Slavers of the Savage Catacombs (20 page)
Read Slavers of the Savage Catacombs Online
Authors: Jon F Merz
Tags: #Fiction, #Fantasy, #Epic, #General, #Historical
C
HAPTER
T
HIRTY-THREE
Ran chewed another piece of the tender beef and then set his utensils down. Nearby, Zaqil sat drinking a tall mug of something the Mung called Haoji, which Ran figured was a fermented root drink. He tried it and found that it immediately started to affect his head, so he immediately asked for water instead. The last thing he needed was to have hits wits dulled by strong drink while he still considered himself something of a prisoner, despite Zaqil’s assurances otherwise.
He had awoken from his nap and found a set of simple but comfortable clothes in a package outside of his door. The threads within the clothes seemed to shimmer at points when the blue torchlight hit them. Ran bathed quickly, reveling in the hot water they had somehow managed to tap. The clothes fit him perfectly, despite the fact that all the Mung were far shorter than Ran. And then he’d wandered around for a few minutes until a guard found him and asked Ran to follow him to the feast.
The feast room was nothing at all like the room where Zaqil had initially received Iqban and Ran. Instead of the simple design, this room was far more like a cavern, with a huge arching ceiling and many torches burning away overhead. There were scores of tables laid with all sorts of meats and vegetables. Ran saw a large fire in the center of the room, giving off a nice blanket of heat to the entire expanse. Servers rushed to and fro, waiting on what Ran assumed were the Mung aristocracy. Zaqil had waved him over to sit next to him in a position of honor. Ran had accepted and thanked the king for the opportunity to dine with him.
The food was as delicious as it had been when Ran first ate it back in his cell. The Mung cooks were certainly adept at preparing the food served here. As Ran ate, he watched the faces of the other Mung and wondered how they could be thinking about conquest when it seemed they had plenty of wealth and security underground. He voiced the question to Zaqil, who only smiled.
“It’s true that we have much that we could ever want in our tunnels and caverns, but the source of our power is dwindling.”
“What power?” asked Ran.
Zaqil gestured overhead. “Surely you’ve seen the blue torches. They burn, but not with a yellow flame. Haven’t you wondered what it is?”
“I have.”
“The fuel comes from a special rock we mine far below us. When touched with fire, it burns for weeks, giving us that blue flame. But we’re running out of it. We have tunneled everywhere and found no other vein of it running in the earth. We get heat and light from the rock, and without it we would not be able to sustain ourselves for very long. The elders among the Mung have come together, and we have decided that the best option is to move aboveground.” Zaqil sighed. “It will be difficult for many of us accustomed to being the only ones that live underground. It’s a whole new world up there that we do not yet truly understand. That is another reason why we agreed to do business with Iqban.”
Ran glanced around. Iqban was nowhere to be seen. “Where is he, by the way?”
Zaqil waved the question off. “We have the material means to purchase whatever we need to form a new empire aboveground, but what we lack is information.”
“What sort of information?”
“Where we might be able to form a new kingdom, who might oppose us, what strengths they have. All manner of strategic questions that we would need answered prior to simply going aboveground. These mountains have given us shelter for eons, and leaving them presents a huge challenge for us.”
Ran sensed he knew where this was going but said nothing until Zaqil turned to him.
“Is that why you invited me here tonight?”
Zaqil shrugged. “I would have invited you anyway. You bested me in combat, and as such you deserve the accolades. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t also want a chance to discuss things with you. Specifically about how you might be able to help us in the coming years.”
Ran allowed a small frown to cross his face. “How many know about me?”
“Everyone knows you beat me in combat. But not everyone knows about what you are or at least what Iqban claims you are.”
Ran nodded. “It is imperative that no one know what I am. If we are have any sort of relationship at all, absolute trust and secrecy are the first orders of business.”
Zaqil smiled. “I understand. Your identity will be known only to me.”
“Iqban knows also.”
