Hemlock And The Dead God's Legacy (Book 2) (29 page)

Tored and Hemlock rushed onto the span and saw that Otticus had somehow managed to grab an outcropping of rock as he fell.  Tored was able to pull him up with some effort, and soon the four were reunited and stood
, regarding the shadowy chasm.

“I thought I was going to meet my maker,” said Otticus.

“We all thought so,” said Hemlock, patting the young wizard’s back affectionately.

They proceeded along the route indicated by the Imperial magic and continued to descend deeper into the depths.

“Are we getting close?” asked Otticus.

“Yes, I think we are,” said Hemlock.  “The magic is getting stronger.”

“What do you think this creature is?” asked Otticus.

“I don’t know, but it’s strong.  I’m not sure if we’re wounding it, or whether it is still at full strength. 
It seems like it’s able to pick the best places to ambush us.  I don’t like it one bit,” said Hemlock.

“Whatever it is, let’s hope it will
not have any more opportunities to ambush us.  Do you think it has some interest in the Wand we seek?” asked Renevos.

“I don’t know,” said Hemlock, “but it sure acts like it does.”

“Maybe we should ask it,” said Otticus.

They were all silent for a few moments.

“It does speak, so the idea has some merit,” said Tored.

“
Fine,” said Hemlock, “we’ll have a nice chat with it next time we see it.”

They continued to descend for another hour
until a dull, red glow began to light the system of rocky passages that they were following.  As they walked, the glow increased in strength until finally a cavern was revealed.  A wide river of lava cut through the middle of the cavern. The liquid rock popped and undulated as it flowed, and pockets of air-cooled surface crust coalesced at times, only to be reclaimed by the fiery undercurrent in the next moment.  Hemlock realized with a certainty that this lava was not like the Maker’s Fire she had seen suspended in the Wands.  It was somehow less brilliant, and the undulations in it seemed less kinetic and more mundane.  The heat in the room made the air appear hazy, and what light there was seemed besieged by the darkness, and managed only a flickering deep red that left most of the room bathed in an oppressive shadow. They saw that a column of rock had collapsed from the ceiling and now bridged the distance between the gap in the rough floor, providing a means to cross over the lava flow.

The earth creature waited for them across the
fallen slab of rock.

“Why are you attacking us?” yelled Hemlock.

“YOU INVADE MY HOME!”

“We’re looking for a Wand.  We have no argument with you.”

“IT IS MY WAND!  YOU ARE LUCKY THAT I AM OLD AND WEAK.  IF I SWAM FOR A DAY IN THE DEEP ROCK, I’D CAST YOU ASIDE LIKE THE VERMIN YOU ARE!”

“The Wand is evil.  We need to remove it.  It was created by
an Old God—why do you say it’s yours?”

“WHO ARE YOU?  THERE’S SOMETHING FAMILIAR ABOUT YOU.  BUT YOU KNOW NOTHING.  THE WAND WAS PROMISED TO ME.”

“By who?”

“A WIZARD!”

“Well, it wasn’t his to promise!”

“THE PROMISE WAS MADE.  HE WAS THE SON OF THE DEAD GOD.”

“Amazing!” said Renevos.  “She must be talking about Julius!”

Hemlock considered this for a few seconds, but what little she knew of the wizard Julius
, and whatever might have been promised to this creature in ages past, didn’t seem to alter the fundamental reality that she had to release the Witch Crags.

“I’m sorry, but I must have the Wand,” said Hemlock.

“I’LL KILL YOU ALL BEFORE I LET YOU HAVE IT!”

With that
, the earth creature stormed forward across the stone span.  Hemlock, Tored and Otticus set themselves and waited for the creature to reach them, as Renevos cast several powerful bolts of lightning at the rapidly approaching figure.

