Beginning of an End

Beginning of an End

The soldiers push aside the bushes, and a village is revealed to us. Followers of the flame are all around, working hard, keeping silent. Normal people are there too, playing children, working adults, learning students. I’m flabbergasted. This is far from what I expected. The stories do not do this place justice.

‘You wished to see the village?’ one of the soldiers asks, ‘Here it is’.

We walk into the town. It’s amazing. The sounds of farm labour remind me of home, and the giggles of children are a nice touch. Between the ordinary houses, one thing stands out. A large temple towers above the other buildings.

‘We may be outcasts’ one of the soldiers says, ‘but we have rules. Stick to them, and enjoy your stay’.

The soldiers walk off, probably to spread word of their success in battle. Demon guy is dead.

‘When are they going to kill us?’ Geirolf asks, holding Craig’s leash in his hands.

‘I… don’t think they will’ I stutter.

‘What happened to the whole “they’re insane” talk?’.

‘The stories were wrong.’

I begin to explore the town hesitantly, the others join in. It seems to be like any other farming village, but with more soldiers and tributes to some kind of fire god. The beacon on the top of the temple is lit, and everyone stops what they’re doing to look at it. The soldiers begin to speak as one again.

‘Our bodies are many, our minds are one. United by the Flame as it guides our spirits. Enlighten us with your fire, teach us with your burning passion, save us from the cold.’

They all look up as the Flame soldiers shoot burning towers of fire into the air. It gives the sky a dark red tint, then it regains normality. Everyone cheers and the soldiers start a chant, one of which the language I do not understand. A child walks up to us.

‘Are you new here?’ the child asks.

‘Yes’.

The child looks back at the cheering people. ‘There is a feast tonight, my mommy wants to know if you’ll join us’.

‘Definitely’ Geirolf responds quickly, ‘We’d love to’.

‘This wasn’t what I’d expected’ I say as I put more bread on my plate, ‘Far from it’.

‘You shouldn’t always believe the stories they tell you’ an old lady remarks, ‘It’s all lies’.

‘What brings you here, anyway?’ a young man asks.

‘A search for adventure’ Dean answers, shortly before gulping down an entire bowl of soup.

‘Looking for anything in particular?’.

‘Yes, actually’ I say. The others looked surprised, but don’t say anything. ‘We’re looking for the Pebble of Disaster’.

The people go quiet, including us. Only Geirolf keeps eating. There’s an awkward silence.

‘Do you also have a death wish?’ the young man asks.

‘Jimm!’ a woman hisses, ‘don’t be mean to the strangers!’.

The woman turns to look at us, examining our gear.

‘The cave’ she begins, ‘is very dangerous, and you will find no treasure worth the cost’.

‘It’s not about the treasure’ Sheila says, ‘it’s about proving that we can find it’.

‘Well, I’m sure my brother will tell you where it is.’

‘The Cave of Jimm’ I mumble, ‘are you the one who found it?’.

‘Yes’ he says angrily, ‘and it almost cost me my life’.

‘We will show you the way’ a Flame soldier says, ‘We leave at sunrise. Eat well, adventurers’.

I finish my meal in silence and go to bed with a feeling of regret. Perhaps I am in over my head.

‘Just behind those bushes’ the soldier says, ‘from here on in, you are on your own’.

We thank them for their kindness and push aside the foliage. A normal looking cave on the side of the mountain catches our attention.

‘That one?’ Sheila asks.

‘Yes’ he responds.

‘It’s not like we don’t appreciate all you’ve done for us, but why won’t you enter it?’.

‘Our god has forbidden us.’

‘I see.’

The soldiers leave and we walk towards the cave. It doesn’t look particularly special. Sheila lifts her hand and it lights up. A perfect light in the cave darkness.

From the moment I enter the cave I feel cold. The darkness seems to be just as alive as us.

‘Hey, Geirolf’ Dean says, ‘What happened to Craig?’.

‘Oh, him. I left him at the village so he could make friends. He’s better off with the farmers than with me.’

‘You do know they’ll eat him, right?’.

‘It would be a better death than whatever he’ll get if he follows us.’

Geirolf’s answer surprises me, I seem to learn more about him every day.

Our footsteps echo loudly. Whatever is at the end of the cave, it can easily hear us. There’s a buzzing sound in front of us, it becomes louder and louder with every step.

‘Wait’ Dean says, signalling us to stop. We do.

The buzzing still becomes louder and louder.

‘It’s coming this way’ he says.

There are no good places to hide, but we try our best. The irregularities of the wall can only cover half of our bodies. The buzzing is drawing nearer, now accompanied by a red light in the distance. We hold our weapons in hand, just in case. A red orb floats towards us. I passes us without causing any trouble. The light disappears and the buzzing slowly fades away.