“Worry not about him,” said Zaqil. “I will deal with him when the time is right.”
“As long as Iqban is alive, he is a threat to me,” said Ran. “He would sell every one of my secrets for a gold coin if he thought he could profit from it.”
“Indeed he would,” said Zaqil. “But you need not worry.”
Ran said nothing while he pondered their exchange. Shinobujin had routinely been employed to assist other kingdoms over the years. But such matters were ordinarily arranged by other Shinobujin, not field operatives like Ran. The novelty of this appealed to him. But there were certain things to consider. The Mung were a cannibalistic race. Ran wasn’t sure how well that would transfer to the above world. Still, he knew that there were far-flung races and cultures that engaged in acts many would consider equally barbaric. And that hadn’t stopped them from thriving.
“I would need to consult with my clan before I can formally agree to anything,” said Ran. “You understand my allegiance must first be to them.”
“I would think less of you if you said otherwise,” said Zaqil. “There is much about you that I admire.” He nodded. “That is perfectly agreeable to me. You should contact them and ask if the Mung empire may hire you to scout a location for us that you think would prove suitable for construction of a new fortress.”
“There’s a chance they might not agree to it.”
Zaqil sighed. “I know. But I hope they would look at this as an opportunity to establish good relations with a race many people do not even realize has existed beneath them for thousands of years.”
“They may well do that,” said Ran. “I don’t know how they decide which jobs to take or decline, but I will relay the information and then be back in touch with you.”
Zaqil nodded. “When we escort you out, the guard will show you the entrance to use to return here at a later date. When you come back, you must recite four words which will keep you in good stead with whomever challenges you. They prove that you are a trusted ally of the Mung.”
“What are the words?”
“
Bak chang huq yarol
.”
Ran recited them, ensuring he got the pronunciation down right. After several moments of letting them sink in, he looked at Zaqil. “What do they mean?”
“The heart of life beats beneath.” Zaqil grinned. “They are words every Mung child grows up learning. We swear an allegiance not to a king, but to the deep depths of the underground. Down deep below us is where all life comes from. A pulsing heart filled with warmth and fire. If that ever stops, we—not just the Mung, but all peoples—will cease to exist. Perhaps because we are closer to it and feel it everywhere in our domain, we appreciate it a bit more. But no Mung would ever turn you away when you say that to them. They will know the only way you would come by that knowledge is if you had been welcomed into our domain previously.”
“I am humbled that you would trust me with this information,” said Ran.
“Then we are even,” said Zaqil. “You now know something about us that could potentially lead to our downfall. We each, as it were, have something over the other. I need you to realize that your secret is safe with me. To prove that, I have given you something of immense value to us.”
“I appreciate that,” said Ran. And he did. Zaqil’s willingness to compromise their security so that Ran felt more comfortable meant a great deal to him. Try as he might, he found it hard to actually think of Zaqil as some sort of evil leader. If anything, it only reinforced his belief that the true enemy was Zal himself. Zaqil’s men had made short work of Zal’s hired army. But Zal had yet to be found.
“Will you be able to find Zal?”
Zaqil nodded. “He can run, but he cannot hide for long. My brother is as foolish as he is egotistical. Sooner or later, he will grow tired of hiding and come out to assume what he believes is his rightful place as king.”
“Your brother?”
Zaqil smiled. “Yes. Although he was born to my father’s concubine and not my mother. But that has never stopped him from trying to usurp power for himself.”
“Iqban told me that he had been king and was forced into exile.”
Zaqil had some more of his drink. “Yes, I would expect that to be the story he wove. It’s one of the ways he functions. He concocts a good story and then tries to win people over to his side. He’s been doing it for many years. When I uncovered his plot to overthrow my council, I gave him two options: death or exile. He chose the latter.”
“But he didn’t go far. He stayed right around here and then started building an army to take control by force. How does that make sense?”
