Ashar'an Rising (Nexus Wars Saga) (35 page)

A dark figure loomed up before Kyle, thankfully only a dark brother, yet the muscular creature wielded a heavy cutlass, with vicious teeth set along the lower portion of the blade. Its heavily  jawed face was set in a snarl, while a bestial growl escaped its sharp  toothed maw as the heavy blade descended.

Instinctively (later he assumed it had not been from any skill on his behalf), Kyle slid his hands apart on the haft of his axe, all the while raising it to meet the brutal chop. Dark metal met Dwarven steel in a shower of sparks and a steely clang. The pounding shock numbed his shoulders momentarily, but long hours working the forge paid off as he shoved back against the pressing Hrolth.

Taken off guard by the reversal, the Hrolth barely registered shock before Kyle's axe took it in the throat with a short thrust. The six inches of slender steel rising between the twin half moon blades tore through brown skin and then almost decapitated the creature as Kyle stepped aside and twisted the axe. Dark blood, flickering orange in the torch  light, sprayed over Kyle as the dying creature toppled. Gargling sounds bubbled from its rent throat, as it had not had time to sound a cry of pain or surprise.

Another figure loomed at his side, dark and distorted from the wash of blood marring his face. He made to raise his weapon, vaguely recognizing the Haruken by its size and extra appendages. It did not strike at him, however, as it backed slowly from an axe  wielding dwarf, sweeping its slender staff and buckler in defense.

Without hesitation, Kyle swept his axe down fiercely. Whether the Haruken noticed his movement or heard his enraged cry, it turned slightly, buckler swinging around to catch any attack, but Kyle had not attacked to kill.

With a pain  filled shriek, the Haruken almost tumbled as Kyle's axe sliced across the back of its knee. Tendons parted and metal nicked bone, sweeping the leg wide so that when the off  balanced Haruken put any weight on the leg, there was no resistance. Howling in pain it dropped to one knee, though a frenzied sweep of an arm caught Kyle a glancing blow to the shoulder and the side of his head.

Blurred vision worsened momentarily as he had trouble recognizing the roof from the floor. He felt himself falling, and when his senses recovered moments later, he was lying on his side, arm holding his torso up as he shook his head. The dwarf who had been attacking the Haruken was just removing his axe from the creature's split skull, much the same as a wood  cutter would his axe from a chopping block.

A cry over the din registered itself as Alric's voice, though his reeling senses could not pick the Dwarf out of the milling carnage. “Fall back! More come! Fall back!” How long the Dwarf's cries had lasted he could not guess, but it had to have only been a few long moments earlier that they had entered the chamber. When he finally comprehended the retreat, he took a few staggering steps towards one of the exits, only to have a rough hand grab him from behind and swing him about. He was propelled towards another exit, seeing other small forms slipping into it and realizing it must have been one of the Dwarves guiding him.

“
Keep going. They will follow!” It was Alric's voice at his shoulder and the rough hand released from his shirt. With the last remnants of fogginess receding, Kyle noticed the Dwarf had lost his hammer and had replaced it with a broad  bladed knife, but darkness quickly overtook them and he almost stumbled. The hand returned to his shirt and he prayed Alric did not guide him head  first into a wall. Running feet echoed ahead while cries and shouts came from behind, fading fast. There came also another brief skirmish, lost after a moment, but Kyle remembered two Dwarves remained behind to hinder pursuit. That had been the plan, accepted and executed, but the thought of the two Dwarves laying their lives down for them to escape was both awe  inspiring and heart  wrenching.

For how long they ran, him blindly led by Alric's steady hand, he had no idea. His ears strained behind them for signs of pursuit, whether from the Haruken or the two Dwarves, but there was neither. Finally, Alric drew him up short in what must have been a small chamber by their slightly echoed footsteps. His heavy breathing seemed to reverberate through the chamber like the pounding of an ocean, but he calmed quickly. There was a tension among the silent Dwarves, most likely at the sacrifice of their two kinsmen. That there was one other missing, obviously a casualty of the melee, he did not realize until he drew out his brazier.