The
stone creature reached the other side of the lava flow and howled with a primordial fury as it stomped at Hemlock.  She dropped to all fours and then sprung back to her feet in time to dodge a rock the creature hurled at her.  Hemlock noticed that the creature was becoming noticeably less bulky as each projectile attack sundered rock and earth from its body.

Tored landed a hard hit with his battle axe
, and when the creature spun, Otticus and Hemlock both hit it from behind.  Renevos was hanging back from the fight, but when Tored ducked a rock projectile, it happened that Renevos was directly in its path, and took its full force in the chest.  The old wizard was launched off his feet and landed hard several feet back.  Otticus peeled off to tend to him, and the earth creature, sensing an advantage, made toward the prone wizard.  Otticus dragged Renevos backward as the creature approached, and Hemlock brought her full power to bear and leapt forward, landing a stroke with her long sword that cut the creature’s hand off at the forearm.

H
emlock was starting to tire, and wasn’t sure how much more power she could draw upon without seeking the trance-like state to receive energy from other dimensions.  And she wasn’t sure how to invoke that trance-like state without a Wand of the Imperator in her hands.

T
he earth creature was clearly wounded.  Hemlock’s cleaving strike had dropped it to its knees, and it ceased trying to kill the prone wizard and began bounding toward the wall of the cave.

Hemlock and Tored sought to prevent it from reaching the wall, but though they made it pay dearly for the passage, its sheer bulk prevented them from holding it back.

By the time it finally reached the wall, it was crawling.

Tored grappled with the creature before Hemlock realized his intent, and though she feared for the warrior, she was impressed with the result.  He
able to restrain the desperate beast, and prevented it from burrowing into the rock.

“Slay it!” cried Tored.

Hemlock considered how best to accomplish that as a low rumbling started and quickly gained in intensity.

“Hurry!” shouted Tored.

Hemlock tried to thrust her blade into the creature’s hide near where a human heart might reside, but the rock skin turned the blow.  She started to frantically slash at the creature instead, as the rumbling got stronger and stronger.

Suddenly something massive smashed through the wall of the chamber.  A huge,
circular mouth formed by the meeting of two semispherical jaws of rough hide rushed forward along the stone floor, bearing down on Tored and Hemlock.  Behind the large orifice, a long, segmented body followed, undulating as the creature moved forward with a tremendous momentum, cracking and crumbling the rock floor below it as it proceeded.

Tored and Hemlock were forced to dash away from the earth creature to avoid being drawn into the cavernous jaws of the massive worm.  As they recoiled in shock, they watched over a hundred feet of leathery, segmented hide pass before them until the worm burrowed out of the opposite side of the chamber.

The earth creature was nowhere to be found.

“What was that thing?” cried Hemlock.

“I’ve never seen its like,” Tored managed.

A groan from Renevos returned their attention to the old wizard.  They rushed to his side and saw blood around his mouth.

“He needs healing,” said Otticus.

“That’s a problem since he’s the healer,” said Hemlock.

“I…I might be able to do something,” said Otticus.

“Might?” said Hemlock.

“Well, I was never very good at healing, which is one reason I went for the First Circle.”

“There is no alternative—we need him, or this
journey will have been pointless,” said Tored.  “You must attempt it.”

Otticus looked uncomfortable, but he gently laid the old wizard on the floor and stood over him.  Hemlock watched as the young man cast his healing spell; and Hemlock, who had seen many healing spells cast in her time, could tell that the casting was clumsy.

But Renevos sat up when the spell was completed.

Otticus beamed with delight as the old wizard spoke
. “I feel like I’ve just wrestled with a rock and lost.”

“Renevos, can you heal yourself now?” asked Hemlock with relief.

“Yes,“ said Renevos.  And after some quick incantations he was on his feet.

“Are you in good shape to
scrye?”

“Yes.  Oh, let me check the time,” said Renevos.  “
The appointed time is within a few hours.  Should we wait?”

“I sense that the Wand is close,” said Hemlock, “I suggest we press on.”

