The Ranger (Book 1) (16 page)

The beast reeled, gasping for air, before falling heavily to the ground. It landed on Weston, who was still stunned from being hit. Weston choked and coughed under the weight. As quickly as the battle had begun, it was over.

Trent shook his head in disgust as he rolled the lifeless body of the minotaur off of Weston.

“Well that’s just great,” Trent grumbled, finally freeing Weston. “It’s wonderful!” “What’s wrong?” Vincent asked, puzzled.

“Look at
that
,” Trent growled, pointing at the body. Vincent looked. It was lying face down on the ground, quite motionless.

“What am I supposed to see?” Vincent was even more confused now.

“The armour, Vincent, the armour,” Trent was obviously irritated. “Minotaurs don’t wear armour. They’re too stupid. Which means that someone gave it to him; and what’s worse, we didn’t see or hear it until it burst from the woods. So he was probably a look out. Do you know how scared a minotaur would have to be to stay in one place, absolutely silent for hours on end?” Trent paused, gently rubbing his forehead in thought. “We’re dealing with something, or someone, incredibly powerful.”

“There are only three beings powerful enough to command fear in those around them to such an extent,” Lauren said solemnly.

“And what would those be?” David asked as he pulled Weston to his feet.

“First is a Magi,” she said slowly. “Their goddess, Katrina, is a god of beasts. The minotaurs are her creations in the first place.”

“I doubt it would be them,” Trent interrupted. “Magi avoid dealing personally with ‘lower life forms’ as much as possible.”

“Which leads to possibility two,” Lauren went on, “a Draylor.”

“A what?” Vincent asked.

“A Draylor,” Ben repeated. “They look like humans, but have super-human strength. They also have a unique distinguishing feature of being half dragon. It means they can transform at will from a human appearance to that of a dragon. Honestly, what do they teach you in the Academy these days?”

“But that’s even less likely,” Weston added, ignoring Benjamin’s comments. “The Draylor are followers of Sandora, and thus, our allies.”

“Which leaves only one,” Trent said apprehensively.

“A Lich,” Lauren said; her voice a barely audible whisper.

This time Vincent wasn’t alone in his confusion.

“What’s a Lich?” David asked before Vincent had the chance.

“A Lich,” Trent explained quietly, “is of the living dead.” The words hung in the air, resonating in the silence. “They were once the most powerful wizards in Pallà. Their power knew no bounds. They could have even challenged the Pallàdrim, had they so chosen. It was this power, however, that blinded them. They sought to become as the gods, eternal. As punishment, they were stricken by Sandora, and cast into the abyss, where they were found by Katrina. She allowed them to return to the mortal plain cursed with the thing that they had longed for. They would never die, yet their bodies slowly decay. The pain of the rotting bodies which they cannot escape drove them to insanity.”

They stood in silence, pondering the implications of this new revelation.

“What do we do now?” Lauren asked hesitantly.

“We do the only thing we can do,” Trent replied somberly, “we carry on.” Trent pulled his mace from his belt loop and tossed his cloak over his shoulders so it hung like a cape. “It’s a good bet that this lich, or whatever it is, knows we’re coming. Be on your guard, this mission is now red class.”

Trent continued up the path. The others followed, drawing their weapons as well. The sun was now high in the sky. Sweat trickled down Vincent’s face under the mask. The path continued steeply up the mountain. The trees started to thin as they approached the top, until they disappeared completely.

The path they had been following came to an end as the ground leveled out. Vincent stared in wonder. The view from the top of the mountain seemed to continue forever. To his surprise, a giant tower had been built on top of the mountain near where they were standing. It was more of a ruin now and had obviously been abandoned for centuries. It seemed to grow from the mountain, with smooth walls except for where holes had been knocked through. The top seemed to have crumbled completely, but it still held an aura of splendor. Vincent could almost see how it had looked in its days of glory.

“Perfect,” Trent grumbled. “The day just keeps getting better.”

“What is it?” David asked.

“That,” Trent said, pointing at the tower, “is the Tower of Earth; built by the Pallàdrim over a thousand years ago.”

“I’m not following,” David said, still sounding confused.