‘I can see why people would find this place weird’ I say.

We encounter a consistent amount of nothing on our journey. Then there’s a large, empty space in the tunnel. What seems to be a deep crevice separates the two parts of the room. It’s too large to jump over. There’s something on the other side of the room, but it’s impossible to see what.

Sheila picks up a small rock and drops it down the ravine, it is quickly consumed by the darkness. We never hear it land.

‘Sheila, can you make a bridge?’ I ask.

Before she can answer, large hands of rock come out from the void below.

Three stone monstrosities stand before us. They are made of loose boulders, which are attached to each other with magic. Their “limbs” grind together as they move. When they have assumed their positions, it becomes quiet.

The silence is awkward, I expected a fight at the very least.

‘May we pass?’ Dean asks.

‘You must pass the tests’ they say, each one saying one part of the sentence.

‘Though surrounded by a strange sound, and emitting a menacing light. When I tried to pass, you put up no fight’ the left one says, ‘You have completed the first test’.

‘What’s the second test?’ Dean asks.

‘Before you is an abyss, dark and cold. You must now pass it, or so I was told.’ The middle one says.

Sheila scoffs and lifts her hands. The cave floor shakes as the ground itself forms a bridge.

‘I’m not impressed’ she says as she walks over the dark void.

Geirolf and Dean cross the bridge as well, but I’m stuck behind. I’m afraid of looking down, but I’m afraid I’ll trip and fall if I don’t.

‘Close your eyes’ Dean says as he walks over to me.

‘No’ I shake my head, ‘I can’t do this’.

He looks into my eyes, ‘Do you trust me?’.

I look around, then close my eyes without answering the question.

He guides me forward step by step, correcting me as we walk.

‘You’re doing well’ he says.

‘Please don’t let go’ I say, tightening my grip on his hands.

He laughs, ‘I’m not letting go, not ever’.

His footsteps are inaudible, but his voice is soft and sweet.

‘Open your eyes’ he says.

I slowly look around, I’m safe, I’m here.

‘Thank you’ I say as I hug him, ‘Thank you’.

With a single leap the stone golems cross the gap.

‘You did not leave her, that was very kind. For the ones that truly matter, must not be left behind’ the middle one says.

I sigh, ‘Now what?’.

They remain silent as they walk farther into the cave.

There is an altar. A small rock rests on a pillar of stone. The Pebble.

‘That’s it’ I say, ‘The Pebble, it’s right there!’.

I look up at the rock golems, they just stand there. It doesn’t seem like they will stop us, but they do seem like they could. Geirolf walks up the small steps and picks up the die. Then he freezes, not talking nor moving.

‘Geirolf?’ Sheila says hesitantly, ‘Geirolf, are you alright?’.

She walks forward and turns him around. His skin has gone pale and his face is unmoving. Sheila shakes him around, but the die falls out of his hands. Geirolf goes back to normal, but now we have different things to worry about.

The die comes to a stop, and shortly afterwards it emits a bright, purple glow, which illuminates the entire cave. It’s blinding, but quickly fades. There is now a dark red portal with an ominous glow right above the pebble. Dean grabs it quickly, but just then a black arm reaches out of the portal and grabs him by the hand. I shoot an arrow into its elbow, and it lets go long enough for Dean to back away.

‘Run’ he says when he gets back to the group.

We stand still for a while, but then heed his advice. I stop in front of the crevice, still unable to overcome my fear. Beasts crawl out of the portal, and the golems are soon overrun. A shadow creature notices me staring, and hovers over to me. I slowly back away, but by boots are already sliding over the edge. I whisper a silent prayer, something I haven’t done in a long time. Geirolf stands before me, protecting me from the oncoming threats, but even he can’t stop them forever. He holds his swords upright, impaling an imp as it jumps towards him. Sheila stands behind him, making sure he can see alright. I’m approached by Dean, whose face shows a mixture of frustration and pity.

‘Sorry’ he says, then he picks me up without warning and carries me over the improvised bridge.

Fear overtakes my body as I’m forced to look straight into the waiting void. It feels as if it’s trying to pull me in, but I remain on Dean’s shoulders. He forcefully puts me down on the other side, but I still find it hard to move.

At this point even Geirolf is being overrun. The golems can no longer be seen underneath the approaching monsters. Sheila and Geirolf back up slowly, crossing the bridge bit by bit. I do my best to provide cover fire, but it doesn’t seem to be making a difference. The bridge crumbles and cracks as Sheila uses her magic to bring it down, and we make a run for it when the winged creatures continue their assault. We close off the cave when we leave. A horde of demons crash against the boulder, but it remains in place. ‘Don’t open’ Geirolf carves into the stone, and we collapse by a tree.