Epikydes Underground - Chapter Five

After that, Fadeyka conceded my point and apologized for laughing at me.  While I appreciated the apology, not having to keep that particular secret anymore was much more of a relief.  We pulled out a couple bags of coins (I had promised Fadeyka there was treasure here), a magical rope (which we used to get back down to the laboratory), and Thorn, a dagger that, in addition to being magical, was part of a set eight daggers and my entire reason for traveling here.  I then retrieved my Guild badge from a resting place inside the door and we reclosed the vault.  Despite the thickness and age of the stone door, it still swung easily and silently.

As we were climbing back down to the laboratory, we heard the sounds of the approaching dwerro.  I retrieved the rope (it can untie itself on command) and we started heading towards the surface exit as quietly and as quickly as we could.  We eventually lost the dwerro, but stayed as silent as possible until we reached the surface again, just in case.  This meant we had little time or opportunity to talk along the way.

We were bone tired by the time we reached the surface and it was night, but our sense of security was greatly replenished.  “OK, Epikydes, it’s ‘later’ now,” Fadeyka started.  “Tell me about the badge.”

We were walking through the surface ruins above the dwarven halls.  The ruins were a mixture of old human and dwarven architectural styles with trees and shrubs growing rampant around them now.  The old dwarven roads resisted the grass growing through them, but anyplace the road had been damaged was now a thick clump of shrubbery.

“I found it with Aurelius’s remains, along with his journal, this coat, and the star blade,” I answered.  “A group of us were dealing with a goblin uprising that turned out to be a front for a cult working out of an old keep, something Aurelius had been looking into as well.  Apparently Aurelius was discovered and heavily wounded in a fight, but escaped, only to die in a side passage under the keep, where we found him.  I didn’t know what the badge was at first, but held onto it until we dealt with the cult.”

“Afterwards, I started reading through the journal and found all these extra notes and passages written in a dagger-script.  I was curious and spent time deciphering the dagger-script.  It took a while, but it was worth it.  Aurelius was the last surviving Guild-Captain, entrusted with the continuation of the guild.”

“Then why was he traveling up here in the north?” Fadeyka asked.  “Why not use one of the guild vaults and establish a new guild hall somewhere where there are plenty of people?”

“I don’t know,” I answered.  “The journal starts with his travels north, but never gives a reason for them.  I think at some point he either had to or wanted to leave the south, but he never states why.”

“Hmph,” was Fadeyka’s reply.  “What about the dagger then?”

“Somehow they either grant access to or lead to the main guildhall, I’m not certain which,” I replied.  “I do know there are eight of them and they need to be together to do whatever they do.”

“So you plan to find all eight?” Fadeyka asked.

“Yes.”

We walked a bit further while Fadeyka thought something over.  She seemed to come to a conclusion and then said, “Count me in.  This is exactly the sort of thing Armea Gris would assist in.”

“Really?” I asked, somewhat hopefully.  “You don’t have to.”

“No, I don’t have to,” Fadeyka replied, “But I want to.  Until now I haven’t really found my calling here in the north and was starting to think I’d have to return to the temple having merely traveled.  This is much more of a real adventure and Armea Gris is the Adventuring Goddess of Magic, not the Traveling Goddess of Magic.  So,” she turned to look at me as we kept walking, “Where to next?"

I thought about it before answering.  "As far as I can tell, Aurelius's journal places the next nearest dagger in the tombs at Upal Molotok," I replied.

"In the tombs," Fadeyka said.

"Yes," I replied.

"At Upal Molotok," she continued.

"Yes," I replied.

"The closed dwarven city of Upal Molotok."

"Yes," I replied, drawing out the syllable a bit peevishly.

"In the tombs at Upal Molotok, home to the ghosts of Upal Molotok, the undead citizens of the closed dwarven city of Upal Molotok."  Clearly Fadeyka was skeptical about this plan of action.

"Yes, all of that," I said gesturing my hand to indicate all of what she had said.

"And how do you plan on entering the sacred district of a closed dwarven city?  I suspect they will take exception to us telling them we're only there to desecrate a crypt and take a long buried dagger."  There was clearly sarcasm and disbelief in Fadeyka’s voice.

"I know a paladin who can get us in," I said lightly.

Fadeyka quickened her step to get in front of me and then turned and stopped in my path, one hand out.  "Wait.  You know a paladin who...no, never mind that.  What kind of paladin would help us break into a crypt?"  She put her hands on her hips.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  "He's a paladin in the service of the Queen of Winter Twilight."

"The Queen of Winter Twilight..."  Fadeyka said half to herself while looking down, mulling over the unusual attribute.  It took her a moment as I had translated the goddess’s elven name into the common tongue.  Then Fadeyka took in a short breath and looked up at me.  "That's Marsuda Wasala, Goddess of the Underworld," she said accusingly.  "There are no paladins in Her service.  Paladins tend to fight people in Her service.  Just thinking about a paladin in Her service makes my head itch."  She was actually scratching her head.

"Actually, there is at least one," I countered, holding one finger up in lecture mode.  "He was part of a group I worked with last year."

Fadeyka stared at me, arms still on hips, clearly trying to determine if I was making this up.  After a minute or two, she looked down and said to herself, "Travel takes us to new places to learn new things."  I'm pretty certain she was quoting scripture from her faith.  She sighed, looked back up at me, and said, "Fine.  Let's go meet your friend.  The paladin.  Who serves the Goddess of the Underworld."  She turned and we resumed walking to the edge of the ruins where (hopefully) our horses were still corralled.

After a couple of minutes, she turned and asked, "Where are we going to find this paladin?"

"If he's still in Aldmerrow, he’ll probably be at Markel’s Taphouse," I answered.

She stopped again.  "We're going to find a paladin in a tavern."  It wasn't really a question, more of a statement of disbelief.

"Yep," I said, a bit of glee in my voice at her reaction.  "In a tavern."  I did my best to hide my grin as I caught up to her, but I could tell it was leaking out a bit.

"You're buying the first round," Fadeyka said as she resumed walking.  "And if there is no paladin of the Goddess of the Underworld there, you're buying all the rounds."

"Agreed," I replied.  "But if he is there, you buy all three of us the steak dinner."

"Deal!" she said, stopping walking just long enough so we could shake hands on it.  We then continued walking to get to our horses, each satisfied with the bet we had just made.

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four

Copyright Patrick J. Walsh 2014. All rights reserved.

Chapter 5 Posts Tomorrow after the Wife Reading

Part of my editing process (for this short story at least) is that I read each chapter out loud to my wife.  This helps me find awkward phrases, missing words, or other common editorial issues found in the draft of any text.

Chapter Five of Epikydes Underground is written - I just haven't had a chance to read it to my wife yet.  Seeing as she's the reason I chose to post this story rather than keep it as a personal writing project, I feel she should be the first to hear all of it, not just most of it.

I'll read it to her tonight, enter the edits and her comments, and then upload it to Blogger.  It will be scheduled to appear tomorrow morning at 7:00 AM Central like the majority of my posts.

Chapter Five will be the final part of Epikydes Underground.  I'm working on the outline for the next story.  I don't know if it will be a short story of something longer yet, but I suspect it will be longer, probably a novelette.

I'd love to hear what folks think so far.  What's your favorite part?  What would you have changed to make better?  Specific is best.

Thanks!