“I knew all along where he was,” said Zaqil. “I thought it better to keep him close and be able to keep an eye on him and his activities than to lose sight of him elsewhere. When it became clear what he was up to, I made my own plans and attacked before he was ready.”
“Couldn’t he just have attacked through the main gate?”
Zaqil shook his head. “He would know that it is too heavily guarded to get an army through. His only option was to tunnel in multiple places and try to a simultaneous attack. But we are incredible miners, and my people informed me when they became aware of the tunneling happening from the other side. We quickly surmised what he was doing and made arrangements to undercut him.”
“You certainly succeeded,” said Ran. “His troops were overwhelmed, and the results were . . .” Ran’s voice trailed off.
“Yes, unpalatable to you. I understand,” said Zaqil. “But when the Mung are aroused to their berserker state, their appetite increases tenfold. Anything within range is potential food. I daresay you were lucky not to have run into any of my men when you were over there.”
“I count myself lucky as well,” said Ran. “From what I saw, your troops are very formidable fighters, especially in the close confines of the tunnel networks down here.”
“They know how to fight better than the mercenaries that Zal had hired for himself,” said Zaqil. “They were no match in the tunnels, and my men took advantage of it to rout them utterly.”
“A shame that Zal wasn’t taken,” said Ran.
“If you come across him in your travels, I would consider it a personal favor if you killed him,” said Zaqil. “To say that I have had enough of his silliness would be an understatement. It’s true we share the same bloodline, but there comes a point when even family is not above being called out on their stupidity. I would not tolerate such actions from my friends or even the men who serve me. Why should I tolerate it from family just because we share blood? It makes no sense.”
“I lost my family at a young age,” said Ran. “I was adopted by my clan, and they became my true family.”
“You are fortunate to not have to have dealt with the pettiness of familial issues,” said Zaqil. “It drains a man of his will to live his life by his own inner compass.”
“How do you mean?”
Zaqil finished his drink and set it down. “Who we are is often the product of those around us. We grow according to what we perceive as the right way to do things. Our values are passed on to us by parents and relatives. At some point, though, we grow old enough to know who we truly are as individuals. How many people constrain themselves because their family wouldn’t be accepting of their true nature? How many people truly enjoy the freedom to be who they are? Very few, I would wager.”
“Put that way,” said Ran. “I do feel fortunate. As long as my allegiance to my clan remains steadfast, I am free to do as I will.”
“Indeed,” said Zaqil. “You are blessed to be able to do what you wish. When Zal is finally eliminated, I will have that freedom as well.”
“But you can already do as you wish.”
Zaqil tapped his head and then his heart. “But here and here, it is still as if he is around me. All I hear is him berating me and insisting that I acquiesce to his demands because we are family. The number of times I wished my father could have kept his manhood locked up and not fathered such a beast are truly without end.”
Ran laughed. “Here’s to self-discipline and freedom, then.”
Zaqil clanked glasses with him and then set it back down. “You must be ready to be on your way. I have kept you for too long already.” Zaqil smiled. “I have enjoyed our time together. I hope you return with favorable news from your clan.”
“Thank you,” said Ran. “I will endeavor to return as soon as possible.”
Zaqil clapped his hands and a guard materialized. “Escort our guest to the main gate and then back to where Zal built his main gate.” He glanced at Ran. “I trust that will be okay? Your companions might even still be around.”
Ran nodded. “That will be fine. Thank you again, Zaqil.”
“Travel well, Ran.” He stood and clasped Ran’s hand.
Then Zaqil clapped again. From the left side of the room, several cooks pushed a large rack into the center of the room with a writhing form strapped to it. With arms and legs stretched akimbo, Iqban was then hoisted above the fire. Were it not for the fact that his mouth had been sewn shut, his screams would have echoed through the chamber.
Ran looked back at Zaqil, who only shrugged. “I told you I would take care of him. Now go, you have no wish to see this any further.”
Ran turned and followed the guard out.
Behind him, Iqban’s moans gradually faded away as he cooked over the fire.
