Chapter
13: Into Darkness
Shailaja stripped off her
clothing, her actions emulated by
Vasanta. She took her garments,
weapons, and other possessions and pushed them through the bars of the cyclopean
gate. She waited while Vasanta
did the same and then moved toward the part of the gate that bridged the
gap from which flowed the source of the
lake.
Gripping the bars she
edged out over the water, Vasanta following, and then slowly climbed down
toward the bottom of the gate.
She moved carefully, making
sure that Vasanta kept pace with her until she finally reached the placed
where the water from the subterranean stream surged through the
bars. She looked at
Vasanta. “Ready?” she
asked.
“As ready as I’ll
ever be in this mad scheme,” the Nahn princess
answered. In spite of the fact
that Vasanta’s swimming had improved immensely, she was still far from
comfortable in anything deeper than a bath and she was certainly not comfortable
this close to the powerful stream that poured out of the cave and into the
lake. And she knew from
Shailaja’s explanation of her plan that her fear of water was going
to be severely tested.
Shailaja edged herself into
the water, clinging tightly to the thick bars to keep from being swept
away. It was no easy task; the
force of the underground river was formidable, threatening to tear her away
from the bars, and the bars themselves were slippery with algae, but slowly
she pulled herself deeper into the water, using her formidable strength to
cling to the bars.
Finally immersed to her
neck, she waited patiently while Vasanta nervously joined her, knowing how
difficult it was for the Nahn princess to place herself at the mercy of an
element with which she was so
uncomfortable. Finally, however,
Vasanta was beside her, clinging like death itself to the iron
bars. Shailaja gave her a quick
nod of acknowledgement, a gesture that was received with the usual glower
and then she took a deep breath pushed and herself beneath the
surface.
Now that she fully immersed,
it was even more difficult to hold onto the slippery
bars. It was no easy task to
force herself downward against the powerful push of the current and the natural
buoyancy of her body. But she
fought her way deeper until the chain connecting her to Vasanta prevented
any further movement. Then, extending
her feet as far as she could, she felt her way down the iron
barrier.
Pulling the chain as tight
as she could she fought against the current and the chill of the water and
extended her feet toward the bottom of the barrier until she finally felt
…nothing.
It was what she had hoped for. It told her that the massive barrier that blocked the entrance to the underground river and possible escape went only three yards below the surface of the water. All that remained was to persuade Vasanta to attempt it.
That turned out to be surprisingly easy. The Nahn princess was not going to back away from something that Shailaja had already done. “You must keep pace with me,” Shailaja explained. “The bottom of the gate is just three yards down. We’ll submerge together and slide under the bottom of the gate and then surface on the other side.”
It sounded easy the way Shailaja explained it, but Vasanta was barely holding on to the slippery bars of the gate. At any moment she could be swept away taking Shailaja with her, but she would be cursed by the gods if she was going to be the one to let go first. Whatever the Kaltaran whore could do she could do just as well.
Shailaja took a deep breath and without waiting to see if Vasanta was following began to repeat her descent of the iron gate. Muttering to herself Vasanta sucked in a lungful of air and then followed.
She was almost swept away in the first few steps. Fighting against her own buoyancy and the power of the current she had to exert all of her strength to follow her larger companion. But she was not about to let Shailaja outdo her. Hanging on with grim desperation she forced herself down the gate keeping pace with Shailaja.
Twice she almost lost her hold, but caught it again and continued to pull herself down the slippery gate. Below her she could sense Shailaja moving in front of her, but she had her eyes shut tight and could not see her. However, she could feel the tug of the chain as Shailaja gained the bottom of the gate. She suddenly realized that if she did not keep up she or Shailaja would end up hooked on the gate, a situation that would result in either one or both of them drowning.
Shailaja gained the bottom of the gate, pushing against the powerful flow of water that attempted to break her hold. She waited for Vasanta unwilling to attempt to swing around to the other side until the Nahn princess was ready to do the same. The flow of water tried to push her out into the lake, but she held on while the princess slowly descended. To her eyes Vasanta seemed agonizingly slow, but she held on, glad of the fact that the daily runs Olara had forced on her enabled her to hold her breath much longer than normal.
