//------------------------------// // Chapter Nine: Rivalry Renewed // Story: Sins of the Ancients // by Tundara //------------------------------// Sins of the Ancients Chapter Nine: Rivalry Renewed "Driven by fire and those with the lust of power, Darkness will consume and the rocks devour as Ancient evils awaken." -From the Prophecy of the Purple Wizard “What? Wait, you what?” Twilight shouted the questions. Blood pounded in her ears as a flush made her face burn. Tracey’s words, and their implications, continued to click into place in the back of Twilight’s mind. Twilight recognised the title Tracey addressed herself with, it was hard not to remember the arrogant and self-centered Great and Powerful Trixie, and the damage caused, admittedly not by her, by the two colts she wound up with her boasting. A part of Twilight had actually felt bad for Trixie. She had lost everything she owned and her reputation. No pony, no matter how mean, deserved that. But that was Trixie, in Equestria, where the worst she had done was embarrass some of Twilight’s friends. The colts Snips and Snails were more responsible for the Ursa Minor, as far as Twilight was concerned. Tracey however had all but admitted to instigating the murder of six good people whose only crime was being nice to Twilight. It would have been so foreign and incomprehensible to Twilight just a few days ago that her mind may not have been able to process the information. Now it all too easily came to a simple conclusion: The cause of so much pain and suffering was right in front of her. “All those deaths... all this carnage, because of what? Some old grudge from when you were a filly?” “Some old grudge? I don’t think you compr-,” Tracey said, all arrogance loosing itself from her voice, only to be cut off by a beastlike scream from Twilight. Later Twilight would freely admit to not fully comprehending what happened. All she knew was anger, a deep primal need to make Tracey pay for everything that had gone wrong. Even though in the waning light of the half-moon Twilight couldn’t see more than a vague outline of the people across the brook, in her mind she could practically see the blood staining their hands. The desire for revenge, Kodiak had called it, was so great it washed away all traces of the sweet, gentle, studious, and sometimes frantic librarian and student of magic, leaving only rage, scolding hot, thrumming through Twilight’s brain. Without letting Tracey complete her thought Twilight whipped her hands forward, left leg rotating in a half-circle behind her. The movements were precise and graceful with the time spent practicing in the Winterlands showing itself. Twilight could see the snaking cords of magic around her leap to attention. The air, the earth, the trees, and the brook all seemed to look at Twilight as if in anticipation, waiting to see what she wanted. Water answered the call without hesitation, forming a long blunt cylinder beside Twilight. Thin invisible cords of energy lashed the water to Twilight’s will. Thought sent the floating ram of water hurtling through the air towards the outline of the person Twilight believed to be Tracey. Lines of magic twisted, flaring like a sun in Twilight’s vision, before the ram could reach the figure creating a translucent wall of ghostly blue and purple light like an aurora had been dragged down from the sky. In the shimmering light created Twilight saw the ram being deflected away from a lean ginger haired woman, instead smashing into the man at her left sending him cart wheeling through the air. With a sickening crack he impacted an outcropping of granite, falling into a pile of limbs twisting at odd unnatural angles. A very still pile Twilight realised through the haze of rage. There wasn’t time for Twilight to reflect on what she had just done. Tracey was already moving, taking swift steps along the edge of the brook, raising a long grey staff of aged wood. Twilight vaguely remembered Ogopologos mentioning that a staff had greater amplifying power over other focuses. For a brief instant Twilight wished the dragon had said more about the strengths and limitations of using a staff. There was no time for Twilight to think, not that she was doing much conscious thought. A lance of pure glimmering blue-purple light shot from the top of Tracey’s staff aimed at Twilight’s mid-section. Pulling her hands apart Twilight called on the basic shield, the glowing pinkish disk materializing barely in time to deflect the lance into the sky. A moment later the energy in the lance detonated bathing the gully in cold light. Sweat beaded on Twilight’s brow as Tracey fired a second lance, the magic again being deflected skyward. On the heels of the second lance was a shimmering rainbow ripple growing to fill the distance between the two wizards like a ribbon gliding on a spring breeze. Twilight tensed for the spell’s impact. Surprise struck momentarily as Tracey’s spell passed through Twilight’s shield. Twilight could feel the prickle of magic make the hairs on her neck stand at attention as the spell washed over her. Under her feet the ground lurched, Twilight staggering a couple steps back as her balance re-asserted itself. When she looked back to Tracey, Twilight felt her jaw fall open. On the far side of the brook there stood five identical copies of the woman. Smiling all five of images of Tracey opened their arms and laughed, “Come now Jasmine, surely you can do better than this? I’ve seen first years do better! Stop pulling your punches, it’s not like you can hurt me.” Growling Twilight took another step back trying to regain control of her anger. She needed her head clear if she was going to counter Tracey’s spells. Not that Twilight had a big repertoire of magic at her disposal. Worse, Twilight knew she couldn’t try to improvise a spell. She just didn’t have enough understanding of how the