Epikydes Underground - Chapter Four

The revenants did not pursue us outside the cluster of chambers.  This was good as we had to dodge a couple dwerro search parties and a torch is not the easiest light source to hide.  By the time we reached an area we started to recognize, the first torch was close to burning out and we had to light the second (and last) torch off of it.

We entered the laboratory through the side door the dwerro had ambushed us from.  Aurelius referred to the room as a “Laboratory” in his journal, but never mentioned what they were researching – I’m guessing magical weapons.  There were two large furnaces at one end of the chamber and something Aurelius referred to as a “cold forge” at the other end.  It looked similar to the two main forges, but was empty of ash or anything else.  There were several anvils of various sizes and made of different materials around the room.  In the center, right next to a prominent lever was a large pile of debris and crushed or collapsed stone.  Somewhere under that eight-foot tall pile was my everburning torch.  Twenty feet above the floor the pile of debris rested on was a circular opening about ten feet in diameter, leading to the collapsed upper chamber.

“So,” Fadeyka said, “How do we get up there with debris on everything?  And will the treasure still be accessible?”

“I’m not certain yet,” I said sitting down on one of the larger anvils.  “The falling debris caught me by surprise at first and then the attacking dwerro kept me from taking a closer look afterward.”  I took off my haversack and started pulling some food out of it.  “I think we should take a break and eat while we think it over.”

Fadeyka thought about it and then said, “Let me close and brace this door and I’ll join you.”  She closed the door we had just entered through and used a broken beam from the rubble to brace the door.  It wouldn’t keep the door permanently closed, but we’d get some warning if anyone tried to force it.

It had been something like eight hours since we ate breakfast, so we were both hungry.  Fadeyka sat on the lip of the forge next to the anvil I was leaning on.  The forge lip looked easier to set food out on, so I joined her.  Plus, she might still have an apple left and I was hoping to talk her into sharing it or trading for some of the cheese.

While we ate, we both looked over the problem before us: how to get up into the upper room.  “How stable do you thing the edge of the hole is,” I asked.

Fadeyka looked closer at the lip of the hole in the ceiling.  “Seems stable,” she replied.  “But we can’t see the debris on the upper lever clearly.  It might be loose.”

“Fair point,” I said.  “Think we could use an improvised grappling hook and pull ourselves up?”

“Probably.  I take it you don’t have an actual grappling hook in your haversack?”  There was some amusement in her voice.

“Not this trip – I was planning on using the lift.”

“Hmph,” she said.  She looked at where the lift was buried by debris.  “What about the lift?  Might it still be working?”

“That’s a good question.”  I looked over at the lever.  “I only pulled it to open the ceiling – I never actually engaged the lift itself.”  I thought for a moment.  “But there’s no way it could lift all that debris.”

“Epikydes, it’s dwarven-made.  If it’s still functioning, I bet it could lift twice that weight.”

“Really,” I said, drawing out the word.  “Willing to bet that apple on it?”

Fadeyka looked at the apple she was about to eat and then looked at me, one eyebrow raised.  “Are you serious?” written all across her face.

“Hey, you’re the one with all the dwarven knowledge,” I stated.  “I’m just wondering if you’re willing to put your apple where your mouth is.”  It sounded much better in my head than after I said it out loud.

Fadeyka snickered and then laughed at me.  I shrugged at her – what else could I do.  “I’ll see your bet and raise you,” she countered.  “If the lift works, I get all the apples for the next two days, otherwise you get them.”

“Hmm, I don’t know – that’s a lot of apples,” I said, trying not to grin.  “Throw in that apple and you’ve got yourself a bet.”  This was silly as the apples were part of the food provided by the traveler’s feast ritual and we could always get more.

“Deal,” she said, sticking out her hand.  I shook it and then we both chuckled.

We finished eating the rest of the food (minus the bet apple) and then went over to lever by the pile of debris.  We both looked around at the debris and the opening in the ceiling.  After a couple of minutes, Fadeyka said, “Debris falling off while the lift rises doesn’t invalidate the bet nor cause me to lose.”

“Agreed,” I replied.  “Nor does clearing out a place to stand while operating the lever,” I conceded.

“Thank you,” she answered and we moved some of the debris near the lever so we could safely stand on the lifting platform and operate the lever.  Once that was done there was nothing left to do but stand on the platform and move the lever into the lift position.  We were both a bit hesitant after the disaster of the last attempt to operate the lift.

I sighed.  “I’ll operate it.  Do you want to be on the platform or off.”

“On,” she said while stepping into place.  “I only bet that it would lift once, not twice.”

“Fair enough.”  I stepped over next to Fadeyka and prepared to move the lever.  “Here we go,” I said and then moved the lever in the way described in Aurelius’s journal.

At first, nothing happened.  I looked over at Fadeyka with a raised eyebrow, but she held up a hand and said, “Wait.”

Shortly after that I felt a tremor in the floor and a circular portion of the floor started to rise.  Slowly.  Pieces of rubble started shifting and spilling off the side, raising up a cloud of dust.  Then there was a grinding noise and the platform jerked suddenly and we both started wind-milling our arms to stay standing.  The platform was ten feet up now and only rising in fits and starts, while the grinding sound from below the floor was getting louder.

“This is going to call the dwerro,” I half-yelled to be heard over the noise.

Fadeyka looked up and half-yelled back, “Just a little farther and we’ll be OK.”

I looked up and saw the ceiling slowly approaching us.  Then the platform slipped and fell a foot, nearly shaking me off.  A lot of the debris on the platform bounced and crashed and slid off the platform.  There was metallic tearing sound and then the platform started rising again, the whole thing shaking.  “I have a really bad feeling about this,” I yelled.  It was difficult to remain standing while holding onto the torch.  My grip on the lever was rapidly becoming a liability as the whole apparatus shook and rose in short jerks.

“I think you’re right,” Fadeyka yelled back.  She put the nightvision goggles back on and then unhooked her chain sickle, looking up at the gap in the ceiling.  Just as the platform suddenly tilted to one side, she spun the sickle in a short arc and cast it upwards.

I was suddenly holding on to the lever for dear life as the platform tilted away from me and dropped two feet, all the debris sliding towards the far edge.  Fadeyka was dangling from her chain sickle, the sickle end caught on the lip above.  “Hang on,” she yelled at me over the din as she started climbing.

I said some choice words under my breath and then stepped back, doing my best to balance on the edge of the now-empty platform, which was still trying to rise from the floor.  Unstable didn’t begin to describe the situation as whatever the platform was part of started to rotate as well as rise and shake.  With the top now off center, I was starting to get a very close look at the ceiling.  If this thing kept rising while I wasn’t under the opening, I could learn how a bug feels when it gets stepped on.

Fadeyka climbed up out of my line of sight, through the opening in the ceiling.  The platform started shaking a lot and I decided I couldn’t wait any longer.  I dropped the torch into the room, away from the debris so it hopefully wouldn’t get smothered.  I caught my balance just enough to get my feet under me and jumped at the dangling portion of Fadeyka’s chain sickle.  My timing was good twice – I leapt just as the platform cracked and fell to one side with a thunderous crash, filling the room with rock dust, and I caught the chain.

Fadeyka called out, “Epikydes?”

“Still here,” I answered in a tight voice.  I was trying not to breathe in too much of the rock dust.  A coughing fit while swinging on the chain would only lead to an uncontrolled fall onto a broken surface.

“Try not to swing the chain so much – you’re working the sickle loose,” Fadeyka called down.