Shailaja noticed as Vasanta finally arrived that her eyes were closed, something that no doubt accounted for her slowness, but there was no time to waste. Swinging her body around the bottom of the gate, she grabbed hold of the bars from the other side and pulled her body to the upstream side of the gate. The chain about her neck tightened and then went slack as Vasanta followed. She moved more slowly and Shailaja had to resist the temptation to help her out by pulling on the chain. Her lungs burning she could do nothing but wait as Vasanta slowly followed.
She watched as Vasanta struggled around the bottom of the gate, finally reaching the other side. Her patience at an end Shailaja reached down and catching her fingers in Vasanta’s hair, pulled her upward, at the same time climbing toward the surface.
Going up was not quite as slow as going down, but the powerful current pressed Shailaja and Vasanta against the inside of the bars, requiring that they use all of their strength to force themselves toward the surface. At the end of her arm Vasanta twisted like an eel, enraged that Shailaja had dragged her by her hair.
They surfaced almost at the same time gasping for air and still clinging to the heavy bars, although now the full force of the current pushed them against it. “You touch me again, you Kaltaran cow, and I will ignore honour and cut off your head.”
“I apologize,” Shailaja answered. “I should have known that you needed no help.”
“I need no help from the whore who betrayed and murdered my brother. You still have that to pay for and you can be assured I will collect on that debt.”
“Perhaps that can wait until we reach dry land,” Shailaja suggested. She began to pull herself along the bars, climbing as she went and moving toward the spot where they had left their clothes and weapons. Holding back her anger Vasanta followed, barely able to resist the impulse to haul on the chain and pull Shailaja under the water.
Reaching the area where the gate met the land they clambered out of the water and lay panting on the bank of the river. Looking up they could see the top of the cave above them. It seemed strange to be sitting beside a huge river and yet inside a cavern. However, they did not have much time to contemplate the matter.
Shailaja pushed herself to her feet and began to put on her clothing. She said nothing, hoping her example would spur Vasanta into action. It was imperative that they not linger near the cave entrance. It was only a matter of time until whatever pursuit had been sent after them caught up with them and she did not want to be anywhere near the bars when it did, fearing that their pursuers would have keys that would allow them to unlock the gate.
Fortunately, she did not have to urge her companion into action, Vasanta quickly joined her and within a few heartbeats they were ready to move. Unfortunately, another obstacle immediately presented itself.
“How are we going to see where we’re going? Vasanta asked.
Shailaja had no answer for that. She had completely overlooked the fact that once they passed beyond the light coming in through the cave entrance it would be completely dark. However, she was not going to admit that she had ignored so basic a problem and there was nothing she could do about it anyway. They were on the other side of the gate and anything they might have used to light their way was out of reach. “We’ll just have to see how far the cave goes. Perhaps we can find a place to hide before we go too far.”
“Wonderful,” Vasanta spat. “We’re just going to blunder about in darkness until we stumble upon a convenient place of refuge.”
“I’m not the only one with a brain,” Shailaja retorted. “Why did you not suggest it when you had the chance? We have to work together. I can’t be expected to think of everything.”
“It appears to me,” Vasanta growled, “that you have thought of very little. So far your escape plan has nearly gotten us killed and drowned and now we have to explore a dangerous cave without any light.”
“I didn’t force you to come with me,” Shailaja answered. “Our situation was desperate. I saw a chance to escape and took it and you followed me willingly. Arguing with one another won’t solve anything. Let’s go farther into the cave before any pursuit shows up and see what we find.”
Vasanta had run out of objections. Shrugging she picked up her few possessions. “Lead the way,” she said. “How much worse can this get?”
“How is she?” In spite of a message he had received just a few hundred heartbeats previously, Guered-mal-Far could not keep his concern out of his voice.
“She will survive, but may have something of a limp for awhile,” Tened-mal-Benar answered. “Right now it looks as if she will heal without permanent damage, no thanks to your barbarian pets.”
“You are right to blame me,” Guered replied. “I was foolish to assign my Arms Mistress the task of training two barbarians when I could have had anyone do it. Now I have the blood of two of my guards on my conscience. Those two are becoming a very expensive purchase.”