They all agreed, crossed over the lava without incident, and continued out of a far passage.  They entered a complex of caves that offered a bewildering array of exit tunnels.  They were forced to try some passages at random, but fortunately, they found that the caves were mostly interconnected, and all seemed to lead downward in the same general direction.  After an hour, the cave they were in ended in a small gorge they were forced to climb down by anchoring one of their ropes to a nearby boulder.  Fortunately, a passage continued from the bottom of the gorge.  After the first bend, it descended sharply, and they began to feel heat all around them.

“There must be more lava nearby,” said Tored uncomfortably.

No sooner had he uttered those words than a truly massive cavern was revealed.  A sea of the same lava they had seen in the cavern above stretched out below them like a crimson abyss, with only the dark outline of a nearby spire of rock offering any hope of respite (without turning back). The heat was painful and they feared it would blister their skin if they proceeded. As Hemlock's eyes adjusted to the brutal contrast of the brilliant lava and the impenetrable darkness above it, she noticed through the blur of tear-filled eyes that there was a rocky path stretching down before them, leading to the base of the spire. She thought she saw some motion around a dark opening in the base, but when she blinked and looked again, it was gone.

"I think
the earth creature just went in there," Hemlock cried over the hiss of the steam rising from the lava.

“Let us follow,” shouted Tored.

Hemlock made her way down the path, hoping the earth creature would not have the strength to assault them on the treacherous causeway.  She could feel the raw power of the nearby Wand strongly, and was certain it was inside the spire.

They reached the opening at the base and
saw that a rough passage extended from it.  They entered cautiously, and the heat became more bearable.

They heard a soft
, grating, crying sound as they rounded a corner and beheld a Wand of the Imperator.  It was set on a raised dais, which was formed by the convergence of four alabaster arches that topped two foot wide, beveled columns.  These, in turn, were topped by a dome of the yellow rock, which was punctuated by beautiful white striations.  An ornately carved dragon topped this, and held the Wand in its outstretched claws.

The earth creature lay pro
ne on the rocky floor near the Wand, crying pathetically.  Near it was a small form laying flat on a carved alabaster table that was flat on top, though it curved gently downward toward the middle. It was covered in glowing runes.  A few yards beyond the earth creature, the floor was broken by a great cavity in the rock.

“What is that?” Hemlock asked, as she pointed toward the
ornate table-like object beside the dais, the carved dragon, and the Wand.  She soon provided the answer to her own question.  The small figure that lay upon the table and the nature of the carved stone that it rested on gave Hemlock the distinct impression of a baby lying on some sort of shallow cradle.  The small figure was not swaddled, and its skin was nearly pure granite, which gave the unmistakable impression of kinship with the earth creature.  Its eyes were closed, and upon further inspection, the small body looked more like a normal baby than the earth creature did a normal person.  But Hemlock was sickened by the appearance of the child.  It looked like a caricature of the human form.

“HAVE MERCY ON ME!” cried the earth creature.

“What do you mean?” asked Hemlock.

“MY CHILD—HE IS SUSTAINED BY THE WAND.  IF YOU TAKE IT
, HE WILL DIE!”

Hemlock turned to Tored
, then turned her attention back to the cradle.  She could sense powerful life magic emanating from the runes that covered it.  But there was also a binding quality to the magic that seemed like it could imprison while it sustained.  She wasn’t certain that the small creature would die if the Wand’s power was removed, but she guessed it was likely true.

“She’s telling the truth,” said Hemlock flatly.

“I AM TELLING THE TRUTH.  TOUCH THE CRADLE TO SEE THE TRUTH OF THE PROMISE THAT WAS MADE TO ME!”

Hemlock turned to her companions and they all discou
raged her from touching the cradle.

“It could be a trap!” said Otticus.

“But I need to know if what she says is true!” said Hemlock.

“Hemlock,
be careful!” cried Renevos as she reached out toward the alabaster surface of the cradle.