weaves and matrixes worked yet to start improvising. Mimicking was a far cry from studying all the nuisances of a spell. Seeing no other options Twilight began hurling the water rams as fast as she could. To Twilight’s left Sun shot forward, her body low as she used Twilight’s conjured water as a barrier. Diving across the brook Sun bounced to the front of her feet, balanced like a cat on a fence, sword darting for the belly of one of the images of Tracey. Laughing like a filly in a playground the image of Tracey parried the thrust with the end of her staff. The image blurred for a moment as the staff and sword connected, resettling into the form of a lean grey haired man, the staff changing to a long thin sword. “She’s cloaked them all in illusions,” Sun shouted to Twilight. “Just hit everything,” she added as she rolled away from a cutting counter. Metal slapped against metal as Sun skipped away from the advancing man and the Tracey on the far left. Twilight discounted the image as being the real Tracey as she called up another of her water rams. The real Tracey was somewhere to the right having slipped in with the two men. It was like a shell game at a carnival. Twilight smiled as she realised it was exactly like a shell game, and those were almost always rigged so that the stone wasn’t under any of the shells. None of the Tracey’s in front of her was the real Tracey. Releasing the ram so it’d continue an unguided flight towards one of the false Tracey’s, Twilight fell into the stance for the nettles. The images seemed fragile, and while it wouldn’t reveal where the real Tracey was hiding, Twilight could make things easier for Sun. Flicking her hands in front of her like she was throwing darts Twilight sent a small swarm of flickering lights across the brook. Most she didn’t aim hoping to maybe catch Tracey by luck. All four remaining images of Tracey were struck, the illusions breaking under the contact of Twilight’s magic. As Twilight expected all four flickered to reveal men, swords drawn and rubbing the locations where they’d been struck. “Magic Nettles? Really Jasmine, that’s what you are reduced to using? And I thought this was going to be a challenge. But if that is how you want to play this game, who is the Great and Powerful Tracey to argue?” Further to Twilight’s right a swarm of nettles flung themselves into the night, easily twice the number Twilight had just used. Eyes wide Twilight whipped her hands back and forth reforming her shield. A sharp retort of popping filled the air as the nettles impacted the shield. Gritting her teeth Twilight fired another of her water rams aiming at the spot where the nettles had come from even as a shrill scream plucked at her senses from behind. Turning her head Twilight felt her stomach clench and the red hot anger return. April was lying on the ground hands clutching her belly, loud moans escaping her lips. Something in Twilight snapped in that instant as she looked at the expression of pain carved onto April’s innocent features. Blood pounding in her ears Twilight couldn’t hear the sounds of fighting around her. If she had, she would have heard laughter. Not Tracey’s almost shrill triumphant laughs. Not April’s high pitched bubbling giggles. Not the soft rolling laugh Sun had given when she and Twilight first met. This was a loud deep booming frightening laugh, a laugh that spoke of genuine amusement at the promise of committing pain. If Twilight had been able to hear the laugh she would have stopped to look for the laughs source as a chill ran up her spine. Instead she launched herself into her limited spells, calling two of the rams of water. Twisting them sideways she hurled both in the general area where Tracey’s Magic Nettles had swarmed from, the sideways rams exploding in fountains of water as they impacted the ground. A satisfied smile twitched Twilight’s lips as a sharp scream filled the night. It took a moment for Twilight to register that it had come from her left and not where the rams impacted. The burgeoning smile vanished as Twilight whipped around towards the scream’s origins. Kodiak stood fully beneath the light of the half-moon, holding his axe in one hand, and a dismembered arm in the other, his face turned towards the sky as deep laughter caused his body to rock. Kneeling in front of Kodiak was one of the men that had been with Tracey, clutching the bloody stump where his left arm had been. Worse than the sight of the blood gushing from the messy wound was the pure enjoyment submersing Kodiak. Still laughing Kodiak dropped the man’s arm, grabbed him by his hair, axe rising overhead. Before Twilight could scream for Kodiak to stop the weapon flashed twice, blood splattering all the way to her feet. Twilight didn’t know if she should scream or run. All thoughts of Tracey vanished against the images carving themselves permanent homes in her brain. She was numb, completely numb, falling to her knees as she watched Kodiak hurl the dead man’s head like a grotesque missile at another of Tracey’s henchmen. The head was slapped aside as the man and his partner advanced, not in a headlong rush, but slowly and cautiously. Kodiak just continued to laugh, leaping forward to close the distance. His axe flashed down, sparking as it was turned aside by precise parries. It quickly became apparent that Kodiak, despite his size advantage and sheer brutality, was being equaled by the two men. A short distance away a similar confrontation unfolded as Sun danced, spun, parried and scurried fending off two opponents. Even without Tracey, Twilight realised just how out-classed they were. With Tracey still skulking in the shadows it was a matter of time before Twilight and her friends were totally overwhelmed. Tracey seemed to have the same thought, a stream of billowing molten fire banishing the night as it howled towards Kodiak. Flames licked at his left