Tened shrugged. “It is just possible; that these two cannot be tamed. Perhaps you should consider using them only in the arena and give up on any other plans involving them.”
“Perhaps you are right,” Guered agreed. “I will let you get back to your duties. Could you ask Elnar to step in as you leave?”
“I will do so,” Tened replied. He headed for the door which was opened before he reached it by the two guards flanking it. A moment after he left Elnar-mal-Seb entered. The soldier immediately went to his knee, slapping his clenched fist in salute against his breastplate and lowering his gaze to the floor.
Guered grimaced. He found the display embarrassing. “Get up, Captain. Tell me what you have discovered.”
Elnar got to his feet. “My Hector, I apologize for…”
“For what?” Guered interrupted. “Not killing the two most valuable slaves I have ever owned? You are not at fault. I should have had the two barbarians more carefully secured.”
Although chaining them neck to neck should have prevented any escape. They are far more resourceful that I expected. “What have you discovered?”
Elnar breathed an audible sigh of relief. “I followed the two barbarians, taking with me several men and nets to insure their capture. I knew that the way they had gone ended in a dead end at the water gate. I though I had them trapped, but, when I arrived at the gate I found only the two horses they had taken. Closer investigation revealed that the surface of the cavern on the other side of the gate was slightly damp indicating that water had been dripped onto the floor. I surmised that somehow, against all reason the barbarians had found a way to the other side of the gate by way of swimming under it.”
Guered shook his head. “Resourceful indeed,” he commented. “Captain, arrange a pursuit party. Make sure it is well armed and equipped with sufficient torches. We go in pursuit of our runaways.”
“You are going, My Lord?” Elnar asked. “You know the dangers that lie there. The last time the caves were visited no one returned.”
“This time will be different,” Guered replied. “It is about time the menace that lies in the darkness was eliminated. We will go in force. I will be ready in half a turn of the glass. Have everything ready by then.”
As Elnar left the room another man stepped forward. “My Lord,” he said quietly. “Are you sure you wish to leave the city at this time? The dangers of the cavern are serious and matters with Selmat are far from settled.”
Guered looked at his spy chief. Kelmar-mal-Fehn was one of the few people beside Tened and Olara who had his complete trust. The man he spoke of, Selmat-mal-Zenar was the leader of a rival faction in Thar; one who strongly opposed most of the reforms Guered had forced upon the conservative leadership of Thar. More importantly, Selmat was the leader of the powerful Merchant’s Guild, a faction that had governed Thar for most of the last century.
“That may be true,” Guered answered, “but I cannot let the likes of Selmat or his little coterie tie me to the palace in perpetuity.”
“Certainly not,” Kelmar agreed, “but this is a critical time. My reports indicate that he is up to something.”
“Surely nothing you and the guard cannot deal with.”
“If Selmat were to merge his bodyguard with those of the other large merchant houses that oppose you, he would have a force that outnumbers the city guard two to one.”
Guered sighed. “That is so, but I still have the support of most of the major houses and the forces Selmat can muster have nowhere near the level of training my troops have. Still, it would be better not to have any armed confrontation between the forces of the Hector and one of the major merchant factions.”
“So you will stay then?” Kelmar asked.
“No,” Guered replied. “I have been cooped up ion the city for too long. However, you know where I am going. If there is trouble send me word at once and I will return. I do not expect to be more than half a day’s march away in any case.”
“With all due respect, My Lord,” Kelmar pressed, “I think you are taking an unnecessary risk. No one knows how far back those caves go.”
“Then it is time we found out and dealt with the menace that is there at the same time,” Guered stated.
This time it was Kelmar who sighed. “As you would have it, My Lord. I will send messengers each quarter to keep you apprised of events in Thar.”
“Good,” Guered grinned. “That’s settled then. I am the Hector of Thar. I should be able to leave the city whenever the urge takes me.”
“Yes, My Lord,” Kelmar replied resignedly. I just hope your decision is the right one.”