C
HAPTER
T
HIRTY-FOUR
It took them nearly twice the time to get back to Zal’s fiefdom as it had when Iqban had brought him to the Mung kingdom, Ran decided as they walked. He wasn’t sure if the guard was deliberately leading them around in circles to confuse Ran or not. Perhaps Zaqil had requested he do it, even though he’d pressed a small silken map into Ran’s hands as they were parting. Ran knew the map would show him how to return if he was ever able to come back.
The tunnels were still a confusing maze, but Ran started to recognize several key features as they walked. His eyes had grown accustomed to the dim light, and he knew they were close when they took a sudden turn and ended up in the tunnel where he had picked the lock on the knob controlling the main gate. Cool air flowed into the tunnel, and Ran guessed that the door was open still. As he walked on, his Mung guide suddenly stopped and then handed Ran his sword.
“Thank you,” said Ran, tucking the blade into his belt.
The Mung guide waved, then turned and headed back toward his home, leaving Ran alone in the tunnel.
For a moment, Ran watched him leave. The Mung turned and then melted into the shadows. Ran smirked. It reminded him of watching a fellow shadow warrior blend into the darkness.
Then he turned and walked down the tunnel to the main cavern.
The bodies of the guards that had helped Iqban kidnap Cassandra were still on the floor; their blood had dried to a sticky dark viscous liquid, and the smell was horrible. Ran scrunched up his nose and looked around for any signs that Kuva and Cassandra were still nearby. He found nothing.
The air inside the main cavern felt cooler than he would have expected. Judging by the gusts, there might even be a storm blowing outside, he concluded. He wondered how far Kuva and Cassandra might have gotten, but then knew the only way to find out was to follow them. Ran took a final look around the cavern and at the tunnels and then started his trek toward the outside world. He was relieved to have a weapon as he walked. Zal was still very much a threat, and if he stumbled across the miniature despot, he would gladly cut him down.
But his main focus was on finding Cassandra and Kuva. The tunnel sloped upward as he walked, and he found himself growing more excited with each step he took. Hope flooded him that he might soon be reconnected with his friends. Then perhaps they could find a place to rest and recover from their ordeal in the catacombs. A long rest would suit him well before he decided whether to continue with the clan’s reconnaissance mission or escort Cassandra to the safety of her kingdom. Then there was the matter of Zaqil’s request for help. Ran would definitely have to pass that along to the clan.A lot to do, he decided.
As he continued up the path, something disturbed him. It was hard to pinpoint what it was exactly, but as he walked, he felt pressure building up around him. In the air, nearby. Some sort of energy.
He dropped without thinking about it.
And the world around him exploded.
He awoke still by himself in the cave. His hand immediately went for his sword, and he was relieved to find it still there. Ran got up and shook himself off. The explosion had been a big one, but amid the debris that surrounded him, he could see no reason for it. Bits of rock lay scattered all over the place; some in big chunks, others in small. He picked one of them up and looked at it. It appeared to be exactly like the type of rock he’d spent his days mining for Zal’s nefarious purposes.
But as he looked closer, Ran saw tinges of blue vein running through it. And as he held it in his hand, the blue vein started to glow and pulse, almost as if the rock itself were alive. Ran put it down on the ground and then continued walking up the slope. The way was harder going now, but it hadn’t been blocked, fortunately.
Near the top of the slope, he saw movement. Hugging the rock wall, Ran eased himself forward. He hoped it was Kuva or Cassandra. But as he got closer, he could see that the movement came from about a score of Mithrus’s guards.
Ran frowned. Zaqil had told him they’d mopped up all the pockets of resistance, but clearly they had not succeeded in killing everyone. Here were at least twenty heavily armed soldiers, clearly up to something.
He looked closer and saw a smaller figure directing them this way and that.
Zal.