side as he tossed himself aside still laughing. Kodiak’s laughing just didn’t stop, despite the stench of burnt hair and skin assaulting Twilight’s senses. Rolling to his feet Kodiak grabbed a rock nearly the size of Twilight’s head, tossing it without hesitation at the source of the flames. A loud crack and yelp followed by the flames fizzling indicated that he’d had more success than Twilight at hitting Tracey. The damage had been done, the dry brittle grass and shrubbery bursting into flames and sending sparks in showers of snaps and hisses. In moments the entire area was a sea of orange. Still tethered to the trees the horses whinnied in fear, tugging in desperation at their bonds. In the orange glow and heat Twilight could see more figures moving towards the fight. Out of the haze of night into the circle of growing light thundered a pair of horses, their riders leaning over their side to drive swords down at the men still fighting Sun and Kodiak. Twilight didn’t spend time trying to process the change in fortune. They needed to get away from the rapidly growing fire. Grabbing April, Twilight headed towards the horses. The horses were in a mad fright, their eyes riveted to the flames leaping and dancing closer by the second. Twilight could feel the heat snapping at her back as she pushed April onto the black stallion’s saddle. Hands gripped Twilight around the waist, propelling her up behind the girl. Looking over her shoulder Twilight saw Kodiak, his face splattered with red. He was no longer laughing as he jumped up onto his own mount, Sun mimicking the move moments later. With a knife Sun cut the horse’s tethers. Without prompting, all three horses bolted from the fire heading up the gully, the two people that had come to their aid following moments later. Twilight didn’t have time to think about what had happened, all her attention being spent on staying in the saddle, holding onto April, and keeping Sun’s mare in sight. * * * It was as the sun began to peak above the mountains that they slowed to a canter, then a trot, and then finally stopped. Below them the valley was burning. The fire already had spread to the edge of the lake and was fanning out in all directions. It wouldn’t be long before it caught up to the exhausted horses and people. “Well, that could have gone better,” Sun grumbled slipping off her sweat slick mount. “Could have gone worse too,” said one of the men that had rescued them. Twisting in her saddle Twilight finally looked back at their rescuers, only to have her mouth fall open. For a moment Twilight wondered if perhaps she was looking at ghosts. If there were ghosts in the Winterlands, perhaps they could cross over to the waking world as well. It was the only explanation for two supposedly dead men to be sitting only a few feet behind her. Vernon and Eric both nodded at Twilight, both sliding off their horses like Sun. “B-but, you’re both dead, I thought,” Twilight stammered as Eric came up to help April down from in front of Twilight. The mute man’s face turned up into a silent laugh as he offered Twilight a hand in getting off the horse. “Dead? Us? Where did you get that foolish notion?” Vernon chuckled, but before Twilight could sputter a response he continued, “We can’t stop to rest, not with that fire hounding our heels, as much as I would love to swap stories about what we’ve been doing this last week. We also have to assume that those men who survived the fight are going to be on our trail.” “Sorry we couldn’t make the rendezvous, Vernon, we got held up in town,” Sun said, slowly leading her mare along the trail. “We figured as much when that dragon started to holler yesterday. What happened?” “They had the gall to try to kill Twilight in front of the Lady in the Lake during the middle of the tithe.” Twilight swore she could her Sun’s teeth grinding together as the woman relayed everything that happened from pulling Twilight out of the festival to the attempt on her life, and the trip across the lake and out of the valley. Vernon stayed quiet for the story, Sun’s voice only broken by the soft clomp of hooves and scuffling of boots on loose gravel. “How are you holding up there, Ko’?” Sun asked when she finished filling Vernon in about the previous day. Something in Twilight seemed to snap at the mention of the pet name for the large man. Her breathing grew ragged as the images of the fight raced across Twilight’s vision. Too much death, too much blood, it all felt like a mountain in her mind that was about to topple, and when it did she’d loose herself completely. Twilight tried to perform every exercise Celestia had ever taught her to clear her mind and calm herself. None of them worked. It was all too much for the peaceful librarian and student of magic. She’d had many adventures, some of them dangerous, but nothing close to the events of the past day. Worse the stench of burnt flesh and hair still permeated the air. Kodiak had to be in immense pain from the burns he’d received, but the once again stoic man didn’t even seem to grimace or make any indication of the wounds. They’d have to be cleaned and tended to soon, Twilight knew, before infection could settle. “I am fine,” he said flexing his hands and shrugging. Mouth hanging half open Twilight wanted to ask how he could ignore what should be excruciating pain, but decided to put the question aside. Twilight found that she had very little interest in knowing more about Kodiak. The man was a monster and a killer, one thankfully on her side, but not someone Twilight wanted to know more about. If he said he was fine, then she would leave him alone. Only the remaining vestiges of her old self had prompted her to wonder about his wounds. With his answer Twilight was more than glad to leave him to his pain. “Who was the wizard that attacked you? Did you get his name?” Vernon asked pointedly ignoring Kodiak. “Her