Shailaja edged into the darkness. Her eyes had not yet adjusted to the dark of the cave and it was pitch black once she got more than fifty yards from the entrance. She would have given almost anything for a torch to help her light the way. She ran her hand along the wall to her right as a way of making sure she did not wander away from the path that bordered the thundering torrent that roared past to her left. The flow of water filled the cavern with the sound of its passage, drowning out all other sounds if there were any. But even as she edged forward she knew that the situation was hopeless. Without a light of some sort to see where she was going, wandering blindly into the cave made no sense at all. She and Vasanta were trapped and stumbling through the darkness risked injury or even death. And then her head bumped into something hard and metallic.
It was fortunate that she was hardly moving as the object she had bumped into seemed fixed immovably to the wall. Holding her bruised forehead with one hand she reached up with the other. “Mirana’s blessing,” she muttered.
Behind her Vasanta sensed that Shailaja had stopped even if she could not hear her above the roar of the river. “What is it?” she shouted.
Shailaja turned triumphantly. Vasanta could not see her, but she was grinning broadly. “A torch, I’ve found a torch!”
“Well,” relied Vasanta, with considerably less enthusiasm. You’ve finally done something right. I don’t suppose you have any way of lighting it.”
In fact Shailaja did not. Neither of the men whose equipment they had taken had any fire-making equipment, but she guessed that a torch set in a wall sconce must have some way of lighting it. Carefully she ran her hands over the wall and came across a small niche. Putting her hand into it she came across the familiar touch of a flint and steel.
The torch was soaked in some sort of resinous substance and it took her only a few heartbeats to get it burning. Raising torch above her head she peered into the darkness and saw that a walkway ran along the bank of the river. She reasoned that the walk must have been built for some purpose and that maybe it was a way out. She communicated her hopes to Vasanta who nodded sourly. “Alright. Let’s see where it goes,” the Nahnian princess said. Taking the lead once more Shailaja pushed on into the darkness.
They went slowly. This close to the river the surface of the cave ran with water and was slippery everywhere, but especially on the floor where it lay in pools that soon resulted in their feet becoming soaked. In addition water dripped from the ceiling and dribbled down the walls and it did not take long until all of their garments were wet through. It made for very unpleasant walking and it was with some relief that Shailaja saw the path begin to rise and veer away from the torrent of water on their left. Soon they were walking above the river and the stone surfaces around them became much drier.
It was a welcome change as Shailaja did not know how they could have gone on if the path had continued to follow the river. It would have made sleeping impossible and she was well aware that sooner or later they would have to stop to rest.
The path continued to rise and they passed a few more wall sconces each containing a torch. Shailaja collected these for the time when the one she was carrying finally burned out. By now the stone surface around then was dry enough that they no longer had to fear that they would slip and fall. In addition, the river was now far enough below them that its roar no longer drowned out all other sound. It would have made it possible for Shailaja and Vasanta to converse in normal tones, but Shailaja could think of nothing to talk about, and Vasanta continued her usual stony silence. It was better than the insults and threats she usually directed toward her companion, but not by much.
The path was clearly not as nature had made it. In several places stone steps had been cut in particularly step sections and she could see piles of rubble on the side where obstacles had been cleared out of the way. It gave Shailaja hope that it might actually lead to a place of safety, especially as more sconces holding torches were found at regular intervals. When she came to one of these she removed the torch and added it to her collection.
They walked long enough that the first torch burned down and Shailaja took another and lit it from the first. Although it was impossible to keep tack of the passage of time Shailaja guessed that it took at least one turn of the glass for the torch to burn to nothing. It gave her some idea of how deep inside the mountain they were.
The second torch lit, they pressed on following the path as it led ever deeper into the darkness. It occurred to Shailaja that if it took longer than a day or so to find their way to where the path, led she and Vasanta would need food. That was a problem as they had brought none with them. However, there was nothing she could do about it. Her immediate goal was to get as far away from immediate pursuit as possible and worry about other things later.
Another approximate turn of the glass found the second torch burning low. This was of some concern as the last few sconces had been empty. They had four torches left which meant if they kept on until the next torch was used up they would have to make a decision. They would then be three torches into the caves and with only three remaining pushing on would mean trusting that they would find a way our before the remaining three were used up. The only other choice would be to turn back and use the torches to get back to where they had started. It was one more thing to worry about, but as she took the next torch from her belt Vasanta spoke.