Alric's dark face was stern, as he accounted for those remaining. Moisture rimmed his tired eyes and Kyle realized whatever feelings he had felt for the losses must be felt ten  fold for Alric. Only nine of them remained, plus Kyle.

“
We make for Chul’Haka, now. If we discover anything we cannot get around, we hit and run. If anybody is separated, make for the south post.”

“
What if we are followed? We cannot allow the Haruken and Dark Brothers access to Chul’Haka through the undercity.”

Alric's grim face twisted with concern, but he turned to address the others. “We can deal with that if it happens. With the amount of activity in these passages, it will not be long until the undercity is discovered, anyhow. Surely the Haruken suspect these passages link with the city, else they would not be here in such numbers.”

The remaining dwarves muttered agreement as the full weight of their situation sunk home. Kyle wondered briefly how their obvious danger could be compared with compromising city of Chul’Haka. ‘First things first’, is what he had always been told by his father. First get to Chul’Haka, and then worry about the safety of the city.

He began to muffle his brazier again, but Alric halted him. “Keep it out. Better that you see where you are going than risk turning an ankle in the darkness.”

“
Here, then. You take this.” He thrust his axe into Alric's free hand. The dwarf began to protest, but Kyle cut him off. “Better you have it than me. You know how to use it. Besides, I can't walk with the light and fight. It will be better for me to just be ready to run.”

Alric looked on the verge of arguing again, but finally nodded. “At least take this!” He pushed the heavy knife he had carried into Kyle's hand. “That way, you can use the light and be armed. Just in case.”

Rather than ask 'In case of what?', Kyle nodded and hefted the knife. The blade was coated in some dark, non  reflective material with only the thin edge gleaming. The hilt was of engraved wood, while the pommel was merely a heavy ball of the same dark metal. It was no masterpiece, but would serve its purpose excellently.

The fear of pursuit still weighed heavily on the group as they passed from the small chamber, which had only three passages running from it. The one into which they moved was tall and wide, the ceiling slightly arched fifteen feet overhead. Obviously it had once been a major route, though the once  smooth walls were now overgrown with dark moss and lichen, while other growths and minor blemishes marred both wall and floor. The occasional damp patch of stone indicated a wet area, and they were able to sate their thirst at small pools where the cool water had gathered. It tasted very earthy, as if imbued with the elements of the ground in which it resided. It left a strange aftertaste in Kyle's throat, but Alric assured him it was nothing out of the ordinary.

The further they walked, the more it became obvious there were fewer chambers and therefore fewer passages that could hide an enemy ambush or patrol. This was offset by the hope the Haruken and Dark Brothers had not discovered this section of the undercity. Alric let him know occasionally where they were, but always the Dwarf seemed disturbed, so Kyle was loathe questioning him concerning several things he noted or was interested about.

“
We are now in the halls once named ‘The Outpost’,” whispered Alric, breaking Kyle from dark thoughts of flight and combat. He gave a start before shifting his gaze to where Alric was motioning to the new passage they had just entered. The roof was the highest Kyle had seen yet, easily ten feet above his head, while the passages were wide enough for five to walk abreast with ease. The floor seemed to be more compact, with many sections of actual stone paving. Occasionally, a rocky niche or broken stone pillar would mark where once something had laid, possibly a light pillar or statue.

“
Ahead lies the Chamber of Lights. From there, the passage leads to the South Post.”

“
You seem to know much about this place, Alric. Who used to live here? These passages were surely not crafted by Urak’Hai hands.”

Alric nodded with a rueful sigh, the ensuing silence making Kyle wonder if he given some offence. “Indeed, these halls were once home to Dwarvenkind. Once a numerous race, both above and below ground, now our only home lies within in the depths of Karnhein. There we have resided since the War of Storms. Almost six eons, yet it seems like only a few generations.”

“
It has a beauty that seems far older, almost primeval.” Kyle gave an uncomfortable shrug. “Maybe it is just the closeness of all this earth, but I feel as if it has a great history.”

Kyle was not looking at Alric, so he could not see the puzzling look the Dwarf gave him, both weighing and reflective.

