange fibrous covering.  After a few more minutes, they
had to walk around large accumulations of the material, which obstructed the path.  And the walls above them now showed great heaps of the brown substance clumped in unstable positions, overhanging the path with their considerable bulk.

Many concerned glances were exchanged amongst the group, but there was nothing to do but go on.

Then there was a low rumble from behind them.  Looking back, they saw through the mist that several of the overhanging heaps had fallen onto the path, effectively blocking it.  The mist had become heavier—especially in the air above them, where there was almost no visibility.

"It will take us many hours to clear that," commented Tored darkly.

"We'll worry about it when we come back," said Hemlock.

They continued forward cautiously until they turned a corner in the winding path and beheld a large clearing several hundred yards in length.  The fibrous material dominated the small canyon, completely covering its floor and walls.  Only near the far exit did the material seem slightly less prevalent.

The source of the brown material became evident as those rounding the corner beheld a huge creature resting in the middle of the canyon. It occupied at least thirty yards of its width and nearly half of its length. 

The creature
had a massive, corpulent body. Its bottom half was covered in the brown, fibrous material, while its upper half was composed of huge rolls of fat surrounding an animalistic face with wide-set, closed eyes and a comparatively small, tusked mouth upturned toward the heavens.  A steady stream of wisp-like spirits were being drawn from the mist down into that greedy maw.  On the lower end of its bulk, closer to the group, a nearly continuous stream of fibrous excrement spewed from a foul orifice. 

“The Demon?” asked Hemlock as her eyes met
Tored’s.

“Though the stench would suggest it, I think not,” he replied.

“Perhaps it is too large to move.  Maybe we can avoid it?”

“Perhaps.  We can try.  I see no alternative!”

“OK, let’s move.  Otticus, watch Renevos!”

The group moved forward into the canyon cautiously.  The material underfoot became increasingly soft,
which slowed their progress, and threatened to nauseate some of the warriors.

When they
were fifty yards from the creature, its eyes bolted open.  It tried to adjust its position with great flippers that seemed too frail for its massive bulk  and struggled to move it, sending ripples through the rolls of fat.  Streaming pools of waste were also set into motion by the creature’s struggles.

As the group waited, the creature rolled itself onto its stomach, bringing it within twenty yards of the group.

“Run!” cried Tored.

Hemlock kept her eyes on the beast as she ran.  She was able to move more quickly than the others and had little difficulty with her balance
in the deep muck.

She watched in amazement as spiked spines
rose from the creature’s back.

A sudden thud in front of her diverted her attention.  The thing had swung out a sickeningly elongated tail in an attempt to block their passage.  It landed hard, showering the group in waste
. The tail nearly extended to the near wall of the canyon. 

“Go around it!” cried Hemlock, noting with dismay that Renevos had fallen to the ground.  But Otticus was
soon there to lift him, and the two continued their flight unhindered.

Hemlock turned back to check on the disposition of the beast.  The barbs rising from the creature’s back were now sickeningly elongated.  She swore that some of them seemed to be quivering.

Suddenly two of them burst into the air in quick succession.  As Hemlock cried out a warning, four more of them launched into the air, followed quickly by the remainder.  Hemlock tried to follow their progress, but the obscuring mist made it impossible.

“Attack from the air!” she cried.

The group was just rounding the extended tail when Hemlock saw the barbs emerge from the mist above them.  The huge projectiles rained down on the group and a dark haired wizard and a young Tanna Varran were impaled as they struck the mucky ground.

It was apparent that nothing could be done for the two slain members, so they were left behind as the group continued to run. 

Renevos halted his wizards and the three that had helped heal Tored began casting a spell.  Lightning burst from their fingertips and scorched the fleshy beast.  It began to quiver and roll, and they were unable to focus their fire on a particular point.

Hemlock
paused to cover the wizards, but as she did so, she noted that most of the barbs were missing. 

She
turned to fully survey the scene where the barbs had landed.  She noticed the final barb as it bent and then extricated its sharp head from the muck with stubby limbs, and finally dove into the muck with small legs.

Those things are alive!

The wizards, who had concluded that their lightning attack had been ineffectual, resumed their flight.

The group was making slow progress toward the exit from the canyon, but Hemlock could see that some of the barbs were climbing back into position on the spine of the creature with an astonishing speed. 

They will strike again!  And the mist conceals their approach.

“Stop!” she cried with a sudden inspiration.  “Those barbs will soon launch again, and they will cut more of us down unless we stop them.  Watch for their approach in the mist.  When they land, attack them.  They have small arms and legs.  Perhaps they can be slain!”

Tored and Acron Gallus both cried out their approval.

Just then
, the barbs quivered and launched into the air again.

“Watch Renevos!” Hemlock screamed
, her eyes locked on the mists above.

Her heart pounded out the moments as they waited for the barbs to
land.  Hemlock saw a blur of black above her and tumbled to her side.  She had plenty of time to avoid the attack, but she feared that Renevos lacked the speed to react in time.  And she realized that his knowledge of teleportation was the key to the mission.

The weakest among us is the most import
ant.

The barb landed beside her with a screech.  She was close enough to smell the creature and see
small, aberrant limbs extend from its black body as its lidless eyes stared.