“Wait.”
It was the first word Vasanta had spoken since the lighting of the first torch and surprised Shailaja more than the word she had uttered. She turned to look at the Nahn princess.
“I think it is lighter here,” Vasanta said. “I can make out the path and the walls of the cave beyond the light of the torch.”
Shailaja wedged the torch into a crack in the cave wall and stepped away from the light. Without the light of the torch to blind her she could see that what Vasanta said was true. There was a definite glow up ahead. “Perhaps we have found the way out,” she commented.
Leaving the burning torch behind both warriors edged forward. As they did so the glow increased, becoming bright enough that they could easily make out the details of their surroundings, however, it soon became apparent that the light was not coming from some outside source as Shailaja had hoped, but from the walls and ceiling of the cave itself.
“The cave is glowing,” Shailaja muttered. She moved forward and touched the stone and discovered that where the walls glowed they were covered in a thin lichen-like growth that emitted a faint phosphorescence. Alone a single patch of it illuminated almost nothing, but the minute glowing plants covered most of the surface of the rock, providing enough light that they could see without the aid of the torch. It meant that they could conserve their remaining torches and without wasting any time both women continued their journey.
By now Shailaja was feeling pangs of hunger. She wasn’t thirsty as there had been many small pools of water next to the path, most caused by water dripping from the ceiling. She drank frequently, scooping up the water with her hand as she passed, in an effort to dull her hunger. It worked to a certain extent, but eventually Shailaja knew they would have to find something to eat. If not they would be forced to turn back.
The sound of the river gave her an idea. By now it was well below them, so far down in fact that she only knew it was there from the continual sound of rushing water. There might be food there if they could find a way down to it. She was thinking of fish and wondering if fish lived in a river that flowed in complete darkness. She supposed that they might provided that the source of the stream was somewhere where the sun shone. Unfortunately, there was no way of determining that without actually descending to the river and seeing what actually lived in it.
They had stopped to examine the glowing walls of the cave. “Let’s move on,” Shailaja prompted. “But stay alert. I do not like this.”
She had no reason for the last statement, but something about the pale glow made her uneasy even if it did mean that they no longer had to depend on the light from torches. Together they moved out continuing the gradual climb that had taken them above the river. Suddenly Shailaja stopped and held up her hand.
“What is it?” Vasanta asked. She didn’t like this journey in the dark, but she was not going to admit her fear to her companion. Chained to Shailaja she had little choice but to follow.
“I’m not sure,” Shailaja answered. Beneath her feet she could sense a faint vibration. Going to her knees she placed her hands on the stone. She nodded her head in affirmation. Something was making the ground shake and she had an idea what it was. She got to her feet and moved further along the path. A few hundred heartbeats later her suspicions were confirmed; from up ahead came the rumble of falling water.
“A waterfall?” Vasanta asked. “How can there be a waterfall underground?”
“The same way there can be a river underground I suppose,” Shailaja answered.
Without further conversation they continued their journey. A quarter turn of the glass they rounded a corner and came upon an amazing sight.
Before them the tunnel opened into a vast
cavern. It spread out below them,
illuminated by the strange glow of the lichen that grew on the cavern
walls. On the far side a huge
waterfall thundered into the cavern, dropping into the river that fed the
“Well,” Shailaja said finally, “this is not getting us anywhere. Let’s see where else the path takes us.”
It turned out that it took them around the edge of the cavern and then back toward the top of the falls. They moved steadily onward, the roar of the falls blotting out even the sounds of their own footsteps. By this time Shailaja found herself tiring. She and Vasanta had been on the go from before dawn and had eaten nothing. Their steady exertions were sapping their strength; however, with the river almost within reach once again Shailaja was eager to see if it did indeed contain fish. She mentioned the idea to Vasanta as they reached the top of the falls.
“Can’t hurt,” Vasanta replied actually agreeing for once. “I’m almost ready to eat my boots and I need those for walking.”
