In the darkness of the labyrinth below the ground a young woman fought the beasts that rose to stop her at every turn. Skeletal warriors marched in unison towards her in quick strides. Pulling the Mithril kriss blades from their scabbards she began to fight off the putrid smelling skeletons. Crack of bone shattered the stillness of the dank halls, illuminated by a fallen torch. A few more skeletons and now she can rest. Raena rested against a fallen brick, leaning against the wall breathing heavily. There, out of the corner of her eye she sees a doorway with electric blue light emanating from beneath the wood of the door. Stabbing her blades into the floor, she pulled herself up. Wrenching them free, the young woman sheathed her blades and went to pick up her torch. Holding the light high she walked towards the door, excitement building with every step. Reaching the door, she found that the lock was rusted beyond belief so decided to break the door. With a deep breath, she slammed her shoulder into the wood and felt it give a little. One more push and the door cracked free from the lock and opened with a groan. Bringing the torch in to the room first she looked what lay beyond."Books!" she squealed with delight and went to the closest shelf and ran her fingers over the spines as she walked the length of the room."Transfiguration, Regeneration, Chain lightening, Wow, I need this one." she said as she pulled the book from the shelf in a plume of dust.
Red leather bound pages yellowed with age, written by a powerful mage that had once lived down here in the labyrinth of tunnels that stretched for miles and miles below the Earth. Shivering, she pulls her cloak up about her to warm her weary bones and begins to read the book. When all of a sudden! she feels the hair on the back of her neck stand up as a clank of metal falls in the corner. Placing the book in her satchel she gets up and looks in the corner to see what had fallen. There , glistening in the fire light from the torch was the most beautiful medallion she had ever seen. It was a three inch long silver tear drop with a large Onyx scarab in the center. Runes and Hieroglyphs etched around the edge that began to reconfigure as she touched the silver. The scarab began to spin and stopped with it's head pointed to the left. Gathering the long chain up she placed it around her neck and removed her cloak and placed it in her bag. Reaching inside her bag for her silver dust she threw it into the air." Shamanch rhie rhom" she spoke and a large green portal opened up and Raena walked into it. She spun around with a great force and slammed into the ground outside of the labyrinth. Sitting up slowly she gathered up her things and rose from the ground. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her cloak and slung it over her shoulders and adjusted the clasp so that it would hang right.
Slowly, she began to walk back to town against he wind. Angry gusts whipped her cloak about her and she struggled to keep the hood up when she crested the hill. Looking down below her she saw the town of Hill Top. Houses and farms, stores and stables spotted along the valley floor. To her left about ten yards away was Hill Top Inn. She could smell the roasted meat in the air and realized she was quite hungry and decided to pop in and see Old Rosie. She and her husband Tom had owned the inn for several years and were very close friends.
As she clicked the latch on the door, a gust of wind came by and ripped the handle from Raena's hand slamming it into the wall inside. Rosie looked up and smiled," Raena, it's good to see you child. Come warm yourself by the fire. Veldon, Veldon, come shut the door please."She said as she waved her hand towards the door. The cranky old dwarf got up from his roast pork muttering under his breath and went to close the door as Raena seated herself down by the fire. removing her cloak, she rubbed her hands together next to the flames. Rosie came towards her carrying a platter of meat and veggies roasted to perfection. "Eat ,girl, it will give you strength,you are far too thin, eat, eat." Raena smiled and pulled the small knife from her boot and cut a piece of the juicy meat and put it into her mouth and began to chew. She closed her eyes as she savored the taste and then swallowed it down with a bit of ale. Her tall frame was by no means too small. Her long red hair fell almost to her waist and her green eyes were uncommonly beautiful. Many a man ,old and young turned their heads her way as she walked by.
Veldon came over to where she was sitting and spoke kindly, " Raena, I've missed ya while ya been gone girl." He said in thick Irish accent. The young woman smiled and offered him some of her meat and gestured for him to sit. The old dwarf sat down and looked at her, she had the signs of wear and tear about her. Her tunic was ripped and the side of her breast was showing. He averted his eyes and motioned for Raena to cover it up." Come on now cover up Raena, those are too pretty to be leavin' 'em uncovered." Looking down she realized her clothes were torn and tattered from the battle below and called out to Rosie." Miss Rosie, do you have any extra clothes nearby?" the older woman smiled and left the room to fetch her some new ones." Yes dear , I'll be right back. I think Brandie has some that will fit you nicely. I'll just pop over to Smity's and see if she's home."" Than you Rosie." She said as she sat back to take another bite of her roast.