“Well I’ll just flap my wings a bit to steady myself then, won’t I?” I called back sarcastically.

“Wait.  You have wings?  Why didn’t you mention that earlier?  You could have flown up here and not messed with the platform at all.”  Fadeyka was also being sarcastic, but it also sounded like she was doing something while talking.  I did my best to dampen the swinging I was doing, but there is only so much you can do when hanging at the end of a chain.  After a moment, she called out, “Hold on tight!”

The chain suddenly jerked sideways a bit.  If she hadn’t warned me, there is a very good chance my grip would have slipped right then and I would have fallen.

“OK, I’ve steadied it as best I can,” she called out, some strain in her voice.  You need to climb up now.”  After a pause she added, “Quickly!”

Remember that huge chain I was climbing down to rescue Fadeyka from the dwerro?  It had these huge links, each the size of my fist.  This provided plenty of very usable grips along the entire length.  Fadeyka’s chain sickle?  Small little links, barely the size of a peanut.  Plus they were periodically oiled, so pretty slick.  While I’m very acrobatic, climbing is not my stronge suit.  On the other hand, a 20-foot fall into sharp broken rubble as the alternative is an excellent motivator.  I took as deep a breath as the rock dust allowed and started climbing.

Climbing the first three feet of chain was slow.  The chain was slightly slippery to begin with, my sweaty hands were now making the climb…challenging.  At the three-foot mark, I reached the point where the chain touched the ceiling.  I pulled my body up under me and bracketed the weight on the end of the chain with my feet, allowing me to support my weight there instead of with my arms.  I paused a moment to catch my breath and rest my arms a bit.

Looking up, I could see the three more feet of chain pulled taut against the rock surface that separated the chamber above from the one below.  At the top of that was the hand-sickle part of Fadeyka’s chain sickle.  A strap was wrapped around it, holding the sickle against the stone face.  It took me a moment to recognize it as the arm strap from Fadeyka’s backpack.

It also caused a different thought in my head.  The falling debris should have knocked out the torch and yet I could see.  I looked down for the source of the light and saw a small, guttering light peeking out from one of the rubble piles.  I looked back up and called out, “Good news!”

“What?” Fadeyka asked, some strain in her voice.

“I found the everburning torch!”

That got a snort from Fadeyka.  “Congratulations.  Now finish climbing up here.  I can’t hold the sickle in place forever.”

Using my tenuous foothold on the end weight, I straightened my legs and stood up on it, gripping the chain above me as best I could.  This left my head just below the lip of the floor above.  I put my arms over the top and started feeling around for a good grip to pull myself up with.  There was a lot of loose debris.  At one point I found Fadeyka’s foot, braced against a slight lip around the opening.

“How are you doing that?” she asked.  “You don’t really have wings do you?  I thought you were being sarcastic.”

“I was,” I replied.  “I’m standing on the end weight.”

“Ah, that explains it,” Fadeyka said.  “Any chance of you getting up here soon?”

I had finally found a good grip and planted my hands.  “Yes.  Hold on to the sickle for just a bit longer.”  I then bent down slightly and vaulted up and over my hands, flipping over onto my back, right next to Fadeyka…and onto several very sharp and painful pieces of rubble.  “Ow,” was all I said.  I may have said it several times.

Fadeyka sat forward, unhooked her backpack strap from the sickle and pulled the chain sickle up.  She had been sitting, bracing her feet while leaning back and pulling on the backpack strap to keep the sickle from slipping free.

I judiciously rolled over to one side so I could at least sit upright.  The debris pile I was on shifted slightly as I moved and smaller pieces and dust slid down and over the edge, dropping to the floor below.  While my back hurt from being jabbed in multiple places by the debris, my armored jacket kept any of it from puncturing me.

As we were catching our breath, Fadeyka looked over to me with a grin and said, “I win the apples.”  This caught me off-guard and all I could do was laugh.  She joined in.

~*~

The noise of the platform failing and collapsing did draw the dwerro.  Luckily for us it had all collapsed right onto the door, blocking it.  We could hear them banging on the door for a while, trying to force it.  There were two other doors to the laboratory, but it would take a little while for the dwerro to circle around.  Once it sounded like they were doing that, Fadeyka and I quickly explored the chamber we were now in.

At one point in the past the dwarves must have used it as storage for forge materials.  There were coal hoppers for several grades of coal (according to what Fadeyka could read on the labels) and various metal ingots on shelves.  When the ceiling above collapsed, it crushed down on the upper portions of the shelving and hoppers.  Debris had filled the spaces between the shelves and the open space for the platform, but there were some relatively clear areas in the corners and on the lowest shelves where chunks of the ceiling failed to completely crush the vertical shelf supports.

This was lucky on our part as the entire reason we were here resided in one of those corners.  We carefully climbed over the debris to one of the sheltered corners and I consulted Aurelius’s journal, one of the pages with extensive notes in dagger-script.  There was just barely enough light here for me to read by.

Satisfied we were in the correct corner of the chamber, I turned to Fadeyka.  “This is the correct place,” I said.  “The next question is: do we get the treasure now or rest for a while and then get the treasure?  I favor resting first, so if the dwerro get up here they won’t know there’s treasure.”

Fadeyka thought about it a bit and then said, “You’re concerned they may have a way up here and we may have a repeat of the last time.”

“Actually, I’m more concerned with them learning there’s a hidden safe up here,” I replied.  “Keeping that secret is almost as important as what’s in it, especially if any of the delft are going to show up.”

“Why,” Fadeyka asked.

“Because…,” I started and then stopped.  I had good reasons, but I also had good reasons for keeping them a secret.  “Because it’s guild business,” I finally answered.

Fadeyka leaned back slightly, one eyebrow raised.  “Guild business,” she stated with a tone of skepticism in her voice.

“Yes, guild business,” I repeated.  I was unhappy keeping the secret from Fadeyka, but I wasn’t certain how much I should tell her.

Fadeyka was looking at me in a considering way.  She was still wearing the goggles, but I had the definite impression she was looking at all the throwing stars and daggers I carried on my person and the kinds of magical gear I carried.  “What kind of guild do you belong to, Epikydes?”  She seemed to have come to an answer of her own, one she did not like.

And that was a question I was not ready to answer.  At least not just yet.  So I decided to defer.  “I can’t give you all the specifics, but it’s an old guild that requires members to keep all of its secrets.  I can’t say more than that right now.”

Fadeyka clearly did not like that answer but decided to not push the point anymore.  “Then I think we need to get the treasure and get some distance from here.  Secret or no secret, if we wait until the dwerro get organized or just get larger numbers, we’ll be trapped up here and they will eventually work out a way to get to us.”

I was very relieved to get past the issue of what kind of guild I belonged to.  I trusted Fadeyka and did not like keeping secrets from her.  “OK, I’ll open it.”  I paused, realizing how bad my next words were going to sound.  “Um, I need you to turn around and face the other way.”

“What?”  Fadeyka’s voice went up in volume on that word.

“I need you to turn around and look the other way while I open the vault.”  I had a definite sinking feeling.

“Why, Epikydes?” she asked with some definite wariness in her voice.  “Why do I need to turn my back to you?”

I sighed.  I wasn’t past the point of which guild after all.  "I can't tell you," I said.  "Guild secrets are involved."