“
It is indeed steeped with history, though alas before even that of my kinsmen. The Hara’Daikar carved these passages. My people merely.... redefined and broadened them. Our Stonemasters are unmatched today, but they hold nothing on who once carved these halls. A pity we cannot see them in their past glory.”

Not strong on history, Kyle had always been under the impression the oldest of the races were the Elves and Dwarves, but recently, Valdieron had spoken to him of another, even older, the Kay'taari. How Valdieron knew of them or the extent of his knowledge was unknown to Kyle, only that Val was searching for some relic or item from these people's existence. It stood to reason if there had been one earlier race, there were probably others, but such thoughts were enough to make his head spin. It was beyond the likes of him to understand or comprehend the nature and ways of the universe.

“
What happened to these Hara'Daikar?” He hoped he pronounced it correctly, but Alric did not correct him if he had not. Instead, the Dwarf's face darkened, as he seemed to stare distantly beyond Kyle.

“
What is known of the Hara'Daikar is more legend than truth, but some few things are still known. For instance, from their artwork and some few relics we have found and studied, we know they were both intelligent and powerful. They were Masters of Combat and Magic, plus they were great Craftsmen. They were friend to the Dragon, creatures of considerable power themselves, and it was these two races who fought the Dark Forces in the Nexus Wars. They were benevolent, if such could be said about such beings, but a few of the histories relate a division amongst their numbers, which was the precursor to the Nexus Wars. It was this split that ultimately led to their destruction.”

There was a sense of awe mixed with hardness in Alric's voice, and Kyle suspected there was more to these Hara'Daikar than the Dwarf had mentioned. What it could be, he could not guess at, and Alric did not appear to want to extrapolate any further on what he had spoken. Kyle drifted into silence, and although Alric said nothing more on the Hara'Daikar, he did continue to point out pieces of interest for Kyle as they drew closer to Chul’Haka.

The Chamber of Lights proved a spectacular sight, though Kyle had to wait for many tense moments for his first view of it, as several of the Dwarves scouted ahead to make sure there were no Haruken or Dark Brothers waiting in ambush there.

The Chamber opened up from the twenty-foot high passage and disappeared into darkness beyond the dim radiation of the brazier he held. The floor was smooth, patterned stone of varying hue, with almost imperceptible joints, set in a sporadic pattern of pale orange. Thin dust and sparse rubble from the ceiling and walls permeated the room. The walls themselves were smooth, angled slightly to indicate it must have domed overhead. Mixed in with the hard grey  brown stone were tiny particles that glimmered faintly in the soft glow of the brazier, like small diamonds. He examined the phenomena closely, but could not discern the nature of the small particles. Even Alric did not know.

“
They are unlike any stone or gem I and many others have ever seen. They look like diamonds, but are as soft as sandstone. The largest we have ever mined is about the size of a fist, and they are not easily extracted from the earth. They also have another interesting property!” So saying, he and the other Dwarves drew out their braziers and drew off the lids, throwing a greater illumination on the chamber.

The added light of eight braziers was enough for Kyle to see that the Chamber did have a domed ceiling, fifty feet high at its apex. Though not exactly circular, no two opposite areas of wall could have been less than a hundred paces apart. The extra light also showed that these strange sparkling stones covered the entire chamber.

“
It is beautiful!” breathed Kyle, marveling at this wonder. There must have been many thousands of the strange stones to cover the vast chamber, and each seemed to sparkle with their own perfection, large or small. The chamber itself added to the visual spectacle, with three of the exits lined with marble arches also set with the stones. In the center of the room, a squat pillar rose three feet off the strange spidery tile work, its top concave like a small bowl, only its surface appeared to be one large face of these same sparkling stone. It drew in and reflected the brazier light, however, almost like a pale moon.

“
This is nothing,” warned Alric with a sly grin, and as Kyle turned to him wondering, the Dwarf motioned for him to replace the lid on his brazier. Suddenly anxious the Dwarf had heard or sensed something, Kyle did as he was told, as did the other Dwarves, though without haste born of concern.