Looking down she fingered the medallion lightly, so that it caught the light from the fire and the flames glistened off of the scarab. Veldon saw the scarab and thought for a moment."Could it be?"Yeah, it was. It was the medallion of Oman Shaver, an ancient Eastern priest who's antiques were priceless beyond compare. Smiling he looked at the young woman and spoke," Ya found the labyrinth didn't ya?How did ya get so far alone? Are ya goin' back down there?" Raena raised her hands and waved them about," Whoa, whoa, how did you know I was down there?" she asked. And the old dwarf replied," Well, the medallion is legendary. There's been alot of people looking for it and it seems you were the lucky one to find it. Take it to Lord Brennan ,he can tell you what it is ."Well, I do have a book for him." She replied quickly. Catching the gleam in Veldon's eye she knew he was up for the trip.
So the two finished eating and Raena dressed herself in the new clothes that Rosie had brought for her, Creamy tan mountain goat hide laced up the sides and hemmed with little sharp crescent moons of silver that were quite sharp. Smiling to herself, she knew that they could be used as weapons if need be. Smity Rhines was the town's black smith and he made all sorts of weapons and so did his daughter Brandie. It must have been her that made the lovely tunic. The leather pants laced up the side of her legs showing her tan flesh beneath them, they too had little silver crescents along the waist of the pants. The outfit fit her tightly enough to show every curve of her body and still give her flexibility to fight. Brandie had done a wonderful job in curing the hide to be so movable.
The two decided they would go see the sorcerer to see what he could tell them and went to the local stables where Joe kept the horses. Raena saddled their horses and started on their way towards the forest where the old wizard lived. The path was winding and creepy as the trees grew close to the path. Raena had to duck her head a few times to elude low lying branches which made the dwarf howl with laughter that caused his horse to side step quickly. Veldon grabbed onto the pommel to keep from falling off. Raena smiled and looked over her shoulder and said," See what the Goddess does for lauging at the plight of others?" " Aye , girl, you are always hexin' me. Why last week my fingers were achin' and I just knew it was you punishin' me for slapping your rump."Chuckling to herself, she spoke clearly," You'll never hear me admit to that Veldon. But it did sting fairly bad and I was a bit angry at you." They rode on in silence for some time until they reached the edge of a lake. There in the center of the lake was a large island surrounded by deep forest. In the very center of the island lay the long hut of Lord Brennan. Raena stopped her horse and helped Veldon down off of his and boarded the ferry that would take them across the lake. An old man came out from his hut and limped onto the ferry and untied the rope. Veldon became a bit nervous as the ferry lurched when it freed it's self from the bottom of the lake floor. Raena's horse shifted a bit and began to grow nervous and stomp it's hoof loudly. " Shh, Mystic, It will be ok." she crooned into her ear. Some few minutes later the ferry bumped into the bank of the island. The old man tossed Veldon the rope and said, " Tie this onto the post." The dwarf growled and jumped onto the bank and tied off the rope and jumped back onto the ferry to help Raena bring the horses back onto the dry land.
Meanwhile....
Lord Brennan lay asleep on his bed dreaming of a medallion and terrors no one should behold, woke from a sound sleep. He sat up and called out to Sony," Shadow Wolf " She stopped what she was doing and came to help the old man get up. "For a wherewolf you sure are nice." The young woman smiled at him and began to rub his old gnarled fingers so they would work. Lord Brennan had found her some years ago when she was travelling with her family. He knew she was different right away and still continued to associate with her. He had been teaching her the art of healing and she was quite adept with the art. The Goddess had sent her to him to keep him company in his old age. She was the child he'd never had, someone to pass on his knowledge too. Little did he know that his life was about to change. He and Sonya would be needed for something but he wasn't clear as to just what it would be just yet.
Sonya was half Elven and half Human her mother had fallen in love with a Human and she was born, three years later. Time moved on and she grew to be a vibrant young child full of curiosity. One day she was wandering in an open field where there were several wolves laying in the sun warming their fur. Soon she stumbled upon them and tripped right over the Alpha female causing her to nip her hand. She had been infected with wherewolf''s blood and then had passed the infection on to her. The child ran home crying to her parents and soon the change set upon her. At first she began to howl at night as the Moon waxed to full. Her parents seeing that they had to do something, performed many protective rites of magic over their only child so when the Moon waxed full, Sonya would only turn into a beautiful black and gray wolf and retain her memories. Years passed and she tried to master her abilities without results until Lord Brennan came to them one year while traveling the villages, healing the maladies of many people. He taught her how to use the Elven magic within her to bring out the qualities of the wolf, everyday. She could smell for miles and could see in the dark. She could commune with the wild wolves and could fight very well with the bow and dagger blades and she could move really, really fast.
" Someone comes soon, Sonya." he said as she helped him flex his fingers." It's amazing how a sixty year old man can barely use his hands in the cold weather. What's that you have there child? She smiled as she pulled out a container camphor salve and rubbed it into his fingers visualizing green light flowing from her fingertips into Brennan's knuckles freeing them of their pain." She dropped his hand and rose from her spot on the stool next to his bed. Lord Brennan flexed his fingers and thought, "I've taught her well." he chuckled as she went out to see what he was talking about. There in the distance right at the tree line two people came towards them on horseback. She could smell the dwarf and wrinkled her nose and went out the door of the thatched roof hut to greet them.