Fadeyka was clearly angry now.  "Which guild," Fadeyka demanded.  “Which guild do you belong to?”  When it was clear I wasn't going to answer, she crossed her arms and said, "Epikydes, if we are going any further on this, I need to know which guild you are working for.  If you won't tell me, then we are done here."

Looking at her face, I could tell she was angry about this and was really serious about not turning around.  I sighed again and reflexively looked around to see if anyone else was listening – a pointless thing to do here, but some habits die hard.  "The Imperial Cartographer's Guild," I said quietly.

Fadeyka blinked several times, clearly surprised by my answer.  "The who?"

"The Imperial Cartographer's Guild," I replied slightly louder in a more disgruntled voice.

Her crossed arms came down slightly and her head cocked slightly to one side.  "Epikydes, the Empire fell over 400 years ago and there hasn't been an Imperial Guild of any sort since the fall of the False Dynasty 150 years ago."

I stared at her for a moment and then reached into an interior pocket of my vest, under my armored coat.  I withdrew a small bundle wrapped in soft leather and then unwrapped it, exposing a silver badge of office.  I held it up so she could see.  "You are mostly correct.  Virtually all of the remaining Imperial Guilds were destroyed or abolished after they backed the False Dynasty's bid for power.  But NOT the Imperial Cartographer's Guild."

Fadeyka nearly laughed at my pronouncement.  "Look, Epikydes" Fadeyka said, barely containing her mirth, "Just because you found an old guild badge somewhere doesn't make you a member of that guild."

"Maybe, maybe not, but it will when I re-found the guild."  I was slightly nervous when I said that – it was the first time I had voiced my desire to re-found the Imperial Cartographer's Guild out loud.

Fadeyka outright laughed at my statement.  Loudly.  For a while.  I could feel the blush burning my cheeks while she laughed at me.

After a while, she was able to catch her breath enough to ask, "What...what makes you think it's a real badge?"

Rather than try and explain it to her, I simply turned to the wall and slid my guild badge into a concealed slot.  Once it was inside, several mechanical sounds could be heard and then a four-foot square section of wall was outlined in light.  Slowly and silently, that section of wall swung open, revealing it to be three feet thick.  Behind this door was a small vault containing a couple chests, several bags of coins, and some glowing gems set in niches on the sides.

I turned back to Fadeyka and said, "Because it opens Imperial Cartographer's Guild emergency vaults."  She was no longer laughing.

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three

Copyright Patrick J. Walsh 2014. All rights reserved.

Chapter 4 Delayed due to Job Interviews

So I had a series of job interviews yesterday for a potential new job.  Think I did well, but won't get an answer until next week.

Needless to say, prepping for that consumed a lot of brain matter and I forgot to upload the next chapter to auto-post this morning.  I'll upload it tonight and it should appear tomorrow morning.

Sorry about that.

Epikydes Underground - Chapter Three

“This can’t be good,” Fadeyka said.

We were standing in front of the entrance to either servant’s quarters or a cluster of domestic repair shops.  It was difficult to tell due to the heavy soot on the ceiling and walls and the immense pile of ash in front of the melted metal doors to the cluster of chambers.  When the Doric Horde invaded these halls long ago, some of the dwarves apparently barricaded themselves in these chambers.  The attackers had created a great fire in front of the doors and made it hot enough that the stone softened and the metal bindings melted and ran.

“How would you even do that,” I quietly asked out loud, not really expecting an answer.

“They turned this courtyard area into a primitive blast furnace,” Fadeyka answered, equally as quiet.  “They forced air down the corridor we walked down to get here and it exited through this side passage.  Once it got started, the dwarves couldn’t open the gates to do anything about it or the flames and fumes would have flooded over them.”  I looked over at Fadeyka and raised an eyebrow.  “You’re not the only one who knows unexpected things, Epikydes,” she replied to my unspoken question.

“Fair point,” I replied.  “And it is one of the reasons I asked you to come here with me.”  I started pulling out my map to check it again, but it was tricky to do while holding the candle I was using as a light source.

“Yes, I do recall you mentioning that you wanted someone smarter than you to back you up.”  She stepped over to me and took the candle out of my left hand, allowing me to pull out the map and check it without struggling.  There may have been some subtext there, but I was focused on the map.

“I meant every word of it,” I replied, opening the map and then holding it so I could read it by the candle light.  Fadeyka moved the candle to help and so she could see the map as well.  “Looks like we are going to have to go through here,: I said.  “That side passage heads the wrong way and this is a dead end otherwise.”

Fadeyka looked up from the map and into the soot covered ruins we were going to have to transverse.  “I wish you hadn’t said it that way.”

“Why,” I asked as I started folding the map back up.

“Getting here was almost too easy.  The dwerro never came up to these passages, even though we could hear them searching down on the main level.  I’m concerned there might be a reason for that.”  She was still staring into the blackened ruins, a look of concern on her face.

I took the candle back from her, noting it still had another hour or so left on it.  “You mean like they remember something bad happened here and avoid the bad luck,” I asked hopefully.

She pulled out the jade moon medallion that was the symbol of her faith with one hand and then readied her chain sickle in the other.  “If that’s all it is, I think we will be very lucky.”

I thought back on the events that got us here and then started readying my weapons as well.  This had not been a trip overflowing with luck.

~*~

The inner courtyard was covered with soot, as were the side passages and shops immediately off the courtyard.  There were signs the entry doors had been subject to hasty reinforcement, but apparently it had not been enough.

We walked without talking, trying to make as little noise as possible.  This was easier for me than Fadeyka as the armored jacket I wore was designed to be quiet and I had training in moving silently.  Fadeyka on the other hand wore chainmail and as quietly as she tried to step, it still made slight metal-on-metal noises as she moved.  Anywhere else but here and it might not have been noticeable, but here the soft metal noises seemed to carry and echo.

We made it past the entry courtyard area and started walking along a ten-foot wide passage that led deeper into the cluster of chambers.  The walls were not as soot covered here, but the ceiling was streaked with it.  We were starting to breathe easier and slightly picking up our pace as we passed broken down doors to storage areas on either side of us.  Then we heard the sound – Fwoomp – followed by a soft crackling noise.

I turned to look at Fadeyka and silently mouthed, “What was that?”  She shrugged and pointed towards a storage area to the left and slightly ahead of us, indicating that was where she thought the sound came from.  A flickering light could now be seen lighting the open doorway.

I used hand gestures to suggest we move along the wall to the right, away from the now lit doorway.  Fadeyka nodded agreement and we resumed slowly moving down the passageway.

As we came even with the doorway on our left, we could see into the storage room.  It once had shelving on the walls and down the center of the room to hold small crates and maybe furniture.  It was now a fire-scarred ruin.  The source of the light was a short stocky skeleton of a dwarf, flames licking its bones, shuffling around the debris that now filled the room.  Everything it touched immediately caught fire.

Then it saw us.

It turned to face us and made to bellow, its exposed ribs creaking and popping as they flexed.  The sound that came out was the whistling shriek of steam escaping from a wet log thrown onto a roaring fire.  The small licks of flame along its bones bloomed into a full aurora of flames and I could feel the sudden wash of heat from over 30 feet away.  Then it moved towards us.

I’ll be honest – I was ready to bolt out of there and already taking my first steps.  Fadeyka, on the other hand, held out her jade moon medallion and said in a firm voice, “In the name of Armea Gris I compel you to back to your eternal slumber!”  Her medallion flashed with a green glow that slammed into the burning skeleton, cracking bones and driving it back into the storage room, where it collapsed and went out.

