High gloom, p.18
High Gloom, page 18
part #6 of The Bad Guys Series
“Your kind?”
“Humans. Some can do it better than we. Dwarves seem to experience no ill effects from long-term life in the Gloom.”
“Elves?”
“I cannot say I’ve ever seen an elf down here more than a week.”
“Why?”
“They value the sky more than others, I feel. Or maybe trees. Or the light.”
“Do you mind if I ask what the lightbringers do? Why are you here?”
He looked around and saw no one was coming towards us. “Still on duty,” he said as he sat down next to me, his armor clanking a bit. “I have to make sure no one is coming to visit the maze.”
“You’re in charge of the maze?”
“I have this watch of it, yes. But are you interested in the Maze now? Or shall I answer your prior question first?”
“I mean, sure. There’s probably no end to the questions I have.”
“Ha,” he said in that quiet laugh of his. “I appreciate curiosity. Too often, those that arrive here believe they know enough, and rarely is that true. The lightbringers’ first duty is to protect the portal connecting us to the Gloom. Our second is to protect Gloomguard itself. Our third is to protect those who visit Gloomguard. Thus, if someone gets lost in the Gloom and we feel our other duties are currently safe, we will do our utmost to retrieve them. We got our name from how our order is written. We do not hide in the Gloom. We bring lights with us.”
“An order? Like a martial order?”
He nodded. “We swear an oath.”
“How long do you need to serve?”
“It is up to the individual. We swear to serve as long as we are able, though the measure of our ability is a question for another to answer.”
“Who?”
“Our leader.”
I nodded. That made sense for a military order. Especially one that was essentially on the front lines, in the face of extreme danger. You didn’t want the elderly trying to fight monsters just because they’d sworn an oath.
“Is your,” I started, then realized I was kind of asking a personal question, “I can understand if this is too much of a question, but is your armor magical?”
He winked at me. “Quite you likely know that answer already.”
“Is it—”
“We are gifted a suit of armor when we swear our oath. And a weapon. Sometimes we must replace portions of the armor, or the weapon, and those we must find on our own. But I think, once you go through the maze, you’ll see that finding magical items is not a particularly difficult aspect of living in Gloomguard.”
“Is the difficult part accepting that every meal is mystery meat stew?”
He smiled, which really highlighted the criss-crossing scars on his face. “I admit our current cook is not my favorite.”
“Can you give me any tips on the Maze?” I asked.
“Ah,” he said, holding up one metal gauntleted finger. “I’m afraid that must remain a mystery until such time as you go yourself.”
“After my first run, then—”
“And only then am I permitted to speak to you about what you might find inside.”
“What about other people? Are they also forbidden?”
“Mazers tend to prefer being quiet about what they find inside. They are only forced to speak to me about their experiences. But they are not forbidden, as I am.”
“So I might get some tips from others—”
“I caution you against it. The Maze is a unique phenomenon in that there is a God living inside it. We know this—”
“Have you spoken to it? Or him?”
The lightbringer’s mouth shut, and I could see him struggling through how to answer.
“There are means to communicate with the Mad God,” he finally said, speaking very slowly. “As with everything regarding the Mad God, there are dangers. I have not done so, nor would I, given my position, but there are others who have had moments with the Mad God.”
“I noticed you don’t use his name—”
“I would hope you understand the reason behind that.”
“Keep his attention away?”
The lightbringer gave me a nod.
“Now,” he said, getting to his feet, “it would appear I need to have a discussion with a returning Mazer.”
“How do you know?” I asked.
He pointed, and I saw a faint glow coming from a small desk. “He lets us know.”
“Does he also let you know when someone doesn’t make it?”
The lightbringer nodded. “He adds a gem to the wall.”
“Which wall?” I asked, but then I saw the wall above the doorway. It sparkled slightly in the dim light. There were gems on top of gems, layers of sparkling stones that reached well onto the ceiling above. I could lose a lifetime trying to count them all, because when I got a little closer, I saw the size of them. Most were something you’d find on a ring. Sure, there were some really nice rings there, but only a few were big honking ones.
I looked over my shoulder, and I saw my lightbringer friend was sitting at the small desk, a book open in front of him and quill in one hand.
He gave me a gesture that was a mix between a salute and a wave. Then the doors to the maze opened, and four people stumbled out, covered in a foul mixture of blood and mud. Insects and other small creatures flitted about them, but as the doors started to close behind the four mazers, everything but the mazers was sucked back inside with a schlurping noise.
“Healers!” My lightbringer friend bellowed, getting to his feet and vaulting the desk.
I knew I’d only be in the way, so I trotted down the steps as lightbringers rushed out of a hut at the bottom of the stairs and raced up to help. I tripped a little at the bottom, and used the wall to steady myself
Something echoed in my head.
Clyde Hatchett.
I looked around and promptly snatched my hand off the wall. I wondered if that had been the Mad God...