name was Tracey,” Sun replied, seeming to be satisfied by her partner’s response. “Tracey? You sure?” Twilight detected the surprise and concern lacing Vernon’s words. “Positive. Why, do you know her?” Twilight asked, glancing back to see Vernon’s expression mirroring his tone. “Yes, very well in fact. Jasmine and Tracey had the same master at the Academy.” “You mean Razel?” “No, not old Razel. He’s not taken on an apprentice in decades. Razel did teach anyone willing to put up with his cantankerous ways about how to fight to win. No spell to underhanded or trick dirty in his books. But Jasmine and Tracey never studied with him.” Vernon responded shaking his head slowly. Continuing he said, “Jasmine and Tracey were apprenticed to Master Sophia Maturin.” “We need to go that way,” April’s voice cut through the light conversation, the girl pointing off to her left, towards a cleft between two ridges. Everyone shared a look that was equal parts surprise and incredulous, everyone except Twilight. Walking up beside April, Twilight cast a glance back towards the slowly advancing fire. It hadn’t gained any ground, but neither was it falling behind. If they detoured or stopped to rest they risked the fire catching up. But Twilight knew to trust April’s intuition, especially if it was more than that guiding her. “Did you have a vision?” Twilight asked, hoping for confirmation. April nodded her head slowly, “I closed my eyes, just for a moment, and saw us entering a cave. There was a door of steel, and beyond it I saw rolling green fields, a town of thatched roofs, and in the distance, clinging to the side of a tall steep mountain, a castle glittering like gold beneath the sun. There were words on the door; Black Mountain.” Twilight felt her stomach perform a complicated flop at April’s description. Without a word to the others she stepped off the trail, heading towards the cleft April had pointed towards. After only a few steps Vernon was beside her, grabbing Twilight’s shoulder to stop her. “Where are you going? We don’t have time for detours.” “I’m going home, Vernon, I’m going home. Where I have my family and friends. Where things are safe and sane. Where there aren’t assassins lurking around every corner and giants who laugh like maniacs as they hack people apart. I am going home, Vernon, and I am taking April with me. I’m all she has left, even if it’s partially my fault that she’s lost all her family. You and your friends scare me, they scare me immensely. Your entire race scares me. Celestia, I scare myself.” Twilight didn’t wait for a response or to see the downcast look that etched itself onto Vernon’s face like it was stone. With one hand Twilight let April guide her, the other leading the stallion. She noted with a bit of surprise that Kodiak was the first to follow, with Sun, Eric, and finally Vernon following suit. April lead them in silence, the crackle of the fire growing closer as it consumed the forest. Overhead angry black clouds began to gather bringing the threat of rain and thunder. As they approached the ridges the first rumble rolled across the mountain, sheet lighting making the belly of the clouds glow. The air took on the cool taste of rain moments before the belly of the clouds opened up disgorging a heavy mat of water that fell in sheets. “I guess the Lady finally noticed the fire,” Sun said, shaking her red hair so it sent little streams flicking through the air. “There is a cave up ahead, over there,” April said hardly noticing the heavy rain. If it hadn’t been for April they would have missed the cave. Carved into the side of a ridge several massive granite blocks obscured the entrance from all but careful searching. A person could have been only a few feet from the entrance and never have realised it was there. Manoeuvring the horses through the tight gap took a few minutes. Vernon was the last to enter the cave, giving the sky and ground a smug smile before ducking to enter the black mouth leading into the earth. Twilight stumbled in the lead of the small group. With the rumbling clouds outside the cave had no hope of having any natural light peak beyond more than the most immediate area. Fumbling she tried to conjure some light. Making her horn glow had been one of the most natural acts Twilight had learned as a unicorn, channelled magic turning it into a sort of temporary torch. There was no spell involved in the act for a unicorn, just simple magic using the horn as a container for a current. Without her horn Twilight tried to improvise a spell. Picturing a glowing orb of light hovering over her head Twilight used the Magic Nettle spell as a basis to create a simple weave that would just hover overhead. She had never tried to use fire, and took a stab at what emotions that would be tied to the element. If Water was about calm serenity and being fluid then logically fire would be about passion and exuberance. At least, that was her best guess based on the pulpy fantasy novels she read as a filly. Nothing happened at first, and Twilight almost smacked herself in the forehead. She was using a ring, which meant she needed to use motion. What movements would correspond to fire Twilight had no idea. She didn’t know where to begin. Growling frustration to herself as she stumbled in the dark, Twilight twisted her hand into a claw in front of her and glared at the offending appendage. She couldn’t see it, or the end of the nose on her face, the tunnel having becoming blacker than pitch. Then there was a flicker. It was there and gone so fast that only the small after images imposed on Twilight’s retinas confirmed that it hadn’t been her imagination. Following a spark of intuition Twilight sucked in a surprised breath. Curling her hand more she focused on the frustration layering it into the basic spell she envisioned. Flickers and snippets of light sparked between her fingers