I’m pretty sure my mouth was hanging open at that point as I had to close my mouth before I could say, “Wow.”

The jade of Fadeyka’s medallion still glowed with an internal radiance.  Her eyes were also glowing as they did when she channeled the power of the goddess she served, the light leaking out around the goggles she was wearing.  “We need to hurry now,” she said as she started walking past me.

“Why?” I asked, stepping quickly to follow her.  “You just smacked that bag of bones down.”

“Two reasons,” she replied.  She held one finger up as I caught up with her.  “One, it takes a little bit before I can do that again.  Two,” she held up another finger, “There’s a very good chance that…”

Behind us we heard: Fwoomp, Fwoomp, Fwoomp, followed by a now familiar crackling noise.

“…There may be more of those burning revenants.”  Then we heard the Fwoomp noise several more times ahead of us.  “Many more of them.”

We came to a T-intersection and paused.  The walls down either passage had doorways spaced evenly along them; several now had firelight emanating from them.  I thought back to what was on my map and then pointed down the right-hand corridor.  “The laboratory is in this general direction, so there should be an exit this way.”

“Why?  I thought you had no maps of this area?”  We started moving in the direction I indicated.

“I don’t, but if there’s no exit this way…”

“…Then we get to join the burning undead,” Fadeyka concluded my sentence.

“There is one good about this,” I said.  Up ahead we could hear the steam-shriek of several revenants calling to each other and the temperature in the corridor rose noticeably.

“What’s that?” Fadeyka asked as we started running.

“When they attack, I won’t have to hold onto this candle in order to see.”

“Ha!” Fadeyka laughed as we turned a corner to the left.  Two burning revenants stepped out into the corridor behind us and started pursuing us.  “Always looking at the bright side I see.”

I groaned at her joke, but didn’t stop running.  Up ahead I could just make out another intersection with some piles of rubble in it.  Hopefully one of the branches led to the way out of this cluster of chambers.  Then two of the “rubble piles” ignited with a Fwoomp and started standing up.

We slowed from an all-out run, but kept approaching the intersection.  I willed the star blade into a throw-able configuration and flung it at one of the burning revenants.  The star blade clicked into the proper configuration in flight and then smashed the bones apart before the revenant could fully assemble.  After the strike, the star blade looped back to my hand and I caught it.  One of the many advantages of a magical throwing weapon.

Fadeyka once again held forth her jade moon medallion and a bright ray of green light leapt forth, lancing the remaining revenant, cracking bones.  The revenant staggered, but did not fall.  It’s aurora of flame rose up around it, but I noticed there were sparks of green amongst the flames.

“Yours is still standing,” I said, stating the obvious as it moved to attack me.

“I know, but I want to keep the channeling ready in case there are more.  Plus it should be easier for you to hit now.”

It swung at me with an arm like an inferno.  It failed to connect (barely), but the heat from the flames was wilting none-the-less.  The candle I was holding completely melted and went out and the air I breathed in seared my lungs.  I was much too close to it for comfort, no matter how you defined it.

“Easier to hit?  All I have to do is stand still and I can hit it with my face.”  I took a quick step back to give me enough room to throw the star blade again and did so.  The star blade smashed apart the remaining bones, which fell to the ground, flames quickly dying out (but not before I safely caught the returning star blade).  I slumped down to one knee with a groan I hadn’t intended on letting out.

“Epikydes?  Are you alright?”  Fadeyka asked.  I could just make out her silhouette as she moved over and crouched next to me, backlit by four burning revenants that came around the corner down the corridor behind us.

“Mostly,” I croaked.  “It’s a little difficult to breathe – I can’t quite catch a full breathe.”

“Let me help,” she said.  Her jade moon medallion glowed again, but this time, instead of striking an enemy, Fadeyka said a word and the glow enveloped me.  Immediately the tightness in my chest dissolved and I could breathe again.  The stinging in my hand where the molten wax had poured across it also eased to nothing as the green glow faded away.  I immediately started slapping at my belt pouches, searching them by touch.  “What are you doing?” Fadeyka asked.

“Looking for my flint and steel so I can light another candle and we can get out of here.”  I found and pulled them out and then went to the pouch containing my candles – it squished.  “Crap,” I said.

“Your candles are melted,” Fadeyka stated.

“My candles are melted,” I confirmed.

“Well I have a couple torches,” Fadeyka contributed.  “If you use them right, I think you could light one off of those fellows,” she said while gesturing towards the approaching revenants.

The light was now bright enough for me to see where she was gesturing and despite myself, I snickered.  “Sure,” I said.  “I’ll just go hit them up for a light.”  I stashed my flint and steel again and Fadeyka and I stood up together.  We were both looking at the four approaching revenants and grinning at them.  “Has anyone ever questioned the wisdom of the priesthood of Armea Gris?”

“Well, we are followers of the Adventuring Goddess of Magic,” Fadeyka replied.

“That would be a ‘yes’, wouldn’t it,” I stated, still grinning.

“Do you want a torch or not,” she asked.  She was still amused, but I might have been getting to the edge of this little comedy routine.

“Yes.  Yes I do,” I answered with a more serious bent to my voice.  I reached over to her backpack and removed one of the three-foot torches still strapped there.  I looked at the revenants and said, “We take down the first three and then try and light it off the last one?”

Fadeyka was about to agree when we heard the unmistakable Fwoomp sounds of more revenants activating off to our left.  We looked down the side passage and saw three more burning revenants forming in a courtyard down that direction.  We could also see the partially destroyed gates of the exit.  “How about we take out all four of these,” Fadeyka said, gesturing at the four pursuing us, “then two of those, and then light it off the last one.”

“That sounds like a plan, but we need to hurry before we fight all seven at once.”

“Agreed,” Fadeyka replied.  “Let me attempt to turn all four of these first, then you clean up any stragglers?”

I sheathed the star blade, stuck the torch handle-up in a bit of rubble, and readied my throwing stars.  “Deal,” was all I said.

By that point the intersection was fully lit from the four revenants almost on us.  Fadeyka held forth her jade moon medallion and again said the words, “In the name of Armea Gris I compel you to back to your eternal slumber!”  Again the green glow slammed into the revenants, cracking their bones and driving them back.  All four blew apart into an intermingled carpet of burnt bones and their flames blew out.

I blinked a couple of times and then turned to the second group.  They started to stagger closer to us, but were not fully moving yet.  “Change of plans,” I said.  “Let me weaken these instead and then you start picking them off,” I called as I moved forward.  I then started throwing a flurry of blades, filling the area and hitting all three revenants multiple times in multiple joints.  While clearly damaged, none were completely destroyed.  They staggered towards me, but did not catch me before I fell back to the intersection with Fadeyka.

“I will never again poke fun at you for packing so many of those,” was all Fadeyka said before lancing one of the revenants with a bright green blast from her medallion, destroying her target.

I grabbed the torch from where it was standing and readied it like a club.  “You take the one on the right; I’ll try to light this off the one on the left when I smash it to pieces.”

“Agreed,” Fadeyka said as the last two revenants closed on us.

I charged the revenant on the left, acrobatically rolling around behind it at the last second and swinging with all I had.  The heat near the thing was nearly unbearable, but I connected with the torch, shattering the bones.  At almost the same time, Fadeyka blasted the other revenant with a lance of green light.