She stabbed at the soft flesh under the armored carapace of the monster’s torso, but the creature swiveled to deflect her attack with its hide.  She drew her other sabre and began to strike toward the pale mottled skin again and again, but the creature defended with a surprising deftness of movement.

Defying her attempts to skewer it, the monster finally toppled itself back into the disgusting muck at Hemlock’s feet and began to squirm away.  As it did so, its leering stare seemed to mock Hemlock’s efforts.

With a
final leap, Hemlock thrust her sabre into an inky, dark eyeball.  The creature squealed in agony, and a dark fluid jetted from the wound.  The small limbs went limp.

A
piercing cry arose from the tusked mouth on the huge body of the distant beast, as if in response to the death of the barb. 

“Kill these barbed things—aim for the eyes
as they swim away!” Hemlock shouted.

Hemlock rushed to dispatch
additional barbs as they frantically tried to swim back through the muck.  Several cries from the distant hulk followed as more barb monsters met their demise at the hands of the group.  It proved to be relatively easy to stab the creature’s eyes when they settled into the mud to swim away, so with the support of the rest of the group, not a single barb managed to escape.

The great creature began to tremble
, and then it shuddered violently.  Its agony shook the entire mountain, and Hemlock feared that boulders might fall from the heights.  But the agony of the beast was short-lived.  Soon it lay still, its eyes frozen and vacant.

“Wait, it could be a trick,” cautioned
Acron Gallus.

After a few minutes had passed, and the group had verified that they had suffered no additional casualties beyond the first two, a group of Tanna Varrans and wizards approached the great monster.

Hemlock and Tored joined the group as Otticus boldly stepped forward and slashed at one of the beast’s flippers with his sword, opening a great wound. 

There was no reaction.

“It must be dead,” said Hemlock.

But then Otticus spoke
. “Quiet for a moment!”

He approached the filth covered belly of the beast and placed his ear against it.

“I hear a heartbeat,” he said.

“Truly?” asked Hemlock.

She hacked at the flipper that Otticus had damaged, and slashed it until it fell with a sickening thud onto the floor of the canyon.

The beast did not stir.

“What do we do?” asked Acron Gallus.

“We can’t let this thing live,” said Hemlock.

“I agree,” said Tored.

“Well, how do we kill it?” asked Otticus.

“We must carve through the filth and flesh to stop the heart,” said Tored.

“I’ll do it!” said Otticus.

“Wait, Otticus,” said Hemlock.

“
Renevos, can your wizards focus your magic and burn a hole in this thing?” she asked.

“Our lightning might have the desired effect now that it lies still,” replied Renevos.

With the group standing back at a good distance, the three wizards again focused their magic and showered the beast with lightning bolts that leapt from their fingers.  A repellant stench of seared flesh filled the canyon as the wizards halted to survey the result of their gruesome work.

A twenty foot opening in the side of the beast demonstrated their success, but the heart still beat deep within the creature.

“Well, we don’t have all day,” commented Renevos.

He extended his arms violently and a bolt of lightning cracked from his palms toward the hole in the side of the monster.  As
a veritable thunderclap echoed through the canyon and beyond, Hemlock watched the searing bolt tear clean through the monster and impact the rock wall on the far side, burning away the filthy residue to char the clean rock beneath.

“Well done, old man,” said Hemlock.

“That got it!” cried Otticus, after climbing partially into the smoking wound to confirm the kill.

“Surely the world will be a better place for want of that monster,” said
Acron Gallus.

“And a cleaner place,” quipped Hemlock.

The elder did not seem amused, although Otticus laughed heartily until Renevos demanded he stop. “Silence! There are dead to be buried!”

Hemlock was about to ask Renevos about his unexpected display of wizardly talent when she noticed that he was sweating profusely and trembling.

“I’ve never used that much power before,” he said with a note of regret in his voice.  Otticus supported the older, taller wizard with his shoulder, helping him to walk.

“You carry the stench of the beast!” complained Renevos, but he did not recoil from the aid of the younger wizard.

The group gathered themselves and the bodies of the two fallen members and exited the canyon.  They located a nearby clearing that had a few plants and a relative abundance of top soil.  They dug as far as they could, interred the bodies, and covered them with earth. They topped the graves with a set of the small rocks that littered the area.

After a brief ceremony, they continued to climb along the path.

“That was too easy to be the Demon that DuLoc spoke of,” ventured Hemlock after enough time had passed that the funeral ceremony did not seem uncomfortably recent.

“Yes, it did.  That was a curious creature.  I sensed witch magic imbuing it,” Tored said.

“Me too.  Could there be more witches here?”

“I fear that very thing.  Our party is small for such a campaign, if there is another coven here.”

“We can handle it.  I’ve killed two already.”

“Yes, you have.  I shall have to think of some title for you that honors that accomplishment.”

Hemlock turned to confirm the sarcasm she thought she had heard in his voice.

“It seems that the battle has lifted your spirits.”

“I can’t deny that.  Whether that is a vice or a virtue, I can’t say.”

They continued to climb until the mist became so thick that th
ey feared a loss of footing would propel them to a long and fatal fall.  Their only encouragement was the unmistakable perception that the ascent was slowing.