The maniacal Mung despot was directing several slaves to put large boxes of something near the entrance of the cave that led to the catacombs. And behind Zal, Ran spotted two cages. What he saw next made his heart drop.
Zal had Cassandra and Kuva in one cage and roughly six Mung warriors in another. The Mung warriors clawed at the bars and hissed. Cassandra and Kuva sat dejectedly in their cage. Kuva clearly had some injuries, and dried blood caked his face and neck. Cassandra seemed to be tending to him, but it was clear they were being kept alive for some reason.
So close to the daylight, Ran marveled at how bright everything seemed. He’d grown used to being in the tunnels, but now he was back above it all. Judging by the amount of light, it must have been some time in the early evening. He was grateful he hadn’t emerged at midday, when the light might have blinded him. As it was, the sky seemed gray and foreboding, with bloated clouds hugging the area.
He continued to watch the slaves placing boxes next to the entrance of the cave. What could they have contained, he wondered. He couldn’t risk getting closer without exposing himself, so he would have to wait until darkness to inspect them. And then he had to work on freeing Kuva and Cassandra as well.
Looking behind him, Ran wondered if Zaqil knew that Zal was up here or still in the area. He’d asked Ran to kill him if he saw him. But against a force of twenty soldiers, Ran would need some help. He looked back at the cage of Mung warriors. If he could get close to them and use the secret phrase, they would know he was an ally and not their enemy. Freeing them would give the guards plenty to handle while Ran freed Cassandra and Kuva and then killed Zal.
It could work.
There was a lull in activity as one of the slaves collapsed. The soldiers moved in and started beating him, but the old man did not move.
Ran used the distraction to get closer to the entrance, tucking himself into a shallow depression in the cave wall that afforded him a good view of the area. As he watched, Zal ordered the unconscious slave brought over to the cage containing the Mung warriors. More of the soldiers used their swords to poke the Mung into one corner while a guard opened the door and dropped the slave inside. Ran watched this all, noting that the cage didn’t require a key, but was more of a heavy latch lock. He hoped it was the same type of arrangement on the cage containing Cassandra and Kuva.
The guard slammed the door shut again, and the soldiers moved away from the cage. No longer restrained by the threat of swords, the Mung warriors set about eating the slave. Fortunately, Ran surmised he was already dead. And the Mung ate him quickly. Ran was far enough away that his ears did not pick up the sounds of the man being eaten. As it was, he had to turn away and try to quell the rolling in his stomach.
Zal seemed to revel in the bloodlust of the Mung warriors, however, and clapped his hands as they finished off the poor slave’s body, leaving only the bones behind. Some of the Mung even gnawed on them as they finished. Ran watched the expression on Cassandra’s face and saw pure terror there.
Ran stared at the sky and willed it to grow darker so that he could get his friends freed. But the light of the sky still showed far too much for Ran’s comfort. He frowned. His heart pulsed faster, and he willed himself to slow it down. He remembered his teachers telling him not to be rash in his actions. Doing so would get him killed. And his friends. But in the real world, it was far tougher than back at the safety of his school. He could see the lives of his friends being measured in mere minutes if he chose not to act.
He turned away from the scene and stared back into the inky blackness of the cave. Somehow the darkness helped calm him. He’d been down in the depths of the catacombs for so long that it felt more comfortable to move in the shadows than in the daylight.
A clap of thunder boomed overhead. Ran turned back and saw that the clouds had opened up. A downpour fell on the entirety of Zal’s party. But the rain quickly turned to snow, the white flakes coming down thick and fast. Ran grinned. He could use the weather to his advantage almost as well as the darkness. It wasn’t perfect, of course, but given the circumstance, he couldn’t have asked for better.
Zal’s men ran about the entrance, moving boxes and supplies just inside. The remaining slaves were tied up near the cave mouth. The two cages of prisoners were brought to the innermost portion of the cave’s entrance. They were now closer to Ran. He waited until the guards moved away after checking that the latches were still secured. Then he crept forward until he was behind the cage containing Cassandra and Kuva.