" Hello," she said as Raena jumped down from her horse and held out her hand to the young woman before her. Veldon, jumped down from the horse and fell on his rear, Grumbling," Why do the horses have to be so smeggin' tall?" Sonya stifled a laugh as she went to help the old dwarf. She reached down and pulled him to his feet, giggling at his growling antics.
" Sonya darlin', we've come to see Lord Brennan about this medallion Raena here found." Sonya looked over at Raena and saw the medallion and nodded her head." Come inside , my master will be with you in a moment." They followed the young woman into the hut and sat where she motioned for them to sit. It had been a while since she'd seen Raena, she'd been working for Rosie and Tommy at the inn off and on for six years now. She always helped them when they needed it, between plundering dungeons.
A movement at the door made Raena turn to see the old wizard walk through the door. "Raena, Veldon, always good to see you." Raena rose and walked towards him and the pendant caught the glint off the sun through the window. He made no comment as to what he saw and allowed the young woman to hug him. " It's good to see you , father is well and sends his regards." The old man looked at her and spoke," So what do you have for me?" Raena's eyes sparkled with glee as she opened her satchel and pulled out the books and handed them to the Sorcerer. " I knew you would like the book about Transfiguration, but this one , the Chain lightening, I need your help to cast this." He thought for a moment and nodded his head. He never turned down a promising student and he knew she was trained by Lord Fury her father. They both were very good friends and shared many techniques with each other.
" You must remember to focus Raena." He stated simply and continued on." How many times have I heard your father tell you to concentrate on a objective or goal, to find yet another clumsily cast spell bouncing off the wall. Hmm?" He looked at her and grinned , receiving the books from the young woman and kissing her on the cheek. " Thank you dear."he said as he went to sit in his chair by fire.
He knew that she would need him down in the dungeon, there was way too much knowledge to gain not to go..... And she needed his focus or she would get hurt. Sonya rumbled around in the hearth for a few moments and the whole room began to smell of Sage and roasted chicken. She had been ready to begin cooking the meal and decided to finish. " Come here Raena, help me finish this." She beckoned to her and she rose from her spot and came towards the heart. The light of the fire playing against the silver crescents along her hem. " That's a new tunic, what happened to the one you used to have? We tracked that damned elk for two days to get you that hide," Raena smiled and replied, " I ended up ripping it to shreds down there in the labyrinth. It's pretty rough down there and, to put it bluntly, We need you down there so we can have the upper hand ." She said as she peeled a piece of onion and placed it in the bowl before her and began to scrape a carrot. Sonya began to cut some mushrooms while Veldon drooled all over his bread in anticipation of the meal. " Sonya girl, you sure can cook up a good smell there lass." he said as he patted his stomach. Brennan came close to the table and picked up a loaf of crusty bread that had been made yesterday. Slowly, he began to cut the loaf into large chunks and brought them over to Sonya to grill on the flat iron at the edge of the hearth. Raena moved to the cupboard near the table and began to pull plates down and bring them to the table. " You know, there's something big down there , I can feel it in my bones." Raena said with a smile. Shadow Wolf began to fry up the veggies in some sweet butter she'd made from Brennan's goats yesterday. The old man took a breath and spoke," We will need Nathaniel and Gravon as well for added brute strength." Sonya nodded in agreement and spoke clearly to the dwarf," Could you go out to the stables and tell Nathaniel and Gravon to come up here ? " Veldon smiled and stood up to go out the door," I'd do anything for you Sonya."
The old dwarf went out the door and down to the stables where Nathaniel was shoeing the wizard's horse. The black Andalusian began to shift nervously around as Veldon neared the spot. Nathaniel, a bit vexed, tugged on the horse's hoof. "Be still will you Anubis?, I have to finish this last nail.The Dark stallion nuzzeld Nathaniel's shoulder." Yes, you are a good boy, we're almost done and then I can start on Zaeleena." he said in a crooning voice as Gravon chuckled deeply." You sure have a way them Nathaniel." Turning to see the dwarf coming into the stable just then. " Ah! Veldon, good to see you. What brings you out here?" He asked as the Dwarf held out his hand to shake his. " Nathaniel propped the horses leg on his knee and reached out to shake Veldon's outstretched hand." Miss Sonya said for ya both to come up to the house." Nathaniel smiled and said," Good, I'm just about finished with this beast".He said as he tapped the last bit of the nail through the horses hoof ." Gravon, take him to his stall and meet me up at the house." The half human half orc teenager took the horse down the aisle to his stall and opened the latch. Opening the door wide he led Anubis through and turned him around and then exited the stall. He closed the door and reached over and unlatched the lead rope from his halter and gently patted his neck.
Meanwhile , back at the house....