clinging to the matrix, before dying. Alter the matrix Twilight tried again, making the spell more robust, like a ball covered in thick stabilizing bands. Light snapped and sparked, growing into a steady healthy glow. The spell didn’t hover overhead like she had hoped, staying firmly nestled between her fingers, but at least they had light. Holding her hand up Twilight cast aside the shadows and darkness clinging to the cave. The first thing Twilight realised was that the cave wasn’t really a cave at all, but rather the remains of a mine. The walls were all straight with grooves from where they’d been carved out of the earth with tools. The floor was flat and level, with the remnants of tracks that would have supported mine carts. After only a few dozen feet the tunnel opened up into a wide rectangular shaped room. Along a far wall sat the debris and remains of a large animal’s nest, probably a bear Twilight thought giving the size. Nearby, carved into the solid rock wall, was a series of shallow indents. A few had the remains of letters etched above them, but most were blank. Beneath the indents was a large pile of orange rust shavings. Whatever had been in the indents had long ago withered away. To the right and ahead Twilight saw tunnels leading deeper into the ground. Dank musk and mildew mixed with damp earth into a heavy smell that clung to Twilight’s nose and throat. Otherwise the room was open and barren of any distinguishing feature. “We can set up camp here and rest for a bit before we plan what to do next,” Vernon said entering the room. From the mouth of the cave thunder continued to rumble as they set about creating a place to rest. Blankets were unrolled, the horses given some grain and water, and a fire started in the center of the room using branches scavenged from the animal nest. Sitting down near the small fire Twilight extinguished her light spell. Jasmine’s back-pack rested in her lap, and for the first time, Twilight opened the leather compartment. Inside she found surprisingly little. There were a few pouches containing more vials of various substances, all unlabeled to Twilight chagrin, as well as a travelling inkpot, quills, some dry leaves and herbs held in folded cloth, and as Twilight hoped, two thick tomes bound in leather. Gingerly Twilight pulled the macabre books from the sack. She was slowly getting used to the idea that humans used the parts of animals for a lot of different uses beyond consuming them. Her small journal had a leather cover that protected it from the elements. Just another aspect of humanity Twilight tried very hard to ignore. Taking her journal off its strap on her belt, Twilight used one of the cloths to wipe any water off its surface. Twilight was mildly impressed how the journal’s cover folded closed to protect the pages inside from the weather. Another perfect gift from April suited just for Twilight’s needs. Setting the journal in her lap she opened Jasmine’s spell books beginning the first study session in weeks. Giddy anticipation bounced in Twilight’s chest in spite of all the darkness and terrible events. Here was something guaranteed to take her mind away from all the problems of the world. The first thing Twilight noticed was that Jasmine’s spell-books had almost nothing on elemental weaves. They had a great deal on illusions, enchantment theory, summoning, and one was entirely on the subject of Entropy, but very little about using elemental weaves. The few pages on elemental weaves entirely dealt with Life and how it interacted with Entropy. Certainly informative and helpful, if Twilight intended to work on her Life connection, which she didn’t at the moment. Giving up on searching for information on elemental weaves, Twilight returned to the section on illusions. To her delight nearly everything had something to do with cancelling, dispelling, or otherwise overcoming various forms of illusion magic. There were even notes on Tracey favourite tactics. Twilight got the impression that Jasmine had spent a lot of time studying her fellow apprentice and rival. A smile of satisfaction crossed Twilight’s face as she read a note saying to blanket an area with minor magic to disrupt any false images Tracey created. To counter Tracey’s invisibility spell was a spell designed to see everything, with a notation that the spell would let the caster see even in areas where there was no light. Twilight began studying the spell, the applications in the cave being reason enough to learn the magic, let alone if Tracey returned. Nose in the spell-books Twilight hardly registered what was happening around her. A part of her brain was aware of April curling up next to her, and Vernon settling near the entrance into the room. Likewise she was aware of Eric sitting across the small fire from her, taking from his pack a small black book and reading it slowly. Twilight did stop for a few minutes to watch Sun treat Kodiak’s shoulder and arm, the small woman applying a pungent smelling green paste to the burnt skin before wrapping it in white bandages. “Come on, you big baby, stop fussing or it’ll get infected,” Sun admonished playfully, giving the bandages a little slap that made Kodiak grunt. Twilight’s brain tuned out Kodiak’s response, if there was one. The diagrams and instructions were so engrossing she had trouble pulling any of her attention away from the details and motions. It took a few minutes for the eerie silence that permeated the room after Sun’s remark to penetrate the haze studying created around Twilight. The back of Twilight’s neck prickled with the sensation of being watched forcing her to snap her head up. “Yes, what is it?” Twilight growled, only to come almost nose to nose with the floating disembodied head of Tracey. “About time,” Tracey snapped. She rolled her eyes as Twilight let out a little screech, falling over backwards, arms cart-wheeling