“Cassandra.”
She turned, and her eyes widened. “Ran?”
He held up a finger to his lips. “Stay quiet. I’m going to get you out of here.”
“Kuva’s badly injured. He tried fighting all of Zal’s men after they grabbed me.”
“How did you get ambushed?”
Cassandra frowned. “It was my fault. I thought we were home free after we left the main entrance. Zal was waiting above and grabbed us as we came out.”
“What about the Mung in the next cage?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. He already had them. He’s repeatedly threatened to feed us to them. Did you see what they did to that other poor soul? Horrible!”
Ran held up his hand. “Don’t be too hard on them. It’s their culture.”
“Eating people? No, thank you.” She looked around to make sure no one was about and then turned back to Ran. “What happened to you? We looked in the tunnel, but you were gone.”
“Iqban, the slaver. He knocked me out from behind and tried to sell me to the Mung king, who, it turns out, is Zal’s half-brother. There’s no love lost there. In any event, I won my freedom and came back straightaway only to find you both in this predicament. Is Kuva conscious?”
Kuva grunted. “Barely.”
“How bad is it, friend?”
“Bad. I’ve lost a lot of blood.”
“Can you hang on until I get things sorted?”
Kuva turned and grinned at Ran. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Ran smiled. “You still have a sense of humor. That’s good.” He looked at Cassandra. “I’m going to free the Mung and let them handle the dirty work for me.”
“They’ll tear you apart!”
Ran shook his head. “I don’t think they will. I know a few more things about them now that I visited with their king.”
“Enough to make them your allies?”
Ran cocked an eyebrow. “I guess we’ll find out.” He moved to the rear of the cave again, sinking back into the shadows. Just in time, a guard made his rounds and checked on the cages. Ran watched him move over to the Mung cage. The Mung growled at the guard, who only laughed. Rand waited until he walked back toward the cave entrance and then moved over to the cage containing the Mung soldiers.
They must have heard him approach, because they glared at him with bared teeth.
I hope this works, thought Ran.
“
Bak chang huq yarol
.”
He whispered the words through the bars of the cage, and the Mung backed up in surprise. Their eyes wide, they spoke in whispers among themselves. Finally, one of them moved forward to the bars. Ran tried his best to not stare at the blood that caked his mouth. When he spoke, Ran could still see bits of flesh dangling from his teeth.
“How do you know our tongue?”
“Your king taught me those words himself. He said it would let any Mung know that I am a friend to your people.”
The Mung soldier frowned and then appeared to translate what Ran had said to the others. He looked back at Ran. “You are friend?”
“I am. I’m going to free you. But you must promise not to harm me or my friends in the next cage there.”
The Mung looked over at Cassandra and Kuva and then back at Ran. “If you free us, the men will kill us.”
“No doubt they’re going to kill you anyway,” said Ran. “Wouldn’t you rather die fighting than in some cage like an animal?”
The Mung didn’t hesitate. “Of course.”
“Then when I free you, you will have only a little time to overwhelm the guards before your advantage is lost. I will help you fight. But remember, do not attack me or my friends.”
“And what of Zal?”
“Your king requested that I kill him if I saw him. But if one of you kills him, it will be a great honor for your people. It matters not to me.”
“Very well. Free us.”
Ran moved to the door of the cage and checked his surroundings again. The weather outside had intensified, and the snow fell thick and fast. Already icicles had formed at the mouth of the cave, giving the cave entrance the appearance of a mouth filled with sharp teeth. Ran smiled at the image and then turned back to the cage.
The latch came up easily enough. Ran held up his hand as he slowly opened the door, praying it wouldn’t squeak and alert the guards. But it swung out smoothly.
In an instant, the Mung came forward out of the cage. They had no weapons, but as soon as they attacked, the guards they killed would provide them with arms.
“Ready?” asked Ran.
The Mung warrior nodded once. “For our king.”