Nathaniel entered the doorway and smiled at Raena, it had been some time since he'd seen her and went over to take her hand." Lovely as always Raena," He said as he kissed her hand. Raena blushed a bit and went to help Sonya set the table, talking to her friend about Nathaniel. " What did you need me for Miss. Sonya?" he asked. " Prepare the horses for travel, pack heavy. Have Gravon get the packs ready for the mule , we will be setting out for a long trip in about three hours, come and have something to eat." She said just a Gravon entered the house. Raena went over to Lord Brennan where he sat and helped him load his satchel of herbs. " Chamomile, Catnip, Comfrey, Sage, Hyssop and yes, the vision flower too Raena, there on the chest." She went to the chest and retrieved the pouch of vision flowers and then to his pharmacopeia cabinet to get his herbs for healing. they would be traveling through several villages and Brennan would need his herbs to heal the people who needed it." Now open the Armoire over there in the corner and pull out about twenty of the green vials." he said as she looked him with a weired look on her face. " It looks like goo." The old wizard chuckled , " It will cure what ails you to be sure and give you quite a bit of pep. It tastes like dung though if you drink it,and it burns like fire when applied to wounds."
Chapter Two
After everyone had eaten their fill, Nathaniel and Gravon brought the horses and mule to the house and everyone mounted them and began to follow Brennan and Sonya down to the ferry. They boarded the ferry with no problems and the horses seemed to settle quickly, soon they were at the other side and departing on to dry land. Lord Brennan turned halfway around in his saddle and motioned for Nathaniel to take the furthest point behind Gravon because he was the strongest of them all and could fend off any danger before it got to the rest of the group.
Many hot hours went by as they trudged on in the heat of the heat of the day. Soon they came upon a small brook and the wizard motioned for them to stop and rest for a little while. Nathaniel helped him down from his horse then went to help down the dwarf while Gravon took the horses to the brook to drink their fill.
Raena and Sonya dismounted and led their horses to the water and left them in Gravon's care and went off to explore the stand of nearby trees. The young women picked herbs as they walked and talked and soon came upon a patch of wild psychedelic mushrooms?." Sonya, is that what I think it is? Cubensis species right?The elf bent down to look and piched a bit of one of the caps and sniffed the underside and nodded her head. It's the same species Master uses so they decided to pick a large sack full, leaving just enough to propegate the next years harvest. They had deep purple red caps with white spots on them and Lord Brennan used them for visions and what not. Raena tied them to her belt and began to look for more herbs and found some wild carrots and pulled some up for them and the horses. Sonya smiled and they began to head back to the brook where the old man was sitting on a large rock resting his weary bones, " Master? Are you ok? " Sonya asked with concern as the wizard looked up at her and smiled. " You have dirt across your forehead child." Sonya wiped quickly and showed him the sack from Raena's belt. The old man smiled and put it next to his satchel of herbs and medicines. " Come now, we must make another ten miles at least before we rest. There is another entrance to the labyrinth than the one you took Raena, that's where we will stop for the night.
So everyone mounted thier steeds and began the tedious journey to the mouth of the labrynth. Old Veldon began to sing dwarvish tunes while Gravon tried to lend a tune but ended up scaring the mule. The day wore on and they soon reached the spot where the wizard wanted to be and he raised his hand up for them to stop. " Gravon take care of the horses and Nathaniel , you get the wood, Raena you and Sonya go hunt some rabbit for dinner while I rest now. " Everyone left to do the old man's bidding and looked forward to the meal ahead.
Raena and Sonya went scouting for food and soon came upon a small cave that allowed them to walk into upright. Sonya motioned that there were rabbits in the back of the cave and Raena drew her bow silently. In an instant, Sonya let out a wolf howl that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up and rabbits began to run everywhere. Raena released the arrow and it shatterd on the back wall of the cave, cursing as Sonya reached out to grab one as it passed her, breaking it's neck quickly. Raena sleeved another arrow and pulled back the string, aiming a bit low as she released, the arrow found it's mark right through the torso of a large rabbit who's reflexes were making it jerk a bit but it soon died . The young women grabbed their prey and went back to the campsite." You know that cave was big enough for all of us to sleep in ? " Raena said as she tossed the rabbit to Gravon to skin and skewer over the fire. " There is a stream close by Miss. Raena you can wash your hands." He said, looking down at the ground.
Looking around for some herbs to cook the rabbit with Gravon spotted the bag of mushrooms and the wild carrots and decided to make a nice stew. For some reason the night had brought on a chill and the wind began to pick upsome allowing the fire to burn brightly in the night.A stew would warm them nicely. Raena was sharpening her kriss blades on a wet stone between her feet. Firelight played along the blade as she ground them to a sharpend point. Looking at Nathaniel grooming the horses she smiled and spoke," Be careful with Mystic, her right foreleg seems to be a bit tender, she's been favoring it a bit today." Sonya smiled and went to her bag and got some of her camphor rub and went over to the young man." She began to croon in a sing song voice soothing the horse and assuring it that she would not hurt it.Handing the box to Nathaniel she gently moved between him and the horse and ran her hand down the right leg slowly until the mare flinched. Leaning down a bit she gently pulled the leg up and propped it on her knee. leaning forwards Nathanile held out the open box so she could reach the medicine within. Not even turning her head she reached out and grasped three fingers worth of the camphor out and began to rub the sore spot and work her healing magic.Mystic looked down to see what the elf was doing to her and snorted softly in her ear. Smiling, Shadow Wolf placed her hoof back on the ground and patted her shoulder," That should help you feel better girl."