through the air. “I don’t have much time before they notice. You have to get moving again. They’ve called in their boss, a six knot from the south. Don’t know his name; he never studied at the Academy. Not sure who you are, or why you look like my Jasmine, or scrying says you are her. Can’t be Jasmine, she only uses Life, and that is begrudgingly. We are coming up on a canyon, or ravine. The other’s think we are gaining. Sorry I can’t explain more. Can only say so much by means of a Sending spell. Tell the girl-,” The head vanished with a small pop, leaving Twilight laying on her back, eyes wide. As soon as the head vanished everyone else broke into activity. “Eric, you take Twilight and the kid deeper into the tunnels,” Vernon snapped, running to the remains of animal nest to grab three branches. Using some old cloths he turned the branches into home-made torches, using the fire to light them before kick dirt over the fire to extinguish it. Handing one torch to Eric, he placed the others near the entrances to the tunnels leading deeper into the earth. “You three take that tunnel,” Vernon said pointing to the one off to the side of the room, “We’ll try to slow them down and get them spread out. There is no telling how deep the tunnels go, and, hey, where are you going kid?” April looked back from the tunnel across from where they’d entered a look of determined innocence on her face. “The door is down this tunnel, the other one is a dead end. Don’t use it unless you want to end up getting trapped,” she said before waving for Eric and Twilight to follow her as she slipped into the shadows. Shrugging Twilight shoved her journal and Jasmine’s spell-books into her pack before going to follow April. Vernon stopped Twilight after only a couple steps. “I’m worried, why are we following the directions of a teenager? So far she’s gotten us trapped in some mines with a pair of wizards, one who may or may not be friendly, with the other almost certainly not, and who knows how many thugs and cut throats with them. Yet you follow her blindly. Why?” “She’s a seer,” Twilight said simply, shrugging off Vernon’s concerns. “And I trust her.” April was the only person Twilight fully trusted. Twilight somewhat trusted Sun, but knew that the small woman had a violent streak in her probably as wide as her partner. Vernon and Eric had left Twilight with an arrow in her gut on the beach, disappeared for a week, and returned as if nothing had happened. She had thought them dead, had grieved for them, and now she wasn’t certain why she had bothered. At the mention of April being a seer Vernon’s face changed to something indiscernible for a moment, before settle back into a stern glare. He muttered something under his breath about Jasmine and avoiding seers, but Twilight couldn’t make out the exact words or meaning. Then Vernon was gone, moving around the room setting up for the uninvited guests that were coming, Eric replacing him beside Twilight. The mute man gave a little gesture and half bow that seemed to say ‘After you’. Sighing Twilight cast the vision spell she’d been studying. It took a couple attempts to get the motions right, but when she did Twilight gave out a little squeak of surprise. The entire room and the tunnel beyond looked like it was being bathed in the gentle light of a full moon. Eric gave her a puzzled look, but otherwise didn’t comment, instead hurrying down the passage with his torch. To her new vision the torch looked like a ghostly silver orb shooting little arms of soft light in all directions. Where the light touched would glimmer like a field of stars. Twilight could have stood staring and inspecting the effect for hours. Instead she hustled to keep up with Eric and April. Twilight didn’t know how the girl was managing to find her way through the tunnels without either a torch or spell to see in the dark. Yet somehow April had managed to put a considerable lead between herself and Twilight and Eric. At the first branch in the tunnel April stood waiting, gazing down each path as if looking for something. As Twilight and Eric approached April turned, smiled, and kicked an arrow into the dirt before heading deeper. This continued for several more intersections. Each time April paused, considered the paths, and then would mark the direction they were headed. Twilight thought about asking why April was marking their path, but the reason seemed self evident. The others needed some way to follow, or they’d get hopelessly lost and turned around in the growing maze. Up and down they went, the tunnel never varying in height, width, or composition. Gulping down a touch of fear Twilight knew that if they became separated it’d be nearly impossible to find each other again. But April seemed to know exactly where she was going. “We’re almost at the door now,” April said as they rounded a corner, passing into a naturally formed cavern and out of the man made mine tunnels they’d been following for the last half hour. Nodding, Twilight was about to ask how much farther to the door, when she stepped on something that cracked and snapped beneath her boots like dry twigs. Shivers crawling up her spine Twilight looked down to see she’d stepped on the bones of a person, specifically a person’s ribs. Biting her tongue to prevent herself from screaming Twilight quickly surveyed the chamber. The ceiling and floor held dozen of stalagmites, stalactites, and natural columns. Littered around them were hundreds of bodies and skeletons. A few were nothing but yellow bones strewn across the floor, but most had been mummified by some unknown process. Black leathery skin pulled tight across faces staring in silent eternal screams, hands grasping at their throats or reaching into the air. Around the bodies were the rotted remnants of cases and luggage, most being nothing but a few scraps of leather or canvas and rusted