Shailaja smiled. It was as close as Vasanta had ever come to telling a joke since they had been flung together, but she made no comment on it. Reaching the edge of the river she peered into its surging waters. She had no proper fishing gear, but she had caught fish with her bare hands on occasion and would do so this time if there was no other way. First, however, she had to see if there was anything to catch. She crouched by the dark waters and studied them for any sign of life.
In spite of the strength of the flow, Shailaja knew that meant very little to fish. In her homeland she had seen fish swim straight up waterfalls, but she also knew that they frequently rested in more sheltered areas. In this Vasanta agreed with her, being equally knowledgeable when it came to matters of hunting and fishing. They soon spotted movement beneath the dark surface that indicated something was alive in the waters.
They had no proper fishing gear, but Shailaja took off the harness holding her swords and then stripped off the shirt she had taken from the guard she had overpowered. Using her knife she cut it into strips and tied it to the hilt of the sword, creating a rather awkward fishing spear. “This might do,” she said.
She balanced herself on the edge of the water and after waiting patiently struck at what she hoped was the right moment. She threw the sword like a spear and through a mixture of skill and sheer good luck struck something first try. She pulled the sword out revealing the wriggling body of a large fish. Quickly she flipped it onto the land and used her knife to finish it off.
There was no way of cooking her catch, but by now she and Vasanta were so hungry that eating raw fish did not concern them in the least. Cutting the fish into strips she and her companion made short work of the fish. It restored their energy and Shailaja suggested they move on until they were a bit more tired. There was no argument from Vasanta and they continued their journey.
Once more the path took them along the river. Fortunately in the vast space of the cavern there was considerably less moisture than at the lower levels and the footing was relatively dry. As a result they made good time, moving ever deeper into the caves. As before the caves seemed devoid of life, but that changed shortly after they resumed their trek.
Shailaja, who was in the lead, noticed it first. Attached to a rock outcrop was a large web and in its centre was a spider with a body the size of a walnut. To Shailaja it was the best of omens. Spiders meant prey, and prey meant other living creatures. Perhaps just a few turns of the glass ahead was a way out of the cave. It decided them against resting in favour of continuing their journey for as long as they could.
They encountered more webs as they continued, each containing a large spider. In a few of them were small insects which reinforced Shailaja’s hope that they were nearing a way out of the cave. However, things did not progress quite the way she hoped.
The first indication that things might not be as rosy as she had hoped was the increasing size and frequency of the webs along with a similar increase in the size of their creators. The webs went from being a yard across to a yard and a half and then two yards. The spiders occupying the last webs were the size of Shailaja’s hand. She was not particularly concerned about this as she knew that web spiders stayed where they were and were no threat to anything beyond their webs. However, this changed when they came across a web several yards across. The spider occupying its centre had a body the size of Shailaja’s head and its legs stretched more than a yard from its body. It eyed Shailaja and Vasanta with its multiple unblinking eyes as they approached.
“Can it see us?” Vasanta asked.
“I expect it can,” Shailaja, replied, “but I have never known a spider to leave its web.”
“How about that one?” Vasanta asked.
Clinging to the rock wall nearest them was a hunting spider with a body the size of a large melon. With its legs the creature was almost a yard across.
Both women stopped and surveyed the monstrous creature. The first thing that came into Shailaja’s mind was to wonder what a spider that size fed upon. The next was to wonder if a spider that big could reach her in one jump. She knew that spiders of that sort could jump; she’d seen them jump many times the length of their body, but she wondered if so huge a creature could get its body off the ground. Nevertheless, she took no chances, her twin swords appearing in her hand as if by magic. It was then that she noticed that the surface of the cave ahead of them seemed to be moving.
“Balthar’s balls,” Vasanta cursed, invoking the name of the Nahn god of war. “There are thousands of them.”
If her statement was an exaggeration it was not by much. The floor of the cavern was literally covered with bulbous spider bodies all of them moving in their direction. Most like the one closest to them had bodies the size of small pumpkins with legs in proportion.
“Back,” Shailaja shouted, quite unnecessarily. As fast as they could, without taking their eyes off the advancing phalanx of spiders, Shailaja and Vasanta backed down the path. The problem was the spiders could move much faster forward than they could backward.