I did my best to hold the torch head in the rapidly dying flames from the revenant and was rewarded by the crackle of the torch lighting.  I stepped back from the remains, pulling in some (slightly) cooler air as I caught my breath.

Fadeyka walked up to me, panting slightly herself and grinning.  “That wasn’t too bad,” she said.  “Want to stick around and clear out the rest of them?”

“Nope,” I replied.  “I’ve had enough of fighting the undead.  Help me find my throwing stars real quick and then let’s get out of here.”

She chuckled to herself as we picked up as many of my throwing stars as we could quickly find and left through the exit.

Chapter One
Chapter Two

Copyright Patrick J. Walsh 2014.  All rights reserved.

Epikydes Underground - Chapter Two

After sleeping for several hours (I don’t know how many – we’re underground and I didn't bring enough candles to waste one while we sleep simply for timekeeping), we ate a quick meal and prepared to exit our little hiding hole.  While Fadeyka said her morning prayers, using the links of her chain sickle as prayer beads, I opened Aurelius’s journal to the section describing this complex of underground ruins, my own journal to the notes I had taken about the ruins while looking for Fadeyka, and the hand-drawn map I put together from various sources.  I started updating my map with the new information using a charcoal pencil.

By the time I was done updating my map, Fadeyka was completing her morning prayers.  Her eyes glowed a pale green as she finished, as they always did after she communed with the goddess.  The glow would subside in a bit and it unnerved many people, but I liked the look.  “You’re starring again,” Fadeyka said.

I quickly looked back to my map.  “Sorry.”  I could feel the blush on my face and was hoping that Fadeyka could not see it in the candle light.

She coiled her chain sickle and hung it on the hook on her belt.  She then stood up and walked over next to me at the table where the two journals and the map were laid out.  I was still pretending to look over the map, avoiding looking at her until I was more confident my blush was under control.  “You’re not bothered by the Light of the Goddess, are you,” she asked.  She was clearly talking about her eyes glowing.

I thought about pretending I hadn't noticed, but I obviously had, so I decided truth would be a better idea.  “No,” I said, and then quickly added, “I think it looks…”  I waved my hand a bit before lamely ending, “…Good.”  I looked up to see how she was responding to that.

She was looking at me with a contemplative face, the glow in her eyes slowly fading.  I think she was trying to determine if I meant what I was saying.  After a couple of seconds she nodded her head and looked at the map.  “Do you have a good path back to the Laboratory?”

I cleared my throat and said, “Almost.  These upper passages we’re in seem to be maintenance or servant passages.  They’re all full of dust, so the dwerro don’t seem to be using them.”

“But they might if they decide that is how I escaped,” Fadeyka added.

“Right,” I agreed.  “So we should be able to follow these passages along what Aurelius calls the Great Hall in his journal.”  I indicated the passages on my map.  “The problem is that I didn’t have time to go down there and look, so I don’t know what’s down there or if they connect to similar passages near the Laboratory.”

“There is only one way to find out and it’s better than going down to the main level where the dwerro are,” Fadeyka replied.

“My thinking as well,” I agreed.  “Shall we?”

“Yes.”  She started to pick up her backpack and then suddenly stopped.  “Wait!  How am I going to see once we leave here?”

“My goggles,” I said, handing them over to her.  “I only have one set, but I can see just as well by candlelight, so we’ll have to chance a little light.”

Fadeyka took the googles from me, looking at them and then at me with some concern on her face.  “Is that going to be safe?  Won’t it slow us down?”

“We should be able to move just as well as when we had the torch – it’s one of the few gifts my father gave me.”  Elves can see just as well in low light as in bright daylight and my father, whoever he was, was an elf and I inherited that ability.  I started packing away the journals and the map.

That seemed to satisfy Fadeyka’s concerns.  “I keep forgetting you’re half-elven – you tend hide it.”

“It helps people underestimate me, which gives me an advantage when I want it.”  I finished putting away my things and latched my haversack closed.  “Plus, strangers are less wary around a kid than someone with enough years to be an adult.  It’s gotten me the occasional hot soup and shelter from the rain that I might not have received otherwise.”

“You are entirely too young to be that cynical,” Fadeyka replied.  She was shouldering her backpack and putting on the darkvision goggles.

“I’m not being cynical, just practical,” I said, shouldering my haversack.  “I've spent a lot of time traveling alone and appreciate the kindnesses I receive.  I usually help out to return the favor, but try to get out before anyone decides I’d be the perfect husband for their daughter or niece or anything.”  Fadeyka snorted at that.  “No, really!  That was one of the first things I learned on the road.  Every farm is looking for another hand to work the farm and they think marriage is the best way to get one that you don’t have to pay too much because now they’re family.”

Fadeyka looked at me with a mix of curiosity and humor, mostly humor.  “Are you saying you’re secretly married somewhere and ran off from your new bride?”

“No, thank the gods,” I replied, “But I did once overhear secret wedding plans being made for me.  They were just waiting for the justice of the peace to arrive the next day before confronting me about ‘courting’ their ugly niece.  I left that night, hiking as fast and as far as I could.”

Fadeyka chuckled at that and then said, “Well on that uplifting note, shall we start?”

“Yes, let’s,” I answered.

Chapter One

Copyright Patrick J. Walsh 2014. All rights reserved.

Epikydes Underground - Chapter One

I would have asked myself how I got here, but I already knew the answer: wondering what the dagger-script passages in Aurelius’s journal said.

By “here” I mean carefully climbing (head first!) down a long length of chain to the cage where Fadeyka was locked up, prisoner of the dwerro.  The chain went up to the ceiling of a phosphorescent fungus-lit cave, through a pulley, and down to a huge winch (that’s “winch” not “wench”).  Sitting around that winch were several dwerro, ostensibly guarding it (but really playing Liar’s Dice for Fadeyka’s clothes – I think, my ability to understand degenerate dwarves with a tendency to babble is not high).  This is why I was freeing Fadeyka the hard way.  Luckily, I found a passage for servicing the pulley on the ceiling, which, by the way, had not seen use anytime recently as the caked dust was thick and I had to move slow to avoid causing myself to sneeze.

Now a bold man would call Fadeyka a comely wench, even with the extensive henna tattoo work, but he’d better duck quickly afterward or she’d knock the leer off his face with her chain sickle.  I call her “an excellent example of an adventuring priestess of Armea Gris, the adventuring goddess of magic,” which is to say: she’s very fit, has nice curves, and a chip on her shoulder about people who see only her body, not her well-trained mind.  Which is how I talked her into this expedition – I told her I needed someone smarter and more knowledgeable than me to back me up.  Well, that plus providing an opportunity to leave Coldpond right after she’d wrecked the village’s only tavern (due to some grope-y patrons).  The town guard closing in significantly helped make my case.  Timing is everything.

Me?  My name is Epikydes.  I’m half-elven, unlike Fadeyka who is full human.  Also unlike her long straight black hair and green eyes, I have shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes with a little green in them.  I’m only a little taller than Fadeyka, but she’s tall for a woman in these parts (at least that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it).

Right then, however, I was slowly climbing down this chain to free her.  Luckily the chain had not been oiled in quite some time, providing me with a much better grip.  Grip is important when one is climbing down a chain over a deep, wide, spiked pit.  The downside was that the chain creaked if I moved it too much, so I had to climb down slowly.  My arms were not happy.