metal, their contents spilled like the guts of a disembowelled beast. April was picking her way through the mass grave, occasionally stopping to peer at something clutched in a mummified hand before moving on. Gulping down some bile that had risen, Twilight carefully picked her path forward taking care not to disturb the bodies. A profound sense of unease and tension filled the entire chamber. Twice Twilight swore she heard a clicking clack, like something was moving just beyond the limits of her vision spell. Looking behind her Twilight saw a look of sorrow covering Eric’s features. Like Twilight he was being extra cautious not to disturb the dead. “Found it!” April shouted over her shoulder lifting a small black rectangular object from the dry fingers of a mummy. Grunting in frustration Eric pushed past Twilight and bounded over to April. Once he reached the girl he pointed at the object she’d taken, then back to the body, grunting again. Twilight couldn’t see his expression with his back to her, but she imagined Eric had a look of deep displeasure on his face. “We can’t leave this,” April said, understanding his meaning. “This is needed to open the door.” Not waiting for any further arguments or protests April again set off, picking her way across the chamber. Scrambling over a rise of flowstone after the girl and Eric, Twilight finally saw the door April kept mentioning. At the far end of the chamber sat a huge edifice of metal easily three times Twilight in height. A giant square on both sides several clamps held the door shut. Etched across the middle were the words ‘Black Mountain Shelter’. Scorch marks and scratches marred the bottom third of the door where people had tried to force the door open while across the top a series of long furrows had been melted through the metal. In front of the door the concentration of bodies was thickest, piling up around a ramp the lead to a box just to the right of the door. To the left of the door was something that shocked Twilight even more. It was another body, but one unlike anything Twilight had ever seen. Taller than even the door with huge leathery bat wings the body slumped beside the door. Large holes had been punched into its chest and half its head ripped off so it lay lopsided propped up by a single curved ram’s horn. The acrid tang of brimstone filled Twilight’s nose as she tried to calm the sudden beating of her heart seeing the new body elicited. Twilight was about to ask what sort creature the body belonged to when the sounds of metal on metal reached her ears echoing from the chambers entrance. Eric noticed the sound as well, drawing his slender sword while gesturing emphatically at the massive door. April needed no further prodding, skipping and jumping her way towards the box beside the door. Standing beside Eric, Twilight gave him a little nod silently conveying that she wasn’t going to leave his side. Movement over the flowstone sent a spike of tension deep into Twilight’s muscles. Glaring she readied a water ram waiting until the person was close enough, or in case it was one of her allies. Green lurid lightening cracked across the chamber, outlining the muscular form of Kodiak as the large man pivoted on a heel at the top of the flow. Completing his turn he hurled his axe out of Twilight’s line of sight. A wet gurgling scream indicated it had found flesh. Weaponless Kodiak jumped back over the flowstone releasing one of his long maniacal laughs. The ring of steel on steel continued, mixed intermittently with Kodiak’s laughter. Sun was the next to enter Twilight’s sight, rolling around a fat stalagmite as she was chased by three lanky men in brown cloaks and tunics. Planting her feet in front of a short ledge Sun launched herself into the air performing a slow spin. At the apex of her path two flashes of steel flicked towards her pursuers. The closest man fell as the steel connected tumbling head first over the ledge Sun had launched herself from. Kodiak re-emerged over the flowstone in time to see his partner land with a dull thump into the sea of mummified bodies, Vernon close on his heels. Seeing a clear opening Twilight launched her water ram at the remaining men chasing Sun. Both saw the glowing column of water racing towards them, each tucking into a roll off the ledge. With a resounding crack the ram impacted the ledge sending shards of stone flying in a gout of water. Springing to her feet Sun pressed into her remaining pursuers before they could fully recover from avoiding Twilight’s spell. Her sword snapped and whistled left and right, pressing her opponents backwards. Looks of intense concentration crossed both men’s faces as they slowed their retreat, and then reversed it, pushing Sun slowly towards Twilight and Eric, their swords working in tandem to snarl at Sun from every angle. Before Eric could go to assist the beleaguered woman several more men poured over the lip of the flowstone like a tide of angry steel. Behind the men two robed figures stopped on top of the flowstone, a woman and a man. They had to be Tracey and the mysterious new mage she had mentioned in her warning, Twilight realised. Gulping down her trepidation Twilight spared a quick glance over her shoulder to see what was happening with the door. April was at the small box beside the door doing something with the black rectangular object she had taken, but Twilight couldn’t see exactly what the girl was doing. From her posture and the way April frantically looked from the object to the box Twilight could tell that things weren’t going as fast as April expected. Returning her gaze to the two wizards Twilight saw Tracey had started to make her way towards the melee spreading across the chamber floor. Eric had rushed forward to assist Kodiak and Vernon, the three men fighting shoulder to shoulder, swords and axe twisting left and right, but never connecting. The