Shailaja chanced a quick look behind her and spotted a place where they could make a stand. It was a rock outcrop the trail they had followed had bent around. By moving against it they could force the spiders to come at them from one direction only. Or so they hoped. It did not occur to either warrior that some of the spiders might be able to cling to the ceiling of the cave and try to come at them from above. However, the first wave came at them from the floor of the cave only.
Fangs dripping poison, the spiders launched themselves toward the two warriors; some scuttling along the floor of the cave with the intention of attacking their legs while others showed that they could indeed jump, launching themselves from distances of up to ten yards as they sought to overwhelm the two warriors by sheer strength of numbers.
The spiders were met by a wall of steel. Vasanta had taken off her pack, and holding it in her left, hand used it as a shield while her sword cut down every spider that came near her. Shailaja’s twin blades sliced through the chitinous legs and bodies of any spider that came within a yard of her offering an impenetrable barrier to every attack the spider horde attempted.
No common warriors could have survived such an assault. But the spiders faced a foe they had never before encountered, one that deflected every attack in spite of their almost suicidal onslaught. Even so it was a near thing. Several times spider fangs nearly found human flesh, but each time either Shailaja’s blades or Vasanta’s sword cut them down at the last instance. Within a short time a rising barrier of oozing spider bodies formed in front of them, forcing the attacking swarm to come at them over a wall of their own dead. It allowed Shailaja to focus on picking them off as they came over the top while Vasanta dealt with the spiders that scampered across the cave ceiling and tried to drop on them from above.
Then as suddenly as it had begun the spider attack stopped. It was almost as if some power had issued a command and the spiders had obeyed. However, the spiders did not go far. Instead of attacking they began to haul off the bodies of their fallen comrades, dragging them away a safe distance and then feeding on them.
The sight of the spiders devouring their own dead was a truly horrific sight, reminding the two warriors what awaited them if they failed. Breathing heavily and dripping sweat, they stood and attempted to regain their strength, waiting for the inevitable resumption of the attack.
Shailaja had no illusions about their chances. She and Vasanta had barely survived the first attack. Had the spiders persisted just a little longer one of them would have succeeded in injecting its poison into one of them and she had little doubt that a single bite would have been disabling if not fatal. Why the spiders had stopped when they had been so close to success she had no idea, but she was soon to find out.
As they stood watching the spiders dismember and devour their comrades Shailaja spotted something out of the ordinary on the far side of the cavern. Her eyes widened as she recognized what it was. It was a man, and he was walking among the spiders as if they represented no more danger than a flock of sheep.
“May Marana bless us,” Shailaja whispered. Her eyes widened in fear and wonder as the figure strode toward them. He was a man, but he was like no man she had ever seen or imagined.
He was taller than anyone she had ever seen; taller even than her lost lover, Sturm. He stood at least twelve spans in height, towering a good two feet taller than Shailaja’s six-and-a-half feet, and resembled the spiders he seemed to command. His arms and legs seemed incredibly long and Shailaja guessed that if he had extended his arms to the side they would have spanned a distance greater than his height. In his right hand he held a long staff topped with an ornate jeweled knob.
Adding to his bizarre appearance was the way he was dressed. For the most part he wore no clothing other than a small cloth covering that barely concealed his loins, but he wore numerous ornaments all of which emphasized his connection to the spider horde.
On his head he wore a strange helmet constructed from the skulls of giant spiders. Chelae swept down either side of his face like the bars of a cage, their sharp points ending just before they touched his skin. About his neck was a necklace on which were strung dozens of spider fangs. Similar spider jewelry adorned his wrists and ankles as bracelets and necklaces, and above each elbow was an armlet from which dangled the fangs of smaller spiders. His fantastic appearance was made even more grotesque by the fact that dozens of smaller spiders clung to his arms and shoulders. He was certainly the strangest person either Shailaja or Vasanta had ever laid eyes on, but when he stopped before them and spoke, his words seemed stranger still.
“Welcome,” he said, “to the Realm of the Spider King.”
PREVIOUS CHAPTER WIZARD'S LAIR MAIN PAGE L'ESPION'S STORY PAGE NEXT CHAPTER