While I was moving slow enough to keep the chain from making noise, I couldn't keep it from making any motion at all and the vibrations on the chain warned Fadeyka that something was up.  She spotted me in the gloom and adjusted her seating position so she could watch the dwerro guards and check my progress with minimal motion, reducing the chance of attracting the guards’ attention.  I wish she hadn't – it gave me a great view down her blouse.  Did I mention “curves”?  Very distracting.

When I (finally) reached the cage, I pulled a vial of oil out of a belt pouch and applied it to the hinge where the chain attached to the cage.  Fadeyka shot me a look when some of it dripped on her leg, but said nothing.

Once the hinge was oiled, I slowly let myself down onto the cage and let out a quiet sigh when it made no noise.  The cage was about five feet on each side, made of a grid of iron bars.  The pit underneath the cage was thirty feet in diameter.  A thinner chain connected the side of the cage to the edge of the pit, allowing the dwerro to pull the cage over when they wanted to put someone in it or take them out.

I reached into a different pouch and pulled out a jade medallion shaped like one of the moons, the symbol of Fadeyka’s faith, and carefully handed it to her through the cage bars.  She was clearly pleased to see it again.  One of the dwerro had taken it from her as a trophy when she was captured.  I later relieved him of it and any other burdens he might have been carrying.  I cleaned all the blood off of it with some holy water before trying this rescue.  Priests get finicky about things like that.

Next was the tricky part.  I climbed out over the side of the cage to get at the locking mechanism for the small door on the side.  Fadeyka moved back to the far side of the cage to balance the weight and keep the cage from moving too much.  It’s that kind of thinking on her part that makes me really glad to have her on this trip.

Long story-short, I picked the locks, oiled the hinges, and silently opened the cage door.  After a little careful climbing we were both on top of the cage.  We had a short pantomime conversation about climbing up and who would go first and then she started climbing.  I’d like to say something nice about myself here, but the truth is, my arms were tired and I wanted to rest them a little longer before making the climb up.  Once she was half way up the chain I followed.

There was a sticky bit when she got to the top and stepped into the service passage, which shook the chain a lot.  It caused the now unlocked cage door to slowly reopen.  I decided to speed climb the last ten feet rather than get caught on the chain by the guards – they had crossbows and my armored coat was up in the service passage.  This caused more movement of the cage and the cage door started to swing back closed just as I made even with the service passage.  Fadeyka grabbed me and pulled me to her and into the service passage (and out of sight) just as the cage door slammed shut, alerting the guards.

(Did I mention Fadeyka was stronger than me?  There’s a reason the adventuring priestesses of Armea Gris are called “Moon Amazons”, just like there is a reason they are rarely called that to their faces and never more than once.)

We stood in the shadows of the access passage, trying to quietly catch our breath while Fadeyka listened to the babble of the guards.  She understood dwarven-speak, which seemed to also apply to crazy-degenerate-dwarven-speak.  After a few moments she leaned over and whispered into my ear, “They’re trying to figure out whether I teleported or turned invisible and who has to pull the cage over to check.  We should be safe for a short while.  Did you bring any food or water?”

“Yes to both,” I whispered back.  “They’re about twenty feet back in my haversack.”

“Great!  I’m famished,” she whispered in reply before releasing me and making her way down the passage.  She took two steps and then stopped.  “You’re going to have to lead me,” she quietly stated.  “I can’t see in here.”

“What?  Oh, right!”  I had been wearing my darkvision goggles for so long I had forgotten about them and this passage did not have enough light for Fadeyka to see by.  I stepped over to her and placed her right hand on my left shoulder.  “OK, small steps, straight ahead,” I instructed quietly.  “There are no stairs, but it does slope downward and the dust is kind of thick.”

We made it to the niche where I had stashed most of my gear.  I pulled out some deer jerky and a waterskin and put them in Fadeyka’s hands so she could eat and drink while I put on my gear.  It had been something close to a day since Fadeyka had been captured and she quickly finished off the deer meat and drank much of the water by the time I was ready to move.

“So what’s our plan?” Fadeyka asked.

“The tunnels around here seem to be unused and I found a room nearby with a concealed door.  We can hold up there while we rest and get some sleep.  After that, we can do some real planning.”

“Are we going to continue on or find our way back to the surface?”

This was a fair question and Fadeyka had every right to an answer, but I…wasn’t certain yet.  I sighed.  “I haven’t decided yet.  I haven’t slept in over a day and have been scouting extremely hostile territory trying to find and rescue you.”  My voice was starting to get a little querulous from the strain so I stopped and took a deep breath.  “I’d really like to get some sleep before making that decision.”

Fadeyka was clearly not pleased with the answer, but nodded.  “OK.  We put that off until we both get some sleep.”  She took a final pull from the water skin before concluding, “But tomorrow we will discuss this until we reach a decision.”

“Deal.”

~*~

The hidden room was only a short distance away, but it was past a spiral staircase leading back down to where the dwerro were active.  We could faintly hear the dwerro guards starting to call out an alarm, which echoed up the stairs as we moved past them.  Fadeyka tensed up but continued walking, following my lead.

The hidden room was accessed through a door concealed in an elaborate geometrical wall carving.  I would have missed it entirely when I came this way earlier, but I noticed parts of the pattern formed the word “rest” in dagger-script and looked closer.  Now I knew exactly which part of the carving to lift on and the door silently swung into the room (I’d taken the time to oil the hinges earlier – handy stuff oil is).

I helped Fadeyka over the high step into the hidden room before climbing in myself and closing and bolting the door behind us.  I pulled a candle and my flint, steel, and kindling from a belt pouch (yes, I have several belt pouches) and said, “I’m about to light a candle.”  Fadeyka nodded and turned her head away while I lit the candle.  Once it was lit, I lifted my goggles up to my forehead and moved the candle to an old candle holder.  The room was once fairly cozy, with a writing desk, some bunk beds, and three small barrels that once held…something – they were dry now.  The table was rickety and I didn't trust the bunks to support any weight, but there was floor space to sleep on and the door was concealed.

“This is an interesting little place,” Fadeyka commented.  “How did you find it?”

“Dagger-script hidden in the patterns of the wall carving.”  I stepped over to the desk and set my haversack down on it and started pulling stuff out of it.  “I was able to rescue a lot of your stuff from the dwerro, but not all of it.”  I set out her backpack (heavily damaged as the dwerro tore it apart to get at the contents), her books (scuffed but still intact), and some of her miscellaneous gear, including most of her bedroll.  “They ate all the food they found and drank the water, but…”

“…seeing how I've been providing us food and water through a ritual, that’s not a major problem,” Fadeyka finished my sentence as she walked over to examine the items I’d laid on the desk.  “My books and gear are OK, if damaged, but my backpack is a loss and you don’t seem to have my weapons.”

I smiled mischievously and replied, “As is so happens…”  I reached into my haversack and pulled out her chain sickle.  She was suitable pleased to see it and eagerly took it from my hands.  “Unfortunately, they liked your daggers and crossbow so much they ditched their own and kept yours.  I can give you two of my daggers to replace yours, but I don’t have a spare crossbow on me.”

“Really?”  She smiled lopsidedly at me.  “You seem to have everything else in that haversack.”