more numerous men darted back and forward their own swords flicking and teasing at the defences of Twilight’s allies. Sun was still being pushed back, but she had managed to alter her retreat so that she wasn’t being herded towards her friends. Taking a deep breath Twilight called up another water ram, aiming this one at the wizard standing on top of the flowstone. Maybe if she took out their leader, the rest of the men would retreat, Twilight thought. It was a foolish hope, but with everyone else falling back and tiring she didn’t know what else to do. On the heels of the ram Twilight sent a series of the magic nettles hoping to at least sting or distract the other wizard enough to prevent him from casting. It quickly proved to be a fool’s hope. Snapping his wand up the mysterious wizard bisected the water ram with a lance of green light, Twilight’s magic exploding sending a momentary heavy rain across the battle. Worse the spreading water engulfed and consumed the magic nettles she had fired. The casting had been so fast and effortless that Twilight stood rooted to the ground for a few precious moments, her jaw hanging open. In those moments everything changed. A great wailing howl coursed through the chamber, wind clutching at cloaks and hair, as hundreds of little lights flitted down through the ceiling. No one else seemed to pay the lights any attention as they whipped and whirled around the battle, flinging themselves through person and stone alike. Twilight’s eyes darted left and right trying to follow the lights as the moan grew louder. Spiralling up like a great flower the lights hung in the air for a moment, then flung themselves down into the mummified bodies littering the floor. Ancient withered hands cracked and creaked, bones clattering as the sea of bodies began to shift. All fighting ceased, swords hanging in the air as everyone became aware of the new noises. Tracey twisted left and right, leveling her staff as shambling forms pulled their selves upright. Red light flickered behind eyes that had been milky white only minutes before. As one the mass of bodies groaned; more and more raising up in hunched stances. Turning her head to watch the last of the little white lights flicker and enter the huge malformed body beside the door. As the last light entered the monstrous body a terrible grinding noise like two great trees being ground against each other echoed through the chamber. Dark red flames burst to life, crawling from the gaping holes in the body’s chest. More flames burst from the shattered remains of the head, the remaining eye looking down in a red rage. Bone grinding against bone and ancient sinew snapping the re-animated behemoth lumbered to its feet. “Don’t move, don’t show fear, don’t run,” Vernon hissed, standing rigidly between three undead. Panic swept across the chamber, the men that had moments before been on the cusp of victory turning and running towards the wizard atop the flowstone, passing around Tracey. None made it to the top. As one the undead re-acted, grasping and clawing at the fleeing men. Realizing they couldn’t run from the horde that filled the entire chamber, the men fought back desperately. One by one they were pulled to the ground by the undead, gurgling screams mixing with unearthly howls jangling from mummified throats. Vernon, Eric and Kodiak formed a tight circle around Twilight, guiding her as fast as they could through the churning mass of bodies. Swords and axe flashed left and right hacking through brittle limbs and shattering skulls. A short distance away Tracey stood spinning her staff, fire billow from the top of the staff. The wizard on top of the flowstone likewise sent bolts of green lightening and fire in every direction. But the undead were too numerous. It was only a matter of time before they’d all be overwhelmed. A series of thrumming clicks reverberated through the chamber, April shrieking from the door, “I’ve got it!” Orange lights flashing around its frame, the great steel door ponderously began to open, sliding out and then along the wall to the blare of sirens. Seeing an escape route open Twilight in rapid succession began summoning water rams, blasting a path towards the door. The entire chamber was a sea of movement, howling, blood curdling screams, and the heavy footsteps of the towering behemoth. Twilight couldn’t tell who was where anymore as she pushed her way to the door and the beckoning April. Undead claws grasped at Twilight’s ankles trying to pull her to the ground. If she fell Twilight knew that she would die. Kicking her foot Twilight punted a skull away from her, but the bodies hands continued to cling to the edges of her robes. Fighting back a shrill scream Twilight pushed as hard as she could for the door. Her hair crackled as one of Tracey’s waves of fire passed by, turning several undead into ash. In moments they were replaced. Then Twilight was through the door, falling into a hallway of warm golden light. Sirens continued to blare, the orange light’s spin reversing, and the door began to close. Standing back up Twilight turned and began to fire her water rams in random directions. In rapid succession Eric, Vernon and Kodiak tumbled through the door, followed by Tracey. Just before the door slid shut again Twilight saw the unknown wizard still atop the flowstone, fire and lightening shooting in every direction from the tip of his wand filling the air with the stench of ozone and burnt flesh. Around him hissed a shell of lurid liquid light forcing back the swarming undead. As if sensing Twilight watching him he snapped his head towards her, black eyes boring into her soul. Over the wizard reared the behemoth, fist raised to smash down on the shield. Closing with a deep rumble, locks slipping back into place, the door silencing the howls of the undead before Twilight could see what happened to the wizard.