The Rabbit stew began to bubble and smell woderful as they all sat around the roaring fire. " Smells great Gravon, when will it be done?" The dwarf asked as he came near to the pot. " Soon old man, soon." He replied as he began to pull the bowls from the pack on the ground near him. Ladleing the stew into the bowls, he handed one to the wizard first and then to the girls nearby and finally to himself and Nathaniel. As they ate , everyone laughed and talked with ease when suddenly, Lord Brennan sat back a little stunned and asked," Gravon? what did you use for the stew?" " I used the mushrooms from the bag near your satchel sir." Both ladies stopped laughing and became serious , they had all consumed enough of the stew for the effects of the psylocybin cubensis mushrooms to effect them all. " Oh Gravon, are you serious?" she asked him with apparent distress." Yes, Miss. Raena I did I thought they were eating mushrooms." he replied softly.Brennan chuckled softly and looked at the girls and spoke. " Well, you wanted to learn to vision quest, didn't you?" said the wizard as he came towards Raena. " Up you get now, come stand by the fire and do what I tell you too when the world begins to fade away. Do not struggle or try to fight it off because it will come on strong when it comes. You have had a dose strong enough to stun even me." Raena sat her bowl down and rose slowly, feeling a bit out of balance and so did Sonya.
Raena came forward and stood before the Magus and looked him in the eyes, " Now just breathe deeply and listen to my voice. Look into the flame and focus." Looking into the flames of the fire, her vision seem to slip slightly out of focus and an eterial glow seemed to form around her. The world began to fade away, all but Brennan's voice, that sounded so far away. Fire fairies danced at her feet and sang a haunting melody, as they jumped in and out of the fire's edge. Turning her head towards a stand of trees the young woman saw the wood nymps beginning to move and flex their slender limbs. " Focus!" She heard the wizard tell her sternly, snapping her head back quickly to look into the fire.
"Place your palms together, now see the energy form between your hands." he said and she looked down at her palms and saw a bright purple orb of energy forming there as she rubbed furiously. " Now pull it with both of your hands into a larger ball with just the fingertips." Taking a deep breath she began to pull outwards and just then her focus slipped and the orb bounced out of her hand, shattering into a million shards of light against the trunk of a nearby tree." " Damn, Woman! I told you to focus, Now do it again and this time do not miscast." He said sternly as he touched her arm softly.
Taking a few deep breaths as a wave of the drug passed over her. " Clear your mind and do as I say," She could hear somewhere in the back of her mind she closed her eyes for a moment and allowed the mushrooms to fill her senses and then opened her eyes and rubbed her hands together before the fire and saw the purple orb forming in her palms. She flicked her right hand and fingers in a clockwise motion and called to it, crooned to it and sang to it. " Grow , grow , grow for me. Help me to see what I must see." then put her hands together with the orb between and began to manipulate the flow of energy until she could get the feel of what she wanted to do. To her right, Shadow Wolf began to do the same to keep her senses focused and aware. They both began to pull their orbs outwards at the same time and turned towards each other so they could look into each other's eyes as they focused on the power. From deep behind them Nathaniel had begun to trip and was flapping his arms around like he was a chicken and Gravon was sniffing around the horses feet for a bit of carrot he knew the'd dropped there." Here little carrot, I know you're down here somewhere." he said as he rooted around inthe dirt.
" Now Ladies, look into the orbs and let your focus slip a little, tell me what you see as it happens. You are connected and will see the same vision. You are not alone." Smoke began to fill the orbs then clear away to show them below the ground in the labrynth and Raena standing at a podium reading from an ancient tome too heavy to carry. Dust and cobbwebbs hung heavyily in the corners of the room with large spiders hanging in them. Nathaniel and Gravon fought off the beasts that tried to enter the room as the wizard tried to make her keep her focus. Mildewed strands of slime hung from over head and they could see books that covered the whole of one wall and part of the next. green light emenated from a crystal that hung around her neck that shone brightly in the dark of the room. As suddenly as it came, it left, and the women pulled back sharply breaking their concentration and falling backwards on to the ground with a thud.