Oh yes...
39
I put my hand back and a while longer, but the Mad God didn’t bother contacting me again. So I went back to the main building and had another helping of mystery stew, this time with a cup of coffee. Or something that resembled coffee. It didn’t taste great, but it was hot and filling. I sat there for a while, just marinating in my thoughts, trying to understand what was happening. And what I’d need to do.
So far, our trip into the Gloom had been pointless. I shook my head. Not pointless, since it was a learning opportunity, but certainly not what I’d intended. The thing was, I just didn’t know how much time we had to learn.
I noticed something while I was eating. My hands were slightly different colors. The left one was grayer than the right. Like it was diseased or something. The color returned up my arm, but the gray was disturbing. I knew it was possible there was an explanation other than the corpse king. But it didn’t seem particularly likely.
“Breakfast, dinner, or lunch?” Someone asked.
I looked up to see Rose, the warrior who’d first sent me to the Wizard’s Tower, standing in front of me with her own bowl of stew and mug of coffee-like stuff.
“Yes,” I said.
She smiled and sat down, her black plate armor making nearly no noise as she settled in.
“Heard you went out into the Gloom,” she said, taking a spoonful of the stew.
“We did,” I replied.
“Those boots come in handy?” she asked, gesturing toward my feet.
“I love them, thank you. But we more just got a taste of how dangerous the Gloom is.”
“It’s a strange place.”
“I just didn’t really think through what I should have.”
“Like how to survive in a cave?”
“Yeah, you know. Basics.”
“It’s different, having to think in three dimensions. And about air and water and light. Hrm?”
“Yeah, for sure. And we just followed the road. I just felt, I mean, I feel dumb.”
She ate a few more bites, then shrugged.
“Well, you have to start somewhere,” she said.
“I guess.”
“What are you looking for out there?”
“I thought I told you?”
She tilted her head and looked up, screwing up her mouth a bit.
“If you did, I forgot.”
“I need a trophy. A titled trophy.”
“Ah. Not likely to find something like that along the road. Not now at least.”
“Why not now?”
“Too much traffic in the Gloom these days.”
“We did run into some dwarves.”
“There’s also quite a bit of kobold movement. Something big happening up north.”
“Like what?”
Rose shrugged. “Kobolds are strange creatures in the best of circumstances, but trying to talk to them about the politics of kobold kingdoms is, well, an exercise in patience. As far as I can tell, there’s either a war happening, a hero rising, or an open throne. Or all three. But knowing kobolds, it could also be none of that. But regardless — there’s a lot of them moving, so there’s monsters busy hunting them instead of us. Or those around us.”
“Ah. So I’m screwed.”
“Only if you insist on hunting along that one road. The area here is honeycombed with caves and passages. Plenty of places to hunt, and lots of monster lairs to discover.”
“Just seems hard to believe everything hasn’t been mapped out nearby.”
“Ah,” she said with a nod, “that’s because you think the Gloom is as steady as upstairs. Things change down here much faster than up there. Worms come through and make new tunnels, or fill old ones. An ancient mine collapses, and a whole new system is formed in no time. Rock eaters do as they’re named, and you can make a whole new world where there was once solid stone. Even our one road isn’t particularly old or stable. The things that are more permanent in the Gloom, Deep Cities or legendary lairs, are quite distant from here. There are monsters nearby that will most certainly yield a titled trophy. You just need to find one. Why do you need one, though?”
“I didn’t tell you that either?”
“Nope,” she said before popping the last bite of meat into her mouth. “Nothin’ of the sort.”
“Strange quest.”
“Oh, well, now I understand it perfectly. What kind of quest needs a titled trophy?”
“The same kind that requires me to go through the maze.”’
She grinned. “Do you have to get a lightbringer to vouch for you?”
I frowned. “How did you know?”
“It’s the Gloomguard special,” she said with a big smile. “What rank lightbringer?”
“First.”
“Eech,” she said, sticking her tongue out. “They really don’t want to give up Girgenerth, do they?”
“I guess not.”
“Well, good luck,” Rose said. She got up, bussed her dishes, and strolled out before I could even muster a good-bye.
I was there for another half hour or so before my party started coming down to eat. Then we kitted up, and made our second foray into the Gloom.
40
Mornax wore our survival pack, including our little air slime on the air slime stick, which was just a long, thin metal pole with a hook on the end that attached to the air-slime’s cage. It was one of the funnier looks Mornax had sported.
Denitza took point again, this time understanding the necessity of going away from the main road.
We moved slowly, and Denitza took even more time to scope things out. So once again, we spent a lot of time just waiting for our ranger to tell us things were clear.
“I must admit,” Jørn said during one our waits, “I feel rather useless.”
“Aye,” Harpy said.
“Are either of you hunters?” I asked.
“No,” Harpy said.
“Not I,” replied Jørn.