“It means we have our work cut out for us,” Lauren cut in. “The Tower of Earth was said to have been a great labyrinth that snaked its way to the roots of the mountain. If the lich has taken control of the tower, it may take weeks to find him.”

“Well,” Trent sighed in frustration, “there’s no problem bad enough that complaining about it won’t make it worse. I need you all to come back alive.” Trent looked at them all seriously. “Vincent, I want you to go with Lauren and Ben.”

“What?” Lauren nearly screamed. “He’s just going to slow us down. I can tolerate him if I have to, but to have to rely on him when our lives are on the line? I don’t think so. Besides, he’s supposed to be shadowing you.”

“A group of four would be too risky in this situation, and as we don’t stand a chance of navigating the tunnels below the tower without someone who uses the token of Earth, so we can’t go on our own either,” Trent explained. “But you might be surprised by him; he’s stronger than he looks.” Lauren didn’t answer. Her glare said it all.

“I’m going to send a message to Master Silva before we go in,” Trent continued. “If anyone finds anything, signal the others and wait. We need to work together on this. May Sandora watch over you all, you’ll need it.”

“Let’s go then,” Lauren grumbled, “the sooner we get this over with, the better.”

“Don’t mind her,” Benjamin said as he walked past Vincent. “She’s like this with everyone new.”

The three of them covered the ground quickly, without encountering any resistance. The gates themselves were made of thick stone and lay in a broken heap on the ground. Where the gates once stood, a long dark passageway led deep into the earth. Lauren confidently strode over the remains of the gates and down into the darkness. Benjamin was close behind. Vincent paused before he too ventured into the darkness.

Vincent’s eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of the tower. The passage continued straight with no other corridors connecting to it. The three moved silently, deeper beneath the tower.

The passage led to a large circular chamber that had various corridors and tunnels branching off in every direction. They paused to determine which path to take.

“Where do we go from here?” Vincent asked.

“The lich will want to make itself as hard to find as possible, so it will probably be in the heart of the tower, at the very center of the labyrinth,” Lauren explained. “We need to find a path that leads down.”

Three of the corridors sloped steeply downward, while all the others climbed higher. They stood, staring into the darkness. Benjamin, however, had a look of extreme wonder on his face.

“It’s this way,” he said confidently, pointing at the corridor directly in front of him. He started walking toward it, but Lauren stopped him.

“How do you know?” she asked.

“I don’t,” he answered. “I can’t explain it. This tower seems to resonate with power. It pulsates, as if it were alive. And the source of that energy is down this tunnel.”

“I don’t feel anything,” Vincent said quietly.

“Neither do I,” Lauren said hesitantly. “Are you sure you’re not imagining it?”

“I have never been surer of anything in my life,” Benjamin said firmly. “This tower, it gives me a strange sensation. A feeling of power, greater than anything I’ve ever felt before. You have to believe me.”

Lauren grabbed Benjamin and turned him so she could see his eyes, scrutinizing him. She seemed to come to some conclusion as she nodded suddenly.

“You’ve never led me wrong before. I’ll trust your judgment.” Lauren released Benjamin’s arm and he continued down the tunnel.

They followed Benjamin downward. They traveled slowly as the passage was significantly narrower than the other had been and the ground was slick. Complete darkness encompassed them.

Suddenly, the passage ended, opening into another large room. Several other passages led off of this one as well. However, one of these passages had a point of light glimmering from it. Vincent could see the shadowy forms of Lauren and Benjamin moving toward the light. He followed swords in hand.

The light was coming from around a sharp corner, hiding its source. Vincent reached out with his token. Six different fires were elevated in the air in a tight square.

“There’s a room around the corner,” he whispered. “Judging by the spacing of the torches in there, it’s rather small.”

In the dim light, Vincent could see a smile on Lauren’s face as she pulled an arrow from the quiver at her belt and placed it on her bowstring.

“For the Golden Hand,” she whispered with a wink as she darted around the corner, letting the arrow fly.

Vincent and Benjamin followed. Vincent rounded the corner in time to see a minotaur fall, clutching an arrow buried in its side, just under its arm. Lauren had now drawn her sword and was charging behind Benjamin.