Sonya and Raena began to laugh as they rubbed their butts. " Ow, that hurt! Raena said as Sonya flipped up quicky and helped her to her feet. " Ok now let's go have some fun , we've done enough work old man." She said as she rubbed Brennan's arm as she passed by him. Everything seemed hightened to her wolf senses and she could hear Gravon rolling in the dirt like a horse . Nathaniel completely snockered ,sat in a stupor on one of the saddles holding on for dear life saying, " No not that way, this way, there are mermaids over there. Hmm, mermaids, maybe we should go that way." And began to bounce as if he were riding the back of a horse. "Ok Raena, let's go find the nymphs and sayturs and have a little fun." she said as she pulled her into the edge of the woods. The chill of the evening cooling their skin as they walked deeper into the stand of trees. Unable to see much Raena followed behind the elf assured that she would not be led astray. a few moments more and the wood opened into large meadow with a huge Willow tree in the center, clearly a place of power. Raena smiling began to spin around with her arms outstretched and singing a song that just came forth from her soul. Sonya began to howl at the waxing moon and roll upon the ground asnif trying to get to an ich that she couldn't scratch. As the moments passed by a nymph came into veiw and another, slowly they gathered around them and joined in Raena's song in a haunting flute-like melodies.
Just then the clouds came in ,and it began to rain lightly. Lightening flashed and thunder clapped scaring the horses and made them dance in fear. Gravon and Nathaniel, totally gone, because they had both eaten two bowls of stew before the wizard had realized what the simple minded bloke had done to their food, were of no use. The Wizard came forward and grabbed his horses halter and soothed him quickly. Sonya and Raena ran through the forest back to the campsite to help just as the sky opened and began to rain in a drenching down pour. " Raena, The cave, let's go to the cave." The young woman nodded her head and motioned to the wizad and they began to carry the bags and lead the horses to the entrance of the cave. The old man looked at the young women and said," Lead them this way, but leave them in the rain it will help to sober them up . The ladies stumbled in the dark of the night in the pouring rain trying to find the cave that would provide them warmth, Sonya leading the way.A flash of lightening lit up the sky illuminating the drops of rain that fell furiously upon them, a few steps more and the cave came into veiw, looming at them with trepidation.
Brennan looked around and could not see anything, his eyes trying to adjust to the total darkness of the cave. Before he could speak, Sonya had piled a bunch of dried wood and dung that had been scattered around on the floor of the cave. Walking towards the wizard she gently grabbed his arm and led him to the fire spot. " Master, the wood awaits." Holding out his hand as she steadied him, he flexed his fingers and blue flame shot out of the end of his fingers and igniting the dry wood and illuminating the whole cave. Smooth flow stone along the edges of the cavern that led to a larger chamber that opened up large enough to house a cathedral. One by one they dragged the bags near the fire and pulled out what needed to be dried and curled up around the fire and fell asleep, while the old man lay awake, dreading what lay beneath the ground on which they slept.
In the dreams that trap the dawn, Raena tossed about in a fitfull sleep only to be awakened by Lord Brennan. " What troubles you child?" In her newly awakened haze she hugged the old man." I am afraid of what will happen." The old man gently tilted her head up to look her in the eyes that glistened brightly in the fire light."You must not fear it or it will over take you. Only the strong can survive the demons we must face. Now get some sleep morning comes soon." He said to her and patted he shoulder. Raena lay down and fidgited for a moment, then drifted back into a sound sleep, she began to dream of a time not far away. Nathaniel came slowly towards her reaching out to grab her arm and pull her towards him. Kissing her fiercely, he pulled the rest of her body close to his while kissing her with an unknown hunger. Cold water dripped in droplets that splashed on the stone floor as he pushed her against the wall . She had always been attracted to his eyes, a lovely warm brown . His slender hands caressing her body making her moan with pleasure. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist pressing her against the wall, all the while kissing her fiercely. Then suddenly, she awoke in a hot sweat and breathing hard. Looking out the mouth of the cave she saw Nathaniel and Gravon tending to the horses and growling about thier heads. Smiling to herself, she sat up and pulled on her brown leather boots and buckled them up her legs and stood up.
Her movements awoke Sonya and the wizard and they too began to make themselves ready for the day ahead. " Raena, go make us some breakfast, I don't want Gravon near my bag again." He said with a slight chuckled as he rubbed his hurting head.
Chapter Three
After the morning meal had been eaten and everything put away they prepared for their journey into the labrynth. Gravon, trudging back into the cave, dissapeared for some time and came back with a grinn on his face. " Where have you been?" Asked Nathaniel. " I found a way into the dungeons inside this cave." He said as he showed his friend a broken sword he found on a decayed body. Calling to Veldon who had passed out and missed everything the night before, after eating the mushroomed stew. He slowly moved from the spot where he lay, drenched from the water of the down pour. He sat up wringing out his beard." Argh! damn that Gravon.." then looked a bit funny at the fairy that flew past him.The effects of the mushrooms had definately not worn completely off. Standing up he tried to shake teh water from his clothes to no avail, they were completely soaked through. Disgusted he stomped his foot , and looks around. Hearing the commotion not too far away, he followed the sounds to the cave, where he found Brennan and Gravon discussing the opening further back in the cave.