“I guess,” I said, “it might do to think of yourselves as protectors instead. Guards.”
“That’s what I’m doing,” Mornax said.
“At least you can carry things,” Lux said.
“You can carry the pack if you like.”
“No thank you.”
Denitza came back and waved us on, and so on we went.
The Gloom was definitely a different experience off the beaten path. Caves didn’t always have smooth floors. We did a lot more climbing around obstacles. Checking the air-slime. Checking the ceilings. Water flowed down the walls here and there. And there were plenty of small flora and fauna — mushrooms, moss, mold, fungi or what-have-you, and then lots of spiders, rodents, and bugs. All pale and white, some even translucent. It was disconcerting at best, because it was all so different than the world above.
After some time, we actually got to a wide-open cave, a huge space that seemed like it would easily fit a blimp. Or two.
Midway through the space, Denitza waved for us to stop. She knelt down, examining something on the floor. She pointed at the mud. Lots of footprints were coming out of a smaller passage and heading through the cave we traversed.
“Something is moving this way,” she said, pointing in the direction we’d been traveling.
“What kind of thing?” I asked.
She just shook her head. “I have no idea,” she said. “But either the creature possesses a thousand feet, or there are many things.”
“I’m not sure which one of those I’d prefer,” I said.
“Chances are better the creature with a thousand feet would generate a trophy.”
“True, but I don’t know how we’d take down a creature that can make this many footprints.”
“We can turn back, then. There is another passage to take, one cave back. The left wall. Or the right now.”
It was my turn to shake my head. “We should follow this through. Maybe it’s a hunt we can get in on. Maybe these are dwarven tracks.”
“Dwarves wear boots,” she said. I felt a chill realizing they were all barefoot.
“Still.”’
She nodded, and we resumed our hunt, moving a little faster now that we were following a large group that would, hopefully, be rousting any sleeping monsters before we did.
The rest of the group just went along without asking questions, which I appreciated. I didn’t like having to take the time to explain things over and over again, which was what I’d had to do with Crutchley or Matthew. Still, I missed Glaton.
“Focus,” Lux said softly to me.
“What?” I asked.
“Focus.”
I wanted to snap at her, but I was in the wrong here. I don’t know how she’d noticed me spacing out, but she was right to call me out.
We came to another small connecting tunnel between caverns, and Denitza called a halt once more. She crept ahead, basically crawling.
Waiting for her was difficult, because sounds echoed back through the cave to us. Noises in the Gloom were difficult to parse in optimal conditions, but at a junction between caves with water dripping from stalactites on the ceiling, it was nearly impossible to understand what we heard. Could’ve been battle, could’ve been a landslide, could’ve been something chewing. Hell, knowing how things went in Vuldranni, it could very realistically be all three things at once.
A moment passed.
Then another.
Finally, Denitza came back.
“It is not safe to proceed farther this way,” she said.
“Why not?” I asked. “What’s up there?”
“There seems to have been a very large fight, and now there is another about to start.”
I gave her a look. “I want to see.”
She frowned, and shook her head. “I advise against it.”
“Advice noted. Let’s go.”
Her lips went white as she bit back whatever she wanted to say.
I gave her a little smile, and then promptly stepped around her and moved, as quietly as a thief might, along the muddy trail.
There was definitely a pause behind me as the rest of the group tried to figure out what they should do. Finally, they started to follow.
After a sharp curve, there was about fifty feet of tight tunnel before another large cavern. I came into the next cavern and stopped short. I’d found myself on a small ledge. The walkway took a very sharp right, and continued around the edge of the cavern, winding down somewhat. Below me, about a hundred feet almost straight down, was a reasonably flat area.
I could see the bloody remains of a large creature up against the wall. In front of the bloody mess were five humanoid figures. Four were on the ground, kneeling or laying or curled up, obviously injured. One remained mostly standing, but was, judging by the shaking of their axe, either exhausted, injured, or both.
The last upright figure stood between the other wounded comrades and what looked to be a horde of monstrous humanoids. I couldn’t count them, or even see them that well, but I could see how many of them there were.
Hundreds.
Maybe thousands, just extending off into the darkness. They were ugly creatures, with misshapen faces and strange growths all over their bodies. They had on rudimentary clothing and held primitive weapons in hands that looked more clawed than fingered.
“BEHOLD!” A roar sounded from the lone standing man below. “I see my father and mother. I see all my relatives seated. I see my masters and comrades seated in Paradise, and Paradise is beautiful and green. With him are his men and my brothers. He calls to me! To take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla! Where the brave shall live forever!”
I got chills, hearing the man so willing to accept his death, but unwilling to go down without a fight. I was torn. Part of me wanted to help. Part of me wanted to just watch the battle unfold. Part of me wanted to make a run for it.
“Northman,” I said quietly. He had been speaking Old Norse. That was a good person from the old world down there. Or at least from some time in the old world. I couldn’t just leave him to die.