There were eight more minotaurs in the room, all heavily armed. Vincent’s blades glinted as they danced in the firelight, finding the holes in his enemy’s defenses. His first blade found the gap between the plates of mail worn by one, while the other blade cut across the throat of another.

Vincent turned to see another minotaur standing ready to strike at him with its axe. He prepared to dodge, but the creature didn’t move. A glazed look had come into its eyes. The beast dropped to the floor, revealing Lauren’s blade protruding from the base of its skull.

“Three,” Lauren said triumphantly, “and that’s one you owe me, Fire Boy.” She pointed at the dead minotaur on the floor before pulling her sword from it.

“Four for me,” Benjamin said modestly.

“I got two,” Vincent was not impressed with himself and he was determined to beat the others in their next encounter.

“We need to keep moving,” Benjamin said as he continued through the door at the far end of the room. “The passage from here is lit. We could meet something at any time, be on your guard.”

They followed the passage. Torches lined the walls, lighting the way. They met no resistance as they went. The path they followed wound wildly through the earth, following side corridors and rough cut tunnels, but they continued to follow the lit trail.

After about half an hour of slow progress, the corridor they were following started to open and become wider. It ended at a wide ledge, overlooking a cavernous room. They dropped to the ground and peered over the ledge. The room was massive. Tables ran from one end to the other. More minotaurs than Vincent had ever imagined sat in clusters around the tables. There were also some other much larger creatures that Vincent didn’t recognize. He guessed they were trolls. A steep but narrow flight of stairs connected the ledge they were on with the chamber below. Vincent could see many smaller passages leading off from the chamber on the other side of it.

They slowly crawled back into the tunnel from which they had just emerged.

“This isn’t good,” Benjamin whispered. “There’s got to be more than two hundred of them in there, plus five trolls and an ogre.

“Maybe we should try and find a way around them,” Lauren suggested.

“That could take hours,” Vincent pointed out.

“Would you rather try your luck in there?” Lauren asked, angrily.

“What if we wait for the others?” Vincent offered. “They should catch up soon enough.”

“That’s if they followed the same path we did,” Benjamin said pensively. “I’m going to try to contact them.”

Benjamin’s hands glowed a deep green. Hastily, he drew the symbol of earth on the ground. He knelt over the mark and punched it hard with his glowing fist. His hand sunk deep into the earth. Benjamin paused, a look of deep concentration on his face. Suddenly he smiled triumphantly as he pulled his hand free. A head followed Benjamin’s arm from the ground, clasped firmly at the hair by Benjamin’s hand. The head looked like it had been carved from stone and seemed to grow from the floor.

“Who dares summon Dahl, Lord of the Earth?” The head growled loudly.

“I, Benjamin, Ranger of Sandora have summoned you,” Benjamin stated calmly.

“Ben,” the head laughed, “It has been too long. How can I be of service, my old friend?” Dahl’s voice sounded like rocks being ground together.

“We need your help,” Benjamin explained. “We’ve got to get around this room, but it’s full of minotaurs. Is there another way?”

“The Tower of Earth was built to be impenetrable; with only one path to the Heart Chamber at the base,” Dahl responded solemnly. “I’m sorry, but the only way is through that room.”

“I understand,” Benjamin said, sounding disappointed. “Do you know where our companions are?”

“Of course,” Dahl said, sounding offended. “I know all that occurs within these walls. They are in the upper halls, retrieving relics of significant value, as instructed. Once again, I am sorry, but they will not be able to aid you.”

“What do you mean, ‘as instructed’?” Lauren asked. The head looked at her in surprise before answering.

“They sought council from Guardian Silva, by means of a shadow elemental, before entering the tower, my Lady.” Dahl explained, very respectfully. “Those where his orders in accordance with the will of the Goddess.”

“You will not refer to me as such again,” Lauren growled.

“A thousand pardons, my-” he cut himself off under the glare of Lauren.

“Is there no way you can help us?” Benjamin asked, almost pleading.

“We beings of the Immortal Realm are not permitted to involve ourselves in the conflicts of the mortals. Only the gods can do that,” Dahl explained apologetically. “But I can tell you, there are no more minotaurs along the path you follow; beyond that room that is. The cursed creature you seek despises their presence.”