" I was not aware of another entrance to the maze below but perhaps we should give it a chance. Gravon, set up our site here and stay out of my bag. Raena, go get some green bottles from my satchel and put them in your ruck sack. Shadow Wolf, Get my Staff and sword and Veldon, you and Nathaniel prepare for the melee we will encounter." He instructed as he walked towards his bed roll and retrieved the chain lightening book and called out to Raena, " Come here child, you have a lesson before we go below. " Turning quickly from her sack, she walked to where Brennan sat crossed legged on a nearby rock. " stand over there in the Mountain position and close your eyes for a moment and center yourself." He said to her as he fingered the pages of tome in his hands. Placing her feet shoulder width apart she positioned herself in Mountain pose and closed her eyes. Breathing deeply for a few moments she bagan to get impatient and opened her eyes." Chuckling deeply,he began to speak. " Now see the energy come from the universe into the top of your head into the brow chakra and visualize your body as a hollow bone. Now hold your hands out pointing your first and second fingers out. See the energy flow down your arms and out your finger tips into a web of electricity." She did as she was instructed and the powerful surge of universal energy flowed through her sparks flew form her fingertips as she tried to control the power. " Now focus your sight on the dead tree over there and bring your hands back towards you and then push it out from the center of your soul out into the tree. As you do so you will say," Lavrom fie " " He said and she did as she was told , a bolt of chain lightening burst from her fingertips and fractured into an intricate web of electricity that slammed into the tree and into the woods beyond bouncing off of trees along the way and disturbing a cubby of quail. Squawking and chattering in their bird language they took to flight.
Just then a sunbeam came throught he limbs of the trees and shone down upon the pendant around her neck. Brennan took in a sharp breath and exhaled slowly, as he watched the scarab begin to spin wildly. " Raena, ground your energy and come here." He said with authority. The young woman shook her hands a few moments and sat down on the ground and looked down at her necklace and saw what the wizard had seen. Picking it up and fingering it gently she looked at the glyphs intently. " Bring it to me child, let me see if I can decipher the markings."He said as Raena rose gracefully from the ground and pulled the medallion from her neck, pulling her log locks from behind her back and over her shoulder as she removed it and handed it to her master." Sonya, come here and look at this with me." he called to his student. Rising from her spot resting on a rock and placeing her feet upon the ground, shook her hair and it fell in tendrils of dark brown tresses down her back falling to top of her buttocks. " Yes Master," she said with obvious dedication to her teacher. Locking eyes with his she could hear his thoughts." it is a guide." she replied to him as she sauntered with a slow swing to her hip as she came towards the magus and took the pandant from him. Sniffing it and cocking her ear toward the piece she could hear clicking. Bringing it down in front of her she turned slowly as the scarb continued to spin, with in a few moments of her turning slowly the scarb stopped moving as she faced the entrance to the cave. Waving Raena to her she showed her and spoke clearly so the wizard could hear. " You found a compass that will lead us directly into the very pit of hell Raena." and handed the jewel back to her and went to her master's side. " Master, how are your hands this morning?" " They ache Shadow Wolf, I need your healing energy so I can be of use below." The young woman knelt at his feet and pulled the out her salve and began to rub his aged fingers. Looking into her eyes he spoke softly , " One of us will not survive the journey." Concern clouded her face as she continued to massage his hand and she repiled," Who will it be?" " I am not certain just yet." was his reply.
The hair on the back of her neck raised a bit and she shook it off with a quick flick of her head that ran down her spine. She would have to be on her guard every step of the way. It was a heavy burden to bear and the Moon was waxing full. The last four days leading up to a full Moon she was anxious of the change that would come. Brennan sensed her disquiet and placed his other hand on her shoulder and squeezed it lightly. " It will be fine child, You will still be able to protect me." He said gently as she helped him to stand.
Nathaniel looked at Raena and a shiver ran down his spine. He and Raena had always had a thing but had never really taken it anywhere. They had known each other since childhood and were really quite close. He looked at the way the beams of sunlight struck her hair and eyes as it filtered through the trees. Looking down at his sword as he sharpend the blade, honeing it to a fine point. He looked up again and saw her place the medallion back around her neck and strap on her kriss scabboards around her hips and thighs. So immersed in the beauty of her, he nicked his finger drawing blood." Damn that woman! I wish she would just kiss me." he said as a drop of his blood fell to the ground. Without realizing it he'd cast his own brand of magic when the blood hit the earth at his feet.
Raena, lost in the thoughts of her dream, strapped on her bow and quiver sack and made sure that she had enough extra bow string should it break below. She checked the pouch that hung from her belt to see how much silver dust that she had left. It was important for any trouble that they might encounter and there was no other way out.