I grinned back.  “It is handy.”  She groaned slightly at my pun.  Handy haversacks are appropriately named, being magically larger on the inside than they are on the outside and a fixed (low) weight no matter how heavy the items you placed inside were.  It was a solid investment, even though it had cost me nearly all the money I had at the time.  “I can fix your back pack, so that won’t be a problem either.”

Fadeyka looked at the torn remains of her back pack and then back at me with a raised eye brow.  “Oh I see.  That handy with a needle and thread are you?”  Her voice was full of doubt.

“No.”  I reached into my haversack and pulled out another book, one whose cover was made of leather tree leaves stitched together, vaguely suggesting a face.  “But you aren't the only one to know a ritual or two.”

This clearly surprised her.  “I know you have several magic items, including that star blade of yours, but I had no idea you had studied the arcane, Epikydes.  When did this happen?”  There was sly humor in her voice.

Fadeyka's question and the book in my hands brought back some unbidden and unpleasant memories.  I’m sure I made a face, because the humor dropped out of Fadeyka's expression.  After a moment, I responded, “It happened when I was young.  I learned what I had to in order to…do what I had to do.”  I barely got the last part out through clenched teeth.  I realized how hard I was gripping the book and took a deep breath to let out the tension.

Fadeyka looked at me with an evaluating face and then asked, “Epikydes, you’re only a kid…”

“I’m 18,” I interrupted.

“Fine, 18,” she conceded.  “How long ago was this and is there anything I should be aware of regarding your past possibly showing up?”

I smiled a grin that was not nice and said, “Oh no.  Nothing to worry about there – my timing assured that.  You are completely safe from that.”  I really should not have smiled like that at her, but it was difficult to keep that dark triumph under wraps.

Fadeyka was clearly not happy with my answer or the grin that went with it.  She decided to leave that alone and try a different tack.  “OK, then.  You still haven’t answered my other question.”

I had to stop and think a bit on the answer, remembering past all the adventuring that had brought me here.  “Um, about four, maybe four and a half years ago?”  I scratched my head.  “Something like that.  That’s when I, uh, ended my apprenticeship and came north.”  Fadeyka was still staring at me, which was starting to make me a bit nervous.  “So anyways,” I said, a bit too loudly, “I can fix your back pack good as new.”  She kept staring at me.  “I’ll, um, I’ll just get started on it then.”  I pulled a small satchel out of my haversack, gathered up the remains of her back pack, moved around her while she continued to stare at me, and then over to an empty space on the floor.

According to the notches in the candle, it took me about a half an hour to lay out the shredded remains of the back pack and get all the pieces properly marked for the ritual (damn those destructive dwerro, the ritual normally only takes ten minutes).  During that time, Fadeyka set her bedroll next to me to be repaired as well and then started a different ritual, Travelers’ Feast.  By the time I finished mending both the back pack and the bedroll, Fadeyka was finishing her ritual.  A green glow infused the space above a blanket she had spread out on the floor.  As she said the final words of the ritual, the green glow coalesced over the blanket, resolving into a day’s worth of food in the form of dried meats, some cheese, a few hard rolls, a couple apples, and a large skin of water.  I waited until Fadeyka offered thanks to Armea Gris before reaching for any of the food.

As we were both hungry, we ate in silence for a short time before Fadeyka restarted the conversation.  “Epikydes, thank you for rescuing me.”

I smiled, partly from pride at pulling it off and partly from embarrassment at being thanked.  “Um, sure.  I’m sure you would have done the same for me.”

“Probably.”  She smiled to show she wasn’t being entirely serious.  “But then I wouldn't have pulled that lever ‘just to see what it would do’, either.”

“That’s entirely unfair,” I started with a little heat in my voice.  “There’s no way I could have known the lever would release all that debris into the room.  It clearly was supposed to lift the center of the floor up into the next room – it’s not my fault that that room was full of debris from a collapse.”  This was a sore point for me – the falling debris had nearly flattened us.  As it was, the everburning torch we had been using was buried under the rocks and by the time we had recovered, the dwerro had arrived and attacked.  I had been lucky to escape, but Fadeyka was knocked unconscious in the fight and captured.  I spent the following day hiding from the dwerro and working out how to rescue Fadeyka.

“OK, OK,” Fadeyka held up her hands as though fending off my words.  “But I believe I did suggest we stand to the side the first time we pulled the lever.”

I really had no argument against that – she had.  “Fair point,” I conceded, deflating somewhat.

“So next time you’ll listen to what I have to say and actually give it some consideration?”  As lightly as it was asked, it really wasn’t a question.

“Yes, Fadeyka, I will.”  Suddenly I wasn’t really hungry anymore and felt very tired.  To give myself something to do, I started packing up the rest of the food, split evenly between her backpack and my haversack.

“Epikydes.”

“Yes, Fadeyka?”

“Stop packing for a moment and look at me,” she requested.  I did so.  She had an earnest look on her face.  “I want you to know that I don’t blame you for me being captured.  It was bad luck on our part that the dwerro were that close.”  She leaned forward slightly.  “If you had not left when I told you to, we would have both been captured with no one to rescue us.”

I bit my lower lip nervously before speaking, “Maybe so, but…”

“No ‘buts’.  If you had stayed and kept fighting we would both be locked in that cage,” Fadeyka insisted, pointing in the general direction of the cage.  A slight grin lifted one corner of her mouth.  “Instead, we have this lovely palace to rest in,” she gestured to the small room we were in, “and the freedom to plan where we are going next.”  She sat back a little before concluding more seriously, “You did the right and necessary thing.”

I still felt bad for leaving her to the dwerro, even at her insistence when the fight started going against us.  “I’m willing to accept it was the necessary thing to do,” I said quietly, “But I still don’t like it.”

“I know that and I’m glad that leaving your adventuring partner during a fight is not an easy thing,” she said with a note of humor in her voice.  “Armea Gris teaches us that the road is not always easy to travel, sometimes it is quite difficult, but if you pay attention and step smartly the trip is always worth taking.”

I wasn't certain what to say.  Fadeyka had switched into her role as priestess and I knew what she was saying made sense, but I still had trouble with it.  I felt deeply ashamed at nearly getting her killed twice and captured once and it was my sense of responsibility that drove me to rescuing her.  Now that I’d done so, I still had my doubts about my ability to make decisions and the wisdom of coming down here.

I think Fadeyka could guess what I was thinking from looking at my face because she said with a serious voice, “Epikydes, you came back and rescued me on your own and, so far, we've gotten away from my captors.  We have our lives, most of our gear, and a safe place to rest due to your actions.  You've done all the right things after some bad luck.  I agreed to this delve because you had done the research and had a good plan.  We may need a new plan now, but the original plan was still good.”

I thought for a moment.  “So…you’re still willing to continue?”

Now it was her turn to sit back and think, putting one hand on her chin.  “We’re deeper in the complex now than we planned,” she said, thinking out loud.  “The dwerro will probably keep looking for us for the next few days, which means we will need to avoid them and we have to be out of here in four days, maximum.”

I was puzzled.  “Why the four day limit?”

“Because in five days a delft slave trading group from the Deeps will arrive here, looking for a priestess of Armea Gris the dwerro promised them.  I don’t want to be anywhere in these ruins when they get here.”

A shiver crawled down my spine.  I had personal experience with how sly and vicious the dark elves could be and never wanted to repeat that experience.  “Four days it is,” I said.  “Three if we can swing it.”

“That would be preferred,” Fadeyka agreed.

Copyright Patrick J. Walsh 2014.  All rights reserved.