Brennan drew forth and touched her shoulder, " Are you ready for this child?" he asked softly. With but a look in his eyes , she told him all he needed to know. " Shadow Wolf , you and Nathaniel take the lead , followed by Raena and myself. Gravon, secure the horses and feed them and then you will follow in the rear."
Nathaniel rose and strapped his scabboard around his waist and sheathed his weapon and walked towards the mouth of the cave and the others followed him. Gently and stealthly, Shadow Wolf took the lead and began to sniff the air. Raena pointed to the left and she quickly dissapeard for a moment.A few moments later she bounded back into sight." It's clear for a good two hundred yards, where it turns to the right and goes down." Quietly they walk down the hall, weapons drawn in case of attack. A soft click made the wherewolf stop in her tracks and hold up her hand to stop them. Motioning Nathaniel to take the left side as she pulled her dagger out of it's sheath. " it's a trap." she said as she looked on the floor in the dark of the cave. There, near Gravon's foot, was a small lever inset in the floor that would release if one stepped on or near it. " Ready yourselves, they come soon." she said as a strong smell of decay enveloped them completely. Wrinkling her nose in disgust, Raena pulled free her blades and prepared for close combat. A thick, sickening, squelching sound came in to range and they soon came into veiw. Slimy gray and green zombies with rotting flesh came thier way. Pouncing quickly up the wall and flipping quickly backwards behind the first zombie, Shadow Wolf stabbed her dagger into the top of it's skull and it fell to the floor.Just behind her, one of the putrid creatures was closing in fast, quickly she side stepped as she heard Raena sheath her blades and quickly draw her bow. Moving quickly, the young woman sleeved the arrow and drew back the bow string and released. The missle found it's target and landed right between the zombie's eyes and it slumped to the foor in a loud squishing thud. Veldon was dealing with a zombie with a bit of power, the dwarf ducked and dodged a bit finally striking the undead beast on the leg. The creature came forward and slammed into Veldon's forhead knocking him up against the wall. Brennan flicked his fingers out and blasted a fire bolt into the zombie's chest and watched as it droppped to the floor in a smoking ,squelching, disgusting sound. The dwarf caught a whiff of the scent of burned undead corpse and vomited in the corner,wiping his mouth with the corner of his shirt. " Argh, what nasty creatures they be." he said.
Three came towards Nathaniel and he sprung forth to action, swinging his sword in fluid precision.Stepping back a step he flipped his sword and cut off the head of the nearest walking corpse and watched the body fall to the floor and he quickly stabbed backwards and shoved his sword deep into the chest of the next creature and flipped around so he could see it. Kicking his foot up he pushed the beast off it and chopped off it's head in one smooth motion, head rolling on the floor, past the wizard, down the hallway. " Search their pockets and take what you find, it may be of use later." The old man said to them and they began to search the rotting corpses. Raena bent down and began to fumble with the pouch of the nearst zombie to her. The fabric of the pocket tore and her finger jabbed into the rotting flesh making her gag a bit. Swallowing hard, she grit her teeth and continued her task. She found a small silver ring with a square onyx stone that glinted in the light of the fire , along with sixteen pieces of gold.
Lord Brennan looked up and flicked his staff towards the end of the hallway and they quickly followed. " Raena, look at the medallion child. What is it doing?" he asked as he drew closer to her inthe darkness that surrounded them. reaching down and grasping it she brought it up to the light of the torch and saw that it was moving again quite fast. She closed her eyes and thought , " Show me the way." And it stopped, pointing to a bricked up wall with no entrance in sight. They all began running their fingers along the wall to find some trace of a secret latch or loosend brick. An hour later and completely frustrated Raena slammed her fist on the wall before her and cursed loudly, " Buggar! that hurt." Sonya began to twitch instantly and came forward sniffing the wall and tilted her head towards the small clicking sounds it was making." Nathaniel, come here and hit right here where Raena hit the wall." The tall young man came forward and slammed the side of his fist into the wall and pushed a brick inwards about six inches where it made a loud click and the wall retreated backwards and slid to the left scraping stone as it moved.
In aparent awe, they all slapped him on the back and thanked him and slowly wallked through the portal with Sonya in the lead. Gravon still shaking his head back and forth at having found a trap and released those creatures into the mix." Ok Gravon you go in first." With a low grumble he looked up and quioed." Why Do I always have to go in first..Just once, someone else go in first." The wizard looked sternly at the young man and he shut his mouth instantly and ducked through the opening.Then the lovely elf stepped through the passage way and tilted her head and sniffed the air again, wrinkling her nose. " The air is quite stale but I'm sure that it's quite breatheable." she said as she motioned them through. Raena stepped through , then Nathaniel, he could smell the Dragon's Blood resin drifting from her hair and driving him to madness. Taking a deep breath he concentrated on the subject at hand, getting through this ordeal alive. However , when it was over, Raena would know just how much he wanted her.
Written By: Ruth Anna Brown-Weems
Copy Right , All Rights Reserved 2006
Definately a work in progress...* Smiles*
